It was raining lightly and 48º when I got up around 6:45 a.m. I had been going over my birding records, and just realized that I hadn’t “twitched” a Black Scoter for the year (!). Now that I’m attempting to “compete” with a few other birders across the country to remain in the eBird “Top Ten” for the number of species seen this year, I need to pick up a few species that I missed.
All right. I don’t need to see these birds. But, as long as I’m enjoying Birding as a fun hobby, it would be fun to see the species. So, I decided this afternoon to drive north to Manchester State Park on the Kitsap Peninsula. There is usually a moderately large flock of Scoters that winter in the Rich Passage between there and Bainbridge Island, and I should be able to pick out a few Black Scoters from among the numerous Surf Scoters.
I drove up to Hood Canal, making a quick stop at Twanoh State Park to scope the calm water along the park’s 3,200-foot shoreline. Winter is always a good time to view Barrow’s Goldeneye here. These birds can be told from the Common Goldeneye by the crescent-shaped, rather than round, patch at the base of the drake’s bill. The female in mid-winter has a bright yellow bill rather than a mostly-dark one.
Twanoh Creek flows through the park, and gets hundreds or thousands of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) returning to spawn annually. The fall run peaks in the stream in mid-November, and at this time of year, there is little to be seen besides the spawned-out carcasses.
Each hen salmon will lay about 2,500-3,000 eggs, which hatch out the following March. The young fry move toward the salt water within a month of hatching to begin feeding and growing for 3 or 4 years in the Pacific Ocean, when they return to begin the cycle again.
The sign here cautions people to not walk in the stream and crush the live salmon eggs buried in the gravel. Leaving the park, I made a quick stop in Port Orchard to check out the water birds from Etta Turner Park, and finally arrived at Manchester State Park at 3 p.m.
The M/V Kaleetan is one of the Washington State Ferries, and can carry up to 144 cars, seen here on the route from Bainbridge Island to Seattle and back. Having only an hour of good light left, I walked out to the point and scoped the birds in Rich Passage until the “sunlight” faded from the sky.
The area once called Middle Point, now Manchester State Park, was established in 1900 as a satellite to Fort Ward which is located on Bainbridge Island across Rich Passage. It was created to protect the Bremerton shipyards by operating a minefield in Rich Passage.
The U.S. Navy operated Middle Point until 1958, when it was decommissioned. A number of gun emplacements were planned throughout Puget Sound to protect the fleets and shipping from our several enemies. Spanish. Imperial Russian. Japanese. Take your pick. Gun Battery Mitchell remains, having never been fitted for the 3-inch rapid fire rifles at the center of its design. In fact, the guns were never delivered.
Most of the Scoters were on the Fort Ward side . . . ‘way too far off for photos. But after staring through the spotting scope at the little black specks on the other side of the Passage, I finally got views of a couple Black Scoter drakes, with little orange knobs at the base of their bills, and a female with a pale ‘cheek patch’. You’ll have to take my word for it . . .
It was a crappy view, but was the 608th
species I’ve seen this year.
Skokomish Delta eBird Checklist is Here
Twanoh State Park eBird Checklist is Here
Etta Turner Park eBird Checklist is Here
Manchester State Park eBird Checklist is Here
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