As I was strolling through Marymoor Park today, and not seeing much, I
thought to
myself that one standard for a successful day birding consisted of seeing at
least one
bird that you might not otherwise see in a given year. I hadn't met that
standard and
decided to stick around until dusk to see if I could get lucky.

I enjoyed seeing an opossum from very close range, who was in splendid (at
least as
splendid as it gets for an aesthetically-challenged critter like this) view
atop a 12-foot tall
berry bush near the north end of the east boardwalk.

In the grove just around the corner I topped that by seeing a ruffed grouse,
also in fine
view, also berry-picking. Standard met. This was also a state first for
me, and one of
my personal favorites. I'll definitely be listening for drumming this
spring.

Not much else -- a western meadowlark, a sharp-shinned hawk, and the usuals.
But I went home feeling as though the millennium was off to a nice start.

Jim McCoy
jfmccoy at earthlink.net
Redmond, WA