Years ago in Ballard I saw a great blue heron snatch a purple martin that
had just landed on a nearby nest box entrance; the heron had been standing
right next to the box and the young martin landed within striking distance.
It took nearly 30 minutes for the heron to manipulate and swallow the
martin.
Many more years ago I wrote a term paper on cattle egrets, and learned that
their diet has been known to include yellow warblers and other birds.

Yesterday from the north shore of Discovery Park there was a life and death
struggle as a horned grebe attempted to swallow a fish, either a tubesnout
or a bay pipefish. We watched the fish struggle for many minutes as the
grebe tried to choke it down. I think it was the first time I've seen such a
fish preyed upon. Also at the park were 3-5 river otters (at the N beach
pond), several dozen yellow rumped warblers, a sharp shinned hawk, red tail,
bald eagle, several Anna's hummingbirds; Kris Baker and Ed Newbold also
spotted a Lincoln's sparrow in the south meadow. At the lighthouse we were
approached by two golden crowned sparrows, to the point where they were too
close to photograph with Ed's 400mm lens; they were only about 3 feet away.

By the way, the north bluff trail was closed for repairs, preventing us from
completing a long loop around the park. Nevertheless, it was well worth
walking the north beach and backtracking. The river otters were especially
entertaining, and could be seen from a short distance as they swam in the
pond and also in the saltwater.

Kevin Li
Ballard, USA