Subject: [Tweeters] Unseasonal MOURNING DOVE at Montlake Fill
Date: Dec 23 18:31:00 2009
From: Jeffrey Bryant - jbryant_68 at yahoo.com






Subject bird seen today (12-23-09) just before 3:00 near the
compost piles at the westernmost intersection of Wahkiakum Lane and the loop
trail.? It was foraging on the ground in
the recently cleared area of ?blue forest? directly behind the compost heaps.? Sure beats the Golden-crowned Sparrows I was
looking for!? After a couple of minutes,
it flew, making its characteristic whistling/whirring wing sounds and flashing
its gorgeous white-edged pheasant tail, and headed a little east.? Trying to get a lock on its location, I
walked further along the main trail, but as I neared the strange blue streamers
that have recently grown alongside the trail, it suddenly flushed from very
close. I watched it fly along a boomerang path, ending up somewhere in the
vicinity of the corporation yard.?
Through the trees, it looked like it was going in for a landing in the
red-fenced area, but, standing on the big rock near the gate into this area and
peering over the fence, I couldn?t pick it out.

Sure, Mourning Dove is annual (or at least nearly so)
at the Fill, but, in my experience, this is an odd time of year for them to
turn up.? I post this in hopes that the
Fill is within some CBC circle, as MODO would certainly be a star on any local
count.
jeff bryant
seattle
jbryant_68ATyahoo