I took advantage of the sunshine yesterday from 11
to noon to bird the Yesler Swamp area. Leaves are
not back on the branches which made viewing great
in area that can be very difficult when the leaves
are present. By far the highlight was seeing FIVE
eagles (2 adult and three immature) flying to and
around the Talaris nest. All sorts of antics and
whistling and generally very impressive aviation
skills. Also cool was having an Anna's
Hummingbird and one of the eagles in the same
range of vision at the same time. The area was
pretty wet so I did not cover everything but did
traipse through the improved (wood chips) paths
but no bushwhacking. I tried a few I-Bird Pro
sound effects and was struck (almost literally) by
the immediate response of both Fox Sparrows and
Golden Crowned Kinglets in particular. One Golden
Crowned flew within inches of me before landing on
an open branch perhaps 4 feet away, in perfect
light and with crowned brilliantly displayed.
Could not get the camera on him before he was off
again...acting just like a kinglet. There may
have been some double counting but I am sure there
were no fewer than a half dozen of these little
gems and an equal number of Ruby Crowns. I
thought one may have been a Hutton's Vireo (not
good at distinguishing especially when they are
flitting about) but would not make a positive ID.
The calls were also very successful in bringing in
Fox Sparrows and I saw many more than I am used to
seeing, indeed even outnumbering (at least 5) the
Song Sparrows. My best pictures by far of this
species were a result.

Not a lot of diversity but other species seen were
a Red Tail fly over (after the eagles were gone),
American Crow, Bewick's Wren, House Finch, Spotted
Towhee, Robin (many), Northern Flickers, Black
Capped Chickadees, Bushtits, Brown Creeper, Great
Blue Heron, Mallard, Am. Wigeon, and Downy
Woodpecker. There were also two very distinctive
calls that I could not identify (I am terrible at
this) and which did not lead me to seen birds. I
am pretty sure they were not any of the birds
described in this list (sounded "large" but that
of course can be deceptive). I will return and
maybe will either see the singer or another birder
will show up who is up on songs.