Hi Tweets,



Here's my monthly eBird report on what we're seeing at Lake Sammamish State Park, King, US-WA
May 21, 2014 8:10 AM - 12:10 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
Comments: Sharon Aagaard and Stan Wood birded with 13 other birders at Eastside Audubon's monthly bird walk at Lake Sammamish State Park on May 21, 2014, from 8:10 am to 12:10 pm. We had cloudy skies, 3-4 mph winds, with temps ranging from 52 to 59 degrees F. HIGHLIGHTS: WOOD DUCK pair; 6 female COMMON MERGANSERS flying rapidly and low through the trees at both beaches, with birds landing & almost disappearing in two possible nesting trees; 2 GREEN HERON adults, one flying above the grassy area at Sunset Beach and the other flying low along Issaquah Creek towards the mouth; heard the "wheat, wheat, wheat" call and saw 4 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS (3 on the sandy "islands" at the mouth of Issaquah Creek and 1 in the cove at Tibbits Beach; 7 BAND-TAILED PIGEONS; 2 RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS "mewing" and tending sapwells; 1 WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE making its "pee-eeer" call; 2 PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS hopefully setting up house in the large cottonwood forest just south of the Sunset Beach Parking lot; 1 HUTTON'S VIREO singing in the cottonwood forest; 4 WARBLING VIREOS, with 1-2 making a nest midway up in a tree on the west side of the old apple orchard; 4 SWAINSON'S THRUSHES, singing and calling; 30 CEDAR WAXWINGS all throughtout the park; Warblers: 10 YELLOW, 1 TOWNSEND'S, 6 COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, & 4 WILSON'S; 2 WESTERN TANAGERS; 2 BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK; 1 male LAZULI BUNTING in the overgrown meadow just to the west of Issaquah Creek; at least 6 BULLOCK'S ORIOLE were flying and chattering throughout the park (we only saw one female); & 6 PURPLE FINCH. 60 species for the day; and 108 species for the year. The next bird walk is Monday, JUNE 23. 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).
60 species (+2 other taxa)


Canada Goose 70 at least 5 family groups, with a total of 30 young; plus 1 group of 15 in the air
Wood Duck 2 pair seen in the cove to the west of Tibbits Beach
Gadwall 2 lone males
Mallard 40
Common Merganser 6 all females; watched some fly into and "disappear" into trees--possible nesting cavities
Great Blue Heron 20 we only looked at one of the several trees in the nesting colony (with about 10 birds seen at nests); the rest were flyovers, or perched in trees or low on the water
Green Heron 2 both adults--one flew over the grassy area at Sunset Beach; the other was flying low over Issaquah Creek towards the mouth
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 6 2 adults; 4 immatures
Red-tailed Hawk (Western) 1 soaring over the trees at the south boundary of the park; we didn't scope the nest nearby
Killdeer 3
Spotted Sandpiper 3 1 at the small cove to the west of Tibbits Beach (heard only); 2-3 were heard and seen on one of the sandy "islands" at the mouth of Issaquah Creek
Glaucous-winged Gull 2 brief flyovers
Band-tailed Pigeon 7 a group of 6 flew over, followed later by a single bird
Vaux's Swift 1 just Sharon saw this swift
Anna's Hummingbird 1 male on a favorite branch perch between the 2 beaches
Rufous Hummingbird 6 one male came close enough for us to hear its abrupt, loud, high-pitched "zeee chupity chup" sound
Belted Kingfisher 1 heard a few calls but only one was seen; nesting seems to be completed because no activity at the nest site
Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 "mewing" and tending sapwells
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 heard only
Northern Flicker 2 heard only
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 seen in the old apple orchard
Pileated Woodpecker 1 quick flyby
Western Wood-Pewee 1 heard only "pee-eeer"
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 2 heard the male's 3-part song and female answering
Hutton's Vireo 1 heard only in the Cottonwood forest to the west of the old apple orchard
Warbling Vireo (Western) 4 3 heard only; at least one was seen nest building
American Crow 30
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6
Tree Swallow 20
Violet-green Swallow 40
Barn Swallow 30
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 heard only
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 heard only
Brown Creeper 2 heard only
Marsh Wren 4 heard only
Bewick's Wren 6 saw one briefly; heard the rest
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6 saw 2 in poor light at the beginning of the walk; heard the rest singing "i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i'm not a chicka-dee-dee-dee"
Swainson's Thrush 4 heard only (flute-like descending song)
American Robin 20
European Starling 40 lots of adults being chased after by lots of hungry young birds
Cedar Waxwing 30 many flocks flying and perching throughout the park
Common Yellowthroat 6 all heard but only 1 VERY distant male was seen towards the end of our walk
Yellow Warbler 10 all were heard only but one (a male by just a few of us)
Townsend's Warbler 1 only Patty saw this bird briefly
Wilson's Warbler 5 4.75 inch warbler, yellow body the color of French's mustard; males have a dark black cap and females have a dark gray cap
Spotted Towhee (Pacific) 4 heard only
Savannah Sparrow 4 heard and saw 2
Song Sparrow 14 saw a few; heard most
White-crowned Sparrow (Puget Sound) 2 saw and heard
Dark-eyed Junco 4 heard trilling
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 4
Western Tanager 2 Doug saw a male and we heard two males in the same area (short, burry & rough Robin-like song)
Black-headed Grosbeak 2 saw one, heard two (faster Robin-like song with wolf whistles)
Lazuli Bunting 1 very quick flyby male in the meadow to the west of Issaquah Creek
Red-winged Blackbird 4 heard and seen
Brown-headed Cowbird 4 heard and seen
Bullock's Oriole 6 heard and seen throughout the park
House Finch 4
Purple Finch (Western) 6 2 groups with 3 birds each
American Goldfinch 20 LOTS of singing males

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18499466

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



Sharon Aagaard

Bellevue WA

scormieraa001 at hotmail.com