Well, I didn't get much birding accomplished this weekend, seeing as how a
friend of mine offered me the chance to help him with his draft horses for
the show.

I did notice a few birds. Specifically, brown-headed cowbirds and house
sparrows. I was holding the head of one of the wheelers on an 8-horse
hitch (wheelers are the horses closest to the wagon) and suddenly there were
2 cowbirds and 4 or 5 sparrows darting in between his hooves. Every time he
stomped a hoof, the birds would jump, but then settle down directly. It just
seemed so incongruous, these little birds who weigh a few ounces, totally
unafraid of this 1,900 lb animal who could have squished all of them under one
hoof. Lots of grain in the manure, and insects attracted to it, so these
little guys were having a feast. A number of sparrows were hopping about on
the backs of the sleeping horses, back in the barns. Must have seemed like
just another wide flat surface, instead of an animal, to them!

The groundskeeper told me that there's an owl living in the Arena, but he
couldn't describe it. It didn't appear during the show, but the next day a
few of the horse owners said they saw it flying around at about 10pm, outside
the barns. Lots of sparrows for it to dine on ...

Susan Collicott
camel at serv.net
Seattle, WA