A red-winged blackbird preens his red feathers.
Tag: Washington
Roughleg
I rarely get to see rough-legged hawks but it’s such a treat every time I do, I love their coloration. I think this one from 2004 may be a juvenile, four years later I got to see an adult on several occasions and wondered if it was the same bird. Sadly I haven’t gotten a good look at once since.
The Approaching Light
A cold snap at the end of the year meant the new year dawned to frost and ice. I started New Year’s morning the way I had New Year’s Eve, watching egrets and herons at Ridgefield. I had arrived before the sun and had been sitting watching this heron when I was struck by how the rising sun was already illuminating the far side of the marsh. Within minutes it would crest the hill and bring us the warmth of its light as well.
As I watched the animals that morning I knew our sweet little cat Emma was in a fight for her life but I didn’t know we only had a week left together. And of course I couldn’t know that on this day, or perhaps a day or two before, a little kitten was being rescued far away in southern Oregon, and that a few weeks later she’d be transferred to Portland and welcomed into our home, bringing us light at the end of a dark and depressing month.
The Ice Walker
I love photographing coots, one of the most commonly seen birds at Ridgefield, as I find it fascinating how they do many of the things that diving ducks do yet their bodies differ in many ways. I was shocked the first time I saw their almost comically large feet and was surprised to see that they aren’t webbed like a duck. We had a cold snap to start the year and some of the smaller ponds froze over, leaving the coots a bit exposed as their best defense against an aerial eagle attack is to dive under the water.
Circle Feeding
I love how shovelers often feed by spinning in circles, such as this female who had been swimming in a line with several others before taking a brief break to feed.
The Trixie Marmot?
Looking back at these Olympic marmot pictures I was struck by how they resemble our tortoiseshell cat, Trixie. In cats the mixed brown & black fur pattern can occur in females (or rarely in males with two XX chromosomes) where the primary color varies randomly from cell to cell, but in the marmots I think their coats are changing from light brown early in the season to dark brown near the end, and the marmots I saw on this occasion in the fall were in the process of transition.
The Olympic Marmot
I’ve only ever seen Olympic marmots once, near the road on the way back from Obstruction Point after a day of hiking at Hurricane Ridge. The marmots are endemic to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, the National Park service has more info if you’re interested.
Hooded Merganser (Male)
A hoody swims in Bower Slough.
Sky & Trees
The Skyline Trail in Mount Rainier National Park wanders partly through forest and partly up above the tree line. This sooty grouse was near the transition where it was mostly open, with both sky and trees filling the background.
Eat Your Greens
A Columbian white-tailed deer fawn eats a big green leaf.
Boolie 