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Tag Archives: bald eagle

Scenes from the Salish Sea

Willow and I spent eighteen days in western Washington last month. Our trip coincided with the notorious weather system sometimes called the pineapple express – lots of rainy days. While the weather was disappointing, we still managed to get in lots of walks and I got to do some wildlife photography, mostly birds. I did make a special trip to see foxes and it was a big disappointment. I only found one fox and it was so habituated to people that it sat in the middle of a county road and begged for food. It was a beautiful animal. When I was in Churchill, they called this a cross fox but here, I learned that it is a color variation of a red fox. Foxes were introduced to this island to reduce the rabbit population. The rabbits are also an introduced species.

A Few Raptors

From my recent camping trip in the Okanogan Highlands. Merlin, Red-tailed Hawks, Bald Eagle. The eagle was hoping to catch a young loon or duck. The Merlin is a youngster, constantly screaming for help from its parent. I think the Red-tailed Hawks were a family group.

Spring Birds

Spring migration is in full swing with new birds arriving, and departing, daily. After a long quiet winter, it’s nice to hear bird song again. Mountain Bluebird, Say’s Phoebe, Dusky Grouse, Vesper Sparrow, Northern Flicker, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Bluebird, Townsend’s Solitaire, Bald Eagle, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Sandhill Cranes.

A Little Time at the Beach

We all got away to the Washington coast last week to dig razor clams and walk on the beach and generally relax. It was lovely. The weather was pretty good too. Not very rainy or windy, for a change. There was a Bald Eagle nest across the river from where we stayed. I saw the birds near it but they weren’t using it, yet. I saw one shorebird – a Greater Yellowlegs, I think. Sunsets were lovely. There’s not many things better than a beach sunset. Both dogs found a tennis ball. And we ate fried razor clams and fresh ceviche too. We got our limits on three of four days. Here I am with a limit of fifteen clams.

Winter Adventures

The day we saw the bighorn sheep, we also saw some other fun animals. Otters running and sliding on the ice and ducking in and out of the frigid water with their friends, the swans. Bald Eagles maybe digesting or waiting for their next meal to come along. Clark’s Nutcrackers foraging for their pine seed caches. More swans and a group of partridges near the road as the sun finally started to show up.