Dear Jeffrey, thanks for the heads-up. Vicki King and I are leading
the CBC that takes in the Fill (this Saturday), so we will keep a
sharp eye out. We plan to get to the Fill at 8:30 a.m. and expend a
thorough searching effort there, but maybe we should think about
returning in the late afternoon for another go-round. The weather
looks like it will cooperate, and there's only one thing better than a
trip to the Fill: two trips to the Fill.

I've been going there in the mornings and seeing a Western Meadowlark
nearly every day. He burbles from Hunn Meadow East or West. No true
song yet - he's in the off-season, like a rock star who takes a short
break from touring - but he can't seem to keep himself from letting
out a few notes here and there. Yesterday (12/22/09) he was perched in
his favorite berry tree east of the Southwest Pond. I was about to set
down my camp stool in hopes that he might give a pre-concert aria when
he sprang into the air and flew right over my head. I think I could
have snatched him from the sky if I had reached up a hand. As he flew
past, I looked directly up, and for an instant, there were two suns in
the sky: the pale, thin disk of wintry Sol, and the rich summery beam
of the bird.

In the Eighteenth Dynasty, King Akhnaten and Queen Nefertiti converted
the whole of Egypt into sun-worshippers. The royals are often shown
praying to Aten, the sun-god. Aten is depicted as a round disk with
rays coming down. The rays end in little hands that seem to pat the
worshippers. Now I know how they must have felt when they were patted
by the sun. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com


On Dec 23, 2009, at 6:31 PM, Jeffrey Bryant wrote:

> 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
>
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> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
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