The whole family got out to the Washington Coast last week for some razor clam digging and beach walking. The weather was mostly unfavorable with lots of wind and rain. We did see some fabulous rainbows! I took my camera out one evening with the dogs and this is what I have to show for it.
On the trip to see cranes and Snow Geese, I saw about sixty bird species. There should have been more but I was pretty focused on the big charismatic birds. I did get a few photos of the others – Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels and Bewick’s Wrens. The hawks and kestrels were setting up their territories and we saw the hawks’ nest. The kestrels probably had a tree cavity staked out. You can see in one picture, that the female kestrel had found some good food nearby.
I remember the first time I saw a Bewick’s Wren in SE Washington probably more than twenty years ago. At the time they were considered unusual for this area. Now they seem widespread in eastern WA. I don’t know about the rest of the state. It used to be that Marsh Wrens were common but I haven’t seen one in years. Maybe I’m just not getting to the right habitat at the right time.
I have been fortunate to see Sandhill Cranes in many places. The Columbia Basin is the first place I saw them and learned about their migrations. As they travel north from their wintering grounds to Alaska where they breed, they stop over to rest and eat in the corn stubble fields on the big irrigated farms.
I went a ways south a couple weeks ago in search of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese. It was time for the cranes to arrive in central Washington and I knew the geese had wintered there so I figured it would be a good time to see these charismatic birds. The dogs and I stayed at Potholes State Park in our new little travel trailer. (I forgot to make a photo of it. Next time.) This area is known for the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project and the geologic story of the Ice Age Floods.
I first saw some Snow Geese when I crossed O’Sullivan dam, the structure that holds the Potholes Reservoir in place. They formed a dense white mat in the distance. I was able to photograph them from a hill above the dam. Later, I saw skeins of them flying overhead going north and south but mostly north. The next day, we made our way to Royal Lake and I was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of Snow Geese and more were arriving from the south! I had heard there were about 50,000 of them but seeing this spectacle, I’d say there were far more. It seemed impossible to count them. In addition to the Snow Geese, there many 1000’s of Northern Pintails and other waterfowl on the water.
Scenes from a walk a few days ago.
My Everyday Photos 