Tweets ? it was smoky and quiet at Marymoor this morning, though we saw quite a few more species than last week. I don?t think the smoke is what keeps the bird count low, I think it?s the drought. We?ve had only traces of rain in months and months, and there are trees dead from drought, and leaves brown and curled all over. I think the insect population is far lower than normal, and of course there are no puddles. I?d pay good money for three days of steady rain!

Highlights:
a.. Gadwall ? a pair in the slough (maybe 2 pair) ? first since June
b.. Common Merganser ? one flew up the slough below the weir
c.. WESTERN GREBE ? two on lake ? early for fall, and first since April
d.. American Coot ? at least 2 at lake ? first since April
e.. Cooper?s Hawk ? small adult seen twice
f.. Western Screech-Owl ? Matt heard one early along west leg of boardwalk
g.. - All 5 Woodpeckers ? Only confirmed one Pileated, but heard often ? maybe multiple
h.. Empidonax sp. ? probably Willow ? one bird in Dog Meadow
i.. Orange-crowned Warbler ? at least 3
j.. Common Yellowthroat ? ubiquitous
k.. Black-throated Gray ? two
l.. Yellow-rumped Warbler ? two drab ?Audubon?s?
The smoke was so thick, there was no moonset, nor sunrise. At maybe 8 a.m., we could look at the sun with our binoculars, unshielded, and observe the sunspots!!!

For the day, counting the empid and gull spp., we had 50 species ? a decent improvement over last week?s 38. Still, it?s low for this time of year. Misses included Hooded Merganser, Vaux?s Swift, Glaucous-winged Gull, Bald Eagle (off on summer break), Warbling Vireo, Bushtit (prob. heard some but couldn?t confirm), Brown Creeper, Yellow Warbler, and Western Tanager. Still waiting on our first fall Lincoln?s Sparrow, which are often back this week as well.

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