Month: September 2005

Theler Wetlands Trails and Nature Preserve

A photographer I met at Nisqually last week suggested that Belfair would be the place to get pictures of birds not usually found at Nisqually, so Leslie and I headed out to Theler Wetlands Trails and Nature Preserve today. Only thirty miles away, it was a pleasant drive.

The preserve is a multifunction area, also serving as an educational center for North Mason schools. The classrooms are surrounded by a number of impressive displays, including woodcarvings. This one of a giant mosquito certainly caught my attention when we first got there. Luckily, we didn’t encounter many mosquitoes quite this large:

Unfortunately, neither did I encounter many of the large birds I had hoped to see. Though present earlier in the morning, they had apparently vacated the premises upon hearing of our arrival.

I did get a good shot of this cheeky Song Sparrow, who, unlike most of his friends, didn’t seem particularly shy:

After we finished our two and a half mile walk, we admired the statues and other artwork that decorated the visitor’s center, not the least of which was this metal statue of a salmon:

I was heartened to see how much thought and effort had gone into the center, the creation of the paths, and into creating a sustainable watershed that supports both salmon and other wildlife, but I was particularly pleased to find a place that used art to celebrate Washington’s natural heritage. I suspect this is a place I will return to again and again in the future.

Please, Don’t Think Less of Me

Do you think a young Lesser Yellowlegs is upset when it discovers it’s been forever labeled Lesser because it’s a mere four inches shorter than its nearest relative the Greater Yellowlegs?

Would it comfort a young male to know that despite being labeled “Lesser,� he’s bigger than his near relatives the Spotted Sandpiper or the Sanderling, though uninitiated birders like myself, never having heard of a Sanderling, may well confuse him with the more common Sandpiper? Maybe it should just be happy it’s not called the Least Sandpiper.

If she’s female, do you suppose she resents being named after her legs instead of her lovely feathery dress or her slender figure?

If it happens to read my weblog, would this Lesser Yellowlegs resent being labeled Lesser Yellowlegs if it turns out that it’s really just a short Greater Yellowlegs with an unusually dark and short beak?

If your nickname was Lesser Yellowlegs would you prefer to be known to the world by your formal name, Tringa Flavipes? Naw, neither would I.