Hi Tweets -
Nothing earth-shattering this morning, but I wanted to report in on the latest signs of fall at the Montlake Fill in Seattle.

The cool rainy weather has brought in more migrants and winter visitors this week and last. I've been spending about 1 1/2 hrs at the Fill four mornings a week now for five months, and it has been interesting to see the seasons turn over on such a small scale.

Today there were 3 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS around - yesterday one.
On Monday I saw a bright male WILSON'S WARBLER. Last week brought in a NASHVILLE WARBLER on one day, and a MACGILLIVRAYS on another.

Yesterday [monday], I had my first RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS of the season. Today the new winter bird was a LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

Also today, a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, and a WILLOW FLYCATCHER - both of these, while common in the Seattle area, have been absent from the Fill since spring migration.

On the water, the NORTHERN SHOVELERS are increasing in number every day. Today I saw my first GREEN-WINGED TEAL in a while, and yesterday was my first RING-NECKED DUCK.

As for shorebirds, they are still around but hard to pin down in any observable place. This morning, a flock of 6-8 peeps flew over, sounding mostly like LEAST SANDPIPERS. In a short glimpse, I thought one looked big enough to possibly be a Pectoral -- but they didn't land nearby, and I never pulled a PESA sound out of the flock.

And there's still a Pied-billed Grebe sitting on a nest near the slough entrance at the southwest edge of the Fill. This pair? has been on that nest for ages now, so I assume it is similar to last year at Marymoor Park, where a failed egg fooled a set of parents for a really really long time.

Good birding,

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA