Date: 7/9/26 4:46 pm From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-07-09
Tweets - We were probably lucky that it was cloudy and cool this morning, rather than being sunny and hot like this afternoon. We had temps 53-63 degrees, with thin overcast, and no wind. It made for a very comfortable morning birding. It did NOT feel like the usual July Doldrums.
Highlights: Gadwall - At least 3 females, one with two small ducklings Common Merganser - Three juveniles, maybe with an adult female, feeding/playing at the weir. Only our 4th record for Week28 in our 32 years of surveys Eurasian Collared-Dove - One flew past the Lake Platform Mourning Dove - One flew over the south end of the Dog Meadow - First of Year (FOY), and definitely not a typical time of year for us to have one Virginia Rail - Hatch-year bird, but full size, seen well just below the weir. Very much dark-gray, with only a few reddish feathers Pied-billed Grebe - One from the Lake Platform, just our third sighting since April Great Blue Heron - Heronry emptying out. More juveniles seen along the slough than in the nests. Total numbers probably less than 50 Four woodpecker today - Missing only the sapsuckers this time Lazuli Bunting - One male seen from the Viewing Mound
I don't think I've ever seen that age/plumage of VIRGINIA RAIL before, and if so, definitely not at Marymoor
And today we had something we've never, ever had before at Marymoor: A four Columbidae day! (That's "Doves and Pigeons"). Besides the EUCD and MODO mentioned above, we had a small flock of BAND-TAILED PIGEONS just past the east end of the Boardwalk and a couple of sightings of ROCK PIGEONS
For mammals, we had a MUSKRAT today in the slough
Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Killdeer, Green Heron, and Bullock's Oriole
For the day, 58 species. For the year, adding MOURNING DOVE, we're at 114 species in 2026 on the survey.
= Michael Hobbs = <BirdMarymoor...> = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
