It was cold, with heavy overcast, breezy, and at times misty at Marymoor this morning.  Add in the late-summer blahs, and it wasn't our most exciting day at the park.

• Matt heard the WESTERN SCREECH-OWL near the windmill at about 4:10 a.m.  I didn't hear my alarm clock until 4:45 a.m., so I can't confirm.
   

• Lots of WOOD DUCK babies, in a variety of sizes.
   

• We had 1 or 2 juvenile RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS.  One was getting red on the face, but the rest of the head was still dark gray.
   

• The Least Flycatcher was not heard this morning.  Maybe he only sings on sunny days.
   

• Still lots of WILLOW FLYCATCHER and SWAINSON'S THRUSH singing.  BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK numbers are way down, though.  We had a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER near the barns.
   

• There were many juvenile (and a few adult) WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS in the Pea Patch, along with many ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS and HOUSE FINCHES.
   

• At the end of the morning, we had a tight, swirling flock of small gulls that looked to me to be MEW GULL, but that could not be confirmed, as they rose up and disappeared into the clouds.

For the day, 56 species were noted.  It was a group effort (translation: several species were seen only by 1-2 people).

== Michael

"Feed me Seymore".  Juvenile Cedar Waxwing, begging.  Photo by Lillian Reis

"Faster".  Photo by Lillian Reis

Michael is out of town this week, so Brian Bell & I took the reins for this week's Marymoor Park walk. It was a beautiful morning at Marymoor -- little fog early, mosquitoes not too bad, and the heat never kicked in despite the sun. Mt. Rainier was prominent in the distance.

As for birds, it was definitely summer doldrums time --  with lots of baby birds around,  a good bit of singing persisting, but not as wide a variety of species making an appearance.

Top highlight , as with last week: the LEAST FLYCATCHER was still present in exactly the same cottonwood grove at Dog Central [where the bulletin boards are]  that it has been che-bekking in since June 17.

Other notables:

Pied-billed Grebe  - our first grebe since before nesting season.
Barn Owl - at the windmill @ 4:00am [no luck on the Screech-Owl this morning]
Green Heron - 3 sightings, probably of 3 individuals, at least one was a juvie
Red-breasted Sapsucker - 2 sightings including a juvie looking very grey/brown
Bullock's Oriole - one juvie early, one adult male later
Purple Martins - still in both of the gourds at the lake platform.
Osprey - Young still on the nest over 520

We had baby Brown-headed Cowbirds all over the place -- hard time figuring out who was feeding them most of the time as they were getting a little grown up looking.

A tantalizing 'maybe' was a look Richard Carlson had of a possible Bank Swallow over the sparrow piles. It would be/is the only the second Marymoor record for this species.

Finally, this is how the east meadow woke up between about 4:30 and 5:10, as Scott Ramos & I waited for owl possibilities:

Willow Flycatchers' "fitz-bews" & Swainson's Thrush "whits" begin the
morning along with a few Killdeer calls.  Swainson's switch to their songs slowly, as the American Robins join in.  A scattered Song Sparrow song, and the beginnings of the Common  Yellowthroat 'per-whichities'  Add in a couple Spotted Towhee calls & trills, as a Bald Eagle gives a weak wake up call. Crows & Savannah Sparrows wake up and start filling in the gaps. Purple Martins up in the sky somewhere.... Marsh Wren begins late, as [this week] does Ring-necked Pheasant

For the day, 59 species, with notable misses including Tree Swallow &
Rock Pigeon.

- Matt Bartels
 

Least Flycatcher.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Bullock's Oriole.  Photo by Ollie Oliver

Finally, a gorgeous, summer day.  It actually felt like July, with not a cloud in the sky, and temps in the 70's.  There was a touch of morning fog,, especially over the East Meadow before we started, but nothing that interfered with our regular walk.   Oh - and the water levels have dropped to several inches below the 4 foot level, so there was no need for rubber boots!  It was a fairly birdy, too.

Top highlight - the LEAST FLYCATCHER was singing away at Dog Central, in the exact same spot it was both 2 and 3 Thursdays ago.  Who knows why nobody was able to find it for so long in between.

Other highlights:

Green Heron                     3 seen, all juveniles
Osprey                             Young on the nest
COOPER'S HAWK         In snag row, being MOBBED by crows
Caspian Tern                     5-6, all flying north
W. Screech-Owl               Scott heard it early
Red-breasted Sapsucker   2 near mansion
Hairy Woodpecker            2 east of boardwalk
Yellow-rumped Warbler    1+ singing near mansion
Wilson's Warbler               Male singing along boardwalk
Bullock's Oriole                 Male feeding 1 or more young

Juveniles were the order of the day - we had young from about 20 species this morning.  It IS that time of year.

For the day, 58 species.

== Michael

Some of the mob of crows that harassed the Cooper's Hawk.  Photo by Lillian Reis
Male Yellow Warbler near Dog Central

It was a rather gloomy and damp morning that made me wish I'd worn my gore-tex jacket instead of just a sweatshirt.  We had gentle mist most of the morning, which was far less annoying than the mosquitoes.  And while a few birds (i.e. robins) were very visible and obvious, things were otherwise pretty quiet.

Highlights:

Wood Duck                     Lots of females with broods
Barn Owl                         Seen over the East Meadow early
Western Screech-Owl      Calling near the windmill as late as 5am
Rufous Hummingbird         Many - often 2 chasing each other
Purple Martin                    Nesting in both gourds at the lake
Bullock's Oriole                Maybe female with young

The "best birds" were two LONG-TAILED WEASELS at the Rowing Club.

There were many juvenile birds - chickadees, bushtits, etc.  Probably one of  the Black-headed Grosbeaks was a young one.  Definitely some of the Savannah
Sparrows were juvies, as were a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds.

The Least Flycatcher was not heard, despite our lingering there for quite a while.

For the day, 56 species.  Pretty quiet...

== Michael

Eye in the Sky

Black-headed Grosbeak, probable juvenile

Finally a summery day!  Still a cool 50 degrees to start, but by 10:30, it approached 70.  And there was sun.  Fairly birdy too.

The most notable highlight was the LEAST FLYCATCHER, still singing incessantly from the grove on the north side of Dog Central, the main dog swim beach with the bulletin board and benches.  This bird has remained  in this tiny grove of willows and cottonwoods for 8 days at least, and he might be settled down for longer.

Other highlights:

Green Heron            Two flew down the slough early
Caspian Tern            One over the lake
Purple Martin           One female heading towards the lake
Wilson's Warbler     One across the slough from the windmill
Bullock's Oriole        Several sightings

There are lots of baby birds about, which provided us with strange noises to track down.  We had a both MALLARD and WOOD DUCK ducklings, a young WILLOW FLYCATCHER huddled on a branch, juvenile TREE SWALLOWS on dead twigs hanging over the slough, and near the start of the boardwalk there was an adult and a juvenile RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, among many others.

An Eastern Kingbird was seen as recently as Tuesday.  The Ash-throated
Flycatcher has not been seen since Saturday, to the best of my knowledge.

For the day, 61 species.

== Michael

Juvenile Tree Swallows

Band-tailed Pigeon.  Photo by Ollie Oliver