Tweeters,

We experienced some fine birding yesterday on the Accessible Birding
trip to the Edmonds Waterfront, including a late Heerman?s Gull, a large
adult Cooper?s Hawk, and, likely, a small flock of Fork-tailed
Storm-Petrels. I missed seeing the latter as I was helping put away our
scope in some wind gusts, but the participants who saw them ?streak by?
were quite excited by the ?tiny white birds unlike anything we?ve seen
today.? They were described as much ?faster and smaller? than anything
else, ?stubby, or stocky,? ?no bigger than my hand,? and ?some
black?somewhere? on them. Apparently, they came by quite ?close?,
defined earlier as 30?. We?d already been viewing and discussing
Bonaparte?s Gulls and these birds were ?much smaller? than BOGU.

I?m grateful to the group, especially Carl Larson, who convinced me to
go ahead with the trip in spite of fairly heavy rain, wind, mid-40?s
temperatures and a couple cancellations. I handed out a few
hand-warmers, which I highly recommend for birding on the water in
winter. Seattle Audubon carries some. Bad fall weather is some of the
best for viewing seabirds.

The list:
Horned Grebe, 2 Sunset Avenue, 15 public pier
Red-necked Grebe, 2 public pier
Western Grebe, 6 Sunset Avenue, 10 public pier
(Fork-tailed Storm Petrel), 6 public pier
Double-crested Cormorant, 24 waterfront
Pelagic Cormorant, 5 public pier
Great Blue Heron, 1 Sunset Avenue, 15 Edmonds Marsh
Canada Goose, 20 public pier, 250 distantly
Gadwall, 8 Edmonds Marsh
Mallard, 70 Sunset Avenue, 10 Edmonds Marsh
Surf Scoter, 40 Sunset Avenue, 25 public pier
Black Scoter, 30 Sunset Avenue
Bufflehead, 5 Sunset Avenue
Barrow?s Goldeneye, 1 Sunset Avenue
Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Sunset Avenue
Cooper?s Hawk, 1 Edmonds Marsh
Bonaparte?s Gull, 10 public pier
Heermann?s Gull, 1 public pier
Mew Gull, 3 Sunset Avenue, estimated 20 public pier
Western Gull, 1 Sunset Avenue
Glaucous-winged Gull, many
Pigeon Guillemot, 8 public pier
Rhinoceros Auklet, 2 public pier
Rock Dove, 12 Sunset Avenue, 25 Edmonds Marsh
Belted Kingfisher, 3 public pier
American Crow, 10
Bushtit, 30 Sunset Avenue
Bewick?s Wren, 1 Edmonds Marsh
Song Sparrow, 2 Edmonds Marsh
Golden-crowned Sparrow, 1 Edmonds Marsh
Dark-eyed Junco, 3 Edmonds Marsh
Red-winged Blackbird, 8 Edmonds Marsh
House Finch, 5 Sunset Avenue
House Sparrow, 1 Edmonds Marsh

Patricia S. Lott
Seattle, WA
mail to: VariedThrush at comcast.net