hello tweets;

the afternoon sun was too much, so i finally went out for a
real day of birding in the sun. methinks that i am now wearing
a "scandinavian tan" (sunburn) for my efforts.

GOOD NEWS: springtime is finally here! i think that i have
spotted the first bunch of baby birds for 1999! i found a
mallard hen and her brood of six wee ducklings in a shallow
flooded area next to the dime lot. these ducklings appear
to be between one and three days of age. contrary to what i
have read about mallard drakes, i saw the father in close
attendance during the entire time that i was nearby, and he
even followed mom and family when they trotted overland to
a larger nearby pond.

i then ran into a human father and his three young (loud)
kids on the trail as i backtracked towards the dime-lot pond.
the entire group went back the way they had come to search
for the ducklings after i announced that there were baby ducks
to be seen, which was most fortunate for me, it turned out.
a minute later, while i studied the brush standing in the
dime lot pond, i realized that i was staring at the back of an
american bittern. i carefully crept through the mud for a closer
look, and amazed myself by getting within 35 feet of this bird,
which was gently swaying as it peered at the murky water. a few
minutes later, the bird's head plunged into the water and she
flipped a struggling sunfish (?) into the air. i watched her play
with the fish for a minute before she swallowed it whole and
then silently slipped away through the brush, never indicating
any awareness of my presence.

fellow tweetster, bon vandenbosch, discovered me while i was
hiding in the brush, waiting for the golden-crowned sparrows
to re-appear. he knew who i was immediately (was it my purple
arm?) but he had to introduce himself to me since his field
marks aren't as unique as mine are. after those formalities
were out of the way, i proceeded to brag about "my" bittern
and so bob showed me the location of another killdeer nest
which contained three eggs. by the way, bob, do you ride a pink
bike with a pink banana seat? if so, it is near the slough!

anyway, back to business ...

other notable sightings were a lone western grebe (i have never
seen a western grebe that was truly alone before), savannah
sparrows, golden-crowned sparrows and american goldfinches. i
didn't see any raptors all afternoon -- a big disappointment.
i did see other animals while there, including a big muskrat
sitting on the shore of the slough, grooming himself, many dozens
of large turtles of several species sitting on nearby logs
(no doubt waiting for those tasty ducklings to wander by) and
lots of queen bumblebees looking for abandoned mouse holes to
colonize for the year.

i saw 45 bird species in one-and-a-half glorious sun-filled
hours at the montlake fill. my bird list follows for those
who might be interested;

western grebe
pied-billed grebe
double-crested cormorant
american bittern
great blue heron
mute swan
canada goose
mallard
gadwall
american green-winged teal
americam wigeon
northern shoveler
ruddy duck
ring-necked duck
lesser scaup
bufflehead
hooded merganser
american coot
killdeer
glaucous-winged gull
california quail
ring-necked pheasant
rock dove
downy woodpecker
tree swallow
violet-green swallow
american crow
black-capped chickadee
bushtit
bewick's wren
marsh wren
american robin
spotted towhee
european starling
yellow-rumped (audubon's) warbler
savannah sparrow
song sparrow
dark-eyed junco
white-crowned sparrow
golden-crowned sparrow
red-winged blackbird
brewer's blackbird
house (english) sparrow
american goldfinch
house finch

Deborah Wisti-Peterson email:nyneve at u.washington.edu
Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash, USA
Visit me on the web: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~nyneve/
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