Hi Tweets,

Some friends and I went birding in the south King county area Sunday with the
following highlights:

Southcenter, aka, "Tukwila" pond:
50+ CANVASBACK - I've forgotten how many I counted :-(
15 HOODED MERGANSERS
200 NORTHERN SHOVELERS

The city of Tukwila building which normally hosts many gulls, especially
Thayer's Gulls, was lifeless.

Dumas Bay Park, Federal Way:
3 EURASIAN WIGEON (2 male, 1 female) at the private pond visible from the
parking area.
1 TOWNSEND'S WARBLER along the footpath
Several hundred wigeon (with 1 more EURASIAN male) on the bay.
Also seen were numerous WW and Surf Scoters, Gr. Scaup, Buffleheads, Bald
Eagle, etc.

Dash Pt. State Park
10-12 ANCIENT MURRELETS
3 RHINOCEROS AUKLETS
20 COMMON MURRES
1 BLACK SCOTER (male)
1 BONAPARTE'S GULL
1 MERLIN
50 AMERICAN ROBINS - most heading south along the bluffs.

We saw the Ancient Murrelets only after scanning for about 1/2 hour. They were
actively moving around, flying and feeding. Most were very distant, but the
first group of 3-4 were very close and sat on the water long enough for a
couple of us to see them in detail. I was even able to see the pale tipped
bills. This was definitely a first for me in King County after many years of
birding here. Unfortunately, but true to their style, the murrelets were pretty
elusive. Only a couple of us saw them when they were only 100-200 yards
offshore, after that they were so far away ID was pretty problematic.


good birding,

Jim Flynn--
buteoreg at attbi.com
Seattle, WA