Hi All,

My wife and I had an excellent evening of birding at Stillwater tonight, picking up both the YELLOW BREASTED CHAT (YBCH) and the AMERICAN REDSTART (AMRE), with the added bonus of having an AMERICAN BITTERN take flight within 15 yards of us. In total, we had 23 species in about an hour and a half of birding. My camera gear stayed home this time - a big mistake as things turned out.

The YBCH was vocalizing in brush by the trail, just north(west) of the first bridge south of the WDFW parking lot, and was visible for several quick looks as well before disappearing into the thicket and becoming quiet (or perhaps it flew and we did not see where it went).

Near the second bridge, we talked with two other birders/photographers who hadn't seen the YBCH yet, but who had great looks at the AMRE about 50 yards south of the second bridge south of the WDFW lot. (Thanks very much to them for pinpointing the whereabouts of the AMRE, and we hope they found the YBCH as they walked out.) The AMRE (a female, perhaps a first year based on the relatively subdued wing bar coloration) was active on both sides of the trail, working through the brush for insects, and provided some excellent looks complete with the distinctive tail fanning behavior. It was a real treat to watch.

Between the second and third bridges to the east of the trail is a shallow pond (rapidly drying up) that lies adjacent to Harris Creek. A SPOTTED SANDPIPER was working the edges of the pond, and while we were watching that bird, an AMERICAN BITTERN that was in the vegetation just off the trail by the pond took off in front of us and flew north angling across the trail.

CEDAR WAXWINGS were present in large numbers all along this stretch of trail, along with the other expected species.

John Tubbs
Snoqualmie, WA
johntubbs at comcast.net
www.tubbsphoto.com