Greetings tweetsers,

Spent 2 1/2 hours marveling at the variety of birds around Green Lake this
morning. Had 48 species (plus domesticated stuff) to show for it. Instead of
my typical Wednesday morning 1 1/2 hr. walk I took 2 1/2 hours and wandered
all over the place, stopping frequently to let things "pop out" at me. Added
a new species to my/the Green Lake list: Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes
townsendi). Found a single individual skulking around among the fir trees
around the north end tennis court (between path and chain link fence).
Incredible numbers of warblers for this park (see below) and at least seven
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana). Very nice morning. 55F & hazy
sunshine.

Legend:
male,female
male,female,young
asterisk denotes remark at end.


Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 6
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 58 & 3 & 8 goslings
Domesticated Goose 7
Gadwall (Anas strepera) 2,2
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) 2,2
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 2,1
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 1,1
Domesticated Duck 7
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1,1,1*
American Coot (Fulica americana) 11
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 2*
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia) 2
Glaucous-winged hybrid gulls 5
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) 15
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia) 1
Rock Dove (Columba livia) 24
Vaux' Swift (Chaetura vauxi) 12
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 5
Northern Flicker (Colaptus auratus) 2
Western Wood-pewee (Contopus sordidulus) 3
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis) 2
Flycatcher sp. 2
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 19
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 6
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) 40
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopterix serripennis) 4
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonata) 10
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 50
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 14
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) 8
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 4
Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 60
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 6
Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata) 8
Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) 26
Black-throated Gray Warbler (Dendroica nigrescens) 2
Townsend's Warbler (Dendroica townsendi) 4
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) 23
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) 5,2
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) 1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 4
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 37*
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) 21
Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) 1,1
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) 2
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 31

Bald Eagle: Single chick still going strong.

Killdeer: This year, once again, a pair is nesting on the 3rd floor gravel
rooftop of the kitchen area of the Hearthstone retirement center near the
play field (east side lake). The first year I helped a single youngster off
the roof and set it free on the play field (the adults had no problem
finding & accepting it across the street), where it met a nasty
death-by-lawnmower fate (despite best of intentions by Parks personnel to
look for the chick). I've decided not to interfere anymore and let this
behavior disappear with these adults (I hope), instead of helping propagate
these "rooftop nesting genes." Don't feel great about it, but simply don't
have the time to do this every spring...indefinitely. Given baseball, rugby,
volleyball, football, off-leash dogs and a variety of other dangers to a
small Killdeer on this field, probably best this way. Maybe a crow will make
a meal of it....(ouch, did I say that?)

Red-winged Blackbird: First young for the season outside the nest.

Cheers,
Martin Muller, Seattle
MartinMuller at email.msn.com