Month: January 2016

Birding Flagler

Between the heavy rain and recent illnesses I haven’t managed to get out to get any new pictures, but my finger infection is finally healed enough that I can type without cussing at the keyboard. Luckily way back when we had our short dry spell I was out taking pictures every day and now I have time to process them.

Our longest trip during that time was a favorite, a visit combining Ft Flagler and Port Townsend, beginning with Flagler where I hunt for Harlequin Ducks. On this visit, with especially high tides, these small Sanderlings dominated the scene, alternately landing in front of us

FlyngSndrlings

quite close and at very high speeds, making it difficult to focus the camera on them.

2Sndrlngs

Luckily, there was always the bold, or overly trusting, bird that would run straight back toward you once the flock had landed.

SndrlngPsngBy

Even while focusing on the shorebirds, I scanned the horizon, looking for the Harlequins.

As usual, there were lots of birds just offshore, but the male Red Breasted Merganser particularly caught my attention,

DstntMrgnsr

even though it was really too far away to get very good shots.

I didn’t see a single Harlequin until our second stop, and they were so far out that the best I could do was very that they were actually there.

DstntHrlquin

Despite waiting nearly a half hour to see if they would come closer to shore, they never did, though meanwhile this crow stopped by to see what I was up to.

CrowSmpthy

It is looking like a bad week!

Okay, this is officially beginning to look like a bad week.

I woke up with a rash early Sunday morning and thought it must’ve been spider bites. On Monday, I developed an infection on a finger on my left hand. I thought about going to the emergency room, but since I was able to get an appointment with my regular doctor today I waited until then to get diagnosed.

Yesterday, while waiting to see my doctor I found out that my website been off-line for over 12 hours. Anyway, a message said that the word press database needed to be rebuilt and sent me to site containing a line of code I needed to add to my files. After I did that and waited a while, I discovered a much longer error code but no site. I sent off a message to my host with the error message in it. Strangely, right after that the site came back online before they can do anything. Maybe that line of code worked after all. I would rather work on photographs and on code.

When I got to see my doctor today, it turned out they weren’t spider bites at all. Despite having got my shingles vaccination, I managed to get shingles. Luckily, so far it seems to be a rather mild case though the rash looks gross. I was right, though, in that I do have an infection on my finger.

The doctor started me on two different medications which have made me feel rather light-headed. Hopefully that will wear off with time, and I’ll be back to normal shortly. Meanwhile, I’m finding it tedious having to dictate and not type everything.

Luckily, the weather outside is equally bleak, with a week of solid rain predicted. I positively hate it when the sun is shining while I’m stuck inside. It’s always nice to feel that the universe reflects how I feel.

On a more positive note, at least I can quit feeling guilty about not loading my weapons and heading down to Malheur to take out the trash.

Birding Port Orchard

Winter seems to have loosened its grip on the Pacific Northwest, and I’ve managed to get outside several times in the last few weeks. This time of year my favorite place to bird is the Port Orchard Marina because it allows me to get the closest to the sea birds that overwinter here.

Barrow’s Goldeneye are always a beautiful bird, but the combination of closeness and sunshine reveal the true color of their beautiful heads,

GldnEyClosp

which normally just look black.

Even after repeatedly seeing Hooded Mergansers, I find it impossible not to point the camera their way when they float by in full sunshine.

Bros

The males seem to get along remarkably well together until a female appears nearby.

Part of the appeal of the Port Orchard Marina is that you can never be sure what you’ll see there. Although Western Grebes

GrebInHrbr

frequent Puget Sound, this is the first time I’ve seen one this winter.

It’s also the first time I’ve gotten close enough to get a decent shot of a male Red-Breasted Merganser,

WntrRdBrstd

looking like it’s still wearing last year’s plumage. I’m looking forward to getting closer later when its new plumage appears.

Icy Blue

As noted yesterday, we just went through a few days of absolutely delightful sunshine, before descending back into the clouds. The sunshine allowed me to get out and get several shots, while the recent rain has forced me back inside so that I have time to actually polish up and publish those shots.

Winter here in the Pacific Northwest usually brings lots of rain and temperatures hovering around the mid 40’s, but clear skies almost invariably bring lower temperatures and brief snow flurries.

On my last trip to Theler Wetlands I was greeted by blue skies and a cold, distant moon,

BluMoon

which was reflected on the ground.

I suspect this Great Blue Heron was huddled in this ice-covered pond because the salt water was warmer than the surrounding ground.

IceGrdian

Even the trail itself was covered with snow and frost,

SnowyCrsng

perhaps explaining why I only saw one other person on my whole walk.

Who needs people, though, when you’re joined by Robin Redbreast,

IcyRbn

and a flock of Canada Geese?

ColdGees

All in all, the cold seemed like a small price to pay for such beautiful light.