The Birds and a Beetle

Last Saturday I went to the Montlake Fill bright and early to see what the Osprey were up to.

They were up to a lot of fishing -- both parents were bringing fish to the nest, and while I didn't see the chicks, other birders reported seeing at least two small heads poking up earlier.  Hooray!

In addition to the fabulous Osprey family, there was a lovely male Common Yellowthroat on view:

Meanwhile, down at the newest habitat area, shorebirds were foraging -- the Fill has not had good shorebird activity since around 2010 or so, and it was good to see them back.  Here is a Least Sandpiper:

And a Western Sandpiper:

The two types together -- Western on the left, Least on the right:

I ran into Connie Who Practically Lives There, and had a nice chat about all the projects she's working on in conjunction with Seattle Audubon.  There's a proposed exhibit about the value of tree snags (at the Burke Museum), a  year-long course of twice-monthly classes and once-monthly field trips geared towards intermediate birders, a regional gull ID book, plus political action for her new position as Chair of the Conservation Committee.  Whew!

She asked me to be the person who selects and arranges the art portion of the snag exhibit, and I agreed.  Then I told her that what she really needed was her very own personal assistant, and how I'd be happy to fill that role.  Of course, since it's all for Aubudon, it's all volunteer.  That's fine.  Retirees are encouraged to find volunteer work, and this fits my interests rather neatly, so why not?

Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest insect book is in its final stages of production and all the proofreading (which I helped out on) is done.  I wasn't enthusiastic about this project at first, but over time, I got more interested.   Now when a cool-looking insect turns up in my yard or in a park, I try to figure out what it is.  I was delighted when I found this on my front porch:

It was about an inch-and-a-quarter long, and was flailing mightily on its back.  I flipped it over and then moved it to a more congenial spot in the garden.  The proof copy I have of the insect book told me it was a Ten-lined June Beetle.  Nice!