Tweets - what a fabulous day! The parking situation really was no problem
at all, and it was certainly worth it. A bit of overcast and fog early,
slowly clearing to perfect sunshine. Very little wind.

Green Heron A couple of nice looks
Gadwall Eight, first in 10 weeks
PEREGRINE FALCON Practically our first bird, hunting for RODOs
Virginia Rail At weir and at new mitigation ponds
Sora At weir and at new mitigation ponds
Rufous Hummingbird? Species presumed. Brief look at RC.
Olive-sided Flycatcher? Probable, south of Dog Central
Pacific-slope Flycatcher Nice look at the Rowing Club
Cassin's Vireo To-die-for look near first dog swim area
Warbling Vireo A couple of nice looks at bright, crisp birds
Red-eyed Vireo One or two near start of boardwalk
AMERICAN REDSTART Two males at start of boardwalk
Orange-crowned Warbler One with Cassin's Vireo
Yellow Warbler Near lake, 2+
Wilson's Warbler Male near start of boardwalk
Western Tanager A couple, both female and/or imm.
White-crowned Sparrow Flock of around 8 immatures
Purple Finch Several immatures

The AMERICAN REDSTART were seen well, and while we could tell there were
two, I don't think anyone saw both simultaneously, as they were flitting
around very fast. All sightings were of adult males. My jaw dropped when
Bruce Jones calmly called out "redstart", but seeing is believing. They
were observed for about five minutes shortly after 9:00 this morning from
about 10 yards away.

Earlier, at the weir, Brian called out that there were two VIRGINIA RAILS.
By the time I got there, only one was still visible, and my views indicated
it was a juvenile SORA. We were still trying to work that out when both of
them disappeared for good. For the rest of the walk, I was stuck with the
possibility that we had seen two different species, but neither was certain.
This bothered me. Around noon, after everyone else had left, I went over to
the new mitigation ponds in between the new soccer fields (a bit west of the
velodrome). A few weeks ago I had seen two Virginia Rail adults and two
babies there, so I thought I might be able to take the uncertainty out of at
least one of the rail species for the day. I had just gotten to the first
pond when I noticed a large juvenile VIRGINIA RAIL. It's beak was still
storter than an adults'. I was able to watch it for quite a while, and as I
did, the more I became convinced that the second rail at the weir had been a
Sora. One of the keys was that the Virginia Rail had a dark rump, while the
second bird at the weir had a white rump. Unfortunately, the NGS guide
fails to show or discuss rump color in juveniles. If only I could find a
juvenile Sora to compare... Amazingly, in the second pond was, indeed, a
juvenile SORA - a definite match for the morning's bird, complete with white
rump. There was also another Virginia Rail there for comparison. Both
birds were quite active, and it soon became obvious why - a LONG-TAILED
WEASEL was in the cattails trying to snag one!

The CASSIN'S VIREO and the WARBLING VIREOS were apparently hatch-year birds,
and they were in sparklingly bright plumage. The Cassin's sang for us, and
moved slowly through a tree between the path and the slough. Definite
quality views. One of the Warbling Vireos had been close by minutes before,
allowing almost simultaneous comparison.

Anyway, a fantastic day, with over 60 species. American Redstart is new for
the Marymoor list, and is the EIGHTH new species for 2002! (after 8 years
of weekly surveys). The other new birds for the year are Sora, Semipalmated
Sandpiper, Western Gull, Franklin's Gull, Sage Thrasher, Horned Lark, and
Chipping Sparrow

Did anyone who was with me see a Starling?

The year list is now at 126.

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