Back to the Birds

I didn't go birding while in Richland because the best spot there, Bateman Island, was closed due to a recent fire, and because it's also the time of year when bird activity is very low.

As soon as I returned to Seattle, I went right out to my two favorite birding spots -- Magnuson Park and the Montlake Fill.

At Magnuson Park things were still very quiet.

We heard crows and chickadees and a towhee, and we did get a nice view of this Great Blue Heron fishing:

The most exciting find was not birds but sketchers!  I had a lovely chat with this trio, who are just like me and Tina and Nicole -- three friends who go out and about to various places to sketch together.  They knew about the Urban Sketcher group but only rarely went on those outings.  Nice folks!

The next morning Truman and I tootled down to the Fill, where we did not see many birds at all.

But we did see the Osprey!

These are the two youngsters all grown up.  I had worried that I would miss them, as the ones raised there last year departed around the end of August.  So glad I got to see them before they head south for the winter.

Unlike the parents, the kids were highly annoyed by any people walking past their platform.

Over the next few weeks there should be shorebirds migrating through -- I hope to get down there at least once a week to check it all out.