Subject: W Gebes at the locks +Herons, a hawk & BCCH nesting
Date: Apr 17 13:22:30 2001
From: Cliff Drake - cliffdrake at qwest.net


(I wrote this yesterday, April 16, but I used the wrong return address)

Hi all,

1. There were 14 Western Grebes at the locks this morning in the spillway
area. They tend to congregate here every spring before heading out, but 14
is a small number, 40 to 50 is more like it, but it's still a bit early,
also I hear their numbers are down. If you're patient you may see their
courtship dance, and they're pretty noisy sometimes. Also present were 3
pair of Barrows Goldeneyes and one juvenile male molting into his adult
plumage. Interesting looking bird. Also, three Great Blue Herons left the
heronry and flew into the trees at the locks, at the same time I spied a
Red-tailed Hawk circling nearby.

2. The Black-capped Chickadees are still excavating a nest hole in the lilac
(http://www.users.qwest.net/~cliffdrake/bcch1.jpg and
http://www.users.qwest.net/~cliffdrake/bcch2.jpg, )

First they abandoned the first hole and started a second adjoining one, now
they each work on a different hole, one on the old, then one on the new,
etc. Interesting. I don't have a pic available of the new hole, but they
look like an 8 at a 45 degree angle. The first is deep enough to hide all
but the tail tip.

================
Cliff Drake
Ballard-Seattle, WA
mailto:cliffdrake at qwest.net

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