Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
Male shovelers transition through several different plumages in a year. According to my Sibley guide, this male’s plumage would typically be on display during the summer, but I took this picture on Christmas day. The males have lovely green heads in their breeding plumage, but in this look resemble the females in many ways.
A juvenile great blue heron hunts for voles in a meadow on a Christmas afternoon. The direct light of the setting sun was now blocked by the distant hills so I took a few pictures in the fading light before heading for home. I had photographed this heron before and spent about 15 minutes with it on this occasion, so it felt comfortable enough to turn its back to me even at such a close distance.
A juvenile great blue heron hunts in the last throes of direct sunlight on a Christmas afternoon.
A red-legged frog emerges from Bower Slough still partially covered in duckweed.
My favorite creature in the Pacific Northwest is the rough-skinned newt. I used to see them frequently at the places I hiked when we lived further south in Oregon, this one is from 2002 at William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge near Corvallis.
A dark-eyed junco visits the dogwood next to the bird feeders in our backyard. She is a female of the Oregon race.
An eastern gray squirrel eats an acorn in our backyard. The eastern grays are not native to Oregon but are common in city neighborhoods.
When car shopping a couple of years ago, I only considered cars where it was easy to cross from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s seat. I was specifically thinking of situations like this at the auto tour at my local refuge, where I saw a family of river otters to the right of the car and the best views were from the passenger seat. Thankfully crossing over is easy to do in the Subaru Crosstrek we bought and I was able to watch the otters for quite a while as they groomed and played and ate. I was struck by how, even in the midst of vigorous play, the siblings would catch a fish when the opportunity presented itself and enjoy a quick snack before resuming play.
A male bullfrog floats in quiet contrast to many of the others nearby that were either wrestling with males or mating with females.
No argument, Boo, no argument. Taken last year after his second month with us.
Boolie 