Tweets -; We had about 5 hours without rain, from around 5:30-10:30 a.m., and we managed to fit most of a complete Marymoor visit within that period. Matt got rained on when he first got to the park hours before dawn, and we got chased out by rain by 11:00 a.m. It was not terribly birdy, being dark and a bit breezy, and the winter birds are thinning out. But this time of year, even a not-terribly-birdy day has a lot to see, and there are plenty of species that might be found. We found some.

Highlights:
a.. Cackling Goose -; a few distant flocks at sunrise to show they haven't all moved on
b.. Wood Duck -; had a flock of about 10, which is pretty high for Marymoor
c.. Band-tailed Pigeon -; first time we've had them on a survey this year
d.. Eurasian Collared-Dove -; 1 at the south edge of the East Meadow. First for 2018
e.. Anna's Hummingbird -; two nests, one with at least 1 baby
f.. TURKEY VULTURE -; one yesterday, a distant one today -; First of 2018
g.. Osprey -; pair at nest, so both are back now
h.. Western Screech-Owl -; Matt and I had brief views pre-dawn
i.. Merlin -; Sharon saw one
j.. SAY'S PHOEBE -; two in East Meadow, one in Pea Patch both yesterday and today
k.. Barn Swallow -; one yesterday, at least 3 today -; First of 2018
l.. Hermit Thrush -; one near start of boardwalk, maybe one more
m.. AMERICAN PIPIT -; five on grass soccer fields, gravel parking lot -; First of 2018
n.. BREWER'S SPARROW -; one in East Meadow. This is the 6 or 7th sighting ever for Marymoor. First of 2018
It was a great day for mammal sightings as well:
a.. Eastern Gray Squirrel -; of course
b.. American Beaver -; three seen swimming to the lodge, their broad heads like wedges on the surface
c.. Muskrat -; one in the slough
d.. Eastern Cottontail -; pretty much of course
e.. MINK -; one working the far shore from the Lake Platform gave us long looks. First confirmed sighting since June, 2015
So not a bad day... 68 species, and adding Eurasian Collared-Dove, Turkey Vulture, Barn Swallow, American Pipit, and Brewer's Sparrow, we're up to 108 species for 2018.

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