Tweets,

I too have had multiple Mountain Chickadees in the yard - looks like an invasion. Late on Monday afternoon there was a Lewis's Woodpecker flying around, flycatching, and sunning itself along the Snoqualmie River in "downtown" Fall City. Last week I had one of those what is that bird moments while out doing some fall cleanup. I didn't have any binoc's with me so had to rely on getting close enough to the bird to get field marks. At first all I saw was a thrushy kind of bird, maybe 6" long or so, with a streaked breast - Swainson's Thrush? Then closer - definite yellowish eyestreak and upper breast and a dark cap....Blackburnian Warbler? Here? - Then I got really close and found that it was a Northern Waterthrush just behaving oddly by sitting about 10 feet off of the ground in a vine maple well away from the river or wetlands. Still a great bird and it was fun to have to stalk to get close enough to ID the creature.

Lots of big flocks of bushtits, several flythroughs by Pine Siskin flocks, Red Crossbills, and Evening Grosbeaks. Lots of Ravens moving through too and the Winter Wrens have each picked out their patch of salal and sword ferns - competing with the Song Sparrows for chatting rights. I scared 5 coyotes out of our upper field late yesterday...mom and almost full grown pups I suspect, and a black bear has gone to work trying to get to the few apples left after I finished picking the easy ones to donate to the food bank. I knocked the apples onto the ground to keep the bear from pushing over the trees. The dismal economy has led to my current client cancelling my trip to Vietnam (I was going to take a few days out to go birding on the western border) which is disappointing. Oh well, there is always next year.

Cheers and good birding!Rob Conway Preston / Fall City, WAlatitude 47 32' 20" , longitude -121 54' 42" robin_birder at hotmail.com
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