Hi Tweets -

Again I have been remiss, and it has been two weeks since I posted a report.
This one again will have to do double duty - actually, triple duty since I was
also at Marymoor on the 8th to hang birdhouses. Both Wednesdays were cold and
cloudy, the 8th was snowy and raining (ugh). Brian Bell joined me today.

Highlights:

A BEAVER was the best sighting from the 7th. I heard a splash opposite Dog
Central, and moments later, a beaver started swimming upstream. It then turned
around and swam downstream. Then it hauled out onto the far shore facing me
and groomed its facial fur. Then back into the water swimming upstream, and
then it disappeared. I probably was able to watch it for two or three minutes!
Also, we had a muskrat at the lake today.

Right next to the beaver was a COMMON SNIPE.

Also on the 7th, an almost-but-not-quite mature BALD EAGLE landed in one of the
old cottonwoods near the Pea Patch (the ones threatened with chopping). After
about 15 minutes, TWO adult eagles came down from the lake and chased the
immature away. They then rested in a cottonwood at the other end of the row --
one of them remaining there for at least an hour. The immature had a white
tail with a smudgy dark band at the tip, and a vermiculite head.

On the 8th, a HAIRY WOODPECKER and a DOWNY WOODPECKER, both males I believe,
had quite a spat in some of the cottonwoods along the slough in the dog area,
with the Hairy repeatedly making runs at the Downy. I guess he didn't like the
little brat hanging around.

Today:

AMERICAN BITTERN Great look next to boardwalk at lake
Green-winged Teal At least 20 at Rowing Club ponds
Ring-necked Duck 3 males, 2 females at RC
Common Merganser Pair near slough - great look
Bald Eagle Two adults at the lake
Sharp-shinned Hawk Little guy streaking through the woods
Cooper's Hawk Big one near the start of the slough
MERLIN Flew up W. Lk. Samm Pkwy at Rowing Club
Brown Creeper One in the deep woods
Western Meadowlark 5 - also seen last week

The BITTERN is only our second February sighting ever, and we have no sightings
at all for December, January, or March. Thus, this represents only the second
winter sighting ever for us at Marymoor. This bird flushed from next to the
boardwalk right at the lake platform, and sat in a tree just about a eye level
for perhaps a full minute about 15 feet away from us. We were able to closely
observe the coloring of this bird, including the incredible lemony yellow
feathers between the beak and the eye, the greenish-lemon legs, and the
beautiful wood-grain-like wing feathers.

The MERLIN streaked past us headed northbound up the Parkway while we stood in
the overflow parking at the Rowing Club. It pulled up, alighting at the top of
a conifer, where we were able to view it through the scope.

Also stunning today was a kettle of 9 GREAT BLUE HERON which appeared over the
slough near the rowing club dock. The herons swirled around, perhaps torn
between roosting in the trees near us where there were already 3 herons, and
heading to their usual roost spot at the north end of the big woods. They
eventually decided to head to their usual spot. In the process they had to
drop a lot of altitude, and several of them made amazingly tight steep-banked
turns, dropping very fast before straightening out again. One marvels at their
maneuverabilty for such big birds.

Oh - and last week, a Pied-billed Grebe caught a 4 or 5" long eel or eel-like
fish which squirmed in its beak like a rubber pencil before being swallowed.

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