Hey tweets, since I'm stuck inside today, I will go birding in my
memory. And yesterday at the Fill was truly memorable. I arrived
shortly after dawn, when the alpen glow was lighting up the foothills.
Banks of clouds shone pink and magenta, along with the mountains. I
thought if only my bifocals were a little stronger, I would be able to
peer right through both cloud and granite, seeing what lies behind
them, understanding nature from the inside out.

The Great Blue Heron who often stands like a statue at East Point sees
such beauty every morning, sees the moon's reflection in the mirrored
water every evening, studies the ways of the fish at night. I wonder
if it appreciates the wonder. Or if it just waits. Do you need a big
brain to wonder? Richard Feynmann, the Nobel physicist once wrote,
"I wonder why, I wonder why,
I wonder why I wonder.
I wonder WHY I wonder why.
I wonder why I wonder."

Pondering these deep thoughts (and desperately trying to get
Feynmann's ditty out of my brain), I wandered past Shoveler's Pond,
where two male BLUE-WINGED TEAL floated. On Main Pond were CINNAMON
TEALS and AMERICAN WIGEONS - at least three seem determined to spend
the entire summer here.

Over at the greenhouses, I found a female BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, a
singing WILLOW FLYCATCHER, and a singing WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE. Three
OSPREYS made lazy circles in the sky over the baseball diamond, while
VAUX'S SWIFTS darted frenetically here and there, mixed in with five
species of swallows. At least two MOURNING DOVES are hanging out at
the Fill. One likes the feeding station at Corporation Yard, and the
other prefers the more natural forage available south of the
greenhouses.

The PIED-BILLED GREBE mom who has been patiently sitting on her nest
in Southwest Pond is still there, doing same. She's been at it since
April. You've got to admire her persistence, if not her smarts.

Also in the news today, people have been asking about whether my son
Alex has been able to bird while on his fifth deployment. (Note: Alex
has been a long-standing member of the birding community ever since he
first contributed a board game to Earthcare NW at age 10: "Multiply
Your Dunlins.")The answer is no, but if you'd like to see what he has
been up to lately, go to www.constancesidles.com - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com
www.constancypress.com


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