Hey tweets, The Main Pond was the main show today at the Fill. A
SOLITARY SANDPIPER played the opening act, followed by three SHORT-
BILLED DOWITCHERS, who did their sewing-machine routine at the north
end. While these migrants from the far north were entertaining the
locals, a pair of Belted Kingfishers began to demonstrate the proper
technique for catching minnows, using the willow snag as a stage. When
I was a little girl, the Aqua Follies up a Green Lake were a big night
out for families. Many of the performers would dive off a platform
high above the lake. The serious ones would enter the water like knife-
blades, making hardly a splash. The clownish ones would crash into the
water like oversized cannonballs. Today's Fill follies were more like
the clownish acts. Never have I seen kingfishers spend more time
actually in the water. On the other hand, I have to admit they were
getting the job done. Many a minnow could testify to that.

Altogether, just on the Main Pond alone today (or flying over) were:
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Canada Goose
Mallard (with babies)
Gadwall (with babies)
Cinnamon Teal (with babies)
Bald Eagle
Killdeer
Solitary Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Glaucous-winged Gull
Caspian Tern
Vaux's Swift
Anna's Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Bushtit
Black-capped Chickadee
Bewick's Wren
American Robin
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch

That's 31 species in an area smaller than an Olympic-sized swimming
pool. Pretty amazing. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com