Tweeters,

Some fun observations today in the yard I thought I would share. Ours is a
fairly open yard, with a couple of very old, tall evergreens at the corners,
some ferns and hydrangeas and one central main bush I like to call the "bus
stop" bush as they all seem to use it for varying purposes. Below is the
regular goofy bunch of the following"repeat offenders" as we like to call
them seen in our yard daily:

1 hyper-terrtorial Anna's Hummingbird (same branch on the "bus stop" bush,
every day)
1 scolding Song Sparrow (us and the dog all get scolded and supervised when
out in the yard)
5-6 Black-capped Chickadees flying like little drunken sailors back and
forth from the "bust stop" bush to the feeder
3-4 House Finches that strategically wait for the finches and sparrows to
flee at anything
A Patrol of 6-8 Junco's all over the yard and our front porch
and a Squadron of mixed Chipping Sparrows and House Sparrows. (they received
this monikor due to their low, high-speed, incoming assaults on the feeder
that takes them tearing at break-neck speed right past our front windows)
two to three Squirrels that see what the others leave behind

In additon to this menagerie, today we seemed to have some solitary
commuters on their way back home from celebrating the holidays with love
ones we suspect, as they are all firsts for our yard:

1 Cassin's Vireo that rested on the main "bus stop" bush in our yard for
about 30 minutes
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet that perused the yard two or three times
1 Bewick's Wren that hung out under the "bus stop" bush until the rain let
up a bit
and a fly by of one Varied Thrush heading towards Discovery Park.

Also, last Thursday, while on the phone, I noticed the dog going nuts out
the front window. I assumed it ws the usual squirrels that get her all
excited, but when I craned my neck to look sidways up the walkway, I saw
what was really the source of agitation - a hawk had perched itself on the
railing of some stairs we have crossing the front yard. Was hard to see at
that angle and had it's back to me, but from the size and coloring it looked
to be a Female Harrier... which is a species we have been spotting more
often this winter in our neighborhood area.

Can't wait to see what happens the rest of this week. Don't seem to need to
leave the front room for all of this!

Whitney H.
Loser Magnolia, Seattle

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