I’d hoped to take Jim up to Mt. Rainier before he had to return to Vermont, but, like most of this year so far, the weather refused to cooperate, so he had to settle for a glimpse of the mountain on our way to Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.
Since I’d already taken him to Belfair, and because the weather was too questionable to justify a long drive, I took him to La Fuentes by Nisqually and bought him his first-ever Torta. Any day I can eat a barbecued pork torta with cilantro and avocado is a good day for me. (You do know I walk and exercise as much as I do so I can eat what I want and still not get too overweight, right?)
It was relatively quiet at Nisqually, but we did see three different Wood Ducks with chicks. This was my favorite shot:
You think mom was asleep or keeping an eye on visitors?
As many Cinnamon Teal as I’ve seen this year,
I wonder why they were so rare the previous four years I was birding.
Once again, Jim spotted a bird I would have missed entirely if he hadn’t been there, this Band-Tailed Pigeon,
a bird I don’t think I’ve seen since Nisqually tore out the five-mile loop.
This was Jim and my last chance to do something together as he left for the airport early the next day. I did manage to get him there on time despite a traffic jam and an 8-mile backup on the freeway. He said he hoped there wouldn’t be thunderstorms in Newark on his return flight home. Strangely enough, WE had thunderstorms right after he left, a rare spring event here on the Pacific Coast. Somehow it seemed appropriate.