Tweeters,

Yesterday was one of those idyllic days in Issaquah on the backyard deck.
The drupes (?) in the nearby tree are ripe and the birds were after them.
(They are black and about a half inch long) At one point there were
Robins, Swainson's Thrushes, a Western Tanager, Red Breasted Sapsucker
and Black-capped Chickadees (although I can't say that the chickadees
were after the 'fruit'). The 'yard' list for the morning also included a
first-year Bald Eagle, Band-tailed Pigeons, Red-breasted Nuthatches,
Spotted Towhees, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Barn Swallows, Violet Green
Swallows, Crows, Northern Flicker, an Empidonax Flycatcher (sp? didn't
call, didn't hang around) and Steller's Jays.

As I mentioned before the berries on the Mt. Ash look pretty ripe to me
but the birds know better. They were consistently avoided. I would guess
another two weeks. The Red-breasted Sapsucker was an immature bird. Red
was just beginning to show on its head.

Nest weekend we anticipate not being able to leave our domicile at all
given that we are going to be invaded by the golf fanatics so I will have
lots of time to keep track of the continuing migration.

Jim Rosso




Jim Rosso
Issaquah/Bellingham, Washington
jrosso at mediaseek.com
jlrosso at msn.com
(425) 392-8440