Hey tweets, When my mother was a girl, she used to love to go to the train
station and watch all the people come and go. She said it was exciting to
see travelers with their tickets in hand and eager expressions on their
faces, going out the doors to the waiting trains to be whisked away to
far-off adventures. My mother also loved to watch the arriving passengers,
who would be greeted by long-lost relatives holding flowers - and sometimes
placards with their relatives' names written large. My mother was too poor
to travel herself, so she would imagine all the places the travelers were
going to or coming from.

Spring-time at the Fill is like that for me. I love to sit and watch the new
arrivals from Mexico or South America. I try to imagine what it was like in
their winter homes, and what challenges they faced in their long journey
north. When they get here, they always come in a rush. Gotta eat. Need a
bath. I'm so thirsty. How's the old homestead? Do we need to remodel, or
should we just start a new home? Check out that young male - my, he's a
hottie. Everyone is decked out in their finest colors, and they are too busy
to worry about whether to hide from the birders.

Today at the Fill, we had a host of terrific arrivals: Vaux's Swifts, large
numbers of Cliff, Violet-Green and Tree Swallows, the most Savannah Sparrows
I've seen in years, and Common Yellowthroats.

Some arrivals are just passing through. They'll spend a little time here
filling up on food, and then they've got to be on their way: Western
Meadowlark, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Greater White-fronted Goose,
Brewer's Blackbird, large numbers of Lincoln's Sparrows and a Dunlin in
breeding plumage!

Meanwhile, the winter residents are scurrying around figuratively packing
their bags for their big trip north. Yellow-rumped Warblers are so brightly
colored now, they rival the sunshine itself. Common Mergansers are rafting
together like a marina of sailboats without masts. Today, tomorrow or next
week, they'll be gone, taking the Buffleheads with them. Gold-crowned
Sparrows are practicing their breeding songs and filling up on another
beakful of seeds - just a little more fat to see them through.

The air is filled with a cacophony of arrivals and departures, with everyone
crowding together in such numbers, it's a wonder they don't ram into each
other. I had a few close calls with some swallows who were so intent on
chasing bugs near the ground that they barely saw me in time. Hey, slow
down, I said. But they were already yards away, no apology given, none
needed.

If you can, take some time to sit in the station and enjoy the show. -
Connie, Seattle

csidles at isomedia.com