OK apologies for the dramatic headline...but it
WAS a very cool morning at the Fill. After all
the back and forth on scope decision making, the
solution came from an unexpected place when Jordan
Gunn notified Tweeterland that he was selling his
outfit. Clearly this was a message as his post
hit cyberspace moments after I had posted my
thanks to all for their information. So it
obviously being meant for me, I bought his
Swarovski. A great scope with tripod and case so
obviously it had to be tried out in the field. I
live pretty close to the Fill, so I stopped there
on my way in to work for an hour of field
testing. And Oh Wow - I was rewarded. Beautiful
morning light and as I was walking out to the cove
to put the scope in action I saw a bird
silhouetted in open branches to the East. Long
story short, as I got used to focusing and aiming
(it is the angled lens), the tree turned out to be
a goldmine as within moments 5 different species
perched there and another flew within the field of
vision: Pacific Slope Flycatcher, Cedar Waxwing,
Anna's Hummingbird, American Robin and Eurasian
Starling all took turns in the tree (sometimes a
duo and once a trio) as Barn Swallows swooped
right past them. I was liking this scope a lot!!
Then over to the Cove where the Bittern that was
seen yesterday was not present, but there was a
Green Heron, Gadwalls, Mallards, Coots, Great Blue
Heron, Canada Geese, Pied Billed Grebes, one Bald
Eagle and a Double Crested Cormorant and oh yes a
small snake (cannot identify it, we used to call
all such snakes "Garter Snakes" - about 14", black
with yellow and red longitudinal stripes). Then
it was off to the Main Pond, hoping to be able to
scope for shorebirds on the mud. As soon as I got
there, a hawk flew by the west side of the Pond
and perched right out in the open on the snag at
the north end of the Pond IN PERFECT LIGHT!! Even
at 60x, the Cooper's Hawk was brilliantly clear
and literally every feather, toenail, and eye
detail was crystal clear. Three other birders
came by and it was then that I appreciated the
angled eyepiece as it was easy to share this
extraordinary view. The bird remained there a
full ten minutes, flying only after I had left and
went to the opposite side of the pond to see if I
could get a close up picture (may have to get into
digiscoping).

Not daunted I headed over to Southwest Pond and
when I got there again a hawk flew in - it was
also a Cooper's and I believe it may not have been
the same bird as the first one was last seen
flying west and this one came in from the South.
Not nearly as cooperative, it perched briefly and
... then was attacked by a Northern Harrier with
its White Rump patch shining in the light. Just
then a third hawk cam by - another Cooper's - and
buzzed the Harrier. So there were at least two
and possibly three Cooper's Hawks at the Fill this
a.m. As I said Hawk Heaven!! There also were
many Anna's there today. They can cover a lot of
territory quickly but I saw a pair twice and a
total of 7 sightings in very diverse places so I
believe there were at least 3 or 4 and maybe as
many as the 7 seen plus probably others missed.

I guess I will keep the scope :-)