When it hit 80 degrees on Wednesday there was no garage in the world that was going to keep me inside, even if birding is rather poor this time of year. I headed out for Theler Wetlands for a four mile walk, wondering if I’d see John there.
I was nearly a third of the way through the walk before I saw my first bird, this Goldfinch
the first of several I saw during the day.
I did see an immature Eagle about the same point, but there was nary a duck in sight, unusual in its own right. At the first bridge I saw the Cedar Waxwings,
the first of several sighting throughout the rest of the day, probably the most common bird of the day, in fact.
I’d actually give up meeting John when I finally met him on the way back. Thanks to him, I managed to get a distant shot of this Willow Flycatcher,
a bird I seldom see.
On our John told me he’d seen 4 Kingfishers recently. We didn’t see four, but I did manage to get a fairly good shot of this one,
just before it flew across the river, laughing all the way.
After John left, I took pictures of flowers and walked the boardwalk out near the Sound. As I was leaving, I noticed a young man looking intently over the railing. Naturally I had to know if there was a picture to be had, but I was shocked when he pointed out a three-foot-long alligator resting in the mud.
He wondered if they were native to the Pacific Northwest, and I said, “Not hardly” and suggested he report it. He didn’t seem too interested in doing that, so I found a park volunteer and he said he would report it to Game and Wildlife to have it removed.
UPDATE: John just informed me that the alligator was PLASTIC. Wonder if the Fish and Game department had to come out to confirm that?!?
I bet that was a shock!! His nose seems a bit snubby.
You know he could be a pet crocodile or, as someone else suggested, a “cayman” though I’m not quite sure what that is.
Let’s just call it an unidentified crawling object.
How lovely to see such beautiful birds Loren, not so sure about the alligator though.
The Cedar Waxwing is so smoooth and sophisticated, especially next to the Willow Flycatcher, who looks as if he hasn’t preened for a week.
As for the alligator –Wow!
At least they didn’t have to shoot the alligator, first, to determine it was plastic.
Wonder how many times it gets reported, and why they have it there.
Apparently they picked it up and took it to the front office.
I’m sure a prankster put it there. It couldn’t have been there very long. Too many birders would have noticed it before now.