Subject: [Tweeters] King County Swainson's Hawk seen Saturday
Date: Jul 22 19:28:27 2012
From: Andrew McCormick - andy_mcc at hotmail.com



Hello-
I apologize for the late posting but I haven't been home much since yesterday and don't have a smart phone.
At about 6:00 p.m. on Saturday an immature Swainson's Hawk was seen circling with a Red-tailed Hawk over the Newcastle Park & Ride at Exit 9 on I-405 in Bellevue. A group of 10 Eastside Audubon birders having just returned from a trip to Mt Rainier NP saw it from the parking lot. The dark red upper chest was clearly seen in good sunlight and the underwings were very white including the leading edge of the wing. The hawk made many passes over the area and later returned for several more while being mobbed by four crows. It finally moved over the trees to the east. It was quite a sight to top off our day which included an American Pipit loading its bill with insects picked from a snow field and flying off with the mouthful, an immature Gray Jay being fed by its parent, top views of Clark's Nutcracker looking down from the Sourdough Trail, Chipping Sparrows, and Rufous Hummingbirds in several locations. A Mountain Goat was seen above Frozen Lake.
Andy McCormick
andy_mcc at hotmail.com
Bellevue, WA