Hi Tweeters,



I just got back from the Brady Loop Rd region off of Hwy 12 (on the way to Aberdeen).? After reading Ruth's post yesterday, I decided to take my daughter Cally out that way to photograph some of the swans.? We quickly found the swans (I counted 180+ Trumpeters in one field with others scattered about as well as a small number of Tundra) and while she was taking photos, a couple of fellows in a van pulled up to chat.? One was a falconer and the other owned racing pigeons.? They had a Goshawk and a Gyrfalcon tethered inside of their vehicle (very pretty up close).? They described to us where they had recently seen a wild Gyrfalcon that had been getting harassed by some of the Bald Eagles that were in the area.? Afterward, we drove around searching for it and finally located the Gyrfalcon off of Brady Loop Rd., not far from the Foster Rd. intersection.? It was a very white morph.? It flew to the south soon after we spotted it.?



Also seen while driving about in the area were several Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, 1 Merlin (seen while talking to the falconer), and an A. Kestrel.? We also spotted a Eurasian Wigeon off of Foster Rd.



Good birding,



Lonnie Somer

Olympia, WA

wheelermombi at comcast.net