I took a small, enthusiastic group of beginning birders out to Green
Lake yesterday morning. I hadn't been there in months myself, and was
pleased with the birds we found.

Many of the wintering water fowl are back: AM. WIGEON, BUFFLEHEAD,
HOODED MERGANSER, COMMON MERGANSER were all present in fairly large
numbers. We also had three of the grebe species: HORNED, PIED-BILLED,
and one WESTERN. (the Western was nice, as I rarely see these at Green
Lake anymore.)

A BALD EAGLE put on a good show as it swooped across the lake in an
attempt to catch a mid-morning snack - a duck. It missed. The group
was impressed with this display, and I personally would like to thank
the eagle for adding to the day's excitement.

We encountered several flocks of the smaller birdies: RUBY-CROWNED &
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, BLACK-CAPPED & CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, and
BUSHTIT.

A bonus came in the form of some beautiful mushrooms we found: Amanita
muscaria. Some of these were quite large; they looked gorgeous
amongst the colorful leaves on the ground.

And, yay, final species total: 39. Not bad at all, in my book.

happy birding,
isadora wong
seattle, wa
chupaflor at igc.org