Hi Tweets,



I decided to visit the Union Bay Natural Area this morning and, well the
trip got off to an unusual start to say the least. As I was turning into
the driveway at the Center for Urban Horticulture I saw a young woman acting
nervous by the bushes at the trailhead. She apparently didn't see me coming
because she suddenly dropped her shorts and squatted down as if to relieve
herself. At that moment, she looked up to see my car pulling into the
driveway. She quickly pulled up her shorts, weaved left and then right in a
moment of stunned indecisiveness, and then walked towards the small parking
lot at the trailhead. Although I had intended to park there, I decided to
drive all the way over to the large lot on the opposite end of the building
so as to spare both of us from the ongoing awkwardness. Now, I know
emergencies happen, but what would possess a person to drop and squat right
next to both the driveway and the trailhead when there are much more
secluded spots just 10 feet away? I looked for hidden cameras to see if I
might have just become part of some weird UW sociology class experiment.



Anyway, I did actually see some birds today as well, including one that has
me slightly puzzled. I initially thought it was a Chipping Sparrow, but the
weak eye-stripe and larger than I expect bill are throwing me off. Plus,
this bird raised a pretty impressive crest when I pointed my camera at him.
I posted a photo here: http://www.goatislandimages.com/Mystery%20Page.htm
and would love your input.



Below is my species list from today in no particular order:



Jaybird, human stark naked as a

Barn Swallow

White-crowned Sparrow

House Sparrow

European Starling

Bushtit

Black-capped Chickadee

American Goldfinch

Chipping Sparrow (unless someone tells me otherwise :o)

Common Yellowthroat

Bald Eagle

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Mallard

Canada Goose

Northern Shoveler

Great Blue Heron

Pied-billed Grebe



Fairly short list, but I left early as spectators for the Blue Angels show
were showing up in great numbers.



Kevin Mack

Edmonds, WA

www.goatislandimages.com <http://www.goatislandimages.com/>