Tweets -; A sunrise in the fog that looked like the Cascade slope was on fire was just the first amazement of the day. Decent-enough weather (only chilly because of the damp) made for a pleasant walk. Pretty birdy. Again, due to COVID distancing, we split into two groups. About an hour in, the other group called to tell us that there was a GREAT EGRET near the grass soccer fields. As none of us had ever seen one in the park, we raced over and got some great views. Unfortunately, the best of the views came when the bird flew low right past us, heading ESE, not to be seen again.

Highlights:
a.. CACKLING GOOSE -; huge flocks at 8:00 a.m., totaling maybe 2500. Some landed in the park too
b.. Canvasback -; two seen well from the Lake Platform. 4th sighting this fall, but still a very unusual bird in the park
c.. Ring-necked Pheasant -; heard before sunrise from the Viewing Mound
d.. Horned Grebe -; 1+ on the lake
e.. Three dove day -; Rock Pigeons near SR-520, a Mourning Dove just south of the Dog Area, and Nadine had a Eurasian Collared-Dove. None seen by the other group, though
f.. Killdeer -; FORTY on fields 7-8-9, in amongst the leaves
g.. California Gull -; one noted amongst the numerous Mew Gulls, Glaucous-winged Gulls, and the smattering of Ring-billed Gulls
h.. GREAT EGRET -; as noted above. A new bird for the Marymoor Survey, though not for the park. Very beautiful and very exciting
i.. Cooper's Hawk -; large adult in dead cottonwood from the boardwalk
j.. Barn Owl -; Matt had one near the windmill early. Mason and I may have heard one in the East Meadow after 6:00 a.m.
k.. Four woodpecker patch -; Near the south end of the Dog Area, my group had a NORTHERN FLICKER, two DOWNY's, one HAIRY, and two PILEATED WOODPECKERS, all within 100 ft.!
l.. Northern Shrike -; Our group saw one fly in and scatter a large flock of sparrows near the 2nd dog swim beach. It then posed in a cottonwood for us before flying off
m.. Western Meadowlark -; Jordan's group had two near the egret
I got an email from Laura Pinter on 2005-04-24, reporting that she and a friend had seen a large white egret, flying down the far side of the slough, that they thought was a Great Egret. On 2012-04-17, several dog walkers reported seeing a Great Egret land in the heronry with the Great Blue Herons. Before today, those were the only reports of GREAT EGRET in the park. This is the first fall/winter report. So we were thrilled to add this bird to our personal park lists, and to get photos too.

Late additions to the list were a COMMON LOON on the lake, and a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE when I drove through the park on my way out.

Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Red-winged Blackbird.

Jordan's group had 54 species. My group had 58. The early owlers added Barn Owl and Ring-necked Pheasant, and the late additions brought the group total to 66 species -; extremely respectable for December at Marymoor.

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