Hey tweets, I found an Anna's on a nest at the Fill yesterday. I
couldn't tell if she was brooding eggs or feeding young - her back was
to me when she perched on the nest edge and fiddled with something in
the nest. Then she settled down and sat on the nest. I'm guessing she
was feeding young, based on how long she stood still on the nest edge.

Funnily, the Bald Eagles are also nesting now. The female is spending
a lot of time wedged into her nest, just like the hummingbird, only
enlarged to bus-poster size. I always have to laugh when I see big,
majestic birds like eagles behaving like little passerines. I suppose
if we all got into a time machine and traveled back to the Jurassic,
we'd see 40-foot dinosaur moms doing the same thing: squinching into a
nest while the male looks on and his instincts tell him, "Gee, I
really feel like bringing a Composognathus to her so she can have a
bite." Tastes a lot like chicken, you know.

In other news, I finally found the COMMON RAVEN I've been hearing off
and on for the past couple of weeks. It was haunting Surber Drive,
amongst the conifers to the south and east. I have a feeling it's
staying in the neighborhood, though not down at flat lands of the Fill
(at least not yet!). Maybe it's hanging out behind Villa Academy -
that's where I'd go if I were a Common Raven.

Also on view, the Violet-green Swallows appeared again - not the 40 I
saw earlier, but just a few. Maybe these will settle in for the
summer, that is, if summer ever arrives. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com