Hey tweets, we got the best part of November day today at the Fill,
with beautiful pearly light, almost no wind, and no rain. Sunday
mornings are usually pretty quiet at the Fill, people-wise, but today
was an exception. There was a ginormous regatta going on offshore,
with numerous time trials and lots of yelling. A raft with two tents
on it and a porta-potty was parked in the water off the Loop Trail. It
was loaded with timers and judges and a horn-blower who sounded a horn
every time a boat crossed the finish line, which happened on the
average of once every 20 seconds or so. Sometimes two boats crossed
almost simultaneously, upon which the horn-blower let loose with two
blasts. The water birds didn't seem to mind very much - certainly not
as much as the birders did! Ducks, geese, and coots grazed along the
still waters without turning a hair (well, actually, a feather). Among
the grazers were some fishers too: a HORNED GREBE, some HOODED
MERGANSERS, and the best bird of the day for me, a RED-BREASTED
MERGANSER. I haven't seen one of these in years.

Out in Hunn Meadow East, the NORTHERN SHRIKE is still keeping busy,
finding prey. This shrike has made the Fill its home for more than 3
weeks. Last week, Doug Parrott got a fantastic photo of this bird
catching a small rodent. I'm no expert, but it looked like a mouse.
Today the menu called for crickets. How that bird managed to spot a
cricket crouched in the grass from a distance of 20 meters or more
beats me. Of course, my vision is somewhere around 20/200, so thank
goodness the food at Safeway doesn't crouch or hop too fast for me to
catch.

Also on view today: a PACIFIC WREN at Boy Scout Pond. I've learned to
be very careful about identifying Pacific Wrens at the Fill by short
bursts of song alone. At least two generations of Song Sparrows have
learned to sing remarkably like Pacific Wrens, but only a bar or two.
Luckily, today the Pacific Wren I found was foraging at the base of
the big cottonwood trees around the pond, and I managed to get a good
look.

More: Kathy Slettebak spotted two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE among
the Canadas out on the lake, somehow not getting hit by all the
rowers. Both species have been mighty sparse at the Fill this season.
I did see a vee of more than 50 Greater White-fronteds flying off
toward Magnuson when I drove into the parking lot first thing this
morning. I don't know if they touched down at the Fill before heading
north, or whether they disdained the Fill and made a beeline directly
toward Magnuson from parts south. Magnuson supports a lot more geese
than we do, and one goose attracts another.

Lastly: A Wilson's Snipe has been hanging out at Main Pond and was
there again today. A very beautiful bird, even if usually all I see of
it is a rump flying away. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com
www.constancypress.com
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