Subject: On the Duwamish - 9/8/2003
Date: Sep 8 12:28:58 2003
From: Desilvis, Denis J - denis.j.desilvis at boeing.com


Tweeters,
10:58am start: Water level at 0.0ft
11:49am end: Water level at 1.5ft

There's a nice "washed clean" air around the Duwamish River today, with an incoming tide and change-in-the-weather breeze freshening up the area even more. Before I even set the scope up, I saw three RED-TAILED HAWKS low-down above the west bank of the river; they started rising, circling, and heading north, soon to be out of sight. An OSPREY joined them briefly before settling down on the western power tower. Another Osprey was already on the tower, and two more Ospreys were calling from the Hamm Creek nest site. I briefly glimpsed the PEREGRINE FALCON as it flew to the eastern power tower, where it settled down in the center of the tower top, with about 20 European Starlings! The falcon didn't bother the Starlings, which left within a few minutes. I walked down the parking lot, set up my scope about 60 yards from the tower, and zoomed in on the falcon: very distended crop. It appeared to nap several times, and once, about 40 Starlings landed on the south end of the tower, disturbing the falcon only briefly. (Quite a few lunchtime walkers stopped by to scope out the falcon.)

Birds seen today include the following:

Double-crested Cormorant (3)
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose (5)
Mallard (3)
Osprey (4)
Red-tailed Hawk (3)
Peregrine Falcon
Killdeer (5)
Mew Gull (6)
Glaucous-winged Gull (10+)
Rock Pigeon (4)
Belted Kingfisher
American Crow (14)
Violet-green Swallow (2)
Barn Swallow (4)
European Starling (~300)
House Finch
House Sparrow

May all your birds be identified,

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