~ In response to the bird numbers/ patterns in Puget Sound-- Each October thru the end of January I spend 90 plus days on the waters of the North Puget sound, Strait of JDF, Saratoga Passage, Hood Canal, etc. . I have spent the last decade or so surrounded by the various species of NW waterfowl including the bayducks, sea ducks, puddlers, brant, alcids, cormorants, etc.-- . Let's just say that this time of year I probably get more exposure to these birds than most . I have a Federal waterfowl stamp and shotgun in hand as well as the Steiners, but that is the only difference that seperates me from the bulk of "non-consumptive" bird watchers-- we all still share similar passion for these birds, their habitat and conservation.

~ That being said, here are some of my observations of the seagoing waterfowl and alcid numbers in my areas thus far this season-- Some of the birds have shown in good numbers since October--notably harlequin populations in their typical marine/ wintering hangouts, and signs of new flocks recruiting/ pioneering into some new areas and niches. The same goes for populations of oldsquaw/ longtail ducks. I have seen increases in their offshore wintering populations here these past three seasons, including a jump again this year. There have also been good numbers of juvenile harlequin, scoter, longtail, GE, bufflehead and numbers in the flocks, and this appears top be a good sign for their production last season. In October the scoters were in numbers consistent with other seasons, but as a whole the whitewing and surf scoter numbers appear to be down in most areas this month--I am hoping that these birds are wintering north of us in BC, as their CBC counts appear to be good. The same is true of most of the regular greater scaup hangouts-- These birds are absent or few in many my local areas this season, and there has been concern over their numbers in all the flyways-- again I hope these birds are wintering in other areas this season. The bufflehead ducks are plentiful as usual, as are the Common goldeneye--their numbers astounding in some areas. Barrow's goldeneye were thick upon their arrival in early November in areas such as Saratoga Passage, the Central Sound and certain areas of the Hood Canal-- Those numbers have eased since mid-December, likely diluted by the Commons moving into their areas . Good numbers of the red-breasted mergansers have been observed each morning heading out of the bays in search of the baitfishfish/ food. As for the Alcids-- I have recently observed good numbers of the murrelets and murres in and around Port Townsend Bay as well as areas of the Strait surrounding Protection Island. Pigeon guillemots have been plentiful in most of these marine areas as well. The Dungeness and Port Townsend area black brant showed in earlier than expected in good numbers early November, and have been in consistent flocks of 50- 300 in their usual haunts offshore feeding on eelgrass in the tide rips in Admiralty inlet and Dungeness bay, and loafing , seeking grit, and munching on more eelgrass on the spits and lagoons around the area. The WDFW is taking aerial counts of their numbers right now, and that data should be back soon.



Capt. Dave Drewry
Port Townsend
----- Original Message -----
From: Jennifer Vanderhoof
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 10:48 AM
Subject: [Tweeters] Bird patterns in Puget Sound


A friend of mine rides the Vashon ferry daily and believes she has been observing a change/reduction in the birds present this winter versus past winters. Has anyone else noticed that?

Thanks,
jennifer





Jennifer Vanderhoof
sky_bird_69 at yahoo.com





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