This week’s trip to Malheur started off well. It was sunny and a beautiful 65 degrees when I reached Burns, the closest town to the refuge. On the back roads I spotted small flocks of Snow Geese,
apparently the ones Leslie and I had missed on this year’s April trip to Santa Rosa.
I was still a ways from the reservation when I spotted this Willet, a bird I seldom see in Western Washington.
Even better after I’d stopped to capture a shot of the Willet, I saw two Avocets feeding in the same area. They’re definitely a favorite, particularly since it took me four years to see my first one in breeding colors after I’d seen a picture at a refuge in Yakima. I had a hard time deciding whether I liked this shot
or this shot better
so I decided to just include both.
I was disappointed that I didn’t see a single pelican at the bridge just before Narrows, but I did see a single Pelican
floating down the creek just before the refuge headquarters. It seemed like an auspicious start to my trip.
Love pelicans
Wish I could of gotten some better flight pictures of them, but that’s a pretty impressive Pelican in breeding colors.