Hello again.

After I wrote earlier today (5/19), birds kept moving through the yard to
such a dazzling extent that I have to share the experience again. There
would be lulls, then the yard would be full of warblers again. The
fountain has two basins in which birds can bathe, and very often both
would be in use at once. I saw 11 species bathing in it today, surely
the most I've ever seen, and about half of the species (23) observed so
far during the day. I could barely contain myself at one point when 3
Orange-crowned and 2 male Audubon's were all trying to bathe at the same
time. Both dull and brighter Orange-crowned were present together, the
latter probably the Rocky Mountain breeding V. c. orestera. When they
get wet, their orange crown shows up beautifully.

It finally dawned on me that I probably wasn't getting repeats, but that
each time a warbler appeared it was probably still another one. I saw
the male Yellow only once and single female Audubon's and Myrtle only
once. Several warblers would appear, be obvious for a few minutes, then
disappear and nothing for another 10 or 20 minutes, when a different
combination of species and sexes would appear. If the bathers were new
each time, and I really have the impression they were, then up to a dozen
each of Yellow-rumped, Wilson's, and Orange-crowned visited the yard
today (it's now 4 p.m.). Some time after lunch an Olive-sided Flycatcher
appeared and has been around all afternoon; it certainly wasn't present
in the morning. Although we think of small passerine birds migrating at
night, I have frequently got the impression that they keep on the move
quite rapidly during the day, although not necessarily in their migratory
direction.

And I've seen all these wonders while working hard on a paper on
dragonfly biodiversity all day, and even washing clothes and dishes!
Ahh, to be retired.

That's it for today, unless a Blackburnian Warbler appears at the
fountain.

Dennis Paulson

Netta Smith and Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 528-1382