I tend to think Olive-sided Flycatchers among the latest passerine
migrants arriving in our area. I have never recorded one here in the yard before
early June and have been listening intently for the past two weeks awaiting
one to announce it's arrival, thus it's been interesting reading
'tweeters' comments these past few days which seems to amount to a flurry of
arrivals enmass. Finally, this morning, practically right on schedule, maybe a
few days later than usual, one has been announcing it's 'cheerry' presence
all morning long into early afternoon from atop the taller Douglas Firs
around the neighborhood. It's about the loudest thing happening right now and
impossible to miss, ...apart from those exasperating American Crows that go
on and on and on and on all day long which have fledglings now down in the
wooded ravine and stream and at times it becomes hard to hear anything
else. They just drive me NUTS! The fledglings especially with that most
irritating and incessant 'whining' (begging) which is so distinctive as to set
them apart from the usual incessant 'cawing' adults, ...and me to thinking
about a shotgun :-))

Speaking of nuts, someone around here in this Eastgate neighborhood, every
year about this time and who still remains a total mystery, is handing out
whole peanuts to the crows. Not a lot, just a few at a time it seems, but
enough. That's fine I suppose, but if the crows would only just shell and
eat them THERE. But noooo, they have to come over here with their prize,
sit up on my roof and open them up there. The result is a mess of peanut
shells which always find there way to the screen over the downspouts, and
clog that up with nothing but peanuts shells. And that's just the shells.
Their 'hoppity-hoppity-hop' as they bound and scamper across the roof is
hard to ignore too, especially when I am inside. And now, it seems they
aren't happy with the birdbath either, ...or maybe they are, I don't know. I
keep a large heavy abalone shell that I picked up on a Central California
coast beach some years ago in the middle of the bird bath as I've found these
things work miracles at consolidating anything that might accumulate in
there under the shell, thus keeping the rest of the pan clean, plus give the
little birds a place to stand when drinking or bathing. Now the crows (and
'smarties' they are too) have decided to use the birdbath for more
nefarious purposes by moving the shell around to see what kind of goodies might
lurk underneath, and if not happy with that, they somehow manage to get a
hold of this heavy shell and throw it out of the birdbath entirely which means
I have to hunt for it in the thick bed of ivy underneath. This is getting
to be at least a once a day thing now, and some days more.

I look forward to the day when the fledglings finally grow up and finally
clear out of here, ...or at least start sounding like 'normal' crows and can
fend for themselves. At least the incessant annoying 'begging' sound
they make each early-mid June will fade away for another year which will just
leave me with the unavoidable year-round mobs of crows that routinely come
and go and occasionally really get going in deafening force should they
discover an eagle, hawk, or owl perched somewhere in the tall trees here or
nearby.

Richard Rowlett
Bellevue (Eastgate), WA