We frequently bicycle the Sammamish River Trail, and especially
enjoy doing it in the winter, when the river has many wintering
ducks. Sunday, March 9, the river was high, and flowing rapidly,
so the ducks had to paddle hard to keep from being swept
downstream. Admittedly, there were not as many waterfowl on March
9 as in January and February, but it still proved to be an
interesting bicycle-birding day. We bicycled through Marymoor,
and just as we crossed the Sammamish River and turned north on
the trail, we spotted our first exciting bird, a partial-albino
Robin. The head was dark with the white eye crescents above and
below the dark eye. The bill was all yellow, contrasting with
that of a nearby normal robin, which had a dark tip on the end of
its yellow bill. The albino had a completely white tail, with
scaly-looking off-white back and wings. The breast was red,
although a bit paler than the other robins it was flocking with.
Really a striking-looking bird, and believe it or not, it was
still in the same area when we returned against the wind from
Tracy Owens Station to Marymoor. Mallards and Gadwalls were seen
at numerous points, while two male Common Goldeneyes claimed the
area near the planned pedestrian bridge in Redmond. A single male
Common Merganser with two females staked out the area near
Bothell Landing Park. A single male Hooded Merganser and a single
female were diving for food at different points on the river,
while Buffleheads, both male and female, also appeared on
different points on the river. At Woodinville's beautiful new
city park along the trail, a great flock of Ring-billed Gulls
searched the grassy knoll, apparently finding morsels. Double-
crested Cormorants were almost invisible as they floated down the
river in the dark water.
One red-tailed Hawk soared overhead near Woodinville, while
two Bald Eagles talked to each other as they caught the dynamic
wind waves over the Wayne Golf Course near Kenmore. Marsh Wrens
sang in the pond in Seattle Water Department's "wetland
mitigation" area just north of Redmond. Marsh Wrens continued to
sing from dead cattails and tall grass until we passed 124th
Street heading northward, and did not hear them again. Of course,
we could not see them. Song Sparrows, on the other hand, were
ubiquitous, singing from perches all along the trail. House
finches were also scattered along the trail, as were House
Sparrows and Red-winged Blackbirds. A California Quail gave its
distinctive call near the Woodinville flower-garden plantings.
We took our customary side trip up the trail along North Creek
by the University of Washington campus at Bothell, and down to
the "wetlands restoration area" viewing platform by the creek.
Last August, we had observed approximately 150 occupied Cliff
Swallow nests on support beams of the slanted roof of a glass-
fronted building on the campus. Swallows were everywhere, a
thrilling sight. Now the nests have been completely removed, not
a trace of them left, and bird distress calls are broadcast
continuously. Erin has acute hearing, and could hear the noise
from two hundred yards away. As if to "mitigate" the swallow
displacement, approximately two hundred wooden bird houses have
been hung from every small tree and branch in the wetland along
North Creek. This is madness!
Other than this disturbing observation, it was a great day for
bicycle-birding.

Bill and Erin Woods Woods Tree Farm Redmond, WA U.S.A.
<wwwbike at halcyon.com>