On my way to recycle clothing this afternoon, I made an unplanned detour
and visited the St. Mark's Cathedral Shop on 10th in Capitol Hill. This
was at 1:30 or so. Below the shop, which is on the south side of the
parking lot of the Cathedral, there's a sizable ravine that I noticed
today for the first time. Well, who wouldn't have, being there for the
first time in daylight, and with all the twitterings, the squeals, the
chirps, the absolute euphony of birdcalls coming from below? I found a
path (a bit steep) at the western end of the parking lot and climbed down
into the ravine and worked my way back towards the Shop. And everywhere,
everywhere were birds! Flitting, calling, chittering, twittering, and
just singing up a storm, absolutely! I could hear all this even above
the noise from the freeway, which did lessen as I walked farther away
from I-5 and deeper into the ravine. I sat in dappled sunshine below the
Shop for half an hour and just listened, listened until I cried. Finches
sing more sweetly than I imagine angels could, and so do Song Sparrows.
I saw several House and what appeared to be Purple Finches, an American
Goldfinch, a couple of flickers, and some sort of creeper-like bird I
couldn't see long enough to identify. I heard the flickers call. And
there were several other calls and songs I couldn't identify. There was
no real need to, anyway, just as there's no need to pick out the oboe
from other wind instruments in order to enjoy the entire orchestral
chorus.

As Gail Spitler wrote about the birds she saw recently, "These guys may
not be 'lifers,' but the return of the birds in the Spring is marvelous."

Yes, indeed.

---Lisa <subplot at juno.com>
Seattle WA