First stop - Lake Paden, on the way out of town. It is a City Park in Bellingham and is free of buildings, just nature.
The two posts are where the city anchors the diving raft in the summer. In the winter the Cormorants congregate here - you can see two of them on the posts, and some in the water
One on the post was drying his wings. Cormorants are not as water repellent as many water birds and so often are seen airing their wings in the sunshine - or in the cloudy weather .
This Cormorant in the water was flapping along, like he was paddling. I'm not sure of the reason, though it might be a mating ritual.
He continued on for quite a while - and the other Cormorants seemed to ignore him.
You can see him still flapping behind the leafless trees.
We drive south - out towards Bow and Edison - two of our favorite little towns - nice flat land in the Skagit (sounds like gadget) Valley. The perfect place for hawks and eagles.
But first - a little stop in the town of Edison. The Pussy Willows are beginning to open - and there is a nest in this bush
Always one of the first signs that spring is coming!!
Farther along we find an old barn - oh how I love old barns
Zooming in - you can see the age of a barn that has seen better days
But still useful - zoomed to 140X we can see the fence attached to the barn to protect the little white goat.
And then - and then - TWO hawks in the same tree. I had not seen this before - so of course we had to pull over and get some pictures.
Sitting still as can be, they watch the fields for a slight movement, one that could mean dinner for them
Let's fly over to Zoom In - Zoom Out, and see other photos
Tomorrrow - Eagles - do come back.
Hi JoAnn, I am giggling at your photo of the old barn. Years ago I was coming home from Carnation and saw this grand old barn on the side of the road. So I pulled over and took some pictures. No mind you I did NOT leave the road or go onto the property at all. Next thing I knew there was this man with a gun yelling at me that I had no right to take pictures of his barn. I said I was sorry and said it was a great old barn that one doesn't see very often. He said I wouldn't be seeing it again. I high tailed it off down the road scared to death. A month later on the same road I looked for the barn only to find he had burned it down. And that's my story. I am really careful now when I take pictures. Ha!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the shot of that beautiful barn! And the sweet little goat is, well, sweet. Nice shots, all, including the birds. I've started looking for pussy willows but we may be a tad behind you yet.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very picturesque old barn. The weathered boards could tell a tale or two, I'm sure. A beautiful drive in a most lovely part of the PNW.
ReplyDeleteCool sighting of the two hawks, they must be a couple! Love the cute goat and the old barn! Looks like a fun drive in the country. Thanks for linking up to Saturday's Critters! Have a happy week!
ReplyDeleteDon't we live on a beautiful coast? I love to watch the cormorants down on the breakwater in Victoria - so free and soaring so high. The barn is a beauty!
ReplyDeleteLove the old barn and the cute little goat. Great photos of the birds too.
ReplyDeleteI finished reading your book and really loved it. It brought back a lot of memories of me growing up in the 50's too. I did post about it in my Random 5 on Friday.
lovely to have you joining in on zoom in zoom out. Great cormorant shots, I love how distinctive they are when they hold out their wings to dry
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the nest surrounded by pussy willow branches!
ReplyDeletegreat photos...I too love the pussy willows, but it makes me very jealous since where I live it is still minus 40 degrees weather and NO spring for months!!
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