We have so many Band-tailed Pigeons on the feeder today that they're crowding out the Wood Ducks, which really need the food because they all look like they're pairing up and preparing to nest. (All this is going on at the feeder on the deck, about ten feet outside the livingroom window. Wonderful!) So if anyone in the Olympia/Lacey area has, say, a flock of Evening Grosbeaks or even a single Townsend's Solitaire, I'll trade you for our pigeons. Oh, yes--the local Red-winged Blackbirds arrived about a week ago and are using the feeders as they set up in the reeds along the lake.

I think we also have kind of an interesting indicator of the course of spring migration. During the winter, the lake hosts a huge flock of Coots, around 200 or so. As the migration gets under way, the flock steadily diminishes. We're down to no more than about 25 birds now.

Cheers to all,
Burt

Burt Guttman
The Evergreen State College
Olympia, WA 98505 guttmanb at evergreen.edu <mailto:guttmanb at evergreen.edu>
Home: 7334 Holmes Island Road S. E., Olympia, 98503