Hey tweets, wonder of wonders, a California Quail was singing in a hawthorne tree today at the Fill near the Lone Pine Tree (now burnt and decayed to only a nubbin of its former self). This is the first quail I?ve seen here in years. He was decked out in pristine breeding plumage, his topknot aquiver each time he sang. I know quail aren?t native to western Washington, but how could I focus on native vs. non-native issues with his song drifting over the hills this morning, evoking the sage and grasslands of far away? I must have listened to him for an hour before I noticed five Savannah Sparrows in the same field, singing a soft, buzzy accompaniment.

Also on view today: Orange-crowned Warbler in the Wedding Rock area, numerous Ring-necked Ducks in the lake, a great turnout of Tree Swallows (who apparently will nest in at least three main areas of the Fill this year: SW Pond, north Blue Forest, Sidles Swamp), and the hybrid Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker flashing his gold tail in the sun.

Here is a poem for you today:

You don't belong here in the city,
you quail of drylands,
of sage.
Sing me your haunting song,
for I know
I don't belong to the city either.

- Connie, Seattle

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