Tweeters,
Just spent 20 mins checking out the Duwamish River behind the Boeing Development Center--starting at about 1:40pm--Good timing!

The Ospreys were at their nest on the platform to the west of me, with the the female (I believe) staying put while the male flew off to sit about half-way up the power tower beside the river.

Looking around, what I thought at first glance were a couple of gulls across the river turned (so to speak) out to be two CASPIAN TERNS, the first I've seen on the Duwamish. They were resting on an exposed mudbank (the tide was just starting to come upriver).

I was checking out the Starling that was below me on this side of the river and suddenly noticed two--no, 8--no, 12--no, 18 LEAST SANDPIPERS scattered out along the mud. Absolutely perfect views! Some had molted into more advanced alternate plumage than others. No other peeps associated with them, but a small flight of about 15-20 peeps flew by about mid-channel. Tough to visually ID in the glare, but I thought I heard Least Sandpiper calls. (Could have been those below me.)

A couple of American Crows landed on this side, forcing the sandpipers even closer to me. I looked back across at the terns, and saw that in about 20 minutes the river had risen enough to put the terns just into the water.

At exactly 2 pm, the terns lifted off and flew down the river, with one of them being harassed by a crow. Just then, I heard a Belted Kingfisher rattling off in the distance, and caught a glimpse of two rather large birds off to the southeast: Bald Eagles--one mature, the other not. Eagle, the younger, landed on the mudflat just beyond where the terns had been, with a host of crows in attendance. The other eagle flew over the freeway and up toward hillside to the south, flying over a Great Blue Heron strolling in the mud.

All in all, a good break!

Denis DeSilvis
Phantom Works - Lean & Efficient
denis.j.desilvis at boeing.com