King Eider ~ Another Vagrant

This is the winter for wonderful, unusual birds.   There are snowy owls virtually everywhere in Oregon and Washington.  The online chat groups are buzzing.  The owls in Albany, Oregon,  and Vancouver, Tacoma and Edmonds, Washington are getting the most attention.  Since these are major population centers, many interested folks are able to see  birds that they normally never would see.  Mixed blessing for the owls, as in some cases, they are being loved too much, to the point of harassment. When a bird can't feed and rest undisturbed, it causes stress. Many people want to get as close as possible, which causes the owls to fly away.  If this happens over and over, stress results.  Most birds will eventually end up in a less populated area where they can hunt and rest.  But think of this when you see flocks of shorebirds on the beach.  Repeated chasing by people and dogs can be exhausting, stressful, and prevent the birds from getting a decent meal.  Enough on that.

There are two other great  birds to check out this fall.
An emperor goose is spending the winter on a golf course just north of here and a king eider duck (yep, like the eider down in very good comforters) is also just north, about mid-Washington state on the coast.  Even though this is a female king eider, she is only jokingly referred to as a 'queen eider'.  To be correct, she's a female king, which sounds funny but is accurate.
Anyway, these are also birds of the very far north.  These heavy-duty ducks spend the winter in an area humans consider very inhospitable.  This bird probably originated in eastern Siberia, or far north Alaska or Canada, according a birding friend in England, where they are a bit less unusual.  She would normally spend the winter in the Bering Sea area.  Quite a climate difference from off-shore Washington state!
As more and more people become interested and aware of birds, more and more reports of 'unusual' sightings occur.  Probably birds have moved around, out of the territories that we have defined for them, for ages. Literally.  I think about the vast areas of eastern Oregon and Washington.   Miles and miles of open country with a few scattered ranches.  I'll bet there have been what we call rarities occuring there forever.  It's wicked cold and windy over there, perfect for the occasional gyrfalcon and snowy owl that we humans see and rejoice over.
  We are what has changed, not the birds. 
I'm glad these rarities are here.  They're getting write-ups in the local papers like visiting celebrities.  As more people pay attention and become interested, maybe more care and attention will be paid when birds are threatened by human incursion. 
This is a year when  northern birds are having a tough time making a living and they've moved to new digs for the season.  Please get to know your new neighbors and make them welcome and safe.