Hello tweets,

It was a fine weekend. To add to reports from the Montlake Fill at the UW, I
saw two male and one female REDHEADs on the central pond Saturday and one
male there Sunday. Sunday there were two male LESSER SCAUPs, a bunch of
RING-NECKED DUCKsl, a male CINNAMON TEAL, and a female COMMON GOLDENEYE with
him. A single LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER foraged on the pond by Wahkiakum Lane.

At the Seattle Audubon's Carnation Marsh sanctuary Sunday I observed a
light/medium phase adult SWAINSON'S HAWK circling very high in the company of
a NORTHERN RAVEN, both drifting northward. This is my first Swainson's Hawk
for the county. At first I thought it might be a Mississippi Kite! But no. It
maintained a strong dihedral on almost falcon-like wings, showed the
characteristic "negative" pattern on the underwing (light coverts contrasting
with blackish flight feathers), and an even milk-chocolate upper surface,
head to tail. In keeping with the eastside flavor of Redheads and Swainson's
Hawks, there was also a VESPER SPARROW at the Marsh, feeding on the ground in
the driveway at the west-bend 90 just south of the entrance to the golf
course. A female WOOD DUCK herded ten chicks under the next bridge south and
five TURKEY VULTURES drifted over low. The OSPREY is incubating. Also, five
HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERs were singing on territories in the high cottonwood
canopy along the Snoqualmie River in Tolt-MacDonald Park at Carnation.

Gene Hunn