Subject: On the Duwamish - 7/9/03
Date: Jul 9 12:12:46 2003
From: Desilvis, Denis J - denis.j.desilvis at boeing.com


What a glorious day in Tweeterland, especially here at Turning Basin #3 (Hamm Creek)! An 11-11:30am scan of the area during an incoming tide, 74 degree air temp with nary a cloud to be seen, and with a slight north breeze was relaxing to say the least. Big highlight today for me was a lone SPOTTED SANDPIPER, together with LEAST SANDPIPERS dotted along the far shoreline. The tumbling flock of mudflat-feeding European Starlings rousted the peeps a couple of times, but the Spotted Sandpiper pretty much stayed its course. One harbor seal drifted in with the tide, and was the only mammal seen. Other birds included the following:

Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose (21, including a flotilla of 8 that passed quietly in front of me)
Mallard (11)
Osprey (3 - prob female at nest with the bobbing head of one nestling seen; male on nearby power tower)
Red-tailed Hawk (preening on power tower to the south)
Killdeer (5)
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper (7)
Glaucous-winged Gull (5)
Rock Dove (4)
Belted Kingfisher
American Crow (4-5)
Barn Swallow (3)
Black-capped Chickadee (3)
European Starling (>25 in several flocks)
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird (heard, not seen)
House Finch (2)
House Sparrow (2)

May all your birds be identified,

Denis DeSilvis
Seattle, WA
denis.j.desilvis at boeing.com