Tweets,

This morning I received an email from Danene Warnock, a JBP regular,
describing the apparent nesting behavior of a pair of WESTERN GREBES in
Juanita Bay:
"The grebes were pulling pieces of weed over to one spot and definitely
putting the weed in that one spot. One stayed closer to the "nest area" and
the other ventured further afield, sometimes 10 feet or more, and would find
a nice long piece of weed and swim back over with it and apply it to the
"nest spot". They were doing this fairly constantly as we watched for a
good 5-8 minutes."
I went down this afternoon and from 2 to 2:30 watched as this pair continued
to bring vegetation up from the bottom and gather it together. Amusingly,
in the middle of their creation is a floating beer can. Is this a pair of
failed nesters that decided to give it another go in another location? They
can be seen from causeway, north of the pilings and a bit beyond the lily
pads.
An update on the gourds that we installed at the park in April: all seven
are occupied by PURPLE MARTINS, with adults feeding the hungry nestlings.
Amazing how quickly they found the gourds and made them theirs.
MaryFrances?Mathis
Kirkland
mf.mathis at verizon.net