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Bird Sightings Week 28
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Rarities for Week 28:
| Sora | 13-Jul-05 | Just above weir. Bird remained 13-Jul through 03-Aug |
| Least Sandpiper` | 09-Jul-15 | At weir |
| Least Sandpiper | 15-Jul-99 | At weir |
| Olive-sided Flycatcher | 12-Jul-06 | Reported by Ollie Oliver |
| Least Flycatcher | 15-Jul-10 | On territory near Dog Central, 17-Jun through 15-Jul |
| Eastern Kingbird | 13-Jul-12 | Reported by Evan Houston |
| Bank Swallow | 13-Jul-17 | From Lake Platform |
| Yellow-breasted Chat | 12-Jul-12 | |
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...Yellow-breasted Chat |
14-Jul-12 | Reported by John Puschak |
| Bobcat | 12-Jul-17 | fide Kazuto Shibata, ph. |
Report for July 11, 2024 Birding at Marymoor
| Another morning with too-nice weather, though at least it was cooler than previous days. Temps in the high-50's and 60's this morning. It almost felt odd to actually feel a bit of chill. But beautiful blue skies and only a hint of a breeze. Willow Flycatchers and Swainson's Thrushes dominated the bird song. Begging baby birds were everywhere. Highlights:
I know I recently posted that rarities almost never show up at this time of year. To mock me, an AMERICAN REDSTART was photographed on Friday, 7/5 by Bill Hubbard, the first AMRE for July and just the 5th for the park ever. Then, on Saturday, 7/6, a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was photographed by Lillian Reis. Quite a few people saw this bird over the weekend. This was just the 3rd sighting for NOMO for the park, with the other two sightings in May and September. AND, AND, AND, on Sunday, 7/7, Timothy Garland photographed an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER in the East Meadow. Surprisingly, ATFL is not nearly as much of a rarity than the other two; this is the 10th record for the park, and the 2nd for July, but Geesh. Quite a run of unusual birds. We had none of those birds today. Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, Green Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Cliff Swallow, and Bullock's Oriole. For the day, 56 species. = Michael Hobbs |
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Report for July 13, 2023 Birding at Marymoor
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Michael is still in Ecuador, so Karen Snepp and I were him temporarily today. It was a wonderful day – 54-70 F, clear and sunny and no wind. The birds were active, still seeing young ones and some singing. Highlights:
Misses: Steller’s Jay and Bald Eagle 56 species Good Birding Brian H. Bell |
Report for July 14, 2022 Birding at Marymoor
| A gorgeous day, but it's mid-July when the bird list is pretty much fixed. We already know what we're going to see and we know surprises are hard to come by. Birds were not as visible today as last week, and nesting season is visibly winding down.
Highlights:
The other highlight today was a RACCOON just below the weir, our first since 2019
Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, Rock Pigeon, Green Heron, Cliff Swallow, and Golden-crowned Kinglet. With the exception of the Kinglet, these have all been notably scarce this year (with Green Heron yet to be recorded).
For the day, 56 species.
= Michael Hobbs
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Report for July 12, 2018 Birding at Marymoor
| A gorgeous summer day, with clear skies and temps that reached 75 degrees before 11 a.m. Maybe too nice for really good birding, but still a good day. Our species list was VERY similar to last week’s – 64 species each of the two days, with 60 species in common between them, which is what I’d expect this time of year.
Highlights:
Great looks at birds were scarcer than last week; the PILEATED WOODPECKERS were best of show, as we watched the two birds forage all around the mansion area, with them mostly staying low to the ground. Critters included American Beaver and Muskrat. (Forgot to mention that, last week, Matt had pre-dawn bats to go along with bunnies, beaver, bucks, and bullfrogs). Misses today included Pied-billed Grebe, Rock Pigeon, Spotted Sandpiper (seen last week), and Warbling Vireo (seen last week). The other two species seen last week but not this week were Peregrine Falcon and Red-breasted Sapsucker. Tree Swallow numbers were down last week, and way down this week; they are likely to depart soon for the year. For the day, 64 species. Adding Black-throated Gray Warbler, the 2018 Marymoor Park list is up to 142 species. == Michael Hobbs |
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Report for July 13, 2017 Birding at Marymoor
| It was overcast this morning, but not too cold, and it was pretty birdy. There’s not too much chance of surprises at this time of year, but the birding remains very good anyways. We’re beginning to see a little bit of post-breeding foraging, so a few species showing up that didn’t actually nest in the park.
Highlights:
At the lake, we saw some Wood Ducks fleeing from a couple of RIVER OTTERS. We did not see the BOBCAT photographed yesterday, however. For the day, 61 species. == Michael Hobbs |
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Report for July 14, 2016 Birding at Marymoor
| We had a really good day today, with sunny skies and pleasant temps. Of course our species count wasn’t huge, this being July, but the number of birds was pretty high, and there were great things to watch!
Highlights: Wood Duck 4 clutches of ducklings, variety of ages As well as the ones noted above, there were juveniles or presumed juveniles of almost everything today. The GREAT BLUE HERON heronry is almost done for the season, with only 1 or maybe a few juveniles still on the nests. Overall numbers of GBHE down as birds are moving out of the area, but still ~ a dozen birds seen total. The number of EASTERN COTTONTAILS is large – we need more coyotes. Also had many sightings of at least 2 AMERICAN BEAVER, and a MUSKRAT at the Rowing Club. For the day, 60 species. == Michael Hobbs |
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Report for July 9, 2015 Birding at Marymoor
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Michael is out of town, so Brian Bell, Sharon Cormier-Aagaard, Grace & Ollie Oliver, Patti North and I were on our own for the weekly Marymoor walk today -- It is definitely summertime, warm weather, with fewer birds singing, large numbers of young birds, and a few surprises. 6 species of warbler [notably high for Marymoor at this time of year] - included a young male Black-throated Gray Warbler, 2 sightings of Wilson's Warbler males, a Yellow-rumped Warbler [maybe young?], along with a heard only Orange-crowned Warbler, several singing Yellow Warblers and a bunch of Common Yellowthroat family groups all over the place. Spotted Sandpiper - saw one adult again at the weir -- we suspect them to be breeding below the weir. |
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Report for July 10, 2014 Birding at Marymoor
| A hot, sunny July day – definitely the summer doldrums are here. NOT! We had a really birdy day today, with quite a few surprises. The weather couldn’t have been better, but the birds, rather than resting in the warmth, were active and singing and about.
Highlights: Canada Goose Mark heard some early; first in 6 weeks ! After 20 years of weekly visits, we pretty much know what species are possible for any given week. (see MarymoorByWeek.pdf) Finding a species we’ve never had before during a given week is now getting to be a bit of a surprise. Getting FOUR of them today is a real surprise. (Okay, okay – we’ve probably had Western Tanager before this week, but the sighting was poor enough that it went down in my data as Uncertain Identification) There are still at least 2 active Great Blue Heron nests, though the total number of GBHEs in the park was down significantly from past weeks. I think both adults and juveniles have moved on to less crowded sites. It was quite a surprise to see a BLACK SWIFT on such a sunny day; normally we only see them on cloudy days. There was a BEAVER near the mouth of Tosh Creek. For the day, 66 species! == Michael Hobbs |
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Report for July 11, 2013 Birding at Marymoor
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It was a rather quiet and cold (high in the 50’s) day under a dark overcast sky. There really wasn’t much in the way of highlights, though that’s not surprising at this time of year. Many of our breeding birds are finishing up nesting, and real post-breeding dispersal and migration are not yet underway. So we’ve mostly got breeding birds, including many juveniles, and not a lot of reason for singing or other displays. They’re all just trying to quietly get the young birds past their most vulnerable period. Highlights: Wood Duck Five young ducklings Brian and I swung back through the park on our way out and managed to add RED-TAILED HAWK, BARN SWALLOW, and CLIFF SWALLOW, which were all new for the day, pushing our day list to 56 species. == Michael Hobbs |
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 Violet-green Swallows. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Violet-green Swallows. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Bullock's Orioles. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Bullock's Oriole. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Willow Flycatcher. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Singing Yellow Warbler. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Bushtit. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Juvenile Cedar Waxwing. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Milbert's Tortoiseshell. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Milbert's Tortoiseshell. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Lorquin's Admiral. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Muskrat. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
Report for July 12, 2012 Birding at Marymoor
| On this glorious sunny morning, Matt had a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT at the southeast corner of the East Meadow at about 5:00 a.m. As a result, we did the Marymoor walk backwards, so we could try for the chat sooner. Boy, I prefer the regular way – I feel much more oriented and combobulated when we do it counterclockwise. As it turned out, we could not relocate the chat when we swung by there around 5:45. After the walk, though, Brian and Ruth went back to the East Meadow. I’d just gotten home when Brian called to say the chat was singing and calling, so I raced down to the park and was able to get some good looks. We left it there, about 10:45, still singing away.
Highlights: Osprey Adult next to the nest, This is just the 2nd YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT for Marymoor. The only previous sighting was on September 9, 2006, seen by Ollie Oliver and Alan Roedel. For the day, I think we came up with 58 species. For the year, I think we’re at 143. == Michael Hobbs |
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 Black-headed Grosbeaks. Photo by Lillian Reis |
 Tail end of a male Bullock's Oriole. Photo by Michael Hobbs |
 White-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Hugh Jennings |
 Male Yellow Warbler. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Male Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Lillian Reis |
 Mt. Rainier at dawn above the fog. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Bushtits, 2012-07-10. Photo by Lillian Reis |
 Juvenile Great Blue Heron on the nest, 2012-07-10. Photo by Lillian Reis |
 Male American Goldfinch, 2012-07-08. Photo by Lillian Reis |
 Male American Goldfinch, 2012-07-08. Photo by Lillian Reis |
Report for July 14, 2011 Birding at Marymoor
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Michael is still away so I got to sub for him this morning. The day dawned(?) dark and overcast. It stayed that way and we got a little misty rain later. In spite of that it was a pretty good day for the doldrums of July with many birds singing (although often from cover). Notable species: For the day, 56 species. Brian H. Bell |
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 Adult Bald Eagle. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Male Common Yellowthroat. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Savannah Sparrow with grub. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Belted Kingfisher. Photo by Hugh Jennings |
 Coyote near the Osprey nest tower, 2011-07-10. Photo by Dasha Gudalewicz |
 Osprey watching the coyote, 2011-07-10. Photo by Dasha Gudalewicz |
 Adult Osprey with three young on the nest, 2011-07-10. Photo by Dasha Gudalewicz |
 Adult Osprey bringing in grass for new bedding, 2011-07-10. Photo by Dasha Gudalewicz |
Report for July 15, 2010
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Michael is out of town this week, so Brian Bell & I took the reins for this week's Marymoor Park walk. It was a beautiful morning at Marymoor -- little fog early, mosquitoes not too bad, and the heat never kicked in despite the sun. Mt. Rainier was prominent in the distance. Willow Flycatchers' "fitz-bews" & Swainson's Thrush "whits" begin the For the day, 59 species, with notable misses including Tree Swallow & |
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 Pied-billed Grebe at the lake platform. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 White-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Cedar Waxwing tossing a berry. Photo by Lillian Reis, 2010-07-16 |
 Juvenile Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Lillian Reis, 2010-07-18 |
 Green Heron. Photo by Lillian Reis, 2010-07-09 |
 Cabbage White butterfly. Photo by Ollie Oliver |
 Young Mule Deer (or Black-tailed Deer). Photo by Ollie Oliver |
Report for July 9, 2009
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There were only 8 of us this morning, on an overcast (but otherwise very nice) day. In fact, when I arrived at 5:29, I was the ONLY person, and I was frantically trying to figure out if I'd come the wrong day or the wrong time (I'd had less than 4 hours sleep, so give me a break). The first three of us who got there, though, saw a PEREGRINE FALCON fly north past our cars, so getting there on time does have advantages. Other highlights: Three BLACK SWIFTS flew over Dog Central. We had only two VAUX'S SWIFTS; their numbers seem way down from previous years. A PURPLE MARTIN female was bringing twigs to the left gourd of the far pair at the lake platform. We had both a CEDAR WAXWING with nesting materials, and a juvenile, so either there is double-clutching going on, or widely asynchronous nesting of various pairs. We again had a family of YELLOW WARBLERS near Dog Central. At the Compost Piles, there was a flock of 15+ juvenile BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, with no adults (of any species) around. Apparently, they've realized that they're cowbirds... Two male LAZULI BUNTINGS were in a singing duel, one from the cherry trees at the east end of the Compost Piles, the other from the cherry grove just west of the birding kiosk in Lot G - about 100 yards apart. LOTS of juveniles of many species about, including: Wood Duck, Bald Eagle, Warbling Vireo (we think), Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, American Crow, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Spotted Towhee, Savannah Sparrow, Black-headed Grosbeak, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch. Probably also Anna's Hummingbird, and several other species, though some of the young are difficult to tell now from adults. Mammals were the real highlight. Scott had RACCOON and BEAVER early on. We had a MINK across from the first dog swim area, and a MUSKRAT too, as well as the usual squirrels and rabbits. Oh, and Scott might have heard a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET... For the day, 57 species. |
 Juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird  One of the three Black Swifts |
 Most of the flock of juvenile Brown-headed Cowbirds at the Compost Piles |
 Close-up of same |
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Float plane coming in for a landing on Lake Sammamish |
Report for July 10, 2008
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Glorious weather today, in marked contrast to last week. Started out about 55 degrees and slowly warmed up, but with the sunshine it was very pleasant. There were just a few thin, high clouds. Pretty quiet birdwise; we've been lacking in surprises recently. But still lots of interesting birds etc. to look at. |
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 One of two downy young Cooper's Hawks on the nest near the mansion |
 Ollie Oliver's photo of same |
 Two of six Bushtits in a dead Red Elderberry in the Dog Meadow |
 Great Blue Heron in a Black Cottonwood |
 Western Wood-Pewee |
 Chestnut-backed Chickadee |
 Black-tailed Deer in the East Meadow |
 Ollie Oliver's photo of a Red-breasted Sapsucker |
Report for July 12, 2007
| Thank goodness it wasn't as hot as yesterday. Actually it was very pleasant, with temps ranging from maybe 60-70, and sunny with thin patchy overcast. Not *too many* mosquitoes. The birds were somewhat scarce (more than 20 species were either heard-only or were represented by only a single bird). There were some highlights, though, for the dozen or so birders who came out with me:
Green Heron Adult flew around weir Lots of baby birds, many being fed. A partial list of 1st-year birds includes Common Yellowthroat, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, European Starling, Red-tailed Hawk, Spotted Towhee, Cedar Waxwing (being fed), Black-headed Grosbeak, Wood Duck, Brown-headed Cowbird, Violet-green Swallow, Dark-eyed Junco, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow. For the day, 59 species of bird, plus Raccoon, Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Cottontail, Long-tailed Weasel, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Muskrat(?), Bullfrog, Garter Snake, Red-eared Slider, and at least 3 species of dragonfly and several different butterflies. == Michael |
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Bird Sightings Week 28
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