Hey tweets, today was definitely a fall day, with gray skies (at
last!) spreading pearly light over the rank weeds of autumn. The birch
trees near the Lone Pine Tree were dripping gold, and fog blanketed
out the sounds of the city so much I could hear the plop when a golden
leaf snapped off a branch and drifted down.

At the Lagoon, a Western Grebe was fast alseep, its neck folded back
onto itself like a twisted telephone cord. It paid no attention when a
male Wood Duck in stunning breeding plumage began splashing in a
bathing frenzy. Why wake up when your belly is full of fish and life
is easy?

Out on the pewter lake, a flotilla of ducks and geese clumped
together, herded by the screams of the two Bald Eagles who have
returned to their territory after a brief vacation. Among the dark
shapes was one luminous white one: a SNOW GOOSE! It's the first one
I've seen at the Fill in almost two years. I ran over to Waterway 1 to
get a closer look, but when I arrived, it had already disappeared, a
ghost shimmering away into the mists.

Also on view today: a Brown Creeper at Boy Scout Pond, a feeding flock
with a few Golden-crowned Kinglets mixed in at Sidles Swamp, and two
Ruby-crowned Kinglets shining their red crowns at each other and
otherwise mixing it up near the Turtle Logs.

Years ago, I was talking to a birder friend of mine about how Ruby-
crowned Kinglets fight. "Wouldn't it be nice if humans fought the same
way, by shining our heads at each other?" I mused.

"I don't know about that," my friend replied. Then he took off his hat
and showed me his head. It was completely bald. "Some of us don't have
much ammunition." - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com
www.constancypress.com
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