Hello everyone,

A couple people who arrived a bit early were lucky enough to see our Bald Eagle perched in what’s becoming its usual spot on the dead tree by the Darrow Bridge. It seems to be turning into a permanent resident and we are thrilled to have it around.

A huge flock of Wood Ducks was floating about on the Columbia Basin. I don’t remember having such a high number of these gorgeous ducks in residence in the past. We had quite a few Mallards too. It’s likely that some of these birds are migrants passing through and stopping to visit with our local residents on their way south. A surprise visitor was a Northern Shoveler – it seems a bit early but we were happy to find it.

Even though leaves are changing color and falling from the trees we still had a nice variety of warblers in the park. A female/juvenile Scarlet Tanager was spotted outside the Japanese Garden. At the end of the walk a couple people found a Vireo that they were pretty sure was a Red-eyed, but they weren’t positive, so it wasn’t included in our list. Paul W. got a couple good photos and after viewing them on his computer screen at home it turned out that it was indeed a Red-eyed Vireo.

Our highlight of the day was a beautiful Peregrine Falcon that was perched in the “eagle” tree. It stayed for quite a while and we all got great looks and photos.

BIRDERS: Howard, Mark W., Cheryl, Marian, Mike, Jennie, Roger, Leslie, Caterina, Luther, Kevin, Val, Jane, John, Eric, Paul W., Paul S., Sarah, Amir, Stacy, Marisa, Pam, Jan, Pat and welcome to Kirstin, Anthony, Nick, Jett, and Felix.

TIME: 8:00am to 12:05pm

WEATHER: Sunny, 67 degrees and beautiful, but it got pretty hot by the end of the walk.

Compiler: Cheryl

1. Canada Goose   Number observed: 112

2. Wood Duck   Number observed: 72

3. Northern Shoveler   Number observed: 1

4. Mallard   Number observed: 36

5. Chimney Swift   Number observed: 10

6. Killdeer   Number observed: 1

7. Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 5

8. Double-crested Cormorant   Number observed: 2

9. Black-crowned Night Heron   Number observed: 2

10. Great Egret   Number observed: 2

11. Great Blue Heron   Number observed: 4

12. Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 2

13. Bald Eagle   Number observed: 1

14. Red-shouldered Hawk   Number observed: 1

15. Belted Kingfisher   Number observed: 1

16. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Number observed: 2

17. Red-bellied Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

18. Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 4

19. Hairy Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

20. Northern Flicker   Number observed: 5

21. Peregrine Falcon   Number observed: 1

22. small falcon sp.   Number observed: 1

23. Eastern Wood-Pewee   Number observed: 1

24. Eastern Phoebe   Number observed: 1

25. Philadelphia Vireo   Number observed: 1

26. American Crow   Number observed: 3

27. Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 9

28. White-breasted Nuthatch   Number observed: 2

29. Red-breasted Nuthatch   Number observed: 1

30. Brown Creeper   Number observed: 3

31. Northern House Wren   Number observed: 1

32. European Starling   Number observed: 8

33. Gray Catbird   Number observed: 5

34. Gray-cheeked Thrush   Number observed: 1

35. Swainson's Thrush   Number observed: 3

36. Hermit Thrush   Number observed: 1

37. American Robin   Number observed: 6

38. House Sparrow   Number observed: 3

39. House Finch   Number observed: 1

40. American Goldfinch   Number observed: 5

41. Chipping Sparrow   Number observed: 1

42. Field Sparrow   Number observed: 1

43. Dark-eyed Junco   Number observed: 2

44. White-crowned Sparrow   Number observed: 1

45. White-throated Sparrow   Number observed: 19

46. Lincoln's Sparrow   Number observed: 1

47. Red-winged Blackbird   Number observed: 1

48. Black-and-white Warbler   Number observed: 1

49. Tennessee Warbler   Number observed: 1

50. Nashville Warbler   Number observed: 1

51. Common Yellowthroat   Number observed: 1

52. American Redstart   Number observed: 2

53. Magnolia Warbler   Number observed: 2

54. Blackpoll Warbler   Number observed: 1

55. Palm Warbler   Number observed: 3

56. Yellow-rumped Warbler   Number observed: 14

57. Black-throated Green Warbler   Number observed: 4

58. Scarlet Tanager   Number observed: 1

59. Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 4

60. Rose-breasted Grosbeak   Number observed: 1

If you’d like more information about a bird, check out the All About Birds ID guide:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/

Corrections, additions, and comments are welcome.

Good birding everyone,

Jennie

Photo: American goldfinch by Will Stuart