11:40am start - water level very low - lots of exposed mudflats with that closest to the banks looking dry
12:27pm end

Tweeters,
Even with the sun, it was darn cold out on the river. I saw a much higher number of GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS than usual. Here's the story: I was scoped on the Hamm Creek Osprey nest where one Osprey was in the nest, and one was perched on a crossbar eating a fish. Suddenly, both Ospreys bolted to the east, flying hard. I looked downstream, north of the Boeing facility, and saw a cloud of Glaucous-winged Gulls rising up and flying west. My immediate thought was "Bald Eagle. Where the heck is it?" About 20 seconds later an eagle passed by headed upstream, with two gulls and an Osprey in attendance. The Osprey made one close pass at the eagle, which turned and threw up talons. The Osprey rose higher and circled, while the eagle maintained course upstream, picking up other attendants, like American Crows. Eventually, the Osprey returned to the nest platform, and the eagle continued upstream. And the gulls? That was strange. The flock circled higher over the Hamm Creek area, with some birds several hundred feet up. Most flew back from whence they rose, but not for many minutes.

Three Great Blue Herons were feeding on the west mudbank, next to the pier. Speaking of pier, it looks as if one of the gates to the pier area next to the Quonset hut has been deliberately knocked down and off the hinges. That probably took quite a bit of force. Some guy was out there with his dog nosing around, putting up the Rock Pigeons and several gulls that "own" the pier.

Still no shorebirds at Turning Basin #3, but Stewart Wechsler mentioned that he's seen Killdeer and Western Sandpipers downstream at Terminal 107/Herring's House Park.

Yesterday I was told that planting is underway at the Codiga Farm restoration site on the Duwamish River across from the Boeing Employees Credit Union building at Gateway Office Park. The Corps of Engineers and the City of Tukwila have combined resources for this restoration (50th Place South and 130th Place, Tukwila, WA). It will be interesting to see how this work influences wildlife and fish along the river over the next several years.

Birds seen during this scan include the following:
Canada Goose (8 plus 3 goslings)
Gadwall (5)
Mallard (3)
Bufflehead (3)
Double-crested Cormorant (5)
Great Blue Heron (3)
Osprey (2)
Bald Eagle
Glaucous-winged Gull (78)
Rock Pigeon (19)
Belted Kingfisher
American Crow (6)
Bushtit (2)
European Starling (21)
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird (2)
House Finch (5)
House Sparrow (2)

May all your birds be identified,

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