[Tweeters] Marymoor Park 2023-02-16

[birdmarymoor]

Another day of overly-good weather.  It was quickly above freezing after sunrise, and there was just a high, thin, wispy overcast keeping us from having shadows.  No wind, no precip.  Fairly birdy at times.  Lake and river levels remain unseasonably low; we expected to see more snipe in the exposed flats below the weir, but we had only about three.

Highlights:
    Wood Duck - Two males from the Lake Platform - first in a month
    Northern Pintail - One bright male with Mallards below the weir
    Horned Grebe - One way out there, visible from the Lake Platform
    Herring Gull - One adult on Fields 7-8-9, First of Year (FOY)
    Cooper's Hawk - Juvenile at the Pea Patch again
    Hairy Woodpecker - One seen near the east end of the boardwalk, high in the trees
    House Finch - It was amazing - we saw around three, including a singing male SE of the mansion
    Purple Finch - And, we heard a singing Purple Finch.  Still only four finch individuals today
    Lincoln's Sparrow - One seen briefly at the Pea Patch

This is the 7th time we've had HERRING GULL in Week 7 of the year.  It's the only week we've had more than three sightings, so apparently it's the best week for seeing them at Marymoor.  But we've had fewer than 25 records for this species ever, so it's always a surprise.

We also had a vole in the East Meadow; my current belief is that it was a Townsend's Vole but my ability to identify voles is very sketchy.  The tail seemed all-brown rather than bicolored, which favors Townsend's over Long-tailed.  I think those would be the two most likely voles at Marymoor, but what do I know?

For the day, 55 species plus Lonesome George II, the Ring-necked Pheasant.

- Michael Hobbs