Sunday Birding

We made a quick trip to Belfair Saturday before the rain moved in Sunday but had to be back by 2:50 PM so I could watch the Husky basketball game, one of my current obsessions.

Birding wasn’t great, but I did enjoy getting pictures of the Crossbills that John pointed out when we met him:

Crossbill

I was surprised how varied their color is, but this one struck me as the most beautiful. I missed an even better shot when my lens wouldn’t focus until I backed up, only later discovering that somehow I’d managed to change the setting on the lens. Sometimes I wish all the controls had to be set through the menu, and only through then menu.

There were more people than birds there, but there was a particularly exciting moment when I commented to Leslie that the Canada Geese seemed extraordinarily loud, and then two, including this one

Canada Goose flyby

flew right in front of my face, so close I felt the breeze from its wings beating the air.

I finally discovered that my lens had been set for distant focus while taking a shot of this Trillium, the first I’ve seen this year.

Trillium

We ended the day with a late lunch at Amy’s on the Waterfront. I would’ve loved to stay out birding longer, but I would also have regretted missing the Husky’s victory over New Mexico, a victory made all the sweeter by the number of analysts who suggested the Huskies didn’t really belong in the Tournament this year at all.

2 thoughts on “Sunday Birding”

  1. The bird has wonderful coloration; thanks to the ability of your camera to catch the myriads of variations. Love the trillium, too.

  2. Loren,

    Nice shot of the Crossbill. They are truly unafraid. I had two of them crawling over a log eating something, and another one sitting on some driftwood, 7.5 meters from my camera, according to the EXIF.

    I believe the Goose is a hybrid (Domestic Graylag x Canada Goose, according to the experts on the Tweeters List). I discovered him December 3 and try to get a shot of him whenever I visit Theler (I have a gallery devoted to him). He has found a mate. I’m hoping they nest where we can see what the goslings look like.

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