After two weeks of being housebound by near constant rain and with another 10 days of rain forecast, I finally decided I would go birding at Port Orchard without birding Belfair because I didn’t want to get caught in a downpour while carrying my photo gear. At least in Port Orchard I’m seldom more than 10-15 minutes from the protection of the Prius.
Ironically, workers were power washing marina walkways, scaring most of the birds away. Though the large flocks were absent, a few brave souls bobbed in the marina. This little female Bufflehead was actually quite cooperative,
and I liked the subtle reflections in the water.
Not all the Barrow’s Goldeneyes were driven off by the workers, this guy and a few others were still feeding on the barnacles on the piers a the end of the marina.
There might even have been more Horned Grebes
than usual, and, unlike most wild birds, they’re not particularly shy. I was wondering if they would be in breeding plumage or not, but none of the ones I saw showed any signs of changing color yet.
I’ll have to admit that I was disappointed that there wasn’t a single Hooded Merganser to be seen, male of female.