Hi Birders:
Yesterday, a friend and I did a little mid-day birding here in S King
County. We met Fri, July 16 at 10:30 at the DesMoines Creek trailhead
on S 200th, south of SeaTac airport. On Tue, July 13 I had thought I
had possibly seen fledglings in a stick nest used by Cooper's Hawks 2
years ago. So Norma and I walked down the trail to view the nest.
Nothing was in the
nest, but we started hearing loud juvenile hawk begging calls in the
trees to the west of the trail. They sounded like PeeEEee, and were
repeated. After awhile, a COOPER'S HAWK dove thru the mixed woods to
the west. We thought it was a juvenile as it appeared to be a brown
color. The calls continued a short time, there were two separate juv
birds calling, and small birds and an occasional Steller's Jay made
mobbing noises near the site. But the mixed woods here which includes
apple trees, alders, maples, and a few evergreens hid the birds from
our view. We decided to walk down the main trail a ways to maybe let
the fledgling hawks approach the trail. It became sunny and warm. We
heard and saw WESTERN TANAGERS, including one bright male w/ red head.
A BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK flew overhead. Out on the old roads (the
houses are now removed) to the west we viewed a soaring dark morph
adult RED-TAILED HAWK. A COOPER'S HAWK flew by high overhead. We
heard a Hutton's Vireo. There were many BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES in
family groups, and we saw a few juv CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES.
There a still a few BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS. As we walked back, the
Cooper's Hawks were gone.
Then we headed down to the Kent Valley on Orillia Rd, exiting on
Frager Rd along the Green River. We saw V-G SWALLOWS, and CLIFF
SWALLOWS. No Tree Swallows. Juvenile AMER GOLDFINCHES were numerous.
There were no SAVANNAH SPARROWS. Where do they go at this time of
year? We walked into the Riverview Marsh and there is water there,
but no shorebirds. It was very quiet there during the warm midday,
but we did have a loudly calling but hidden BLK-HEADED GROSBEAK. The
trail is overgrown around the backside of the pond here. We had to
scramble up to a fenceline to view the ponds from the back. There
were two WOOD DUCKS across the pond. We walked back out to Frager Rd
and walked in at the south entrance to call in two VIRGINIA RAILS.
Over at Boeing Ponds it was hot and quiet. There was one sleeping
GREATER YELLOWLEGS along the ditch, and only a few SPOTTED SANDPIPERS
on the ponds. The back pond is dried up. Again, this place had been
overrun by Savannah Sparrows just last week, and now they are all
gone. But the American Goldfinches are having a great time w/ the
thistles that are going to seed. The males are becoming a
yellowish-green color. Quite striking.
Well, I feel a need for shorebirds, and I'm not finding them in the
Kent Valley. It's time to head to the coast or up to the straits I
guess.
Yours, Carol Schulz
DesMoines, WA
mailto:linusq at att.net