I've mentioned "our" Townsend's before, as I'd never ID'd one before - it
made a big impression. It is sporadic, but that may be partly our limited
observation time. But we have "one" (I suspect same one, but who knows) who has
been returning off and on. He was here multiple times last weekend, sharing
suet with bushtits. He's gorgeous.

I walked Myrtle Edwards yesterday with fresh air and exercise my original
motives. But I had to go back today given the abundance of waterbirds. Naked
eye yesterday suggested there were species out there that I had not yet
counted coup on.

I was only slightly better equipped today: conscious attention and a 7x
monocular. Mercifully, a stranger stopped to help me with Surf Scoter and
(Western, I am presuming) Grebe ID's, and I suspect it was one of you here, with a
history in Alaska, where the scoters summer. Fess up!

My first pre-help scoter sighting had me pretty excited - I could not
remember having stared at a bird that was so black with such a dramatically orange
bill. And this particular one was all by itself. My consultant connected
that one to a relative horde a bit farther off, several making characteristic
water-skipping-barely-flyready escapes. But apparently not exotic after all -
just me looking more intently than in the past.

My (human) nightingale was gone before I could quiz her about the good-sized
duck with black head, neck, and tail. Light bill, gray/buff back, and white
sides suggest this is Greater Scaup, but Lesser is not out of the question,
given after the fact ID and limited prior knowledge. Body proportions for
Greater seem appropriate for what I saw. There were a lot of them - my flock
had 22 but there were at least five times that in the area. Opinion?

There were a large number - scores - of colorful ducks just far enough away
that 7x didn't help. I took them as Wood Ducks at the time - is it common
here for these critters to choose salt over freshwater? Might grain presence
help? And, if so, how? My friend mentioned that as attractant for scoters,
but my clunky engineer thinking doesn't get it. Yes, there is grain "up
there" on vessel surface and associated equipment, and presumably at times
distributed into watercolumn (e.g., via crow and starling operations). How do
seabirds benefit, even if they like grain?

Still unidentified is a diving duck that I saw in what appeared to be in the
form of one adult and several youngsters. Alas my notes are pretty sparse -
black head with that black continuing down nape a la Grebe, with distinct
white cheeks.

I was pleased to be able to positively settle on a Common Goldeneye ID as it
was very close to shore just south of the Metro facility at south end of
park. Enjoyed being ogled by a couple besotted characters on bench there.

And for my last (possible) find, in the marina adjacent the restaurant
(Anthony's?) at cruise ship dock, I found a solo bird that fascinated me as it
gave every evidence of being a duck until I got glass out. Not at all a duck
bill. This bird was almost entirely quite dark, although I would not call it
black. The bill was pretty sharp. The key other features were white shoulder
patches and orange or even red feet (I only saw them through water). I'm
thinking Pigeon Guillemot - what do you think?


I could also use help on cormorants perched on the structure just south of
the grain elevator that I have always assumed had something to do with fish
hatching. For that matter, what the heck is that apparatus?


Most of the birds were inboard of the grain-loading vessel - a pretty
dramatic collection today, but less than half yesterdays.

I'm embarrassed that I have forgotten who recommended the book about
Steller, "Where the Sea Breaks Its Back," and alas failed to save emails. I
appreciated the sharing.

I enjoyed reading that book recently and heartily recommend it. Human
insights first of all (1741!), given the ghastly conditions of sea exploration in
the Aleutians and the cantankerous characters involved in this (including
Steller), but nature also. At least one species (mammal) observed by Steller
was apparently exterminated in the course of the horrendous sea otter genocide
that ensued in the following decades as a result of the Bering/Steller
expedition reports.

Paul Johanson
North Beach (Seattle)