I hadn't been to the Montlake Fill in ages, either because of rainy weather or because the trail was closed for construction equipment (the creation of a new wetlands area continues apace). So I decided to see if I could visit it -- and the answer was YES. Hoorah!
The Osprey family, of course, is long gone, spending the colder months in Central America. The Bald Eagle family has reclaimed the lake. The Wintering-Over Waterfowl from up north have not yet arrived in any great numbers -- I heard a few wigeons calling, and spotted a couple of Northern Shovelers and a lone Green-winged Teal, but that was it.
I didn't see a lot of songbirds around, possibly because I did see a Red-tailed Hawk, a Cooper's Hawk, and a Merlin hunting the fields.
As usual, though, I did see a Great Blue Heron. Here is Truman guarding the bird he located for me:
We had a lovely mix of stormy gray clouds with fluffier, lighter clouds and sunshine struggling to break through.
The Double-crested Cormorants have returned to their favorite perching spot, the baseball field lights.
Truman actually walked most of the way around the 1-mile loop trail.
While the Cooper's Hawk and the Merlin zipped through too quickly for photos, the Red-tailed Hawk did pose nicely.
Over at the main wetlands construction site, the pond has been dug and the recent rains have filled it in.
It was lovely to walk around the Fill again, and I do hope the trail stays open from now on.
That red tailed hawk (or maybe his cousin) has been hunting over the new landscaping around the light rail station pedestrian overpass. I've seen him a couple of times sitting on the streetlamps or flapping from tree to tree. He must know about the rats in the salal.
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