Tweets - the morning started dark and cloudy, but the rain held off for the
first couple of hours. Then it stopped holding off. Between about 10:30
and noon, the rain slowly grew in intensity. It wasn't exactly pouring,
even when we left, but I was more than damp.

The birds were somewhat scarce, and often hard to see in the dim light. Let
us be thankful that, after next week, the days will be getting longer again!

Despite the rain, I made the executive decision to trudge over to the
Velodrome, where we found the large flock of CACKLING GEESE, mixed with
enough CANADAs to get a good size comparison. There was also an adult
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE amongst them.

Other highlights:

SWANS A flock of 17, flying south, probably Trumpeters
Northern Pintail Flock(s) early (before 8:00), flying south -
200+
Green-winged Teal 1 male at the Rowing Club - few so far this fall
Ring-necked Duck 3 males at RC - First of Fall - where've they been
Bufflehead LOTS at the lake - 75+
Barn Owl Matt had one very early at the windmill
Hairy Woodpecker Male across the slough from the windmill
Townsend's Warbler One or two NE of the mansion
Western Meadowlark One at the East Meadow

We had a few birds that cooperated - a PURPLE FINCH that landed right above
our heads, a GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET at about 10 feet, and a BROWN CREEPER
that worked the bottom 5 feet of the same tree for several minutes.

For the day, a surprisingly high count of 56 species.

== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland, WA
== http://www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
== birdmarymoor at verizon.net