Subject: [Tweeters] Juanita Bay
Date: Dec 13 11:09:22 2005
From: Linda Phillips - sweetmem at juno.com


Hello Tweeters:
12/12/2005 1-2PM
I had to go into Kirkland so I thought I?d stop at Juanita Bay to see if
the Trumpeter Swan was still around. I need to practice ID-ing waterfowl
any way. Under cloudy skies I started my quest.
As I arrived I talked to three people, who were on their way out, they
did not know that a swan had been seen there, but one of them had seen a
large white bird. With high hopes I headed down to the water. I don?t
visit Juanita Bay real often but I was surprised at the lack of birds, on
other visits the area between the two piers has been very active, today
there were probably less than two dozen ducks there. I saw Mallards, Wood
Ducks, Bufflehead, Gadwells, Ring-necked Ducks, Green-winged Teals, an
American Wigeon, and Hooded Mergansers.
When I walked down the causeway I saw a Downy Woodpecker, Song and
Gold-crowned Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees,
On the pilings were numerous Double-crested Cormorants, 2 Great Blue
Heron, and American Crows. From the causeway I also saw American Coots,
Ring-necked Ducks, Wood Ducks, Pied-billed Grebes and a pair of Mallards,
mating? I know they form pair bonds in the fall but this looked more
serious. They were splashing around together, there was whistling, he
mounted her, holding under water for a bit, when she came up he grabbed a
hold of her head, it looked as though he was pulling her hair, when she
got free from him she dived underwater, really dived completely under the
water, I could see ripples on the surface as she swam around underwater,
she was not dabbling like they do when feeding, she seemed to be under
for close to a minute. When she returned to two of them acted as if
nothing had just happened.
I also heard but did not see: Winter Wren, Red-winged Blackbird, Belted
Kingfisher, House Finch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Northern Flicker.
By the time I left a light but cold rain was falling. No Swan!

Linda Phillips
sweetmem at juno.com
Kenmore, 98028-2616
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