Tweets,

Yesterday, Jan Bragg and I spent a few hours at Magnuson Park. Although
cold and cloudy, there was little wind and no rain. Not a bad day to be
out. Although the construction noise at the new lagoon continues, this did
not inhibit several occasions of concentrated activity, particularly among
the sparrows.

No Barn Owls this morning, but right after dawn (~7:30), there was a
Short-eared Owl navigating through the woods near Frog Pond.
A couple of Wilson's Snipe were calling at 7 Meadow.
Raptors included an immature Bald Eagle perched in the cottonwoods at the S
end of the lake shore, an adult Red-tailed Hawk on a light standard near
the playfields, a Cooper's Hawk perched in its favorite tree by Kite Hill,
and a very small Sharp-shinned Hawk that flew into the cottonwoods at the
top of Promontory Point.
The larger ponds in the wetlands were almost completely devoid of water
birds. This is in contrast to last year when the ponds were always full all
winter, with numbers into the hundreds. On this day, the total number of
water birds in the wetlands was in single digits. Changes in water
chemistry and/or flora?
Scaup numbers by the swim beach remain high, with about a 2:1 ratio of
Greater to Lesser. No other Aythya ducks seen this time.
The large flock of Mew Gulls that has been visiting the park were absent
today. Gulls seen were mostly in the lake or on the swim platform,
including Mew, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged, California and a single
Thayer's.
Large numbers of Pine Siskins and American Goldfinch were seen in several
places, usually together. In one location, a small marshy area between the
baseball field and the woods, a whole community of birds were bathing,
including: American Robin, Varied Thrush, House Finch, Golden-crowned
Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, and Pine Siskin. We heard
presumed Common Redpoll calls amid the chatter but were not able to make a
visual confirmation although one of the bathing birds did show redpoll
characteristics.
Largest number of Western Grebes seen this year from the park (96) plus a
couple of Red-necked and Horned Grebes.
A single Western Meadowlark seen at the edge of the wetlands.
54 species for the day.

Scott Ramos
Seattle