We took our bicycles on the short round-trip ride from Marymoor Park to
Bothell and return on Saturday, October 21. It was foggy giong north, so
we did most of our birding by ear--good practice--, but the fog had
cleared
and the sun was out when we headed back to Marymoor. Song Sparrows were
scolding, but not singing, everywhere along the trail. The Red-winged
Blackbirds mixed a few songs in their loud group chatter near Woodinville.
The river was high after the copious rain the previous several days,
and not many ducks were present. The anchored root wads along the river
were floating, but still holding fast. A Great Blue Heron took advantage
of one of the wads as a preening perch. Several Double-crested Cormorants
flew upriver, along with a alrge flock (20) of Canada Geese. Erin finally
decided to confirm her "ear" identification of a scolding Marsh Wren and
stopped to locate him. Sure enough, after being talked to awhile, out he
popped and confirmed his ID. We heard several wrens along the trail. A
Red-tailed Hawk perched on one of the tall fire-killed trees near
Marymoor. We have seen hawks perched there frequently. Both male and
female Kingfishers checked out the Sammamish River as we rode along the
trail. We always enjoy making an inventory of the birds as we bicycle the
trail. Here is our list for the 21-mile round trip on Saturday October
21. I'm sure we missed a few.

1. Pied-billed Grebe
2. Double-crested Cormorant
3. Great Blue Heron
4. Canada Goose
5. Domestic Goose
6. Mallard
7. Killdeer
8. Immature gull (species not identified)
9. Red-tailed Hawk
10. Rock Dove
11. Belted Kingfisher
12. Steller's Jay
13. American Crow
14. Black-capped Chickadee
15. Marsh Wren
16. American Robin
17. European Starling
18. Spotted Towhee
19. Song Sparrow
20. Red-winged Blackbird
21. House Sparrow
22. House Finch

Bill and Erin Woods Woods Tree Farm Redmond, WA U.S.A.
<wwwbike at halcyon.com>