At the Crack of Dawn

I’m definitely not a morning person, but with our long winter days here in the Pacific Northwest I get up in the dark more often than not lately. Occasionally I even manage to get to a birding area before the sun. The last time I was at Theler Wetlands the sun had barely broken the horizon by the time I started my walk, and, as a result, I got some rather unusual shots, like this one of Green-Winged Teal dabbling in the rising tide flats.

CrackofDwn

The low lighting also created a beautiful reflection of the bridge that spans the main tide flats.

ThelerCrossing

In the low light this Double-Crested Cormorant

Dble-Crstd

looked even more like some prehistoric monster rising out of the deep than usual.

This Great Blue Heron flew out of the darkness straight at me landed a short distance away,

MorningHeron

apparently not to give me a good shot of it’s feathery coat but, rather, to catch some of the sun’s warming rays. With temperatures in the high 40’s and low 50’s I wonder if the birds are thinking that summer is just around the corner?

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