Hiya Tweets!

Got a day off today, so spent part of the early afternoon at the Montlake Fill. Being so close to noon, the lighting was not good, seemed to be in my face no matter where I was, causing lotsa backlit birds. Still, I did beat and pish around until I walked away with a respectable 48 species.

I did get to see the Western Meadowlark that has been mentioned here for the past couple weeks. I first saw it on the ground, and then watched it fly to the top of a small tree near the northeast end of the main pond. It seemed quite shy, always making sure it's cryptically colored back was turned to me. Still I did see some nice yellow on the face and some on the breast. Pretty bird, LOL.

I also pished out an Orange-crowned Warbler, which is always nice to see still hanging out. It was foraging amongst a large mixed flock which included Black-capped Chickadee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Bushtit and a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I also went to the far north little pond that is hidden by trees on the far side of the meadow. Last winter I saw Hooded Mergansers doing a breeding display there, but now the water is so low that there was not enough for ducks. However, I did get to see Hermit Thrush, Red-winged Blackbirds and American Robins all foraging on the ground and on various berries.

Among the more interesting observations were the many Northern Shovelers at the main/central pond, in all states of molt - provided great contrasts. I also got good sparrow representation again with Song, White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Savannah, House, Lincoln's and Fox Sparrows all seen. I'm always happy with 7 sparrow species, although I'd prefer to find something more interesting than House Sparrows as #7, but hey! Can't be too picky, and they're just as much fun to watch as anyone else when you take the time to waych them. I also heard Ring-necked Pheasant and saw a lovely adult Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA). Also watched and heard a Steller's Jay working on it's RTHA mimicry - not bad, but I could still tell the difference!

Most everything else was amongst the usual suspects for this time of year. A lovely afternoon for birding in the city!

Brett A. Wolfe
Seattle, WA
m_lincolnii at yahoo.com



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