Tweets -; It's mid-July, and so we get warm weather, lots of baby birds, the beginnings of post-breeding dispersal, a relative lack of actual singing, and some sightings that just get marked with a "!" because we're not sure exactly why these birds are here now. We had all of that today.

Highlights:
a.. Common Merganser -; female with 6 ducklings on a log in the slough
b.. Pied-billed Grebe -; one stripe-headed juvenile in the slough
c.. Anna's Hummingbird -; female feeding young in a nest just west of the boardwalk
d.. Virginia Rail -; one on the far side of the slough, sitting on a branch
e.. American Coot -; with the lone bird spending this summer, we finally have recorded this species during at least one year for each week of the year. Getting one for Week 29 today completed the set. We can now say that coots might be seen any time of year at the park (though most commonly in the late-Fall to early-Spring).
f.. BONAPARTE'S GULL ! -; Flyby of four adults. We've seen this species less than 20 times ever, but twice now for Week 29.
g.. Caspian Tern -; Flyby of three just after 5:30
h.. Great Blue Heron -; fewer and fewer juveniles left in the heronry
i.. Western Screech-Owl -; Matt heard one pre-dawn again
j.. Red-breasted Sapsucker -;adult with 2 juveniles at south end of off-leash area
k.. Pileated Woodpecker -; one west of the slough below the weir
l.. Willow Flycatcher -; still quite a bit of singing, sightings of several birds that were probably juveniles
m.. Warbling Vireo -; many, with most/all of the sightings being of juveniles, but still a couple of birds heard singing
n.. Purple Martin -; activity at all four gourds at the Lake Platform, as well as in the snags west of the slough
o.. Swainson's Thrush -; species heard singing most frequently, and calling, and doing other calls too, and a few sightings
p.. Cedar Waxwing -; first juveniles of the year
q.. Pine Siskin -; down to only one. They have rarely stayed around into July, with even fewer August and September sightings
r.. Red-winged Blackbird -; only ONE noted -; a female/juvenile
s.. Yellow-rumped Warbler -; one juvenile that appeared to have no yellow on it whatsoever
t.. BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER -; many sightings, with most of those seen being juveniles. I'd say at least 8 birds
Around 5:15 a.m., Matt and I thought we might be hearing the INDIGO BUNTING singing from the Dog Meadow, but we were standing on the Viewing Platform, VERY far away. When we later walked through that meadow, we couldn't find any buntings. Later, though, we bumped into Shep Thorp who was on a quest to try and find the Indigo. We gave him suggestions about where to look, and heard back later (with photo) that he'd found the INDIGO BUNTING, as well as an adult male LAZULI BUNTING, some female/juveniles including one which appeared to be a juvenile without wingbars so a possible INDIGO x LAZULI hybrid! In any case, buntings remain, though mostly not singing at all, so very hard to find.

Pre-dawn, we enjoyed views of Jupiter setting and Venus near the moon. But it was too light (and possibly too cloudy), even at 4:30, to see the comet to the NE.

Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Green Heron, Steller's Jay, and Cliff Swallow.

For the day, counting both buntings, we had 64 species.

= Michael Hobbs
= www.marymoor.org/images/ParkBirdingMap.jpg <--- ANNOTATED BIRDING MAP OF MARYMOOR
= www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
= BirdMarymoor at gmail.com
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