Here's what I've received from various Tweeters:

Domestic hybrid Mallard?
Female Common Merganser
wigeon
Horned Grebe, Common Goldeneye, or Merganser
Western Grebe (two votes)
American Wigeon based on head (but wing like a Redhead's)

I initially thought it was a female Common Merganser. A co-worker suggested Western Grebe, in part based on the apparent legs at the extreme posterior end of the body. The legs look yellowish though which isn't right for Western Grebe, is it? The whitish primaries are puzzling as well. When I first looked at it and thought of female Common Merganser, I was imagining a chesnut brown color, representing the bird's head, up by the yellow feet of the eagle. However, when Western Grebe was suggested, I pondered whether the large white oval-shaped area in the middle of the bird's back is actually its head hanging down over its back. The problem with that interpretation is the break in the white as you look between the shoulders of the bird. Frankly, I don't know what the big white oval is. To me, it also looks too robust for a Western Grebe.

Obviously, I don't know what it is. Maybe I need to find a phone number for Jeff Reed and see if he has other pictures or a higher resolution version of this one.

Interestingly, I found a different picture of what I'm quite certain is the same event. It's at the following link (and it makes me more confused than ever):

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/myseattlepix/photo.asp?photoID=1008602

Oh well, it's fun... I guess.

Kelly McAllister
Olympia, Washington