[Tweeters] DesMoines Birding

[Lynn Schulz]

Hi Tweeters:
What a nice day for a walk w/ the dog.  72 degrees as I left the house about 
10:40 and walked the neighborhood, into DesMoines Creek Park, and on up to 
18th where there are some fields and alder woods.  Several Orange-crowned 
Warblers were singing in the fields w/ the blackberry thickets. 
Black-throated Gray Warblers were singing in the alders.  Up on a 
little-used street-trail, two Hutton's Vireos were gathering nest materials 
from the road under some blackberries.  One sang its repetitive vreet, 
vreet, vreet for a brief time, and one gave it's whiny scold.  I thought I 
heard them call as they flitted about, and it sounded like "ftt" to me. 
There were several Ruby-crowned Kinglets singing nearby.  I wonder when the 
Ruby Crowns leave for the mountains?  A Black-throated Gray was singing its 
buzzy song loudly in the alders.  The warblers were very hard to see, but I 
did manage to see one briefly.  A Band-tailed Pigeon flew through the woods.
Farther along on 18th, a Rufous Hummingbird buzzed me and actually hit my 
hat!  Spotted Towhees were on the tops of bushes calling and singing.  Gold 
Finches were singing.  It was a great walk through the woods and fields.
Yours, Carol Schulz
DesMoines, WA
linusq at att.net