This was a great weekend for backyard and near home birding for me.
Sometimes I forget that we don't have to go far from home to see great
things.

Discovered flickers nesting in a wooded ravine right off my backyard. I can
keep tabs on them without even leaving the house! I hope this also means
the end of 5:00 am drumming on my raingutters!! Also saw a yellow warbler
in my yard. Not an unusual sighting, I guess, but a life bird for me, and
in my own backyard!

Took a walk through the Lake Hills Greenbelt in Bellevue and saw a pair of
Bullock's Orioles. I'm sure they're nesting there, although I couldn't see
the nest. This winter I remember seeing a hanging-type nest in some birch
trees there, and I think that's the kind of nest they make. The male was
chasing a crow when I first saw him, and I've seen him keeping watch in the
same tree three times now. It must be his "guard post". The orioles are
right near the Lake Hills Library in the small grove of birches on the
south side of the bridge.

Then while watching a rufous hummingbird (perched for about 10 min!) 2
birds went whipping by in my binoculars. I tried to follow them, couldn't
and looked without the bins. They had to be falcons. Kestrels? Peregrines?
Was I dreaming? I've seen kestrels in the greenbelt before, but these
seemed different. They were very pale or white underneath, one noticeably
bigger than the other and held their wings in a W-shape. Any ideas what
they might have been? Has anyone seen peregrines in this area? They were
also making that high pitched "kee, kee" sound as they flew over.

Thanks for any tips.

Christy Anderson
Bellevue, WA
christya at gte.net