hello tweeters.

i got a late start at the montlake fill this evening because
one of my meetings ran quite late (why do they do this on a
sunny and almost-warm friday evening?), so i was at the fill
for a comparatively short time, only from 600-730pm. my
bird list for this evening is not as big as i'd like it to
be as a result.

i checked on mama killdeer and found that she is no longer
sitting on her nest. all of the eggs are gone, and both parents
have vanished, too (usually the parents at least remain on
their territory when all their chicks have been made into
killdeer-ke-bobs by the crows). the shorebirds' visit was
disappointingly brief; they were almost all gone, except
for about one dozen very nervous western and least
sandpipers. but perhaps the most notable sighting was the
LACK of a sighting: all the ruddy ducks are GONE from the
central pond! and the duck numbers have declined sharply
during the past four days. however, there are still two male
and one female each of cinnamon and blue-winged teal
present.

despite the fact that i was certain for the past few days
that there was a hummer or two to be seen, it took me
until this evening to find the little guy. this male anna's
hummingbird was actively courting, making gravity-defying
plunges towards the earth from incredible heights. after
completing a few loop-de-loops, he would feed on nectar,
chase a few bushtits around the bushes, and then sit on an
open perch and make his "squeeky gate" love songs.

other notable sightings include my first fledged song sparrow
of the year, making his "hungry baby" calls to his parents as
he clumsily worked his way through the brush, his pink throat
visible against dark green leaves. the "cackling" canada goose
with the drooping wing is still present, but seems to be less
shy today. the skies were filled with numerous american
goldfinch, singing loudly in flight, and house finch song was
everywhere. california quail were especially active tonight
and i even watched one gorgeous hen take a dust bath in the
setting sun.

overall, it was a good evening and i saw 51 species of birds.
my list follows for those who might be interested;

pied-billed grebe
double-crested cormorant
great blue heron
mute swan, 2
canada goose
cackling canada goose ("minima"), 1
mallard
gadwall
green-winged teal, few
american wigeon, few
northern shoveler
blue-winged teal, 2 male and 1 female
cinnamon teal, 2 male and 1 female
ring-necked duck, few
greater scaup, few
lesser scaup
bufflehead
american coot
killdeer
western sandpiper
least sandpiper
western gull
glaucous-winged gull
peregrine falcon, 1 fly-over
california quail, active and noisy
ring-necked pheasant, active and noisy
rock dove
anna's hummingbird, 1 courting male
belted kingfisher, 1 noisy bird
northern (red-shafted) flicker
tree swallow
violet-green swallow
cliff swallow
barn swallow
american crow
black-capped chickadee, active, numerous and inquisitive
bushtit
bewick's wren, singing and active
marsh wren
american robin
american pipit, 4 or more
european starling
common yellowthroat, 1 singing
savannah sparrow, quiet but visible if you look for them
song sparrow, most are quiet now
white-crowned sparrow, singing
red-winged blackbird
brown-headed cowbird
house (english) sparrow
american goldfinch, numerous but still impressive
house finch, numerous

non-avian list;
muskrat, 4 -- these animals are the noisiest eaters that i have
ever encountered! i thought i was hearing the crunching sounds
of a four-foot-long caterpillar until the muskrat popped out
of the brush-heap!
turtles, everywhere

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