Hello, Several thousand ducks are now on Capital Lake in Thurston County, Olympia.
It's quite an impressive sight and though I was running errands and only had binoculars, I was able to pick out a few species which make nice Christmas Count "gets" for this location (Canvasback, Eurasian Wigeon & Wood Duck).
As Kelly McAllister mentioned, I have been doing the count in the downtown area of Olympia (Priest Pt. Park, East Bay, West Bay, Capital Lake etc) for over 20 years and the change over past decade or more has been quite dramatic. Back in the day it would take hour upon hour upon hour to tally the multitude of species utilizing the saltwater habitats and no time at all to count the lake birds.
Now it is quite the opposite, with only a sparse representation of birds on the bays (and some species gone altogether) and quite impressive numbers on the lake (with some species present now that previously were not).
I plan to go back with the spotting scope and encourage anyone passing thru to stop and take a gander.
Keith Brady
Olympia, WA

_________________________________________________________________
When your life is on the go?take your life with you.
http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/115298558/direct/01/