Subject: [Tweeters] Yesterday at the Fill
Date: Sep 3 05:31:35 2009
From: Connie Sidles - constancesidles at gmail.com


Hey tweets, yesterday at the Fill was just about the most spectacular
day I have ever had there. I saw more warblers than I do at High
Island in Texas. They were in the alder grove near the east entrance
of Wahkiakum Lane. More Yellow Warblers than I could even count were
dripping from every branch. Orange-crowned Warbers were mixed in,
along with a few Wilson's. Warbling Vireos tumbled from one branch to
another, like falling leaves - I watched the "leaves" fall until they
reached a newly desired branch, at which point, the leaves became
birds that began to forage. Among the Warbling Vireos was one RED-EYED
VIREO, a real beauty with a bluish cap. Simply stunning. The area was
so alive with birds that two other birders and I could not orient
ourselves to any one bird. I tried to get my friends onto the Red-eyed
Vireo, but there were simply too many other birds bopping around to
make directions meaningful; eg., "It's on that bare branch sticking
out of the southernmost alder, at about 9 o'clock." Except that there
were also Yellow Warblers, Black-capped Chickadees, and Bushtits on
that bare branch, not to mention Yellow Warblers on the branches above
and below "my" bare branch.

The hyper-activity lasted for a good 45 minutes to an hour, although
truth to tell, it could have been much longer. For me, time ceased to
have reality. It either moved forward too fast or stood still
altogether. All I know is, I couldn't bring myself to leave.
Eventually, I put my stool on the southern end of the grove, among the
little cedar and fir trees that are growing there, and entered the
warblers' world. Part of that world involved hiding from a pair of
Peregrine Falcons who flew overhead. I'm not sure when or if I will
ever come entirely back to human reality.

Eventually, things quieted down, and I managed to haul myself out to
the rest of the Fill. The Main Pond still had the Red-necked Phalarope
paddling around on it, along with Cinnamon Teal, Green-winged Teal,
Northern Shovelers, Mallards, and Gadwalls. Three Least Sandpipers
came out of the willows after a while, and then a SOLITARY SANDPIPER
came by for some foraging.

All together this year, I have seen 153 different species, shattering
my old record from last year, which was 146. When I add up the birds
that other members of the community saw this year, we have a grand
total of 161 species. And it's only September 3!!

I'm hoping for great things today when the rain stops. It began around
2:30 a.m., which may have forced down some migrants. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com