Hello, tweets.

Michael Perrone and I spent a good part of the day on the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas. Everywhere in Puget Sound birds seem down in numbers in the last few winters, and today was no exception, with very few birds at many of our stops. We did have two highlights.

1) About 500 Horned Grebes in a flock in Mystery Bay on Marrowstone Island, Jefferson County. That is far more Horned Grebes than I have ever seen in a single day, much less in a single flock. Most were in full breeding plumage. The flock was linear, spread out over several hundred yards, and we both thought that number was a minimum, as many birds were diving as we scanned the flock back and forth. I don't have any idea why there were so many, perhaps a staging area.

2) A male and female Mountain Bluebird at Fort Worden State Park, Jefferson County, foraging among driftwood on the beach. Quite a pleasant thing to see at a spot where there were virtually no seabirds (when I say no seabirds, I'm not taking Glaucous-winged Gulls into consideration).

Dennis Paulson
Seattle