Mar 10
09

Saturday Birding

Posted by Loren | | Birds | 2 Comments

As I mentioned yesterday, I did manage to get some decent bird shots this weekend even thought the sunny weather and the huge number of people taking advantage of it, made birding sparse in some of my favorite haunts.

I started Saturday by spotting a large flock of birds near shore on the drive to Port Orchard. Even at 50 mph I knew that I had never seen these birds before, so I pulled a u-turn and pulled onto the shoulder and spent the next half hour watching a flock of White-Winged Scoters diving for what appeared to be clams.

White-Winged Scoter

Originally I thought I’d never seen this species before, by it turns out I had seen a single one mixed in with other scoters at Ocean Shores last year. Still, I was excited to watch a whole flock.

I also got a chance to observe a flock of Widgeons close to shore, too. In the past, I’d only seen them floating safely in the middle of the bay in Port Orchard. Today, though, there were hundreds on shore feasting on seaweed.

Widgeons Feeding on Seaweed

The highlight of the day, though, came later when I observed a Belted Kingfisher, or, more likely, two different Kingfishers hanging around different dock areas, waiting for me to leave so it could get back to fishing undisturbed.

Belted Kingfisher on Pole
Mar 10
08

Weekend Sunshine

Posted by Loren | | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

This weekend’s sunshine dragged me away from my computer long enough to get some photos, and today’s cold temperatures forced me inside again so I was able to post them today. I also got a few bird pictures I liked, but strangely enough the highlight of the weekend for me was the flowers.

Though these croci in downtown Port Orchard were beginning to show signs of nearing the end of their blossoming season, it was impossible to ignore the brilliantly lit whites and purples.

Saturday's Croci

The daffodils are out in full force, too, and, even though I have had terrible luck getting a photograph of them I like nearly as much as I do them, I couldn’t resist trying once again:

Daffodils

The real surprise of the weekend, though, was an ancient apple tree breaking into full bloom.

Apple Blossoms

My heart gave a leap when I saw this, knowing Spring must really be here, no matter what the calendar might say.

Mar 10
02

Spring Sun Day

Posted by Loren | | Theler Wetlands | 4 Comments

There were a lot more birds at Belfair’s Theler Wetlands this Sunday than I’ve seen all winter, but the scene certainly seemed to be dominated by Great Blue Herons,

Great Blue Heron

and Canada Geese who seemed intent on proving that their wake was bigger than their neighbor’s,

Goose Wake

but if that wasn’t enough to intimidate them, they were willing to resort to more drastic means of establishing their territory.

Canada Goose Charging

Spring is upon us in all its Glory.

Croci
Feb 10
26

Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge

Posted by Loren | | Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge | 7 Comments

Tuesday I left the house at 6:25 so that I could spend time at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge near Vancouver before my semi-annual dental appointment. I ended up spending a little over two hours there, though the conditions were less than ideal and I managed to get wet even inside my car.

I’ve been anticipating the trip since last year when I bought a window mount for my 500mm lens. The set up made it easy to get this shot, since the Red-Winged Blackbird was on the left hand side of the road.

Red-Winged Blackbird

The only problem was keeping it in the frame and in-focus since it was right on the edge of the road.

I would never have even stopped to get a picture of these Green-Winged Teal if I hadn’t had a 700mm lens attachment on the camera.

Green-Winged Teal Pair

Green-Winged Teal are notoriously shy, so being able to shoot from the car worked out beautifully.

Unfortunately, the set up probably cost me the best shot of the day, one of this coyote

Coyote

who just a few minutes before this shot was taken was standing on THIS side of the fence and staring defiantly at the three cars that had just pulled up. Unfortunately, he was on the right hand side of the road, and my camera was set up to take pictures on the left side. By the time I had turned my car far enough to get this shot, he had started to move on, exiting right.

I had better luck around the next corner when I got this shot of a male Gadwall, the best I’ve ever managed to get.

Male Gadwall

Unfortunately in order to get it I actually had to dismount the lens from the window support and hand hold it as I rested it on the window, far from ideal.

It doesn’t take long to discover that nearly every tool, no matter how powerful, brings its own liabilities to the table. At least with the door mount, I have a portable blind instead of having to sit in one place and wait for birds to come to me. It also provides a rock-solid mount for my heavy lens. But like the Maginot Line, it limits you to shooting in one direction. It becomes a real liability if you need to take a photograph in the opposite direction.

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