Greetings, Tweets.

April, Sash, March--and now Mickee the Peregrine.

March the Peregrine (3.18.99-4.10.99) has decamped. She had replaced Sash
the Peregrine (1.11.99-3.15.99), who had in turn replaced the late April
the Peregrine (4.18.98-1.1.99) in the affections of The Guy Peregrine of
downtown Tacoma.

Now it's Mickee the Peregrine, a brown first-year female who showed up on
the 11th Street Bridge this past Monday. In my last posting on Monday, I
told of The Guy evidently trying to drive her off and then later seeming
to change his attitude towards her.

On Tuesday, I watched The Guy Peregrine walk up to her on the east
counterweight of the bridge and present her with what looked like a large
gray lint ball with little round ears. She accepted it, hopped down and
out of sight into the counterweight. He hopped in after her. There was a
flurry of his e-chipping and her squealing.

And then he hopped into sight again and flew to the other end of the
bridge. She appeared again with the gray lint-ball and dined on it.

It seems that The Guy has picked up the knack of plucking rodents off the
ground. He had presented one to March and she liked it. Mickee seemed to
like hers as well.

And the name "Mickee"? It's in recognition of the first present that The
Guy gave her--Mickey Rat al fresco.

--cheers, Jim Lyles, Tacoma, Wash.