Subject: [Tweeters] Montlake Fill, Discovery Park, ID Assistance Needed
Date: Nov 6 12:44:48 2008
From: Constance Sidles - constancesidles at gmail.com


Hey tweets, thanks to Doug for posting the Northern Flicker photos. You
can't see it in his pictures, but this bird has pure yellow underwing
and tail linings, not red or orange. The red crescent on the back of
the head was distinctive.

Also on view yesterday: two THAYER'S GULLS in the soccer field
northwest of the ceramics building, among the Mew, Ring-billed, and
Glaucous-winged Gulls. I plan to look this field over early tomorrow
morning for more gulls. It's a good field for gulls driven onto land
during heavy fall and winter storms. They tend to hang out here in the
mornings until the UW's tractor/mowing crews get going and people come
out to throw frisbees for their dogs. Luckily for us birders, we tend
to get up earlier than the frisbee aficionados, even in the dark days
of winter. Heck, I'm still waking up before 4 a.m. every day - and now
with daylight savings time gone, it's 3 a.m. In fact, the only people
who ever beat me getting up in the mornings are golfers, who could
possibly be a more committed group than birders. No doubt, we should
all be committed.

Other Fill birds of note over the past two days:
Common Goldeneye foraging for mussels near the point
15 Hooded Mergansers on the main pond (8 males, 7 females)
Virginia Rail in the cattails just north and east of the point
American Pipits foraging in the grassy strip between the main pond and
the southeast pond
2 Western Meadowlarks hanging out in the field between the main pond
and the southwest pond
Fox Sparrow living in the brambles just south of the Dime Parking Lot
(comes out early; after that, he retires for the day)
late Savannah Sparrow south of the southwest pond
Winter Wrens in the cottonwood grove south of the eastern start of
Wahkiakum Lane; also in the grove along Surber

The Fill has been spectacularly beautiful this fall, never moreso than
yesterday in the slanting morning light. I could hardly tear myself
away. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com


On Nov 5, 2008, at 9:41 PM, Doug Parrott wrote:

> Today I visited the? Union Bay Natural Area (The Fill) and Discovery
> Park. While at the Fill I ran into?Connie Sidles?she sighted?three
> Northern Flicker's one of?which we thought was a Yellow-shafted
> subspecies. I took a couple of photo's and would like the opinion of
> the TWEETERS world. Is it, or is it not, a Northern Flicker
> Yellow-shafted subspecies. Connie also alerted me to a Marsh Wren that
> was lingering nearby. Those photos are also available.
> ?
> I then went to Discovery Park and the notables observed were, Varied
> Thrush (no photo), Bonaparte Gull's (no photo), and Common Loon. By
> the way Connie, thanks?for the Bushtit gender?lesson.
> ?
> Photo's available at:
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/birdhouse_wa/sets/72157608696517943/
> ?
> Doug Parrott
> bird_cage at msn.com
> Edmonds Wa._______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
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