May I inquire where on the path the brown creeper was seen? Thanks.
Bob Mauritsen
rhm at ms.washington.edu


On Wed, 22 Jan 1997, Martin Muller wrote:

> Fellow bird appreciators,
>
> This morning (January 22, 1997, 07:30 - 09:00) I walked around Green Lake
> (Seattle, King County, Washington) in the light drizzle.
> Due to construction of the inner path, the 1/2 mile section along Aurora
> Avenue is closed. To complete the circular route one can follow an alternative
> route west of Aurora. Birds encountered west of Aurora are not included in the
> count. The alternative route adds some distance and it is not possible to do a
> completely accurate count of the lake-side Aurora section. However, by using a
> scope and scanning the Aurora section before and after the detour, I feel I do
> get most of the birds present in that section. With the exception of small
> (kinglet etc.) in the trees in the park.
> I continue the weekly count despite these shortcomings, since my object is to
> document the large, overall picture. In that regard one or more missed
> "special birds" or a mixed feeding flock of kinglets, chickadees and the like,
> doesn't seem to warrant suspending the counts during closure of the circular
> route.
>
> Notes:
> The past few weeks, during the cold snap, Green Lake twice froze over
> partially. Most of the grebes left. Pied-billed Grebes are just now starting
> to return to the lake.
> This winter the amount of plant material in the lake appears to be very low.
> Compared to previous (recent) winters, the number of Gadwalls and American
> Coots (who love to feed on the Eurasian Millfoil in the lake) are down. During
> the winter of 1993 Coots peaked at 1800 and Gadwalls at 600. Now they are down
> to 188 and 11 respectively. With most of the coots grazing on the grass, along
> with the wigeons and geese.
> Courtship activity was observed in Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers, Mallards
> and Gadwalls. Spring is definitely in the air (or in this case on the water).
> The large number of American Crows is due to the morning roost departure
> flight from Foster Island. Flocks fly to Green Lake, briefly land near the
> Community Center (in trees and on the diving platform), before dispersing over
> the North Seattle neighborhood (some of them making a second brief stop at the
> island in the lake). There is a ten-minute window during which you can
> encounter the high number. Otherwise the actual number of birds around the
> lake (daytime) is something like two dozen birds.
> The Northern Pintails and Hooded Mergansers were in the western section of the
> lake, near Aurora Avenue (scope needed). The Eurasian Wigeons are with the
> large flock near the Community Center on the east side of the lake.
>
> Legend: Where there are two numbers separated by a comma, the first number is
> males, the second females.
>
> Pied-billed Grebe 6
> Double-crested Cormorant 6
> Great Blue Heron 2
> Canada Goose 84 (incl. 4 Cackling)
> domesticated goose 2
> Mallard 88,55
> Northern Pintail 1,1
> Northern Shoveler 8,6
> Gadwall 6,5
> Eurasian Wigeon 2,0
> American Wigeon 134,94
> Bufflehead 15,12
> Hooded Merganser 2,2
> Common Merganser 1,4
> Ruddy Duck 101,66
> domesticated duck 6
> Bald Eagle 2 (1 Juvenile, 1 adult)
> American Coot 188
> Mew Gull 65
> Ring-billed Gull 55
> Pink-legged hybrids :) 21
> Glaucous-winged Gull 69
> Rock Dove 25
> American Crow 340 +
> Black-capped Chickadee 22
> Bushtits 60
> Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
> Brown Creeper 3
> Golden-crowned Kinglet 40
> American Robin 2
> European Starling 50
> Song Sparrow 2
> Dark-eyed Junco 6
> Red-winged Blackbird 24
> Brewer's Blackbird 6
> House Finch 6
> American Goldfinch 120
> House Sparrow 22
>
> That's the count.
>
> For those of you in this area: remember the free bird walks around the lake
> each Saturday morning. Starting at 8 AM on the east beach (near Community
> Center/Evans Pool. Note: the parking lot is closed for renovation so take some
> extra time to park and walk in. No registration required. Group size limited
> to 15.
>
> Martin Muller, Seattle
> martinmuller at msn.com
>