Hi Tweeters:
It rained a lot for 24 hours here. I'm sick of birding in the rain, so I ventured
out about 1:30 this afternoon after the rain stopped. Down at Kent Ponds I walked
the interior road (w/ permission). As I stood near the weir at the north end of the
main lagoon, I could hear a Red-tailed Hawk calling down low in the trees. Two adult
Bald Eagles, a juv Bald Eagle, and two Ospreys started to interact over the lagoon.
Then in the woods across the weir I could hear kek, kek, kek, kek where we think some
accipiters are nesting. I could not see the bird even though I could tell by the
calling that the bird was flying low in the woods. Some Cedar Waxwings perched up,
the first of about 20 that I saw. Several Vaux's Swifts flew overhead. All 5 common
swallows were in the area, but no Bank Swallows which are uncommon here. Along the
road I heard one or two Warbling Vireos, and saw and heard Common Yellowthroats,
about 30 Yellow-rumped Warblers which included one Myrtle's Yellowrump, several
Orange-crnd. Warblers, and I heard several Yellow Warblers. I didn't see the Yel.
Warblers. How can bright-yellow birds hide so well? A Bittern flew. A Wht-crowned
Sparrow, and a late Golden-crnd. Sparrow were on the gravel road. I looked and
listened for an oriole but dipped on those. The two Ospreys were very active, and
caught fish that looked like stickle-backs or something. The two adult Bald Eagles
perched side by side on driftwood in the middle of the lagoon. What a picture!
My next stop was at Boeing Ponds to look for the coot nest. The water was very high
and I didn't see the nest, but there were 3 Amer. Coots on the water.
Then I went to S 204th St, by turning north off of S 212th onto Frager Rd, along the
Green River. An adult PEREGRINE FALCON was perched up on an evergreen tree at a
farmhouse on Frager. It was looking south, kind of down the Green River. Over at S
204th the water is pretty high again. In the NE pond there are 3 male Wood Ducks,
with other ducks. In the NW pond there was a female Goldeneye. In the large,
pretty-full south pond there were 8 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, and 8 Least Sandpipers.
Lots of Gadwall, and only one remaining Green-winged Teal. Orange-crowned Warblers
were singing. A Red-tailed Hawk was perched up on a pole near the horse track.
At the new S 212th St pond, there was a Spotted Sandpiper, a female Common Goldeneye,
and a female Bufflehead.
Here is Des Moines, two different friends are reporting Evening Grosbeaks at their
feeders. Ed Stanton lives down at the Wesley Homes, and he has 6 Evening Grosbeaks
at the feeders. They came in today.
Yours, Carol Schulz
Des Moines, WA
linusq at att.net