Subject: [Tweeters] King Cty. rarities
Date: Jun 24 08:51:35 2009
From: pan - panmail at fastmail.fm


Greetings, all,

Having had good luck Saturday morning (6/20) with the singing male
LAZULI BUNTING (mostly near the top of a weedy sweet cherry north of the
central area of Wahkiakum Lane) at Seattle's Montlake Fill (a RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRD, too), Kevin Purcell and I decided to look yesterday for
some of the other King County rarities recently reported.

At the Three Forks area near Snoqualmie, we did hear and see the INDIGO
BUNTING between 8 and 9 a. m. We did not detect the Least Flycatcher
nor the Gray Catbird.

At the Stillwater area near Duvall, we heard nearly constant singing
from two AMERICAN REDSTARTs between 10 and noon, and did get a few quick
good views of individual males. We did not see any nesting activity
near the recent boulder work in the stream bed. If you go, be aware the
first large field has been recently plowed roughly, and previous
directions about footpaths will be misleading. Instead, when the dirt
track across the field takes a right angle turn to the left, leave the
path and head across the rough plowed land straight ahead to a gap in
the woods, where a track continues (also plowed, at first). From there,
the earlier directions hold. Returning across that plowed field after
noon, we saw several BANK SWALLOWS among the others.

At Snoqualmie Falls, we saw at least one adult and one that seemed a
fully flighted immature PEREGRINE FALCON.

In Kent, we heard many songs of the LEAST FLYCATCHER between 3 and 4,
but got only a few glimpses of it fairly high in the cottonwoods.

We saw lots of other fun birds, too, of course, and a surprising number
of birders for a Tuesday.

At home in Seattle (near 19th and Mercer), I did have six RED CROSSBILLS
June 21, and this morning (24th), a juvenile JUNCO (perhaps a second
brood) and an immature ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. The last does not breed
nearby.

Cheers,

Alan Grenon
Seattle
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pan
panmail at fastmail.fm

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