Hi Tweets.....



Stan and I birded with 9 others at Eastside Audubon's monthly bird walk at Lake Sammamish State Park on March 25, 2014, from 8 am to noon. We had cloudy skies, steady, misty rain, 5-8 mph winds, with temps in the low 50s. HIGHLIGHTS: One, lone BARN SWALLOW with the many Violet-green and Tree Swallows feeding over the lake. On the paved trail near the footbridge over Tibbits Creek (at the south end of the west parking lot), we enjoyed watching the spring behaviour antics of 5 RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS: chasing and flying at each other every which way, raising and lowering their head feathers, spanning their tails, drumming on metal signs, tending sapwells in the willows, copulation, and vocalizing. Spectacular! Later on in a different area of the park, we saw two others, so perhaps there was a total of 7. Next, while on the new boardwalk out to the point near Sunset Beach, we spotted a male and female PILIATED WOODPECKER on a large, dead tree on the east side of Issaquah Creek. Then a MERLIN flew in, perched for a few seconds near the woodpeckers, then launched into a chase, repeatedly perching, chasing, etc., to no avail. Except for one or two chase scenes, the woodpeckers seemed to be calmly going about their business, moving up and down the tree limbs, ignoring the Merlin. More fun! Next, we located what we're pretty certain is the nest hole of a pair of BELTED KINGFISHERS. It's on the severely eroding mud bank of Issaquah Creek where the wood fence has fallen into the water and the park has strung up green plastic mesh. The nest hole is about a foot below the edge and is perhaps 6 inches in diameter. We found the nest hole by noticing the agitated behavior of the two Kingfishers (short, fast flights back and forth over the area, all the while vocalizing). We backed off but a very large outing of school children and their teachers remained. Hope the birds don't abandon the nest. Also in the same area, we spotted an adult NORTHERN SHRIKE and a TREE FROG hopping on the grass. Some notable misses: Marsh Wren, Pacific Wren, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fox Sparrow (Ken saw/heard 4 a few days ago), and the 3 Swan Geese who've been there since Sep 2012. 51 species for the day; and 68 species for the year. The next bird walk is APRIL 18. 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 (not the boat launch entrance).


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Sharon Aagaard

Bellevue, WA

scormieraa001 at hotmail.com