Two cars in the lot.

The notice says, ?Bear siting. Take proper precautions.?

Ok......Undaughtented I continue.

The pond hums of a million bees pollinating uncountable wild flowers and filling
their winter larder while the sweet smell of summer covers the densely vegiated
wetland even though the day is overcast and cool with a very light breeze.


Mamma Wood Duck now shepherds a flotilla of four adorable brown puff-balls
through the water lilies right by the observation platforms. Last week she was
alone and the man I met who lives by the park was worried that there weren't
going to be any babies this year. It seems that lots of birds got a late start
this year probably because of the weather. Papa Woody swims around looking
bedraggled in the middle of a molt. He's lost his crest feathers but still
looks like a living work of art. He'll be back looking sharp and chasing the
ladies in the proper time though. With such a perfect territory as the beaver
ponds how could he not find a mate.


One of the dozen aggressive red wing males chases off a trespassing crow and I
detect how to tell the fledgling red wings from the females. (They all start
out looking like adult females, at least to me.) The fledglings are the ones
flying after mamma making a mewing sound, something like an anxious cat, as
they continue to beg for food. The parent flies around with baby chasing after
so it receives flying and hunting for food lessons at the same time. Brilliant
detective that I am, I confirmed this when I saw a female pick a bug off a lily
pad and feed it to the little trailer that was following after her anxiously
squawking for attention.


An interesting LBJ sits mostly hidden in the leaves and sings an unfamiliar
tune. I only see it's rump. Then it turns so I see an orangish breast with
no streaks but everything else is hidden. A brief glimpse of the beak says
sparrow but then it flies as I adjust my position to get a better look.
Passerines are so frustrating? How can they do that? Don't they know they are
supposed to pose like the pictures in the book so I can memorize a bunch of
marks? Doesn't this one care that it could be a life-bird for god's sake?
After all I still have lots of LBJs left to tick off. I dig out the book but
nothing looks right. I just didn't see enough. Oh well another day.


Deep in the forest out to the west a great horned owl's whoing floats across the
pond. " Who, who,who." Sometimes with an extra "who" thrown in for free. The
hills and water play tricks with the sound. When I walk to the other end the
sound seems to come from a different direction but by them I'm out of trails
anyway and not about to go crashing through the dense undergrowth hunting an owl
I'll probably never find. Somewhere I woodpecker bangs away briefly.


I continue to circle the pond. The woods are filled with the hum of bees and
dozens of unseen bird calls and songs. Some I can ID others not. The growth
is so dense that you can only hope to actually see the ones that just happen to
be right by the trail. I see deer track and a chipmonk runs across the trail in
front of me. I don't see a bear. I do notice that the turtles aren't loafing
today. This place could just as easily be called Turtle Pond. On a sunny day
they are all over the floating logs soaking up the rays.


Back at the observation deck I sit and watch the ducks and blackbirds and the
tree swallows do their ariel ballet and just listen to the whoing, the humming,
and the singing. It's a fine day at McAllister Creek State Wildlife Sanctuary.

On the way out I notice that there is no TP in the restroom and hope that the
new parking fee will improve that service at least. Remember that the new
annual $30 pass or $10 daily pass goes into effect July 1. You will need it at
all state parks, state forest, and state fish and wildlife sites and you can get
it on-line or anywhere they sell hunting and fishing licenses. I believe they
go on sale on the 15th.


Ray Holden
Olympia,WA