Subject: Seward Park Bird List
Date: Sep 13 09:33:54 1999
From: tuisto at oz.net - tuisto at oz.net


Seattle-area Tweets:

Last spring I became involved in a project with the Friends of Seward Park
to try to document some of the basic natural history of the park. One goal
is to produce educational brochures for public distribution on various
aspects of the park ecology. The part of this project immediately relevant
to birders is the bird list that I have generated for the park. I am
posting the list here (below) in case anyone wishes to make use of it, and
also to solicit feedback from those who have birded the park.
The list was compiled from my own observations over the last year or so,
from searching the Tweeters archives, from Gene Hunn's "Birding in Seattle
and King County", from Stephen Whitney's "Nature Walks In and Around
Seattle ", from Ben Twight's notes in Don Sherwood's "Data on the History
of the Seattle Park System" and from the anecdotal reports of other birders
(all more skilled than I). Some species are "unconfirmed", but most species
are reported by more than one observer. Special thanks to Gene Hunn,
Michael Cohen, Irene Wanner, Scott Downes, Deborah Wisti-Peterson, Michael
Smith, Jeanne Marazzo, Paul Meyer, Lynn Catlin and others who have reported
on the park.
More than 100 species are listed, but the list is obviously incomplete, in
no small part because I am better at IDing large waterfowl on the open lake
than small passerines hidden in the trees. It seems particularly deficient
in species of sparrows, warblers, swallows and flycatchers. I would welcome
any additions, corrections, or comments. Please reply to me directly.
Some groups that I might naively have expected to show up seem to be
genuinely absent or (more probably) infrequent. Most of the dabbling ducks
(aside from Mallards, Gadwalls and Wigeons) apparently prefer smaller ponds
to Lake Washington/Andrews Bay, and the same seems to be true for Green
Herons.
Don Baccus has agreed to add Seward Park to the locations covered in his
bird database. I will put this list into the database once the park is
added, and I encourage people to submit data from the park to Don's site.

As an aside, let me take this opportunity to put in a plug for the
Tweeters archives, which I had never previously tried to use. A simple
request to "search tweeters seward" got me every line in the archives
referring to Seward Park (or to Seward, Alaska). It is apparent that the
most popular park birds with tweeters are (1) mitred conures (2) bald
eagles (3) pileated woodpeckers.
For those who frequent the park, I am also working on documenting the
mammals, herps, fish, plants, fungi, insects, spiders, geology and history
of the park (including Andrews Bay). Since this is a volunteer effort done
in my spare time, if anyone has contributioins in these areas I would be
delighted to have your assistance.

Paul Talbert
Hillman City, Seattle
tuisto at oz.net


Seward Park Birds

Common Loon Gavia immer
Yellow-billed Loon** Gavia adamsii
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena
Horned Grebe Podiceps auritis
Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis
Western Grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis
Double-crested Cormorant
Phalacrocorax auritis
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons
Chinese Goose Anser cygnoides
Canada Goose Branta canadensis
Gadwall Anas strepera
Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope
American Wigeon Anas americana
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Canvasback Aythya valisineria
Redhead Aythya americana
Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris
Greater Scaup Aythya marila
Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula
Bufflehead Bucephala albeola
Common Merganser Mergus merganser
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
California Quail* Callipepla californica
Virginia Rail Rallus limicola
American Coot Fulica americana
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia
Mew Gull Larus canus
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens
Western x Glaucus-winged Gull
Larus occidentalis x L. glaucescens
Sabine's Gull** Xema sabini
Rock Dove Columba livia
Chapman's Mitred (or Scarlet-fronted) Conure
Psittacara mitrata alticola (or P. wagleri)
Great Horned Owl* Bubo virginianus
Western Screech Owl Otus kennicotti
Barred Owl Strix varia
Northern Saw-whet Owl * Aegolias acadicus
Vaux's Swift Chaetura vauxi
Anna's Hummingbird Calypte anna
Rufous Hummingbird Selasphorus rufus
Belted Kingfisher Ceryle alcyon
Lewis' Woodpecker** Melanerpes lewis
Red-breasted Sapsucker Sphyrapicus ruber
Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus
Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus
Olive-sided Flycatcher Contopus cooperi
Hutton's Vireo Vireo huttoni
Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus
Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
American/NW Crow Corvus brachyrhincos
Violet-Green Swallow Tachycineta thalassina
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus
Chestnut-backed Chickadee Poecile rufescens
Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus
Brown Creeper Certhia americana
Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
American Dipper* Cinclus mexicanus
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa
Varied Thrush Ixoreus naevius
Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus
American Robin Turdus migratorius
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Cedar waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum
Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Dendroica nigrescens
Townsend's Warbler Dendroica townsendi
Wilson's Warbler Wilsonia pusilla
Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana
Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus
Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca
Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia atricapilla
Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis
Black-headed Grosbeak
Pheuticus melanocephalus
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus
House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus
Red Crossbill Loxia curvirostra
Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus
House Sparrow Passer domesticus

*no recent records
**single exceptional sighting
YBLO 12/23/56
SAGU 9/25/66
LEWO 1/15/97