Just prior to the anticipated slaughter of the Seattle Seahawks by the Oakland Raiders, Kris Baker and I braved the crowds to peruse the Montlake Fill for canvasbacks and other birds. We didn't see a single canvasback, but Kris was tipped off by a bald eagle as to the whereabouts of a feisty peregrine. The eagle was perched in a prominent snag in the SE corner of the fill, squeaking as it was being harassed by a peregrine. Starlings and crows soon responded by fleeing to the west as the falcon swooped west and then east, and finally the peregrine perched high on Husky stadium.

Hooded mergansers were the other highlight, about 8 males in prominent view among the coots, gadwalls, shovelers, geese, and cormorants. A chickadee was feeding in the cattails, and a robin amused us by calling softly as it fed solo in a thicket of very abundant berries.

At dusk the crows were actually somewhat scarce; I suspect they were low in the parking lot, taking advantage of all the barbecued treats left from the tailgate party. Not a bad day, we escaped the traffic and even made some good buys at the U Bookstore.

Kevin Li
Ballard, USA
kdli at msn.com