It's been at least a year since I took the time to leisurely walk around Green Lake and check out the birds. This morning (clear, low-to-mid 40s) was too good to pass up. It sure was nice to be back (I moved away from the lake six years ago and fancy myself too busy these days to go there regularly). It took me from 9:30 AM till 12:15 PM to cover the three miles. Nothing out of the oridinary. Here's a list of what I found (with approximate numbers).



Canada Goose 40

Mallard 120

Gadwall 90

American Wigeon 100

Eurasian Wigeon 2 (males)

Northern Shoveler 2

Common Goldeneye 2

Bufflehead 24

Common Merganser 30

Hooded Merganser 12

Domestic duck 3

Pied-billed Grebe 25

Horned Grebe 1

Double-crested Cormorant 1

Great Blue Heron 1

Bald Eagle 2 (hunting off Woodland Park, perched in various locations incl. island)

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 (zipping through at Pitch-n-putt golf course)

Red-tailed Hawk 1 (circling high towards I-5)

American Coot 160

Ring-billed Gull 40

Mew Gull 60

Herring Gull 1

Glaucous-winged hybrids 12

Glaucous-winged Gulls 40

Unidentified pink-legged gulls 4

Rock Pigeon 6

Anna's Hummingbird 3 (different locations around lake, 2 males displaying, so I must have missed some -i.e. the male's intended target-)

Belted Kingfisher 1 (noisy male around island)

Downy Woodpecker 1 (heard)

American Crow 30

Black-capped Chickadee 35

Bushtit 50

Brown Creeper 2

Red-breasted Nuthatch 8

Bewick's Wren 2

Golden-crowned Kinglet 40

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6

European Starling 12

Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 (oak knoll near Bathhouse Theater)

Song Sparrow 3

Dark-eyed Junco 8

Pine Siskin 20

American Goldfinch 20

House Sparrow 10



Oddly enough I missed Red-winged Blackbirds. I paused at the stand of reeds where they usually hang out, which netted me one of the Bewick's Wrens, and a red-eared slider (turtle) hoisting itself out on one of the floating logs to sunbathe, but no blackbirds.



Cheers,

Martin Muller, Seattle

martinmuller at msn.com<mailto:martinmuller at msn.com>