This cloudy, cool evening while finishing a walk up 8th Ave. NE I looked up and was startled to see a large, lazy swift flying fairly low over the neighborhood. I couldn't believe my eyes at first but less than a minute later, at the corner of 8th and NE 92nd St. another flew over, confirming my suspicions: BLACK SWIFT. These birds were far too big and had the wrong flight pattern for a Vaux's, too small and wrong flight pattern for a Common Nighthawk (which I've seen in the neighborhood once), and definitely didn't look like Purple Martins or any other swallow.

Seems like the right conditions. Definitely a new yard/neighborhood bird for me! (I count the flyovers if they're visible from my yard). These are the biggest swifts I've seen since 2006 when a flock of huge needletails were circling over the airport in Puerto Princessa, Palawan, Philippines as our plane landed on a miserably wet day with a cyclone looming a few hundred miles south.

Re: Western Wood Pewees: I just returned from Zion National Park last week, where the spring has also been unusually cold. After a violent little rain and windstorm, the Virgin River behind our hotel was mobbed with so many Western Wood Pewees they were fighting amongst themselves. I was beside myself with glee, as flycatchers are something I really wish there were more of in Seattle. Like the other writer, I am also amused by the name and even more so by the astounding "Greater Pewee." I wonder if there's a Lesser Bruiser out there somewhere.

Aside from the Pewees, we observed the following flycatchers at some point during June 1 - June 5 in Zion: Black Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Quick Three Beers--I mean Olive-sided Flycatcher, and a couple kinds of Empidonax, including the one with a certain piercing single whistle. No luck with Vermilion Flycatcher or Cassin's Kingbord. Other highlights for us Seattleites were Plumbeous Vireo, Yellow-Breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Juniper Titmouse, Peregrine Falcon, and Blue Grosbeak; also an unidentified critter that squawks in the middle of the night, many Collared Lizards, local toads, puma tracks coming in and out of a little cave in a bouldering slot canyon, Black-chinned Hummingbird nest clinging to the wall in the same canyon, and a 4-foot snake rocketing across the highway. Condors were supposed to be around but we missed 'em, having found out only during our last meal in the area.

Thanks,

Alyssa Sampson
Maple Leaf
Seattle
alyssasampson at comcast.net