Hey tweets, the Fill was edenic this morning, with low-lying mist
covering the fields like a veil. The rising sun painted a swath of
bright light along the tips of the trees that gradually dripped down
like an upended paint bucket of sunshine as the sun got higher. In the
distance, Mt. Rainier glowed with alpen light. It really is a paradise
out there.

The birds added all I could wish to this beautiful landscape. A LONG-
BILLED DOWITCHER was foraging on Main Pond, in the company of Blue-
winged Teal, Wood Duck, American Wigeon, Warbling Vireo, and Wilson's
Warbler. Eventually, a Least Sandpiper flew in and settled down to
pick tiny insects off the surface of the mud.

On Wahkiakum Lane near Leaky Pond, a SWAINSON'S THRUSH was taking a
dust bath beside a Bewick's Wren doing the same. The usual suspects
were singing a concert in the alder grove, while Vaux's Swifts flitted
above like living crescents. Altogether, I saw 48 species in 2 hours.

FYI, two trail developments might interest you:

Friends of Yesler Swamp, in conjunction with the CUH, have laid a
twisty chip path through Yesler Swamp (aka Surber Grove). It starts on
the northwest side of Surber, where the parking lot is for the
greenhouses, winds into the heart of the grove, then curves around to
the west, parallels the fence line from a distance of about 15 feet,
and exits at Yesler Cove, north and well away from the beaver lodge.
I'd appreciate your reaction to this trail.

The second development is the posting of signage forbidding people
from walking off the gravel trail on the main part of the Fill. The
signs are posted so that they effectively close access to Main Pond
except for one place at the southeast end. it also closes the social
trail between Main Pond and Shoveler's Pond. So no longer are you
supposed to walk along the east side of Main Pond or the north end of
that pond. Neither are you supposed to get any closer to Shoveler's
Pond than the gravel trail itself. Finally, you're forbidden to walk
across Hunn Meadow West from Southwest Pond to Main Pond. These social
trails have been in existence for 25 years or more.

IMHO, this is a good thing despite the fact that it reduces birding
opportunities in some of the hottest spots of the Fill. For one thing,
the signage should put an end (I hope) to the creation of ever-
increasing additional social trails. For another, they make it clear
that the Fill's main fields and ponds are there for the sake of the
habitat and the wildlife. I like this openly signed commitment to
preserving a little piece of the wild in the heart of a city. People
are welcome to enter the wild as long as we don't love the place to
death. It's a good balance of mixed use.

Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think. - Connie,
Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com
www.constancypress.com
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