Tweets - Houston Flores' Swainson's Hawk (the second Marymoor sighting
ever), wasn't the only bit of excitement today at the park.

It was cloudy, dark, humid, almost chilly, but not windy and it didn't
really even mist much. The lighting conditions weren't great, so while we
had several sightings of flying ducks, identifications were uncertain. We
had at least 4 species besides Mallard, Wood Duck, and Hooded Merganser, but
couldn't count anything for sure. Maybe Gadwall, Wigeon, Pintail, Shoveler,
Green-winged Teal, and Common Merganser, but in the end, only the 3 on the
list.

A little after 7:00 a.m., while we were still getting out of our cars, a
PARASITIC or LONG-TAILED JAEGER flew right over our heads, flying north. I
got one of the less good looks amongst those who saw it. Here's what I saw:
A gull-like bird with pointed central tail feathers. They were not very
long, but Long-tailed Jaeger don't always have long tails. Length good for
Parasitic. The wings seemed uniformly dark on the underside, and the body
was quite light. I saw the bird only flying away, but the body seemed
slender and did NOT appear to have a strong "collar" appearance on the upper
chest, like a typical adult light-morph Parasitic. In the big Sibley, the
jaeger image the seems closest to my memory is the small picture of the
Long-tailed Jaeger "Adult nonbreeding". However, unless Matt Bartels or one
of the others who got a better look can confirm an identification, I think
it will have to go down as Jaeger sp. Still, WAY COOL, and totally
unexpected. We've been having a contest to predict the next new Marymoor
birds that will show up. About 15 of us predicted up to 15 species each
that might appear next at Marymoor. At total of 84 species were nominated
(including some that were WAY out there). Nobody chose a Jaeger though.
Maybe sometime soon my jaw will return from the ground...

Other highlights:

Virginia Rail One seen flying a short distance below the weir
Killdeer Flock size up to 40
Wilson's Snipe One below the weir - First of Fall
Mourning Dove One over East Meadow
Barn Owl 4 simultaneously in 2 different spots early
Great Horned Owl Scott heard predawn hoots from near of Dog Central
Hairy Woodpecker Always a good day when we see one
Swainson's Thrush Still a couple
American Pipit One seen with Killdeers west of velodrome
O.-crowned Warbler 3+
Y.-rumped Warbler MANY, mostly very drab
Wilson's Warbler One at the Rowing Club
The usual 8 species of sparrows - Towhee, Savannah, Fox, Song, Lincoln's,
White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Junco
Bl.-h. Grosbeak 2+ still around
House Sparrow First since July, only 2nd since April - Joy

A great group was with me for a great day, with 58 species seen or heard.

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