Hello Tweets:

The sight of all those grebes up on shore at the jetty is something I have
seen before during the winter storm season but by the time I see them they
are usually dead, and they become a statistic for the COASST program (what
we fondly call the "dead bird survey"). I have to say, though, that this
year has been a bit worse than before. On my last survey out there, just
before Christmas, I found 7 dead Western Grebes and 4 live ones...one soaked
and very hypothermic, the other three appeared dry and seemed OK.

The folks in the two vehicles who were seen gathering up the grebes to take
to PAWS are the Mitchell's; they run the local pest control business (just
outside the gates of the town) but are also the local wildlife rehab folks.
Those of us who live here know we can call them and leave a message and they
will respond to our calls for help with sick or injured wildlife. They have
a lot of calls this time of year!

Dianna Moore
Ocean Shores, Wa.
dlmoor2 at coastaccess.com