Hey tweets, I got too crazy writing and the weather was terrible too (way
too sunny to stay stuck in my office working), so my husband and I took a
ramble around the Montlake Fill today. A wedding was about to begin near
the wedding rock - very romantic, including portable topiary bunnies with
white ribbons around their necks. The bushes surrounding the wedding bower
were so stuffed with birds that I think the live music ensemble is going to
have some trouble being heard. Cedar waxwings in great abundance, countless
robins, house finches and starlings were eating the ripe berries. The
female Anna's hummingbird who has nested nearby was busy buzzing all
comers.

Sparrows by the dozens were eating the grass seeds near the trailhead just
west of the Urban Hort parking lot (white-crowned, song, house, savannah
and a very different looking sparrow that may have been a juvenile
Lincoln's, though it didn't quite look right - bill too big, for one thing;
someone else should go have a look). In the cottonwoods to the west of the
wedding rock, a female Bullock's oriole was hopping from branch to branch
eating what? Insects? There certainly wasn't any fruit in those trees. In
the open field on the north, four kinds of swallows (barn, cliff,
violet-green and tree) were coursing back and forth very low over the grass
heads. Meanwhile, a female pheasant burst out of the trees and made for the
little grove near the main pond. She was chased by a male pheasant, who was
squawking as loudly as he could, but she ignored him. Typical.

On the main pond, a few juvenile Canadas were sunning themselves but got up
when we approached. I think they have become wary due to the goose culling
that's been going on. They looked a lot more natural than usual, I must
say. Also on the pond, the scaup was still in evidence. At first I thought
it was a greater, but now I think it is a lesser. I'd appreciate a second
opinion. One great blue heron was fishing with such great success that he
didn't jump into the air when he saw us. Too much trouble, no doubt.

We missed seeing the sharpie that's been hanging out in the willows at the
north end of the pond, but I have a feeling he's still around. To make up
for not seeing him, a bald eagle floated by right over our heads. This one
was fully adult. We've been seeing a juvenile in the area too. Last time we
were at the Fill, the juvenile, chased by 8 Caspian terns, lowered his
landing gear and drifted slowly down to the lake surface, whereupon he
grabbed a fish. Then he flew to the dead beaver trees at the south end of
the Fill and commenced to eat. At least, he thought he was going to eat.
But a red-winged blackbird had other ideas. Buzzing down repeatedly, the
blackbird finally drove the eagle to another branch. Unfortunately, the new
branch was only a foot away from the old branch. What was that eagle
thinking? Even the blackbird was flummoxed by this move. It just stook
there, turning its head from side to side to study this Jethro Clampett of
the bird kingdom. Finally the blackbird decided that the eagle, dumb as he
was, was for real. So he buzzed him again until the poor eagle grabbed his
fish and left. Overall, the eagle reminded me of the equivalent of a human
teenager: fully competent in some areas but clueless in others.

Altogether, we saw 32 species in roughly 45 minutes. A beautiful day.- Connie


Connie Sidles, Seattle
csidles at mail.isomedia.com