Tweets,
I also stopped by the fill on the way to classes this morning ~8:30 and
after classes about 3:30 this afternoon. I also saw the pair of cinnmaon
teal in the same pond. On the main pond there was a *huge* influx of Scaup
and Ring-necks that were not there in the morning, I counted 16 Scaup,
looked like Lesser and 6 Ring-necks. On the peeps it appears that the
small point southeast of the main pond is becoming a shorebird hotspot
this year, for what reason I cannot understand. I always see the
shorebirds on either the main pond or shoveler's pond yet yesterday on the
small pond is where I had both yellowlegs, over a dozen peeps. Today I
counted 8 Least Sandpipers and 3 Western Sandpipers. While the habitat is
OK it does not appear to be as good as a couple other ponds right now for
shorebird foraging, I'm curious as to their preference.
The other Q I had is: While I saw Cliff swallows for the first time today
at the fill, I have yet to see Rough-wings this year and have not hear
many other reports containing this species, am I missing something or is
this species not showing up in numberrs this year. Granted they will be
around their colonies, but in migration a fair number should be seen. This
is the first year I can remember that I might not see Rough-wings before
the end of April.
Thanks,

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA

"Birds don't read bird books. (That's why they are seen doing things they
are not supposed to do)." -Mary Wood


On Wed, 28 Apr 1999, Deborah Wisti-Peterson wrote:

>
> hello tweeters.
>
> while wandering around the montlake fill this afternoon, i
> saw 9 (later, i counted 14) peeps, feeding in the marshy area
> surrounding the eastern pond. as i was looking at them, bob
> vandenbosch sat next to me and, after studying these birds for
> awhile, we decided that this small flock was composed of about
> half western sandpipers and half least sandpipers. later,
> after bob had left, i returned to this pond for another look,
> and decided that there were at least five western sandpipers
> and the remainder were least sandpipers (remember, i had
> re-counted this flock and found 14 birds this time).
>
> after walking through the fill with bob, i returned to this
> pond, secretly hoping that i might re-locate the solitary
> sandpiper that i saw here last week, and that bob had seen
> yesterday, but no such luck. i sat quietly in back of the
> pond for awhile, looking at all the peeps again, when a pair
> of cinnamon teal floated out of the dead grasses and into
> clear view. i was amazed, wondering where they came from
> and how they managed to stay hidden for so long. several
> groups of birders walked by this pond on the gravel pathway,
> but only one group seemed to see the teal.
>
> the central pond was full of ducks, as usual, but most of
> them were snoozing. i crept around the back of the central
> pond, where the killer goose is located, and noticed that he
> is now a proud papa. i counted eight goslings tucked under
> mama goose. well, true to form, papa killer goose tried to
> kill me, even though i was probably 50 feet away, so we
> had to re-establish our no-hostilities treaty. after i was
> sure it was safe, i then turned my attention to more
> interesting things. i noticed two least sandpipers fly into
> the central pond and land on the shore for a quick bath. as
> i was watching them, i noticed two american pipits feeding
> on the muddy ground. they were quite tame and approached
> me closely. they even tolerated my partner's approach, and let
> us get good long looks at them.
>
> other interesting birds seen while at the fill include another
> new arrival, two cliff swallows. i also saw a caspian tern
> fly over, a noisy common snipe flying and running around, and
> a calling virginia rail. a third-year bald eagle flew over
> and then finally managed to land in the beaver trees for a
> short rest. the goldfinches are present in tremendous numbers
> now and are singing incessantly. as an added bonus, i do think
> that i figured out the answer to a question asked last week
> by a tweeter, whose name i forgot. this tweeter asked if
> anyone knows what common bird makes a call that is similar
> to the greater yellowlegs' call; a high-pitched, descending
> "tew-tew-tew." is it possible that a female red-winged blackbird
> might be making this sound?
>
> regards,
>
> 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/
> <><><>Graduate School: it's not just a job, it's an indenture!<><><>
>
>