Tweets - it was sunny but COLD this morning, starting at 36 degrees. This
is May??? This led to few swallow sightings, and fewer warbler sightings
than we'd hoped for. But spring migration is definitely in full swing.
There were 12 of us today, including 3 newly-minted SAS Master Birders -
Matt Bartels, MaryFrances Mathis, and Patricia Lott. Congratulations to
them and to their whole class of MBers!

Highlights:

Osprey At least three, using both nests. Hmmm.
Turkey Vulture One high over the park at noon
Least Sandpiper Flushed with the pipits (see below)
Mourning Dove 1 southwest of the stage
Warbling Vireo 1-2 seen, one singing
American Pipit About 8 over the gravel parking lot early
Hermit Thrush Several sightings, including 1 *singing*
Y.-r. Warbler Still many, many, mostly male Audubon's
Or.-cr. Warbler A couple seen, several more heard
Wilson's Warbler 1 seen, or maybe 2, but heard more
C. Yellowthroat Worked hard to get a look, but several heard
B.-h. Grosbeak Several singing males
Evening Grosbeak Flock of 15+ flew east over slough, calling

I saw 2-3 BONAPARTE'S GULLS yesterday afternoon well out on the lake.

Just before 6:30, I was passing through the gravel parking lot just north of
the grass soccer fields when I spotted about 8 AMERICAN PIPITS flying in
with intent to land. Unfortunately a man was walking back to his bus, and
the pipits kept going round and round uncertain. Finally then went to land
near a puddle at the west end but that spooked a LEAST SANDPIPER, and they
were all into the air. They flew around together for a minute until the
sandpiper realized - hey - they weren't peeps, and the pipits realized they
were flying around with something really weird, at which point they each
left separately. This was my first Least at Marymoor since 1995.

We had a dove trifecta with ROCK DOVE, 3 BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, and this one
MOURNING DOVE that was in young Doug Firs just southwest of the concert
stage - a very strange place for a MODO.

For ducks, we had only MALLARD, WOOD DUCK, and COMMON MERGANSER. No
Gadwall, no Bufflehead, no Ring-necked, no nothing. We did have 3 clutches
of Mallard ducklings.

The only other baby birds were two AMERICAN ROBIN fledgelings, 1 heard near
the east end of the boardwalk and the other at the Rowing Club. More robins
were seen taking food to nests.

We had a juvenile SHARP-SHINNED HAWK being mobbed by a much larger crow near
the east end of the boardwalk, and an adult COOPER'S HAWK near the compost
piles. Lots of RED-TAILED HAWKS and a few BALD EAGLES as well.

The EVENING GROSBEAKS flew east over the slough; we heard them before we saw
them, and we had the briefest look before they were behind us and out of
sight. But MaryFrances Mathis, Matt Bartels, and I all turned to each other
in excitement, since we recognised their call notes before we saw them.
Birding by ear is fun! This is only the 3rd time we've recorded EVGR at
Marymoor!

For the day, 64 species. For the week, at least 67 species.

New for the year this week: BOGU, LESA, WAVI, NAWA, YEWA, WIWA, BHGR, and
EVGR! I think that brings the 2006 park list to