Hey tweets, if anyone out there in tweeterdom wants a complete list of
all the birds seen at the Montlake Fill (aka UBNA) in 2008, email me
privately and I will send you a list. I don't actually know if it's
complete or not - there may have been birders who spotted things that
I didn't hear about. If so, please let me know so I can update the list.

Yesterday at the Fill was wild and beautiful. The cold and the gray
skies kept a lot of people at home, which only added to the wild
feeling.

Surber grove was very active in the morning. I went down the trail
from the western side, which is passable again because a lot of the
undergrowth has died back. There I found FOX SPARROW, LINCOLN'S
SPARROW, GOLDEN-CROWNED, SONG, both KINGLETS, and eventually a
COOPER'S HAWK (thanks to birder Phyllis). I heard a WINTER WREN but
couldn't see the little guy. Frustrating but typical. His cousin the
MARSH WREN repeated the same trick down in the cattails.

By 11:30, everyone had gone into hiding to roost. The entire Fill was
so quiet you wouldn't think there were any birds at all. I did put up
two WESTERN MEADOWLARKS in the field east of the Main Pond. On the
lake were rafts of hundreds of ducks. The ten TRUMPETER SWANS (with 3
immatures) are still foraging in Union Bay. Lately, they've been
hunkering on the far eastern shore.

Ma and Pa Eagle are thinking about making more eagles. They've been
doing their aerobatics over the lake. One of the juniors showed up to
watch and to keegle for some food, but no dice. The parents paid no
attention to the young one at all. Life is brutal if you're an eagle -
they clearly are not believers in the open door policy espoused by so
many of my friends (and me!) with regard to adult children moving back
in.- Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com