Month: April 2021

Dunlin

Spring Migration is the best time to observe many shorebirds like the Dunlin.  In large flocks  some are still in their winter plumage which seems to blend well with their habitat

while others are wearing flashier breeding plumage — which seems worth the risk when you’re trying to attract a mate.

Since they are in desperate need of food to fuel their migration, it’s easy to observe how they forage, and, occasionally, as in this shot, see the worms they are finding in the beach.

Most of all, though, it’s the best time to see just how colorful, how beautiful their breeding plumage really is.

If you can’t find happiness in the midst of such beauty, you’re probably not going to find it anywhere. 

Another Red-Breasted Merganser

I think I’ve tried harder this year to capture shots of the  Red-Breasted Merganser, particularly the male, than any other seabird.  And it’s not that I haven’t seen a lot of them at Titlow and Owens Beach, but they are always so far away that I can’t get a decent shot of them even when it’s heavily cropped.  

I have seen them near Fort Flagler nearly every time I’ve been this year, but they are always a long ways offshore.  So, I guess I’m going to have to settle for these two shots because I’m sure they are about to head off to their nesting areas in the Arctic. 

There’s something about that Mohawk Hair-do that just fascinates me.

They are a colorful bird in flight and I keep hoping to top this shot I took at Port Orchard a few years ago, but patience — and eternal optimism — are a photographer’s greatest assets.

No, Bullshit

Nearly three months ago I discovered the Canadian “folksinger” Jon Brooks while watching the Canadian Show “Being Erica.” After hearing the song, I immediately searched for Jon Brooks and bought his album entitled Moth Nor Rust II and spent hours listening to it. When I began to tire of merely repeating the same songs, I purchased Delicate Cages and spent hours switching between the two. Then about a month ago I purchased No One Travels Alone and got hooked on this song.

The way things have been going in my life lately I think this may become my new theme song, just as Ray Charles’s If It Wasn’t For Bad Luck (I wouldn’t have no luck at all) became my theme song 30 some years ago.

Pigeon Guillemots

I don’t go to Port Townsend to see Pigeon Guillemots, but I usually look for them while I’m there. On this trip, though, I started my day by walking out on the dock to see if I could find a Loon and ended up getting this shot of one who obviously thought I was way too close.

It reminded me of the shot I I took the day before of the Pelagic Cormorant. It’s amazing the amount of water those feet displace.

Strangely enough, I ended my day with several shots of Pigeon  Guillemots at Fort Worden. Apparently, this flock of Guillemots are much more used to people and just looked back casually at the people looking down from the pier.

This pair seemed far too busy flirting to even notice that there were people around.

Though one of the surest signs that a bird is a Pigeon Guillemot is the bright orange legs, this is the first time I’ve ever notice the brilliant orange inside of their beak.