The morning started with a dusting of snow on the ground and a light, but soaking drizzle, temps just above freezing. The cold, wet and a breeze strong enough to form whitecaps on the lake meant that birds, and birders, were cold and unresponsive. Although the rain stopped for a while, the other conditions remained, then, toward then end of the morning, it started snowing again, with big heavy flakes. Early November in the Pacific Northwet! A few observations of note.

Greater Scaup - a single female, well out in the lake; first of fall
Bufflehead - a single female, in the ponds
Common Merganser - a single female, on the north shore

Unlike Log Boom Park and Montlake Fill, where there are hundreds of American Wigeon, and other wintering ducks are starting to show up, not much today at Magnuson. Also interesting was that it was only 3 tough females braving the challenging conditions.

Sharp-shinned Hawk - casual flap-glide across the wetlands; never saw it stop
Bald Eagle - a sub-adult was cruising the shore, early; later, an adult was perched well within the still-leafy cottonwoods on Promontory Point, very well hidden.
Herring Gull - on the swim platform with 4 other gull species; first of fall
Passerines were hard to come by. The only cluster was at the edge of the grove just south of soccer field 7: all of the Starlings, Robins and Golden-crowed Sparrows that I saw today were in this group.

For the day, just 38 species.
Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40286313 <http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40286313>
Scott Ramos
Seattle