One More Time

Although I considered taking my camera on our recent snowshoeing trek through Pt. Defiance Park, I dismissed the idea because my hands were already full with two poles and a 600mm lens just plain doesn’t work well at close range.  As it often turns out, though, I regretted not bringing it because we saw a large number of Varied Thrushes on our trek, more than I have ever seen in one place, and closer than I have ever managed to get to them in our yard.

After that missed opportunity, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m not going to get any better pictures than the ones I managed to get in our yard in the last two weeks.  

I’ll try not to wear out my welcome by posting any more pictures of Varied Thrushes this winter, but I can’t promise because I’ll have to admit I still grab my camera when I see one in the yard.  I’m not sure, though, whether that’s because I still find them quite beautiful or because I am coming down with a serious case of cabin fever.  

Thank God our second shot is only a couple of weeks away and we can begin to consider going a little further away from home.

More from Titlow

Although my favorite shots from our recent visit to Titlow were those of the Belted Kingfisher, I got a couple of other shots I liked.  If you want to see Double-Crested Cormorants up close, Titlow is a good place to start as there are usually dozens (or more) Cormorants standing on the pilings, 

and it’s easy to catch one in the traditional, air-drying pose.

I don’t think you can count on seeing Red-Breasted Mergansers here, but there was a pair there on the day we visited, and I managed to capture the best shot of the year so far, 

though I hope to get a closer shot sometime before they leave for their nesting area in the Spring.

Leslie even managed to spot a Hummingbird as we looped back to our car.

We ended the day with a sighting of a male Bufflehead that popped up right next to us.

Just Another Belted Kingfisher

I haven’t birded Titlow Park for quite awhile, but, with the constant rain we were looking for a place nearby where we could get in a short walk with Leslie’s friend.  As it turned out, perhaps we should visit there more often.  

My favorite sequence of the day was a series of shots of this Belted Kingfisher sitting on a branch overlooking the pond, 

diving (way too fast to get a shot) and landing on a fallen tree on the opposite side of the pond to eat his catch, 

before returning to the original branch to complain about how we were encroaching on his fishing spot. 

A Walk On the Beach

Although I get a much better workout when we walk Owens Beach or the Dunes, the pictures, with the exception of the Hooded Mergansers, aren’t nearly as good as when we walk other places because the birds stay further offshore because of the considerable number of people walking.

Still, watching for birds distracts from the fact that we are, indeed,  exercising, which is probably vital at my age but isn’t particularly stimulating, and barely qualifies as “fun.” It helps that I tend to see birds I don’t regularly see at Theler or Port Orchard, like this male Common Goldeneye, 

this Double-Crested Cormorant, 

or, even, this Widgeon which are really numerous at Port Orchard but are so far out that it’s nearly impossible to get a simple shot like this.

As a bonus,  my Apple watch gives me credit for exercise when I only stop for three shots in 45 minutes of walking, and it rarely gives me an “exercise” credit after I walk 4 miles at Theler Wetlands because we stop often to check out the birds.