Subject: spring has sprung
Date: Feb 19 14:50:56 2004
From: Rob McNair-Huff - rob at whiterabbits.com


I noted signs of spring today as well. During an hour-long walk through
Puget Gulch in Tacoma I watched an Anna's Hummingbird gather moss and
then was able to keep my eyes on the female as it flew off and added the
moss to its nest overhead, about 20 feet above the main trail through the
gulch. Kinglets must be building nests now as well, as I watched a Ruby-
crowned Kinglet female filling its beak with lichen that hangs from a
tree in the lower part of the gulch. Meanwhile, Song Sparrows and Winter
Wrens filled the air with their mating songs, and Golden-crowned Kinglets
took breaks from feeding in the deciduous trees over the trail to chase
each other.

As another sign of spring, the number of individuals and species of
waterfowl on the Ruston Way portion of Commencement Bay seems to be
diminishing every day. It's time to start paying attention to passerines
rather than waterfowl.

Happy birding!

--
Rob McNair-Huff ---------- Tacoma, WA
Author of Birding Washington (Falcon Publishing, 2004)
and Insider's Guide to the Olympic Peninsula (Globe Pequot, 2001)
White Rabbit Publishing ---- http://www.whiterabbits.com
Mac Net Journal ---------- http://www.macnetjournal.com
The Equinox Project ------ http://www.whiterabbits.com/weblog.html