Friends of Marymoor Park

Bird Sightings Week 33
August 13-19*

Rarities for Week 33:

Semipalmated Plover	14-Aug-14	Flight call heard pre-dawn
Solitary Sandpiper	18-Aug-94	Flew south down slough, and landed on weir.
...Red-shouldered Hawk	12-Aug-16	Photos by Mike West, with Joyce Meyer
Bank Swallow	18-Aug-16
American Dipper	15-Aug-13
Lesser Goldfinch	14-Aug-14	One in Pea Patch
Vesper Sparrow	16-Aug-07	Northeast corner of the Dog Meadow
American Redstart	18-Aug-22	At Rowing Club dock

Report for August 17, 2023 Birding at Marymoor

It started warm today and got hotter and hotter. By 10:15 it was 79 degrees, according to my car. This long stretch of hot, dry weather does not help the birding one bit. It's hard enough to find birds in July and August...

It was extremely quiet except for one nice mixed flock along the west edge of the Dog Meadow.

Highlights:

Gadwall - One-to-several from the Lake Platform
Ring-billed Gull - One from Lake Platform. Our only gull
Cooper's Hawk - One at Pea Patch
Owl sp. - Tony had a largish owl fly SW over the East Meadow pre-dawn. Great Horned? Barred? Short-eared (seems too early)?
Hairy Woodpecker - One heard near the start of the boardwalk
Purple Martin - Two babies being fed at the gourds. Lots of activity in snags west of the slough too

The mixed flock, west edge of the Dog Meadow, along about 100 yards in the 15 minutes we spent sorting through them:

Anna's Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker - At least a couple
Western Wood-Pewee - Several
Willow Flycatcher - 1-2
Warbling Vireo - Maybe 6! At least some seemed to show quite a bit of yellow on the belly
Black-capped Chickadees
Chestnut-backed Chickadees
American Robins
Cedar Waxwings, including adults and immatures
Yellow Warbler - 1-2
Western Tanager - Maybe 6!

And seen in approximately the same area a little later:
Bushtits
Black-throated Gray Warbler - 1

Misses today included Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Red-tailed Hawk, Violet-green Swallow, Purple Finch, Brown-headed Cowbird (might have seen one juvenile), Wilson's Warbler, and Black-headed Grosbeak.

For the day, just 52 species, counting Tony's owl.

= Michael Hobbs

Report for August 18, 2022 Birding at Marymoor

Warm, muggy, breezeless, cloudy, August. These do not make for a great day of birding. It was super quiet, but we did have quite a few people and many eyes, so we found a few birds.

Highlights:

Spotted Sandpiper - one at the weir
Caspian Tern - one flying high towards the lake
Green Heron - probably two birds, 3+ sightings total
Osprey - one nest is done for the year, the other has two nearly-fledged young
Five Woodpecker Day - though only seven individuals combined
Merlin - one being chased off by Purple Martins near weir
Peregrine Falcon - one flew west over NW part of Dog Meadow
Warbling Vireo - two seen
AMERICAN REDSTART - one seen for about 10 seconds at Rowing Club dock, only our 4th record for the park

Unfortunately, there were only three of us at the Rowing Club for the American Redstart, and I don't think Brian got a very satisfactory look.

For the most part, birds were quiet AND invisible. We saw only one or two individuals for a whopping 30 species (sometimes hearing a few more), with 5 more species heard-only!

Misses included Pied-billed Grebe, Rock Pigeon, Cooper's Hawk, Violet-green Swallow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, and Black-headed Grosbeak.

We did see beaver and deer (one each).

For the day, 55 species of birds.

- Michael Hobbs

Report for August 19, 2021 Birding at Marymoor

A little early overcast cleared to hazy skies, especially to the east. A quiet day.

Highlights:

NORTHERN SHOVELER – one female-type at the weir. Our earliest fall sighting by 3 days (if you don’t count a very out-of-season bird on 2017-07-25, photographed by Kazuto Shibata)
Common Merganser – seven at the weir, our first after a 6-week absence
Vaux’s Swift – several sightings of multiple birds, after a summer of sparse sightings
Western Screech-Owl – heard predawn
Great Horned Owl – Matt saw one predawn along road
Pacific-slope Flycatcher – one south of the East Meadow – First of Year for the survey !
Purple Martin – still several flying around calling
Swallow spp. – white-breasted swallows without noticeable saddlebags over Dog Meadow. Another bird at the lake. Thinking Tree and Northern Rough-winged respectively, but listing as spp.
Cliff Swallow – one near Viewing Mound
Barn Swallow – several
Cedar Waxwing – our most numerous passerine
Yellow Warbler – one heard singing, East Meadow. Our only warbler besides Common Yellowthroat
Western Tanager – three near weir, additional sightings near mansion. First sightings after 6-week absence
Black-headed Grosbeak – one below the weir in large dead tree

From the Lake Platform we could see many distant swallows and about 10 scattered, distant gulls. But the haze prevented any IDs. A late scan of the lake confirmed California Gull and Glaucous-winged (or maybe Olympic) gulls, and several more that remained unidentified due to distance. I might have glimpsed a Caspian Tern, but couldn’t verify.

Misses included Spotted Sandpiper, Green Heron, Cooper’s Hawk, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown-headed Cowbird, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and Wilson’s Warbler.

Quite a few birds barely made it on to the list, based on being heard distantly, or being barely glimpsed. We did manage to identify 54 species.

= Michael Hobbs

Juvenile Osprey. Photo by Bob Asanoma

Report for August 13, 2020 Birding at Marymoor

Cold to start (47 degrees or so), but a beautiful morning, and it did warm fairly soon. Birdier than expected, but we were beset by early morning fog.

Highlights:

Rufous Hummingbird – One in the Pea Patch – first in weeks
Barn Owl – one pre-dawn
Western Screech-Owl – Matt had 1-2 (probably 2) pre-dawn
Green Heron – two sightings – one bird? Great looks at the Rowing Club. Other sighting at the top of a tree, looking like a crow
5 Woodpecker Day
Western Wood-Pewee – quite a few, including apparent young
Willow Flycatcher – ditto
Warbling Vireo – nice looks along west edge of Dog Meadow
Purple Martin - Gourds appear empty. Most of the martins were perched and flying around snags west of the slough
Red Crossbill – Flock of 2 dozen flew over the Viewing Mound, calling – First of Year?
Black-throated Gray Warbler – several seen well – all juveniles?
Wilson’s Warbler – adult male at Rowing Club
Western Tanager – one heard and glimpsed, one heard

For the day, 59 species (including 2-3 gull sp.)

== Michael Hobbs

Report for August 15, 2019 Birding at Marymoor

It was a gorgeous morning today, with sunshine and very pleasant temps. Birds were patchy, and we found a couple of really nice mixed flocks. The Best Mixed Flock (BMF) was on the southwest edge of the Dog Meadow. The Second Best Mixed Flock (SBMF) was on the southwest edge of the East Meadow

Highlights:

Common Merganser – mom with 6 almost-full-sized ducklings
Rufous Hummingbird – one, after 2 week absence
Cooper’s Hawk – one cruised past us a little before 6
Warbling Vireo – probably a couple or more in the (BMF)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee – Notable today for their widespread occurrence
Bushtit – Masses of minute distractions in the mixed flocks. Maybe 30 birds total
Orange-crowned Warbler – probably only one, in the BMF
Yellow Warbler – maybe four total, including 1-2 in the BMF
Black-throated Gray Warbler – At least 2 (male and female) in the BMF
Wilson’s Warbler – Male in the BMF, one female later
Western Tanager – at least 2 in the SBMF
Black-headed Grosbeak – four in the SBMF

So no real surprises today, but very nice to have a FIVE WARBLER DAY.

Misses today included Pied-billed Grebe, Rock Pigeon, Green Heron, Violet-green Swallow, European Starling, Savannah Sparrow, and Brown-headed Cowbird.

For the day, 54 species.

== Michael Hobbs

Report for August 16, 2018 Birding at Marymoor

Michael was out today, so Sharon & I [mostly Sharon] kept track of sightings at Marymoor for the weekly walk. It was still hazy, but cooler most all of the morning — there was a decent variety of birds for a mid-august walk, but the #s were pretty low throughout. On the ‘moving out’ side: Willow Flycatchers & Swainson’s Thrush were only heard pre-dawn; Savannah Sparrows were not in evidence; and swallow #s were down [poor light made it difficult to id as many as usual to species as well].

Highlights:

Rufous Hummingbird - still one around at the garden
5 woodpecker day - we haven’t had one of those for a long time - The Red-breasted Sapsucker was well across the slough and on a high snag
Merlin - one brief sighting by mansion
Pacific-slope Flycatcher - 1 imm
Purple Martin - still two nestlings in gourd at lake-viewing platform
Orange-crowned Warbler - saw a couple, maybe heard others
Wilson’s Warbler - one male
Western Tanager - one at the first dog launch in the off-leash area, prdik -ing away.

Notable misses: Violet-green Swallow [though we did have many un-id’d swallows], European Starling, Marsh Wren, Black-thorated Gray Warbler, Savannah Sparrow,

Matt Bartels Seattle, WA

Nice portrait of a typical female Mallard. Photo by Jordan Roderick

Female Mallard being very atypical, sitting in a bush. Photo by Jordan Roderick

The day's ONLY Great Blue Heron. Photo by Bob Asanoma

The last of the nestling Purple Martins. Photo by Jordan Roderick

Young Garter Snake. Photo by Jordan Roderick

Hooded Mergansers at the Rowing Club pond. Photo by Bob Asanoma

Report for August 17, 2017 Birding at Marymoor

Well, still in the doldrums — Marymoor Park today did a good job of showing just how quiet the mid-August birding can be — it was mighty quiet almost all day — Brian Bell & I substituted for Michael Hobbs in leading this week’s walk — weather was great, in the low-to-mid 60s - but the birds were mostly quiet. Highlights:

Greater Yellowlegs - one heard at about 5:30, from the meadow viewing mound. Likely our first for the year at the park.
Green Heron - 2 juvies along the slough, 1 adult at the Rowing Club
Barn Owl - one flying in the east meadow and model airplane field around 5:30 - 5:45
Black-throated Gray Warbler - 1 seen in south end of dog meadow
Yellow Warbler - only 1, heard singing

Only 1 Willow Flycatcher heard, and other heard-only birds included Purple Martin, Pileated Woodpecker, Killdeer, Red-breasted Nuthatch and more. We missed things that might be moving on like Black-headed Grosbeak, Swainson’s Thrush, and Spotted Sandpiper , as well as a few locals like Bushtit and Red-breasted Sapsucker.

We did have a nice show of Vaux’s Swifts late, with a flock of ~20 over the entrance bridge.

For the day, 43 species, well below the total for the last several weeks.

Good birding,
Matt Bartels Seattle, WA

Great Blue Heron on the weir, showing very low water levels. Photo by Bob Asanoma

Black-capped Chickadee. Photo by Bob Asanoma

East Meadow, looking very dry. Photo by Bob Asanoma

Report for August 18, 2016 Birding at Marymoor

Much less birdy today than the reports from last week, but still not without some good sightings. It was sunny, hot, and dry, and the birds were quiet and hard to find. Highlights: Virginia Rail 1 seen, river’s edge near start of boardwalk Spotted Sandpiper 1 nearly fully feathered, at weir Greater Yellowlegs 1 heard Barn Owl 1-2, East Meadow, pre-dawn Pileated Woodpecker Heard several times Warbling Vireo 2 together, seen twice (or 4) Purple Martin Pair at gourd with 2 babies in gourd N. R.-winged Swallow 1 at lake BANK SWALLOW 1 at lake Swainson’s Thrush Very few, none seen Bl.-thr. Gray Warbler Several – 4-8, though hard to count Wilson’s Warbler At least 1 male LAZULI BUNTING Juvenile (?) near Pea Patch Misses for the day included Pied-billed Grebe, Band-tailed Pigeon, Cliff Swallow, Marsh Wren, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Brown-headed Cowbird. For the day, 57 species. == Michael Hobbs	Male Belted Kingfisher. Photo by Bob Asanoma
Juvenile Western Wood-Pewee. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Willow Flycatcher. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Female or juvenile Lazuli Bunting. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Female or juvenile Lazuli Bunting. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Female Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Female Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Half of a Virginia Rail. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Other half of the Virginia Rail. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Almost all of the Virginia Rail. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Black-throated Gray Warbler. Sometimes you only get half... Photo by Ollie Oliver
Pair of Purple Martins above their gourd nest with two young (unseen here) Photo by Hugh Jennings	Young male Wood Duck. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Red-shouldered Hawk, 2016-08-12. Photo by Mike West	Red-shouldered Hawk, 2016-08-12. Photo by Mike West

Report for August 13, 2015 Birding at Marymoor

We seem to be on the cusp, with the end of breeding lingering on, while post-breeding dispersal and migration are only just creeping in. Combine that will early morning fog, and a plethora of juvenile birds making odd sounds – well, the morning was frustrating at times trying to get looks. Especially for the first couple of hours, there were a lot of glimpses of birds, rather that great looks for everybody. The REALLY early birders had some Perseid meteors to dazzle them until it got too light around 5:00. Thick fog from then until sunrise meant no owls. By the end of the day, though, there had been some good birds and interesting sightings. Highlights: Gr. White-fronted Goose One near climbing rock. Very early! Gadwall One at lake; first since early May Common Merganser Lone duckling at weir, 14 larger ones in slough Great Blue Heron One nest has 2 babies – 2nd clutch? Green Heron A couple (or more) juveniles along the slough Eurasian Collared-Dove Sharon saw one near the White-fronted Goose Pileated Woodpecker One heard many times west of the slough Warbling Vireo A flock near the heronry – numbers nearing 10 Purple Martin Gourd nest young fledged. A couple of birds overhead N. Rough-winged Swallow 1-2 over East Meadow Bewick’s Wren Notably many – 20+ Swainson’s Thrush Juvenile seen eating dogwood berries Orange-crowned Warbler 1-2 at Rowing Club Yellow-rumped Warbler More than a handful Black-thr. Gray Warbler 3+ Wilson’s Warbler 1 near start of boardwalk Western Tanager At least a couple The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE is by far our earliest fall record. We’ve only had one other August record, back on 2004-08-25, and only two other records prior to mid-September. We had no Rufous Hummingbirds – they may be done for the year. No Vaux’s Swift either, though I expect we’ll see some migrants later. Also missing were Violet-green Swallows, but they get sporadic at this time of year. We’ve had pretty regular sightings into October of previous years, but from here on out, we miss them more often that we see them. No Cliff Swallows, and they may be done for the year at Marymoor. With sightings of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER last week and this week, we now have records of this species from every week of the year. YRWA is the 42nd such species, and there are 5 more species that are missing only one or two weeks. It was also an excellent day for non-bird sightings, with EASTERN GRAY SQUIRREL, AMERICAN BEAVER, MUSKRAT, EASTERN COTTONTAIL, COYOTE, LONG-TAILED WEASEL, PAINTED TURTLE, RED-EARED SLIDER, and GARTER SNAKE. For the day, 62 species of bird. For 2015, we’re up to 140 species. We’ve got about a dozen more that we’re still likely to get this year, plus hopefully a few rarities. In recent years, we’ve been tallying in the high 150s per year. == Michael Hobbs	Sunrise. Photo by Ollie Oliver Spotted Sandpiper. Photos by Ollie Oliver
Green Heron and Mallard. Photo by Ollie Oliver	American Beaver. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Common Mergansers. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Common Mergansers. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Juvenile Green Herons still on the nest. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Black-headed Grosbeak. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Juvenile Swainson's Thrush eating Red-osier Dogwood berries. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Cabbage White butterfly. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Greater White-fronted Goose. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Female Black-throated Gray Warbler. Photo by Ollie Oliver
	Muskrat. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for August 14, 2014 Birding at Marymoor

What an amazing and unusual day at the park this morning. It was darkly overcast, and we had a few sprinkles though nothing sustained at all. So we were dry, if squinting to make out details on the birds sometimes due to the darkness. It was muggy, though not very warm, and the air felt dead and heavy. But the birds popped up in groups here and there, and contrary to the usual August day, the species list was not limited to the expected species. Two huge highlights for the day: First, at 5:30 a.m., Matt & I were pretty convinced that we wouldn’t see any owls due to ground fog (and we didn’t see any). Matt dejectedly started asking if it had been a whole year since we’d added a bird to the park list (not quite; the last one being Long-tailed Jaeger on August 29th last year). Shortly thereafter, we heard a flying bird calling. I thought “shorebird”, but Matt was more adept at identification and he quickly came out with “SEMIPALMATED PLOVER”. I cued up the call on my phone and it matched perfectly (the “cherry-up” call on the Sibley app). We heard the bird call about a dozen times as it flew around the northeast portions of the park. We never were able to see the bird, but the call was clear and distinctive. Not a particularly unexpected bird, but NEW FOR THE MARYMOOR PARK LIST! The other huge highlight came much later as we made our way through the Community Gardens (aka the Pea Patch). There were dozens of American Goldfinch, but I spotted a LESSER GOLDFINCH amongst them. Earlier, as we’d neared the East Meadow, Matt & I thought we might have heard a Lesser; and Grace & Ollie had seen a Lesser in their yard (a half mile away from the park) yesterday; so we’d had LEGOs on the mind and were therefore scrutinizing every goldfinch we could find. We got some fairly decent looks at the Lesser at the gardens, and heard it (or another) call once or twice. ANOTHER NEW BIRD FOR THE MARYMOOR PARK LIST!! I believe you have to go all the way back to 2007-02-15 to find the last time we had two new species for the park on the same day. That was when we had both Herring and Glaucous Gulls. The last time we had two unrelated species added to the park on the same day was way back on 1999-10-21, when Trumpeter Swan and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher were added! And there were other highlights: Common Merganser Three at the weir Pied-billed Grebe Lone juvenile in slough Great Blue Heron One juvenile seen in the heronry, not on a nest Spotted Sandpiper One at the weir GREATER YELLOWLEGS One at the weir Pileated Woodpecker One seen/heard, distantly Pacific-slope Flycatcher 1-2 Purple Martin Female attending 2 young at gourd Cliff Swallow One over lake Swainson’s Thrush I think just one bird MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER 1-2 birds, east edge of Dog Meadow Black-throated Gray Warbler 1-2 birds, east edge of Dog Meadow Wilson’s Warbler 2 birds, east edge of Dog Meadow White-crowned Sparrow Suddenly well over a dozen, Pea Patch Black-headed Grosbeak Just one, across WLSP from Rowing Club Two new species for the park puts the list at 224. MacGillivray’s Warbler was also new for the year, bringing the 2014 park list to 145. And 59 species for the day. Quite a day. == Michael Hobbs	Spotted Sandpiper. Photo by Ollie Oliver Juvenile Pied-billed Grebe. Photo by Ollie Oliver Swainson's Thrush. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Black-throated Gray Warbler. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Purple Martin female, with young inside the gourd. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Lesser Goldfinch. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Lesser Goldfinch. Photo by Ollie Oliver
American Goldfinch. Photo by Ollie Oliver.	American Goldfinch. Photo by Ollie Oliver.
Yellow Warbler. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Yellow Warbler. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Exceedingly distant Red-breasted Sapsucker. We needed this photo to verify the identification. It was atop the odd-snag that Red-tailed Hawks nest on, to the west of the main park entrance. The white vertical line is indicative of sapsuckers, as is the breast that is dark above and paler below. I might be imagining it, but I think I can see a touch of red in the head, as well as a trace of the horizontal pale line stretching back from the beak. Also, there may have been two sapsuckers on the tree, but, gosh, it was far away! Photo by Ollie Oliver
Belted Kingfisher, Rowing Club, 2014-08-10. Photo by Lillian Reis	Juvenile Green Heron, Rowing Club, 2014-08-10. Photo by Lillian Reis

Report for August 15, 2013 Birding at Marymoor

It was muggy and overcast, but we had only a very little bit of precipitation this morning, and it was rather birdy and fun. Highlights: Gadwall First since early June – 2 flew over Dog Area Green Heron Juvenile along slough Cooper’s Hawk Probably the same juvie seen twice Spotted Sandpiper Two chasing each other near weir Least Sandpiper One flying circles over Dog Meadow, calling Eurasian Collared-Dove One west of the slough Barn Owl One west of park office at 10 A.M. ! Rufous Hummingbird Ruth and Margaret saw 1, Pea Patch Warbling Vireo 2-3, south end of Dog Meadow AMERICAN DIPPER Sharon and I saw 1 fly downstream from windmill Orange-crowned Warbler Maybe 4-5 scattered Common Yellowthroat 25+, mix of genders and ages Yellow Warbler 4-5, including some singing Black-throated Gray Warbler 3-4, scattered, including adult male Evening Grosbeak 4 flew north over Dog Meadow We also had a BEAVER in the slough. This is just the 2nd AMERICAN DIPPER sighting for Marymoor, the other being from October, 2010, I believe. Misses today included Killdeer, Red-breasted Nuthatch, European Starling, Wilson’s Warbler, and Brown-headed Cowbird. For the day, 55 species. == Michael Hobbs	One of two Spotted Sandpipers at the weir. Photo by Hugh Jennings
One of two Spotted Sandpipers at the weir. Photo by Ollie Oliver	One of two Spotted Sandpipers at the weir. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Warbling Vireo. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Steller's Jay. They were seen gathering hazelnuts. Photo by Ollie Oliver
	Black-tailed Deer. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for August 16, 2012 Birding at Marymoor

We had a hot, odd day at Marymoor. It was incredibly quiet, but we managed to piece together a fairly good bird list with some unusual items.The day started cool, just 56 degrees, with very low ground fog, but heated up to 82 by the time we left. Unrelentingly sunny, which made us seek shade to bird from. Quite a few species were heard-only, or were seen by one person only, or were represented by just a single individual. Highlights: Green Heron 2 visible from lake platform Virginia Rail 1 at the retention pond near the event pad, early Matt & I had a brief look, heard call for verification LEAST SANDPIPER Matt had several flying around the lake platform early Later, we heard one fly up the slough (2 calls) Anna's Hummingbird Many seen Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 juvenile near 2nd dog swim beach Purple Martin Heard overhead, unseen Brown Creeper Many seen Swainson's Thrush Only 1 seen, 1 heard on the walk; Matt heard dozens predawn Orange-crowned Warbler 2 Yellow Warbler 3-4 Wilson's Warbler 1 male Common Yellowthroat Many Western Tanager 1 heard, glimpsed in flight Evening Grosbeak Heard overhead, unseen We also had 1 bird that we couldn't identify in the field Photos were obtained, howver, and showed it to be a HORNED LARK, probably a very worn female. For the day, 55 species. == Michael Hobbs	Morning fog. Photo by Ollie Oliver Brown Creeper on a small branch, right over my head
Juvenile Red-breasted Sapsucker. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Two Green Herons, seen from the lake platform. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Male American Goldfinch. Photo by Josh Adams
From the first views of our mystery bird, I was thinking American Pipit...	...but Ollie Oliver's photos showed a yellow chin, black moustache, and a bit of black neck band, indicating Horned Lark. Plumage appears very worn.
Oprey photo by Ollie Oliver	Oprey photo by Ollie Oliver
Juvenile Cooper's Hawk. Photo by Josh Adams	Eight-spotted Skimmer. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for August 18, 2011 Birding at Marymoor

Dawn was gorgeous, with a gibbous moon and a little bit of morning ground fog. Just before 5:30, I heard my first crows. I was afraid I was too late for owls, but maybe the owl heard the crows too. From the east, a BARN OWL flew low and fast straight to me, then pulled up, looking at me quizzically. It flew two circles close around my head before continuing west. A great start to the morning. Moments later, I watched as ~750 AMERICAN CROWS streamed north from the SE part of the park. On the main walk, there were only seven of us, and the number dwindled with time, especially as people began to leave so they could get ready for the WOS Conference. By the Rowing Club, it was just Ollie and me. It was a quiet day, with many species notably NOT seen. But still interesting. Highlights: PIED-BILLED GREBE 2-3, first since early May Accipiters Many sightings, both Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Anna's Hummingbird Especially abundant Red-breasted Sapsucker Sharon spotted one WAY to the west Pileated Woodpecker One flew in from west of the mansion Willow Flycatcher Especially abundant, with many juveniles Purple Martin Two pair at gourds, baby noises in r.h. gourd Common Yellowthroat Especially abundant, with many juveniles Notable misses: - No vireos. - No Tree Swallows. We've never had them this late, however there were still young in a nest box last week so I thought we might get them this week still. - No warblers except Common Yellowthroat - Historical sighting rates: Orange-crowned: 47%, Yellow: 71%, Black-throated Gray: 53%, Wilson's: 82%, so a real surprise to have none of those. A good day for mammals, with a LONG-TAILED WEASEL west of the west kiosk, a RACCOON across the slough from the first dog swim beach, and what I think was a LONG-TAILED VOLE in the East Meadow. Also had the usual EASTERN GRAY SQUIRRELS and EASTERN COTTONTAILS. For a very quiet day, we still managed 56 species. == Michael Hobbs	Photo by Ollie Oliver Photo by Ollie Oliver
Osprey in the early morning light. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird being attended to by a Song Sparrow. Photo by Ollie
Raccoon across from first dog swim beach. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Willow Flycatcher. Photo by Ollie Oliver
American Goldfinches. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Juvenile Cooper's Hawk. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Report for August 19, 2010

Instead of the "mostly sunny' the weather report promised, we had dark overcast and mist this morning. The mist faded after a bit, though we did have a few minutes of light drizzle as we walked the East Meadow. Damp and 61 degrees - no wonder the summer birds have fled. At least, it seems that most are gone, and they're yet to be replaced by winter birds. We had just a hint of migration to spice things up. Otherwise, it was a pretty quiet day. Highlights: Hooded Merganser 8 flew upstream over the weir American Coot First since April - 1 at the lake Dowitcher sp. 2 birds flew north over the Dog Meadow Barn Owl Matt & Scott enjoyed 2 a the East Meadow early Vaux's Swift More than a dozen Orange-crowned Warbler 1 along slough Yellow Warbler 2+, still singing Wilson's Warbler 2 males I presume they were Long-billed DOWITCHERS, though they were silent and only seen in-flight, making a positive ID impossible. This is just the 3rd time we've had dowitchers at Marymoor. We had several WESTERN WOOD-PEWEES, but only a couple WILLOW FLYCATCHERS. We heard only 1-2 SWAINSON'S THRUSH, and had only 4 species of warbler, No Spotted Sandpipers. no vireos, no bushtits, no Black-headed Grosbeaks, no Red-winged Blackbirds, and no Brown-headed Cowbirds. For the day, 55 species. == Michael	Western Wood-Pewee. Photo by Lillian Reis Male Belted Kingfisher. Photo by Lillian Reis
Juvenile Spotted Towhee just getting a few rufous feathers. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Olive
American Robin photo by Ollie Oliver	Male Belted Kingfisher. Photo by Ollie Oliver
From August 17, a couple of photos of an Orange-crowned Warbler	Both photos by Lillian Reis. Note the dark tail feathers.

Report for August 13, 2009

It was a really weird day at Marymoor today. For weather, it misted a bit at the start, but was mostly just darkly cloudy. We kept joking about wanting to turn up the brightness (where's the remote???). It also wasn't very birdy - REALLY QUIET. Well, sort of... You see, while there weren't that many birds, and while we never did find the mythical mixed flock of warblers, vireos, and tanagers that we felt Connie Sidles had all-but-promised us, we ended up with a really high species count. Lots of one-offs. And we did our best to scour the place. Highlights: Blue-winged Teal New for 2009,. 1 female at RC ponds Green-winged Teal First of Fall, 2 at RC ponds Green Heron 4+ juveniles, 1-2 adults Glaucous-winged Gull First of Fall - a couple. Black tipped gulls too. Barn Owl Matt & Scott had 2-3 early Rufous Hummingbird Still 1-2 at the Community Gardens Pileated Woodpecker 1 just southA of the Dog Meadow Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2 from Lake Platform Orange-crowned Warbler 2 Yellow Warbler 2 males (singing), 1 female Black-throated Gray Warbler 1 female at RC Common Yellowthroat Abundant Wilson's Warbler 1 male, 1 female Western Tanager Heard near windmill, but never could find the bird LAZULI BUNTING 1 male NE corner of Dog Meadow There were many GREEN HERON sightings, including 4 youngish juveniles (still with downy tufts here and there, though fledged) together along the southeast edge of the Dog Meadow. We had a beautiful adult at the Rowing Club ponds, and later a juvenile there. 5-8 birds total. This is by far the latest we've ever had LAZULI BUNTING. So for the day, an astounding 66 species! But that includes 3 heard-only birds (Killdeer, Swainson's Thrush, Western Tanager), and over 20 species represented by only 1 or 2 individuals .== Michael	Band-tailed Pigeon. We were thinking it was a juvenile... Male Belted Kingfisher
Fuzzy-headed juvenile Green Heron, one of four together at the SE edge of the Dog Meadow	The new boardwalk extension, finished. Thanks, Eastside Audubon! The trail is now at least crudely wheelchair accessible.
The Purple Martin family	Water Lily
Female Blue-winged Teal at the Rowing Club	Green Heron (top left), Blue-winged Teal (bottom left), Hooded Merganser (middle and right), and 2 Mallards (right), at the Rowing Club
Ollie Oliver's photos from the Rowing Club, 8/16/2009, showing a Green Heron..	...and Hooded Mergansers and turtles

Report for August 14, 2008

Another gorgeous day. The early morning ground fog burned off quickly. It got a bit too hot, but not outrageous. It was pretty birdy, though at times the birds seemed to be taking an incredible delight in tantalizing us in a very cussed way. We ended up with a good species count, including 5 species of woodpecker, but 3 of those woodpeckers were heard-only :( Highlights: NORTHERN HARRIER Flyby Virginia Rail Heard from the lake platform Spotted Sandpiper Flying fairly high up the slough Red-breasted Sapsucker Immature flew past us early on Warbling Vireo Adult feeding juvenile cowbird Red-eyed Vireo LOTS of singing at the south end of the park Purple Martin One HIGH over mansion area Northern Rough-winged Swallow One over East Meadow Bushtits Bringing food to a nest at Dog Central - late? Orange-crowned Warbler Flock of 6+ at south end of Dog Meadow Yellow Warbler Male singing, several others seen Wilson's Warbler 1-2 at the south end of the Dog Meadow Evening Grosbeak Heard and glimpsed Had a juvenile COOPER'S HAWK who thought chasing after crows was the way to get ahead. Good luck! Had what appeared to be a LONG-TAILED WEASEL swimming across the slough ??? For the day, 64 species. == Michael	Osprey carrying a fish back to the nest at dawn
	Female Downy Woodpecker working the underside of a branch
One of a flock of Orange-crowned Warblers at the south end of the Dog Meadow	Juvenile(?) Orange-crowned Warbler
Another Orange-crowned Warbler	Black-capped Chickadee in a European Hawthorn
Adult Red-tailed Hawk showing extensive wing and tail molt	Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in Snag Row
	Male Anna's Hummingbird in the Community Gardens

Report for August 16, 2007

It was a pretty nice morning, with clouds moving in, and too much wind. Made for a pleasant walk, as the temp was comfortably in the 60's. The only trouble was that birds were very scarce, especially early. We did end up with some highlights, though:

Canada Goose                      Increasing - up to about 180 birds on soccer fields
Pied-billed Grebe                  1-2; first since April
Cooper's Hawk                     Close looks at juvenile near mansion
Barn Owl                              Matt had one, East Meadow, 5:30 a.m.
Red-breasted Sapsucker       Near start of boardwalk
Hairy Woodpecker                South end of Dog Area
Warbling Vireo                      At least 2, one feeding a cowbird
Yellow Warbler                     One bright male, south end of East Meadow
Black-throated Gray Warbler Male with Yellow Warbler. Great looks.
VESPER SPARROW            East Meadow, Compost Piles

Matt spotted the VESPER SPARROW along the northwest edge of the East Meadow. As he called it out to us, it flew to the middle of the Dog Meadow. We pursued, and had good glimpses before it flew to the Compost Piles. We spotted it again at the piles for closer but brief looks. The eye ring was very apparent, and the white outer tail feathers showed very well in flight.

This is only our 3rd or 4th sighting ever of Vesper Sparrow. They really like dirt paths; if you want to try to chase this bird, look for it on the dirt trails across the Dog Meadow and on the bare dirt at the Compost Piles. A sparrow running away from you on a dirt path is most probably the Vesper.

For the day, just 53 species.

== Michael

Adult Pied-billed Grebe with Wood Duck, in slough

Hairy Woodpecker juvenile, south end of Dog Meadow, in Oregon Ash tree.