Subject: [Tweeters] Fill today
Date: Jan 27 18:57:32 2010
From: Connie Sidles - constancesidles at gmail.com


Hey tweets, Of all the challenging weather conditions that make our
birding life difficult, fog may very well be at the top of the list.
Not only does fog cut visibility down to near zero, but it makes
songbirds hunker down and hide. And even if you could find them, you
wouldn't be able to identify them because the colors are so laden with
gray as to make every bird a nondescript dark lumpen mass (or dot,
depending on the size and distance).

But fog at the Fill is one of the most magical of all phenomena. Why?
Because it muffles the sounds of the city and lets the wild speak
softly.

Today I was down at East Point, peering through the shrouds and trying
to make out ducks when I heard a Song Sparrow burble out a most
beautiful song. I thought the bird was 20 or 30 yards away in the mist
because the song was so soft. But by chance I looked up, and there he
was, at eye level only one foot away from me. Not afraid. We eyed each
other for a moment, and then he broke into his softly modulated song
again. I could see every feather of his throat quiver with the effort.
Singing soft is much harder than singing loud, as any opera star will
tell you.

When he was done, I wanted to respond in kind, but unfortunately for
me, a song had got stuck in my brain - you know how that is - and I
couldn't call anything else to mind. I started in regardless. "O-o-o-o-
o-oak-la-homa, where the wind...." I had to stop. It was just too
pathetic. "You sing, then," I told the bird. So he did. I make a much
better audience than performer, and we were both satisfied.

By the way, the WHITE BOARD IS UP!!! It went in today. It looks
beautiful, but I must warn all of you, it is much, much smaller than
you might expect. Still, it will do very nicely if we write a little
small. In all honesty, my first reaction when I saw it was, "That's
it?" But I went on the website of the supplier, and yep, that is what
$2000 will buy these days. I'm going to get a key, and I'll also try
to figure out where an extra key will be kept so anyone can post
sightings. I'm hoping all of you will stop by the kiosk each time you
visit to see what's happening in "the neighborhood." Thank you again
for all your support and for your patience. I think we'll have
enormous fun with this wonderful way to let everyone know who's at the
Fill and what's going on.

In other news, I have posted a Fill map (a copy of the one in my book)
on my web site. Please feel free to download it at will. The web
address is: www.constancypress.com and hit In My Nature and then hit
More about the Fill.- Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com