Hey tweets, Today was supposed to be my day to get my life in order.
Although I really dislike the summer (my brain's melting point is 74
degrees, and most days recently have gone higher than that), on the other
hand, summer is the only time when things slow down a little and I have even
the faintest chance of getting all caught up. Realizing that the summer is
rapidly fleeing, however, I set aside the entire day to get organized. I
haven't seen my desk in so long, I'm not sure I remember what color it is.
My dust bunnies are the size of Volkswagens, and my family has taken to
selecting their clothing by taking the sniff test every morning. Not good.

But then on the way back from running an early-morning errand, I decided to
take a quick look at the Montlake Fill. You can guess what happened. The
Fill was really hopping today, and my quick 15 minutes turned into three
hours. So if you plan to pay a visit to my house in the next few weeks, you
will have to pardon the fact that I will not let you in the door. My house
will be having a hissy fit. Why fight it? I'd rather be birding.

Birds are definitely on the move now. I saw a lone WESTERN MEADOWLARK in the
field just south of the CUH building this morning at 8. Also in that area
was a CHIPPING SPARROW, which is really unusual. Then, as I was sitting on
the Wedding Rock, a WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE showed up briefly in the cultivated
bushes. I could hear a WILLOW FLYCATCHER in the trees to the south and later
spotted a PACIFIC SLOPE FLYCATCHER in the willows around the main pond. As
if that weren't enough, two LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were feeding and grooming
on the main pond, along with a flock of 8 LEAST SANDPIPERS. VAUX'S SWIFTS
were plentiful and were obliging enough to swoop by at head height. Also in
the willows at the main pond was a LINCOLN'S SPARROW, a beautiful little
thing (and my favorite sparrow). The swallows are heading south for the
winter (most of the swallows to be seen at the Fill now are replacement
birds from farther north; the locals have pretty much left the site, except
for some of the barn swallows). The WOOD DUCKS are out foraging among the
lily pads, along with a whopping big beaver.

Here's a complete list of what I found today:

pied-billed grebe
great blue heron
Canada goose
mallard
wood duck
killdeer
least sandpiper
long-billed dowitcher
glaucous-winged gull
ring-necked pheasant
rock dove
Vaux's swift
rufous hummingbird
northern flicker (red)
western wood-pewee
willow flycatcher
Pacific slope flycatcher
tree swallow
violet-green swallow
cliff swallow
barn swallow
American crow
black-capped chickadee
bushtit
Bewick's wren
marsh wren
American robin
cedar waxwing
European starling
common yellowthroat
spotted towhee
savannah sparrow
song sparrow
chipping sparrow
white-crowned sparrow
Lincoln's sparrow
western meadowlark
red-winged blackbird
brown-headed cowbird
house sparrow
house finch
American goldfinch - Connie Sidles, Seattle

csidles at isomedia.com