Hi Tweeters,

I made it out to the north end of Black Lake in Olympia around 3:40 today. I parked just beyond the bridge at the north end of the lake, off of Black Lake-Belmore Rd, and scoped the water to the south. The Tufted Duck was a no show. Another birder came by and told me that he had been there for four hours without seeing it. I tried a few other spots around the lake and returned to the original location at 4:30, but still no Tufted Duck. Many of the waterbirds that were there were really on the move, often only staying for a few minutes before flying off. Some of the species that were there included Double-crested Cormorant, Greater Scaup (sans tuft), Bufflehead, a small flock of perhaps 10 Bonaparte's Gulls way in the distance, at least some of which were in their summer plumage, Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, and 1 mystery duck that looked like it was a Redhead hybrid of some sort. It was the size of a Redhead, had the red head, yellow eye and gray body, but the!
bill l
ooked too dark and it lacked the dark undertail coverts and breast (they were also gray). While standing on the bridge, I was startled by a female Mallard that flew in from behind me, slammed into the water, and was rapidly followed by 4 male Mallards, all of which also slammed into the water. They were all trying to mount the female while engaging in a frenzy of fighting at the same time. She flew away, and it was some moments before they realized this and set off in pursuit. At one point, they crashed into the water just in front of a boat and the 4 Romeos almost met a sticky end. For me, it seemed to encapsulate the human condition quite profoundly.

Good birding,

Lonnie Somer
Olympia, WA
wheelermombi at comcast.net