Hello, tweeters.

We visited Spencer Island this morning (Nov 11), 09:00-12:10 from parking
lot around north loop and back. Cooolld but beautiful. Neat that alder and
other leaves were falling from trees by the hundreds, even in still air; I
presume the cold had brought on their dehiscence. Bird numbers are for east
of sewage ponds, sewage pond birds after + sign. Almost (49) made our
traditional goal of 50 species for that walk. Ran into Brian Bell and
birding class, and Gene Hunn and George Gerdts; Spencer Island is the place
to see and be seen!

Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant + 1 overhead
Great Blue Heron 8
Canada Goose 60 + many
Green-winged Teal 70
Mallard 150 + few
Northern Pintail 20
Northern Shoveler + few
Gadwall 2 + few
American Wigeon 20
Canvasback + few hundred, very impressive rafts
Bufflehead 10
Hooded Merganser 5
Ruddy Duck + few hundred
Bald Eagle 1 ad
Northern Harrier 8 at least, most juveniles putting on quite a show diving
at one another
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 imm in isolated patch of trees north of barn, there at
beginning and end of our walk, much calling
Red-tailed Hawk 10 or so, constantly in sight in air and dotted around
treetops
Virginia Rail several heard, seemed to be stimulated to call by gunshots
from hunting area
American Coot 150 + few
Long-billed Dowitcher 50 or more, flying around a lot and feeding both north
and south of cross dike
Bonaparte's Gull 3 overhead + 40
Mew Gull 20 overhead + few hundred
Ring-billed Gull + 1
Glaucous-winged Gull (and hybrids) 3 actually feeding on Spencer Island + 25
Belted Kingfisher 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 6
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Steller's Jay 1
American Crow 20
Common Raven 4 (2 pairs flew over Spencer I, first I've seen there)
Black-capped Chickadee 12
Bushtit 12
Winter Wren 1
Marsh Wren 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7
American Robin 10
Varied Thrush 1
Northern Shrike 2
European Starling 30
Spotted Towhee 20
Fox Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 50
Lincoln's Sparrow 2
Golden-crowned Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 10
Dark-eyed Junco 2
House Finch 1

Dennis Paulson
--
Netta Smith and Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115