Tweets -; The rain let up before 6:00 a.m., and the drizzle let up before our 6:30 start time. We had only periods of mist for the next hour or so, mixed with dramatic sunshine. Then a light breeze came in and stuck with us under partly cloudy skies. It was a good day of birding, with much to look at. Measured by the number of species, it was a great day. By number of birds, it was fairly quiet. But there were lots of...

Highlights:
a.. Greater White-fronted Goose -; one flying with a few Canadas
b.. Wood Duck -; at least 4 total. A pair kept landing in cottonwood trees
c.. CINNAMON TEAL -; pair flew up the slough to the lake. First of Year (FOY)
d.. Eleven species of duck, total, including a few American Wigeon
e.. Wilson's Snipe -; notably many, with notably many good looks along the slough
f.. OSPREY -; pairs at/near both nests. FOY for us (but first sighting for the park was April 3)
g.. Pileated Woodpecker -; male landed right next to us, below the weir
h.. Merlin -; two sightings, probably the same bird
i.. CLIFF SWALLOW -; one or two. 6th earliest spring sighting ever for us (FOY)
j.. Bushtit -; watched a pair working on their nest at Dog Central
k.. Cedar Waxwing -; six at the Rowing Club
l.. Fox Sparrow -; lots of singing. They should be around for two more weeks
m.. Western Meadowlark -; one in East Meadow
n.. BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD -; about three (FOY)
o.. ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER -; Matt and Brian heard one from near the Mysterious Thicket (FOY)
p.. Common Yellowthroat -; heard predawn
q.. Yellow-rumped Warbler -; mostly male Audubon's, but at least 1 female, and at least 1 male Myrtle at the Rowing Club
The only later spring sightings of GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE have been of large flocks flying overhead, and that only twice.

While we've had CEDAR WAXWING every week of the year, our sightings from January->third week of April are almost all from 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2021. This year is challenging 2012 for the most pre-May sightings. We've only had Cedars at all in 10 of 27 years, during that period.

Several "winter" species were either missing or were in notably smaller numbers than in the last couple of weeks. No Cackling Geese, Northern Shrike, or Pacific Wren, and only a very few Common Goldeneye, Pied-billed Grebe, and Double-crested Cormorant.

A late scan of the lake turned up a female BELTED KINGFISHER and our earliest spring sighting ever of a CASPIAN TERN (FOY). Both were right at the mouth of the slough.

Notable misses today were limited to just Rock Pigeon and Lincoln's Sparrow.

For the day, 70 species, with 5 new for the year for us.

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