On a lark, I thought I'd stop by the Fill (UW - Seattle) on my way back from
an entirely unproductive watch of Puget Sound from the Richmond Beach area
this afternoon. I'd not had a chance to look for the LAPLAND LONGSPUR that
has been hanging out there. And having not heard any recent reports, I
doubted I'd have any success, but hey - nothing ventured...

I made my way south from the Dime Lot to the hairpin turn in the trail that
lies next to the westernmost pond. Pings from baseballs off alumninum bats
filled the air. It was windy, too. I found no birds in the grass in the
area around the turn. I was distracted by a flyby of 5-6 BLUE-WINGED TEAL
(the males in eclipse, making ID tricky), and therefore forgot about the
longspur. I was trying to get a look at the teal on the water as I wandered
east on the trail towards the main pond.

About half-way between the two ponds, a small bird exploded from the ground
right next to my feet. It flew a dozen yards or so and settled into the
grass, no more than 15 feet from the trail. He and I spent the next five
minutes eying each other, as joggers and runners passed on the trail. It
eventually flew towards the main pond, but remained generally in the grassy
area along the path between the two ponds.

Looks like he's hanging out for a while...

== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland, WA
== http://www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
== birdmarymoor at verizon.net