Tweeters,
A beautiful day was punctuated by one of the most beautiful birds I've
ever seen. A pure white duck with a very brightly colored orange
shoveler's bill. Could not see the feet. The eye was golden, not pink.
Size wise could easily fit into the range of a shoveler. Smaller than
the Mallard's nearby. The bird was seen in the large pond to the north.
Best to go to the opening along the fence line about 1/3 way down from
the parking lot as you walk toward Spencer Island. Look back to the west
in the outside channel closest to where you would be standing. Given
that we just don't see many of these birds, I would welcome any comments
about possible hybrids, albinos versus leucistic birds, etc. Hope that
someone gets to photograph this bird.
Also of note was at least one Franklin's Gull sitting along the wall
farther to the west of where the duck was seen. On the pond was at least
one Eared Grebe.
Access into the ponds is not allowed due to work that is being done. The
worker I spoke to was knowledgeable about birds and sounded optimistic
that access could be granted in the future. He also said that he thought
that the work being done will create more habitat for the birds.
All the best
--
barry
Seattle
levineb at fastmail.fm

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - Or how I learned to stop worrying and
love email again