Subject: [Tweeters] Adventures in Renton
Date: Jan 27 21:28:32 2007
From: LINDA PHILLIPS - linda_phillips1252 at msn.com


Ann Marie and I met up with Mike, Bob and Bernie at Black River this afternoon. It was rather quiet but we saw a nice variety of water fowl. Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Bufflehead Mallards, Pied-billed Grebe. I saw 4 Great-blue Herons but Bernie said there were 6. Along the trail we saw song sparrows and both Kinglets, Berwick's Wren, chickadees and robins . The most fun was watching a Belted Kingfisher. After his dinner of what looked like some kind of eel. He found a suitable branch and repeatedly dove down into the water, splashed around, returned to his branch, preened a while before taking another splash. We then caravanned to the mouth of the Cedar. By the crowd of birders on the dock we knew that the something of interest was there. Ann Marie was hoping for the Glaucous Gull and I wanted to see the Palm Warbler and the Slaty-backed. The Slaty-backed was present giving great views to the 20 or more birders who came to see it (I heard one man came all the way from Delaware) We thought our opportunity for viewing it ended when a Bald Eagle scared all the gulls into the air, but within minutes most of them were back and the Slaty-backed was among them. As Darkness fell the crowd of birders thinned out and we were about to call it quits too when an Eagle again flew in and scattered the flock. We got a spectacular show as it chased after one particular gull, round and round they went banking left, banking right, flying towards us and then away. Several times we thought that the gull was a goner. but the Eagle eventually gave up the chase and gulls once again began to settle in on the water. Right then an Eagle flew in. Bernie and I had our binoculars on it soaring above the lake when we heard Bob say "he took a gull out of the water". It turns out two eagles flew in at the same time. We then all focused on the Eagle with prey as he landed and began plucking. Bob and Bernie got great pictures of the eagle as it feasted on Gull for dinner. What a way to end a beautiful day.
Linda Phillips
Kenmore 98028
linda_phillips1252 at msn.com<about:blank>