Hey tweets, eleven long-billed dowitchers were feeding on the main pond
at the Fill this morning. Yesterday, there were 22 wood ducks out among
the lily pads. No starlings today anywhere, and just 8 Canada geese,
all out in the middle of the lake. Doesn't that strike you as odd, in
terms of just sheer numbers of birds? I think the earth must be getting
ready to switch its magnetic poles, or something. You may know that
this really has happened from time to time in the past, as shown by the
magnetism preserved in the sea-floor spreading along the mid-Atlantic
ridge. They say that animals can sense this kind of stuff, although I
must admit that just prior to the last earthquake, my cat had no clue.
She was fast asleep. When the quake hit, I think she achieved Mach 2
running out the cat door. A more clued-in cat would have already been
outside.

On a more serious note, the Fill was truly lovely this morning. While I
sat on my camp stool watching the dowitchers fuel up, an Anna's
hummingbird hovered near my head, grabbing insects out of the sky.
Numerous common yellowthroats flew back and forth in the bushes, chased
by the hummingbird when they encroached on its air space. Vaux's swifts
swooped down and dotted the glassy surface of the pond as they sipped a
drink on the fly. A little male downy woodpecker foraged among the root
balls of the loosestrife, which has popped up all over the north side
of the pond. Not to worry - every plant is pocked with holes made by
the beetles imported from Europe years ago. The predator-prey
relationship between plant and bug seems stable. The ducks are all in
the process of going into eclipse plummage, so it's a lot of fun to
scrutinize all of them and try to figure out what they are. One turned
out to be a cinnamon teal - it was great to figure that out from its
bill shape and head pattern, only to be confirmed in my ID when the
bird took wing and showed off its powder-blue patches. There have been
so many times over the years when I see a bird and can't ID it - it's a
great feeling when I see a cryptic example and make the ID. (And
please, don't nobody ask me if I'm sure it wasn't a blue-winged teal
instead. Just let me wallow in my ignorance. It would be kinder.)

Here's everything I saw today:
pied-billed grebe (two seem to be tending a nest out in the lily pads)
great blue heron
Canada goose
mallard
gadwall
cinnamon teal
wood duck
killdeer
long-billed dowitcher
glaucous-winged gull
bald eagle
red-tailed hawk
ring-necked pheasant
rock pigeon
Vaux's swift
Anna's hummingbird
northern flicker
downy woodpecker
willow flycatcher
tree swallow
violet-green swallow
barn swallow
cliff swallow
American crow
black-capped chickadee
Bewick's wren
marsh wren
American robin
common yellowthroat
savannah sparrow
song sparrow
white-crowned sparrow
red-winged blackbird
American goldfinch
house finch - Connie, Seattle

csidles at isomedia.com