This morning, Sunday, healing hubby and I were walking in the
"Outback" (what we call the steepest part of our property), and
as we neared the opening from the trail to our yard, the trees above were
suddenly alive with a flock of GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS. Though hubby could
not hear their calls (too high-pitched), he does understand human body
language. So when I suddenly froze and looked at him and then up, he knew
to stop.?

The Kinglets were directly above my head, some
as close as a few inches. Since I was wearing dark green and not moving,
they happily continued their activity. I'm surprised that they couldn't
hear my heart pounding, as it sure seemed to be loud enough for the
neighbors to hear. We stood for more than 8 minutes, catching up-close
glimpses of the stunning beauties.

A few minutes later, a was
lying on my back near more trees in the yard, hoping to see more Kinglets.
They were there, but much higher and moving more quickly. I did manage to
get this not-so-sharp photo of one http://flic.kr/p/dhCd8f?along with
a very quiet BROWN CREEPER http://flic.kr/p/dhCdRn?working
its way around the Cherry tree.

Earlier in the morning, we
heard two different VARIED THRUSH calling from the Douglas Firs.


Amy Hill
Kalama, Washington
628 ft up in Cowlitz
County
60stops2home at kalama dot com