Good Morning Tweets

The Sage Sparrow is still present at Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA. Ryan Merrill and I observed it between 7:50 and 8:40 a.m. when we left. The bird was hanging out around the northern most edge of the dirt/compost piles just east of the interpretive trail parking lot (ABA Guide p. 163). The bird was initially feeding on the grassy/muddy edge of the area with some White-crowned Sparrows. All the sparrows then flushed into the blackberries. After about 5 minutes the Sage Sparrow came back onto a small grassy dirt mound and fed for some time. It then flew to near the series of concrete barrier blocks and fed. It returned to the low dirt mounds and fed for some time before flying back to some snags near the concrete barriers. It posed nicely there for a while.

As has been its pattern, your best bet it to scan the area from a distance and pick a strategic spot to observe from, and then be patient. It will flush if approached, so stay still and wait for it to come in.

For those not familiar with Marymoor, if coming from the west on SR520 take the West Lake Sammamish Parkway exit. At the bottom of the offramp turn right. At the next signal turn left (east) into Marymoor Park. Go thru 4 stop signs and to the 5th. At this point bear right into the Interpretive Trail parking lot (also marked for a dog area parking). You will see the dirt/compost piles on your left.

Good birding.

Brian H. Bell
Birding & Natural History Guide
Woodinville Wa
bell asoc at isomedia dot com