Hi Tweets -
I spent the morning in the Kent Valley area, looking for shorebirds
and any other migrants that might be around - and had a little
success!
W.Valley Hwy & 277th [Smith Bros Dairy] - north of the intersection,
on the west side of the road:
Greater Yellowlegs - 2
Dunlin - about 10-15
Least Sandpipers - 30-40
Western Sandpipers - a few
Killdeer

Kent Ponds [Green River NRA] - another small flock of peeps flew
around several times but never landed in view - I believe they were
Leasts. 3 sub-adult Bald Eagles, a couple Red-tailed Hawks & a
Northern Harrier kept me entertained, as did all the swallows.

Boeing Ponds - no shorebirds at all, but nice looks at many species of duck.

204th St. fields [accessed off either Orilla Rd. or off 195th , north
on Frager, then west on 204th]
Greater Yellowlegs - 3-4
Lesser Yellowlegs - 1
Least Sandpipers - 50 or so
Western Sandpipers - maybe 10?
Wilson's Snipe - 12+
Killdeer - several, including 2 very young ones.

Also at this stop there was a flock of at least 50 American Pipits in
the fields.

Along Frager Rd., going south from 204th, I came across a nice flock
of California Quail and a Lincoln's Sparrow mixed in with the many
White-crowned & Golden-crowned Sparrows.

When the rain tapered off for periods, it was usually easy to find 4
species of swallow overhead at most stops [VGSW, TRES, CLSW & BARS].

Oh yeah, at the start of the day, at about 6:00, I had great looks at
a Barred Owl at Fenwick Lake Park [accessed by turning north on
Fenwick off 272nd St.]

It was good to see some signs of the northern push....

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA

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