A wonderful Seattle August morning, partly cloudy, no wind and mild
temps. Although still in the late summer doldrums, there were a few
indications of the changes to come. No mud left anywhere, so the only
shorebirds were Killdeer.

Newest families with young now out on their own now include Cedar
Waxwing--several dozen birds; most seen were juveniles--and Cooper's
Hawks. Several Coops were calling back and forth at Seven Meadow. Mom
mostly stayed in the trees near Frog Pond, but the young birds were
moving around, sometimes cavorting like kids. At one point, 4 juveniles
landed in the same small tree in the middle of the meadow.

Other notables included
- Barn Owl, east meadow, early
- Wilson's and Orange-crowned Warblers, two groups each
- Western Tanager, female on Promontory Point
- Pacific-slope Flycatchers, 1 near the ponds, 2 on Promontory Point, at
least one of which was singing its full 3-part song
- Willow Flycatchers, several, and a Western Wood-Pewee
- California and Ring-billed Gulls, about a 2:1 ratio in a large
congregation on the swim platform
- Vaux's Swift, half a dozen
- Merlin, made a strafe at a perched Cooper's Hawk, then flew west out
of the park, escorted by a crow

Best of all, a new grandson arrived this afternoon.
Scott Ramos
Seattle