Report for July 2, 2009
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It went from chilly (46 degrees) to hot (okay - only in the 70's). Not a cloud in the sky, and no breeze. A really nice summer day. 10 of us strolled around slowly, trying to locate the birds - a difficult task, as most weren't just out there on display like they are earlier in the breeding season. It seemed pretty quiet overall, though we managed to have some good sightings. Highlights: The RING-NECKED PHEASANT was heard near the Community Gardens, maybe hidden in Snag Row. The OSPREY have at least one young on the nest. One CASPIAN TERN was seen flying very high down the river. The concert venue closures meant we couldn't get a good look into the BARN OWL nest box, but we were barely able to see there was at least 1 owl inside the box. A HAIRY WOODPECKER female was excavating a nest hole in a snag near the start of the boardwalk. We also saw adult and juvenile DOWNY WOODPECKERS. Lots of WILLOW FLYCATCHERS and WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, with one of the latter possibly building a nest Many baby birds were about; we got to watch a BUSHTIT bang a caterpillar against a branch to kill it, and then feed it to a baby. We had a great deal of fun seeing a male YELLOW WARBLER feeding both a baby Yellow and a baby BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, and then later a female feeding two young. My guess is this was two separate families. The second group was also along the west edge of the Dog Meadow, and we spent about a half hour watching them. We had a juvenile YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER along the west edge of the Dog Meadow - all streaky with no yellow at all. The male LAZULI BUNTING was again singing near the Compost Piles. We had great looks at a male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE at
the south end of the Dog For the day, 56 species. == Michael |
![]() Juvenile American Robin eating a cherry ![]() Hot air balloon off to the north |
![]() Juvenile Yellow Warbler |
![]() Juvenile Yellow Warbler in a dogwood |
![]() ...and in a willow. Note the gray down showing through the feathers |
![]() And, yes, they could fly |
![]() Looking up at a female Bullock's Oriole |
![]() Male Bullock's Oriole. Are they breeding at Marymoor? |
![]() Cedar Waxwing acrobatically eating Red Elderberries |
![]() Black-capped Chickadee |
![]() Female Hairy Woodpecker... |
![]() ...excavating a nest hole near the start of the boardwalk |
Report for June 25, 2009
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It did not feel like summer today. In absolute terms, the temps were okay (55-64 degrees), but with cloudy skies and a stiff wind, it was chilly. The wind made things difficult as usual. I hate wind. About a dozen of us started out at 5:30 for a pretty decent day. Highlights: AMERICAN BITTERN One seen briefly near the weir The AMERICAN BITTERN was our first for 2009. We get bitterns usually about 3-4 times per year, and we've had them every month except December. They seem to occur slightly more often in May and June than in other months, but with little other discernable pattern. We have not previously had PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER often during the peak breeding season; usually only as migrants. One, at least, was singing last Thursday, and was heard again Saturday, and then today. So maybe he's on territory. Last Saturday, my son Tim and I put up two more gourds for PURPLE MARTINS on a piling visible from the lake platform. Today, a female (and later a male) was in the leftmost of the near (old) gourds, and three martins were perched on the crossbar of the new gourd pair. All together, I think we saw 6 martins from the lake platform. On Saturday, Tim and I also canoed over to the northeast corner of the lake, where I was surprised to see that someone had put up some new boxes, and possibly cleaned and refurbished some of the old boxes. In a very quick scan, we found martins in at least 6 of those boxes. So a banner year for nesting Purple Martins at Marymoor! LOT OF BABY BIRDS were about today, including Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser, Osprey (baby(s?) on nest), Bald Eagle, Rufous Hummingbird, Downy Woodpecker, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Bushtit, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, and Brown-headed Cowbird. (Maybe some of the House Finch too?) The weasel was very cute! For the day, 54 species. For the year, 141? == Michael |
![]() Juvenile Tree Swallow ![]() Female Purple Martin |
![]() New gourds with 3 Purple Martins visiting |
![]() Singing Swainson's Thrush at the Rowing Club |
![]() Female (left) and male Purple Martins. Photos by Brian Dobbins, June 26. |
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![]() Female Wood Duck with Ducklings. Photo by Brian Dobbins, June 26 |
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Report for June 18, 2009
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A surprisingly interesting day at Marymoor this morning. About 15 of us wandered around on a morning with heavy, dead air, under mostly overcast skies. Thankfully, there wasn't a lot of heat to go with the humidity, and by about 8:00 a touch of breeze came up. That kept the mosquito problem down to uncomfortable. We kind of expect June to be a fairly static month, yet we had 10 species this week that we didn't have last week. Highlights: Sharp-shinned Hawk Grace & Ollie
reported 1 in the Pea Patch An OSPREY was seen atop the Odd Snag which has hosted nesting RED-AILED HAWKS for years. The hawk nest failed this year (report of a Bald Eagle raid). Sharon saw a Red-tail atop the snag moments after the Osprey had been seen, so the hawks may be maintaining ownership of the nest. The GREEN HERON nest at the Rowing Club was empty, but one mostly-feathered young bird was a few feet away. Presumably the others had managed to fly to other parts of the pond edges. Many adults were sighted today. This week (#25) is the week with the most CASPIAN TERN
sightings at Marymoor. Terns have been seen on 13 weeks, spanning
May-July plus 1 April and 1 August sighting. We've seen terns on 35
total days, and 7 of those have been on week #25. So this week appears
to be the peak of their summer wandering. Once again, Scott heard a WESTERN SCREECH-OWL southwest of the windmill area somewhere in the early morning. The EVENING GROSBEAK is our first sighting of that species in "summer" (June/July). For the day, 61 species. == Michael |
![]() A baby Barn Owl on the left, with a hint of the face of the adult, right ![]() Rufous Hummingbird |
![]() Anna's Hummingbird, photo by Ollie Oliver |
![]() Anna's Hummingbird, photo by Yoshi Nishimura |
![]() Female Purple Martins |
![]() Male Purple Martin in near, left gourd |
![]() Male Purple Martin, photo by Yoshi Nishimura |
![]() The amazing sky over the lake platform |
![]() Nothern Flicker |
![]() Male American Goldfinch, photo by Yoshi Nishimura |
![]() Violet-green Swallow, photo by Yoshi Nishimura |
![]() Osprey atop Red-tailed Hawk nest on odd-snag west of the park |
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White Campion flowers, photo by Hugh Jennings |
Report for June 11, 2009
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Tweets - Another summer day at Marymoor, though thankfully it was a bit overcast at the start, and the heat didn't get troublesome until we were nearly done. The birds were mostly too busy, I think, to be posing for us, so there was a bit of frustration with the quick views we had of birds. We had quite a few heard-only, several flybys, and a number of glimpses. We were also, I'm afraid, rushing the walk just a bit, as several of us were eager to get to Snoqualmie to find the Indigo Bunting and Least Flycatcher. We shouldn't have worried, since those birds proved relatively easy to find. :) Marymoor Highlights: Wood Duck 4 or 5
females with young, several sizes CEDAR WAXWINGS were everywhere. The LAZULI BUNTINGS were singing, but mostly posing only when entirely back-lit. This was actually pretty typical for the day - birds popping up backlit or at distance or both. We had YELLOW WARBLER on a birch far across the river, for example. And a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER hid amongst the CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES above the Barn Owl nest box, and only 2 people managed to glimpse the bird before it flew away. We did manage 56 species for the day, though. == Michael |
![]() One of two dead baby crows under the nest tree near the mansion ![]() Mother Wood Duck with at least 8 babies |
![]() Band-tailed Pigeon |
![]() Savannah Sparrow singing in the East Meadow |
![]() American Crow with a facial tumor and an extended, hooked bill |
![]() Male Brown-headed Cowbird singing in the Community Gardens |
![]() Northern Flicker |
![]() Adult and one of the four baby Green Herons at the Rowing Club nest |
![]() Dick Martin caught a Swainson's Thrush in good light, June 12 |
![]() Brian Dobbin's wonderful photo of a male American Goldfinch, June 13 |
![]() Brian Dobbin's photo of the Green Heron chicks at the Rowing Club |
![]() Another photo from Brian, both taken June 13 |
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Lillian Reis found baby Killdeer in the stormwater pond near the velodrome parking lot on June 14 |
Report for June 4, 2009
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A gorgeous summer day, EXCEPT FOR THE MOSQUITOES! The summer birds were singing, but mostly invisible. Lots of babies about, though. Highlights: Ring-necked Pheasant
Male sounding off frequently For juveniles, we had lots of baby AMERICAN ROBIN, a female RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD feeding a young bird below the weir, a probable juvenile RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD near the start of the boardwalk, at least one baby GREEN HERON visible under the adult on the nest at the Rowing Club, and a baby HAIRY WOODPECKER was peeking out of the nest hole across from the Rowing Club dock. Near the Rowing Club dock, we had a mixed flock of baby WOOD DUCKS (8+) which included 3 baby HOODED MERGANSER. There was no adult of either species around, as far as we could tell. The ducklings all appeared to be same age, and quite young. The BARN OWL in the nest box is rising higher and higher in the box, and is looking cramped. We couldn't see any young ones yet, though. We also had a RACCOON and 2 LONG-TAILED WEASEL. Huge CARP were stirring up the lily pads a the lake For the day, 56 species. == Michael |
![]() The Barn Owl is sitting higher and higher ![]() The Raccoon disappears on the far side of the slough |
![]() When the two weasels spotted us, one went left and one went right... |
![]() ...then the one on the left popped up and made a dash across the trail to join the other |
![]() Male Rufous Hummingbird in the Dog Meadow |
![]() Some of the 8+ Wood Duck babies with 2 (of 3) Hooded Merganser ducklings |
![]() Probable juvenile Northern Flicker along the east edge of the East Meadow |
![]() There were two of them together, and they were playing/fighting/being siblings |
![]() Dave Templeton's male House Finch |
![]() In the photo the juvenile(s?) under the adult are not visible |