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Bird Sightings Week 2
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Rarities for Week 2:
| Mandarin Duck | 14-Jan-06 | Escapee. With Wood Ducks during major flood event |
| Dunlin | 09-Jan-02 | 25 swirling over boat docks SW of Marymoor |
| Dunlin | 13-Jan-00 | 35 landed in puddle on grass soccer fields |
| Franklin's Gull | 09-Jan-14 | |
| Common Redpoll | 10-Jan-08 | Glimpsed amongst a huge flock of Pine Siskin |
| Swamp Sparrow |
08-Jan-11 | Continuing from 06-Jan below weir |
Report for January 11, 2023 Birding at Marymoor
| After a beautiful pre-dawn, it was dark and cold this morning. For parts of the morning we had a few drops, and quite a few snow pellets, and occasional cold winds. The starting temp was 33 degrees, and it was 40 by 11:30, but I'm pretty sure it was colder somewhere in the middle there. Not terribly surprisingly, it was not terribly birdy. Highlights:
No owls this morning, and a rather poor showing of raptors, wrens, and finches. Misses today included Anna's Hummingbird, Killdeer, Cooper's Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Shrike, Marsh Wren, and Purple Finch. For the day, 52 species. For 2024, we're at 61 species. = Michael Hobbs |
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Report for January 12, 2023 Birding at Marymoor
| Yet again, the forecast was far worse than conditions on the ground. We had, at worst, a little mizzle this morning, with only 5 minutes of light rain at 10:45 and again at the end of the walk while we were at the Rowing Club. Matt did report that it was both windy and rainy pre-dawn, but that had let up by 7:15. It was even pretty birdy for the first hour-and-a-half, before reverting back to the vacant birdlessness we've had for much of the last several weeks.
Highlights:
We also had RIVER OTTERS in the slough again.
Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Short-billed and Ring-billed Gulls (but we did have a flock of flying black wing-tipped gulls that were almost certainly some mix of these), Red-tailed Hawk, and HOUSE FINCH.
For the day, 47 species plus "black wing-tipped gull(s)".
= Michael Hobbs
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Report for January 13, 2022 Birding at Marymoor
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The weather started bad but then got kind to us. Owling was pretty much rained out, and we had rain for about the first hour of the main walk. But then it all miraculously cleared off revealing quite a bit of blue sky. Not cold or windy either. However, the park was definitely flooded. We had no access along the slough south of the southern-most Dog Swim Beach, and the entire southern half of the Dog Meadow was closed off. Heading towards the boardwalk south from the East Meadow we had water over the trail, and a big Trail Closed sign at the start of the boardwalk. The boardwalk will remain closed until the water recedes, and Parks has a chance to check its condition.
Birds were here and there, but nothing too special showed up:
Highlights:
For the day, we managed 54 species.
= Michael Hobbs
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Report for January 14, 2021 Birding at Marymoor
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The day was gorgeous; the park was flooded. High water closed parts of the boardwalk and slough trail, making it impossible to walk the full loop; we had to probe in from each side separately. Three of us did make it to the Lake Platform (from the east), not that we found many species on the lake. Waterbirds have *so many* places to be, with all of the flooded fields in the area. And due to COVID, we again split into two groups to try and be safe. Still, we managed to find a very respectable number of species.
Highlights:
Singing has really picked up in the last two weeks. Species heard singing yesterday: ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, PACIFIC WREN, BEWICK’S WREN, HOUSE FINCH, SONG SPARROW, GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW, DARK-EYED JUNCO, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. The Bewick’s Wrens were really going at it, all over the park. A few other species were heard tuning up, but not really singing.
Misses yesterday included Ring-necked Duck, Marsh Wren, and Lincoln’s Sparrow.
For the day, 61 species; a very good start to 2021.
= Michael Hobbs
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 Mt. Rainier from the Viewing Mound. Photo by Michael Hobbs
 Flooding at the Lake Platform. Photo by Bob Asanoma
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Report for January 9, 2020 Birding at Marymoor
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34 degrees and sleet doesn’t make for a great day. It did clear up by the time we got to the Rowing Club, but still... It was cold and wet and gray and pretty birdless.
Highlights:
Passerines were generally few and far between.
We did manage 49 species, and I believe our year list is up to 60.
= Michael Hobbs
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Report for January 10, 2019 Birding at Marymoor
| While doing the walk, my car was broken into. They smashed my passenger-side window and grabbed the tote bag that had my rain gear and a bunch of other little things. Nothing of resale value. Pain in the neck, and large expense for me. It kind of ruined what was otherwise a very nice day.
Highlights:
For the day, 54 species == Michael Hobbs |
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Report for January 11, 2018 Birding at Marymoor
| I was joined by two intrepid souls today, trudging through unceasing, steady, soaking rain all morning. It was decidedly dark and wet, though not overly cold (low 40’s), and with only occasional bits of breeze. Needless to say, birds were often hard to come by. But we did have a few good birds.
Highlights:
We had some notable misses – no finches at all, and a single NORTHERN FLICKER was our only woodpecker. Other misses included Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Red-tailed Hawk, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow. Did I mention it was wet? Matt had car trouble and never made it to the park this morning; in his absence it’s no surprise we had no owls. Of course, if he read the weather forecast, maybe he had “car trouble, uh huh, uh-huh”... Did I mention the unceasing rain? [Nah. He’s willingly (stupidly???) intrepid when necessary, and I hope his car’s health improves quickly.] We had 9 species we didn’t have last week (all of the highlight birds except Wood Duck), so our 47 species today brought our 2018 list to 61 species. == Michael Hobbs |
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Report for January 12, 2017 Birding at Marymoor
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It was a balmy 18 degrees when we started this morning, but the weather was gorgeous, with no wind and plenty of sunshine. And there were birds. Frozen ponds and streams means waterfowl continue to be gathering in the slough and lake.
Highlights:
As we got to the boardwalk, we saw two COOPER'S HAWKS interacting. As we approached the lake platform, one of the hawks landed on the railing with a VIRGINIA RAIL in its talons. We seldom detect rails in winter, especially when it's this cold, so this was a sad shock.
At the lake, looking into the sun, we saw one merganser that we thought might be a Red-breasted (which would be new for the park), based mostly on impressions of shape, crest, and bill. After the walk, I viewed the lake again, and found many Commons but no Red-breasted.
Also from the lake platform, we had seen a flock of ducks on the water to the southeast that I couldn't identify at all. But in my late lake scan I found the flock of RUDDY DUCKS that I believe were what we had seen. Definitely a high count for that species.
Generally, we then saw almost everything we might expect at this time of year except gulls (only Ring-billed and GW today), Northern Shrike, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Pine Siskin.
For the day, including the deceased rail, 66 species!
= Michael Hobbs
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Report for January 12, 2016 Birding at Marymoor
| It was a balmy 18 degrees when we started this morning, but the weather was gorgeous, with no wind and plenty of sunshine. And there were birds. Frozen ponds and streams means waterfowl continue to be gathering in the slough and lake.
Highlights: Gr. Wh.-fronted Goose One in mixed goose flock As we got to the boardwalk, we saw two COOPER'S HAWKS interacting. As we approached the lake platform, one of the hawks landed on the railing with a VIRGINIA RAIL in its talons. We seldom detect rails in winter, especially when it's this cold, so this was a sad shock. At the lake, looking into the sun, we saw one merganser that we thought might be a Red-breasted (which would be new for the park), based mostly on impressions of shape, crest, and bill. After the walk, I viewed the lake again, and found many Commons but no Red-breasted. Photos appeared to show only Common and Hooded Mergansers on the lake. Also from the lake platform, we had seen a flock of ducks on the water to the southeast that I couldn't identify at all. But in my late lake scan I found the flock of RUDDY DUCKS that I believe were what we had seen. Definitely a high count for that species. Generally, we then saw almost everything we might expect at this time of year except gulls (only Ring-billed and GW today), Northern Shrike, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Pine Siskin. For the day, including the deceased rail, 66 species! - Michael Hobbs |
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Report for January 14, 2016 Birding at Marymoor
| We had a really nice morning at Marymoor today. Above freezing to start, and warming in the sunshine under clear skies with no wind. It was birdy on-and-off, though there were also surprisingly long stretches with not too much. And much of the birdiness involved only a few species seen in large numbers.
Highlights: 9 species of duck Including a few Greater Scaup The NORTHERN SHRIKE is frequently seen in the area north of fields 7-8-9. Today’s views were somewhat typical though. We saw the bird from the Viewing Mound, where we watched it fly from a tree to a bush to a soccer goalpost to another goalpost and then disappear. When we walked over that way, no shrike to be seen. Last week we walked past that area, and I finally played shrike calls. A couple of minutes later, when we’d walked on towards the Pea Patch, someone spotted it perched up back behind us in its usual spot. So this bird likes to hunker down a lot, but seems to stay in the same location. Some day it might even give someone a good look, but it seems shy. For the day, 57 species (same as last week). For the year, 64 species. == Michael Hobbs |
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Report for January 8, 2015 Birding at Marymoor
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0600 – 1300, Overcast all day, 39F - 41F. Pretty birdy – 45 species by the time we reached dog central. Good birds – Northern Saw-whet Owl, Barn Owl – both early by Matt. Horned Grebe on lake, Wood Duck, and good numbers of sparrows. 56 species – not too bad for a chilly, overcast January day. |
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Dark-eyed Junco. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Report for January 9, 2014 Birding at Marymoor
| Not a lot of bird action today, though it wasn’t cold, and the rain almost entirely held off. Sunrise was spectacular though.
Highlights: Pied-billed Grebe AT LEAST 63 on north end of lake So, just 49 species for the day. Four new species for the year puts us at 60 (plus scaup sp. today). == Michael Hobbs |
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Report for January 10, 2013 Birding at Marymoor
| Not the greatest weather in the world, but not bad. Fog pre-dawn, really quite nice from about 7:30-9:30, then turning dark and chilly with traces of drizzle and a sapping breeze occasionally. But temps were above freezing (barely), the wind often abated, and the precipitation didn’t even make viewing difficult except for the flat light. It was birdy sometimes and quiet others, but it made for a good day in all.
Highlights: Wood Duck Pair near mouth of slough We also had 3-4 COYOTES, before 8:00, and 3 RIVER OTTERS at the lake. For the day, 59 species! For 2013, we’re at 67 species. == Michael Hobbs |
 Male Hooded Mergansers ignore a Common Goldeneye taking off |
 American Robin |
 Calling Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Just a few of the Mew Gulls swirling overhead. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Close-up of some of the Mew Gulls. Photo by Hugh Jennings |
 Male Spotted Towhee. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
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Report for January 12, 2012 Birding at Marymoor
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I never did send out a message to Tweeters, since I left somewhat early to head to the airport, while Brian, Matt, and the rest continued around the mansion and to the Rowing Club. Gorgeous sunrise. It was cold, but not windy or raining. The birds were hard to come by, especially the small passerines, but ducks were plentiful in the slough until the jetski sped down towards the weir... Highlights: Greater White-fronted Goose At least 1 with Cacklers/Canadas For the day, 56 species. = Michael |
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 Male Downy Woodpecker working a blackberry cane. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Male Ring-necked Ducks at the Rowing Club. Photos by Ollie Oliver |
 Male Green-winged Teal doing the "walk on [frozen] water" trick. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Bewick's Wren, 2011-01-06. Photo by Lillian Reis |
Report for January 13, 2011 Birding at Marymoor
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It rained hard at times, and water levels are pretty high (5' reading at the gauge). There were some gusts of wind too. But it was in the upper 40's, and we had some pretty long stretches without rain and even a touch of sun. So the weather wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. |
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 Swamp Sparrow, 2011-01-08. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
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 Brown Creeper, 2011-01-08. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 2011-01-08. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 American Crow with dead vole, 2011-01-09. Photos by Lillian Reis |
Report for January 14, 2010
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We were blessed by several hours without precipitation this morning. We had a beautiful sunrise, it didn't start misting until 10:30, and the rain held off until noon. Not too terribly birdy, but a decent day none-the-less. Water levels are high, after all of this rain - about 5 feet at the weir gauge. There were some large puddles approaching the boardwalk, and the boardwalk itself was under as much as 4 inches of water in places. Highlights: |
 Another great purple and orange sunrise |
 Hairy Woodpecker west of the mansion. It looks to have worked these branch for a while. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Steller's Jay. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Adult White-crowned Sparrow at the Compost Piles. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Adult Cooper's Hawk next to the Community Gardens. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Male Common Goldeneye. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Originally identified (based on song) as a Winter Wren, upon close examination of the photo, it was determined to be an iPod. Photo and joke by Ollie Oliver |
 Mew Gulls. Photo by Lillian Reis |
 Cedar Waxwings. Streaking on the sides and flanks, as well as the absence of red tips on the wings, indicates that the near bird is a subadult. Photo by Lillian Reis. |
Report for January 8, 2009
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The rain took a hiatus long enough for our walk, not starting to fall until I got home. The wind, however, took no break. In the early morning it was fairly calm, but the winds just picked up more and more as the morning went on. Flooding was the story today. At the 2nd dog swim spot, water was clearly flowing from the slough to the interior of the park. The water gauge read 6.2 feet at the weir. The trail starts to flood at 4.1 feet, so it was clear we weren't going to get to the boardwalk via the slough trail. We instead worked our way around the south edge of the Dog Meadow, but that meadow was also extensively flooded (just not as deep). From the east side, we were able to get to the boardwalk, which was flooded too, and almost got to the lake platform. At the Rowing Club, we could not get anywhere near the slough or the dock due to high water. Birding was pretty slow, with both few birds and fairly low diversity. We did manage a few highlights though: American Wigeon One in the slough This was just our 5th-ever January sighting of Green Heron. We've seen Green Heron every week of the year except for 3 weeks in January and February. But these winter sightings are quite uncommon and quite a treat. For the day, 47 species (same as last week). Just got a note from KC Parks:
== Michael |
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Report for January 10, 2008
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Fourteen of us were out today, on a day that turned out nicer that it looked at first. We were admittedly beset by random drizzle squalls, but the wind seemed to blow mostly over us, and there were long periods of clearing. The light could have been better, and the birds seemed unhappy with the weather, but we didn't get soaked, and it wasn't too cold, and we did see some birds. |
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Report for January 10, 2007
We had a nicer morning at Marymoor than I was expecting. While cold and sometimes windy, it remained well above freezing and didn't snow except for a few flakes. No rain either, and moments of blue skies. It was even birdy in spots. Still, nothing truly notable showed up. Highlights: Trumpeter Swan Family of 4 flew over early, trumpeting Gadwall 16 in a large puddle in the Dog Meadow Red-breasted Sapsucker One near the windmill Hairy Woodpecker One at the base of a tree, calling incessantly Northern Shrike One atop a small tree in the Dog Meadow Purple Finch 2 males, 2 females opposite Rowing Club Western Meadowlark 2 near grass soccer fields The GADWALL count is at least a recent High Count for Marymoor, by a long shot. They've been relatively scarce the past few years. There was a huge flock (200+) of AMERICAN ROBINS on the grass soccer fields, mixed with about 100 starlings. The only geese we had was a mixed flock of CANADA and CACKLING that circled around for a long time. They may have landed for a few minutes, but they didn't stay. For the day, 54 species, bringing the 2007 total to 59. = Michael
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Bird Sightings Week 2
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