In Maple Leaf, the young Merlins dozed in the shade of overhanging conifer branches, sunned on a rooftop and picked apart prey - a nice afternoon for them.
In Shoreline that evening, some of us watched the newly-fledged Merlings and saw how they reacted in startlement to local explosions, set off by people living right near the nest tree. A bird would suddenly fly out of the tree it had been in when a "Boom" erupted in the air right next to the tree. After a few of such incidents, one of us talked to the man whose kids were setting off the 'works' and influenced him to cease operations, at least at that spot. Special birds, "No Fireworks" ordinance, plus an assertive, tactful person interceding on the loud 'fun' made for a strong case.
I hope more municipalities will get on board and restrict more of the blasting and blasted stuff - all animals can be seriously bothered by our shows of neighborhood 'patriotism'.
Happy 5th to one and all !


Barb Deihl

North Matthews Beach - NE Seattle

barbdeihl at comcast.net