Subject: [Tweeters] South Sound Bays Thursday Afternoon.
Date: Nov 24 18:39:10 2005
From: Douglas Canning - dcanning at zhonka.net


This afternoon I made a quick tour of some of the South Sound bays in
Thurston County. The highlights:

At Perry Creek Estuary, ~200 gulls (mostly a spectrum of Glaucous-winged
and Glaucous-winged X Western, plus a few Herring) were loafing and
feeding on more-or-less fresh salmon carcasses.

At Mud Bay 3 feeding Greater Yellowlegs were the main attraction today,
plus the usual grouping of Bufflehead. A Herring Gull was feeding on the
one visible salmon carcass.

At Budd Inlet, from the KGY radio station in Olympia, the principle
attractions were 11 Western Grebe and up to 300 Double-crested Cormorant.

Full census (censi?) follow.

Perry Creek Estuary:
Here from 1400 through 1432. Salmon have begun upmigration: at least 6
carcasses on the high salt marsh, plus saw ~3 live salmon in stream.
Birds seen (in taxonomic order):
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 1
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 5
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) 100
Glaucous-winged x Western Gull 100
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 10

Mud Bay:
Here between 1440 through 1500 first at Mud Bay Road bridge, then
Buzz's Tavern parking lot.
Birds seen (in taxonomic order):
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 1
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 11
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 29
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 3
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 1

Budd Inlet:
At North Point at KGY radio station from 1515 through 1345.
Birds seen (in taxonomic order):
White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca) 25
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) 11
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 300
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
Glaucous-winged x Western Gull
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) 1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 250
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 30

Driving directions? Please visit the BirdNotes Site Guides at
http://birdnotes.net


*****************************
Douglas Canning
Olympia, Washington
dcanning at zhonka.net
*****************************