Tweets - it was a strange day at Marymoor. The weather wasn't as bad is it
might have been. Cold, damp, and quite windy, but there wasn't any
precipitation. It wasn't very birdy either, yet our species count (when all
of the heard-only and glimpsed-only birds were counted) was a very
respectable 60 species. Yet the day was pretty birdless, with only a few
highlights (though at least one highlight was a GREAT highlight). There was
better birding earlier in the week when the weather was warmer.

Highlights:

Bald Eagle Pair IN "new nest"
Cooper's Hawk Several sightings. One Sharpie too.
Barn Owl Seen early near concert stage
Short-eared Owl Flushed from east edge of East Meadow
R.-b. Nuthatch Male near nest hole
Lincoln's Sparrow 2 - Compost piles early, Pea Patch

A passing birder mentioned that the SAY'S PHOEBE was in the East Meadow. We
didn't see one. I went back after the walk and again missed the phoebe, but
I did have 4 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS, including one singing.

The great highlight was the SHORT-EARED OWL, which flushed from the east
edge of the East Meadow, giving us great looks as it winged east. It then
landed in the large cottonwood east of the meadow, where we could see it for
several minutes, perched in the lowest branches.

We had great looks at MUSKRAT near the windmill.

Earlier in the week, while people were looking for phoebe, I saw, or had
reports of, several other species including SAVANNAH SPARROW, NORTHERN
SHRIKE (Tuesday), and CEDAR WAXWING. So the day count was 60, but the week
count was at least 65.

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