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.