hi tweets
enjoyed a beautiful day in tolt mcdonald park on saturday on a SASS trip led
by peter Klein. we also briefly checked out the rattlesnake lake area as
well. we had to do a lot of our birding by ear due to the thickness of the
foilage. the highlights (for me) were watching a pair of hairy woodpeckers
feeding their young, and listening to the "baby" sounds and watching a pair
of chestnut backed chickadees excavating a nest. it was interesting how low
the nest hole is - probably about 4 feet high at most. it was pretty neat
to hear the birds inside actually tapping on the wall of the tree. it
sounded quite subdued and distant. it was like the antithesis of a flicker
on top of a light pole! the following is a list of birds seen and/or heard.

Goose, Canada
Mallard,
Osprey,
Hawk, Red-tailed
Sandpiper, Spotted
Dove, Rock
Owl, Great Horned
Hummingbird, Rufous
Sapsucker, Red-breasted
Woodpecker, Downy
Woodpecker, Hairy
Woodpecker, Pileated
Flycatcher, Hammond's
Flycatcher, Pacific-slope
Vireo, Hutton's
Vireo, Warbling
Jay, Steller's
Crow, American
Swallow, Violet-green
Swallow, Northern Rough-winged
Swallow, Cliff
Swallow, Barn
Chickadee, Black-capped
Chickadee, Chestnut-backed
Bushtit,
Nuthatch, Red-breasted
Creeper, Brown
Wren, Bewick's
Wren, Winter
Kinglet, Golden-crowned
Robin, American
Starling, European
Warbler, Orange-crowned
Warbler, Nashville
Warbler, Yellow-rumped
Warbler, Black-throated Gray
Warbler, Townsend's
Warbler, MacGillivray's
Yellowthroat, Common
Warbler, Wilson's
Tanager, Western
Towhee, Spotted
Sparrow, Song
Sparrow, White-crowned
Sparrow, Golden-crowned
Junco, Dark-eyed
Grosbeak, Black-headed
Blackbird, Red-winged
Blackbird, Brewer's
Cowbird, Brown-headed
Finch, Purple
Finch, House
Goldfinch, American
Sparrow, House

we also had a sighting of a large woodpecker that, between 3 different
people, was determined to have sapsucker wing bars and a red crown, but not
the typical red breasted markings. we thought it may have possibly been a
red-naped but this was not confirmed with repeated sightings. does anyone
know of any records of red-naped sapsuckers in this area??? the bird in
question was seen at rattlesnake lake.

good birding!

marissa j benavente
seattle wa
junebug at pol.net