Hi,
For my first post to Tweeters, I have decided to share the highlights of my birdwatching trip to the Montlake Fill this morning. There was nothing extraordinarily unusual, but there were a few notable sightings for me, and this trip was a high-species-number-count for me (I?m an eager ?advanced beginner? who started early last year and takes most of my trips to the Fill, as it?s a manageable size with different habitats, and it?s within biking distance for me!).

Summary: ~50 species seen from 7:45-10:45 am.
Highlights (somewhat, but not completely, in taxonomic order):
Greater White-Fronted Goose ? presumably the six that have been there all winter
Common Goldeneye ? a male/female pair; first-time-seen-at-the-Fill
Common Merganser ? 2-3 males and 1 female
Ring-Billed and Mew Gulls ? flock of 15+ Mews and 1 Ring-Billed in rec. field W of slough
Northern Harrier ? an immature (buffy wash on underparts) glided and swooped through the Fill, landing amongst the reeds several times (I never saw if his stops were successful); first-time-seen-at-the-Fill
Bald Eagle ? 1 adult
Wilson?s Snipe ? 5-6 flushed by the harrier
Pileated Woodpecker ? a male (red malar) hammered his way up a tree in a brief stop by the Fill; first-time-seen-at-the-Fill
Lincoln?s Sparrow ? 1 seen near where the trail to the CUH diverges from the loop trail; several sightings of 1 of this species in the past few months leads me to believe this fellow is overwintering at the Fill
White-Crowned Sparrow ? group of 5-6 foraging on the ground near the Lincoln?s; first-of-the-year
Dark-Eyed Junco ? 1; first-time-seen-at-the-Fill!!
Swallow ? first-of-the-year; presumably a Tree Swallow
Ring-Necked Pheasant ? nice posing male; first-of-the-year
Great Blue Heron ? group of 6+ were congregating on an island visible from the left side of the UW crew launch area; I wonder what they were doing hanging out so closely?
Unidentified Duck ? visible resting on the largest island in the inlet that the slough empties into (just SW of the ?Dime Lot?). He was with a female, and his head was turned away from me, with his bill tucked under his feathers. The part of his body I saw (back/top of head, breast, and sides near the breast) appeared to be a relatively uniform rufous, and the head was an even richer cinnamony color. I am wondering if he was a Cinnamon Teal, because I can?t think of what else fits the description of what I saw. But it seems like it might be too early to expect to see this species here. So please don?t set out just to see this guy, as the combination of distance/angle of view/inexperience leave me unsure of the ID.

Good birdwatching,
Evan Houston
Seattle, WA
evanghouston at yahoo.com



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