"Queen" Eider in Tacoma!

Today I went down with my friend Blair Bernson to twitch the female King Eider found by Bruce La Bar in Tacoma. This "Queen Eider", was eating so many crabs right in close to the shore. She was really beautiful and fun to watch as she filled her gullet with tiny crabs. These sea ducks are normally found in Alaska.
 
I also twitched some other rare birds down there at Gog-le-hi-te Wetlands and got to successfully see a female Black-throated Warbler found by Mike Charest (dipped yet again on the Slaty-backed Gull), a lovely Red-shouldered Hawk at Nisqually, and a Northern Mockingbird in Olympia. Other good birds today I saw were a Short-eared Owl, an American Bittern (which flew right over my head), Kestrels, Peregrine Falcons, Northern Shrikes and many Western-Scrub Jays.
 A truly awesome day!

Female King Eider in Tacoma, WA - Photo: Melissa Hafting

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