I arrived at the public pier this morning (10-17) about five minutes
after Dennis Duffy saw the first ANCIENT MURRELET of fall for this
location. It did the usual dive-and-disappear act and I wasn't able to
locate it. We had five White-winged Scoters fly by. A few Bufflehead
fly-bys and some Red-breasted Mergansers are beefing up the duck
population. We watched one Pacific Loon fly by and then Dennis
mentioned that he had been seeing some at the Water Street public
access north of the Shell Creek outlet. I drove up there and was able
to savor views of five Pacific Loons, still in their breeding plumage
and quite striking in the bright morning sun. Just as I was leaving I
noticed a late juvenile BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER sitting in some
grass and gravel along the edge of the street. That's not exactly
warbler behavior so it might be sick. On the other hand, to
anthropomorphize a bit, it might have just been enjoying the sun and a
morning rest, too. (Unlikely.)

Carol Riddell
Edmonds