Weather: It went from sunny to overcast throughout the day but it was beautiful out overall. There was a brief time in the afternoon where it got into the high 60s..
Map of Union Bay for Reference: CLICK HERE
Species count was 43: robin, spotted towhee, dark-eyed junco, black-capped chickadee, brown creeper, American goldfinch, tree swallow, violet-green swallow, double-crested cormorant, bushtit, mallard, green-winged teal, ring-necked duck, American coot, bald eagle, Wilson's snipe, American crow, northern shoveler, American wigeon, bufflehead, pied-billed grebe, yellow-rumped warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, Bewick's wren, marsh wren, northern flicker, song sparrow, Anna's hummingbird, Canada goose, European starling, red-winged blackbird, gadwall, GBH, golden-crowned kinglet, Savannah's sparrow, house finch, golden-crowned sparrow, killdeer, rock dove, Steller's jay, hooded merganser, red-breasted merganser, brown-headed cowbird.
Notes from the day:
For the second week in a row, I searched for the brewer's blackbirds near the helipad but neither heard or saw them today. However, in the slough near the helipad, I did get to see this female hooded merganser swim by me. I should appreciate them while they're around because they should begin nesting soon up in tree cavities, much like the wood ducks have already done.
The American wigeons have been decreasing in numbers every week for the last month or so and today I only saw one all day long. It was swimming pretty far out on the lake amongst a mixed flock. The birds weren't heavily concentrated in any one spot out on the lake today rather they were spread out all over for the first time all year. I believe it was because there was so much activity on the lake, being it a beautiful Saturday to be boating. The University of Washington rowing team was also practicing in the area making the area even busier still. Maybe all of the humans were serving as a safety barrier from the eagles? I didn't see the eagles hunting over the lake at all today so that could possibly be the case.
After having only seen one or two white-crowned sparrows all year long here, today I began to spot them all over the place. Here is a picture of one that I encountered. They seem to be almost as bold as the golden-crowned sparrows, as this guy let me get pretty close.
I finally located the Wilson's snipe near the Southeast Pond! I had been seeing it's tracks near the area for a couple of weeks now and I decided that I wasn't going home today without actually hearing or seeing one. The matted down cattails provide cover on almost all sides for the 1-2” deep puddles surrounding the pond, making the area a picture perfect habitat for the snipe to do it's foraging. I was able to get around 10 feet away until we noticed one another at roughly the same time. The snipe took to the air over to the other side of the pond and I decided not to pursue out of respect.
Savannah's sparrows were singing all throughout Union Bay today. It's also the first time that I've seen them here this year. Speaking of sparrows, it looks as if the Lincoln's sparrow that has been hanging out in the shrubs near Wedding Rock has finally migrated out of the area to it's nesting grounds for the summer. With one species's exit, comes another's arrival. Here is a pic of one of the Savannah's sparrows.
I saw my first brown-headed cowbird of the year out near the snag in Hoyt's meadow. Did you know that cowbirds got their name because they use to follow large herding mammals such as bison and cows and snatch the insects up as they were disturbed? Bison and cows are nomadic so that probably explains why the cowbird has adopted a parasitic nesting behavior. If they raised their own young, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the herds. Makes a lot of sense.
The water was even higher this week than it was the last. When I walked past the Canada goose nest near Canoe Island in the morning, the mating pair that's always there wasn't anywhere in the vicinity. While the water hadn't enveloped the nest as of yet, I was worried at the time that the high water had driven them off of their nest. Luckily, later in the afternoon, I saw a pair back near the nest. Almost as soon as I took notice, another mating pair quickly flew into the area and attacked the ones near the nest. It turns out that the pair that I initially saw weren't the nesting parents after all. They probably saw a potential nesting habitat (or good feeding/resting area) and decided to take residence while the owners were away. I assume the actual nesting pair easily won the battle because they were willing to expend significantly more energy in defending their territory since they had already laid their clutch. It was a cool experience to witness the confrontation. Below is a pic of the nesting parents after their territorial defense victory.
Almost all of the bushtit nests were close to being finished this week and I was able to get a really good look at one particular nest near the Turtle Logs. It was hanging directly over the trail, so I was able to really admire the brilliance of this bird's nest building skills. These particular bushtits used cherry blossom petals, lichens and flower dead heads to weave this amazing nest together. They were padding the inside of the nest with cattail fluff and continued to do so once I moved along.
According to a few other birders that I spoke with throughout the day, American pipits were spotted by Shoveler's Pond and a common yellowthroat was spotted in the wetland area just north of Southwest Pond. I looked for the yellowthroat for about 15 minutes in the afternoon but was unsuccessful in my search. I did however see one today at Spencer's Island in Everett so I assume they'll be easy to spot at Union Bay within the coming weeks. Overall it was great birding today.
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