This past week I have seen four BALD EAGLES hanging out along Kennewick's
Columbia Park. One mature, two in second year plumage and one in first year
plumage. They seem indifferent to people walking on the trails underneath
their perches. A good photo opportunity. I 'spotted' one second year as I
was looking through my binoculars at a fairly close COMMON MERGANSER. The
eagle flew into my field of vision and almost took the duck, but a gull
interceeded. I was speaking to a family member in Yelm, WA and she had an
almost identical experience at the Nisqually reserve (was even looking at a
common merganser!). Is this a common behavior? Why would gulls do this?

Additionally, I saw a group of 14 GREATER WHITE FRONTED GEESE in the same
area. These were not the common graylags that hang out at the 'feeding
pond'. They did not have the heavier bodies or deep white bellys, and some
did have the black 'stripes' on their bellies. I have only seen two greater
white fronted geese in this area before, and they were individuals in a
group of Canadas. According to Sibley, this area is not in their normal
range, but they are occasionally seen in the western states outside of their
'regular' range. Are they commonly found in groups in this area?

I have been seeing the following birds almost each time out in this area
since the beginning of the year:
GBH
Black Crown Night Heron
Great Egret
Belted Kingfisher
Cackling Geese
Canada Geese
Bald Eagle (in february)
Redtail
Harrier
Kestrel
Sharp Shinned Hawk
Greater Scaup
Ring Neck
Common Merganser
Hooded Merganser
Redhead
Common Goldeneye
Bufflehead
American Widgeon
Eurasian Widgeon
Canvasback
Wood Duck
Ruddy Duck (early January)
Pintail
Green Wing Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Coot
Mallard
Pied Bill Grebe
Horned Grebe
Common Loon
Mourning Doves
Double Crested Cormorant
White Pelican
Mew Gull
Ringed Bill Gull
Magpie
House Sparrow
White Crowned Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow (early january)
Trumpeter Swan (early january)
Crow


Anne Kizerian
Kennewick, WA
birdcrazykizerian at earthlink.net