Hi Tweeters:
The Kent Valley is lovely today, Sun, Oct 28. Beautiful fall color, and pleasant weather. After a nice morning of birding in the Kent Ponds/Boeing Ponds area with Amit Kulkarni, I headed south on West Valley Hwy, passed thru Kent, and turned right onto Frager Rd south. Drove about 2/3 mile or so and there were about 4000-5000 Cackling Geese in a stubble field. Toward the far end of them, there was a beautiful male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD in amongst the geese. There were also Red-winged Blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbirds, crows, and starlings. Continuing on Frager past a few farms you come to Elliot Farm and Livestock. On that barn and on trees and a telephone pole there were 50-60 Eurasian Collared Doves! Holy cow, have they multiplied down there! The doves love that ranch and the bushes down along the Green River, but are not always in that area.
The morning had been a good raptor morning. We saw a pair of adult Peregrine Falcons perched on the Boeing red and white radar tower by Boeing Ponds about 11:30. I'll let Amit tell about some of the other birds we saw and heard. Also, I was hearing Yel-rumped Warblers at Kent Ponds, Boeing Ponds, and along the Green River at Frager Rd south.
Yours, Carol Schulz
Des Moines