They sent back a photo for me to ID of a cool-looking bird riding the swell out in Puget Sound. I had just come ... one of the coolest-looking water ducks around; a red-breasted merganser.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Puget Sound is about 100 miles long. Its shores touch several large cities, including Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Olympia, and Bremerton. The Sound, called "Whulge" by the Salish ...