Hey tweets, I had to go to the paint store today on account of all the
Wilson's Warblers at the Fill. There must have been over a hundred of
them spread out over every bush and tree. Each time one popped up, I
was reminded that ordinary vocabulary cannot possibly describe the
glowing aliveness of their colors. National Geo says, "Olive above,
yellow below, with yellow lores; long tail is all dark above and
below." I'm sorry, but that just doesn't do the job. Only an
over-the-top interior designer could begin to come close. A quick trip
to Daly's paint store produced the following: Mossy Shadow above,
Golden Fable below, with Sunspot lores; long tail is African Night;
Obsidian eyes; males sport Anthracite cap; in good light, you can see a
slight, broken collar of Mistletoe Kiss.

In the course of getting warbler neck from tracking all the Wilson's in
the woods, I saw something different, a bird I've never before seen at
the Fill: a Townsend's Warbler! That gave me a five-warbler day,
unmatched in all my years of birding the Fill: Wilson's, Townsend's,
Yellow-rumped, Orange-crowned, and Common Yellowthroat. The day just
got better: Blue-winged Teal on the main pond for a three-teal day
(Cinnamon and Green-winged); Dunlin, Solitary Sandpiper still there, 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Warbling Vireos in several locations.

It was a great day. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com