[Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2023-01-26

[Michael Hobbs]

Tweets - we had a good day today.  No rain, no wind, no glare, not cold,
and it was pretty birdy for at least parts of the morning.

Highlights:

   - Ring-billed Gull - two among a flock of Short-billed and GW Gulls on
   grass soccer fields.  First of Year (FOY)
   - Sharp-shinned Hawk - mixing it up with a Cooper's Hawk.  Huge size
   difference  (FOY)
   - Western Screech-Owl - Matt saw one pre-dawn that apparently came in
   when it heard the NSWO (FOY)
   - Northern Saw-whet Owl - Matt heard one moving around and calling,
   south of the East Meadow pre-dawn (FOY)
   - Four woodpecker day - though Downy and Pileated were heard-only.  We
   also *might* have heard sapsucker
   - Northern Shrike - seen at Compost Piles, south of the model airplane
   field, AND north of Fields 7-8-9.  Probably all one bird
   - VARIED THRUSH - at least two heard for several minutes, across the
   slough from the windmill (FOY)
   - Western Meadowlark - one or two glimpsed in the East Meadow (FOY)
   - BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD - male in Pea Patch (FOY)
   - Yellow-rumped Warbler - one or two near the model airplane field
   restrooms
   - ZERO FINCHES - once again.  Actually worse than last week where we at
   least had a tiny number of finch spp. heard
   - River Otters - four romping on the shore near the beaver lodge across
   the slough from Dog Central

A late scan of the lake turned up three COMMON MERGANSERS, a HORNED GREBE,
and he flock of  AMERICAN COOTS that must have been off to the east out of
sight when we were at the Lake Platform earlier in the morning.

The COOPER'S HAWK juvenile and SHARP-SHINNED HAWK adult were chasing each
other around at the south edge of the Dog Area.  The difference in size was
truly remarkable, so we concluded that the Sharpie must have been a small
male, and the Cooper's a large female.

The BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD is our first ever for January.  We also have
single records for November, December, and February.  October is now the
only month in which we have no cowbird records, but they are typically
present only April through August.  There are just 16 total records from
September through March, with most of those coming in late March.

There was quite a bit of singing today.  Singing birds included Anna's
Hummingbird, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, PACIFIC WREN, BEWICK'S WREN, VARIED
THRUSH, DARK-EYED JUNCO, SONG SPARROW, and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD.

I birded the northern part of Marymoor yesterday late afternoon (I had a
Friends of Marymoor Park meeting to attend yesterday evening).  In the NE
corner of the park, I did have 12-15 HOUSE FINCH, including a couple of
singing males, so they aren't completely gone from the park.

I also had two CALIFORNIA SCRUB-JAYS yesterday, near the east end
maintenance area.  These were (FOY) and were also our first January
record.  Almost all the sightings of CASJ have come from very late August,
through September, into October.  There are just a small handful of records
outside that nine-week window.

For the day, 60 species plus George, the Ring-necked Pheasant, with two
more species for the week.

= Michael Hobbs
= BirdMarymoor at gmail.com
= www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
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