Hi All,

This morning and early afternoon, I checked out Coulon Park (Renton) and the mouth of the Cedar River for gulls and waterfowl, then hit a few spots in the Kent Valley and finished up at Duwamish Head/Alki. A sampling of the birds seen at the various spots follows.

COULON PARK
Horned Grebe - 2
CANVASBACK - a pair, near shore between the park and the Cedar River mouth
Mew Gull - dozens, on the log booms
Herring Gull - 1
Common Merganser
Belted Kingfisher

CEDAR RIVER MOUTH
Common Goldeneye
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Ring-billed Gull
Thayer's Gull - 1
Herring Gull - 3 or 4

KENT VALLEY
HERMIT THRUSH - The surprise bird/location combination of the day, in the shoreline vegetation at Boeing Ponds. Very good looks. Two unidentified birds flew from the vicinity before I saw and ID'd this one, so there may have been three - migrating, or wintering...? Seen at the SW corner pull-off.
DARK MORPH RED-TAILED HAWK - A beautiful individual I first thought was a Harlan's before I got the scope on it. Great long looks at it while it was perch hunting.

DUWAMISH HEAD/ALKI
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Barrow's Goldeneyes
Surfbird - as previously reported along walkway
Black Turnstone
Surf Scoter
Harlequin Duck
SANDERLING - A flock of several dozen flew along the beach park at the 'lower' end, landing to rest on the close-in rocks near the condos/apartments built out over the water on pilings. Appeared they were resting there for high tide. Several Black Turnstones and two female Harlequin Ducks shared the rocks with them for comparative variety.

John Tubbs
Snoqualmie, WA
johntubbs at comcast.net
www.tubbsphoto.com