Hi Tweets,

On Monday, 4/23/12, 24 of us birded together at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, WA for Eastside Audubon's monthly bird walk. We birded from 8 am to 12:30 pm, in very sunny weather, in low-wind conditions (3-5 mph), with temps ranging from 55 to 63 degrees. Highlights include:
hearing CALIFORNIA QUAIL calling....this is a first for the Park for this walk
1 HORNED GREBE in breeding plumage
2 GREEN HERONS appear to be setting up house in a Doug Fir tree near the small pond on the south end of the first parking lot (left of the entrance)
7 LEAST SANDPIPERS were feeding on the sandy point at the mouth of Issaquah Creek
a pair of BELTED KINGFISHERS appear to have a nest in one of the mud banks along Issaquah Creek (our group was too large to linger and watch to see if the birds were entering and leaving a medium-sized hole in the bank--I'm going back soon with my scope to sit and watch from a distance)
the above comment is true for a couple of NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS seen flying in the same area
4 RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS
4 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS....one even showed us his orange crown
2 RED CROSSBILLS flew overhead, kip, kip, kiping
56 species for the day, 85 for the year. Next walk: 5/30/12, 8 am to noon. No pre-registration--just show up at the first parking lot on the left, just inside the main park entrance (not the boating launch entrance). Discover Pass required.

Canada Goose 10
Gadwall 4
American Wigeon 15
Mallard 20
Ring-necked Duck 1
Bufflehead 2
Hooded Merganser 1
Common Merganser 1
California Quail 2 heard only -- more than 1-2?
Common Loon 1
Horned Grebe 1 breeding plumage
Western Grebe 4
Great Blue Heron 80
Green Heron 2 one with a stick in its bill; both flew in and out of a Doug Fir next to the small pond at the sound end of the parking lot just inside the entrance
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 5 2 pairs; 1 immature (first year)
Red-tailed Hawk 2 1 flying; 1 on the nest in south end near Costco
American Coot 10
Killdeer 3
Least Sandpiper 7
Glaucous-winged Gull 4
Band-tailed Pigeon 2
Rufous Hummingbird 4
Belted Kingfisher 2 looks like they have a nest hole in the muddy banks of Issaquah Creek...the hole is just above and to the right (north) of the tree trunk that sticks out of the mudd
Red-breasted Sapsucker 4
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 3
American Crow 16
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 4 also appear to have a nest along Issaquah Creek
Tree Swallow 40
Violet-green Swallow 10
Black-capped Chickadee 13
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 4
Bewick's Wren 4
Marsh Wren 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
American Robin 12
European Starling 2
Orange-crowned Warbler 4 one showed his orange crown!
Common Yellowthroat 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 50
Spotted Towhee 3
Savannah Sparrow 7
Song Sparrow 12
White-crowned Sparrow 6
Golden-crowned Sparrow 3
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
Purple Finch 4
House Finch 4
Red Crossbill 2 flew overhead, kip kip kiping
Pine Siskin 6
American Goldfinch 8

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Sharon Aagaard
Bellevue WA
scormieraa001 at hotmail.com