Tweets

FIRST, let me admit that it is too dark to bird at 7:00 a.m. As of next
Wednesday, we will start at 7:30.

So it started out dark, and as it gradually got lighter, it got foggier and
colder. It wasn't until we reached the East Meadow that the fog cleared and it
was sunny. But then the breeze picked up (with low clouds being blown from the
southwest and high clouds being blown from the north). By the time we got to
the Rowing Club, the clouds were getting thicker and the sun mostly
disappeared. After everyone else left, I did a little more birding because...

The birding was great. The day reminded me A LOT of the October 21, 1999, when
I found the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. No such luck today, but many neat things:

Green Heron One at lake
Ring-necked Duck One male at RC ponds
Bufflehead One female at RC ponds
Sharp-shinned Hawk At east end of boardwalk late
Cooper's Hawk ? Quick look as it flew over slough
Common Snipe One in slough, one in E. Meadow late
Virginia Rail See below
HERMIT THRUSH Two
Winter Wren Saw one, heard one
Brown Creeper East end of boardwalk and near mansion
Orange-crowned Warbler One, quite yellow
Yellow-rumped Warbler Dozens, Aud. and Myrtles
Purple Finch 1 very nice looking female
Brewer's Blackbird 2 males and a female

First RING-NECKED DUCK of the fall (and actually a fairly early date for
Marymoor), and also the first BUFFLEHEAD of the fall (and the earliest certain
fall sighting for Marymoor by 1 day).

The VIRGINIA RAIL sighting was weird, weird, weird. We were at the site of
last years' Big Sit circle, looking down the small (unofficial) path connecting
the slough trail to the main dog meadow. Brian announced he thought the bird
that had just scooted across the path was a Sora. Moments later though, it
flew back across the path and the long bill of a Virginia Rail was apparent.
What it was doing in a blackberry and willow thicket rather far from anything
resembling a wetland remains a mystery.

The HERMIT THRUSH were just our 3rd ever fall sighting, and possibly the first
time we've ever had two birds. One was just south of the dog area, the other
was at the Rowing Club. Conceivably it was the same bird, but it would have
been quite a coincidence. This was also the latest date we've ever had HETH,
the previous fall records being from September 11, 1997 and October 11, 1995.

The BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS were just the 5th record in my database, and only my
personal second sighting for the species at Marymoor.

The day featured many large flocks of birds, usually mixes of Yellow-rumped
Warbler, Black-capped Chickadee, both Kinglets, Robin, Towhee, Song Sparrow,
and Bewick's Wren. Within these flocks a few unusual birds could usually be
noted. We spent a LOT of time searching these flocks (and I'll admit that I,
personally, kept an eye out for gnatcatcher - hope springs eternal).

We ended up with 54 species.

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