Month: May 2012

Nuts!!

NUTS

After Skye passed away last summer, I started gaining weight. At first I thought it was due to the steroids I was taking for my COPD, but the doctor told me the amount of steroid was so small that it couldn’t account for that kind of weight gain.

It didn’t take long to realize that not sharing my food with the dog and not walking when it was raining or when I had something pressing was probably the reason for my weight gain. So, once again I decided it was time to try to know 10 or 20 pounds off. However, I really resent diets so I didn’t try to diet. Instead, I resolved to pay attention to what I was eating and how much I was exercising.

I must admit it is the first time in my life I’ve ever “counted calories” and I couldn’t have done it without an iPhone app called “Lose It” which makes it relatively easy to count calories, including the ability to scan products directly. I input how much weight I wanted to lose in what time period, and the program told me how many calories I was allowed to consume daily. Turns out my metabolism must be slower than the average person’s because even though I followed the program closely, I was only losing about half the weight a month it said I would. Still, I’ve managed to lose 8 pounds since January, and that’s about what I wanted to do.

The only way I can stay within the program’s guidelines is by exercising, constantly exercising. Otherwise I feel like I’m being deprived. I like food, good food, and I’m not about to give it up to lose weight. But I also like exercise so it’s not a sacrifice to exercise daily.

I’ve managed to lose weight steadily for 5 months now, except for last week. I made the mistake of buying a large container of mixed nuts at Safeway and consumed it in two days. To make matters worse, I ended up buying a “super” size of MM Peanuts after spending the day walking at the beach. As I result, I gained weight for the week for the first time since December.

Part of the problem is that I’ve convinced myself that nuts are good food, and they probably are, but I’m probably also addicted to them. The only way I can avoid stuffing myself on them is to simply not buy them. I haven’t since, but I’m sure I’ll give in to the temptation when I’m at Cory and Margaret’s and they have a jar full of pistachios out or when we’re visiting Mary in Santa Rosa. Heck, I’ll probably buy another package in a weak moment while at the store.

But that’s okay, because I’m not really dieting. I’m simply trying to pay attention to what I’m eating, and entering everything I eat in my iPhone has helped me to realize that eating two corn dogs and a 16 oz Pepsi at the local Minit Mart is probably not the best way to allocate my daily calories. I can’t imagine not overeating when I go out to a special restaurant but as long as I know how many calories I’ve over consumed I don’t find it particularly hard to cut back on other days. If I know I’m going out, I often eat a small breakfast and have a salad for lunch knowing I’m bound to overeat that night.

Is This the Year of the Guillemot?

Last year was the year of the Western Grebe, now I’m beginning to wonder if this is going to be The Year of the Pigeon Guillemot. I noted in an earlier blog entry that I suddenly saw an amazing number of Pigeon Guillemot’s after John said something about trying to get a photograph of one in Port Orchard. I think I’ve seen more Pigeon Guillemots in the last month than I’ve seen in the entire time I’ve been birding.

The trend continued in a big way in Westport. While I was out stalking loons and Pelicans I saw this Pigeon Guillemot and instinctively pointed my camera at it. Instead of diving as it would normally do, it started swimming directly toward me, getting closer and closer.

Pigeon Guillemot

It was extremely close, when it struck this pose, which I assume is a mating pose since it reminds me of a similar Goldeneye pose.

Pigeon Guillemot

Strangely, there wasn’t another Pigeon Guillemot close to us.

A few days ago I had another strange encounter with a Pigeon Guillemot. I’d walked the entire dock as the Port Orchard Marina and hand’t seen a single bird. I’d just turned around and started back when this Pigeon Guillemot flew in and landed a few feet from me.

Pigeon Guillemot

As I was photographing it, it raised up and displayed, another action I usually associate with mating rituals but, again, there wasn’t another bird in sight anywhere.

Pigeon Guillemot

I’m assuming that there must be a rise in the Pigeon Guillemot population that accounts for my huge increase of sightings, but I’m not counting on it.

Pelicans, Up Close and Personal

As much as I enjoyed watching pelican flight formations, my favorite shots from Friday’s shoot were close-ups of individual Pelicans as they flew by. I got some nice shots in the morning as they flew back from their fishing ground to a resting area, but the sun was often behind them, making exposure a constant battle, particularly in dark areas.

Despite that they don’t appear to be in full breeding colors yet, these are some of the best shots I’ve managed to get of Brown Pelicans. I must admit I’m fascinated by the feather pattern under the wings,

Brown Pelican in Flight

even though this shot taken from slightly above best shows why they’re called Brown Pelicans.

Brown Pelican in Flight

Despite their dinosaur-like appearance, they are amazingly agile fliers, as show by this one hovering in strong winds.

Brown Pelican in Flight

I was appalled by how many shots I had taken of Pelicans throughout the day, but in the end I think this was my favorite shot, though I have no idea why.

Brown Pelican in Flight

Brown Pelican Flyby

Last Friday I headed for the Washington Coast hoping to finally catch the Spring shorebirds migration in sunshine, in contrast to earlier trips this year. Since high tides were relatively late, I went to Westport first to see if I could get some pictures of Common Loons in breeding plumage.

I was surprised when I pulled into the marina parking lot to see a car that looked exactly like John’s new car. Just as I was wondering if it was really his car, he walked up from the marina. Turned out he had come to get pictures of the Brown Pelicans, not shorebirds. We decided to hang out most of the morning trying to get some good shots as flock after flock of Pelicans flew overhead on the way back from the fishing grounds.

Needless to say, trying to focus a telephoto lens on a flock of pelicans as they fly is pretty much a hit-and-miss affair. You seldom manage to get the flock in focus, unless they’re quite a ways away, meaning you have to enlarge the image, which creates its own problems. Still I was quite happy with this shot, which gives a sense of just how closely they fly together,

Flock of Pelicans flying by

apparently drafting on each other.

It’s hard to watch the pelicans fly over for a while and not be impressed with how synchronized they seem. Shots like this where it looks like you might have simply duplicated a single bird rather than shooting two different birds are quite common,

two Pelicans in flight

which is not to say that there are not times when you’re sure the pelicans are going to collide with each other

two Pelicans in fligh

We had a great morning shooting, but I was anxious to see what else was about (and hungry for some fish and chips) so a little after noon I said goodbye to John. However, I returned later in the afternoon on my way back from Tokeland and watched flocks of pelicans appearing to play in the wind,

Pelicans kiting in high winds

kiting in one place for a good five minutes. Perhaps having had their fill in the morning they were content to practice their flying skills, and the wind was really strong , so strong that I decided to skip trying to get pictures of the shorebirds. I wasn’t willing to take the chance of blowing sand scratching my expensive 500mm lens.

As often happens on my outings, the unexpected ends up being the highlight of the day.