Hi Tweets -

Today Michael Hobbs & I led our 5th annual King County Big Day field
trip for the Seattle Audubon Society. We were joined this year by
MaryFrances Mathis, Mason Flint, Sharon Cormier-Aagaard, and Vas
Demas It was a great day with lots of surprises and first of the year
[for us] birds. Ultimately, we ended the day with 119 species -- well
short of the King county big day record, but still a pretty
bird-filled day.

We started the day at 4:30am at Marymoor Park hoping for owls. We
almost immediately heard WESTERN SCREECH-OWL , and our day was off to
a good start.

Juanita Beach & Juanita Bay Park were our first real daylight stops
-- the birds came fast & furious, with SPOTTED SANDPIPER at the
Beach, then VIRGINIA RAIL, HAIRY WOODPECKER, DOWNY WOODPECKER,
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, WARBLING VIREO, and BAND-TAILED PIGEON all
lining up nicely. For warblers, we quickly had WILSON'S , YELLOW,
YELLOW-RUMPED, ORANGE-CROWNED, BLACK-THROATED GRAY & COMMON
YELLOWTHROAT. We also had the first of several singing BLACK-HEADED
GROSBEAKS & a couple WESTERN TANAGERS & PURPLE MARTIN before
departing.

At Marymoor Park , we picked up GREEN HERON, BARN OWL, VAUX'S SWIFT,
PURPLE FINCH and a few other species.

Along 124th Street east of Willows, we picked up AMERICAN KESTREL [2
or 3 out there] and WESTERN MEADOWLARK.

Snoqualmie Valley offered up several new species including things
like TRUMPETER SWAN & CINAMMON TEAL [at Sykes Lake], and BULLOCK'S
ORIOLE, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER & CASSIN'S VIREO at Stillwater. We also
picked up a SOLITARY SANDPIPER in 'Pat's Pond' [not far south of
where the redstart & chats have been in previous years].

Up at Moss Lake, things were quiet after quickly adding HUTTON'S
VIREO. Then, on the way out, we 'whitted' in a SWAINSON'S THRUSH,
followed by a VARIED THRUSH, then a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER and our
only RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH of the day. On the road out of the area,
we stumbled across a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE!

We drove around Lake Joy and were paid off, first with MOURNING DOVE,
then, on the lake we spotted RUDDY DUCK, RING-NECKED DUCK,
RED-THROATED GREBE & REDHEAD! -- a lake full of 'R's.'


We stopped briefly as we headed south to pick up AMERICAN DIPPER
along the Fish Hatchery Rd. outside Fall City, and the PEREGRINE
FALCONS at the nest at Snoqualmie Falls [lots of wing flapping going
on with the 2 young there.]

We hit our wall for the day from there on out, with our shot at a big
day record being done in by the lack of shorebirds & waterfowl. Down
in Kent/Auburn we worked the usual shorebird/waterfowl places hard,
coming up with: GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE & CACKLING GOOSE at
Emerald Downs, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY along Frager Rd., BARRED OWL in Lake
Fenwick Park, CEDAR WAXWING at Certainteed Marsh, and our only BELTED
KINGFISHER of the day at the 'Toysmith Wetlands'.

We spent the evening along the saltwater in West Seattle, still
adding saltwater species, but not in the numbers of previous years --
added there were: COMMON LOON, BRANT, HARLEQUIN DUCK, SURF SCOTER,
HORNED GREBE, BRANDT'S & PELAGIC CORMORANT, PIGEON GUILLEMOT, & our
only COMMON GOLDENEYE of the day.

The last bits of daylight were spent at the Montlake Fill, where the
only addition to our list was LESSER SCAUP.

Big misses included: Hooded Merganser, Northern Pintail, White-winged
Scoter, Quail or Pheasant, Bittern or Sora, lots of possible
shorebirds that have recently moved north, Hermit Thrush, Evening
Grosbeak & Red Crossbill.

A very fun day overall from start to finish -

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA