Wildlife Updates. We have added some new email addresses and need to explain that feedback tells us that wildlife reports are what people like most about the updates. We depend on your passing the information on to us and we thank those who passed on this information. If you want credit for your stories and pictures, let us know as we presume anonymity.
Seals. Last year we had about 20 seals on one of local floats, this year a few less with about 15 seen every morning. As the seals leave the float the cormorants take their place.
Sea Lions. We have only seen one sea lion this year, whereas last year there were many seen feeding on small salmon.
Ravens. Periodically the ravens can be seen flying near the shoreline. We haven't seen them fly over the water yet and we mostly see them around the Illahee Preserve.
Mergansers. Only a few Red-breasted Mergansers have been sighted this year along the Illahee shoreline.
Scoters. The Surf Scoters are back in about the same numbers as last year. They are the ones that make the whistling noise when they take off. They are usually out in deeper water as they are deep divers and feed on shellfish.
Mallards. There is a flock of about 30 mallards that seem to be making the Illahee North detention pond their winter home.
Wigeon. The American Wigeon are common visitors to the nearshore area and local ponds. We used to see big numbers at Schutt's Point and they could be seen flying away whenever an eagle would fly over.
Golden Eyes. This area seems to be a wintering spot for both the Common Golden Eye and the Barrows Golden Eye. We had a report on Saturday of a large flock of the Barrows Golden Eye along the northern Illahee waterfront. Earlier in the week we had a few Common Golden Eyes north of the Illahee Community Dock.
Cormorants. The cormorants are back this winter, as stated earlier, spending most of the day on area floats.
Bald Eagles. There are at least two regular Bald Eagles frequenting the Illahee waterfront. We had a report a few weeks ago of a Bald Eagle chasing down a seagull. This was a first for that long time waterfront resident.
Deer. At the County Commissioners' hearing for the Illahee Community Plan our planner, Katrina Knutson, noted that she saw an albino deer while looking over the area for the View Protection Zone. We just had a picture sent to us earlier this week of two deer, one of which is partially white, which we are attaching.
Send Reports and Pictures. Please send us your reports and pictures of wildlife and we will try to forward them on.
Jim Aho
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