Nisqually

With rain predicted the rest of the week, I headed to Nisqually Monday after I took Skye for his morning walk, thinking that a recent Seattle Times article on the new boardwalk would mean that part of it was now open. Unfortunately, that turned out to be untrue. Apparently the boardwalk won’t be open until hunting season has ended.

It was too great of a day not to take advantage of the sunshine, though, so I stuck around. Birding wasn’t much better than Sunday’s trip, but the ice was just as beautiful here as it was at Belfair. I was particularly fond of the Hoar Frost:

Hoar Frost

I also sighted a lot of raptors, including several Bald Eagles and a pair of Peregrine falcons, but the only one a managed to get a good shot of was this female Marsh Hawk that flew right past me.

female Marsh Hawk

The best bird of the day was obviously this Western Meadowlark, a bird I haven’t seen since I was in Colorado, and never managed to get this good shot of even there.

Western Meadowlark

I also sighted this Downy Woodpecker on my way out, a bird I haven’t seen since they closed the 5-mile trail down

Downy Woodpecker

It felt great getting out for a longer walk. Perhaps with the rain returning I’ll get a chance to finish the poetry book I started this weekend.

3 thoughts on “Nisqually”

  1. As usual, Loren, lovely photographs. I particularly like that one of hoar frost; we only rarely get it here but when it comes it is always a thing of extreme beauty. Happy new year if I haven’t said it before.

  2. Happy Birthday, Loren!

    Seeing that Meadowlark brings happiness to me this morning. It’s windy and rainy here. Not too cold.
    Have to start work in an hour. It’s amazing how little time I have outside of work. Fortunately, I like my job.

  3. My gosh, Loren, you have to be quick on the draw to get a photo like the one of the Marsh Hawk.

Comments are closed.