Category: Special Places

On the Sunny Side of the Road

It was in the 80’s here today. Far too nice to spend the day inside. But since I knew it was going to be hot, I left for Nisqually at 8:00 and finished my hike by noon.

I’m discovering more and more that bright sunny days really aren’t the best days to take pictures because of the sharp contrasts between sunny spots and deep shadows, but you do have a better chance of capturing a bird in flight, even with a 5.6 lens.

One of my favorites of the day is of this Great Blue Heron, just taking off, with his wings nearly touching the ground:

Great Blue Heron in Flight

When I startled this raccoon that was walking directly toward me as I walked around a corner, he did just the opposite, freezing in place until I turned away, and freezing again when I turned back:

Raccoon Wading in Wetlands

Now if I could just convince the Belted Kingfisher to adopt this technique. But then I wouldn’t get a dramatic shot like this:

Belted Kingfisher

Summer’s Really Here

Summer got an early start here today, with temperatures reaching into the 80’s for the first time this year. And with rain predicted tomorrow, you can believe that I went out for a long walk at Nisqually, my first walk there in weeks. As it turned out, the bright sun and dark shade made photography even harder than usual, so, although I saw a mink on the trail and a raccoon wading through the wetlands, neither of those photographs turned out well. In fact, my best shots of the day were of a Cedar Waxwing and of Tiger Swallowtail, naturally.

That said, I’m not totally dissatisfied with my second shot of the day, one of a Wood Duck and her ducklings:

Wood Duck Family

After seeing numerous Tiger Swallowtails, I finally saw this Admiral’s Lorquain:

Admiral's Lorquain Butterfly

But, perhaps the best sign that it’s really summer was the number of native flowers. And the daisy is certainly one of my favorite:

Daisy

Though it’s not nearly as spectacular as what’s commonly known as Fireweed here:

Fireweed

Expect the Unexpected

I really had a dental appointment in Vancouver yesterday, and no lunch date, so I decided to try to get to Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge early in the morning because the last time I was there almost all the pictures I took had the sun behind the subject.

As it turned out, of course, most of the Cinnamon Teal had disappeared and the only Ruddy Ducks I saw

Ruddy Ducks in Distance

were so far out in the center of the pond that I could barely see them to focus the camera, with no hopes of even coming close to getting as good of pictures as I did two weeks before.

I spent the most time watching American Coots and their babies. These members of the rail family repeatedly dove and fed their chicks. I thought this was unusual duck behavior, but then I read that Coots are not ducks, but, rather, members of the rail family, not that I know anything about the rail family.

American Coot with Chick

While focused on a pair of coots feeding chicks this duck floated into the scene. At first I ignored it, thinking it was yet another female Mallard. When I noticed that the tail feathers were black, though, I knew this was something I hadn’t seen before.

Male Gadwall

It turned out to be a male Gadwall, which became perfectly obvious when the two took flight.

I also spent considerable time pursuing song birds to photograph, but had even less luck getting decent shots in the trees. Still, I rather liked this shot of a male American Goldfinch, radiant in the mid-morning sunlight.

American Goldfinch

Pt. Defiance Rose Garden

The last time I was at the Point Defiance Rose Garden a few weeks ago, there was virtually no flowers to be seen. What a difference yesterday. If you live near Tacoma and like Roses, you owe it to yourself to get here soon, as this looks like the peak of the season for roses . Almost every variety had some flowers in full bloom,

Orange Rose

but it was clear that there were a number of ladies-in-waiting when these beauties started to fade. Luckily the Rose Garden has a long season.

Rose with Rose Buds

But, judging from the Irises I observed, you’d better get there soon if you want to see beauties like this

White Iris

as the iris seem to be disappearing quickly.