Hey tweets, The mist rose at the Fill yesterday evening, the weeds were dank
and the still air smelled of fall. It was unspeakably beautiful. The birds
seemed to really like this weather. Everyone was busy either settling in for
the winter or getting ready to head south. The place was like a train
station, and just as noisy. One especially obnoxious domestic mallard kept
honking in a way that made me wonder what was wrong. When I finally got a
look at him, I learned that he was just sounding off and all my hurry was
for nothing. "Shaddup," I told him, then looked around guiltily. Not because
I was worried that someone would see me talking to a duck - after all, I
talk to my appliances, too. Rather, I didn't want anyone to see me being
rude to a bird. How crazy is that? In my defense, I will say that that
mallard's relentless honking finally drove away my favorite great blue
heron, who had been patiently trying to stab a fish nearby. The duck also
drowned out the cries of a little flock of cedar waxwings, which flew right
over my head as they tried to escape the little peregrine that was after
them. (By the way, I love Kathy Andrich's moniker suggestion for this guy:
Phil Falcon, address, Fill.)

At any rate, the reason I entitled this post "fallout" is because, despite
the fact that the weather was calm and bright, birds were everywhere. I must
have seen more than 200 yellow-rumped warblers stuffed into every available
grove. Oddly, every single one of them that I observed was the myrtle
variety. Also in large numbers, cedar waxwings, American pipits (a flock of
between 20 and 30), Bewick's wrens, huge numbers of savannah sparrows,
goodly numbers of golden-crowned sparrows, and another passage of red-winged
blackbirds. All in all, a most lovely outing.

Here's everything I found:

pied-billed grebe
double-crested cormorant
great blue heron
Canada goose
mallard
gadwall
green-winged teal
American wigeon
northern shoveler
ruddy duck
wood duck
greater scaup
American coot
long-billed dowitcher
glaucous-winged gull
peregrine falcon
rock dove
anna's hummingbird
northern flicker (red)
downy woodpecker
belted kingfisher
Steller's jay
American crow
black-capped chickadee
Bewick's wren
American robin
American pipit
cedar waxwing
European starling
yellow-rumped warbler
common yellowthroat
spotted towhee
savannah sparrow
golden-crowned sparrow
white-crowned sparrow
song sparrow
red-winged blackbird
American goldfinch
housefinch - Connie, Seattle
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