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 Meadow, and a female a bit further north, as well as great looks at BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. 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

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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 Barn Owl                         Adult visible in the nest box Pacific-slope Flycatcher   1 faintly singing in Big Cottonwood Forest Purple Martin                   6 at lake Red-eyed Vireo               2-3 singing today! (invisibly) Lazuli Bunting                   Pair between Compost Piles & model airplane field Bullock's Oriole                Male just east of weir Long-tailed Weasel          Crossed trail near 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.
Female Wood Duck with Ducklings.  Photo by Brian Dobbins, June 26

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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 Cooper's Hawk                   Adult (& immature?) near mansion Caspian Tern                       One flying down river Pacific-slope Flycatcher       1 singing at start of boardwalk Purple Martin                      Male in gourd with 2 females Orange-crowned Warbler   2(?) singing at "Mysterious Thicket" Lazuli Bunting                      Several males singing still Evening Grosbeak               Male calling at east end of boardwalk 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. The BARN OWL nestbox had an adult visible, but in the morning, a white-fluffed baby, looking like a demented sock puppet, was also seen in the box.  It's still unknown how many babies there are this year, but the box looks crowded 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
	White Campion flowers, photo by Hugh Jennings

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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 Hooded Merganser         2+ unsupervised ducklings Green Heron                   At least 4 chicks being fed at the nest Bald Eagle                       3 newly fledged birds east of the boardwalk Western Screech-Owl     Scott had one early near the windmill Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 flew past Compost Piles, 1 at Rowing Club Belted Kingfisher             Several sightings - we haven't had many in 2009 Black Swift                     One appeared briefly over the slough American Crow               Two dead babies under the nest tree :( Bushtit                             Parent(s) feeding young near RC nest Lazuli Bunting                  2-4 males, 1 female, lots of bad looks Bullock's Oriole               Male in Big Cottonwood Forest 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
	Lillian Reis found baby Killdeer in the stormwater pond near the velodrome parking lot on June 14

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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 Rufous Hummingbird          Nobody visible at the nest, but female nearby Hutton's Vireo?                  Calling bird near Dog Central may have been this species Cedar Waxwing                 Ubiquitous. Lazuli Bunting                    3(?) near southeast entrance to Dog Area Bullock's Oriole                 Pair chasing each other around, maybe more 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

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