A Magnificent Heron

After taking pictures in the snow on Saturday morning (last post) we decided to hit Birch Bay on Sunday morning. It was raining but the forecast had said some clearing between noon and 2 - so off we went. It was raining quite hard when we left, but by the time we got to Birch Bay the skies were clearing, and sure enough, we got a bit of sunshine.

There were a lot of ducks in the bay and the tide was going out - fast. It is a very shallow bay and when the tide goes out it goes out quickly.

I did get a quick shot of Sir and Madam Pintail - as they were fleeing. They seemed to be very skittish and even though there were large flocks of them, they got out of camera range quickly.

As we were driving along the bay in town I spotted a Heron out a little ways on the beach - standing on a pipe. As Don turned the car around to park, we pulled up alongside another Heron that we hadn't spotted before, this one not 30 feet away - standing on a rock. What luck!

You can see a small feather in the water - he had spent a lot of time grooming himself as we sat and watched.

He ruffled his feathers several times, I almost caught him with his wings spread.

And then he gave a hop and moved from the small rock to a larger one. I had my camera focused on him constantly and got the leap.

He stood on the rock and watched what was going on around him . . .

He looked at the seagulls nearby. . .

And a close up - enlarge the photo by clicking on it and you can see small bits of feather on his beak.

And then, not long after that first hop, he took off - and I captured that too. It was such an exciting day!

The sunshine lasted until we pulled into the driveway at exactly 2:00 - for one time the forecast was correct - sun from noon til 2.

Top Shot - Duck in the Snow

We got up early today - it was snowing, but not sticking on the streets. The light was perfect for some snow/duck photos so off we went to Lake Padden to find the ducks.



This Bufflehead was floating among the old worn out reeds from last summer, and the snow was coming down fast. You can see the streaks of the falling snow and if you click on the picture to enlarge it - you can see snowflakes on his back.

It was such a thrill to get this close - usually these are shy ducks and stay closer to the other side of the lake. Perhaps they were bolder because there were so few people out this early on a snowy March day.

Click HERE to visit other tops shots of the week.

Have you tried taking photos of animals in the snow - it is quite an adventure - and often cold and wet - but fun!

Varied Thrush and Juncos

This morning a Varied Thrush was sitting on the swingset - near the feeders. He sat and sat and sat and finally I went and got my camera. He still sat - and I got some good pictures - and then he flew to the ground to eat. Thank you Sir Thrush!


If you enlarge the picture above you can see the little beads of water on his feathers, from the rain.
And the Juncos are at the feeder too - often someone will tell me that it can't be, that Juncos are only ground feeders - and never use the seed feeders.

But here they are - at the seed feeders . . .

And another little Junco, waiting his turn . . .

Signs

I really appreciate a clever sign . . .


This is a shop in Edison, WA - a small town, just full of interesting things. It is a shop that carries handmade items - made from pieces that would have been tossed out.

In Acme, WA - a local cafe with delicious food - and fun signs . . .

Boomers Drive In, Bellingham, WA - they have carhops and wonderful burgers, fries and shakes . . .

Back to my own style - and some good pictures of birds

I've given it a few weeks, this linky thing - linking to other blogs that have lists of certain kinds of pictures. While I've enjoyed the other blogs and found some interesting ones to follow - it just isn't my style. I find I'm behind most of the time - or occasionally ahead and waiting for the linky list to be open - and it frustrates me. Some people are very good at it - me, not so much. I do appreciate all those who have followed the links and come to visit, I hope you will come back again and see what I've been up to.

So I go back to posting, hopefully, a photo or two a day of things that impress me, or photos that were hard to get, or just something pretty that I've seen. Today I wanted to concentrate on birds and blue - so here we go.

This is an old picture - taken in Trinidad, California about 20 years ago, with my old Pentax SLR (non digital). I loved that camera, but along came digital and I was ready to jump ship. But this still remains one of my favorite shots.

Trinidad is a tiny, touristy seaside town in very northern California - about 250 north of San Francisco (and many people think San Francisco is at the very top of California). There is a fabulous restaurant there, on a little dock where local fishing boats bring in their catch. You can watch the fish being unloaded while you eat, and on warm days you can sit out on the patio under an umbrella. We've eaten at that restaurant in the winter, when rain and wind beat against the roof and windows, in the summer when children raced up and down the small dock watching the boats come in.

After the boats are empty for the day, they must then be moored out in the bay, tied to marker buoys. There is a man with a skiff and a dog, and they go back and forth, shuttling the crews of the boat from their anchorage back to the dock and then again the next day, shuttling them back out to their boats for more fishing.

Seagulls often lined the railings of the dock, waiting to catch some tasty tidbit thrown out while the fish are being cleaned.

Back to Washington, and Birch Bay. These terns and seagulls were feasting on rock crabs and clams and suddenly took off - the white against the blue caught my eye and I was happy to capture them as they flew past.

A Mallard on a bright blue water day . . .

And one of my favorite birds to photograph, the Great Blue Heron. This one was behind some boulders on Lummi Peninsula. The patterns in the water make a wonderful background.

And that's it - my style of posting and some of my favorite photos with blue and birds. What is your favorite thing to photograph - or to look at? I enjoy all your blogs and thank you for stopping by mine now and then.

Friday's Fences - oh the choices

A favorite place to sit - on a bench made from a fence, but wait - look closer. It isn't really a bench for sitting - it is an outdoor shelf, made from a fence. It still makes me want to sit here and see who might pass by. The old fella from down the street, strolling along and always ready to stop for a chat. Or the little kids from next door, running past in their pursuit of the puppy that is galloping down the street. Or perhaps three teenage girls, laughing and giggling, because of course, there are three teenage boys walking behind, wondering if they might be brave enough to speak to the three girls.

Or, for the shelf, bright red geraniums to perk up the grey of the fence lumber. Maybe some bright, trailing nasturtiums in pots all along the shelf. Pansies . . . Petunias . . . miniature sunflowers . . . the choices are amazing.

A fence - or a shelf made from a fence - or a bench made from a fence, it doesn't matter which, our thoughts are happy when we consider the possibilities.
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Click the icon to visit more fabulous fences.

Black And White Wednesday

Not far away there is an old old house - once it was someone's dream - someone's home and the memories linger there.

Children calling to each other as they ran and played together. Mother standing at the doorway, telling the children it was time to come in for dinner. Dinner was steaming on the table and the children washed up quickly, waiting for Father to come in from the barn.

Neighbors stopping by with a hot dish on days when there were woes in the family, the mail carrier bringing letters from family far away that were read in the shade of the old apple tree. Clothes flapping on the clothesline on a warm summer day.

Picking apples in the autumn and storing them in the cellar for a long, rainy winter ahead - oh the memories - the stories our old house could tell.

It sits silent now, holding the memories close, remembering the days when it was new and happy and busy.

Please stop by Me As A Mother for more B&W photos.