Hi Tweets,

There seemed to be a sucker hole over my house this morning. No
rain, no wind. So I headed down to the Edmonds waterfront hoping for
the same kind of activity as last weekend. It started spitting as I
walked out on the public pier and then the rain returned in force.
The tide was quite high and there were white caps on the water. I
was heartened to see that we had not lost any of the remaining five
Purple Martin gourds over night. The only fly-by of note was a
Harlequin drake not too far out from the pier. The only two alcids
around were a few Pigeon Guillemots and a couple of Rhinoceros
Auklets. Heermann's Gulls continue but in diminished numbers as they
are starting to move south. I did not see any Bonaparte's Gulls this
morning. In addition to Heermann's there were Glaucous-winged, Mew,
and California Gulls. There were a few Surf Scoters and one Common
Goldeneye hen. There were about five Horned Grebes but I did not see
Red-necked or Western. One of the Belted Kingfishers was around and
there were good numbers of Double-crested Cormorants. There could
have been a lot more out there but viewing conditions were suboptimal.

I stopped by the Marsh and noted that the water level is up enough to
provide some duck habitat. We are told that the tide gate is simply
closed from October to March to prevent flooding of Harbor Square, a
development that should never have been allowed to happen, in my
opinion. Nevertheless the water level is increasing, no doubt thanks
to the heavy rains of this last week. Through very steamy optics I
noted Mallards and American Wigeons along with the Great Blue Herons
and a few gulls. By this time I was wet, cold, and focusing more on
a cup of coffee so I headed for home. Birding on the waterfront may
be better later in the morning if this rain lets up.

Good birding,
Carol Riddell
Edmonds