Friends of Marymoor Park

Bird Sightings Week 39
September 24-30*

Rarities for Week 39:

Clay-colored Sparrow	28-Sep-05	Compost Piles
Douglas Squirrel	24-Sep-09	Near 2nd Dog Swim Beach

Report for September 26, 2024 Birding at Marymoor

Things started a bit cold, but warmed quickly. Our first survey after the Fall equinox was decidedly tilted away from summer birds, but many winter species have yet to arrive. So things were pretty quiet for much of the walk.

Highlights:

Greater White-fronted Goose - Like in many places in King County, yesterday's skies were filled with flocks of GWFG. We had several, totalling a couple of dozen birds. Some landed in the park
Cackling Goose - We also had flocks of Cacklers, with about 100 landing in the park, First of Fall (FOF)
Hutton's Vireo - One was calling, and I was able to track it down near the windmill. I think this counts as (FOF), since there seems to be seasonality of HUVI at the park
Violet-green Swallow - Maybe 50 today, our first VGSW since July! Does that make this (FOF)??? Probably Last of Fall too.
Barn Swallow - A few mixed in with the VGSW, also possibly Last of Fall
Red-winged Blackbird - Three or four, after a four week absence (FOF?)
Orange-crowned Warbler - One in the Dog Meadow
Common Yellowthroat - Numbers way down, maybe 3 detected. Both OCWA and COYE will likely be mostly disappearing in the next week
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Several scattered birds (FOF). All those seen well were Myrtle-type

A late scan of the lake confirmed CALIFORNIA GULL, and added our only OSPREY and BELTED KINGFISHER.

Misses included Hooded Merganser, Rock Pigeon, American Coot, Green Heron, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Cedar Waxwing, and American Pipit.

For Week 38 (last week), we've had a cumulative 132 species over the last 30 years. For Week 40 (next week), we've had a cumulative 123 species. The current Week 39 has had only 116 species, so it's not much of a surprise that we managed only 51 species.

= Michael Hobbs

Report for September 28, 2023 Birding at Marymoor

For a "rainy" day, we actually had some fairly nice weather at times this morning. And it was birdy, though the birds were often frustratingly hard to see. Highlights: Cackling Goose - Quite a number of smallish fly-over flocks Eurasian Collared-Dove - One flew down the Dog Meadow. Our 3rd sighting of the year Osprey - STILL activity at both nests Cooper's Hawk - Two juveniles chasing around the Pea Patch Merlin - One streaked across the East Meadow - 4th sighting in the last 7 weeks Violet-green Swallow - Maybe 20 total, in several sightings Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Tony saw one, First of Fall (FOF) Varied Thrush - Two heard clearly, Dog Meadow. (FOF) Swainson's Thrush - Tony heard a couple pre-dawn. Almost certainly last for the year Hermit Thrush - One seen well, Dog Meadow (FOF) CHIPPING SPARROW - Juvenile in Pea Patch presumably the same bird as last week Fox Sparrow - Several, some singing (FOF) Orange-crowned Warbler - At least 5, and possibly several more Wilson's Warbler - One in large cotton woods SE of Dog Central A late scan of the lake turned up a couple more First of Fall birds (FOF) birds - AMERICAN WIGEON (1 or 2), and LESSER SCAUP (3) with another scaup that looked to be GREATER, though too far away to be sure. We had salmon swimming up towards the weir. And in the slough out from the start of the boardwalk, we had great looks at a 6"-long crayfish! In the Pet Memorial Garden, a crow caught a vole of somekind while we watched. Misses today included Hooded Merganser, American Coot, Green Heron, Downy Woodpecker, Barn Swallow, Bushtit, Marsh Wren, American Pipit (though might have heard), and Lincoln's Sparrow (also might have heard). For the day, counting the two lake ducks, 54 species. = Michael Hobbs
Hermit Thrush. Photo by Tony Ernst	Crayfish in the slough. Photo by Tony Ernst
One crow chasing another in attempted cleptoparasitism. Photo by Tony Ernst	Close-up of the vole they were fighting over. Stripes are an artifact of the wind. Photo by Tony Ernst

Report for September 29, 2022 Birding at Marymoor

Brian and I led the weekly Marymoor walk again this week, eager to find something to make Michael regret missing the day. Alas, the birds once again refused to cooperate. It was fairly birdy all day, but the birds were just the same regulars, with very little notable on the day

Highlights(?):

Ring-necked Duck - one in the slough our FOF [first-of-fall]
Green Heron - one spotted by Warren, amazingly directly in front of us yet invisible, until he said something.
Swainson's Thrush - none seen, once again, but still several calling before dawn
Fox Sparrow - they've been back for a couple weeks, but this week they were ready to come out and be more visible to us.
Golden-crowned Sparrow - growing numbers arriving in the park now
Yellow-rumped Warbler - not many seen well, but several small flocks flitting around

Just not a ton to report

Misses included Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Pipit, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Barn Swallow, owls

For the day 50 species ?

Matt Bartels

Report for September 30, 2021 Birding at Marymoor

This terribly rainy morning featured NO rain from 6:30 – 10:00 a.m., and another break from 10:30 – 11:10 a.m. So we had over 4 hours without rain to contend with. It was not a birdy day, especially before we got to the Lake Platform, but by the end of the morning, we’d done pretty well. No truly shocking rarities, but some quite unexpected birds. Quite a few “misses” too.

After the walk, I did a late scope of the lake, and was able to verify some birds that had been challengingly far out from the Lake Platform.

Highlights:

Wood Duck – two at the Rowing Club
LESSER SCAUP – the late scan of the lake allowed me to ID the 3 ducks we’d seen – very early for Scaup at Marymoor
HORNED GREBE – the late scan of the lake turned up one, First of Fall (FOF). It was loosely with the...
Western Grebe – four far out on the lake, seen from the Lake Platform
BLACK SWIFT – eleven flew overhead towards the lake!
American Coot – five at the lake
Barn Owl – seen after 6:30 a.m. It flew from the model airplane field down across the East Meadow, and then spent a long time working the Dog Meadow
AMERICAN KESTREL – one near the eastern baseball fields
CALIFORNIA SCRUB-JAY – one atop the lone cottonwood just north of the “Mysterious Thicket”. 7 of our 13 sightings of CASJ have been in Septembers
Western Meadowlark – three in the East Meadow
Fox Sparrow – several calling, a few singing, but none seen
Orange-crowned Warbler – one with chickadees south of the East Meadow

In the field, I thought fall sightings of Black Swift were more unusual at Marymoor than my records reveal. This was our 5th September sighting, tied for our 2nd latest fall sighting, beaten only by four birds on 1999-10-07.

Misses included Hooded Merganser, Green Heron, Barn Swallow, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and American Pipit.

For the day, 58 species. Not bad for a rainy day that wasn’t very birdy Smile

= Michael Hobbs

Western Meadowlark. Photo by Bob Asanoma

Report for September 24, 2020 Birding at Marymoor

There were only two brief rain showers between 5:00 a.m. (when Matt got there) and 9:00 (when our survey group neared the lake). But those, apparently, were just a prelude. It then drizzled and rained, and occasionally poured, the rest of the morning until we left, rather wet, at 11:00. It was not very birdy at all.

Highlights:

Eurasian Collared-Dove – two flew over the boardwalk. Our 3rd sighting of the year
Osprey – two fishing the lake; will be leaving soon
Sharp-shinned Hawk – one decided to fly towards a tree full of crows first thing in the morning. ???
Cooper’s Hawk – one near Pea Patch
Barn Owl – I didn’t get to the “pre-dawn” owling at the Viewing Mound until 6:50 a.m. Amazingly, Matt was able to show me the morning’s only Barn Owl that had just appeared
Western Screech-Owl – Matt got to see one predawn, south of the East Meadow
HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHER – south end of East Meadow; we’ve had only 3 fall records for this species
Violet-green Swallow – flock of about a dozen, seen fairly briefly. First since mid-August, and getting late by dates
Pine Siskin – a few heard, continuing the string of siskin sightings.
FOX SPARROW – two, and we even got looks at one of them. First of Fall (FOF)
“Yellowish” Warbler – Matt saw one, south end of the Dog Meadow, probably Orange-crowned by dates
Yellow-rumped Warbler – at least two, FOF
Black-throated Gray Warbler – one (maybe 2) bright males at the south end of the Dog Meadow
Townsend’s Warbler – brief look at one along the slough, FOF

Today’s record of PINE SISKIN was our first ever for Week 39, and that fills in the last gap. We can now say that siskins could show up any time, since we’ve had them (at least once) in each week of the year. This is (if I counted right) the 47th such species. At least 3 other species are very close to fulfilling this requirement.

For the day, counting the “Yellowish” Warbler, 50 species.

= Michael Hobbs

Report for September 26, 2019 Birding at Marymoor

Our first real fall survey for the year. The weather lived down to that; for the first 3 hours we had oppressive darkness and drizzle of various descriptions. It was remarkably difficult to see birds, especially passerines – they just wouldn’t show themselves. Things were pretty quiet as well. But we had many First Of Fall birds, and an extensive raptor show.

Highlights:

Cackling Goose – First of Fall, and back with a vengeance. Several large (hundreds of birds) flyover flocks, and a few dozen birds that landed in the park
Eurasian Collared-Dove – still seen only occasionally at Marymoor. 1 bird seen twice, we assume
GREATER YELLOWLEGS – one heard calling while flying around the north end of the lake, unseen by us. First of Fall
Double-crested Cormorant – two flew towards the lake – First of Fall
Turkey Vulture – One flying south from East Meadow – First of Fall, and First of 2019 for the survey
Sharp-shinned Hawk – Probably two individuals
Cooper’s Hawk – MANY sightings, and probably three individuals, one an adult
Western Screech-Owl – Matt heard one pre-dawn, just before the rain started
– Four woodpecker day – No Hairy; nice looks at Red-breasted Sapsucker at the Rowing Club parking lot
AMERICAN KESTREL – one flew south near east end of boardwalk – First of 2019 for the survey; though one was photographed in the park a couple of weeks ago
MERLIN – dark bird flew south, apparently holding prey, from near the Pea Patch
PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER – Good looks at Rowing Club; latest confirmed Fall sighting for Marymoor ever
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – At least one; First of Fall
VARIED THRUSH – one heard in Big Cottonwood Forest; First of Fall
Yellow-rumped Warbler – Over a dozen, scattered. First of Fall

No sight or sound of any Vaux’s Swift, Osprey, Swainson’s Thrush, or Yellow Warbler; probably done with those for the year.

Matt saw three DEER predawn, and heard COYOTES reply to the sirens of emergency vehicles pre-dawn. This was just the second record of Coyote this year (!)

Our only PURPLE FINCH was caught by a juvenile COOPER’S HAWK, and accidentally dropped (very dead) to the ground by the hawk.

Other misses included Hooded Merganser, American Coot, Bald Eagle, Bushtit. Marsh Wren, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and Orange-crowned Warbler.

For the day, 58 species plus the deceased Purple Finch. Not at all a bad count, given the weather.

= Michael Hobbs

Report for September 27, 2018 Birding at Marymoor

Michael was out and Brian Bell & I substituted as leaders. After all the goodies of last week, we had hopes of this week holding surprises. Alas, we hit one of those lulls in the pulses of migration — we saw some good birds, but overall the species count and species seen were not all that remarkable. Highlights: River Otter - 4 of them near dog central Green-winged Teal - a pair flew by along the slough Virginia Rail - one or two responded to clapping along the slough Osprey - still one present , seen multiple times All 5 expected woodpecker species seen Merlin - one from the lake viewing platform Peregrine Falcon - one soaring around late, as we were nearing the Pea Patch HUTTON’S VIREO - still pretty unusual at Marymoor. We had one near the windmill. American Pipit - five flying overhead in the north fields Fox Sparrows - singing away in the good weather For warblers, we only had a single Orange-crowned, a few Common Yellowthroats, and maybe 15-20 Yellow-rumped Warblers. Misses for the day included owls, any swallows to species [we did have a flock of a dozen too far out to get beyond swallow sp], ducks beyond Mallard, Wood Duck, Common Merganser, and the teal, and the longed-after rarity. For the day, 52 species Matt Bartels, Seattle, WA	Male Belted Kingfisher. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Pied-billed Grebe. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Killdeer. Photo by Bob Asanoma
River Otters. Photo by Hugh Jennings	River Otters. Photo by Hugh Jennings
River Otters. Photo by Bob Asanoma	Spider on her web. Photo by Bob Asanoma

Report for September 28, 2017 Birding at Marymoor

The last warm day before the rains at Marymoor turned out to be birdy, but a little lackluster — none of the craziness of last week’s show — we were missing Michael, and it seems he took the rarities with him. Nevertheless, we had a lot of birds flying most all day - nothing like the quiet days of earlier in the month. Highlights: Western Grebe - 2 on lake Mourning Dove - 1 in fields offering good views Wilson’s Snipe - a few flying and grunting pre-dawn — our first of the fall Virginia Rail - 5 — including one that came out for brief views at the lake viewing platform Steller’s Jay - 30+ - we seemed to have a steady movement that was more than our usual fall movement of Steller’s gathering nuts. Ruby-crowned Kinglet - several back, including at least attempts at song Orange-crowned Warbler - 2-3 Yellow-rumped Warblers - many many moving through Black-throated Gray Warbler - 2-3 Missing today, many species — no swallows, no gulls, not many ducks, and no solid pipits [or larks or longspurs], despite quite a bit of effort. For the day, we came up with 49 species [down 29 from last week's total!] Good birding, Matt Bartels Seattle, WA	Dawn. Photo by Bob Asanoma
American Crow with a bum foot. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Male Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Savannah Sparrow. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Mourning Dove. Photo by Bob Asanoma
Song Sparrow. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Male Spotted Towhee. Photo by Hugh Jennings

Report for September 29, 2016 Birding at Marymoor

It’s definitely late fall. This morning started at 41 degrees with cold fog. It did eventually get warmer and sunny, but the birds know winter is coming. Our summer birds have fled, and our winter birds are arriving. Highlights: Cackling Goose Flock of ~60 – First Of Fall Western Grebe Seven on lake Double-crested Cormorant 1-3 – FOF Green Heron 2 at Rowing Club again Turkey Vulture 1 over boardwalk Northern Harrier 1 crossed slough near lake Eurasian Collared-Dove 3 sightings, 2-4 birds Pileated Woodpecker 3 sightings, prob. 2 birds Merlin Landed across mouth of slough from us Bushtit 1 huge flock; 30+ birds Pacific Wren 3, including 1 singing Ruby-crowned Kinglet ~10, with lots of singing HERMIT THRUSH 1 near last dog beach, first for 2016 American Robin Huge numbers ~200 American Pipit 1+ pre-dawn, 1 north of Compost Piles Yellow-rumped Warbler Dozens, with a few Myrtle’s amongst them Golden-crowned Sparrow Lots of singing We had a singing FOX SPARROW that was almost entirely white, with possibly symmetrical dark markings. If you were a newbie and tried to force an ID from the bird book, you might come up with Snow or McKay’s Bunting. VERY unique-looking bird, that I hope will stick around. No flycatchers, vireos, or swallows, and Yellow-rumped were the only warblers. For the day, 57 species. == Michael Hobbs	Golden-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver First-of-Fall Double-crested Cormorant. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Typical appearance of a "Sooty" Fox Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver	"Sooty" Fox Sparrow with extreme leucism. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Leucistic Fox Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Leucistic Fox Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Bushtit. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Hermit Thrush. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Hermit Thrush. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Northern Harrier. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Turkey Vulture. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Very pale Merlin. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Merlin. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Pileated Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Cooper's Hawk and Pileated Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Cooper's Hawk and Pileated Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Cooper's Hawk and Pileated Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Cooper's Hawk and Pileated Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Cooper's Hawk and Pileated Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Wood Duck pair at Rowing Club. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Male Wood Duck and Hooded Merganser. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Wilson's Snipe on boardwalk (!), 2016-09-28. Photo by Kazuto Shibata
Swainson's Thrush, 2016-09-25. Photo by Lillian Reis	Swainson's Thrush, 2016-09-25. Photo by Lillian Reis

Report for September 24, 2015 Birding at Marymoor

A truly gorgeous morning, with only occasional thin overcast, but mostly blue skies. Jupiter was really bright this morning until about 7:00. The day was birdy, with some really nice looks at common species. With the great viewing weather, we also managed some distant identifications that added to our species count. Nothing too unusual, but a really fine day. Highlights: Gr. White-fronted Goose 2 with Canadas, NE fields Western Grebe 1-2 well out on lake. First for 2015 Wilson’s Snipe 2 below weir, flew circles around us Band-tailed Pigeon A couple of sightings Barn Owl Heard near windmill, glimpses from Viewing Mound - all five woodpeckers - ThoughHairy and Pileated only glimpsed, barely heard Violet-green Swallow 1 seen well, maybe more Barn Swallow At least 2-3 Pacific Wren Spontaneously singing, visible, Big Cottonwood Forest – First of Fall Varied Thrush One overhead Orange-crowned Warbler 1 west of East Meadow Common Yellowthroat 1 heard, 1 seen Yellow Warbler 1 near mansion Yellow-rumped Warbler 10-20, including 1 Myrtle’s This is the earliest fall sighting we’ve ever had for PACIFIC WREN, and among the latest fall sightings for VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW and YELLOW WARBLER. We also had 2 MULE DEER on the far side of the slough downstream of the weir. For the day, 62 species. == Michael Hobbs	Wilson's Snipe. Photo by Ollie Oliver Wilson's Snipe. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Common Merganser and Mallards. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Stereotypical Downy Woodpecker pose. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Typical Downy Woodpecker pose. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Bald Eagle from Lake Platform. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose with Canada Geese. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Yellow Warbler. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Anna's Hummingbird. Photo by Lillian Reis
Hooded Merganser and Green Heron at Rowing Club pond. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Sharp-shinned Hawk. Photo by Lillian Reis
Spider. Photo by Ollie Oliver	River Otter. Photo by Lillian Reis

Report for September 25, 2014 Birding at Marymoor

Today was a learning experience. I learned that my raincoat is no longer waterproof. Drizzle at 7:00 a.m. quickly moved on through light rain, to heavy rain, to a downpour or three, almost completely dousing the birding possibilities. The rain didn’t slacken until we were leaving the off-leash area, and we had intermittent light rain and drizzle for much of the rest of the morning. Okay, by the Rowing Club there were some glimpses of blue skies. I think the other thing we learned is that a crappy day like today can end up with a pretty good bird list if you keep moving slowly and attentively and just hold the course. Highlights: Western Grebe 1 at lake, First of Fall Double-crested Cormorant One over slough at windmill – First of Fall Cooper’s Hawk At least 1 adult, 1 juvenile Wilson’s Snipe Several seen, including a close flyby of six Barn Owl Matt & Sharon had several glimpses, East Meadow Vaux’s Swift Getting late; 2+ at Rowing Club Violet-green Swallow 30 or so over Rowing Club Barn Swallow 2 over Rowing Club WESTERN SCRUB-JAY One in Snag Row – first for my personal park list Orange-crowned Warbler One at Compost Piles Yellow-rumped Warbler Numbers increasing, and both Aud. and Myrtle’s seen Evening Grosbeak Heard snatches, finally saw about 8 fly over House Sparrow Male at Compost Piles again This is the fourth WESTERN SCRUB-JAY sighting for Marymoor: three in August/September and one in December. For several of us, including Matt and myself, it was a new bird for our personal park lists. My list is now at 212, I believe. Early on, when the rains were torrential and the skies dimly lit, there were many flocks of ducks overhead. We ended up identifying only WOOD DUCK, MALLARD, NORTHERN SHOVELER, and HOODED MERGANSER, plus a COMMON MERGANSER in the slough. Many of the flyby ducks were probably AMERICAN WIGEON, and I was able to find a few of those at the north end of the lake after the walk. Others probably included Green-winged Teal and Northern Pintail, but neither of those could be confirmed. Sharon might also have had Band-tailed Pigeon, and there were a couple of other possible/probable species that we didn’t count. Besides the usual squirrels and bunnies, we saw one COYOTE on the far side of the slough below the weir. We also heard Pacific Tree Frogs. Despite the slightly damp weather (that is, I’m still slightly damp), we ended up with 60 species! It pays to slog the slog. == Michael Hobbs	Four Northern Shovelers. Photo by Ollie Oliver Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow in the rain. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Other than the flight call, how could you tell these were Evening Grosbeaks? Photo by Ollie Oliver	...By noticing the wing patterns. This is a female Evening Grosbeak, with the characteristic white marks in the middle of the wings. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Wet Lincoln's Sparrow. Photos by Ollie Oliver	* S H A K E *
That's better	Western Scrub-Jay. Photo by Hugh Jennings
American Crow in the Community Gardens in the rain. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Adult Cooper's Hawk. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Hooded Mergansers at the Rowing Club, 2014-09-24. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for September 26, 2013 Birding at Marymoor

The day started with a good amount of fog and never really warmed up, but it was birdy for our weekly walk at Marymoor Park. With Michael away, Brian Bell & I led a group of 10 on a pleasant fall day with some nice finds along the way. Highlights: Barn Owl - good looks during a break in the pre-dawn fog around 6:30 in the east meadow. Warblers - after some slow weeks, we finally had good numbers of warblers. Primarily Yellow-rumped [both Audubon's and Myrtle's], we also enjoyed looks at 3-4 Black-throated Gray Warblers and 3 Orange-crowned Warblers. Common Yellowthroats remained heard-only today. Pileated Woodpecker - first in over a month, I think, with two good sightings during the day Merlin - chasing a finch or Savannah Sparrow around the soccer fields Red-necked Grebe - pretty unusual for Marymoor Park, out quite a ways on the lake today Fox Sparrow & Golden-crowned Sparrows are both back in the park, and both were singing occasionally. We also heard a few Lincoln's Sparrows and got good looks at one of them. Chipping Sparrow - 1st winter bird - best bird of the day , found and photographed by Ollie Oliver in the Pea Patch Community Garden after the rest of the group had moved on. Green Heron - our juvie remains pretty reliable now at the Rowing Club pond. Several birds seem to have departed for the year, with no flycatchers, vireos, swallows, or swifts seen. Dave H. will be pleased to hear our Osprey appear to have departed, and we did not find any Rufous Hummers! For the day, 53 species, Matt Bartels Seattle, WA	Red-breasted Sapsucker. Photo by Hugh Jennings Golden-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Savannah Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Lincoln's Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Fox Sparrow. Photo by Lillian Reis	White-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Chipping Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Chipping Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Golden-crowned Kinglet. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Male Hooded Merganser. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for September 27, 2012 Birding at Marymoor

It started out foggy, and it took a long time to clear, but it was a very interesting day birding at Marymoor today. A real change in the bird selection has occurred, though a few “summer” birds are still hanging around, and we’re still waiting on many “winter” species. Highlights: Double-crested Cormorant Brian & Ollie saw 1 flying – First Of Fall Green Heron Juvenile at Rowing Club pond Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 at sunrise at Compost Piles Glaucous-winged Gull 1 adult – FOF Barn Owl 2 seen from new viewing mound Pileated Woodpecker Heard several times MERLIN Taiga subspecies! COMMON RAVEN One flew over the Dog Meadow PURPLE MARTIN Still at least a couple – very late Barn Swallow 2 still about Pacific Wren One at east end of boardwalk – FOF Ruby-crowned Kinglet At least 2 – FOF Swainson’s Thrush 1 unidentified thrush seen, 1 Swainson's heard AMERICAN PIPIT 5 on grass field #7 (near Lot G) Orange-crowned Warbler At least 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 50+ All over, both Audubon’s & Myrtle’s Black-throated Gray Warbler At least 3 – nice looks WHITE-THROATED SPARROW Tan-stripe bird near 3rd Dog Swim Beach That makes 5 First Of Fall birds. As we walked along the south edge of grass fields 7-8-9, the sound of PURPLE MARTINS caught my attention. Looking up, there was a MERLIN which 2 Purple Martins were harassing. Ollie got some photos, and looking at them, it appears to be a Taiga subspecies bird - quite unusual for Marymoor! For the day, 60 species. WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was new for the year. Our big miss for the day – Great Blue Heron! == Michael Hobbs	First Glaucous-winged Gull of fall. Photo by Ollie Oliver First Glaucous-winged Gull of fall. Photo by Ollie Oliver
White-throated Sparrow	White-throated Sparrow, showing how wide white throat appears in this species
Male Black-throated Gray Warbler. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Orange-crowned Warbler. Photo by Ollie Oliver
American Pipit. Photo by Ollie Oliver	American Pipit
Killdeer behaving strangely. They stood together on a log for a long time...	...then lay down together on the gravel roadway. ???
Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Common Raven. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Taiga subspecies Merlin. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Taiga subspecies Merlin. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Red-breasted Nuthatch	Red-breasted Nuthatch. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Common Yellowthroat near new boathouse. Photo by Ollie Oliver	First of fall: Pacific Wren, 2012-09-23. Photo by Ollie Oliver
American Pipit, 2012-09-23. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Merlin, 2012-09-23. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Hooded Merganser pair at Rowing Club pond, 2012-09-23. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Spider, 2012-09-23. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for September 29, 2011 Birding at Marymoor

It was a beautiful day, though cold (39) and a touch foggy at the start. It was immediately clear that it was birdier than last week, that's for sure. We kept lingering in the sunshine to try to get warm, as our clothing didn't quite match the season. Definitely, the fall birds are arriving, though still no ducks. Highlights: Greater White-fronted Goose 1 adult in slough, later near Pea Patch Cackling Goose 1 in a flock of Canadas Double-crested Cormorant 1; First of Fall TURKEY VULTURE Bob Schmidt reported 7 as he left Northern Harrier Juvenile over East Meadow Merlin With full crop, at lake platform Spotted Sandpiper Lillian saw 1 at weir Violet-green Swallow 2, and maybe some Barns as well Varied Thrush Scott Ramos reported 1 American Pipit Many, on grass soccer fields, parking lot Orange-crowned Warbler Scott had 2 Black-throated Gray Warbler 1-2; getting late for them Western Meadowlark FIFTEEN - East Meadow, Dog Meadow I think for the day, my total was around 53, but BobS, ScottR, and LillianR added at least 6 more between them. == Michael Hobbs	Mt. Rainier at sunrise through the morning fog
Adult Greater White-fronted Goose. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Adult Greater White-fronted Goose. Photo by Scott Ramos
Black-throated Gray Warbler. Photo by Lillian Reis	Fog-dewed spider webs were everywhere
Male Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Male Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Lillian Reis
Evening Grosbeak. Photo by Scott Ramos	Fox Sparrow. Photo by Scott Ramos
Spotted Sandpiper (top right) and Green Heron at weir. Photo by Lillian Reis	Red-eared Slider at Rowing Club, 2011-09-27. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Steller's Jay, 2011-09-27. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Marsh Wren, 2011-09-25. Photo by Lillian Reis

Report for September 30, 2010

A fantastic day at Marymoor, with a good group of people, and decent weather, and birds. We did have high fog/overcast to start, but it gradually cleared. We had good birding throughout,, with a fair amount of singing and lots of newly returned winter birds (FOF=First sighting of Fall) Highlights: Greater White-fronted Goose 1 with Canadas, like last week MERLIN Mobbed by ELEVEN flickers Peregrine Falcon Heading south high over mansion Wilson's Snipe 1 on grass fields BLACK SWIFT 1 over lake platform Vaux's Swift 1 over lake platform Pacific Wren Just south of dog area - FOF Hermit Thrush Just south of dog area - FOF AMERICAN PIPIT 5 in one flock, others overhead - FOF WHITE-THROATED SPARROW 1 near SODA barn - FOF Brewer's Blackbird Diseased male begging for food - Year bird Afterwards, I scanned the lake again, and picked out 2 RED-NECKED GREBE. Then, a flock of about 30 CACKLING GEESE (FOF) were seen and heard flying north into the park For warblers, we were down to just YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER(Audubon's and one Myrtle's) and a single COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. Singing birds included lots of FOX SPARROW song, and a little bit of RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET song, as well as 3 species of wren, plus Song Sparrow, House Finch, and Purple Finch. In addition to the 11 NORTHERN FLICKERS simultaneously mobbing (and being strafed by) the MERLIN, we had quite a few other sightings of flicker around the park. Hard to be sure I'm not double counting, but I'm pretty sure we had at least 15, which would be a high count for the park. This was only our second sighting of BLACK SWIFT later than mid-September. We had 4 on October 7, 1999. By a day, this was our earliest fall sighting of a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. Today's bird was a nice tan-stripe bird, calling loudly. For the day, 66 species. Wow. == Michael	White-throated Sparrow Merlin (top left) with six of the eleven mobbing Northern Flickers
Golden-crowned Sparrow at the Compost Piles. Photo by Capt. Haridas	Juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose
Male Brewer's Blackbird	Note the lesions on its feet
Bushtit. Photo by Capt. Haridas	Fungus photograph by Hugh Jennings
Leopard Slug	European Red Slug Photo by Capt. Haridas

Report for September 24, 2009

We had an unexpectedly good day at Marymoor. It was overcast, but we didn't suffer from fog nor precipitation. Fall is definitely here, though we did find one good flock, just south of the Dog Area, of hangers-on from summer. Highlights: American Wigeon First of fall Northern Harrier Several looks Barn Owl Early over the East Meadow Western Wood-Pewee One at the Rowing Club Warbling Vireo One with "the flock" Orange-crowned Warbler One with "the flock" Yellow Warbler One with "the flock" Yellow-rumped Warbler About 5 with "the flock" Black-throated Gray Warbler One with "the flock" American Pipit About 15 in grass soccer field lot Fox Sparrow One gave us great looks We had a 5 woodpecker day (the expected 5: RBSA, DOWO, HAWO, NOFL, PIWO), though the Hairy was barely seen, and the Pileated was heard to the west of the park. And we had the 8 expected sparrows - Towhee, Savannah, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Golden-crowned, and Junco. == Michael	We don't really think of small mammals moving around a lot through "unsuitable" habitat, but they must do some of that. We had our first ever DOUGLAS SQUIRREL, along the slough at the 2nd dog swim beach. It ran across the beach access and went into a small maple. There are no large conifers anywhere near that location, and very few cones on the very young planted Doug Firs in the riparian strip. A terrible photo, but you can kind of make out that this is a Douglas Squirrel.
Fox Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Wood Duck pair. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Northern Harrier. Photo by Ollie Oliver	American Pipit
American Pipit. Photo by Ollie Oliver	American Pipit. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Western Wood-Pewee at the Rowing Club	Common Yellowthroat in the Pea Patch. Photo 2009-09-27 by Lillian Reis
American Crow mobbing Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2009-09-27. Photo by Lillian Reis	Sharp-shinned Hawk getting a hold of a mobbing American Crow, 2009-09-27. Photo by Lillian Reis

Report for September 25, 2008

Predawn through early morning was absolutely magical today, but by 9:30, it began to rain, and it was generally damp (though mostly not raining) and cloudy the rest of the morning. It didn't seem that birdy - maybe the birds were chased off by the abundance of accipiters and falcons. I got there early - early enough that the moon was a gorgeous sliver, that Orion was still clearly visible, and either Saturn or Jupiter was keeping Orion company. The sky was light in the east and there were no clouds overhead and no hint of fog. I met up with Scott, who told me I'd missed the Barn Owl by about 10 minutes, but we waited along the edge of the East Meadow anyway, hoping to see one again. And sure enough, Scott spotted two, and we watched them fly together around the north end of the East Meadow. Eventually one worked its way down the middle of the meadow towards us before disappearing to the southeast. A really nice start to the morning. And then there was the parade of raptors: Bald Eagle One at the lake Northern Harrier Male hunting the East Meadow Sharp-shinned Hawk 1-2 Cooper's Hawk More than a half-dozen sightings Red-tailed Hawk Only 2 Peregrine Falcon Dark bird flew down the slough American Kestrel Looping its way south over the East Meadow We had Cooper's Hawk chasing Cooper's Hawk, COHA chasing Northern Harrier. COHA chasing and almost catching Northern Flicker,... Other highlights: Wilson's Snipe Along the slough below the weir American Coot First of Fall - maybe 15 on the lake Vaux's Swift Maybe 20 swirling together over the slough American Robin Huge numbers today Orange-crowned Warbler Only 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler Large flock (20-30) in one tree early Townsend's Warbler One northeast of mansion Evening Grosbeak Flock of 12 at the south end of the Dog Meadow We also had two Raccoons, some deer, and a large jumping salmon. No more Black-headed Grosbeaks. Only 1 Swainson's Thrush. Only Barn Swallows left, but still fairly plentiful. Summer is definitely on its last legs. But no winter ducks today, and still no Ruby-crowned Kinglets or Winter Wrens, so we're not quite switched to winter either. For the day, 58 species. == Michael	From last week, Scott Ramos' photo of a Barn Owl, 2008-09-18 Dick Martin's photo of a Yelow-rumped Warbler, 2008-09-22
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Golden-crowned Sparrow
Male Northern Harrier	Two Raccoons across the slough from Dog Central
Male Purple Finch	Belted Kingfisher on the martin gourds

Report for September 27, 2007

It was overcast to start, with some wisps of fog, but nothing like what the forecast called for. We weren't hampered by the fog at all. Slowly cleared to a sunny noontime. Birdy, but most of the birds were Yellow-rumped Warblers and Fox Sparrows. There were 8 or 9 birders, and we enjoyed a pretty good day.

Highlights:

Horned Grebe                 Three at lake, one close to platform
Western Grebe                Nine at lake
Green Heron                   One at lake
Cooper's Hawk               Great look at adult at Pea Patch
PEREGRINE FALCON One flying down slough at noon
Barn Owl                         East Meadow, 6:30 a.m.
VAUX'S SWIFT             Maybe 25 seen flying south up the slough
Winter Wren                    First of fall - one ticking in the Cottonwood Forest
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     First of fall - 2 - one singing
American Pipit                 Several flyovers of 1-2 birds each
Yellow-rumped Warbler Ubiquitous - 100+
Townsend's Warbler        One in the cherry trees with Yellow-rumps
Fox Sparrow                   Many, many (25?), some singing
White-crowned Sparrow Singing gambelli at the Pea Patch
Golden-crowned Sparrow Many, some singing

While watching the PEREGRINE FALCON, I noticed several VAUX'S SWIFTS flying south up the slough. They were flying fairly high, and while they were doing some feeding-type circling about, many of them were heading fairly straight south. There may have been more that we didn't notice. Could well have been a migrating wave of swifts.

For the day, 59 species. For the year, we're at an even 150 species.

== Michael

Horned Grebe from the lake platform

Yellow-rumped Warbler