Hey tweets, Many years ago, when my oldest son was about seven, he
created a Chutes and Ladders-type game that he called "Multiply Your
Dunlin." It was printed in Earthcare NW. I was reminded of that game
today when I saw a flock of 40-some dunlin at the Fill. Talk about
multiplying. Also present in numbers were American pipits (a flock of
10) and quite a few raptors (for the Fill): a red-tailed hawk, two
Cooper's, a sharp-shinned, and best of all, a bald eagle carrying a
perfectly ginormous stick across the water toward Foster Island. You'd
think that there would be sticks aplenty on Foster Island, so why
bother toting such a big one for such a long way? It's got to be
finickiness. The working eagle was soon followed by an empty-taloned
mate, so I amused myself trying to figure out whether the
huffing/puffing eagle was the male ("Doris, I wish you wouldn't be so
fussy - the sticks on the island are just as good as the ones clear
across the lake") or the female ("I have to do everything around here
myself."). I know it's frowned upon to anthropomorphize wild critters,
but sometimes it's impossible to resist. And after all, the eagles do
face some of the same problems that we have: building shelter for their
families, finding food, staying warm. Thinking about what we share in
common with the wild things helps me appreciate their doings all the
more.

Also of note: a common goldeneye on the bay, two gold-crowned sparrows
(sparrow numbers are really down), wood ducks in breeding plumage, a
pair of hooded mergansers on the main pond.

By the way, I encourage all of you to explore the road to the west of
the wooden bridge (especially heading in the northern direction). No
one has chopped down the blackberries that line the slough there, so
it's a hotbed of sparrows, finches, thrushes, and other songbirds. This
is where the mythical Virginia rail was seen in the spring by birders
who are well known to be reliable, truth-telling folks, but all I can
say about them is that they must have the ability to enter an alternate
universe when they cross that bridge, one where Virginia rails
apparently come out in droves to Morris dance along the road. As for my
universe, bupkus on the rails. - Connie, Seattle

csidles at isomedia.com