12:07pm start - water level extremely low - most mudflats exposed
12:39pm end

Tweeters,
Finally! First shorebird sighting this year: GREATER YELLOWLEGS feeding to the east of the goose-exclusion area. (Lots of water runoff at that spot). As I was setting up my scope, I thought I heard the familiar three-note call, but it took me about 10 minutes to locate the lone GRYE. The only other birds in that area were a few Rock Pigeons feeding on the drier mud.

Directly below me, on the algae-covered mudflat, an American Robin gathered a beakful of mud and algae (an extraordinary amount of material), flew to the top strand of barbed-wire next to me, paused, and flew over the top of my office building heading toward the courtyard. (The set of buildings associated with mine is in the shape of a "U," with a courtyard, parking lot, and cafeteria located in the center of the "U." My specific workplace is in the building that forms the base of the "U," paralleling the Duwamish River.) Guess I'll have to stroll around in there soon to see what I can spot.

One mammal: Harbor seal in the middle of Turning Basin #3.

Birds seen during this scan include the following:
Canada Goose (4)
Mallard
Bufflehead (3)
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Osprey (2; both at the Hamm Creek nest platform at times)
Greater Yellowlegs
Glaucous-winged Gull (7)
Rock Pigeon (13)
American Crow (4)
Violet-green Swallow (2)
Bewick's Wren
American Robin (2)
European Starling (41)
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird (2)
House Finch (2)
House Sparrow (2)

May all your birds be identified,

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