Subject: [Tweeters]: Discovery and Lincoln Parks this am
Date: Aug 3 17:30:16 2008
From: Kevin Mack - kevin_mack at comcast.net


Hi All,



My wife and I hiked both Discovery Park and Lincoln Park in Seattle this
morning and had our fair share of close encounters of the feathered kind at
both. We arrived at Discovery park around 6:30 am, and spotted three
Northern Flickers feeding on the ground just as we pulled into the driveway
for the south parking lot. Arriving at the parking lot we were greeted by
Bushtits, Black-capped Chickadees, a Song Sparrow and 5 large domestic
rabbits. We wandered through the south meadow and down to the beach. We
were going to walk on the beach but altered our plans when we saw a young
seal that was interested in hauling out on the sand. We gave him a wide
berth so as not to disturb him. We continued on the loop trail and headed
back to the south meadow seeing lots of the usual suspects along the way
(see full list below). We spent a little bit of time in the fireweed patch
at the western edge of the south meadow watching Anna's and Rufous
Hummingbirds competing for time at the flowers. I took a few photos of the
hummingbirds, but the lighting was less than ideal. If you are interested,
some of the photos have been posted in my New Photos gallery here:
http://leaningcedarstudio.com/_gii/photogalleries.htm



After leaving Discovery Park, we headed over to Lincoln park in West
Seattle. The sun was breaking through the clouds by the time we arrived at
the park, and the birds were very active. Steller's Jays were busy
collecting and cracking hazlenuts. Olive-sided and Pacific Slope
Flycatchers could be heard calling in the trees. A pair of Northern
Flickers with three fledglings in tow were vocalizing, tail fanning and head
bobbing in a snag along the bluff trail. Band-tailed Pigeons were heard
cooing and seen flying overhead. Bird voices were heard coming from
everywhere. We watched a Downy Woodpecker foraging in a snag just above our
heads. A young American Crow hanging out with some adults near a water
puddle was carrying around a stick for reasons unknown to me. It was a
great morning to be out. Photos of the Downy Woodpecker, A Steller's Jay,
and one of the flickers can also be found in the gallery mentioned above.



The lists from both parks, in no particular order, are below.



Discovery Park, 08/03/08



Northern Flicker

Downy Woodpecker

Bushtit

Song Sparrow

House Finch

Black-capped Chickadee

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Wilson's Warbler

American Crow

Steller's Jay

American Robin

Spotted Towhee

Anna's Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Cedar Waxwing

Western Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Hybrid gulls



Lincoln Park, 08/03/08



Steller's Jay

Black-capped Chickadee

Bushtit

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Olive-sided Flycatcher

American Robin

Spotted Towhee

American Crow

Northern Flicker

Downy Woodpecker

Osprey

Band-tailed Pigeon



Kevin Mack

Edmonds, WA

www.goatislandimages.com <http://www.goatislandimages.com/>