Marymoor Birdlog

Birds Blog

Marymoor Park

Report for January 26, 2012                                                                                                                             Birding at Marymoor

The torrential rains let up by 6:00 a.m., and it was barely raining at all when we started at 8:00. The first hour was very birdy, as all the birds seemed ecstatic to have a morning free of rain and snow. But before long, the rain started again, not letting up until about 11:00. By the time we got to the Rowing Club, however, it was sunny and gorgeous.

Highlights:

Wood Duck               At least 2 males and a female
American Wigeon       3 on grass/gravel parking lot, maybe more flybys
Northern Pintail          Flock of ~dozen flew north over us
Horned Grebe            One well out on lake
Western Gull              One in the sunrise gull flock
California Gull             Matt had one even earlier
Barn Owl                    Matt had many good looks after 6 a.m.
Northern Shrike          Closer to the model airplane fields today
Western Meadowlark One at Compost Piles

Ducks are pairing up. Bewick's Wrens, Brown Creeper, Song Sparrow were singing. Hazelnuts are blooming.

There was a MUSKRAT at the Rowing Club pond.

For the day, 53 species.

For the year, adding WESTERN GULL, CALIFORNIA GULL, and WESTERN MEADOWLARK, we're up to 72 species.

== Michael Hobbs
== birdmarymoor@frontier.com

Western Meadowlark. Photo by Lillian Reis

Western Meadowlark. Photo by Lillian Reis

Muskrat at the Rowing Club. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Muskrat at the Rowing Club. Photo by Hugh Jennings

Female Gadwall, 2012-01-25. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Gadwall, 2012-01-25. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male (left) and female Hooded Merganser, 2012-01-25. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Rock Pigeon, 2012-01-23. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Pied-billed Grebe, 2012-01-23. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Downy Woodpecker, 2012-01-21. Photo by Lillian Reis

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Marymoor Park

Report for January 19, 2012                                                                                                                             Birding at Marymoor

I walked down to Marymoor this morning, where Brian Bell was
waiting having successfully driven over from Woodinville. Several hours
later, we were joined by Ollie Oliver, who also walked down. But it was
just us three and the snow and the birds. Precipitation all day long,
switching between rain, freezing rain, snizzle, drizzle, and turning to snow
before noon. We trudged through crusty snow, but with temps near the freeze
and no wind, our waterproof clothing made the day quite bearable. With the
thick snow clouds overhead, things never got terribly bright, and passerines
were mostly hard to come by. But it was a great day for seeing ducks and
such.
Highlights:

SNOW GOOSE         Brian had one just before I arrived
There were also a couple of SNGO reports from 1/14
Wood Duck                 Male briefly seen along the slough
American Wigeon        Several pairs along the slough
Northern Shoveler       One flew south
Northern Pintail            6 flew north over the Pea Patch
Common Merganser    Several males on the lake
Horned Grebe             One barely visible far out on the lake
Cooper's Hawk           Adult male in Big Cottonwood Forest
Killdeer                       Uncharacteristically, at the weir
Wilson's Snipe             Uncharacteristically easy to see at the weir
Anna's Hummingbird    At least 1 male at feeders at park office
Hairy Woodpecker      Just south of dog area
Northern Shrike          As usual, north of fields 7-8-9
Spotted Towhee          Notably numerous
Fox Sparrow               Notably numerous

Big misses for the day: Bald Eagle, Rock Pigeon, wrens other than Bewick's, White-crowned Sparrow.

For the day, we managed 52 species. Grace & Ollie Oliver had several species on Sunday that weren't around today, so the week's total is at least 57. For the year, adding several duck species, the Marymoor 2012 list is at 69 species.

== Michael Hobbs
== birdmarymoor@frontier.com

Snow at Dog Central

Fungi from the boardwalk

American Wigen pair in slough near the windmill
American Wigeon drake - snowing hard

American Coot, 2012-01-15. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Common Goldeneye, 2012-01-15. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Snow Goose, 2012-01-14. Photo by Lillian Reis
Snow Goose, 2012-01-14. Photo by Lillian Reis

Northern Shrike, 2012-01-13. Photo by Lillian Reis
Northern Shrike, 2012-01-13. Photo by Lillian Reis

Great Blue Heron, 2012-01-13. Photo by Lillian Reis
At the lake platform, 2011-12-22. Photo by Bob Asanoma

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Marymoor Park

Report for January 12, 2012                                                                                                                             Birding at Marymoor

I never did send out a message to Tweeters, since I left somewhat early to head to the airport, while Brian, Matt, and the rest continued around the mansion and to the Rowing Club. Gorgeous sunrise. It was cold, but not windy or raining. The birds were hard to come by, especially the small passerines, but ducks were plentiful in the slough until the jetski sped down towards the weir...

Highlights:

Greater White-fronted Goose      At least 1 with Cacklers/Canadas
Nine species of duck
Sharp-shinned Hawk                   Small (male?) landed in cottonwood along slough
Barn Owl                                    Matt had one very early around the tents
Lincoln's Sparrow                       1 at the Rowing Club - seldom seen there

For the day, 56 species.

= Michael
= BirdMarymoor@frontier.com

Fox Sparrow. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Male Downy Woodpecker working a blackberry cane. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Ring-necked Ducks at the Rowing Club. Photos by Ollie Oliver

Male Green-winged Teal doing the "walk on [frozen] water" trick. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Bewick's Wren, 2011-01-06. Photo by Lillian Reis

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Marymoor Park

Report for January 5, 2012                                                                                                                             Birding at Marymoor

It was cold and blowy, though it didn't rain, thankfully. It was also pretty quiet, with the birds mostly staying hunkered down. We didn't even see a Bewick's Wren until we got to the Rowing Club, for example. But it was nice to be back birding at the park again in a new year.

Highlights:

Gadwall                         5 at weir
Common Goldeneye      Several in slough
Hooded Merganser       10 total
Cooper's Hawk             1
Virginia Rail                   1-2 responded to clapping, at the bend in the boardwalk
Anna's Hummingbird      Male displaying near mansion
Hairy Woodpecker        1 near start of boardwalk
Northern Shrike             1 west of fields 7-8-9

For the day, 50 species. Mark & Lee Crawford had 2 TRUMPETER SWANS on January 1, along with 5 other species we didn�t' get today, to bring the week and year lists to 56 species.

== Michael Hobbs
== birdmarymoor@frontier.com

Male Gadwall behind female Mallard near the weir. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Mew Gulls swirling overhead at sunrise. Photos by Ollie Oliver
Mew Gulls on the grass soccer fields. Photos by Ollie Oliver

Male Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Northern Harrier, 2011-12-31. Photo by Lillian Reis

Adult Greater White-fronted Goose, 2011-12-31. Photo by Lillian Reis
Cackling Geese, 2011-12-31. Photo by Lillian Reis

                                               Banding Data

Band Number 1927-52563 @04                             Banded 07/26/201
Species CACKLING GOOSE                                    Sex MALE
Age of Bird HATCHED IN 2010 OR EARLIER

Location NEAR CHEVAK, WADE HAMPTON CENSUS AREA, ALASKA, USA
                   (COORDINATES: LAT: 61.41278; LON: -165.47778 )

Bander MS MELISSA L GABRIELSON
               YUKON DELTA NWR
                P O BOX 346
                BETHEL AK 99559

Encounter Data
Location REDMOND, KING COUNTY,                Encountered 12/08/2011
                   WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
                   Desc: MARYMOOR PARK

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Marymoor Park

Report for December 29, 2011                                                                                                                           Birding at Marymoor

(Michael was in Florida)
Marymoor started out cold (26F) and foggy, but quickly burned off and the rest of the day was quite nice and sunny. The best bird of the day was a Western Scrub-jay - the second record for the park (Michael didn't see the first one either). This could have been better as only two of our group saw the bird.

Birds of the day:

Western Scrub-jay
Greater White-fronted Goose    (1) with 600 Cackling Geese
4 Brown Creepers
7 Purple Finch                              (including 4 bright males)
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Shrike                             (in East Meadow for a change)
4 or 5 Red-tailed Hawks

We wound up with 55 species, nice for a cold December day.

Brian H. Bell

Woodinville WA

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

Male Hooded Merganser doing a stretch-and-flap display. Photos by Ollie Oliver

Gadwall and Common Mergansers. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Steller's Jay, 2011-12-24. Photo by Ollie Oliver

Adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2011-12-24. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Ring-necked Duck and female Hooded Merganser, 2011-12-24. Photo by Ollie Oliver

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Back

The torrential rains let up by 6:00 a.m., and it was barely raining at all when we started at 8:00. The first hour was very birdy, as all the birds seemed ecstatic to have a morning free of rain and snow. But before long, the rain started again, not letting up until about 11:00. By the time we got to the Rowing Club, however, it was sunny and gorgeous. Highlights: Wood Duck At least 2 males and a female American Wigeon 3 on grass/gravel parking lot, maybe more flybys Northern Pintail Flock of ~dozen flew north over us Horned Grebe One well out on lake Western Gull One in the sunrise gull flock California Gull Matt had one even earlier Barn Owl Matt had many good looks after 6 a.m. Northern Shrike Closer to the model airplane fields today Western Meadowlark One at Compost Piles Ducks are pairing up. Bewick's Wrens, Brown Creeper, Song Sparrow were singing. Hazelnuts are blooming. There was a MUSKRAT at the Rowing Club pond. For the day, 53 species. For the year, adding WESTERN GULL, CALIFORNIA GULL, and WESTERN MEADOWLARK, we're up to 72 species. == Michael Hobbs == birdmarymoor@frontier.com	Western Meadowlark. Photo by Lillian Reis Western Meadowlark. Photo by Lillian Reis
Muskrat at the Rowing Club. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Muskrat at the Rowing Club. Photo by Hugh Jennings
Female Gadwall, 2012-01-25. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Male Gadwall, 2012-01-25. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male (left) and female Hooded Merganser, 2012-01-25. Photo by Hugh Jennings	Rock Pigeon, 2012-01-23. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Pied-billed Grebe, 2012-01-23. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Male Downy Woodpecker, 2012-01-21. Photo by Lillian Reis

I walked down to Marymoor this morning, where Brian Bell was waiting having successfully driven over from Woodinville. Several hours later, we were joined by Ollie Oliver, who also walked down. But it was just us three and the snow and the birds. Precipitation all day long, switching between rain, freezing rain, snizzle, drizzle, and turning to snow before noon. We trudged through crusty snow, but with temps near the freeze and no wind, our waterproof clothing made the day quite bearable. With the thick snow clouds overhead, things never got terribly bright, and passerines were mostly hard to come by. But it was a great day for seeing ducks and such. Highlights: SNOW GOOSE Brian had one just before I arrived There were also a couple of SNGO reports from 1/14 Wood Duck Male briefly seen along the slough American Wigeon Several pairs along the slough Northern Shoveler One flew south Northern Pintail 6 flew north over the Pea Patch Common Merganser Several males on the lake Horned Grebe One barely visible far out on the lake Cooper's Hawk Adult male in Big Cottonwood Forest Killdeer Uncharacteristically, at the weir Wilson's Snipe Uncharacteristically easy to see at the weir Anna's Hummingbird At least 1 male at feeders at park office Hairy Woodpecker Just south of dog area Northern Shrike As usual, north of fields 7-8-9 Spotted Towhee Notably numerous Fox Sparrow Notably numerous Big misses for the day: Bald Eagle, Rock Pigeon, wrens other than Bewick's, White-crowned Sparrow. For the day, we managed 52 species. Grace & Ollie Oliver had several species on Sunday that weren't around today, so the week's total is at least 57. For the year, adding several duck species, the Marymoor 2012 list is at 69 species. == Michael Hobbs == birdmarymoor@frontier.com	Snow at Dog Central Fungi from the boardwalk
American Wigen pair in slough near the windmill	American Wigeon drake - snowing hard
American Coot, 2012-01-15. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Male Common Goldeneye, 2012-01-15. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Snow Goose, 2012-01-14. Photo by Lillian Reis	Snow Goose, 2012-01-14. Photo by Lillian Reis
Northern Shrike, 2012-01-13. Photo by Lillian Reis	Northern Shrike, 2012-01-13. Photo by Lillian Reis
Great Blue Heron, 2012-01-13. Photo by Lillian Reis	At the lake platform, 2011-12-22. Photo by Bob Asanoma

It was cold and blowy, though it didn't rain, thankfully. It was also pretty quiet, with the birds mostly staying hunkered down. We didn't even see a Bewick's Wren until we got to the Rowing Club, for example. But it was nice to be back birding at the park again in a new year. Highlights: Gadwall 5 at weir Common Goldeneye Several in slough Hooded Merganser 10 total Cooper's Hawk 1 Virginia Rail 1-2 responded to clapping, at the bend in the boardwalk Anna's Hummingbird Male displaying near mansion Hairy Woodpecker 1 near start of boardwalk Northern Shrike 1 west of fields 7-8-9 For the day, 50 species. Mark & Lee Crawford had 2 TRUMPETER SWANS on January 1, along with 5 other species we didn�t' get today, to bring the week and year lists to 56 species. == Michael Hobbs == birdmarymoor@frontier.com	Male Gadwall behind female Mallard near the weir. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Mew Gulls swirling overhead at sunrise. Photos by Ollie Oliver	Mew Gulls on the grass soccer fields. Photos by Ollie Oliver
Male Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Northern Harrier, 2011-12-31. Photo by Lillian Reis
Adult Greater White-fronted Goose, 2011-12-31. Photo by Lillian Reis	Cackling Geese, 2011-12-31. Photo by Lillian Reis
Banding Data Band Number 1927-52563 @04 Banded 07/26/201 Species CACKLING GOOSE Sex MALE Age of Bird HATCHED IN 2010 OR EARLIER Location NEAR CHEVAK, WADE HAMPTON CENSUS AREA, ALASKA, USA (COORDINATES: LAT: 61.41278; LON: -165.47778 ) Bander MS MELISSA L GABRIELSON YUKON DELTA NWR P O BOX 346 BETHEL AK 99559 Encounter Data Location REDMOND, KING COUNTY, Encountered 12/08/2011 WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES Desc: MARYMOOR PARK

(Michael was in Florida) Marymoor started out cold (26F) and foggy, but quickly burned off and the rest of the day was quite nice and sunny. The best bird of the day was a Western Scrub-jay - the second record for the park (Michael didn't see the first one either). This could have been better as only two of our group saw the bird. Birds of the day: Western Scrub-jay Greater White-fronted Goose (1) with 600 Cackling Geese 4 Brown Creepers 7 Purple Finch (including 4 bright males) Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike (in East Meadow for a change) 4 or 5 Red-tailed Hawks We wound up with 55 species, nice for a cold December day. Brian H. Bell Woodinville WA	Greater White-fronted Goose with Cackling Geese. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Hooded Merganser doing a stretch-and-flap display. Photos by Ollie Oliver
Gadwall and Common Mergansers. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Steller's Jay, 2011-12-24. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2011-12-24. Photo by Ollie Oliver	Ring-necked Duck and female Hooded Merganser, 2011-12-24. Photo by Ollie Oliver