My first owl sighting for Marymoor park! Just as I was getting into my
car, I saw what I first assumed to be a northern harrier flying low over
the 'nature preserve' and dog training fields. Then I realized it was a
short-eared owl, not a harrier. It flew over the fields for a few minutes, then
perched on a branch near the nature trail. Got a good look with the
scope. It was quite handsome! This was just at dusk, around 4:00 or so.
I'm curious if anyone else has seen/will see it.

Also, the number of great blue herons roosting in the cottonwoods along
the trail has increased from 7 to 14 since I last counted in December.
Lots of ducks in the river, at one time today there was a bufflehead,
pair of common goldeneyes, a coot, and a hooded and common merganser
floating right beside each other.

LeAnn Copas
Redmond, WA
leann at u.washington.edu