In a Dark Time … The Eye Begins to See

We also stopped at Bottle Beach on last week’s ocean trip, usually one of the best spots for birds on Grays Harbor, but not this time. There was just a scattering of shorebirds, though there were enough Black-Bellied Plovers in various stages of breeding colors to keep me interested for awhile.

Before long, though, my attention turned to four of these little guys,

a Semi-Palmated Plover, which look an awful lot like another favorite I’ve often featured,

a Killdeer.

In fact, the birds are so similar that looking at them I wondered why was one a “plover” and the other not. Never did find the answer to that question, but I did discover that the Killdeer really is classified as a “plover.” This, in turn, led me to Wikipedia to look up the definition of “plover.”

Of course, once I there, I had to look up “sandpipers” since I’d also wondered what distinguished one set of “waders,” or shorebirds, from another set. The most distinguishing characteristic of sandpipers is the fact that they probe the shore for their food, whereas plovers don’t.

In other words, this

is a sandpiper even though it’s referred to as a “Sanderling” and not a sandpiper.

Thank goodness when I’m out birding I don’t worry about such distinctions but, instead, focus on capturing the beauty of the moment.

It’s only trapped inside looking at a computer screen I find time to worry about such distinctions.

Though birding is slow locally, it’s anything but slow at the coast, though that requires a full-day trip. Because of the distance, I almost always make a full-day of it, spending 12 hours or more on the trip, trying to get to as many different places as possible.

One of our standard stops is Westport because we can always count on seeing animals and birds that we seldom see anyplace else. For instance, it’s the only place I know on the Washington coast you can count on seeing Sea Lions,

though they are occasionally seen almost anywhere in the Puget Sound.

It’s one of two places I regularly see Pigeon Guillemots,

and the only place I’ve ever managed to get a close-up. Since I’ve only seen them at a distance, I’ve always thought they were black, and most photos show them as black, though my birding guide confirms, in parentheses, that they are (actually dark brown), which would explain why I couldn’t adjust the photo to make them appear black. I also learned that their non-breeding colors are mostly white with a mottled back. I suspect this bird is in a state of transition.

Another favorite I can usually count on are the Brown Pelicans,

which fly by the pier regularly. I suspect I need to spend more time in Westport to discover where they are fishing as I’d love to get some shots of the them diving.

I was a little disappointed to discover that the loons aren’t back yet, as neither Ruth Sullivan nor I could spot a single one.

The first surprise of the day came when this large Great Blue Heron was spotted.

They’re common on the ocean, but I’ve never seen one in Westport before, especially right in the marina.

The real treat of the day, though, was the sighting of this Rhinoceros Auklet,

the first one I’ve ever seen. Heck, I’d forgotten you could even see them in our area. It was so small that at first I thought it was a Common Murre.

We had a good time there, and it was only the first two hours of a 12 hour day.