Hello, all,

Yesterday, Spencer H. and I visited a few south King County birds. The family of four Tundra Swans continues at Newcastle Beach, where we found them close in the morning wind and rain.

With Todd S., we haunted the 212th Street wetland in Kent from around 9:30 till after 1, when the Black Phoebe flew from in across the fields to the north. Then it showed the behaviors others report, flycatching from the flooded shrubby trees in the pond. This partly explains how we've missed it earlier visits. A few Cinnamon Teal continue, and seven Barn Swallows foraged overhead. We also saw American Bittern and, across the road, three Least Sandpipers roosting with a few dozen Killdeer. I was surprised we saw a couple Common Ravens above the ridge to the west, as well.


>From the east side of Kent Ponds, we saw a Common Raven again, mobbed by crows, perhaps one of the same birds.


At the mouth of the Cedar River in Renton, there were few birds, and no perched gulls other than a dead (shot?) one. We did have a quick visit from a couple of Dunlin.

Of 17 February, 2018,

Alan Grenon
Seattle