Friends of Marymoor Park

Bird Sightings Week 46
November 12-18*

Rarities for Week 46:

Brant	15-Nov-14	fide Rohan Kamath, ph.
Barrow's Goldeneye	13-Nov-14	One
Iceland Gull (L. g. thayeri)	14-Nov-96
Cattle Egret	15-Nov-94	Reported by Bob Dolphin, as reported in WOSNews 35
Red-breasted x Red-naped Sapsucker hybrid	15-Nov-18	Big Cottonwood Forest just south of the Dog Area
American Tree Sparrow	17-Nov-21	One in East Meadow, one in Pea Patch
Swamp Sparrow	14-Nov-01	Compost Piles
Swamp Sparrow	15-Nov-18	Below weir
Swamp Sparrow	18-Nov-10	Below weir
Swamp Sparrow	17-Nov-22	Below weir

Report for November 14, 2024 Birding at Marymoor

Our walk this morning was blissfully free of interruption by bird sightings. Except for Kinglets which were numerous and widespread. Luckily, we were also almost completely free of precipitation, with only a little mist and mizzle until about 10:30, when we had some drizzle. The real rains came on my way home.

Highlights:

Peregrine Falcon - Quick flyby at the mansion - First of Year (FOY)
California Scrub-Jay - Continue north of the maintenance facility near the east entrance to the park
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Very common and widespread
Golden-crowned Kinglet - At least twice as numerous as RCKI, and at least as widespread

We did have SEVEN SPECIES OF DUCK, but that totaled a mere 25 birds, half of which were MALLARDS. There was a lone AMERICAN WIGEON, about 5-6 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, one RING-NECKED DUCK and two BUFFLEHEAD in the slough, and two each of COMMON and HOODED MERGANSER.

Other highlights were some good conversations and temps right around 50 all morning long, chilly with the breeze but not bad.

Misses today included: Gadwall, American Coot, Killdeer, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Shrike, Bushtit, Marsh Wren, American Goldfinch, and Lincoln's Sparrow. And super-surprising, we had only a tiny heard-only flock of CACKLING GEESE at about 7:30, with none landing in the park. This, after ~2000 on recent Thursdays.

For the day, we managed to eke out 51 species, and with notably low numbers of almost all of those. By my numbers, we had 26 species with fewer than 5 individuals, and another 10 with 6-10 individuals. Only AMERICAN CROW (75) and PINE SISKIN (100?) were over 50 individuals. Median 5, mean of fewer than 10. Not a very exciting day.

= Michael Hobbs

Report for November 16, 2023 Birding at Marymoor

While many of you may have had a gorgeous morning today, at Marymoor it was cold (31 degrees at 7:30) and FOGGY. Again. For a while, we could barely see the far side of the slough. Somewhat birdy, but low on surprises. Highlights: Trumpeter Swan - Three silent birds as the fog cleared. First of Fall (FOF) Common Merganser - Two flying towards the lake. First in a month Hairy Woodpecker - One male, and later one female Merlin - Again Northern Shrike - East of the East Meadow - (FOF) for the survey Varied Thrush - Only seen in high fly-overs - three total White-crowned Sparrow - Singing "gambelli" subspecies A late scan of the lake turned up a WESTERN GREBE (FOF) Yesterday afternoon, I watched a SHORT-EARED OWL driven off by crows heading to their night roosts (FOF). Misses today included Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Rock Pigeon, Short-billed Gull, Bushtit, Purple Finch, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Yellow-rumped Warbler. For the day, 52 species. = Michael Hobbs
Three silent swans. Photo by Tony Ernst	Luckily, Tony was quick with the camera so we could get a positive ID.
Belted Kingfisher in flight. Photo by Tony Ernst	Northern Shrike east of the East Meadow. Photo by Tony Ernst

Report for November 17, 2022 Birding at Marymoor

We have many good days at Marymoor, but I think today counts as a great day (and part of a really great November). It started out feeling bitterly cold, though it was only just below freezing (cold enough, though, that the Rowing Club pond is 95% ice-covered). But it was sunny, and it warmed to 50 degrees by the time I left. It wasn't particularly birdy; we didn't really come across great mixed flocks, or that sort of thing. It was the unexpected birds that made it fabulous. Highlights: Short-eared Owl - Just about 7:00 a.m., one high above the East Meadow and Lot G, pursued by a couple of dozen American Crows Northern Saw-whet Owl - Matt heard calls pre-dawn near east end of boardwalk HORNED LARK - Still at the NE corner of the Compost Piles and in the nearby grass, where it's been for the past 5 days - First of Year (FOY) Hermit Thrush - One along slough trail in the Big Cottonwood Forest (south of the Dog Meadow) AMERICAN TREE SPARROW - Two seen, one a the Pea Patch, before and after seeing one along the East Meadow main trail (FOY) White-throated Sparrow - One with Golden- and White-crowned Sparrows near the Dog Area portapotties SWAMP SPARROW - One heard and seen along slough, as far north of the weir as the the mowing extends below the weir (FOY) Western Meadowlark - One on the Viewing Mound After the main survey, I walked the Compost Piles and East Meadow again, picking up the 2nd American Tree Sparrow and a NORTHERN SHRIKE. We did not see the Clay-colored Sparrow that was first seen 2022-11-13, and which (as late as last evening) seemed to be hanging out with the HORNED LARK. The lark was our first since 2017, the Clay-colored the first since 2018. With those two tempting targets, there have been many birders and photographers flocking to the park for the last couple of weeks (oh, yeah, a couple of weeks ago when we had our first Harris's Sparrow). Many, many species have been recorded in the park the last two weeks, including at least twelve species of sparrow. Today, Rafael had an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and a BOBCAT in the Pea Patch while chasing the American Tree Sparrows! Our misses today included Green-winged Teal, Western Grebe, Short-billed Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Bushtit, Pine Siskin, and Lincoln's Sparrow, though many of those species were reported by non-survey people today. We had 60 species plus my after-count Northern Shrike. = Michael Hobbs
Short-eared Owl, 2022-11-16. Photo by Michael Hobbs	Hermit Thrush. Photo by Michael Hobbs
Horned Lark. Photo by Michael Hobbs	Western Meadowlark. Photo by Michael Hobbs
American Tree Sparrow. Photo by Michael Hobbs	American Tree Sparrow. Photo by Michael Hobbs

Report for November 18, 2021 Birding at Marymoor

This morning was wonderful. Not too cold, not breezy, no precipitation, not too dark, not too flooded. We had a big group and we all really enjoyed the day, I think. The birds were pretty cooperative, and though we didn’t have any particular rarities we did have some “less expected” birds.

Highlights:

Snow Goose – single bird just after 7:30 circled the flock of gulls that were sitting on the grass, seemingly disappointed that white birds with black wingtips weren’t other Snow Geese
Wood Duck – pair near Rowing Club dock
Green-winged Teal – three below weir
Ring-necked Pheasant – heard “Lonesome George II” for the first time in seven weeks – he lives!
Western Grebe – one on the lake
Northern Harrier – adult male(!) in the East Meadow – we rarely get adult males at the park
Great Horned Owl – Eric heard 1 or 2 very early
Peregrine Falcon – adult perched east of the boardwalk. At the park we’ve rarely seen perched PEFA and rarely definite adults. The bird was buzzed by a COOPER’S HAWK
Cedar Waxwing – quite a few, scattered, hanging with American Robins
Savannah Sparrow – one still present, East Meadow
White-throated Sparrow – one with other Zonos NE of the weir
Western Meadowlark – two seen near model airplane field at 7:15
Yellow-rumped Warbler – a few scattered sightings, maybe 4 birds in all, after three weeks of “misses”

A late scan of the lake turned up a HORNED GREBE, and a flock of about 20 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS perched in a tree which later flew towards the Lake Platform. As I was leaving the park, I spotted the only definite ROCK PIGEONS of the day up near Hwy 520.

I got word (and photos) that a LONG-EARED OWL was found dead in the park a couple of days ago Sad smile

Misses today were few: Gadwall, Ring-necked Duck, Northern Shrike, and Marsh Wren. Hopefully, duck diversity will increase starting next week.

For the (very pleasant) day, 65 species!

= Michael Hobbs

Dark-eyed Junco. Photo by Bob Asanoma

Report for November 15, 2018 Birding at Marymoor

A really nice day at the park today, under a little overcast but warm, windless, and very birdy for the first few hours. The biggest highlights were a RED-NAPED x RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER and a SWAMP SPARROW! Highlights: Cackling Goose – huge flock (1200+) eventually landed just east of main park entrance Wood Duck – female at Rowing Club Common Goldeneye – female seen from Lake Platform – First of Fall (FOF) Green Heron – Rowing Club pond yet again Red-tailed Hawk – I counted 6 – quite a lot, really Great Horned Owl – Matt heard many calls predawn – FOF RED-NAPED x RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER – in Big Cottonwood Forest south of the dog area Hairy Woodpecker – female at Rowing Club Merlin – One streaked past just after 7:30 PEREGRINE FALCON – one flapped past the Viewing Mound just before 7:30 Northern Shrike – Adult across the street north of Viewing Mound Cedar Waxwing – only a few today Lincoln’s Sparrow – two at Viewing Mound blackberries SWAMP SPARROW – we got great looks at one just below the weir Western Meadowlark - 6+ in Triangle Wetland north of Fields 7-8-9 Yellow-rumped Warbler – one This was our first SWAMP SPARROW sighting since 2013, and about our 12th ever. It was very cooperative, coming closer and closer, eventually giving everyone good looks. It was in the shrubs around the main channel of the slough, maybe 20 yards below (north of) the weir. The RED-NAPED x RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was maybe even more cooperative, giving us a long series of views which allowed many plumage details to be noted. It looked almost good for Red-naped, with two rows of white barring on the back, a black bib bordering the bottom of the red chin/throat, but it had too much red on the back of the head to be pure, and not enough of a complete white swoosh back from the bill. This is only the 5th time such a hybrid has been noted at Marymoor. Misses for the day were Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Virginia Rail, Ring-billed Gull (though we had many unidentified gulls, so...), Bushtit, Purple Finch, and Pine Siskin, all of which have been seen at least 12 of the last 24 years. But we did end up with 59 species for the day, plus the Sapsucker hybrid. It really was a fabulous day. = Michael Hobbs	Cackling Geese. Photo by Bob Asanoma Cackling Geese. Photo by Bob Asanoma
House Finch. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Red-breasted x Red-naped Sapsucker hybrid. Photo by Bob Asanoma	Red-breasted x Red-naped Sapsucker hybrid. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Adult Northern Shrike. Photo by Bob Asanoma	Green Heron. Photo by Bob Asanoma

Report for November 16, 2017 Birding at Marymoor

We weren't expecting much rain today, and until about 8:30, the rain was minimal and birds were everywhere. Then suddenly it became pretty birdless. And we also had light rain pretty continuously for the rest of the morning. Highlights: Trumpter Swan - 3 flocks flying south close overhead: 13, 10, and 8 birds respectively Northern Pintail - several large flocks flying south - First of Fall I think Sharp-shinned Hawk - one Cooper's Hawk - one adult, one juvie Barn Owl - one in East Meadow around 7am Western Screech-Owl - Matt heard one, early Northern Saw-whet Owl - Matt heard two together, early Notable number of Fox Sparrows, including 8 together once Lincoln's Sparrow - first in several weeks We had many "misses", including having only flicker and no other woodpeckers. For the day, we managed 49 species - Michael Hobbs	Spotted Towhee. Photo by Bob Asanoma
Fox Sparrow. Photo by Bob Asanoma	Fox Sparrows. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Five Fox Sparrows and a Golden-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Hugh Jennings	European Starlings and two Killdeer (far left). Photo by Hugh Jennings
Adult Cooper's Hawk. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Trumpeter Swans. Photo by Bob Asanoma

Report for November 17, 2016 Birding at Marymoor

We had really nice weather – unexpectedly nice weather – today. A bit overcast, but no precipitation beyond maybe a hint of sprinkles. No fog. Sunshine emerging. Little wind. Couldn’t ask for better. And it was pretty birdy. Highlights: SNOW GOOSE Flock of ~200 flew up the slough about 7:45 Cackling Goose Flock of maybe 600 on grass fields Trumpeter Swan Four flew close overhead, CALLING Greater Scaup Lone female with Buffleheads at lake Common Merganser Three flew by – first in a month - small loon - Close flyby, which meant we got underside view Green Heron One at Rowing Club pond W. Screech-Owl Matt heard one early Great Horned Owl Matt heard two early near park maintenance bldg. Pileated Woodpecker Pair worked apple trees near 3rd dog swim beach Merlin TWO just south of Dog Area and across slough HUTTON’S VIREO One just in front of Clise Mansion Orange-crowned Warbler One briefly seen at Pea Patch Townsend’s Warbler One just in front of Clise Mansion WH.-THR SPARROW One near east footbridge south of East Meadow The LOON looked like either PACIFIC or RED-THROATED, as it seemed very much Common Merganser sized, and not large and fat like a Common Loon. Very white underside. It flew south past the boardwalk. The HUTTON’S VIREO is only about our 12th sighting EVER for that species at Marymoor. For the day, 67-68 species! = Michael Hobbs	A small portion of the flock of Snow Geese. Photo by Ollie Oliver Bushtit. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Matching juvenile White-crowned Sparrows. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Pileated Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Double-crested Cormorant. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Adult Cooper's Hawk. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Two of the four Trumpeter Swans. Photo by Ollie Oliver	A shy Lincoln's Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Skulking White-throated Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver	White-throated Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Townsend's Warbler. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Hutton's Vireo. Compare with Ruby-crowend Kinglets below. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for November 16, 2014 Birding at Marymoor

The cold settled firmly down in the valley. It was sunny and TWENTY-THREE degrees when we began our walk this morning. Luckily, no wind, but after the first 45 minutes we began to get swaths of very thin clouds that we did not appreciate at all, since they cut down on the sun’s warmth noticeably. Despite (or perhaps because of) the cold, it was pretty birdy this morning. And it did warm up eventually, to perhaps 42 degrees. Highlights: Gr. White-fronted Goose Two with a huge flock of Cacklers Cackling Goose ~1250 spent the morning in the NE corner Trumpeter Swan 5 flew over right at 7:30. Ring-necked Duck Two at Rowing Club – First of Fall Greater Scaup Small flock flyover, ID’s by length of white wing stripes Common Goldeneye Two females in slough – First of Fall Northern Saw-whet Owl Matt heard one near park entrance cedars early Hairy Woodpecker First in five weeks Northern Shrike Juvenile in middle of Dog Meadow Bushtit Three flocks, after 2 months of rare scattered sightings Evening Grosbeak Male perched in Oregon Ash at Rowing Club We had a total of NINE species of duck this morning, our first fall day with a really good selection of waterfowl. The large CACKLING GOOSE flock was mostly the minima subspecies but did include several larger Cacklers, presumably Taverners. There was also one minima type that had a lot of white speckling all over the head and neck, and another one that was partially leucistic and was “frosty” all over. Todd and Lillian both reported AMERICAN KESTREL and NORTHERN HARRIER once the day got warmer. Todd also had a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. We had 61 species on the walk, plus the three species seen by Todd, for a total of 64 species on a frosty November day. Not bad at all. == Michael Hobbs	Trumpeter Swan family. Photo by Ollie Oliver Female Downy Woodpecker Photo by Ollie Oliver
Female Barrow's Goldeneye. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Female Barrow's Goldeneye. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Killdeer with frost on its back. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Female Purple Finch. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Adult Bald Eagle. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Adult Greater White-fronted Goose with Cackling Geese. Photo by Ollie Oliver.
Cackling Geese put to flight by a Bald Eagle. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Juvenile Bald Eagle. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Juvenile Mew Gull with odd tuft of neck feathers. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Mew Gulls, and 2nd winter Ring-billed Gull (left) in flight. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Adult Cooper's Hawk. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Ring-necked Duck pair at Rowing Club. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Evening Grosbeak. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Male Evening Grosbeak. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Green-winged Teal. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Northern Harrier. Photo by Lillian Reis
Male American Kestrel. Photo by Lillian Reis	Male American Kestrel. Photo by Lillian Reis
Eastern Gray Squirrel. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Male American Kestrel, 2014-11-11. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Adult Northern Shrike, 2014-11-11. Photo by Vickie Scales	Bewick's Wren, 2014-11-11. Photo by Ollie Oliver
White-crowned Sparrow juvenile, 2014-11-11. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Song Sparrow, 2014-11-11. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for November 14, 2013 Birding at Marymoor

The weather was way better than we had any right to expect. It rained, somewhat hard at times, between about 6:15 and 7:45, but as our official start time was 7:30, we mostly missed the precipitation. There was some mist for a while, and then not even that. And soon after I got home, rain started again, so we definitely dodged a bullet. We had birds in little spurts, and nothing terribly notable. The CLAY-COLORED SPARROW seems to have moved on, maybe with the SAVANNAH SPARROWS. We found neither today, and I couldn’t find any eBird reports of those species at Marymoor from after Veteran’s Day. Here are some of the highlights we did have: Wood Duck Drake at lake Green-winged Teal 3 at Rowing Club Ring-necked Duck 1 at RC – First of Fall Common Goldeneye 1 female at lake, First of Fall Common Merganser Five flew north at about 7:45 Hairy Woodpecker Male in East Meadow Northern Shrike Adult this week (I had a very brown juvenile last week) Varied Thrush Male near windmill American Pipit Heard twice over Compost Piles Purple Finch Two, East Meadow, after 3 week absence For the day, 57 species. == Michael Hobbs	Male Hairy Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Dark-eyed Junco. Photo by Ollie Oliver	This Varied Thrush was so high up a tree, we had trouble seeing the field marks. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Yellow-rumped Warbler, showing it's distinctive tail markings in flight. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Female Green-winged Teal at the Rowing Club. Note how different angles change the apparent color of the green specula. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Marsh Wren. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Marsh Wren. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for November 15, 2012 Birding at Marymoor

The fog that was forecast for this morning was all at Marymoor. We could see sun shining all around the park, but we were in cold, clammy, gray gloom until we got to the Rowing Club. I think some birds were avoiding the park because of the fog. We heard geese (CANADA and CACKLING) fly by unseen in the fog. Our sparrow count was probably low for a different reason – a very active COOPER’S HAWK working the Compost Piles seemingly all day. Highlights: FOF=First of Fall Greater(?) Scaup FOF – about 4 at lake Common Goldeneye FOF Northern Harrier Working the north end of the East Meadow Merlin Sharon and Ollie both saw one WILSON’S SNIPE GREAT LOOKS below weir, at least 8 Barn Owl Only owl, despite lots of searching for others Pileated Woodpecker Heard at both N & S ends of park Common Raven Sharon saw one, harassed by crows Varied Thrush Sharon heard one ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER One near Dog Central This was just the 8th ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER sighting we’ve ever had for the Nov.-Feb. timeframe, with the previous sightings on 01-Nov-07, 07-Nov-01, 21-Nov-01, 30-Nov-01, 19-Dec-01, 24-Dec-01, 09-Jan-02, and 19-Jan-95 (and no sightings for February). Today's bird gave us some really nice looks. For the day, we just eked out 60 species, but that included several species seen/heard only by one or two people. Still, not bad for a foggy day in November. == Michael Hobbs	Three Wilson's Snipe below the weir. Photo by Ollie Oliver There are five Wilson's Snipe in this shot.
That's the sun at about 8:30 a.m. No special filter necessary for taking the shot. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Female Hairy Woodpecker near the lake platform. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Adult Cooper's Hawk. Photo by OllieOliver	American Crow giving token harassment to a Northern Harrier.
Adult Northern Shrike. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Brilliant male Anna's Hummingbird a the park office feeder. Photo by Hugh Jennings

Report for November 17, 2011 Birding at Marymoor

The weather could have been way worse. By the time we started this morning, it was over 40 degrees, and at least partly sunny (and getting sunnier). The wind was dropping down to where it was only gusty, but without much sustained wind, at least at times. We didn't get any rain. There was still enough wind, though, to keep the little birds mostly hidden away and quiet. But we did okay for a November day. Highlights: Northern Shoveler 2 in the slough - First of Fall (FOF) Ring-necked Duck 5 at the Rowing Club pond - FOF Common Goldeneye Male in slough - FOF Merlin 1 at RC. Seen 15 of 46 weeks in 2011! Great Horned Owl Matt & Scott had many looks before 6:30 am Northern Shrike Seen both from Compost Piles and north of 7-8-9 (same bird, we believe) We also ended up with some pretty nice looks at various common birds, such as GOLDEN-CROWNED and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, and BROWN CREEPER. For the day, 53 species. == Michael Hobbs	Northern Shoveler. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Anna's Hummingbird near the park office. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Four of the five Ring-necked Ducks with a Hooded Merganser. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Great Blue Heron. Photo by Ollie Olvier	White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, 2011-11-15. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Mew Gull, 2011-11-15. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Mew Gulls, 2011-11-15. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Lincoln's Sparrow, 2011-11-15. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Brown Creeper, 2011-11-13. Photo by Lillian Reis

Report for November 18, 2010 Birding at Marymoor

Cold, blowy, and sometimes rainy, the weather didn't give us much hope for birds. Adding in the incessant noise of leaf blowers from all quarters, along with the swish-swish sound from people's rain pants, and more dog/dog owner noises than usual, birding by ear was really tough. But early on, Matt heard a chip note and immediately called it right. The chip note sounded a bit like White-throated Sparrow only a bit sweeter, perhaps. We were about 100 yards north (downstream) from the weir, and the calls were coming from the edge of the blackberries. Matt pulled out his iPod, and after an EXTENSIVE effort, we got some quick views of a SWAMP SPARROW. Based on the chip notes, there might have been two birds present. We had a LONG quiet spell after that, without too much to be seen. The Rowing Club, though, also proved delightful. Highlights: Wood Duck Pair in slough Northern Shoveler 1 female at Rowing Club. First of Fall. Green Heron Still on the west edge of the RC pond Merlin Flew by while we were looking at the SWSP Wilson's Snipe Amazing look at RC pond Hairy Woodpecker Along east edge of East Meadow Northern Shrike Juvenile again in East Meadow SWAMP SPARROW As noted above For the day, we managed 54 species. == Michael	Swamp Sparrow This Northern Flicker looked like a Yellow-shafted form in flight...
...and it had the red mark on the nape of the neck like a Yellow-shafted...	...but the malar stripes were red, and the lower face was gray like a Red-shafted form
Buffleheads in the slough	Northern Shoveler at the Rowing Club
Wilson's Snipe at the Rowing Club	This guy just sat there forever, giving us great looks
"What-are-you-lookin'-at, Bub?"	American Crows mobbing an adult Cooper's Hawk, 2010-11-12. Photos by Hugh Jennings
Wilson's Snipe, Rowing Club, 2010-11-12. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Male Belted Kingfisher, 2010-11-12. Photo by Ollie Oliver
	Green Heron near the old beaver lodge at the east edge of the main pond at the Rowing Club, 2010-11-12. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for November 12, 2009

Before and after a touch of dawn fog, we had an absolutely gorgeous day at Marymoor today. It was chilly but windless, and when the sun shone, it was very pleasant. Not too terribly birdy, but there were some good, if brief, sightings. Upon arriving home this evening, I was greeted by an email from Tom Sanders, with links to photos. At about 1:00 p.m., he had a stunning male MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD in the East Meadow. We've never had a fall bluebird sighting before, and I cannot find any reference to a November western Washington Mountain Bluebird sighting ever. Does anyone have one? (I found records from every other month, but with very few October sightings and no November). There was one other sighting that I'll mention here. I'm almost positive of ID, but because the sighting was brief and of birds in flight only, I'm refraining from adding this species to the Marymoor list right now. As some of us were walking the north edge of the East Meadow, I heard waxwing-like calls from a flock of fast-flying birds - only the call was a kind of churring call. I called out "waxwing", but my sense was that they seemed large and grayer. I also noted some white spots on the upper wing in flight. It penetrated my consciousness that these might (or some of these might) be BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS. I tried, as they flew away, to get a confirming look at undertail coverts. They seemed dark, but the birds were past so quickly, I cannot be 100% positive. They were heading west, and we were unable to locate any waxwings subsequently. I'm so, so, so close to being sure that's what they were. But... Other highlights: Cackling Goose Flocks totaling at least 500 Northern Pintail A small flock flew down slough Northern Harrier Adult male, flying very high, heading south Cooper's Hawk Gorgeous adult at Compost Piles Pileated Woodpecker Two sightings on far side of slough Winter Wren Like last week, singing east of weir Purple Finch Again in tiny Ash at 2nd dog beach Evening Grosbeak One flew circles around Compost Piles calling For the day, 53 species. == Michael	Tom Sanders found this male Mountain Bluebird in the East Meadow around 1pm The Cascades were sparkling in fresh snow
Ollie Oliver's shot of the Pileated Woodpecker	Bewick's Wren
Most of today's group. Photo by Lillian Reis	Hugh Jennings keeps his feet dry on the new boardwalk extension (6" of water below)
Adult Cooper's Hawk at the Compost Piles	Ollie's photo of the Cooper's Hawk stretching
Northern Flicker on the windmill blade	Some of about 50 American Coots in the slough near the Rowing Club dock
Ollie's photo of a Great Blue Heron at the Rowing Club, 2009-11-10	Ollie's photo of a Wood Ducks at the Rowing Club, 2009-11-10

Report for November 13, 2008

I think the rain stopped about 6:00 a.m. (Matt and Scott, who were already birding at that hour might be able to be more precise on the timing). The morning was still cloudy to start, with a few breezy gusts, but it turned into a gorgeous morning. Birds were about, probably glad for a break in the weather. For some reason, we didn't manage that many really close sightings of most species, but things were definitely around. The water level was about 1' 3" higher than last week! (And about 4" higher than yesterday morning) This meant flooding near the start of the boardwalk, and generally muddy conditions elsewhere. Rubber boots were definitely called for. Matt and Scott had BARN OWLs, Matt with 2 at the windmill, and another flying over the road; Scott had one over the East Meadow. Scott also flushed a SHORT-EARED OWL. Those guys were out birding about the time I got up for the day... We had the usual 5 species of gulls for this time of year at Marymoor - mostly MEW GULLs, with about 10% GLAUCOUS-WINGED and "Olympic" Gulls, a few RING-BILLED GULLS, at least one CALIFORNIA GULL, and one pure-looking WESTERN GULL. All of these were swirling around the grass fields early on. With one group was a small shorebird, probably a DUNLIN. The biggest surprise was an amazingly late-season VAUX'S SWIFT that was generally above the weir area at about 8:00 a.m. This is fully 6 weeks later than we've ever had one before. Large flocks of CACKLING GEESE flew overhead before about 8:30. Some of those flocks had a few CANADA GEESE as well. In all, we had 400-500 Cacklers, though none on the ground. A NORTHERN SHRIKE (I think only one) gave us many good looks. It was ranging over a large area, from the model airplane field all the way over to the Pea Patch (though never seen north of the road, and usually within about 100 yards of it.) A very nice adult bird. This was our first look at a shrike at Marymoor this fall, although Tom Sanders photographed possibly the same one on the 4th - see the next issue of WOSNews. We had many accipiter sightings (at least 3-4 different birds and more sightings). I'm confident we had both Sharpie and Cooper's, but I was definitely not able to tell on several of the sightings Duck numbers continue to be low. We had a few MALLARD, about a dozen BUFFLEHEAD, a somewhat late WOOD DUCK, and several HOODED MERGANSER. John Tubbs reported some GREEN-WINGED TEAL, but that was it for ducks. For the day, 59 species (and no mammals, curiously enough). == Michael	A flock at least substantially comprising Cacking Geese though there may be a Canada Goose or two Northern Shrike near model airplane field
Lincoln's Sparrow at the Compost Piles	Lincoln's Sparrow watching a Song Sparrow zip past.
Northern Shrike, north of grass soccer fields 7-8-9	Bufflehead pair at Rowing Club
Flooded fungi	This mushroom, in the East Meadow, was about 2" tall

Report for November 15, 2007

Weather reports, schmether reports. Despite many of us gearing up for rain, the weather was very nice this morning until well after 11:00, and we didn't get real rain until we were past the pond at the Rowing Club. The rest of the morning it was fairly warm, windless, and pleasant. We noodled our way around the park, finding what was there and looking for what wasn't there.

A few highlights:

Hundreds of CACKLING GEESE flew into the park and landed on the grass soccer fields between about 7:10 and 7:30, and remained at least for the whole morning. They easily outnumbered CANADA GEESE. Most were clearly minima subspecies. There were some geese that were intermediate between the big Canadas and the small minimas; whether they were small CANGs or large CACGs, I don't know. I took some photos, but I'm stumped at this point as to how to identify the muddle in the middle.

The slough edge was active with PINE SISKINS. We watched one flock of 50+ fly around the first dog swim area, but further down there seemed to be many more, with groups of 20-30 flying from treetop to treetop and generally being everywhere in that strip of riparian corridor between the weir and the south end of the dog area. 75? 100? 200? more? Hard to say. Nice to have large numbers back after the last couple of winters.

A juvenile TRUMPETER SWAN was a surprise. We found it floating down the slough a the 3rd dog swim beach, and it quickly drifted towards the weir. I *so* wanted it to be Tundra, but I must confess that it wasn't. This is the second time I've ever had a juvenile swan at Marymoor, both Trumpeters, both in the slough above the weir. We've had adults fly over the park 14 times. Of those, the ones that called were all Trumpeters, but most flocks were silent or too far up/away to hear. So Trumpeter Swan is on the park list and Tundra remains stubbornly off.

A First-Of-Fall COMMON GOLDENEYE, a female, was at the lake with a few BUFFLEHEADS and a HOODED MERGANSER. There were 25-30 Bufflehead today, the most we've had this fall. And we had 10+ Hoodies, 4 at the Rowing Club and the rest at the lake. But duck diversity and numbers are still very low.

There were at least a couple of flyby AMERICAN PIPITS, including one that called very close to our heads at the south end of the East Meadow as it flew by.

A single TOWNSEND'S WARBLER popped out among Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Brown Creeper northeast of the mansion.

A SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, heavily laden with prey, was flushed by three off-leash dogs near the mansion. It flew up the path right past us, at an elevation of about three feet, then disappeared into the shrubbery. I think it was carrying a Spotted Towhee, but it went by too suddenly to be sure.

At the Rowing Club, a WILSON'S SNIPE gave us a close look at the near edge of the pond before scuttling out of view behind some branches.

For the day, 54 species. For the year, 154 species.

== Michael

Just to confuse the issue further, local Washington swan expert, Martha Jordan, feels that this was a TUNDRA SWAN, not a Trumpeter.