11:34 start - water level mid and dropping (8:18 high tide: 8.8ft; 15:51
low tide: -0.1ft)
12:17 end

Tweeters,
Blue skies, crisp north breeze, and choppy waters at Turning Basin #3.
Shorebirds returned to TB3, with lots of Least (52) and a few Western
(7) Sandpipers feeding on the restoration peninsula and the south-side
bank as the tide went out. These are the first I've seen this year.

The Oxbow (Boeing) parking lot pair have stacked quite a few sticks
together, but it doesn't as yet qualify as a "nest." The Hamm Creek
female has been sitting tight on the nest since at least last Monday
(5/1). The Oxbow male caught a fish, but was being harassed extensively
by a Glaucous-winged Gull. Don't know the outcome of that interaction.

Have had lots of Double-crested Cormorants fishing in TB3 over the past
few days. Yesterday, 59 were together (something spooked them, and I was
able to count them as they flew north to settle further downstream);
today, 24 settled in. (I thought I only had about 30 yesterday, which
shows me how wrong I can be regarding these birds when they're
foraging.) The Glaucous-winged Gulls were harassing the DCCOs
unmercifully yesterday, but not nearly as much today.

Cliff Swallows are gathering mud for nests under the Boeing bridge.

A Western Grebe was foraging near the west bank (new restoration area).

Birds of the Day: the shorebirds.

Birds seen during this scan:

Canada Goose (10, incl 5 goslings)
Mallard (9, incl 6 ducklings)
Bufflehead (6)
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant (38)
Osprey (4)
Killdeer
Western Sandpiper (7)
Least Sandpiper (52)
Glaucous-winged Gull (11)
Rock Pigeon (24)
American Crow (6)
Violet-green Swallow (5)
Cliff Swallow (<15)
Barn Swallow
Bewick's Wren
European Starling (3)
Song Sparrow
House Finch (2)
House Sparrow (4)

Species seen today: 20; YTD: 34

May all your birds be identified,

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