Subject: [Tweeters] Fill of beauty
Date: Apr 27 17:23:02 2008
From: Constance Sidles - constancesidles at gmail.com


Hey tweets, Birders often ask me, "What's the best time to bird the
Fill?" Today, I would have to answer, right at dawn. I found myself on
the main pond just as the sun came up. A male Cinnamon Teal was gliding
on the mirror finish of the water, leaving a small wake behind that
caught the light like a golden comet's tail streaking behind.

One year, we went up to Stampede Pass to look at a comet. I think it
must have been Comet Hyakutake. It was supposed to be one of the
brightest of the decade. I still remember how the tail spread out
behind the bright coma for a distance of 70 degrees across the velvety
night sky. Aside from its ravishing beauty, the thing that impressed me
most was the silence. I somehow expected that anything leaving that big
and bright a streak ought to make a noise, at least some kind of
whoosh. But there is no air in space, and so no sound. No sound either
made by the teal and his comet's tail this morning. At that hour of the
day, the Fill is as quiet as it ever gets. The teal was a symphony of
gold, mahogany, cinnamon, and black, but only a song for the eyes.

On the other hand, maybe a better answer about timing would be early
afternoon. That was when I was sitting on my camp stool in the little
glade east of the greenhouses. My husband had just stopped by to give
me a latte, so there I sat, sipping coffee, surrounded by bird song and
beauty. Song Sparrows, American Goldfinches, American Robins,
Black-capped Chickadees, Bewick's Wrens, Bushtits, Spotted Towhees,
Steller's Jays, Cedar Waxwings, and Downy Woodpeckers were all pouring
forth their music, as gorgeous as any choir on earth. Does life get any
better? Well, yes, as a matter of fact, it did. Just as I was joined by
three other birders, I saw a sudden motion in the leaves. I leaped up.
Warbling Vireo. Foraging near a Wilson's Warbler. Singing near an
Orange-crowned Warbler. Perching next to a Willow Flycatcer (I think).
The glade was alive with birds, so wonderful, we didn't know which way
to look first. Should we track the Wilson's or the vireo, the
orange-crowned or the flycatcher? Who cares? They were all
heart-stopping, breath-taking, beautiful.

And don't even get me started on the Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary
Sandpiper, and Least Sandpipers seen around noon on the main pond and
southeast pond.

All I know is, the Fill is paradise, no matter what time you go. -
Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com