Hi Tweets

Michael Hobbs is in southern California with Tim at National track meet, so Matt Bartels and I subbed for him. The Michael effect seems to be broken as we did NOT have an unusual birds at Marymoor today.

We started out the day at Marymoor clear with a temperature of 55F. It was obviously the end of July with minimal singing and tons of juveniles around. We took a little over two hours to cover the first third of the way, an 2 1/2 to do the rest. About half way thru the morning the clouds moved in and the temperature that had climbed to about 70-72 dropped to 66. While the numbers were a little smaller than the last two weeks, the absolute numbers of birds was high.

Highlights include 2 Green Herons, 3 Red-tailed Hawks (including a beautiful immature), 4 Ospreys on the nest structure and another on the cell tower nearby, 2 excellent looks at Swainson's Thrush, an adult Cooper's Hawk that captured a bird and flew into a tree and plucked and consumed it, a California Quail heard east of the dirt piles, and a group of 10 juvenile Dark-eyed Juncos. Also seen: deer, eastern gray squirrel, bunny, muskrat, painted turtle.

Brian H. Bell
Woodinville Wa
bell asoc at isomedia dot com