Hi all,

It's been a good morning on Butyl Creek.? First a MacGillivray's Warbler took a bath early at 6 am, now a First-of-year-for-Butyl Willow Flycatcher has just dive-bathed a couple or three times, and a First-of-year-for-Butyl female or young?Rufous Hummingbird, a big deal for us here, came by and got all interested in the creek, plus two Golden-crowned Kinglets bathed?and now the MacGillivray's is back and wants to bathe again?but the Rufous has other ideas.

I also drove over to Cheasty Greenbelt this am and found?many singing Pacific-slope Flycatchers, a singing Wilson's Warbler, Brown Creeper, plus American Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker.? An Olive-sided Flycatcher was singing just over the line on the golf course, ditto an Orange-crowned Flycatcher.? 5 Violet-green Swallows foraged over the wetland area, and these are now sadly a rare sight on the Hill. (Our family?seems still in business).? An Osprey landed right above me and then got into a silent dogfight with two Crows.? I had no idea: was it on a predation-run (it's possible!) or did it have a nest nearby??

I also for the first time came upon the man the Parks Dept disrespectfully calls the Moleman, who had an?open campfire.? Parks strategy is to let this man dig up the?wetland so it can make the case that the Greenbelt is "neglected and damaged," so it can rationalize?destroying it even more with a Mountain-bike emporium.? We passed close to each other, but?there was a lot of noise from the Park dump above us and he apparently didn't notice me.? I passively withdrew, but not without some self-reprobation.

Btw, speaking of dogfights with Crows, it seems not a day goes by, including 30 minutes ago, that we see a Bald Eagle being escorted by 20 plus?Crows off the Hill.? I guess the local Eagles have decided that Crow-nest-predation is where the money is.

Best wishes,

Ed Newbold
Butyl Creek is our 15 ft. recirculating creek in our backyard in residential Beacon Hill. ednewbold1 at yahoo.com