We had a pretty nice morning today. No sunshine, but otherwise the weather was great. Definitely still winter birding, but spring feels close.

Highlights:
a.. Northern Shoveler -; Female at Rowing Club. Our First of Year (FOY)
b.. Twelve duck species, total
c.. Horned Grebe - Five scattered across the lake, seen from the Lake Platform
d.. Great Blue Heron -; They're Back -; More than 60 were perched in the heronry, many sitting next to, or on nests
e.. Cooper's Hawk -; One across the slough below the weir
f.. Varied Thrush -; Two called from straight above us on the slough trail, causing much confusion among birders (FOY)
g.. White-throated Sparrow -; One amongst many sparrows in the NW corner of the Dog Area
h.. Western Meadowlark -; Seven or more north of Fields 7-8-9, with some singing
"Singing" was the story of the day: Ring-necked Pheasant, Anna's Hummingbird, Steller's Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Pacific Wren, Marsh Wren, Bewicks's Wren, Varied Thrush, American Robin, House Finch, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, and Red-winged Blackbird. Some of the songs were early-season and whispery (especially the Steller's Jay).

Misses today included Virginia Rail, Northern Shrike, and Purple Finch.

For the day, 58 species.

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