Hey tweets, Fall migration is off to a great start at the Fill. Yesterday
there was a flock of 30 dowitchers on the main pond; today the flock
numbers 8, plus two least sandpipers. I also saw two juvenile towhees (a
first for me at the Fill - I saw them jumping and scratching away under the
bushes by the wedding rock; Dad was nearby but a lot more cautious than the
kids, which could be an example of one of E.O. Wilson's universal truths:
teenage humans come to mind here too). I also saw large numbers of juvenile
white-crowned sparrows. It's been a good year for them.

On the main pond, there was a goodly collection of ducks, including
mallard, northern shoveler, gadwall, green-winged teal and that darned
lesser scaup. Also hanging around was an uncharacteristically silent belted
kingfisher - nice to see that the behemoth building erected to keep
football players dry and mud-free in the winter hasn't eliminated the
little colony of kingfishers.

Some oddities of nature: I haven't seen any green herons this year - have
you? No soras either, and mighty few cliff swallows and savannah sparrows.
It hasn't been a great year for violet-green swallows or tree swallows
either, now that I think of it. But the red-winged blackbirds did great.
Lastly, I wanted to mention something that you are not going to believe: I
didn't see a single starling this afternoon. In their place were hordes of
American goldfinches, roller-coastering through the air like a herd of
miniature flying seals, singing all the way.

FYI, I filled out paperwork to become an official volunteer for the Urban
Hort. Now I can officially proclaim a loosestrife-pulling party, at least
for the south end of the main pond. I'm still thinking about a good
Saturday either later in July or in early August. I'll let you all know.
The old bod is getting kinda creaky lately and I'm having a little trouble
flogging it into enthusiasm for the job. The mind is eager but the joints
are still protesting. When I get them under control, I'll put something
together and post a date here. - Connie

Connie Sidles, Seattle; csidles at mail.isomedia.com