FEATURED BIRDS:
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon; I've never seen one here in the summertime before!)
Osprey (fishing in Union Bay)
Scaup pair (I think Greater, but they were deeply hunkered into their own
feathers, fast asleep, so hard to tell for sure)
Spotted Sandpiper (so heavily spotted, even the back had spots)
Vaux's Swifts (drinking water on the wing, like skimmers)
American Wigeon

Hey tweets, The Fill is lush right now, with grass growing head-high and all
the trees heavily leafed out. Great habitat for the birds, but it does make
them harder to see. On the other hand, the height of the grass on either
side of the trails creates a wall between us and the urban world, screening
out even the traffic whooshes. In this Northwest version of the jungle, you
can sit down beside the path and let the birds conduct their lives all
around you.

I did that this morning, to the point where even the male Red-winged
Blackbirds got used to me and quit warning me off. The Killdeers on Shoveler
Pond and the main pond quit piping and started preening. I was the new kid
on the block but definitely part of the scene.

The berry-bearing trees at the start of Wahkiakum trail are laden with fruit
now, so the American Robins, European Starlings, House Finches and Cedar
Waxwings are coming here from all over the neighborhood to squabble and
gorge.

A recent mosquito hatch has attracted tons of swallows - Cliff, Barn, Tree
and Violet-Green. I urge them on as they swoop by. Mosquitoes are not one of
my favorite critters, although my elderly aunt reminds me that they have
their own beauty. I can find it in my heart to agree, but I'd rather do so
at a a distance. Today, my contribution to global warming (i.e., my
exhalation of CO2) attracted a swarm of mosquitoes right over my head. I was
just about to take off my hat and shoo them away fruitlessly, when a tree
swallow shot by so close I could hear its wing feathers catch the breeze. If
this were September, I guess I'd qualify as a migrant trap. Birds go where
there's food, and I have an unerring ability to attract mosquitoes.

It's been a great year for Gadwalls - lots of little guys skittering on the
ponds. The mud is in good condition, though scrubby vegetation keeps wanting
to take it all over. However, there is enough to furnish the Cliff Swallows
with building material, and they were busy today scooping it up. Nearby, a
Spotted Sandpiper with muddy feet was dipping its bill in the soft ooze and
pulling out breakfast. At one point, a Killdeer marched shoulder to shoulder
with the sandpiper, bobbing its rear to the same beat.

Here's everything I found this morning:
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Mallard
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Scaup xx (Greater, I think)
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Glaucous-winged Gull
Bald Eagle
Osprey
Ring-necked Pheasant
Rock Pigeon
Vaux's Swift
Anna's Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Bewick's Wren
Marsh Wren
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat
Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch
House Finch - Connie, Seattle

csidles at isomedia.com