Mellow Yellow

Theler Wetlands in Belfair isn’t nearly as large as Nisqually Wildlife Refuge and doesn’t offer as wide of a variety of birds, but I find myself spending nearly as much time there as I do at Nisqually, despite the fact that it’s nearly twice as far away.

There are certain species that you’re more apt to get a good picture of at Belfair than at Nisqually, the American Goldfinch being one. There are Goldfinch at Nisqually, but not nearly as many thistles along the trail as Belfair does, and the only time I’ve managed to get anything approaching a close-up of a Goldfinch is when they’re stuffing themselves with thistle seeds, like this guy:

American Goldfinch eating thistle

There are lots of butterflies at both places, but for some reason I’m more apt get pictures at Belfair than Nisqually, though neither place is nearly as good as my own garden, but that would mean staying home.

Tiger Swallowtail on Blackberry blossom

The main advantage Belfair has over Nisqually, though, is the garden maintained by Master Gardeners. Though I’d probably prefer a garden with just native plants, they’ve managed to plant a garden that has flowers from spring to fall that seem to thrive without excessive work. I never go to Belfair without taking two cameras, one for birds and one for flowers:

Lily

One thought on “Mellow Yellow”

  1. Beautiful pictures. Two goldfinches flew by my parked car yesterday and, in this time of diminishing species, I was delighted to see them.

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