11:20am start - water level high with incoming tide (11:26 high tide -
12.2ft); no mudflats visible
11:50am end

Tweeters,
Jacket-and-glove weather for the first time since March; partly cloudy,
and more activity than I've seen for some time at Turning Basin #3. The
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS have definitely returned in force (see Note)
and are actively fishing TB3, along with COMMON MERGANSERS (more in
Note). The big surprise today was a SPOTTED TOWHEE that was foraging
near a Song Sparrow near the south end of my viewing location. This is
the first time that I've seen a towhee anywhere around this Boeing
facility, although some of the habitat is likely. (Species count now
stands at 58 for the year.)

A PEREGRINE FALCON was on the Hamm Creek power tower when I walked out.
It flew to the east-bank power tower (11:30), then flew off in pursuit
of prey (11:37-but out of my view), finally reappearing on the Hamm
Creek (HC) tower at 11:39. To get a better look, I walked down the river
to be opposite the HC tower. I'm not sure what the prey is, but from
size, it may be Rock Pigeon (the usual fare). While I was down there, I
found a couple more Song Sparrows, and about 25 more Double-crested
Cormorants. (I'll not list these in the totals below.) An additional
Great Blue Heron was roosting in a tree near the east power tower, with
one more on a piling across from Delta Marine.

Five AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES were feeding on birch cones on a nearby tree,
and 16 Bushtits flew by, stopping aperiodically to comb the
blackberry/butterfly bush tangle.

Note: On Wed (11/17) at about 3:40pm, with the water level down, about
60 Double-crested Cormorants and 13 Common Mergansers were foraging
along the west shoreline north of the pier (south of the power
substation). These are high counts for both species. Numbers aside, the
big surprise for me was that all the COME were male!

Birds seen during this scan include the following:
Domestic goose
Mallard (2)
Common Merganser (8; seven female, one male)
Double-crested Cormorant (25)
Great Blue Heron (the last few days during high tide, this bird has
taken up a spot at the north side of the pier opposite me)
Peregrine Falcon
Glaucous-winged Gull (9; one of which harassed the DCCOs when they
surfaced with large prey)
Rock Pigeon (12)
Belted Kingfisher
American Crow (18)
Black-capped Chickadee
Bushtit (16)
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
House Finch (6)
American Goldfinch (5)
House Sparrow (2)

May all your birds be identified,

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