Hi Tweeters,

I birded a portion of Nisqually NWR today and saw, among a flock of 10 or so American Wigeons, one male in which the normally silver area below the green eye patch was a bright white, matching the stripe on its forehead. Is this an unusual color varient?

Other birds of note included a very dark Red-tailed Hawk, a few Eurasian Wigeons (very brightly colored) scattered among the American Wigeons, 8 Bald Eagles, 1 Snowy Owl (by the observation platform), all three species of Mergansers, a Peregrine Falcon at his usual spot in the Douglas Fir near the visitor's center, lots of Green-winged Teals, and many of the commonly seen birds for this time of year.

I noticed a nearly complete skeleton of an adult Black-tailed Deer in the grass near the boardwalk on the way to the Nisqually river. I belive that it was a doe (the skull was partly crunched and was upside down, so it was hard to be certain).

Finally, I noticed a recent posting today asking if Steller's Jays ever imitate Bald Eagles. By coincidence, as I was going to one of my bird feeders two day ago, I heard what sounded exactly like a Bald Eagle coming from a nearby Madrone tree. As I got closer to the tree, I could see that it was a Steller's Jay that was producing the call.

Good birding,

Lonnie Somer
Olympia, WA
wheelermombi at comcast.net