Hey tweets, It's very wrong of our species to denigrate birds by calling
stupid members of our own species "bird brains." Birds are much smarter than
humans. For example, yesterday afternoon at the Fill, I saw hundreds and
hundreds of swallows (and a few Vaux's swifts) flying around hunting
insects. The numbers were astounding. Each little microhabitat had its own
collection of circling swallows. I didn't think too much of it, aside from
appreciating the beauty of it all, until I decided to walk over to Union Bay
to get closer to one of the swallow pods. I inadvertently discovered why the
swallows were there in such numbers when I entered a swarm of newly hatched
mosquitoes. By swarm I mean horde, as in Genghis Khan's horde. I was
instantly covered with hundreds of mosquitoes, so much so that a few tree
swallows came zooming in to check me out. They got so close I could see the
whites of their eyes, that is, if swallows had any whites of eyes. How did
the birds know the mosquitoes would be there hatching? I certainly had had
no idea. Anyway, I looked for the bank swallows reported yesterday and found
none, but truly there were so many birds flying around, I got dizzy trying
to track just one or two. I did see quite a few northern rough-winged
swallows, which is always a treat at the Fill.

Also a treat was the male Anna's still on guard near the wedding rock. He
was displaying up a storm. His favored technique was to soar up thirty feet
by holding out his wings and bending his bill down. He looked like a gymnast
doing one on those "iron cross" moves. When he got to the top of his soar,
he'd give a chirp or two, turn his shining magenta head this way and that,
and then plunge down into the bushes. Quite a sight. I was definitely
impressed, so imagine what the female hummingbird must have thought.

Here's a list of everything I found yesterday:

pied-billed grebe
double-crested cormorant
Canada goose
mallard gadwall
green-winged teal
American wigeon
northern shoveler
ring-necked duck
bald eagle (trying desperately to bunch up his feet enough to hang onto the
top of the dead beaver tree)
ring-necked pheasant
American coot
least sandpiper
glaucous-winged gull
Vaux's swift
anna's hummingbird
northern flicker (red)
flycatcher (couldn't tell which one; it stayed silent; found by the old
wooden bridge)
American crow
tree swallow
violet-green swallow
cliff swallow
barn swallow
northern rough-winged swallow
bushtit
black-capped chickadee
Bewick's wren
American robin
European starling
common yellowthroat
white-crowned sparrow
savannah sparrow
song sparrow
red-winged blackbird
brown-headed cowbird
house finch
American goldfinch
-Connie, Seattle

csidles at isomedia.com