Sunday, November 23 was a bit chilly (38F) for a bicycle ride in King
County along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail From Rattlesnake Lake to Mt. Si
Golf Course, but the birding was exciting. STELLER'S JAYS welcomed us as
we started down the trail. WINTER WRENS sounded off a number of times
along the trail, while flocks of VARIED THRUSHES made no sound as they
flew up in front of us. One huge flock of DARK-EYED JUNCOS played
leapfrog with us, and were occasionally joined by a few SONG SPARROWS,
PINE SISKINS, and HOUSE FINCHES. One small gaggle of CANADA GEESE flew in
a rather disorganized formation below Rattlesnake Ridge, heading west and
honking loudly. Two CEDAR WAXWINGS, plus one SPOTTED TOWHEE, were so busy
devouring the little bright-red wild Oregon Crabapples that they did not
fly off when Bill checked to verify the fruit species. A NORTHERN FLICKER
paid us no-never-mind as she calmly sat atop a power pole while we pedaled
by. Certainly, our most interesting sighting was that of a NORTHERN PYGMY
OWL, sitting in a mature, leafless Red Alder tree beside the trail where
it parallels the South Fork Snoqualmie River east of Cedar Falls Way. We
spied the owl, its silhouette dark against the pale gray sky, while
climbing back up the trail to Rattlesnake Lake. The owl was aware of us
as we watched through our binoculars for several minutes, trying to decide
which owl species it was. It moved its head around continuously, but not
far enough to allow us to see the "false eyes" on the back of its
dark-gray head. Its white breast was fluffed out against the cold, showing
off the vertical dark-gray stripes, and its tail extended beyond the end
of its wings. We have heard Pygmy Owls before, but this was our first
sighting of a live one. When we returned to Rattlesnake Lake, we pedaled
along the trail to the Cedar River Watershed Education Center (open only
Tuesday through friday this time of year.) We scanned the lake, which at
this time of year is less than half full, with stumps showing along the
edges. CROWS and two DOMESTIC GEESE prowled along the eastern shoreline,
while a GREAT BLUE HERON flew to the far shoreline. In the middle of the
lake, we identified a few MALLARDS, three BUFFLEHEADS (two males and a
female), two non-breeding male COMMON MERGANSERS, and two immature
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS. We had seen a mature DB CORMORANT earlier,
swimming in the South Fork Snoqualmie River as we crossed it on the trail
west of North Bend. As we returned to our tree farm near Redmond, a pair
of HOODED MERGANSERS had joined the two pairs of WOOD DUCKS and two male
MANDARIN DUCKS along with the plethora of MALLARDS that spend their days
with us during fall and winter. It was a fitting ending to a great day of
birding.

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