Hello Tweets,

Today we spent a few hours birding in the Kent area of King Co.,as conditions remained nice before the rain started on our way home. We were able to locate several of the notable species recently observed by other birders from the Kent and Boeing Ponds along with a few extra species. Our visit to the Boeing Ponds along 59th Place yielded a single GREAT EGRET foraging within the dense stands of willow trees on the main pond,as well as a pair of Green Herons,1 male Ruddy Duck and 6 Spotted Sandpipers. In addition we were able to take a few photos of a large resident family of Canada Geese safely crossing the busy street.

Next, we made a few stops at the Green River Natural Resource Area(aka Kent Ponds)beginning with a check along the "Grassy Knoll" along 64th Ave.,where only a small number of waterfowl were noted from the vantage points we had of the ponds. Gadwall were the most abundant waterfowl species in the entire Kent Ponds complex with lesser numbers of Mallards and 2 Green-winged Teal. 3 Osprey circled over the north end of the pond complex before drifting to the east and a few Spotted Sandpipers called from the available shoreline at the "Grassy Knoll".A visit to the extreme south edge of the complex produced some nice species,as we walked the paved trail to the southeast tower. Although water levels were lowest from this location we were unable to locate any shorebirds. Most noteworthy species from this area included an adult TRUMPETER SWAN swimming slowly in the extreme north end of the pond complex viewed best from the paved trail,which was recently reported by Guy McWethy. In addition 6+ BLACK SWIFTS flew overhead amongst a scattered flock of various swallow species,which were a nice highlight for the location. We also encountered 5-6 singing male LAZULI BUNTINGS along the paved trail to the southeast tower with most birds visible,but very skulky and flighty. We also clearly heard the YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT from the southeast tower sing 5-6 times during our visit from a densely covered area north of the paved trail where other birders have recently been hearing/seeing this bird. We never were able to view the bird,but enjoyed hearing it's distinctive "chatting"! A single COYOTE was our only mammal of the day,which was observed running along the muddy edges of he extreme northwest pond at the Kent Ponds.

We also observed a few species of dragonflies from the Kent Ponds,including our personal first WESTERN PONDHAWK of the season with several specimens noted.

We have placed a few photos onto our website taken from today in the Kent area,which can be accessed at the following link: http://www.pbase.com/godwit/recent_photos/

On our way home we made a short afternoon visit to the frisbee golf area at Lake Fenewick Park near Kent. Here,we located a few woodland species that added to our day list including the following:

1 Pileated Woodpecker
1 Pacific-slope Flycatcher
2 Swainson's Thrushes
1 Brown Creeper
2 Bushtits
1 Hutton's Vireo
2 Wilson's Warblers
2 Western Tanagers
1 Black-headed Grosbeak


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit513 at msn.com