Subject: Fill finds
Date: May 9 05:55:00 2003
From: Connie Sidles - csidles at isomedia.com


Hey tweets, It's a real debate whether the Fill is better in the morning or
the evening. Mornings produce better sparrows and any flycatchers that may
be around; evenings seem to produce better shorebirds. I guess it just makes
sense to stay there all the time, but unluckily for our society, sensible
activities like that must give way to crazy things like work, family,
eating, sleeping. Go figure.

At any rate, yesterday evening at the Fill was really great. Highlights
included the Solitary Sandpiper still around (hats off to Stuart MacKay for
finding it on the wooded pond near the point); three warbler species
(Wilson's; Orange-Crowned; Yellow-Rumped); and two Northern Rough-Winged
Swallows.

The Solitary has now become a quiet, shy skulker (oh boy, my favorite kind
of bird: a hider who never announces his presence). He divides his time
among at least three ponds: the wooded pond mentioned above (wear rubber
boots to walk around here!); the main pond; and Shoveler Pond. Oh, did I
forget to mention, he spooks easily, too? Good luck finding this bird.

I missed the meadowlark that Ilene Samowitz found last night (dang, too many
birds, too little time). Here's a complete list of what I found:

pied-billed grebe
double-crested cormorant
great blue heron (looking at the old heronry trees, thinking, thinking,
thinking: should I? shouldn't I?)
Canada goose
mallard
gadwall
northern shoveler
green-winged teal
cinnamon teal
ring-necked duck
bufflehead
ring-necked pheasant
American coot
killdeer
solitary sandpiper
least sandpiper
glaucous-winged gull
Vaux's swift
Anna's hummingbird
rufous hummingbird
northern flicker (red-shafted; may have seen the yellow-shafted, but light
was poor)
Steller's jay
American crow
tree swallow
violet-green swallow
northern rough-winged swallow
cliff swallow
barn swallow
black-capped chickadee
bushtit
American robin
European starling
orange-crowned warbler
yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon's)
Wilson's warbler
white-crowned sparrow
song sparrow
savannah sparrow
red-winged blackbird
brown-headed cowbird
house finch
American goldfinch
house sparrow