Tweeters,
Nine of us explored some of the viewpoints along the lower Duwamish waterway from T-105 south to Turning Basin #3 (TB3), finding 32 species. For those of you living in West Seattle, access to Puget Creek is very easy, and the views of both the birds and the river can be very rewarding. (See this site for directions: http://www.pugetsound.org/vshrmp/King/duwamish_directions_north.html)

With the outgoing tide (low at 10:51am), we hoped we could see a few feeding shorebirds, and with that we were in luck: both LEAST and WESTERN SANDPIPERS were easily found at Puget Creek. In addition, a SPOTTED SANDPIPER made shallow-wing-stroke flight in front of us.

Four CASPIAN TERNS, of which two were juv. were also seen at Kellogg Island. And lots of PURPLE MARTINS were flying at both T-105 and at Kellogg Island. OSPREYS, both juvenile and adults, were seen at every stop, and the interaction at Puget Creek between an adult carrying some sort of flatfish and a young Osprey was highly entertaining. Of interest only to me (probably), we saw RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS (6) at the restoration area of TB3. These are the first I've seen there since the breeders left, sometime before July 7.

Over a thousand EUROPEAN STARLINGS were feeding on the higher ground on the rocks and upper mudflats at Puget Creek. Lots of starlings at the various stops; this contrasted with the paucity of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, of which only a few were found near Hamm Creek. Gulls were starting to work on a couple of very large salmon beached at Hamm Creek.

Birds seen during this trip include the following:

T-105
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Osprey (the nest south of T-105 as well as that across the river; adults and fledged young)
Spotted Sandpiper
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon
American Crow
European Starling
Song Sparrow
House Sparrow
-------
Puget Creek
-------
Canada Goose
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Pigeon
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
American Crow
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Bushtit
Black-capped Chickadee
Bewick's Wren
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
White-crowned Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
-------
Hamm Creek
-------
Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant (finally!)
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Peregrine Falcon (hunting ROPI)
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon
American Crow
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
-------
Turning Basin #3
-------
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Peregrine Falcon (probably the same bird we saw at Hamm Creek)
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon
American Crow
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

May all your birds be identified,

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