Hey tweets, it was great to have bright light today at the Fill, for a
change, although that mysterious glowing ball in the sky was a bit of
a nuisance when I tried to track swallows coursing back and forth.
What was that thing, anyway?

Still no shorebirds at any of the usual spots, much to my dismay.
Maybe our mud quality is unacceptable. The ponds are expanding, and
the new mud-rims used to be grass last year. Maybe they need more time
to grow tasty crustaceans and such.

One bird's loss is another's gain, however. The increased ground-cover
and overall woodiness of the site as a whole are attracting woodsier
birds each year. The Western Scrub-jays, for example, appear to be
moving in as year-round residents. I think at least two may very well
be nesting. Brown Creepers are definitely nesting near Boy Scout Pond.

Warblers continue to be slow in arriving. Nothing new today that I
could find. We've still got only Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped
and Orange-crowned on the year list so far. However, as compensation,
I found a CHIPPING SPARROW along the Corporation Yard fencing (just
north of the weather station).

Also on view today was a lovely SORA flying! It didn't go far - just
from one clump of cattails to the next. But how often do you get to
see a Sora at all, much less one acting like a regular bird?

Cedar Waxwings were back after many months of absence. They were
picking berries off a tree on the eastern edge of North Blue Forest. -
Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com
www.constancypress.com
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