It was a warm and muggy evening on Redmond Ridge. A tropical sky was scattered with puffy cumulus clouds and some virga (rain not hitting the ground). Lyn and I began our normal walk behind the pond, and along the trail just east of Morgan Drive. As we left the house, we noticed a Brown-headed Cowbird sitting on the roof across the street. He was quickly joined by three House Finches, two of which were female. As we walked down to the pond, Dark-eyed Juncos flew out ahead of us. At the pond we noticed dozens of tadpoles swimming just beneath the surface. Looking up and to the east we saw several Cedar Waxwings in the Crab Apple bush. They were quickly joined by more House Finches and several Gold Finches. The yellow rimmed tail on the Cedar Waxwings was clearly visible. We walked around the pond and entered the wetlands where we immediately heard a Swainson's Thrush calling rapidly. "Wheet, wheet." His calls were close together as if he was alarmed about something, maybe us. Then we saw him. He flew from one perch to another in the heavy brush but he was clearly visible for several seconds. His color appeared light brown, almost tan.

As I walked up the hill, Lyn suddenly stopped me. There was a Raccoon in the Red Cedar just to the right of the path. The Raccoon slowly moved up the trunk of the tree giving us plenty of time to get a good look at him. He didn't appear to be afraid of us. We probably should have been more afraid of him. As we passed, we walked on the opposite side of the trail to keep a safe distance. Moving up the trail, Lyn stopped me again as she heard a disturbance in the heavy ferns on the West side of the trail. I got my camera ready as she poked the bushes. Something very fast escaped the area. I believe it was a snake, but can't be sure. At the Pipeline, we hear two or three Swainson's Thrushes singing very loudly. Their songs sound like a flutist playing notes that ascend in an upward spiral. It is a beautiful song, but it seems to appear everywhere along the trail.

We continued along the Pipeline and saw two pairs of House Finches at Gail's feeders. The males were very, very red. We spotted two Gold Finches in the same area. As we continued eastward along the Pipelong, Violet-green Swallows buzzed the area. On the previous day, we saw two Pileated Woodpeckers working the wood on a tall snag. But no woodpeckers today. More Swainson's Thrushes sang as we approached the intersection with 232nd Ave NE. We proceeded south on 232nd and then north for a short distance on NE Devon Way. The small wetlands area had many birds. The first we saw (and heard) was a Spotted Towhee. He perched on the top of a relatively short snag and then began to sing. I circled him carefully and got a good photo of him singing. Turning the corner we saw several American Robins and Pine Siskins. Swainson's Thrushes continued to sing and Violet-green Swallows buzzed the neighborhood as we returned home.