Hi Tweets,

I had a tremendous morning of birding today. Clearly, spring is in the
air, as I went out in shorts to bird this morning in sunny, 70-degree
weather. This started out as just a short jaunt before work, but as you
will see, turned into a truly unbelievable day!

First, the normal ducks in the central pond, swallows wizzing around on a
clear April morning. Then, near the southern point, I noticed a HOOPOE
perched on the ground. It had its crest raised, and was feeding. This is
approximately near the area where the Eskimo Curlews nest every year.
Further along the trail, down near the western wooded pond, I saw in a
tree a RESPLENDANT QUETZAL, which was being devoured by one of the
resident Harpy Eagles. Finally, as I was heading back to the car, I saw a
fine SPOON-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD chasing off a migrant Pallidly Purple
Falcon. Quite a good day for the first of April.

-------------
Michael R. Smith
Univ. of Washington, Seattle
whimbrel at u.washington.edu
http://salmo.cqs.washington.edu/~wagap/mike.html