Tweeters,



I arrived at Lake Erie near Anacortes at 930 am today. This very scenic
lake was fog covered and I scoped the ducks that could be seen from the area
behind the store (I asked permission at the store, this being private
property). After half an hour the fog cleared and I scoped the ducks from
the public boat launch. I saw both sexes of the following: BUFFLEHEAD,
RING-NECKED DUCK, HOODED MERGANSER, MALLARD and LESSER SCAUP. I saw two
female RUDDY DUCKS. Over several hours I examined every duck on the lake,
but could not pick out one with a tuft, and every one that I thought might
be the duck in question eventually seemed to fit the color pattern of
Ring-necked Duck or Lesser Scaup. Much of the time I was working at the
limit of my scope, so it could well have been present.



Returning in the early afternoon I stopped at Rancho Valentine (thanks to
Ryan Merrill for directions). The lady of the house came out and introduced
herself as Wendy and very graciously offered me a chair on the porch to
observe the birds. There is truly an amazing quantity and variety of birds
around the feeders in this yard, and for a while I even felt a bird hopping
on my hat, which I could not see beyond the brim to identify (it arrived and
departed from behind me). Most importantly I saw the WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROW, which I had missed in previous days in the Twin Rivers area near
Monroe. I did not see the BLUE JAY, which Wendy told me is usually there
before 10 am.



Marvin S. Hoekstra

Sammamish, WA

marvin dot hoekstra at verizon dot net