Tweets ? We had WEATHER today, some of it nice (warm sunshine, rainbows), mostly blusteringly awful (heavy rain, sometimes blowing horizontally), and just about everything in between. Lots of great clouds to look at. Lots of dark, threatening clouds too. The saving grace was that it was warm, so wet hands weren?t freezing. The downside was warm, so we were steaming inside our rain gear. The birds just weren?t visible or detectable during the downpours and squalls, but they tried to make up for that during the nice moments.

Highlights:

Cackling Goose 175-225, virtually all minimas, NE corner of park
Gadwall 10 at lake. Only our 2nd sighting for this fall
American Wigeon Lone female at lake, after none in October
Western Grebe Two on the lake late
- gulls - Big flock on grass fields, but no rarities noted
Barn Owl One after 6:30
N. SAW-WHET OWL Matt had 1 (maybe 2) from the boardwalk, 5:30ish
Pileated Woodpecker One heard, Big Cottonwood Forest
Merlin? Matt glimpsed a falcon
Northern Shrike Juvenile near Compost Piles late
American Pipit Four on grass/gravel area near Cacklers
Wh.-throated Sparrow Juvenile with WCSPs, GCSPs at Pea Patch

This is just the 6th definite NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL report for Marymoor, and Matt even managed a glimpse at this one. He may have heard a second as well. He first heard it/them(?) at the bend in the boardwalk.

Matt also heard a COYOTE early in the East Meadow. At the Rowing Club, we had a rare November sighting of a RED-EARED SLIDER turtle. Pacific Tree Frogs were also heard all morning at various spots.

For the day, despite the conditions, 54 species.

== Michael Hobbs
== www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
== BirdMarymoor at frontier.com