Hi Tweets,

I led a nice group to the 2 subject line sites this morning. There were lots of good spotters in our group, and collectively we found a nice selection of breeding residents. We also worked on our birding by ear skills as some species did not want to show themselves. Highlights are listed below, followed by a link to a couple pictures from today, and then our group?s list of complete species (I hope I?m not forgetting anything).

We met at the Albertson?s on WA-202, where we were surprised by a California Quail.

We spent most of our time on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail at Stillwater. The main WDFW lot had lots of birds, including a male Bullock?s Oriole, calling baby Red-tailed Hawks, and nests of both Cedar Waxwing and Red-breasted Sapsucker. A walk down to the 2 bridges produced 2 Red-eyed Vireo, and many Band-tailed Pigeon, Yellow Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, Rufous Hummingbird, Swainson?s Thrush, and Willow Flycatcher. The highlight of the trip for many was at the second bridge, where a Rufous Hummingbird male posed in good light obligingly, while a Red-breasted Sapsucker baby poked its head out of the nest while getting fed by adults.

We then walked out to the Bank Swallow colony, adding Bank and Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Spotted Sandpiper, and flyover Turkey Vulture and Common Raven. We looked for, but dipped on Lazuli Bunting, American Bittern, and Black Swift.

We then drove up to Moss Lake, where not much was visible, but we did hear a few things, including invisible Hammond?s Flycatcher and Western Tanager, as well as Pacific-Slope Flycatcher, Wilson?s Warbler, and some distant Red Crossbill.

A link to a few digiscoped pictures from today is (click on any photo for information):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46255140 at N00/sets/72157619413169156/show/

The full list of 54 species for the group is:

Mallard
California Quail
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture ? 2 at Stillwater, 1 at Moss Lake
Red-tailed Hawk
Spotted Sandpiper ? 2 on river at Bank Swallow colony
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon ? over a dozen moving about at Stillwater
Vaux?s Swift ? singles at both sites seen
Rufous Hummingbird
Red-breasted Sapsucker ? I think we saw a 3rd nest site out on the way to the Bank Swallows
Downy Woodpecker ? 1 seen by some at Moss Lake
Hairy Woodpecker ? 3 at Stillwater, 1 at Moss Lake
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-pewee ? many at Stillwater
Willow Flycatcher
Hammond?s Flycatcher ? 1 singing partial song phrases sporadically at Moss Lake
Pacific-slope Flycatcher ? both sites
Warbling Vireo ? a couple out by Bank Swallow colony
Red-eyed Vireo
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow ? a couple seen briefly at Stillwater
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee ? a couple heard only at Moss Lake
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch ? 1 at Moss Lake
Brown Creeper
Bewick?s Wren
Winter Wren ? Moss Lake
Marsh Wren ? I managed to miss this one, but others heard it
Golden-crowned Kinglet ? singing at Moss Lake
Swainson?s Thrush ? many at both sites
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat ? many at Stillwater
Wilson?s Warbler
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock?s Oriole
Purple Finch ? a few singing at both sites
Red Crossbill
American Goldfinch

Good birding,
Evan Houston
Seattle, WA