Hi Tweets-
Yesterday Michael Hobbs & I joined with Brian Bell, MaryFrances
Mathis, Ollie Oliver, Paul & Barbara Webster, and Leigh Bell for our
2nd annual Seattle Audubon Birdathon Big Day in King County.

We met before dawn, had beautiful weather, and ended up with a group
total of 111 species for the day.
A few highlights for the day include the following:

Marymoor: We succeeded in finding a Great Horned Owl & Barn Owl
before dawn, and then had a birdy start in Marymoor. However, we
missed a few of the targetted passerines we were hoping to see, like
Warbling Vireo, Lincoln's Sparrow, and maybe a Yellow Warbler. 56
species by 8:30.

Up in the Cascades, we picked up Dipper, Raven, and an unexpected
HAMMONDS FLYCATCHER, on FR 9030. On the way down westward, we saw 2
TURKEY VULTURES circling just east of Issaquah.

Kent Valley: Overall, things were slow in the afternoon in the
valley, but we picked up a few good shorebirds [see below] and a
couple of target birds like Western Scrub-Jay & Black Phoebe. Most of
the shorebird fields were dry or empty, except for the 216th Ponds
and Lake Fenwick Park.

Lake Fenwick Park in Kent - After the very slow run around the Kent
Valley, our hopes of getting up towards 100 species dimming, we
walked into Lake Fenwick Park and had our spirits lifted by:
Barred Owl - sitting out in the open, as the first person asked how
we were supposed to find one here.
Pacific-slope Flycatcher - after hearing them elsewhere, nice to
finally get a couple glimpses.
Red-breasted Sapsucker & Hairy Woodpecker competing/fighting over a
tree trunk or possibly a nest hole.
Western Tanager - a small flock arrived and flitted around over our heads.

Down in Auburn, before locating the Black Phoebe at the usual spot,
we had a nice flock of AMERICAN PIPITS in the field south of the
farm. [Also had a frustrating gull that probably was just a hybrid,
but confused us for quite a bit as it showed alternately yellowish &
then pink legs, and a bill looking mighty California like. But the
wingtips washed out when it flew and we were left with no decision].

West Seattle's shoreline gave us a good selection of lingering
saltwater species, including: Surf & White-winged Scoter, Horned,
Western & Red-necked Grebe, Brant, Pigeon Guillemot, Pelagic &
Brandt's Cormorant, as well as Purple Martins.

Finally, at about 8:45 we pulled in to the Montlake Fill with hopes
of adding an extra species or two before we lost all light. On the
way out, we met a birder who told us about some possibilities
[thanks!]. First, on the main pond we found our only Northern Pintail
& Lesser Scaup of the day [I haven't seen a NOPI in weeks in the
area!]. Then on the muddy pond near the point, we found a SOLITARY
SANDPIPER. Finally, to finish off the day, on the small pond just
west of the point, a few of the ducks looked non-Mallardian. A closer
look made us realize: CINAMMON & BLUE-WINGED TEAL were present!
Yay... To end on the high notes of all the West Seattle birds and
then the Montlake Fill bonus really was a treat.

Shorebirds:
We ended up with a decent shorebird total [9 species] including:
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER - 4 circled around the Boeing Ponds for
several minutes while we were there, debating whether to land. Seeing
a man training his dogs in the ponds, the LBDO circled for a bit,
then felt the wiser decision was to move on.

Lama Lake had a couple Spotted Sandpipers on the shoreline/

216th Ponds, Kent - After striking out at 204th St. fields, the 216th
ponds saved us. We had, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted & Least
Sandpipers.

Along Alki Beach, south of the point, a large Sanderling flock
included several Westerns and a few Leasts.
Montlake Fill gave us the final shorebird of the day.

Montlake Fill gave us the aforementioned Solitary Sandpiper.

Notable misses for the day included any gull except Glaucous-winged,
American Coot, Varied Thrush, Virginia Rail, and Pileated Woodpecker.

Best of all, despite the crazy pace and long hours, it was a fun day
filled with lots of bad jokes shared over the FRS radios and great
contributions of good spotting by every member of our team.

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA


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