Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2015-04-16
Date: Apr 16 14:13:51 2015
From: Michael Hobbs - birdmarymoor at frontier.com


Tweets ? it was chilly this morning, with touches of frost. But the sun?s beams hit us right as we left the parking lot, and there was no wind and just a trace of fog, so it warmed somewhat in just an hour or two. Never really needed to shed too many layers though. It wasn?t super birdy, but it was certainly a day with some nice highlights, and a gorgeous day to be out. Matt and Sharon are both out-of-town; we had nobody around in the wee hours to check for owls. Also missed Virginia Rail and Wilson?s Snipe, both of which are often heard pre-dawn.

Highlights:

Common Goldeneye Getting late ? 1 at weir
Bald Eagle Very visible; 4-6 adults
Cooper?s Hawk Close encounter along north edge of Snag Row
Red-tailed Hawk 6+ adults. Saw nest exchange at odd-snag nest
GREATER YELLOWLEGS 1 on far side of slough below weir
Barn Swallow 6+ flying over lake ? First of Year
Cliff Swallow 2 over new maintenance bldg., seen after walk ? FOY
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2+ singing males, after none noted last week
SAGE THRASHER 1 at Compost Piles/Viewing Mound
Or.-crowned Warbler Heard about 6 singing, saw 2 (very yellow birds)
Fox Sparrow Two singing quietly. Will be leaving soon
Red Crossbill Numbers seem to be dropping. Maybe 3-4, mostly heard

This was only our 6th-ever Spring sighting of GREATER YELLOWLEGS. It walked the far shore of the slough and called several times before flying off towards the lake. (We also have 6 fall sightings; Marymoor isn?t a great shorebirding site).

Saw a violent interaction/chase between an OSPREY and a GREAT BLUE HERON at the weir that lasted for at least 30 seconds. The Osprey did not seem pleased to have the GBH around, though who started it, I?m not sure. The Osprey certainly had the advantage in maneuverability.

When we got to the Compost Piles, Mason Flint noted a bird walking on the ground next to some American Robins. From the back and somewhat back-lit, I thought at first that it was another robin, but when I got a bit of a profile view, I realized it was a SAGE THRASHER. Remarkably, this our our FOURTH Sage Thrasher sighting for Marymoor, and right on schedule. Previous sightings have been 2012-04-12, 2002-04-17, and 2007-05-03, and all sightings have been within about 50 yards of the middle of the Compost Piles. Todays bird flew around a bit, including landing on the Viewing Mound fencing.

There were also 3! AMERICAN BEAVER seen swimming in the slough near the weir.

Misses today included Pied-billed Grebe and House Finch.

For the day, 62 species. Adding GRYE, CLSW, BARS, and SATH, we?re now at 101 species for the year.

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