Tweeters,

Although it started out frosty, the day beamed sunny and warm on the nine of
us that toured the lower Duwamish River on a Seattle Audubon field trip.
Most of the plants, like redcurrant, are late in full blooming, and some of
the birds weren't blooming as well: a notable missing species was OSPREY.
For the past seven years, at least one Osprey pair has been on the Duwamish
by March 31. This year: zippo,; nada; nyet. A real downer.



Highlights of the 36 species we saw - We spotted a small flock of WESTERN
GREBES (at least 8) off T-105 Park. And later, between T-107 Park and
Kellogg Island, we spotted a close-in Western Grebe, we thought, until we
got good looks through bins and great scope shots: a well-defined CLARK'S
GREBE, the first I've seen on the Duwamish. Everyone got a chance to really
look at this bird to make out the differences between it and the Western
Grebes we'd seen earlier.



When we got out of our cars at Hamm Creek, I immediately said "Well, looks
like we finally got an Osprey," as I glanced across to the platform that
held the Osprey nest platform and saw a large bird there. The first person
with bins that looked said "I think that's an eagle." So much for
supposition! Here's the kicker: the BALD EAGLE then settled into the nest,
as if it were sitting on eggs, and remained that way for the rest of the
hour+ that we were in the area. And another adult eagle was sitting on an
electrical tower nearby. I know that Bald Eagles aren't supposed to nest on
man-made platforms in Washington State, but someone from DFW should check
this out. We could have a first.



So much for highlights. We basically stayed along West Marginal Way, and
started our tour of the river at T-105 Park where we saw a BALD EAGLE pair
on the hillside across from the park, near the eagle's nest (a big "duh").
AMERICAN ROBIN, AMERICAN CROW, SONG SPARROW, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD (been there
all winter), WESTERN GREBE, BELTED KINGFISHER, MALLARD, STELLER'S JAY,
CANADA GOOSE, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, DARK-EYED JUNCO, GLAUCOUS-WINGED
GULL, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, EUROPEAN STARLING, and HOUSE SPARROW all made the
list at this small, but fine park just south of the West Seattle Bridge.



We moved on to Herring's House and T-107 Park, where we picked up the
aforementioned CLARK'S GREBE, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, GOLDEN-CROWNED
SPARROW, HOUSE FINCH, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BLACK-CAPPED
CHICKADEE, HOODED MERGANSER (we only saw females of this species today),
EUROPEAN STARLING, BUSHTIT, COMMON MERGANSER, MEW GULL, GLAUCOUS-WINGED
GULL, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, NORTHERN FLICKER,
AMERICAN ROBIN, SONG SPARROW, BELTED KINGFISHER, MALLARD, STELLER'S JAY,
CANADA GOOSE, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, BEWICK'S WREN, AND ROCK PIGEON (the latter
on the way to Hamm Creek).



The field at Hamm Creek was pretty wet, but we got our first SAVANNAH
SPARROWS there, several of which were singing. In addition to the BALD EAGLE
on the nest platform, we also saw AMERICAN CROW, EUROPEAN STARLING,
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW (the only swallows we saw today), a feeding and
cooperative NORTHERN FLICKER (also had an interaction between two males on a
snag - one female was also in attendance), CANADA GOOSE, HOUSE FINCH,
BUFFLEHEAD, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, a nicely singing
and visible BEWICK'S WREN, a string of flying COMMON MERGANSERS,
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, SONG SPARROW, MALLARD,
HOODED MERGANSER, and BUSHTIT.



Our final stop was the Turning Basin, where we saw a flock of MEW GULLS,
CANADA GOOSE, BUFFLEHEAD, ROCK PIGEON, GADWALL, MALLARD, STELLER'S JAY, and
AMERICAN CROW.



Although we didn't see many spring birds, at least the Savannah Sparrows and
Violet-Green Swallows were there to bolster the remaining winter birds.
Let's hope the next few days are warm enough to bring out the flowering
redcurrants and more birds as well.



May all your birds be identified,



Denis DeSilvis

Roy, WA

Mailto: avnacrs4birds at q.com