Subject: Seahurst Park-5/21/99; we still got 'em & we now got 'em, too!
Date: May 22 15:57:43 1999
From: Maureen Ellis - me2 at u.washington.edu


Hello All,

In the "still got 'em" (i.e., Tardy-to-leave "winter birds") category: A
female VARIED Thrush was spotted in the deep woods of Seahurst and at
least one was heard singing (briefly.) Two or three Steller's Jays
continue hanging around, and two PINE Siskins were seen in proximate tree
tops (in tall, old Red Alders bordering my building at forest's edge.)

"We now got 'em, too:" A very visible, very vocal male BLACK-HEADED
Grosbeak was seen in the evening, a day or so after the first of the
species, a female, arrived for the season, i.e., for my survey list; other
people in the area with more time may have noted these birds earlier, but
the singing male was clearly the first male for the season near my condo
complex. From a nearby trail into the forest, I could see flocks of
WESTERN Tanagers, all males, and several WILSON's Warblers, mostly males
with one or two females. Really wonderful views! And, as evidence that
there are still live woodpeckers for all the evidence on the tree trunks,
a male DOWNY woodpecker made a flashing appearance on a snag near my
complex. In recent days, a few BARN Swallows have appeared with
the been-here-for-a-while Violet-greens.

The Flickers have been very quiet recently. Swainson's and Hermit
Thrushes are singing in the deep woods along with the many Robins,
Spotted Towhees, Winter and Bewick's Wrens, Song Sparrows, Audubon's form
of the Yellow-rumped Warbler, twitterings of the many Violet-green
Swallows, calls of the Pacific-slope Flycatcher, tinny buzzes of
nervous Common Bushtit parents and the distinctive chickadeeing of the
Black-capped. I also heard what may be a House Wren, and will confirm if
possible. Crows spooked a surprise out of the woods--- a beautiful
adult Red-tail hawk caught roosting on a mid-height branch close to a tree
trunk (like an owl would do.) I've seen the Red-tail soaring overhead on
occasion and now wonder if it could be nesting in the top of one of the
big conifers in Seahurst.

(Local starlings are already building second nests, having fledged the
first crop in the past few days!)

Enjoy our perfect May 22, 1999, Seattle, Saturday late afternoon!

Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu U of WA & Burien-Seahurst Park, WA

"Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of
confusion and bamboozle requires vigilance, dedication, and courage."
-Carl Sagan-

"We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities." -Pogo-