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Bird Sightings Week 27
July 2-8*

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...Least Flycatcher

With Michael, Jordan and Mason all gone to Ecuador, Tony and I got to be Michael.

It was a very nice day, clear and good temperature (60 – 77F) and little to no wind. The birds were reasonably cooperative, but it is summer so our numbers were lower than usual (47 species today).

The highlight of the day was when an adult Bald Eagle swooped down in front of us and took a young Great Blue Heron. Upriver a short distance, and then it was breakfast time.

Other highlights:

• Mallard with ducklings
• Wood Duck with teenage ducklings
• Gadwall with ducklings
• Golden-crowned Kinglet - only one
• Brown Creeper - only one
• Swainson’s Thrush - heard many, but only saw one

Lots of other birds with young – not sure how many young Song Sparrows. 

Misses for the day: Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, Green Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Steller's Jay, Bushtit, and Red-winged Blackbird.

Good Birding!

Brian H. Bell
Woodinville WA

Anna's Hummingbird, 2023-06-25. Photo by Kazuto Shibata

Anna's Hummingbird, 2023-06-25. Photo by Kazuto Shibata

Anna's Hummingbird, 2023-06-25. Photo by Kazuto Shibata

Anna's Hummingbird, 2023-06-25. Photo by Kazuto Shibata

Rufous Hummingbird, ~2023-06-27. Photo by Kazuto Shibata

Rufous Hummingbird, ~2023-06-27. Photo by Kazuto Shibata

Highlights:

• Wood Duck – again, many clutches of babies
• Killdeer – young baby below the weir
• Spotted Sandpiper – still at least 1 adult below weir
• – black-wing-tipped gull sp. – one
• Green Heron – adult and juvenile posed for great looks below weir
• Cooper’s Hawk – one flew right past us with prey, heading towards Big Cottonwood Forest
• Red-tailed Hawk – Nest west of Rowing Club may have fledged 2
• Barn Owl – Matt heard baby in windmill in the middle of the night, again
• WESTERN SCREECH-OWL – Matt had 2 near east end of boardwalk; at least 1 was juvenile
• Pileated Woodpecker – one heard
• PEREGRINE FALCON – nice, close flyover. Heavily speckled, dark bird
• Purple Martin – active at gourds
• Swainson’s Thrush – many singing – great looks
• Bullock’s Oriole – Adult male gave fabulous looks; first year male and a female seen near a nest
• Orange-crowned Warbler – one heard singing
• Lazuli Bunting – at least 1 male, one female and/or juvenile chased by male at 5:20 a.m.

Mammals: many Eastern Cottontail, American Beaver pre-dawn, Mule Deer (large buck pre-dawn, doe at Rowing Club), Eastern Gray Squirrel

Near Dog Central, a SWAINSON’S THRUSH was gathering insects in the gravel of the path and carrying them to an unseen nest near the slough. We got great close-up looks, and very nice to get breeding confirmation of a very secretive nester.

Earlier, we had an adult male BULLOCK’S ORIOLE in all of his glory also feeding on the gravel path. Got to watch him at close range for over a minute. Just past Dog Central, we had a first-year male singing, and then spotted him with a drab oriole visiting a nest in a cottonwood.

As I said, for the day, 63 species. Misses were pretty much limited to Canada Goose, Pied-billed Grebe, and Rock Pigeon.

== Michael Hobbs

Juvenile Western Screech-Owl (note faint horizontal banding instead of dark vertical streaking as on an adult).  Photo by Matt Bartels
Sunrise.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Juvenile Green Heron.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Male Bullock's Oriole.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Male Bullock's Oriole.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Male Bullock's Oriole.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Swainson's Thrush.  Photo by Milt Vine

Male Purple Martin.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Wood Ducks at the Lake Platform.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Highlights:

• Pied-billed Grebe - adult in slough - First since early April
• Barn Owl - many nice looks from Viewing Mound until just after 5am
• - all 5 woodpeckers - but some heard-only
• WESTERN MEADOWLARK - one north of Fields 7-8-9
  First July sighting ever, and only 4th sighting ever for June-August
• Bullock's Oriole - adult male and female feeding 2 juveniles, Dog Central

Misses included Canada Goose, Rock Pigeon, Spotted Sandpiper, Steller's Jay, Cliff Swallow, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Lazuli Bunting.

Still, we managed 57 species for the day.

- Michael Hobbs

Willow Flycatcher.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Red-tailed Hawk.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Adult male Bullock's Oriole.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Adult female Bullock's Oriole, with juvenile (left).  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Juvenile Bullock's Oriole.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Cedar Waxwing reaching for a cherry.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Red-breasted Sapucker drumming on the metal trim.  Photo by Brian Bell

Female Belted Kingfisher at Rowing Club.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Hot air balloon, off to the north.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Barn Owl, East Meadow, 2017-07-03.  Photo by Kazuto Shibata

Barn Owl, East Meadow, 2017-07-03.  Photo by Kazuto Shibata

July is known as “The Doldrums” amongst us Marymoorons, and the day’s darkness just made that worse. Not a lot of excitement, not many birds sitting up singing, etc.

Highlights:

Hooded Merganser            Adult with 4 “teenage” young at Rowing Club pond
Common Merganser           2 flew by
Green Heron                      1 at weir
Osprey                               2 young on nest, at least 4 adults seen
Virginia Rail                        Heard “two and three part calls (imm.)”
                                                      as per Sibley App
Spotted Sandpiper              1 adult at weir
Black Swift                         3 HIGH over mansion area
Anna’s Hummingbird          Only 1, and that after the walk
Belted Kingfisher                Adult male, adult female, juvenile
Western Wood-Pewee       Active nest over Rowing Club parking lot
Tree Swallow                     Only 3-4, but one still-active nest at Pea Patch
Violet-green Swallow          100-150
Black-thr. Gray Warbler      1 Juvenile in willows below weir

The VIRGINIA RAIL was our first detection since March, and was heard across the slough from the start of the boardwalk.

The BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER is early for a Fall sighting.

For the day, 58 species of bird, plus many bunnies and squirrels, 3-4 deer, and 3 beavers.

== Michael Hobbs

Adult female Belted Kingfisher.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Partial red band and purplish upper band should mean this is a
juvenile Belted Kingfisher.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Black-throated Gray Warbler.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Savannah Sparrow.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Western Wood-Pewee nest over Rowing Club parking lot.  Photo by Bob Asanoma

Adult (left) and juvenile Hooded Mergansers.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

American Beaver.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

"Black-tailed" Mule Deer across the slough.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Michael is in Paris and then the Czech Republic, and Matt is away, so Sharon Aagaard and I substituted at Marymoor this morning. It is definitely summer, although it started out at 57 degrees this morning with ground fog . It burned off quickly and got warm (well 82 degrees hot) by the finish.

It was a good day with lots of juveniles and lots of weird “songs” and calls.

Highlights –

Mom and 3 juvenile Wood Ducks at the lake

3 immature Hooded Mergansers at the rowing club ponds

1 American Bittern heard (really unusual for this time of year)

Osprey at nest and over river

Nesting Red-tailed Hawks have all fledged

A couple of American Coots at the lake (they have been scarce recently)

2 Spotted Sandpipers near the weir

3 Band-tailed Pigeons

Barn Owls – at windmill and later 3 over model airplane field

Common Nighthawk – heard early

Lots of Western Wood-Pewees and Willow Flycatchers

1 Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Lazuli Bunting – heard early and seen later

Bullock’s Oriole

Misses – Rufous Hummingbird and Steller’s Jay

Also seen – bunny, Eastern Gray Squirrel, coyote, Long-tailed Weasel

Brian H. Bell

Woodinville WA

Spotted Sandpiper at weir. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Spotted Sandpiper near the weir.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Cedar Waxwing.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Barn Swallow.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Pileated Woodpecker.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Long-tailed Weasel.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Long-tailed Weasel.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Purple Martin, 2015-06-29.  Photo by Stan Mandell

Red-winged Blackbird, 2015-06-29.  Photo by Stan Mandell

Eight-spotted Skimmer, 2015-06-28.  Photo by Stan Mandell

Great Blue Heron nestlings, 2015-06-27.  Photo by Stan Mandell

Highlights:

Hooded Merganser                  Juvenile male at Rowing Club pond
Common Merganser                One female/juvenile flew down the slough
GREEN HERON                    Juvenile, first for 2014 on our walk
Accipiter sp.                            One near Viewing Mound, 5:20 am
Spotted Sandpiper                   Two (or three?) at weir
Barn Owl                                 Two from Viewing Mound, 4:30-4:50 am
Black Swift                              At least 1 over “Mysterious Thicket” area
Pileated Woodpecker              One heard, and glimpsed by one person
Purple Martin                           Two females in gourds, male overhead
Orange-crowned Warbler        One heard singing near start of boardwalk
Yellow-rumped Warbler          One VERY plain bird we took for a juvenile
Western Tanager                     Male singing near weir, seen
Lazuli Bunting                          Male singing near Viewing Mound, not seen

For the day, 62 species. For 2014, still at 139.

== Michael Hobbs

One of the Spotted Sandpipers at the weir.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Adult White-crowned Sparrow with food.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Same White-crowned Sparrow moments after delivering food to unseen nest inside the mound of blackberries.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Juvenile Downy Woodpecker.  Note that the red is on the forehead, not the nape, and is more of Cornell Red than a Crimson.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Adult Great Blue Heron.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Juvenile Green Heron along slough.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Band-tailed Pigeon in Black Cottonwood.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

We thought this was a female delivering food to the babies.
First year breeding Tree Swallows can be brown-backed instead of blue.
But note that she does not have any food in her beak.

Despite not having food, she pokes her beak into a babies mouth, as an adult Tree Swallow approaches the gourd.

Here, you can see that the brown-backed bird seems to be a begging juvenile instead.  I wonder if this is the first young bird fledged from this clutch?

Note the yellow gape at the base of the bill that should be proof of the young age of this bird.  Four photos by Ollie Oliver

Savannah Sparrow.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Juvenile American Robin.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Juvenile Dark-eyed Junco.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

We think the combination of a dark eye and the yellow base to the bill indicates that this is a juvenile male Hooded Merganser, at the Rowing Club.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

There were over 20 birders out today, with about a dozen of them taking advantage of a Thursday coinciding with a holiday. Surprisingly, there weren’t a lot of other park users about, despite the fairly nice weather. It was about 60 degrees with a thin, high overcast, so really quite nice.

Highlights:

Wood Duck                    Female with 5 small ducklings, plus a pair
Hooded Merganser         “Teenager” at the Rowing Club pond
Great Blue Heron            Still some occupied nests, juvies along slough too
Sharp-shinned Hawk       Juvenile cruised past Lake Platform
CASPIAN TERN           5 flew north at 5:45, another at lake
Barn Owl                        Matt had one at the windmill at 4:15 am
Vaux’s Swift                   ~10. Flew notably low and close to us
Red-breasted Sapsucker  Adult and 2 fledglings near mansion
Pileated Woodpecker     1 came in to mansion area
Willow Flycatcher           A dozen+ singing males
Purple Martin                  Male sat atop gourd nest crossbar
Bullock’s Oriole              Adult male and two possible juvies
Pine Siskin                      One across from weir – only occasionally seen in summer

For the day, 58 species. The CASPIAN TERNS were new for the year list.

== Michael Hobbs

Pileated Woodpecker, west of West Lake Samm. Parkway.  Photo by Ollie Oliver
 

I just got back from Europe yesterday, and used jet lag to my advantage in getting to the park by 3:30 this morning. It was glorious, with an almost-full moon, Saturn and Venus to the east, clear skies, and ghostly fog all over the meadows. At the NE corner of Lake Sammamish, the PURPLE MARTINS were chorusing loudly from their nest boxes. Then I climbed as high as I could at the Compost Piles and was able to see a BARN OWL.

Eventually, I was able to find Matt Bartels in the fog at the model airplane field (his first appearance at one of my walks was 10 years ago yesterday).

On the walk itself, we battled the fog for the first couple of hours. Fog in sunshine becomes completely opaque, so it was a bit hard to see some of the birds early. Then the fog burned off, and the morning warmed up from the 45 degrees we had at 5:30.

Highlights:

Green Heron                     1 look, 1 glimpse
MERLIN                          Flew over the lake platform; swallows were upset
black wing-tipped gull       One at about 5:45 a.m. over the mansion
Hairy Woodpecker           One flew overhead
Pacific-slope Flycatcher    One was seen near Dog Area portapotty
Cassin's Vireo                   One singing near 2nd dog swim beach
Red-eyed Vireo                At least two singing, one seen
Purple Martin                    Male going into gourd, besides ones heard earlier
Orange-crowned Warbler Uncommon at this time of year
Yellow-rumped Warbler    At least 2 near mansion
Bullock's Oriole                 One near 3rd dog swim beach

The MERLIN was probably the biggest surprise, as we've never had one before during the late May->mid July timeframe. In fact, including all of May, June, July, and August, we've only had 10 previous sightings, mostly around the end of July through the beginning of August.

With WARBLING VIREO too, it was nice to have a 3 vireo day.

Lots of babies (including Brown-headed Cowbird young being tended by Song Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows). Lots of activity at the heronry, including two juveniles tussling: "You're on my side of the nest", etc.

For the day, 61 species.

== Michael Hobbs

Song Sparrow feeding a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird.  Photo by

Female Wood Duck with ducklings.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Michael is in California so Matt Bartels and I got to put our Michael masks on for the day. It started out clear (4:10) and by 5 a.m. was almost completely cloudy. The predicted misty rain held off until we reached the east meadow and then was on and off. Didn't really get going until we finished. For July it was a pretty good day with a lot of birds singing.

Notable for today were:

Barn Owl - 1 with young in windmill early,
                     2 over East Meadow, 1 at airfield
Green Heron
Many Swainson's Thrush singing over much of the park
Three Wood Duck females with young (3, 4 and 5)
Hooded Merganser juveniles (4) at the rowing club pond
Vaux's Swift
Bullock's Oriole - nestlings apparently fledged, at least one adult male
Sharp-shinned Hawk - probable, mobbed by crow and looked smaller
Yellow-rumped Warbler - somewhat unusual for Marymoor in July
Purple Martin - probable young in gourd at lake

Long-tailed Weasel

59 species

Brian H. Bell

Male Downy Woodpecker.  Photo by Ollie Oliver
 

Finally, a gorgeous, summer day.  It actually felt like July, with not a cloud in the sky, and temps in the 70's.  There was a touch of morning fog,, especially over the East Meadow before we started, but nothing that interfered with our regular walk.   Oh - and the water levels have dropped to several inches below the 4 foot level, so there was no need for rubber boots!  It was a fairly birdy, too.

Top highlight - the LEAST FLYCATCHER was singing away at Dog Central, in the exact same spot it was both 2 and 3 Thursdays ago.  Who knows why nobody was able to find it for so long in between.

Other highlights:

Green Heron                     3 seen, all juveniles
Osprey                             Young on the nest
COOPER'S HAWK         In snag row, being MOBBED by crows
Caspian Tern                     5-6, all flying north
W. Screech-Owl               Scott heard it early
Red-breasted Sapsucker   2 near mansion
Hairy Woodpecker            2 east of boardwalk
Yellow-rumped Warbler    1+ singing near mansion
Wilson's Warbler               Male singing along boardwalk
Bullock's Oriole                 Male feeding 1 or more young

Juveniles were the order of the day - we had young from about 20 species this morning.  It IS that time of year.

For the day, 58 species.

== Michael

Some of the mob of crows that harassed the Cooper's Hawk.  Photo by Lillian Reis
Male Yellow Warbler near Dog Central

It went from chilly (46 degrees) to hot (okay - only in the 70's). Not a cloud in the sky, and no breeze.  A really nice summer day.  10 of us strolled around slowly, trying to locate the birds - a difficult task, as most weren't just out there on display like they are earlier in the breeding season.  It seemed pretty quiet overall, though we managed to have some good sightings.

Highlights:

The RING-NECKED PHEASANT was heard near the Community Gardens, maybe hidden in Snag Row.

The OSPREY have at least one young on the nest.

One CASPIAN TERN was seen flying very high down the river.

The concert venue closures meant we couldn't get a good look into the BARN OWL nest box, but we were barely able to see there was at least 1 owl inside the box.

A HAIRY WOODPECKER female was excavating a nest hole in a snag near the start of the boardwalk.  We also saw adult and juvenile DOWNY WOODPECKERS.

Lots of WILLOW FLYCATCHERS and WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, with one of the latter possibly building a nest

Many baby birds were about; we got to watch a BUSHTIT bang a caterpillar against a branch to kill it, and then feed it to a baby.

We had a great deal of fun seeing a male YELLOW WARBLER feeding both a baby Yellow and a baby BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, and then later a female feeding two young.  My guess is this was two separate families.  The second group was also along the west edge of the Dog Meadow, and we spent about a half hour watching them.

We had a juvenile YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER along the west edge of the Dog Meadow - all streaky with no yellow at all.

 The male LAZULI BUNTING was again singing near the Compost Piles.

 We had great looks at a male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE at the south end of the Dog
Meadow, and a female a bit further north, as well as great looks at BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

For the day, 56 species.

== Michael

We had thunder and lightning all morning today, a first for my weekly walks.  It started raining within minutes of our 5:30 start time, and seldom let up over the next 4.5 hours.  At times the rain was coming down very hard, but the truly torrential rain held off until I was driving home.  We started out with nine people, but there was attrition along the way.  Only Ollie and Sharon lasted through the Rowing Club, earning themselves the honorary appellation of Intrepid.  I must admit, it wasn't a very birdy morning.

Highlights:

Wood Duck                                        Many mammas with babies
Green Heron                                        Babies huddled together on nest
Ring-billed Gull                                    First since March - at least 3 adults
Red-eyed Vireo                                   Briefly visible among the mosquitoes
Purple Martin                                       Pair on gourds, beak sticking out of hole
Northern. Rough-winged Swallow        One at the lake
Orange-crowned Warbler                    One heard south of East Meadow
Common Yellowthroat                         Male with baby Brown-headed Cowbird
Song Sparrow                                     With baby Brown-headed Cowbird

We also had either a Beaver or a Nutria; the latter would be an unwelcome newcomer.

For the day, 51 species, but seven of those were heard-only.

== Michael

We were not able to take photos on the 3rd because of the weather.
These photos are from earlier in the week or last week.

Ollie Oliver's photo of a Hooded Merganser at the Rowing Club, 2008-06-28

Composite of Ollie's photos of an American Crow harassing a Cooper's Hawk,

Tom Mansfield's photo of the baby Green Herons on the nest, 2008-06-29

Ollie Oliver's photo from 2008-07-28

Several people reported seeing the Least Flycatcher again today, in the same location, southeast of the southeast part of the East Meadow.

Tom Mansfield's photo of the Least Flycatcher

Ten of us were enjoying a wonderful day up until the time we entered the East Meadow area.  Matt thought he heard something odd about a Savannah Sparrow song, and when I tried to hear what he was talking about, all I could notice was an incessant call coming from southeast of the meadow.

Heading over there, it took a few minutes to find the LEAST FLYCATCHER, which gave us prolonged distant looks.  I manage to get some brief close looks as well by climbing around the interior of the area east of the East Meadow.   Phone calls were made, and we ended up with additional people joining for the rest of the walk.  This is the second Least Flycatcher report from Marymoor Park, the previous one being from 1983.  The bird was still singing when we left.

At the mansion area we had our second surprise, a HUTTON'S VIREO.  While not a rare bird in King County, this was only our 4th sighting ever at Marymoor.

Other highlights:

At least two OSPREY were seen on the nest.  Later, after the excitement of the LEFL, we watched an OSPREY diving on a circling immature BALD EAGLE over the East Meadow.

Very surprisingly, we had two BLACK SWIFTS over the park; while we often see them in July, it is almost always on cloudy days.  Today was about as far from cloudy as is possible.

A RED-EYED VIREO actually allowed us views as we entered the Cottonwood Forest.

The lake was pretty much bird-free, but there was a distant gull, probably a BONAPARTE'S GULL by size and flight style.

West of the mansion, we enjoyed watching a couple of BROWN CREEPERS.

For the day we managed 59 species.  The year list is up to 134 or so.

== Michael

The moon was beautiful at 5:30 a.m.

Barn Swallow perched near the lake platform

Least Flycatcher

Osprey challenging a subadult Bald Eagle over the East Meadow

Baby Brown-headed Cowbird

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Bird Sightings Week 27
July 2-8*

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