Hi Tweets

The latest report from Marymoor while Michael Hobbs is gone. The day
started out cool and overcast, and very very quiet. There were birds
around, but we had to search them out and we never really did get a lot
of singing or calling. Numbers seemed to be down on swallows, no
warblers except yellowthroat but Canada Geese and European Starling
numbers continued up. We had a nice walk, even if two-thirds of the way
thru it looked like we might end up with barely thirty species. Finally
got up to 42 species at the end, down from our usual 50 or so but not
bad for a slow, cool, early August day..

We had some nice views of GREEN HERON along the river, close views of
VAUX' SWIFT, very brief views under the clouds of BLACK SWIFT, muskrat,
and jack rabbit. Over Lake Sammamish an OSPREY came in, grabbed a fish
and was promptly mobbed and harasses by several gulls. When last seen
the birds were circling higher and higher.

The highlight was a pair of PIED-BILLED GREBES on the lake by the
boardwalk platform with two stripy-headed juveniles. Some of the rowing
club shells were just coming back off the lake and one of the adult
grebes was very alert. It was looking at the shells and quivering and
lifting it's wings (almost as if it wanted to protect the juveniles). We
spent waaay too much time enjoying the grebes.

Brian Bell
Woodinville Wa
bellasoc at isomedia.com