Subject: [Tweeters]
Date: Apr 18 16:02:08 2014
From: Sharon Cormier-Aagaard - scormieraa001 at hotmail.com


Hi Tweets,



Here's the monthly bird walk report of what's being seen/heard at Lake Sammamish State Park:

Lake Sammamish State Park, King, US-WA
Apr 18, 2014 8:00 AM - 12:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
Comments: Sharon Aagaard and Stan Wood birded with 14 others at Eastside Audubon's monthly bird walk at Lake Sammamish State Park on April 18, 2014, from 8 am to 12:15 pm. We enjoyed dry, partly cloudy/sunny skies, 3-9 mph winds, with temps ranging from 44 to 54 degrees F. HIGHLIGHTS: Most of the wintering water birds have migrated out, leaving us with a dozen GADWALLS, half a dozen AMERICAN WIGEONS, a bunch of MALLARDS, and a few COMMON MERGANSERS. A small number of WESTERN GREBES remain (4). The approximate 40 nests in the heron colony is full and active. One female NORTHERN HARRIER flew over at the end of our walk. Two separate "swarms" of AMERICAN COOTS remain at the lake edge (70). The parks's wintering gulls have migrated, leaving us with just two GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS. VAUX'S SWIFTS and five swallow species were feeding over the lake (TREE, VIOLET-GREEN, NO. ROUGH-WINGED, BARN AND CLIFF). We observed the male BELTED KINGFISHER burst out of the nest hole on the bank of Issaquah Creek, with the female perched nearby. We watched a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER excavating a nest hole in a large snag near the kayak rental area, and another was perched just above a hole on last year's nest tree at the SE corner of the Sunset Beach parking lot. A male PILEATED WOODPECKER was excavating a hole in the same snag where we watched the pair interact with a MERLIN during last month's walk. The woodpecker pair called back and forth while we stood watching eastward on the new boardwalk. There were 7 AMERICAN PIPITS feeding in the patchy grass at Sunset Beach. Four warblers were seen/heard: ORANGE-CROWNED (6), YELLOW-RUMPED (36), BLACK-THROATED GRAY (1) and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT (6). 52 species for the day; and 78 species for the year. The next bird walk is MAY 21 (it's our once annual BIRDATHON walk with a suggested donation of $25). No pre-registration, just show up depending on your mood or the weather. Since this is a state park, a Discover Pass is necessary to park ($10 daily, $30 annual). We meet in the large parking lot to the left just inside the main park entrance, now signed as the Costco Parking lot but we meet at the far end towards the lake (not the boat launch entrance).
52 species (+1 other taxa)

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17949615

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)



Sharon Aagaard

Bellevue WA

scormieraa001 at hotmail.com