Hello all,
I've been working overnight the last couple nights for reasons stemming
from the snow last week. The upside of this has been I've been able to
explore some birding spots during daylight when I'd normally be at work.
Today I hit Marymoor and Juanita Beach.

Marymoor was very wet this morning limiting visibility. There were many FOX
SPARROWS and SPOTTED TOWHEE's near the trails near the slough. I also saw
several GOLDEN CROWN SPARROWS feeding with the Fox's. The slough was much
higher than I've ever seen it and moving with river-like intensity. Duck
numbers and species count were lower than I was expecting from recent
reports. The only species I encountered were AMERICAN COOTS, MALLARD's,
GADWALLs, and several HOODEN MERGANSERs. I walked all the way out to the
boardwalk that overlooks Lake Sammamish. There were no birds visible on the
lake.

I moved on to Juanita Beach park. I intended to go to Juanita Bay park, but
having never been there I missed the parking lot. When I arrived at the
beach park I immediately noticed two ducks inside the dock that wraps
around the beach. Upon investigation I noticed it was a pair of WOOD DUCKS,
male and female. This is only the second time in my life I have seen these
beautiful birds so this was quite a treat. They eventually moved out under
the dock and headed towards the Jaunita Bay Park side of the bay. Also
present were a pair of GADWALLs, several BUFFLEHEAD's, and at least 100
AMERICAN COOTS in one flock that were so close together they looked like a
floating island. There were also 18 SWANS visible near the Bay Park side of
the water, but I was unable to confirm species from the distance.

I was able to get a decent photo of the Wood Ducks.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/beastofexmoor/6758357213/in/photostream


Josh
http://www.flickr.com/photos/beastofexmoor/
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