Dec 10th '11

Notice I mentioned Mud Bay. That's the uppermost end of Chuckanut Bay. I missed most of the small Passerines there; too quick for me. And I didn't carry a scope. But that corner of the universe is waiting to be discovered by birders. There is a small parking area for those with cars, at the end of Fairhaven Ave. Bring your wetland footwear.

When I first arrived, and didn't know which way to look first, I (thought I) saw a bird flying down into the thiscket area with bright yellow underparts. And maybe that's what I saw. Then after I got to thinking that was impossible, I convinced myself that it had white underparts. But now I'm back to thinking I really did see yellow (Tropical Kingbird?). So you active birders with good eyesight and optics should check that location out from time to time.

PH
Bellingham, WA

----- Original Message -----
From: "Twink Coffman" <wilber4818 at gmail.com>
To: vogelfreund at comcast.net
Sent: Friday, December 9, 2011 8:50:57 AM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] off topic: Elk in Bellingham?

wow... good sighting...what a fun trudge


On Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 7:10 PM, < vogelfreund at comcast.net > wrote:





Dec 8th '11

Today after wandering along the Interurban trail and nearby Mud Bay, I was wearily (i'm old) trudging back along Old Fairhaven Parkway, and nearing the senior complexes on the south side of the road. A large deer (I thought) came out of the bushes and proceeded to cross the busy road, bringing traffic to a halt. I noticed that it had a large buff-colored rump, but it didn't connect in my mind as to what that might mean. Later on, when relaxing in my apartment, it dawned on me that it could have been an elk! So I got out my decades old Peterson mammal guide, and lo and behold, our local black-tailed deer do not have a large buffy rump patch.

Phil Hotlen
Bellingham, WA

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