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Friends of Marymoor Park
Recent Bird Sightings
Report for January 29, 2026 Birding at Marymoor
The day was much more pleasant than the forecasts predicted. It was pretty warm (mostly low-50's), not too dark an overcast, no wind, and only a few sprinkles now and then. And it was pretty birdy, especially in the first 2 hours.
Highlights:
- American Coot - At least 4, which is 2-3 more than we've had at any time in 2025 and 2026
- Wilson's Snipe - A half-dozen below the weir
- Horned Grebe - One well out on the lake
- Northern Shrike - South end of the East Meadow again
- Bushtit - I returned to the park briefly after the walk and found ~20. First of Year (FOY)
- Cedar Waxwing - A half-dozen or more eating hawthorn berries along the west edge of the Dog Meadow near the heronry (FOY)
- White-throated Sparrow - FOUR TOGETHER under the old weeping willow at the Rowing Club. High Count for us at the park!
- Song Sparrow - Eric saw the "Eastern" one along the west edge of the East Meadow
- Western Meadowlark - Fourteen on the grass soccer fields again
Misses today included Cackling Goose, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Cooper's Hawk, and Hairy Woodpecker.
For the day, 55 species. For the year, I believe we're up to 68 species.
= Michael Hobbs |
Report for January 22, 2026 Birding at Marymoor
Last Thursday I had to rush to the airport before the survey even completed; Mason added three species after I left. I didn't get a chance to send this email until now.
The day started COLD, at 27 degrees. The fog cleared quickly, however, and even though we didn't get much of any actual sunshine, the morning warmed quickly. There was also little wind, so the cold wasn't too bad. It was birdy at times, quiet at others.
Highlights:
- Greater White-fronted Goose - Five below the weir
- Trumpeter Swan - Two flew south
- Wood Duck - Two in the slough near the lake, First of Year (FOY)
- Thirteen species of waterfowl in total
- Horned Grebe - Mason spotted one on the lake. Week 4 is historically the most likely week for them to show up
- Purple Finch - Some good looks at the southernmost Dog Swim Beach area
- Western Meadowlark - About 10 at the north end of the grass fields, just south of the gravel lot
- river otter - At least two in the slough
Misses Thursday included Cackling Goose, American Coot, Short-billed and Ring-billed Gulls, and Cooper's Hawk.
For the day, 55 species. For the year, we're at 66 species.
Our Thursday start time is shifting to 7:30 a.m.
= Michael Hobbs |
Report for January 15, 2026 Birding at Marymoor
It was warm (49-52 degrees) with a high overcast and no precipitation after some pre-dawn mist. No fog, and only a little wind. Except for waterfowl, it wasn't terribly birdy, but we did get sufficient cameo appearances to make our species total okay.
Highlights:
- Trumpeter Swan - Five flew right over our heads calling!
- Eight species of duck - Green-winged Teal was our obvious miss
- Anna's Hummingbird - One displaying, a couple of others singing, and by the end we'd seen ~10
- Virginia Rail - Matt heard them "singing" - Kiddick-kiddick - pre-dawn
- Killdeer - One heard calling pre-dawn was, I believe, our first since early November
- Red-breasted Sapsucker - One incessantly calling (and finally seen) near the concert venue restrooms. Our first since September!
- Northern Shrike - Adult in the south end of the East Meadow
- Bewick's Wren - Much singing, few sightings
- House Finch - Maybe only two, but one was singing complete songs
- Song Sparrow - Much singing
- Lincoln's Sparrow - Two together in the SE part of the East Meadow
- Red-winged Blackbird - Only a couple, but they produced perhaps their full repertoire of sounds
Sparrow numbers were low, with maybe just 1-2 FOX SPARROW, 1 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and 5-6 GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS.
Misses today included Green-winged Teal, Ring-billed Gull (though the flock of 125-150 gulls was never observed on the ground), Hairy Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Purple Finch.
For the day, 52 species.
= Michael Hobbs |
Report for January 8, 2026 Birding at Marymoor
It was a clear, crisp day at Marymoor Park today. 4 of us filled in for a traveling Michael. We enjoyed the clear weather, but the day was peppered with long stretches where the birds seemed to disappear.
Nevertheless, several good highlights for the relatively new year:
- Trumpeter Swans - 14 flew overhead
- Barn Owl - 2 before dawn in the East Meadow/Model Airplane Field
- Northern Shrike - 1 in the east meadow
- Varied Thrush - we speculated the snow in the mountains would bring us one today, and sure enough one obliged
- Western Meadowlark - our wintering flock of ~14 made another appearance
Notable misses today included: Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Anna’s Hummingbird, Rock Pigeon, Killdeer, Bushtit, Purple Finch and American Goldfinch.
For the day, we came up with 48 species, about 7 of which look like new Marymoor walk year birds, bringing the year total to about 59.
Matt Bartels |
Report for January 2, 2026 Birding at Marymoor
We started the new year with a remarkably nice day. There was early morning fog and chill, but the fog lifted. Temps in the 40's and no wind. Water levels are dropping and the birding is picking up; several species were singing today.
Highlights:
- Greater White-fronted Goose - Five just below the weir
- Three species of goose, after a few weeks of one species or no geese at all
- Anna's Hummingbird - Male back in his spot near the windmill
- Wilson's Snipe - Three giving good looks below the weir
- Horned Grebe - Two, closer than usual to the Viewing Platform
- Downy Woodpecker - Quite a few sightings, good looks
- Merlin - One flew west just north of the Viewing Mound
- White-throated Sparrow - Two? Four?
We had two WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS immediately south of the Dog Meadow. Then 2+ hours later, and 100 yards away across the river, I had two again behind the Rowing Club boathouse. Same birds found twice or four??? Hard to decide.
"Misses" (Species seen on 50% or more years during this week, but not today): Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Killdeer, Cooper's Hawk, Bushtit, and Pine Siskin.
We had 52 species to start our 2026 list.
= Michael Hobbs |
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Downy Woodpecker along the boardwalk. Photo by Michael Hobbs
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Two White-throated Sparrows at the Rowing Club Photo by Michael Hobbs
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Report for December 26, 2025 Birding at Marymoor
During predawn and for the first 1.5 hours of the survey, the weather was rather pleasant. We even had some sun. Quite birdy too. After that, we had little bits of precipitation with gray clouds, and increasing wind. Still not terrible, especially for December; with temps either side of 40 degrees this morning. Floodwaters are receding, but the south end of the Dog Area and the boardwalk are still closed.
Highlights:
- Seven species of ducks in the slough below the weir
- Anna's Hummingbird - gorgeous male south of the East Meadow; our first Anna's in five weeks (there is no longer a feeder at the park office)
- Barred Owl - Tony had one pre-dawn in the south end of the park
- Merlin - One along "snag row" just east of the Pea Patch
- Bewick's Wren - Many singing
- Coyote - One in the East Meadow
We had some definite CACKLING GEESE today, but again no positive ID of Canadas. Several distant flyby flocks of both geese and ducks.
Misses today included Canada Goose, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, American Coot, Ring-billed Gull (the morning gull flock stayed far away from us), Cooper's Hawk, Steller's Jay, Brown Creeper, and Pine Siskin.
For the day, 45 species.
= Michael Hobbs |
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Heron Fight
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Photos by Tony Ernst
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I believe an adult attacked a juvenile, based on neck color, etc.
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Both seem unscathed at the end
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Merlin high up atop a cottonwood near the Pea Patch.
Photo by Tony Ernst.
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Adult Red-tailed Hawk with a furry prey
Photo by Tony Ernst.
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