Blog
2010

Marymoor Park

Report for February 18, 2010

A bit of early fog, and a bit colder than recently at the start, but another gorgeous day all-in-all.. 

Highlights:

Cackling Goose             Still some with Canadas on grass parking lot
Western Screech-Owl    Heard by several people way early near windmill
Pileated Woodpecker     First of the year
Northern Shrike             North of fields 7-8-9
Winter Wren                  East end of boardwalk
Cedar Waxwing             Lillian spotted 9 for us, near Dog Central
Yellow-rumped Warbler Rowing Club; also near east entrance
Lincoln's Sparrow           Compost Piles.  First since Jan. 7

Notable were all of the species heard singing::

Black-capped Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Marsh Wren
Bewick's Wren
Winter Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch

For the day, 59 species.  For the year, Pileated was new.

= Michael

 


Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Pied-billed Grebe

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Female Bushtit.  Photo by Scott Ramos

Red-tailed Hawk, 2010-02-19.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Willow

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Marymoor Park

Report for February 11, 2010

Early rain and rain after, but except for the first half hour, we were blessed with another good day for birding at Marymoor.  For a few minutes around 11:00, it was actually sunny, though most of the morning was rather dark, though warm.  It certainly feels spring-like, though of course we still only have "winter" birds.

7:30 a.m. start time, Thursday morning, in the rain, during the February doldrums...  22 birders.

Highlights:

Cackling Goose               Good sized flock - usually scarce by February
Common Goldneye          Around 30 at lake (high count)
Green Heron                    Continues unseasonable reliability at RC
Cooper's Hawk               Adult, motionless with very full crop, at Compost Piles
PEREGRINE FALCON  In snags east of boardwalk
Rock Pigeon                     Pair copulating on NE corner light pole
BARN OWL                   Pair at windmill early, adult in nest box later
Anna's Hummingbird        At least 5 males seen.   Females on nest?
Hairy Woodpecker         Good looks south of East Meadow
Northern Shrike               Sub-adult west of grass soccer fields
Varied Thrush                  Heard near weir
Purple Finch                    ~15 along east edge of East Meadow
House Sparrow              Across the street from the Rowing Club

We also had a BEAVER just above the weir.

Matt & Scott had a pair of BARN OWLS at the windmill between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m.  They were clucking and clicking, there was quite a bit of pair-type interaction, and possible copulation.  Later, we found an adult inside the nest box, between the mansion and the stage.  The evidence of squirrel nest (twigs and leaves) had been cleared out of the box, presumably by the owl.

For the day, 58 species.  For the year, adding Peregrine, Varied Thrush, and House Sparrow. we're now at 75 species.
 
= Michael


Beaver just upstream from the weir.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Barn Owl in the nest box between the mansion and the stage.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Golden-crowned Kinglet.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Hairy Woodpecker, uncharacteristically on a twig, not a trunk.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Golden-crowned Sparrow with odd black-and-white mark on one side of the head only.
Photo by Ollie Oliver

Fungus near the windmill

Lillian Reis had better weather for photographing this Fox Sparrow, 2010-02-05

Lillian caught this Red-tailed Hawk imitating the cover of the big Sibley, 2010-02-12

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Marymoor Park

Report for February 4, 2010

What a nice morning to be out!  It was 37 degrees at 7:30, which seemed cold in comparison to how warm it's been.  It warmed up pretty nicely during the morning as the sun danced through the clouds.  The wind didn't pick up until we were through.  And IT'S SPRING, according to the wrens, chickadees, sparrows, Indian Plum, and some willows.  Singing  constantly filled the air.

Highlights:

Greater White-fronted Goose   At least 1 with flyover Canadas
Green Heron                            Same spot at Rowing Club pond
Barn Owl                                 Scott had one early along road
Belted Kingfisher                      Eating salamander at Rowing Club
Red-breasted Sapsucker          Next to park office in Sequoia
Hairy Woodpecker                   Working elm(?) west of mansion
Northern Shrike                        North of grass fields 7-8-9
Cedar Waxwing                        More than a dozen in East Meadow
Yellow-rumped Warbler           1 at Rowing Club

Singing birds included BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, BEWICK'S WREN, MARSH WREN, SONG SPARROW, and HOUSE FINCH.  It's amazing "how many more Bewick's Wrens there are" once they begin singing.  Almost certainly just a sampling artifact - they go from quiet skulkers to active yodelers.

We had a nice mixed flock of about a dozen PINE SISKINS mixed with a similar number of AMERICAN GOLDFINCH that gave us good looks.

Some GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS got thoroughly ticked off when I played my iPod at them for about 30 seconds.  They gave a great show of their crowns.

At least a couple of Indian Plums were blooming, as were some willows.  The non-native hazelnuts are already dropping catkins.  Alders are in bloom, if you can call it that.  Ain't it great?

For the day, 56 species.  Nothing new for the year, though.

== Michael


Ollie Oliver caught some of the majesty of the sunrise

Double-crested Cormorants fly to the lake

Gadwall pair on the slough

American Goldfinches

Pine Siskin (right) with American Goldfinches

Lillian Reis's photo of a Pine Siskin shows the yellow wing-stripe well

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Song Sparrow.  Photo by Scott Ramos

Cedar Waxwing photo by Ollie Oliver

Red-breasted Sapsucker.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Red-breasted Sapsucker.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Hairy Woodpecker photo by Ollie Oliver

Belted Kingfisher eating a salamander or newt, at the Rowing Club

Green-winged Teal posturing, at the Rowing Club

Moon portrait by Scott Ramos

"Sun feather" by Scott Ramos

Blooming Indian Plum (Oso Berry)

Strange but beautiful clouds

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Marymoor Park

Report for January 28, 2010

The weather was fine (high overcast, warm), but the birds were pretty scarce.  We did our normal walk-through at our normal pace, but after 9:00 we didn't see much.  There was almost nothing to photograph.

Scattered across the morning were  a few highlights:

Greater White-fronted Goose 1 with Canadas, new for 2010
Green Heron                          A fixture at the Rowing Club pond
Bald Eagle                              Pair entwined talons for a mid-air swirl
Sharp-shinned Hawk              One near weir, new for 2010
Western Gull                          One on grass soccer fields, new for 2010
Barn Owl                               Seen early
Western Screech-Owl            Heard southwest of windmill early

With so many birders (16), there were lots of eyes.  Four species were added to the list by Scott Ramos, who left early and had some luck that we didn't on his way out.

For the day, 57 species.  For the year, 71 species.

== Michael


Matt looks for owls in a cedar

Black-capped Chickadee.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Spotted Towhee.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Male Anna's Hummbingbird

Ollie Oliver's photo of the same Anna's Hummingbird

Greater White-fronted Goose with Canada Geese.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Ring-necked Duck at the Rowing Club.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Witch Hazel in bloom.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Tiny fungus on the end of a twig.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Face hidden in the roots of a tree along the shore of the slough.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Heron cloud.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Female Common Goldeneyes. Photo by Scott Ramos

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Marymoor Park

Report for January 21, 2010

Not a bad day to be out.  Too breezy at times, but warm, only partially overcast, and no precipitation.  The wind was sometimes a problem, sometimes not.  It didn't feel terribly birdy, and we missed a few "common" birds like Cooper's Hawk and White-crowned Sparrow.  But we ended up with a pretty good list, especially after a rather productive visit to the Rowing Club at the end.

Highlights:

Trumpeter Swan                        Three flew south towards the lake
Ducks, generally                        10 species, incl. Scaup sp. on the lake
Green Heron                              Same spot at Rowing Club pond
WESTERN SCREECH-OWL  Scott heard one early, west of the mansion
Short-eared Owl                        The early birders had one in the East Meadow
Downy Woodpeckers                Several really good looks at 2-3 birds
Northern Shrike                         East Meadow

Very few sparrows of very few species, though there was a large flock of  juncos near the mansion.  Few finches too, though we managed 4 species.

For the day, 55 species.  For the year, 68 species.
 


Male Downy Woodpecker.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Lillian Reis caught a shot of the three Trumpeter swans

Bushtit near Dog Central

Song Sparrows were singing.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Female Downy Woodpecker working a large Black Cottonwood

Adult Northern Shrike in the East Meadow.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Anna's Hummingbird at the Pea Patch.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Ring-necked Duck at the Rowing Club.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Bufflehead at the Rowing Club.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Green-winged Teal pair at the Rowing Club

Male Green-winged Teal.  Photo by Ollie Oliver
European Hazelnut, Corylus avellana, catkins and tiny flower.
The native hazelnut, Corylus cornuta, blooms later in the spring (March, typically).
Photo by Hugh Jennings

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Marymoor Park

Report for January 14, 2010

We were blessed by several hours without precipitation this morning.  We had a beautiful sunrise, it didn't start misting until 10:30, and the rain held off until noon.  Not too terribly birdy, but a decent day none-the-less.   Water levels are high, after all of this rain - about 5 feet at the weir gauge.  There were  some large puddles approaching the boardwalk, and the boardwalk itself was under as much as 4 inches of water in places.

Highlights:

8 species of duck
Double-crested Cormorant    Dozens overhead towards lake
Green Heron                         Once again, at the RC pond
Short-eared Owl                   Matt had 1 or 2 early
Hairy Woodpecker               At least two, seen pretty well
Northern Shrike                     Seen at 8:00 a.m., but not later
Cedar Waxwing                     2-3 at Dog Central
American Goldfinch                Good sized flock

Cedar Waxwings are rare in the depths of winter at Marymoor, so they were a nice find.

For the day, 53 species.  For the year, we're up to 63 species.

== Michael
 

 


Another great purple and orange sunrise

Hairy Woodpecker west of the mansion.  It looks to have worked these branch for a while.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Steller's Jay.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Adult White-crowned Sparrow at the Compost Piles.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Adult Cooper's Hawk next to the Community Gardens.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Common Goldeneye.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Originally identified (based on song) as a Winter Wren, upon close examination of the photo, it was determined to be an iPod.  Photo and joke by Ollie Oliver

Mew Gulls.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Cedar Waxwings.  Streaking on the sides and flanks, as well as the absence of red tips on the wings, indicates that the near bird is a subadult.  Photo by Lillian Reis.

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Marymoor Park

Report for January 7, 2010

Still being a bit jet-lagged, getting up early wasn't a problem for me this morning.  I got down to the East Meadow by 7:00 am for one of the best sunrises ever.  Before the sun came up, though, we had pretty good looks at both a BARN OWL and a SHORT-EARED OWL - a great start for 2010 at Marymoor.

Once the day really began, temps were moderate, the wind was light, the morning mostly overcast though clearing.  The birds were fairly hard to come by, though.  Things started to pick up at the lake, but things didn't really get birdy until we were going around the mansion area.  The Rowing Club was also great.

Just about every birder in the state showed up, it seemed.  I counted 22 people (not everyone was there the whole time), which was really too many...

Highlights:

Common Goldeneye          Great views in the slough, more on lake
Green Heron                      Continues on east edge of RC pond
MERLIN                           Landed on a favorite perch near stage
Virginia Rail                        Heard a couple from the boardwalk
Barn Owl                           One near windmill, one in East Meadow
Short-eared Owl                East Meadow after 7:00 a.m.
Red-breasted Sapsucker    One NE of mansion
Northern Shrike                 East Meadow
Yellow-rumped Warbler    2+, including bright Audubon's at RC
Townsend's Warbler          At least 1, NE of mansion

ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS were ubiquitous - I'd guess 8+.  Several times we saw two chasing each other.  A couple of them, at least, were doing their loop display flights complete with the popping noise.

For the day, we managed 59 species.

== Michael

 


Scott Ramos caught some of the glory of sunrise

Golden-crowned Sparrows

Scott Ramos saw two River Otters in the slough

Common Goldeneye on the lake (Pied-billed Grebe in the background).
Photo by Ollie Oliver

Adult White-crowned Sparrow at the Compost Piles.
Photo by Scott Ramos

Brown Creeper

The creeper appeared frozen in place, perhaps because it saw the Merlin

Merlin atop whip-snag near concert stage.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Song Sparrow.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Ryan Merrill's photo of the Brown Creeper

Two adult White-crowned Sparrows, apparently of the gambelli subspecies.
Photo by Ryan Merrill.

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Marymoor Park

Report for December 31, 2009

Michael is still in Prague so he missed out on the last Marymoor walk of the year. Today started out mostly cloudy and chilly, but with no wind. It gradually clouded over completely, but with structure to the clouds and the Cascades visible on the horizon. Eventually the cloud cover became a solid gray stratus and we waited for the rain. The rain, predicted to start at 10 AM held off and didn’t start until close to noon. The species diversity was good, although the absolute numbers of birds seemed to be down. There were a few birds singing including Bewick's and Marsh Wrens and Red-winged Blackbirds, and several other species were giving abbreviated versions of songs.

 

We didn't see anything spectacular but did have nice sightings of:

Barn Owls

Trumpeter Swans

Common Merganser

Green Heron

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Northern Harrier

hear 3 Virginia Rails

and get nice looks at the Northern Shrike.

 

55 species

 

All in all, it was a good day for the last day of December.

 

Brian H. Bell

 

Male Common Merganser.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Common Goldeneye pair near the weir.  Photo by Hugh Jennings

Ollie's shot of the same

Bufflehead at the lake, with at least two Common Goldeneye.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Four female Common Goldeneye, with Bufflehead.  Photo by Lillian Reis

Adult Cooper's Hawk.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Chestnut-backed Chickadee.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Definitely not at Marymoor...

As Brian mentioned, we've been in Prague, Czech Republic.  The winter birding here is very slow - I've seen fewer species in two weeks than the Marymoor crew had in 5 hours on Thursday.  But there are some rather nice birds amongst them,
including this Blue Tit,
Parus caeruleus.  I haven't managed any other photos, really, as I only have my wife's snapshot camera, but I have seen Green Woodpecker, Hawfinch, Gray Wagtail, Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, and more.

Happy New Year to all.

= Michael

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