Lake Sammamish State Park Field Trip (August 2, 2010) HIghlights

On Monday, Aug 2, 2010, Stan Wood and Sharon Aagaard were joined by 4 other birders (all Marymoor "regulars") on their monthly bird walk at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, WA for Eastside Audubon.  When we started at 8 am the skies were overcast, then turned sunny and blue.  We enjoyed a light breeze, with temps ranging from the high 60's to mid 70s. We covered about 3 miles in 4-1/2 hours of birding, and were back at the cars at 12:30 pm, then headed to "Rock n Roll Burger" for lunch.
 
It was a walk abundant with juvenile birds of many different species.  Of special note were 2 juv. Red-Tailed Hawks flying & calling above the fields; 1 juv. Red-Breasted Sapsucker was foraging with an adult; 2 juv. Western Wood-Pewees and 4 young Purple Finch were being fed by their respective parents; and the biggest find of all was spotting 3 juv. Pileated Woodpeckers foraging on tree trunks in a Cottonwood forest!  Other sightings of note:  we saw/heard 5 woodpecker species (Red-breasted Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, & Pileated Woodpecker); 4 flycatchers (Olive-sided, Western Wood-Pewee, Willow, Pacific-slope); 2 vireos (Warbling & Red-eyed); 5 swallows (all but Bank Swallow); and 4 warblers (Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray (6), and Common Yellowthroat).  Hard to believe, but we missed seeing/hearing a Spotted Towhee!  We had 59 species for the walk.  It was a good day of birding with good folks.
 
Canada Goose 35
Wood Duck 3
Gadwall 1
Mallard 50
Great Blue Heron 3
Osprey 2
Bald Eagle 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Western) 2
American Coot 4
Killdeer 4
California Gull 10
Glaucous-winged Gull 1
Band-tailed Pigeon 2
Anna's Hummingbird 4
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-breasted Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker 2 Heard only
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 6
Pileated Woodpecker 4
Olive-sided Flycatcher 1
Western Wood-Pewee 8
Willow Flycatcher 5
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo (Western) 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Steller's Jay 2
American Crow 40
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 10
Tree Swallow 30
Violet-green Swallow 80
Barn Swallow 20
Cliff Swallow 20
Black-capped Chickadee 25
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 10
Bushtit (Pacific) 20
Brown Creeper 1
Bewick's Wren 15
Marsh Wren 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Swainson's Thrush 5
American Robin 40
European Starling 1
Cedar Waxwing 40
Yellow Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Black-throated Gray Warbler 6
Common Yellowthroat 25
warbler sp. 1
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 23
White-crowned Sparrow (Puget Sound) 9
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Black-headed Grosbeak 4
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 18
Bullock's Oriole 3
Purple Finch (Western) 9
House Finch 60
American Goldfinch 50