Hi Tweeters:
A nice male Bullock's Oriole was at Codiga Park in Tukwila today, May 8, about 11:00AM. Mary and I started to hear some odd single calls at first, coming from the cottonwood trees down the main left trail. Since I have seen orioles at Codiga Park in the past, we thought those calls might be from one. But May 8 seems early to hear one there. We started to hear some chatters. Finally the chatters became the familiar, harsh syncopated call. At last we started hearing the little song too. But we couldn't see the bird. We gave up and went over to the far-side trail that goes down the other side of the channel that cuts in from the Duwamish River. As we came back up the trail, the Oriole called from across the street near the houses, and then flew up to the top of the fir tree across the street. Very nice.
Two Ospreys are at the nest on the stand in the park. Codiga Park is across the Duwamish River from BECU in Tukwila. I looked it up on Google Maps, but it's not on Bing Maps. It is a small park that has been planted w/ natives. The channel was cut in from the river several years ago to protect salmon smolts. Smaller birds like all the plantings, and the Bullock's Oriole likes the big cottonwood trees.
You also can view Codiga Park from across the river on the Green River Trail by BECU.
Yours, Carol Schulz
Des Moines