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Bird Sightings Week 18
April 30 - May 6*

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• Canada Goose - Still nesting on both Osprey platforms, as well as on the new (but not used) Bald Eagle nest visible from the Lake Platform
• Ring-necked Duck - Two males in the slough; I'm surprised they are still here
• Mourning Dove - One flew by where we park (FOS) just before we headed to the Rowing Club
• Vaux's Swift - 2-4 over the slough below the weir after we walked the main loop (FOS)
• Least (???) Sandpiper - Two flew above tree-height downslough.  Looked good for Least, but can't say for sure
• Cooper's Hawk - One, our first in more than two months
• Warbling Vireo - Several singing, but our only looks were at the Rowing Club (FOS)
• Swainson's Thrush - Heard calling pre-dawn, but none singing and none seen.  Still early for them.
• CHIPPING SPARROW - One from the Viewing Mound in the area just cleared of blackberries (FOS)
• Bullock's Oriole - First-year male(s?) along the slough.  Several sightings.  Singing
• Yellow Warbler - Several singing males (FOS), some even seen well (a quality not present in quite a few species today)
• Black-headed Grosbeak - 2-3 males, and maybe heard some singing (FOS)

Male Black-headed Grosbeak, East Meadow.  Photo by Michael Hobbs

It was a miserable Mayvember morning today, with temps dropping from 50 to 47 degrees while the mizzle turned to drizzle and then steady rain.   The first-week-of-May survey is usually the best survey of the entire year (at least, the one with the highest species count).  And we did have a lot species by the end, but sometimes we weren’t having much fun.    There were good birds and some surprises.

• SNOW GEESE – Distant flock of ~150 flying north.  Our latest spring sighting for Snow Geese ever, though we did have a large flock 2018-05-03
• Cinnamon Teal – Male seen from the Lake Platform, and (probably the same) one seen at the Rowing Club
• Green-winged Teal – Getting late – maybe 5 at the mitigation ponds seen from the Rowing Club
• Ring-necked Duck – Getting late – pair seen from the Lake Platform
• Eurasian Collared-Dove – One flew north from the East Meadow
• Mourning Dove – Matt heard one singing pre-dawn.  First of Year (FOY)
• LEAST SANDPIPER – Matt heard a few small flocks fly up the slough predawn (FOY)
• Caspian Tern – Two over lake (FOY)
• Hammond’s Flycatcher – One calling and posing, east edge of Dog Meadow (FOY)
• Swainson’s Thrush – One calling unseen from the east edge of Dog Meadow.  Matt heard more “whit” calls predawn (FOY)
• American Pipit – 4-5 in the Dog Meadow
• Lincoln’s Sparrow – One singing! predawn near the Viewing Mound
• Bullock’s Oriole – Male singing, calling, near weir
• Yellow Warbler – Several heard singing, one seen (FOY)
• Yellow-rumped Warbler – Many, many, many
• Townsend’s Warbler – Surprised to see one in the cottonwoods near the east end of the boardwalk
• Western Tanager – Two silent males at the south end of the Dog Meadow (FOY)
• Black-headed Grosbeak – Female with the tanagers, singing male from the boardwalk (FOY)

• CINNAMON TEAL – Male in slough, and seen at the lake.  This, and next week, are the best weeks of the year for this species at Marymoor
• Northern Shoveler – about 2 dozen in a mixed flock of ducks far out on the lake
• Green-winged Teal – getting late for them, but still quite a few
• Common Goldeneye – our group had a flyby bird – 2nd latest ever spring sighting
• MOURNING DOVE – Jordan’s group had four; my group had only one, First of Year (FOY)
• Great Horned Owl – Matt saw one predawn (FOY)
• Merlin – both groups saw one
• WESTERN KINGBIRD – Jordan’s group saw two over near the Model Airplane Field
• SWAINSON’S THRUSH – Matt heard them doing two different calls, predawn (FOY)
• Western Meadowlark – my group had one north of Fields 7-8-9
• BULLOCK’S ORIOLE – at least 3, including both males and a female (FOY)
• NASHVILLE WARBLER – Jordan’s team saw one near the Dog Area portapotties (FOY)
• Western Tanager – pretty good showing for both groups
• BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK – several singing males (FOY)

• Northern Shoveler ~ 25
• Gadwall ~ 12
• EURASIAN WIGEON – 1 male, ONLY OUR 2nd EVER AT MARYMOOR (FOY)
• American Wigeon ~ 12
• Green-winged Teal ~ 10
• LESSER SCAUP ~ 12 – Latest spring sighting ever

• Rock Pigeon – two
• Vaux’s Swift – about 10
• Virginia Rail – adult and a tiny black fluff ball baby along the boardwalk
• American Coot – just one; last until fall?
• LEAST SANDPIPER – two below the weir
• Wilson’s Snipe – one below the weir; last until fall?
• GREATER YELLOWLEGS – one below the weir
• COMMON LOON – one on the lake
• Lincoln’s Sparrow – two

Townsend's Solitaire, East Meadow.  Cell photo by Michael Hobbs

Today’s walk was notable for birds not seen. We had no flycatchers, barely 4 warbler species, and only 1 vireo. Additionally, many species were being particularly hard to get sightings of. We heard probably at least 10 BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, but only saw one at the Rowing Club, for instance. And our final count for the day was a little disappointing. But it was still a really good day – mostly sunny, windless, warm (but not too hot), and there were birds.

Highlights:

• SNOW GOOSE – Flock of ~120 flying north!
• CINNAMON TEAL – two males and a female below weir. Later 2 males in slough. Male and female from Lake Platform. 3 birds? 5? 7? New for 2018
• Eurasian Collared-Dove – one along northeast edge of park
• Spotted Sandpiper – one below weir – First of 2018
• Green Heron – two along slough. Pair?
• Western Screech-Owl – one heard predawn
• Great Horned Owl – one heard west of park entrance predawn
• Pileated Woodpecker – one probably heard, one glimpsed
• Hutton’s Vireo – Margaret heard one singing
• Hermit Thrush – one heard predawn
• American Pipit – one over Fields 7-8-9
• Western Meadowlark – one near Fields 7-8-9
• BULLOCK’S ORIOLE – male singing SW of mansion just after 6:00am. First of 2018
• Orange-crowned Warbler – maybe 4 total
• Wilson’s Warbler – one heard
• Black-headed Grosbeak – heard about 10, saw one.

Before today, our latest Spring sighting of SNOW GOOSE was 2018-03-01. Prior to this year, we’d never had one later than FEBRUARY 10! Also, we’ve rarely had more than 10 Snow Geese on any one day, and have only had a flock of more than 50 five times before ever, twice in October, twice in November, and once in early January. So today’s sighting was exceptional for Marymoor. Looking on eBird, there are occasional large flocks in early May in the county, though.

This was our 4th earliest SPOTTED SANDPIPER; earlier ones were 2016-04-21, 2016-04-28, and 2005-05-01.

The BULLOCK’S ORIOLE was our 5th earliest ever. We’ve had them 3 times on May 1st previously, with our earliest on 2016-04-21.

Misses today included Gadwall, Bufflehead, Pied-billed Grebe, Band-tailed Pigeon, Vaux’s Swift, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Warbling Vireo, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and Western Tanager; all those species have been seen more than half of the past 25 years during Week 18.

Sunday, Matt & I had CALIFORNIA QUAIL (heard well from across the slough), PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, all then new for 2018.

For today, 64 species. For 2018, I believe we’re up to 122 species.

== Michael Hobbs

Spotted Sandpiper below weir.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Adult Bald Eagle in the morning light.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Male Cinnamon Teal across the slough, just below the weir.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Flock of around 120 Snow Geese.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

A close-up shows a good mix of adults (white underwings with black limited to a terminal triangle) and juveniles (slightly dusky underwings with black continuing into the secondaries).  Indicated a successful breeding season last year.  Photo by Hugh Jennings.

Male Common Merganser with a fish.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Anna's Hummingbird on a nest built last year near the start of the boardwalk, being reused this spring.  Photo by Hugh Jennings.

Male Red-winged blackbird.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Western Meadowlark.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Highlights:

• Canada Goose – at least 3 clutches of goslings below the weir
• Spotted Sandpiper – two on far side of slough below weir – First of 2017
• Ring-billed Gull – one adult – getting late for them
• California Gull – two adults, one subadult – getting late for them
• Barn Owl – seen just south of Cirque du Soleil at about 5:10am
• Hairy Woodpecker – at least 2
• Merlin – one flew over us as we started the walk and landed NE of mansion
• American Pipit – six on grass soccer fields
• Black-headed Grosbeak – saw one, heard about two more – First of 2017
• For warblers, we had 1-2 ORANGE-CROWNED, a handful or two of “Audubon’s” YELLOW-RUMPS, one heard-only BLACK-THROATED GRAY, and one heard-only WILSON’S. Pathetic.

We did have a LONG-TAILED WEASEL that gave us a few glimpses.

Today, not amazing, with 58 species, and low counts for many birds. Two new species for the year. I believe we’re up to 127 species for 2017.

== Michael Hobbs

Female Anna's Hummingbird on a nest near the start of the boardwalk.

Photo by Bob Asanoma

Highlights:

Wood Ducks                         Many sightings, plus ducklings
Hooded Merganser               One lone female, but 7 Hooded Merganser
                                                    ducklings with a Wood Duck female
Common Merganser              Flock of ~17, maybe 20 total
Bald Eagle                             At least 5-6 juveniles and 3-4 adults
Sharp-shinned Hawk             Juvenile, East Meadow. First of Year, surprisingly
American Coot                     One still there, a friendless waif
Spotted Sandpiper                Only shorebird exc. Killdeer – 1 at weir, 1 at lake
Anna’s Hummingbird             Nest near start of boardwalk has at least 1 baby
MERLIN                              Very quick flyby
HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHER – one seen giving partial songs, Dog Meadow
Pacific-slope Flycatcher         One near Hammond’s giving only 1 or 2 calls,  FOY
Warbling Vireo                      Many, lots of singing
Savannah Sparrow                 My count - ~60 !
Western Tanager                    3 seen just after 6:00 – FOY
Black-headed Grosbeak         Ubiquitous, loud

Week 18 (ending today) has the highest cumulative species count of any week of the year at Marymoor, so we were anticipating a big species count. But we were a little disappointed. There’s what looks like possible shorebird habitat below the weir, but the only shorebirds we had today were KILLDEER and SPOTTED SANDPIPER. We’ve had 5 other species of shorebird in Week 18 in the past. And we only had 5 warbler species, with nothing new for the year – Nashville, MacGillivray’s, Yellow, Townsend’s have all been recorded previously in Week 18. And while we were happy to get two Empids, this is traditionally one of the 2 best weeks for Western Kingbird. But not today.

Still, it’s hard to complain too loudly. Nice weather, 64 species, and 4 new for 2016 to get us to 120.

== Michael Hobbs

Male American Goldfinch.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Spotted Sandpiper.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Killdeer.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Bewick's Wren.  Photos by Bob Asanoma

Female Wood Duck with 2 Wood Duck ducklings, and 5 of 7 of the Hooded Merganser ducklings she hatched.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Wood Duck - dazzlingly gorgeous, or overly gaudy.  You decide.
Photo by Ollie Oliver

Band-tailed Pigeon.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Band-tailed Pigeon reminding us how they got their name.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Anna's Hummingbird feeding young at the nest.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Anna's Hummingbird at the nest.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Adult and two juvenile Bald Eagles in a thermal.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Sharp-shinned Hawk.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Female Brown-headed Cowbird.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Red-breasted Sapsucker at the nest hole.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Singing Common Yellowthroat.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Bewick's Wren, 2016-05-01.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Short-eared Owl with American Crow, 2016-05-01.  Photo by Kathryn Speirs

Short-eared Owl, 2016-05-01.  Photo by Kathryn Speirs

The predawn was great. I got to the Viewing Mound at about 5:15, and immediately had a BARN OWL fly right past me. Sharon arrived just in time to see the bird fly off to the east. We kept searching for another glimpse, but what we found instead was our first-of-year SHORT-EARED OWL. It was much harder to see than the Barn, being closer in tones to the grasses and bushes it was flying over. It’s flight pattern was quite different (more butterfly-like, instead of the steady, slow flight of the Barn Owl). We got good looks at the wing markings to confirm it. Sharon and I were very happy, but wondered where Matt was, since we were parked next to his car. Just then, he called out from the darkness, urging us to follow him. We racewalked towards the boardwalk, stopping at the willows at the north edge of the “Mysterious Thicket” area, where a GRAY FLYCATCHER could still be heard singing a few phrases. Frustration #1: We never saw the flycatcher. But Matt had heard full songs, and the phrases Sharon and I heard were definitive for Gray. Gray Flycatcher is NEW FOR MARYMOOR PARK, our 229th species!

Highlights:

Green-winged Teal                Pair below weir; getting late for them
Common Loon                      1 high over East Meadow, 1 far out on lake. Same? Great Blue Heron                  Grum, Grum, Grum sounds from heronry. Chicks?
LEAST SANDPIPER           3 on far side of slough below weir. First of Year
Eurasian Collared-Dove        One flying east from Climbing Rock
SHORT-EARED OWL        Flushed later from edge of East Meadow – FOY
GRAY FLYCATCHER        See above. Obviously FOY :)
N. Rough-winged Swallow    2 just above weir, 1 perched on branch – FOY
Orange-crowned Warbler     About a dozen that we were able to see or hear
NASHVILLE WARBLER    1 behind new Rowing Club building
MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER 1 singing at “Mysterious Thicket” – FOY
Yellow Warbler                      Saw 1 singing male, heard at least 1 more – FOY
Yellow-rumped Warbler         Probably in the area of 200 !
Wilson’s Warbler                   2 singing males, seen by few – FOY
Black-headed Grosbeak         Saw 1 male, heard at least 1 more – FOY
Western Meadowlark            1 at East Meadow

Species continue to arrive early, or at the early end of things. Today’s was our earliest MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER – our previous earliest was 08-May-97!  Our YELLOW WARBLER ties for 2nd earliest, beaten only by 29-Apr-05. Our BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK is 3rd earliest, with our earliest being 24-Apr-05.

The huge numbers of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS made the day frustrating, since there were scores of birds to look at, and virtually all were the same species. NONE of the birds responded to recordings (except for Golden-crowned Kinglet); all of the warblers were very busy feeding and kept moving at quite a pace through the leaves. As I said, we never saw the Gray Flycatcher. I managed to see both the Wilson’s Warblers, but they both disappeared before I could give directions. Only Sharon saw the MacGillivray’s Warbler, though it sang from very close to the trail. It took us probably 20 minutes before all of us saw the Nashville Warbler. Birds were singing sporadically, with few teed up nicely where we could see them.

But it’s hard to stay frustrated when there were so many great birds that we did find. For the day, 70 species. For the year, adding EIGHT species, we’re up to 118 species.

== Michael Hobbs

Northern Rough-winged Swallow.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Barn Swallow.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Golden-crowned Kinglet.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Rufous Hummingbird showing green feathers at the shoulder.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Anna's Hummingbird.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Black-headed Grosbeak.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Western Meadowlark.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Mule Deer at the Rowing Club parking lot.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Female Spiny Baskettail damselfly, newly emerged.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Highlights for the day:

Nine first-of-year birds:

Yellow-headed Blackbird - I think only the 3rd for the park, seen early flying from the southernmost conifers by the mansion towards the soccer fields north of the pea patch.
Bullock's Oriole - one flew over from near the normal nesting area in dog central [where the herons are nesting] -- it flew towards the mansion and we didn't see it again.
Black-headed Grosbeak - several singing, good views of one or two males.
Western Tanager - after struggling to get glimpses of one way up in a cottonwood, we found a small tree with four of five in the middle of the dog area.
Yellow Warbler - one posed, singing for extended periods. Maybe another one singing later
Black-throated Gray Warbler - one at the southeast end of the off-leash area.
Wilson's Warbler - a few singing, one seen decently.
Warbling Vireo - several singing, great looks at a couple
Sora - one 'queeping' at us from the marsh boardwalk [along with a couple very close Virginia Rail that managed to remain invisible despite being at our feet].

Other fun birds:

Evening Grosbeaks - several fly-overs, eventually I think most everyone got looks at them.
Cinnamon Teal - one bright male in near the south end of the slough.
American Pipits - a couple early in the fields near the climbing rock
Barn Owl - one hunting early, seen from the model airplane field and the viewing mound.

Out on the lake, we had a Western Grebe and a probable loon [most likely Common, given history] waaaay out there.

Baby Great Blue Herons are in at least one or more of the nests at the heronry. Baby Anna's Hummingbirds at the Rowing Club nest. Baby Mallard clutches in a few places. Osprey, Bald Eagle & Red-tailed Hawk all seen on nests, as well as Black-capped Chickadee and Northern Flicker at nest holes.

Five mammals [deer, bunny, squirrel, beaver, coyote]

All five woodpeckers, six warblers, fun crowd .....

I believe our total for the day was 72 species ---

Throw in first of year Cassin's Vireo & Evening Grosbeak seen over the past week by Sharon, and I think our year total is at 122.

Yeah, a good day.
Matt Bartels Seattle, WA

Male Common Yellowthroat singing.  Photo by Jann Ledbetter

Male Yellow Warbler singing.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Great Blue Herons on the nest.  Photo by Jann Ledbetter

Male Western Tanager.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Cinnamon Teal.  Photo by Jann Ledbetter

Female Mallard with ducklings.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Black-headed Grosbeak.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Northern Flickers, 2014-04-28.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Northern Flicker, 2014-04-28.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male "Audubon's" Yellow-rumped Warbler, 2014-04-28.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Young deer, 2014-04-28.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Bewick's Wren, 2014-04-27.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Beaver, 2014-04-27.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

We stumbled around (four of us had done a King County Big Day on Wednesday, and had gotten VERY little sleep) for about 4 1/2 hours under too-beautiful sunny skies. It was freezing (literally) when we started, but it warmed up fast. There were definitely birds about, but there weren’t many perched up singing so we had to work at getting looks at just about everything. But it was a very good day.

Highlights:

Common Goldeneye            1 female. Latest spring sighting ever
Least Sandpiper                   Early, there were still 3 in Lot B
Osprey                                3 (!) adults at nest
Red-tailed Hawk                 Definitely nesting on odd-snag nest again
Great Blue Heron                Several young in nests, some with wing feathers
Virginia Rail                         One called along boardwalk
Band-tailed Pigeon               Two flew over us
All 5 typical woodpeckers    (Downy heard-only)
N. R.-winged Swallow         A couple at lake
Warbling Vireo                    Many, with lots of singing
Hermit Thrush                      Saw a couple
American Pipit                    
Orange-crowned Warbler    Many, with lots of singing
Wilson’s Warbler                 Heard several, none would let us see
Western Tanager                  At least 3 (males & female) in heronry cottonwoods
Lincoln’s Sparrow               One east of boardwalk
Red Crossbill                       At least 1

For the day, 69 species. WESTERN TANAGER were new for the year.

== Michael Hobbs

Warbling Vireo.  Photo by Brian Bell

Female Western Tanager.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Warbling Vireo.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Song Sparrow singing.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Purple Finch at the park office feeder.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Bushtit.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Long-tailed Weasel, 2013-05-01.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Nashville Warbler, 2013-05-01.  Photo by Graham Hutchinson

Least Sandpipers, 2013-04-28.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Warbling Vireo, 2013-04-27.  Photo by Dough Schurman

Great Blue Heron, 2013-04-27.  Photo by Dough Schurman

Not quite from Marymoor Park, this Bobcat photo is from a neighbor directly
across West Lake Sammamish Parkway from Marymoor West on 2013-05-03.
Photo by Bill Dickson

The rain was mostly just mist, and there was no wind. It was dark, but I really expected things to be more active at Marymoor than they were. It was quiet! We tried walking slowly, listening carefully, pishing, etc., but we couldn't come up with much.

Highlights:

Mallard                                             Female with ~8 small ducklings
Northern Shoveler                             ~5 in a flyby with a dozen possible wigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon                            4 flew over the windmill
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE   2 near Compost Piles
Pileated Woodpecker                       Near start of boardwalk
WESTERN KINGBIRD                  East Meadow, briefly - thanks Lillian
Black-headed Grosbeak                   1+ singing, seen poorly - First of Spring
Evening Grosbeak                             1 heard flying overhead

For warblers, we had only a few YELLOW-RUMPED, 2+ ORANGE CROWNED, and several COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. Besides that, not even a Wilson's today.

This was just the 4th time EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE has been seen at Marymoor, the other three times being 2008-04-11, 2009-04-16, and 2012-04-11.  So all of the sightings have been in the April/May timeframe.

For mammals, Matt saw deer, and we had muskrat and RACCOON (Rowing Club) along with the usual cottontails and gray squirrels.

Back on April 23, Dasha Gudalewicz had a PURPLE MARTIN.

For the day, nearly 60 species. For the year, I think we're up to 124, adding the martin, collared-dove, and Black-headed Grosbeak.

== Michael Hobbs

Pileated Woodpecker.  Photo by Hugh Jennings
Western Kingbird in the East Meadow.  Photo by Lillian Reis

The weather was less than ideal, with solid overcast, and long stretches of light rain, but it was about as birdy as Marymoor has ever been. It was a phenomenal day that started with shorebirds - 6 species by the end of the day, which is unprecedented for the park. Most of them were at the two muddy puddle-ponds in the grass-and-gravel parking lot north of the grass soccer fields. They were not the only special birds, though. Passerine spring migration was in full swing too.

Highlights:

Cooper's Hawk                         Adult near Compost Piles
Killdeer                                     Several
LESSER YELLOWLEGS        1 with the peeps before 6:00am
SOLITARY SANDPIPER       1 with the peeps
WESTERN SANDPIPER        1 with the Least Sandpipers
LEAST SANDPIPER               About 15
Wilson's Snipe                          1 flyby. Getting late for snipe
Vaux's Swift                              Maybe 30. Rather a lot, really
Empidonax sp.                          Two. Maybe Hammond's and Willow???
Cassin's Vireo                           One, silent
Warbling Vireo                         2, not together, silent
Pacific Wren                             Still one - latest spring sighting ever
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE  One near windmill
Hermit Thrush                           2, not together
American Robin                        First fledgling of the year
American Pipit                          Megan and Ollie had about 28
Orange-crowned Warbler        Quite a few, most silent
Yellow-rumped Warbler           Numbers down a tad perhaps but still lots
Black-throated Gray Warbler    2 or more in maples
Wilson's Warbler                      Saw 2, heard several more
Western Tanager                      3 males
Black-headed Grosbeak           1 male singing at Rowing Club
Evening Grosbeak                     Twice heard overhead

Amazing to get a new park bird (WESTERN SANDPIPER - park bird #218),  two birds seen only twice before (SOLITARY SANDPIPER and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE), a 5th-ever sighting (LESSER YELLOWLEGS), a 6th-ever sighting (LEAST SANDPIPER), and just the 10th-ever spring sighting of BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, all in the same day! For that matter, CASSIN'S VIREO has been seen fewer than 20 times, and Tuesday Sharon Aagaard had a SORA, another sub-20 species.

And I was just noting that I have records from just about exactly 1000 visits to Marymoor Park now.

For the day, a whopping 77 species in 5 hours. For the week, counting my scouting trip on Sunday, Sharon's scouting trip on Monday, and our King County Big Day visit on Tuesday, another 11 species to get us to 88 species for the week!

Oh, and 17 species added to the park year list, bringing the 2011 total to 124 species (Sora (5/2), Solitary Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Mourning Dove (5/3), Cassin's Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Purple Martin (5/1), Townsend's Solitaire, American Pipit, Nashville Warbler (5/3), Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson's Warbler (5/3), Western Tanager (5/3), Black-headed Grosbeak (5/2) )

== Michael Hobbs

Western Sandpiper.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Western Sandpiper.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Solitary Sandpiper with Killdeer.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

[From Tweeters post by Brian H. Bell]

Hammond's Flycatcher.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.  Photo by Scott Ramos

A cold morning warmed nicely to a gorgeous day.  Only 37 degrees to start, though, and it didn't really get warm until we were nearly done.  It wasn't all that birdy, but things are definitely switching over from winter to summer birds.

Highlights:

Matt heard and saw a SORA at the lake platform well before 6:00 a.m.  We searched the area during the normal walk, and saw nothing.  However we did get two whinny calls in reply to the iPod.

Other firsts for 2009:

Caspian Tern            Matt heard 1 while watching the Sora
Vaux's Swift             1 or 2 over the East Meadow
Purple Martin            2 checking out the gourds
Yellow Warbler        2 singing males
Wilson's Warbler      2 singing males

We also had the first ducklings of the year, a female WOOD DUCK with 8-9 small ones, seen from the lake platform.  (I was going to say they were at the "mouth of the slough", but isn't the mouth the place where a river flows *into* a lake?  What's the name for the other end of a lake-to-lake river?)

Lots of BUSHTITS around nesting.   We also had 3 looks at HAIRY WOODPECKER.

Otherwise, it was pretty quiet.  Most of the ducks are gone, as well as the grebes, and cormorants.  No Wilson's Snipe, and only one gull.  No Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

Our last bird of the day, though, was a nice HERMIT THRUSH at the Rowing Club.

For the day, 58 species.  For the year, we're at at 124.

== Michael

Marc Hoffmann's nice portrait of a pair of Common Mergansers

A really good day.  The weather didn't quite live up to the billing, as it was often cloudy, and almost started drizzling.  The birds were active.

Highlights:

A pair of COOPER'S HAWKS was seen near the mansion.  She was still in sub-adult plumage, while he was a nice-looking adult.  Sharon tracked her movements back to a nest, and we got to see her settled down in the nest.

Scott Ramos saw a SHORT-EARED OWL in the East Meadow early.

A PILEATED WOODPECKER was at the base of a six-inch, very lively-looking willow at the very edge of the slough.  The woodpecker was practically standing in the mud, before hopping up the trunk and flying off across the river.  Weird.

Ryan Merrill heard a CASSIN'S VIREO at the south end of the dog area, which eventually we got looks at.  We also had one WARBLING VIREO.

We had at least 3 HERMIT THRUSH.

For warblers, we had 5+ ORANGE-CROWNEDS, at least 2 NASHVILLES, 100+ YELLOW-RUMPED, and quite a few WILSON'S WARBLERS, plus COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

Along the boardwalk was a singing male BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

Ryan Merrill noted a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE which we watched fly north over the
Community Gardens.  He also got us on a flying EVENING GROSBEAK.

Perhaps the strangest thing was after everyone else left.  I went over to the 187th Ave viewpoint on East Lake Samm Parkway where I was scoping the north end of the lake, looking in vain for a reprise of the Purple Martin I'd seen early, and also in vain for the CASPIAN TERN I saw yesterday.  What I did see, along the west side of the lake between the viewing platform and the new dock was a SWAN.  I was too far to get an ID, but I wonder if it was the same Tundra Swan that was seen at Juanita Bay Park a week or two ago.

For the day, 70 species.

== Michael

Composite shot of one of the Nashville Warblers

Ryan Merrill's photo of a Nashville Warbler

Bewick's Wren

Savannah Sparrow

Ryan Merrill's shot of the Cassin's Virel

Adult Bald Eagle

Male Black-headed Grosbeak in a birch tree, from the boardwalk

Baby Mallards at the Rowing Club

Cooper's Hawk pair (male on right) northeast of mansion.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Female Cooper's Hawk at nest.  She's still in subadult plumage.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Anna's Hummingbird (male), photo by Ollie Oliver

Pileated Woodpecker, photo by Ollie Oliver

It was cold, blustery, occasionally damp. Actually not too much precipitation (stopped minutes after 6:00 a.m.), but definitely too much wind. There were 11 of us today, and we had to work hard for the birds because they were not often perched in the open to be seen (except for the goldfinches).

One HUGE SURPRISE today were 2 SAGE THRASHER. These were seen flying from the compost piles to the grass soccer fields 7-8-9, where they proceeded to run along the logs on the east edge of the field and then work the grass along the north edge. Later they flew back to the compost piles. I'm afraid I first identified these as American Pipit - hey, they're both medium-sized buffy birds that run along the ground, right? But something niggled at my mind, and when Sharon seemed interested in a closer look, I decided that we ought to approach. It took a second for the mind to come to grips with the mis-identification. "Hey, wait-a-minute..." They were first seen around 10:00, and were still at the compost piles a half hour later.

Other highlights:

CINNAMON TEAL             2 males, 1 female near weir
Common Merganser             Several promenading down the slough
Cooper's Hawk                    Pair(?) flirting over mansion
Vaux's Swift                         Half-dozen or more at lake
Warbling Vireo                    Several seen
N. Rough-winged Swallow  A couple at lake, 1 at Pea Patch
Swainson's Thrush               One glimpsed, heard "whit"
Hermit Thrush                      Two beyond first footbridge
Orange-crowned Warbler    Many seen, heard
Wilson's Warbler                 3+ males seen
Western Tanager                  1 male from Rowing Club dock
FOX SPARROW                 1 in Pea Patch - latest spring date ever
Black-headed Grosbeak       Abundant, males + 1 female

Tuesday, I had a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER; we had no flycatchers at all today.   And a previous note to Tweeters from Brian Meilleur on Monday listed Cassin's Vireo and Nashville Warbler.

So, 66 species today, and with the Cassin's Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Sage Thrasher, Nashville Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Western Tanager, and Black-headed Grosbeak all new for the week, the 2007 list is up to 119 species.

== Michael

Cinnamon Teal nestled into the reeds across the weir.

Ollie Oliver's photo of one of the Sage Thrashers.

Louise Rutter's photo of a Sage Thrasher at the Compost Piles

American Goldfinch

Female Rufous Hummingbird in the Pea Patch

Louise Rutter's photo of a Lincoln's Sparrow at the Pea Patch

Pair of Common  Mergansers on the slough

Garter Snake at the Rowing Club

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Bird Sightings Week 18
April 30 - May 6*      *adjust by 1 day in leap years

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