For my first post to tweeters I have what could be a doozy of an observation. Yesterday morning I found myself in the Tacoma/Parkland/Midland area off Steele St. I was looking for Red Crossbills and Evening Grosbeaks. I saw some lists on eBird that indicated Charlton Lake might be a worthwhile spot to checkout. The only point of entry to the lake was via the Lakeshore Apartement complex off 96th st. S. I drove around the parking lot and found a spot where I could walk down to the lake and look around. I saw about 20 species but no Crossbills or Grosbeaks. I left the initial spot and drove around some more and found a visitor parking area close to the lake. Upon approaching the lake and to my surprise I saw what at first appeared to be a Snow Goose. The only issue was that this bird had no dark grin patch what-so-ever and had a plain white head with no buffy staining. The bird did have some faint diagonal vertical streaking on its neck. The problem with my observation is that from my vantage point I couldn't definitively determine a curved bill attachment to the head vs. a straighter more vertical attachment. Also I couldn't discern a blocky shaped head vs. a rounder head of a Ross's Goose. I don't feel comfortable calling the bird I saw as a Ross's Goose but it could have been. I don't know if the bird is still there but for parties that are interested in a possible wild goose chase I will include some directions. Enter the apartment complex of 96th St. S. by the rental office and "A" building. Drive all the way down until you have to turn left or right. Take a left and drive straight again. When you have to turn again take a right and drive all the way down. You should see a visitor parking area to the right and at the end of "M" building. I have also included a google map of the area below.


http://maps.google.com/?ll=47.166785,-122.449536&spn=0.014034,0.042272&t=m&z=15

L.A. Skillen
Olympia, WA