On Sat. Jan. 22, 2000 we had a very good mid-winter birding day at the Green
River Natural Resources Area which is east of SeaTac airport in the Kent
Valley. Rainier Audubon field trip leader, Michele Herzberg led a large
group of birders into the area of the ponds that is usually closed off.
Site manager, Matt Knox came with us and talked to us about the project and
about the wildlife. Roger Orness, the hawk expert who has been responsible
for the Kestrel boxes and other raptor enhancements was there. He helped ID
raptors, species, sub species and individual birds. And there were a number
of advanced birders there who helped all the rest of us.
It was a great day for viewing and the birds were out. We saw 5 spp of
sparrows including 3 Lincoln's Sparrows. We saw 7 spp of raptors. This
included 3 Falcons: Peregrine, Merlin, and Kestrel. And two people spotted
the most unusual raptor in the area, a Rough-legged Hawk which flew by about
noon. They saw it's light-colored tail w/ dark tail band. The Rough-legged
Hawk is fairly unusual in the Kent Valley, and this winter two of them have
been seen, an adult and an immature. They've usually been seen near Smith
Bros. Dairy which is on S. 277th St. and West Valley (just west of the
Valley Freeway). Sometimes the birds are also seen in the fields just east
of the Valley Freeway near 277th St. This is a few miles south of Kent
Ponds so we were excited about the sighting at the ponds.
Here is our list for the morning of Jan. 22, 2000 at GRNRA:
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Pied-billed Grebe
Dbl-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
American Wigeon
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Virginia Rail
American Coot
Mew Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Blk-capped Chickadee
Bushtit
Bewick?s Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln?s Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch

Total Species - 45
Reported by Carol Schulz
DesMoines