Subject: [Tweeters] SNOQUALMIE VALLEY Birding - Sunday Morning
Date: Mar 9 20:42:54 2008
From: johntubbs at comcast.net - johntubbs at comcast.net


Hi Everyone,

This morning I birded the Snoqualmie Valley with my wife Trisha plus Matt Fogarty and Hien Nguyen. We started out at Stillwater as our first stop and it was excellent as it usually is - can't wait until the migrants start to arrive. In about two hours, we saw (in order seen):

AMERICAN CROW
AMERICAN ROBIN
PURPLE FINCH - heard
SPOTTED TOWHEE
SONG SPARROW
NORTHERN FLICKER
DOWNY WOODPECKER
BROWN CREEPER
VARIED THRUSH - heard
WINTER WREN
VIRGINIA RAIL - heard
RUBY CROWNED KINGLET - numerous birds singing their little heads off
BALD EAGLE - flyover
MARSH WREN
CANADA GOOSE
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER - Multiple birds drumming away with their characteristic syncopated cadence
BEWICK'S WREN
MALLARD
GREAT BLUE HERON
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
RING-NECKED DUCK
COMMON GOLDENEYE - two females in a seasonal pond, a first for me at Stillwater
GREEN-WINGED TEAL
STELLER'S JAY - one nest-building behind the Stillwater store
BELTED KINGFISHER - a loud flyover heading for the river
TREE SWALLOW
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE
PILEATED WOODPECKER - working on a log 20 feet from the trail and less than 10 feet up in the air for several minutes
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK - adult, another first for me at the location
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT
GADWALL

At Sikes Lake, we had most of the typical species, plus three BALD EAGLES - an adult and immature sitting in the snag tree at the west end of the lake, and a first year bird perched on the "cormorant log" in the lake fairly near the bridge. A very unusual spot for a perch, and surprisingly they ducks and geese nearby seemed not to be too concerned - perhaps figuring the bird wasn't going to be able to make any kind of an attack starting from that location. We spotted the resident SNOW GOOSE flying with a fairly large flock of Canada's between the lake and the horse ranch.

Between Sikes Lake and West Snoqualmie Valley Road, we had a small flock of TRUMPETER SWANS in a field, plus numerous KILLDEER and a few VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS (TREE SWALLOWS at Sikes Lake as well).

The 'Harris's Sparrow Spot' on 100th yielded plenty of WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, a crowing RING-NECKED PHEASANT and an AMERICAN KESTREL, but no rare sparrows.

Around the south end of West Snoqualmie River Road, a total of SEVEN BALD EAGLES were feeding on (or waiting to feed on) an unidentifiable fresh carcass that was already pretty well worked over.

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