Hi all,
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I like to catch CATHY MCDONALD'S hiking-area-idea-articles in the Seattle Times' Pacific Northwest Magazine, as she always makes a point of mentioning birds and/or birding when appropriate. Last week's was about the 793 acre?Paradise Valley Conservation Area near Maltby.
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Delia and I decided to check it out about the time the BLUE & YELLOW JETS would have been flying over the house, so we got there at 12:30 and hiked around til 3:30, not the best time to birdwatch especially with the heat and drought in effect, but we ended up feeling like we lucked out and saw a good number of birds and had a very pleasant hike:
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(BTW, directions are easy: go North on 405 to the 522 exit to Monroe and go 5.5 miles to Paradise Lake Road and make a right.? The parking lot is 1.8 miles on the right).
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1. Purple Finch
2. Western Wood Pewee
3. Red-breasted Nuthatch
4. Golden-crowned Kinglet
5. Winter Wren
6. Pacific-slope Flycatcher
7. Spotted Towhee
8. Willow Flycatcher
9. Cedar Waxwing
10. American Robin
11. Red-breasted Sapsucker
12. Western Tanager
13. Bewick's Wren
14. Pine Siskin
15. Red Crossbill
16. Steller's Jay
17. Swainson's Thrush
18. Black-headed Grosbeak
19. Wilson's Warbler
20. Chestnut-backed Chickadee
21. Dark-eyed Junco
22. Black-capped Chickadee
23. Song Sparrow
24. Cassin's Vireo
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If anyone goes up that way, there are more conservation area access points up river that at another time of day or season might have yielded more other birds, as they include some beautiful riparian habitat.
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Here on the home? front it's been a harrowing swallow year that could turn out sort-of-OK.? Our Barn Swallows experienced?complete nest predation?at our place, (predator?unknown, perhaps Norway Rat) ?then managed to pull off three?young somewhere else using our mud--Hooray--and where our west-facing Violet-green Swallow family?succeeded, but?our east-facing family tragically?lost it's mom due to homeowner error.??The?Dad took forever regrouping and the new couple is?the latest V-gs we've ever seen as they are still persevering with babies that?are only now becoming strong-of-voice.
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Thanks all, Ed Newbold residential Beacon Hill, Seattle? www.ednewbold.com
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