Hey tweets, Star Trek's de-Borgified character Seven of Nine was
always searching for perfection. Too bad she didn't know enough to
come out to the Fill day, for she would have found it, as I did
birding with friends on a great fall day.

First, the warblers. Yellow Warblers were everywhere, foraging and
fighting with other birds. I saw a Bushtit go after one of them.
Evidently, the Yellow Warbler had offended in some way. The two birds
burst forth from the alders at Leaky Pond, wrapped in a gray/yellow
ball of beating wings. The Yellow Warbler was definitely getting the
worst of it. I don't ever recall seeing a bully Bushtit before.
Further down the trail, a Black-throated Gray Warbler came winging
into the scrubby treeline near the big cottonwood grove at East Point,
posed for admirers, then went on about its business. Other birders
(not I) found Orange-crowned, and of course the resident Common
Yellowthroats are still ubiquitous.

Shorebirds were great, too. Western Sandpipers were abundant (one
flock numbered twelve or more), mixed with a Least or two. A lone Long-
billed Dowitcher was on the Main Pond, and we think we might have had
a Semipalmated Sandpiper. We're going to consult Dennis for his
opinion. Good plumage, bad beak. We shall see.

A Rufous Hummingbird at the north end of Main Pond whirled around in
the air, showing off his rufousity so plainly I didn't even need
binoculars. What I needed was someone to appreciate him with, and
luckily I found friends in abundance today too. Evan Houston and Gregg
Thompson were sharing this particular wonder of nature - I think I
shall always remember how Evan turned around to smile at us after the
hummingbird had fled. Such happiness.

Best of all, as I was sitting beside the pond wrapped up in the visual
beauty around me, Evan noticed a hulking big swallow dip out of the
sky, skim the water, and take a drink. When it got up in the air
again, it chortled - at least, that's what Gregg and Evan said. All
lost in the surrounding symphony to me - I couldn't pick out one song
from the others. But Purple Martin it was, as we confirmed when it
circled back over our heads again, chortling so loudly that even I
could hear it.

It feels like the whole world of birds is on the move now. Anything
could come through. What possibilities await us! Tomorrow we're
supposed to get more rain, with the potential for more fallouts. I can
hardly wait. - Connie