Hey tweets, In reply to Mary's question about Virginia Rails at the Fill,
yes, there are Virginia Rails there. They like to hang out especially in
the slough to the south of the Fill. Another favorite spot is the reeds in
the southwest corner of the Fill. Soras can be seen at the Fill, too,
though not every year. Last year was a banner year for soras, with at least
two families raising chicks (and probably more). They stayed on the north
side of the main pond and in Cinnamon Teal Pond (the pond in the southeast
corner).

My own personal list of birds at the Fill totals 148 species. But I know I
missed a couple of spectacular rarities. The most glaring is the American
Avocet, seen two (or is it one?) years ago. My husband and I were on on our
way back to the parking lot after birding for a couple of hours when we
were approached by a couple of neophyte birders from Slovakia. In broken
English, they asked us about a strange bird they had seen. They couldn't
describe it very well, because their English wasn't up to the task and our
Czech was non-existent. So we hauled out our Peterson's to flip through and
try to ID the bird. Before we could even open the book, the two birders
jabbed their fingers at the cover and cried, "Yes. Yes. That is it."

Well, of course we didn't believe them. So we smiled and congratulated them
on their spot and went home. Our chagrin is still enough to bring a blush
to our cheeks even now.

By the way, in addition to the Barn Swallows, I saw a Common Snipe flying
around there yesterday, one of more than 40 species I saw in two hours. The
Fill is a wonder.- Connie, Seattle

csidles at mail.isomedia.com