Hey tweets, the Fill was lively yesterday, with a constant background
noise of Red-winged Blackbirds adding zest to the scene. I have come
to appreciate these avian bagpipe-players because the Fill has been
so silent in the past few months. The birds are there (I think), but
not to be seen or heard unless one camps out on one's camp stool so
long one's derriere goes to sleep and one can no longer rise from her
perch unaided, and then a crow flies by, making it all worth it.
Hyperbole, you ask? Maybe a little, but not much!

In any case, with the coming of the sun on January 1 came the return
of birdsong, almost as though the birds themselves knew a New Year has
arrived. Perhaps they do: at least they must sense that each new day
brings a little more daylight and a little less dark. Many of the
birds are noticeably getting ready for breeding season: the dabbling
drakes have pretty much molted into breeding plumage and many have
hooked up with a mate already; the Great Blue Herons are beginning to
perch on Dempsey Gym's roof again; the Song Sparrows are putting the
finishing touches on their best songs; and the Northern Flickers are
beginning to bang on light poles and hollow trees.

Great birds yesterday include:
2 Trumpeter Swans on the mud island ("Atlantis 1") that has risen from
the depths just south of Water Lily Cove
Northern Shrike still around - began the morning by perching on the
tallest cottonwood in Hunn Meadow, warmed by the sun, then plunged
down toward Hunn Meadow East
Greater Scaups finally showed up
Redheads still here - they like to appear at the Marina in the early
afternoon, where they catch the sun and reflect it back in glowing
embers of russet
Common Goldeneye male out in the lake, not so common at the Fill
Brown Creeper singing in Leaky Pond
Red-breasted Nuthatches at Surber as well as in the non-native
conifers at the Marina
3 Red Crossbills reported again - I missed them; blast
Virginia Rails calling in two places: Turtle Logs, Reading Rocks; why
couldn't they have given voice during the CBC?
juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk zooming around making a pest of itself but
hawks gotta eat too. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com
www.constancypress.com
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