Hi Tweets,

Another day, another flat tire at the plant, and another long walk out of
Iona-- why don't tires go flat in the city? Wotta pain. Anyway, evening high
tide, calm, hot and clear, but few birds; very quiet.

After Gail's comments about her census birds perhaps leaving, I took a look
on the way in at the many nests of the CLIFF SWALLOWS Hirundo pyrrhonota
beneath the Art Laing Bridge on the sea Island side: no active swallow
nests, but the only nest left in use was one of HOUSE SPARROWS Passer
domesticus wherein there were begging young and a parent feeding them; three
others seemed abandoned. All four were in the corners of the Cliff Swallow
colony. A few Cliff Swallows over Sea Island along what used to be Grauer Road.

One of those 'Hey, what the--dammit!' sightings--umm, better make that
'goshdarn', given our recent brew-up on profanity and linguistic purity--was
a small, grey, long-tailed SPIZELLA-TYPE SPARROW seen momentarily on the
path between the NE and NW settling ponds. It was overall grey, showing
little discernable face-pattern in the nanosecond I got to see it; if I had
to guess, it might have been more likely a Brewer's Sparrow S. breweri
rather than Clay-colored S. pallida, which has the more distinct patterning
and which would have been obvious in the look I got at the little blighter.

Many more SAVANNAH SPARROWS Passerculus sandwichensis in the settling ponds.
I think as they fledge young on the other parts of the island and Sea
Island, they move out to the coast to stage for southbound migration, so
pile into the settling ponds. Just a theory.

At least one flightless, stub-tailed, still-downy AMERICAN ROBIN Turdus
migratorius is in the blackberries along the E side of the path on the E
side of the SE pond.

There's now three juvenile SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS with the adults at the
settling ponds, all three on the SE pond with the rest opf the small Calidris.

Great Blue Heron 1
Canada Goose 8
Gadwall 8 1f 7 day-old chx
Mallard 3 1f (oiled), 2y
Cinnamon Teal 2 2 Bsc m's/f's
Northern Shoveler 8 3m, 5f/jv
Sora 1
Killdeer 26 22 on NE pond
Spotted Sandpiper 7 2a 3jv 2chx
Semipalmated Sandpiper 12 9 alt 3jv
Western Sandpiper 132 all alt, no jvs yet
Least Sandpiper 39 all alt, no jvs (1jv on 7/20)
Long-billed Dowitcher 11 all alt, no juvs
Rock Dove 2
Columba sp. 1 oddly-shaped; flew straight out to sea
Northwestern Crow ~200
Tree Swallow 1 f, entering box
Violet-green Swallow 1 m
N. Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 3
Cliff Swallow 1
Marsh Wren 4 3 singing males
American Robin 2 1m 1 flightless young
European Starling ~400
Cedar Waxwing 1 ad
Common Yellowthroat 3 3 singing males
Spotted Towhee 1 m
Savannah Sparrow 7
Spizella sp. 1
Red-winged Blackbird 18
Yellow-headed Blackbird 1 jv
Brown-headed Cowbird 9 1m 8jv
House Finch 6 1m 5 jv/f
American Goldfinch 3

Cheers

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery, and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)