11:49am start - water level seems higher for an outgoing tide (1.03 at 1:05pm), but could be because of the runoff from the rain; all mudflats exposed
12:33pm end

Tweeters,
Blustery wind from the southwest, with mostly sunny skies, and starting to dry out after this morning's hard rain at Turning Basin #3 (TB3). I had a very cooperative GREEN HERON (stood in one spot for over 20min), located under the Boeing bridge, zoomed in on the scope and was allowing an interested observer check it out, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a dark-backed, larger-than-robin bird fly upstream below me. Because it was just a momentary view, I thought it might be a Belted Kingfisher, but something about its flight pattern, seemingly longer wings, and too-dark-body wasn't right. I was looking for it among the pilings when suddenly it flew downstream directly below me: another GREEN HERON! I immediately scoped back across the river to the south and spotted the first heron, confirming that the one below me was a different bird. I spent some time watching it as it went from beached-branch to beached-branch, but lost it when it took off downstream. Glancing back across the river, I saw the other heron, which was still rooted to the same spot under the bridge, not doing much of anything.

I walked to my other observation point further downstream, scoped some gulls (RING-BILLED, MEW, and GLAUCOUS-WINGED were all present), and decided to pack it in, when I spotted a dark shape bullet over the top of the building where I work. I lost sight of it briefly as it dipped below my line of sight, but then there it was: PEREGRINE FALCON on the hunt. It zoomed over the chain-link fence, dropped down toward the river, then rose up, catching the wind. Another drop down and rise, but this time the falcon continued upward, using the wind, soaring in small circles, drifting northward until it dropped in a shallow drive out of sight. Danger lurks out there for the unaware starling or pigeon.

Birds seen during this scan include the following:

Mallard (10)
Common Merganser (2)
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron (2)
Osprey
Peregrine Falcon
Mew Gull (3; including one on the restoration area mudflat, hobbling with a bad right leg)
Ring-billed Gull (3)
Glaucous-winged Gull (27; scattered mostly along the south shore of TB3)
Rock Pigeon (24)
American Crow (8)
European Starling (600)

May all your birds be identified,

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