Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2016-01-07
Date: Jan 7 16:36:25 2016
From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com - birdmarymoor at gmail.com


Tweets ? A really nice way to start the year today. Thin overcast made for tricky light at times, but there was no precip., no wind, and it wasn?t too cold ? mostly in the mid-30?s (33-41), though there was frost on the ground and some slippery pathways. It was really birdy, in the way I?ve seen happen when there?s nice weather and when it?s obvious that the solstice has passed. I think the birds begin to celebrate the promise of a spring to come.

Highlights:

Gr. Wh.-fronted Goose 9 !!! with Cackling Geese
Wood Duck 1 male in slough, seen from Rowing Club
Greater Scaup 1 female near mouth of slough
Horned Grebe 3 on lake
Western Grebe 1 or 2 on lake
California Gull 1 with Mews and GWGUs
Barn Owl Matt had one around 7
N. Saw-whet Owl Matt heard one around 6
R.-br. x R.-naped Sapsucker Hybrid south of mansion had extensive black up back of head
MERLIN One atop tall fir NE of mansion
Northern Shrike Juvenile N of fields 7-8-9 as usual
Purple Finch 3-4 female-type south of Pea Patch

The RED-BREASTED x RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER was just a bit west of the concert stage. It had black up the back of the neck crossed by a red nape stripe like a Red-naped, but the front of the bird was very much like a Red-breasted. There was no black below the red bib, and no (or only a very minimal) white stripe running back from the top of the eye. It looked similar enough to the hybrid seen 2015-10-27 by Spencer Hildie that it may be the same bird, though today?s bird had a more obvious black stripe across the back head above the red nape than shows in Spencer?s photos (see http://www.marymoor.org/BirdBlog/Week44.htm)

In all a very nice day, with 56 species + the hybrid to start our 2016 list.

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