Category: Special Places

Almost a Flop

Since we were out of town during most of the Spring Shorebird Migration, I have been trying to see the Fall Migration, but I’m not having much more luck than I did in the Spring even though we haven’t gone anywhere recently.  

Since we had seen some shorebirds on our walks at Theler Wetlands, I thought I would drive to the Washington Coast July 13th and see what we could see.  We started at Ocean Shores where we saw some Cormorants way out on the point, but they’re year-round residents so they hardly count.  We walked nearly two miles on the beach and all we saw were a few Seagulls, 

and, somewhat surprisingly, a small flock of Turkey Vultures that took off as we approached

except for a single one that refused to leave a dead Harbor Seal.

Luckily, the trip wasn’t a complete waste of time as we had some Delicious Sushi at Umi Sushi and finally got to visit Elissa Whittleton and her husband’s art exhibit at the Gallery of Ocean Shores.

We had slightly better birding at Westport where we spotted several Brown Pelicans fishing right outside the harbor.

A few even flew overhead, giving me a chance to practice my tracking skills.

 

We saw another small flock of Brown Pelicans at Tokeland — and an even smaller flock of shorebirds feeding on the mud flats.  

If our sole purpose of going to the beach was to get shots of birds, this trip was a FLOP, but a sunny day at the beach is always a treat, especially in the Pacific Northwest where such days are rare.  

Spring’s Gone

I know at times I sound like a broken record, but, as in years past, I truly believe that Western Washington is the most beautiful place in the world during Rhododendron season.  You can’t drive a street in the city without being struck by their beauty, but I never settle for just seeing them in neighbors’ yards.  

Rhododendrons are at their best in woodlands,

Rhody in Bloom against forest

and, luckily, the Point Defiance Rhododendron Garden is just a short mile away. It’s an added bonus that the walk is a gentle way to start getting ready to hike on Mt. Rainier once the snow has receded.

I always end up taking a lot more pictures than I’m ever going to process and post; so the hardest part of posting them is deciding which ones I like best.  

Do you  prefer pink and white, 

Pink and White Rhody

purple and orange, 

Purple and Red Rhody

seen from above

Looking down on Rhody

or a deep red?

Deep Red Rhody

Or do you prefer some of those I’ve posted in previous years (the ones in the links down below) ?  

Luckily, you can never have too much beauty in your life.

Dune Peninsula

Judging from the amount of space I devote on this website to our vacations, you might assume that we spend much of our retired life visiting wildlife refuges.  (Un)fortunately, as much as I would like to lead that lifestyle, it ain’t true.  At times I actually feel like I spend most of my retirement sitting at the computer working on blog entries, but looking back at the calendar to see how few posts I have made that’s obviously not true, either. In fact, I’m never sure where all the time went, just that it went a lot faster than I ever thought it would.

Our regular routine in the rainy season includes three days working out at the YMCA, which we occasionally supplement with walks in nearby Pt. Defiance or trips to local wildlife areas.  One of our favorite walks in late Spring or early Summer is at the Dunes,  a new extension of Pt. Defiance Park is named after Frank Herbert.

Built on the ruins of a historic lead-and-copper smelter it is covered with “prairie grasses and flowers,”  and most of those flowers are at their prime in early spring.  The trail from the upper parking lot is filled with these striking Rhododendrons.

Rhododendron

Rhododendrons are native to Washington, but I don’t think these are a native variety. 

Common Hollyhocks line the trail section that overlooks the marina.

Hollyhock

If you can take your eyes off the beautiful flowers, and it’s clear enough, you can see Mt. Rainier in the distance lording over Point Ruston.

Mt Rainier from Dune Peninsula

You know it’s a good day here whenever you can see The Mountain.

You can also find flowers like Columbine

Columbine

and Tough Leaved Iris

Tough-Leaved Iris

on the Dune Peninsula Pavilion.

We usually finish our two-mile walk by going back through the Japanese Garden.  That’s twice as far as we usually walk at the Y, but only seems half as long.  

Deja Vu, All Over Again

We went to Broomfield to see Sydney’s soccer team play in the state playoffs and Zoe’s high school graduation. We stopped at Bear River on the way to find American Avocets after failing to find any in California a few weeks before. We took so many Avocet pictures at Bear River, that we certainly didn’t need any more. 

So, what did we see on our first walk in Broomfield?  American Avocets, naturally. Knowing how many pictures I already had to go through, I mentally hesitated to take more shots of them, but, as always, I found it impossible to resist taking yet another shot.  

American Avocet

Somehow it just seems wrong not to take at least one shot when I see a beautiful bird, 

American Avocet

and if the bird takes off, naturally you have to record what the wings look like in flight, mentally comparing them to  Black-necked Stilts’ wings.

American Avocet in Flight

And if you happen to see another Avocet standing next to a Canada Goose you have to get a shot to get a sense of an Avocet’s size, something that’s quite difficult to do in a photo.

Avocet next to Canada Goose

Luckily, it isn’t until you get home and sit down at the computer that you realize how many shots you have taken and how long it will take to pick the best shots from those taken and adjust them to end up with the best picture possible.

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