Hi Tweets

It was the kind of morning where the pace of the walking was slowed by the
beauty of the day. Brian Bell, MaryFrances Mathis, and I crept around Marymoor
Wednesday morning in the sun, enjoying every bird and flower (the Red
Elderberry is in full bloom) along the way. We never wanted to leave.

There were a few surprises, lots of singing, and many stunning individual
birds. Here are some highlights from the list:

American Bittern 1 at slough lookout (Interpretive stop 10)
Green Heron At least 3 birds, several sightings
Virginia Rail Seen in slough near parking lot
Californial Quail Pair seen today (Thursday) near windmill
Barn Owl Seen Wed. about 10 PM near Pea Patch
Vaux's Swift One over weir
Band-tailed Pigeon 1 at RC - first in a LONG time
Rufous Hummingbird Many males and at least 1 or 2 females
Cedar Waxwing Flock seen today (Thursday)
Orange-cr. Warbler Several, with lots of singing
Y-rumped Warbler Abundant! Almost all Aud. with 1 Myrt.
Common Yellowthroat Males and females, abundant song
Savannah Sparrow Incredible #s, incl a flock of 20 in a tree
Lincoln's Sparrow 2 at opposite ends of the park

We had the first two MALLARD duckling clutches; 11 babies near the Clise
Mansion and another clutch at the Rowing Club. Thursday, 4/26, I also had baby
CANADA GEESE, with 6 babies in the slough at the north end.

The HAIRY WOODPECKER hole opposite the rowing club dock has apparently been
abandoned, possibly due to friction with the NORTHERN FLICKER family nesting in
the very next snag. The Hairy's hole seems to have been taken over by TREE
SWALLOWs.

We had a stunning pair of COMMON MERGANSER at the weir that blew out our vision
as they glittered in the sun. His bill was an absolute blood red, his black
was black as black could be and his white was so white it sparkled rainbows off
the tips.

Both RED-TAILED HAWK nests were active. The nests are about six-tenths of a
mile apart, both within 100 feet to the west of West Lake Samm Parkway.
Neither nest is actually inside the park, but in both cases it appears that
100% of the foraging occurs inside the park.

It was a good day for animals too, with a RIVER OTTER at the lake, a MUSKRAT in
the slough, two MULE DEER at the Rowing Club, along with PAINTED TURTLE,
RED-EARED SLIDER, and GARTER SNAKE.

We had 47 species Wednesday morning, plus the Barn Owl Wednesday night, plus
the quail and waxwings Thursday for a two-day total of 50 species of bird.

== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland WA
== Hummer at isomedia.com
== http://www.scn.org/fomp/birding.htm