Last fall I mentioned that I regularly some shallow wetland ponds on the north end of Canyon Park in Bothell while walking my dogs. This site is now marked as Canyon Park Wetlands in eBird and is off of 224th St SE in Bothell. Anyway last October 14 was my first evidence of any Pied-billed Grebe nesting, with 1 parent feeding 2 half-grown striped chicks. Well today my wife daughter and I saw a parent with 4 of the tiniest chicks just 20 or 30 feet from shore. A couple of the babies were getting pretty separated from the presumed mother that had 1 chick under wing. Later this adult came to the chicks but they seemed to be having a hard time climbing up on her back. It was actually quite a Mother's Day with scads of baby Mallards and probably Gadwall, a dozen goslings, and a hamster-sized Cottontail. Other birds were 3 first of season Spotted sandpiper and a male Red-breasted Sapsucker first drumming and later feeding on sap wells. Of course I had left my camera at home but it was still a beautiful evening to be out.
Bob Schmidt
Bothell