today was a somewhat-frustrating day that, given the weather, finished out
well enough to change out three weeks worth of "Photos of the Month" :)...

started with a visit to marymoor, to try once more to get a decent photo of
the sage sparrow. two hours, sitting in one spot, no one else around
(surprisingly), and the wind just keeps getting more bitter by the minute.
so, i wander down from the gravel hill towards the north end of the compost
lot, to find margaret st clair. with fresh eyes, she easily spotted our
prey, but all we were able to do is scare a hiding killdeer off what may be
a nest in the north-end of said lot (he was THAT kind of skittish)...

over the next hour or so, every time we split up, one of us would come up
with our flighty wrong-way corrigan, but he wasn't giving up much for
posterity until, just before i proclaimed myself tired of the game, he lit
on some himalayan blackberry canes about 20 feet away for about 30
seconds...

back home in time for the sleet and hail to abate, and i'm looking out my
wonderful south-facing window when the porch's third woodpecker species of
the year appears: a nifty pileated. by the time i got the camera gear and
my far-too-substantial buns out the door, she had moved herself another 50
feet back, but still, quite a pleasant surprise...

as i'm trying to focus on the pileated, a flock of pine siskins and chestnut
/ black-cap chickadees swarm in, and one of the siskins comes straight at my
lens, hovers for about 3 seconds barely above the lens guard itself, staring
at me the entire time, then flits off to the little deciduous about 25 feet
away. he's the siskin in today's Photos of the Month gallery, along with
the pileated and the sage sparrow... i wonder if he's the same one that
tagged my bird waterer while i was changing it out a few weeks ago, staring
me down from about 5 inches away for a couple of minutes...

to remind: the calendar this month is a non-avian winged creature, and is
available in the calendar section of the website...

enjoy!

00 caren
http://www.parkgallery.org
george davis creek, north fork


--
No virus found in outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.23/740 - Release Date: 2007.03.30
13:15