Although I don’t think I will ever tire of visiting the Dahlia garden that’s part of the Point Defiance Garden, I’m beginning to think that I’ve about run out of ways of original ways of portraying them. What you see is what you get, I’m afraid.
Month: August 2015
Persistence
Some readers may remember me noting that several nests I had pictured a Marsh Wren building in the Spring had been wiped out by a high tide just about the time that he should have attracted a mate. I figured after that loss that the wren would simply move on as it would be too late to attract a mate by the time he had rebuilt the nests.
I should never have underestimated the mighty wren’s determination. Long after most birds were dashing around frantically trying to meet the demands of nests full of fledglings, this Marsh Wren was attempting to rebuild his kingdom and attract a mate,
pausing every so often to advertise the newly available estates.
I still don’t understand Marsh Wren well enough to know what all the different tail wagging means,
but it does make for a more interesting shot, so I’m not about to complain.
Unfortunately, in Nature timing is probably more important than persistence because I never saw any signs that he had attracted a mate or that there were any young ones about in later visits.
Birding Locally
Getaways are fabulous and I feel “cheated” when I can’t get away often enough, but “home” is still the foundation of our lives and provides a sense of time and continuity that vacations will never provide.
Watching these young geese grow up over the year has been a treat,
though it’s already hard to distinguish the “babies” from the adults. Not sure how long Canada Geese live, but I do know that they grow to full size in less than a year.
I’ve glanced a lot of “babies” as I’ve walked Theler this summer, but few of them ever emerge like this “thrush” did, probably for good reason.
Spotting this juvenile Red-Breasted Sapsucker
was a treat, only the second I’ve seen in my seven years of birding.
On days when birds seem too busy feeding youngsters to make a public appearance, I manage to entertain myself by gazing skyward,
reveling in summer sunshine.
Cedar Waxwings at Theler
Although birding definitely slows down mid-summer, I still make an effort to get to Theler once a week. I took Lael there the week she and Gavin stayed with us; I took Mary there the week she stayed with us; I took Dawn and Lael there before their trip to Colorado. I’ve gone at least once a week ever since they all left, too. It may not be “home,” but it feels a lot like home.
Though some of my favorite birds won’t be back until Fall, or even Winter, there’s something special about the birds that nest here. One of my favorites is the Cedar Waxwing, which show up relatively early, hanging out in the tallest trees catching insects.
If there are no tall trees around, they hang out in the tops of the smaller trees making it easier to photograph them.
If you catch them while they’re gathering material for a nest, apparently they will pose until you leave so you can’t locate their nearby nest.
Occasionally they will sit on a nearby branch so close that you have to take a step backward to fit them in the frame,
revealing just how beautiful they are, despite a Trump-like comb-over.