Casual Birding at Keystone

I took the ferry to Whidby island today and saw some firsts for me at the Keystone ferry terminal.

Leaving Port Townsend, a cute Pigeon Guillemot was feeding behind the ferry. I didn't have my binoculars with me, so could not clearly see birds on the crossing. I think I saw Murrelets and Cormorants though.

At Keystone, I was surprised to see two Great Blue Herons and an apparent nest on one of the buttresses the ferry docks against. Could they really be nesting there? I saw a pair again in the evening on one of the pilings, but don't know if it was the same pair. Lots of Cormorants were lined up near the small boat landing.

In the evening, while waiting for the ferry, I saw my first pair of Red-Breasted Mergansers feeding in the docking area. The other new bird for me was the Belted Kingfisher. They sure are noisy! By the road I saw a Red-Winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, and some others that were too quick for me to identify. A pair of Canada Geese fills out the list for today.