Subject: Kent Ponds 11/27/98
Date: Nov 27 18:21:16 1998
From: Jim P. Flynn - bf519 at scn.org


Hi Tweets,

I was going to play the hero and be the only person at
my workplace to put in some time today - but, it was sunny when
I woke up this morning and I came to my senses. Time for some
birding instead!
Since a friend had called me last night and mentioned
seeing a group of ten swans flying over the ponds on Thursday
afternoon I decided to see if they were still there. Well, they
weren't, although I did see seven swans flying over the valley
well to the east of the ponds. There was "a lot" of waterfowl
there though, as my friend had also attested. Here's what I
saw in two hours of observing:

Pied-billed Grebe - 3
D.C. Cormorant - 2
Great Blue Heron - 1
Swan sp. - 7 (flying South, and out of sight)
Canada Goose - 200 (*)
Green-winged Teal - 300
Mallard - 10
N. Pintail - 1,500 to 2,000 (*)
N. Shoveler - 6
Gadwall - 30
Eur. Wigeon - 1 male
Am. Wigeon. - 600-700
Ring-necked Duck - 6
Scaup sp. - 1 female
Bufflehead - 25
Hooded Merganser - 6
Common Merganser - 4
Ruddy Duck - 20
N. Harrier - 1 wing-tagged fledgling from Kent Boeing
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
Am. Kestrel - 2 (1m, 1f)
Peregrine Falcon - 1 imm.
Am. Coot - 250
Dunlin - 1 flyover (*)
Glaucous-winged Gull - 1 ad.
Am. Crow - 5
Marsh Wren - 3
Am. Robin - 1
Eur. Starling - 2-300
Fox Sparrow - 1
Song Sparrow - 6
Lincoln's Sparrow - 4
White-crowned Sparrow - 1 ad.
Pine Siskin - 1
Am. Goldfinch - 1

* - Canada Goose: I didn't see the Cackling Canadas which have been
around for a month or so, and which Gene Hunn reported seeing
last weekend. I ran into Marcus Roening and his wife, and they
had seen at least some of the Cacklers North of 212th st, West of
the Boeing plant.

* - Pintail: I've never seen so many Pintail, anywhere in the
valley! Several years ago there was a large flock at the ponds
during the Christmas Count, but that was more like 700 Pintail,
and even that was unusual I believe.

* - Dunlin: Only one Dunlin was seen, and that a flyover. Since
the Kent Ponds are used for stormwater retention the water
level there in now too high for the normal complement of gulls
and shorebirds seen there during Winter. The place to find them
now is in the flooded farmfields. On Thursday there were 99
Dunlin, 18 Mute Dowitchers (the winter visiting species) and
1 Greater Yellowlegs at the "M" Street farm pond in Auburn.
You can reach this "pond" easily, by taking the 15th St NW
exit from the Valley Freeway (Hwy 167). Go East, heading for
downtown Auburn, but take a left onto M Street shortly after
the turn onto 15th. Follow M Street about a 1/4 mile North
and park along the side of the road (vey little traffic);
there is a big barn adjacent to the field, and you can see
Emerald Downs horse track just to the East. There's a large
number of gulls and ducks here all Winter, and often there
are some shorebirds as well. Don't walk out into the field
very far or the ducks will likely spook - not to mention
the property owner.

Jim Flynn
Renton, WA
bf519 at scn.org