Hi Tweets

Three of us set off this morning under cloudy skies. The wind picked up and
there were occasional periods of light drizzle, with a bit of clearing later
on. There was quite a bit of activity before the wind started, not a whole lot
after that.

Highlights:

Green Heron Several sightings
Wood Duck Pair, plus female with 9 babies
Barn Owl Fledgling near nest tree
Rufous Hummingbird Female across from Rowing Club dock, lots of Ms
Hairy Woodpecker Nice look at female near RC dock
Bullock's Oriole Much singing!, 1F, 1M, and 1 first spring M seen

Lots of activity at the Red-tailed Hawk nests, though we didn't set up the
scopes to really check them out. The flickers were very active at their nest
opposite the RC dock, as were the Tree Swallows nesting there. Plenty of young
House Finch being fed, as well as at least 1 young Red-winged Blackbird.

A fledgling BARN OWL was returning towards the nest tree, hounded by around 20
crows, at 6:20 AM. As I drove up, the owl dropped into the grass and
blackberries some 30 yards shy of the tree. The crows landed in the trees and
bushes nearby and proceded to squawk. I chased them away temporarily, but they
returned as soon as I left. I think the owl managed to get in under the
blackberries first though. This poor juvie owl is woefully uncoordinated and
of questionable judgement. Hopefully s/he will get through the "teenage"
period soon and will be in a better position to take care of itself. It
desperately needs to make sure its somewhere safe BEFORE the crows wake up in
the morning...

All told, only about 42 species this morning.

== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland WA
== Hummer at isomedia.com
== http://www.scn.org/fomp/birding.htm