Hey tweets, Oh, the Fill was hopping this morning. I went down at 8 a.m.
and saw 35 species, including immense numbers of yellow-rumps (more than
50). Also present were a northern harrier and a sharpie, hunting the main
pond and harrassing each other. They each seemed to resent the other's
presence considerably - even the crows were content to sit back and watch
them go at it. When the sharpie was left alone, he ignored the smaller
birds and tried for a long-billed dowitcher (didn't catch), two killdeers
(didn't catch), and a large flock of hunkered-down green-winged teals
(didn't catch). Meanwhile a pheasant of staggering proportions - he looked
like a bowling-ball bag with a head - decided to take no chances and froze
against the ground for the whole time. I doubt if either raptor could have
done much with him, but like many of us who have put on weight over the
years, perhaps he thought he was more svelte than he really was. Better
safe than sorry was his thought. Also present were a merlin, two
kingfishers, a towhee, 4 Lincoln's sparrows, and a couple of Steller's
jays. FYI, a good place to view the sparrows is on the gardening shed/bench
directly south of the Urban Hort building. The bench offers a closeup view
of one of the last patches of blackberry brambles on the property, and the
sparrows love it here. I saw 4 species this morning and could have seen at
least 2 more if I'd had the time, I'm sure.

On the minus side, there has been no sign of the large cyclone-like flocks
of Vaux's swifts that gathered above the Fill area in the fall just prior
to migration. I have seen these flocks every year for the last 5 years at
least. But the most I've seen this fall have been a few isolated swifts at
dusk. Does anyone know what's happening to the swifts? - Connie, Seattle

csidles at mail.isomedia.com