Hi tweeters,

Lots of fledglings around Ballard, the highlights include two juv Belted
Kingfishers at the locks/Commodore Park perched 3 feet apart on the railing
overlooking the water. Three times this week I've seen an adult with a small
fish in its mouth fly into the same tree in the same vicinity. (Just west of
the terraced lawn on the Magnolia side, its a steep dirt/sandy bank.) When
Kingfishers perch on the sidewalk railing they let you get a certain
distance from them before they fly a distance farther down the railing, and
they repeat the same as you walk along. The interesting thing to me is that
the adults will let you get about 40 feet away while the youngsters will let
you get about 25 feet away, sometimes closer.

Down at the pond in Golden Gardens Park I was privileged to see 3 juv Barn
Swallows and 4 juv Red-winged Blackbirds in the same dead bush overlooking
the small round part of the pond. The BASW were being fed at regular
intervals by an adult or two(?) There were several male and female adult
RWBL making quite a fuss in the area, but they always do that, they seem to
have a great dislike for the local crows.

Cliff Drake
Ballard Seattle, WA
cliffdrake at qwest.net