Today, among the ever-present chickadees and juncos in our yard, we saw two
common yellowthroats, as well as a couple of red-breasted nuthatches, brown
creepers, and golden-crowned kinglets. Not an unusual backyard mix, but still
fun since we've not seen some of these little guys for a while.

Later in the afternoon, I was sorting through papers (preparing for the
dreaded tax return) when I out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something
strolling leisurely by my window, only about four feet away from me. Based on
the size and movement, my immediate thought was that one of the neighbors
chickens had escaped (again.) A split-second later, though, I realized it was
not a chicken, but a Sharp-shinned Hawk! He didn't seem bothered by me in the
slightest, and continued to stroll on our deck even as I jumped up to get a
closer look. He hopped down onto the ground, and went about his business of
stalking whatever it was he perceived to be in the nearby bushes.

Wow. What a treat! The only other time I have seen a sharpie up close and
personal was last summer. The hawk was in hot pursuit of a fast-flying robin,
when the robin (perhaps aware of his fate?) suddenly turned kamikaze and
slammed into our living room window. A nano-second later, the sharpie
followed suit. I was a few feet away from the window, but my cat,
unfortunately, was laying mere inches away from ground zero. The noise scared
us both half to death. The birds hit with such force, that both were killed
instantly.

All-in-all, it was a good bird day, which certainly helped improve my grumpy
"not-ready-for-tax-season" mood. :)

Linda Davey
Sammamish, WA