Weekly Top Shot - #52

The moon was a lucky shot - I was focusing on the hawk and didn't even see the moon.

I am joining Madge at  her one year anniversary of the Weekly Top Shot.  Great photos there - stop over and see them.

Hummingbirds

As I was sitting at my desk I looked up when a movement caught my eye - I reached for my camera - there was the little hummingbird again. This time I got some good shots of him. He was very busy flitting about.

Mountains and Planes

On the way back from Wisconsin we had cloudy skies most of the way, but the clouds cleared as we were approaching Bellingham for landing. Off to one side I could see Mt. Adams - it was spectacular but went by fairly fast - then up loomed Mt. Ranier - it seemed so close - and even though the pilot had already announced that we were to have all carry-on luggage stowed beneath the seat in front of us, I whipped out my camera and began taking pictures.

Now this was more difficult than usual, because I was in an aisle seat and had to aim the camera out the window - hoping to get the mountains and not the passengers' heads.

Mt. Ranier was majestic . . .
A lot farther away we could see the Olympic Mountains, but even my camera has its limits - so I was happy with Mt. Ranier, and hoped that Mt. Baker would appear on the other side of the plane.

And there she was. Her little cap of clouds - a glorious welcome home sight!

I have no idea what this mountain is - but it was beautiful too. I was taking these out of the opposite side of the plane - across the aisle and there was a mother and two young children in the seats so I had to time the photos so I got them when everyone was not leaning forward in their seats.

And once again Mt. Baker came into view - I guess we must have been circling - I took pictures until the pilot announced that the flight attendants must take their seats and prepare for landing - and I stowed my camera under the seat in front of me, like a good passenger, after entertaining the other passengers with my camera.

Weekly Top Shot - Heron in Wisconsin

While on vacation in Wisconsin for Don's 50th class reunion we visited some favorite spots of his from his childhood. One was Kashena falls. As we watched the falls we saw a heron land off in the distance. I got a couple shots off before he flew on - this is the best one.

I'm linking to Weekly Top Shot - with Madge, thanks Madge for doing this.

In the last post we watched the Sandhill Cranes in hay fields, and then they lined up and started walking - look where they went.

They started across the road . . .

Follow the leader . . .

Very neighborly . . .

They decided to pay a visit to the farmer who so graciously cut his hay so they could find something yummy to eat. We didn't follow them into the farmer's yard.

Sandhill Cranes in Wisconsin

We just got back from Wisconsin, where we had a nice visit with Don's cousins and their families in Waukesha, and went to Northern Wisconsin for Don's 50th class reunion.

The first day there, on the way to breakfast with cousin Bob, we spotted a Sandhill Crane in a small park along the Fox River, right in town. Everyone assured us that the cranes were everywhere, but just in case, I had to stop and get some pictures. This was the first Sandhill Crane that I have seen up close - such excitement.

Then when we were in Northern Wisconsin we saw a lot more Sandhill Cranes. Mostly they were in fields of hay that had been recently cut - looking for food. They would sometimes be close, and sometimes far, but with my 140x zoom on my camera I got some great shots. It was so exciting to listen to them and watch as they walked about, finding tasty tidbits in the hay. Those birds can move fast, with those long legs. I often had to focus the camera ahead of them to catch them as they moved forward.





In the nature preserve we saw a big flock of the Sandhill Cranes in hay fields. We counted over 45 in the flock - but were only close enough to get a picture of these.

This crane seems to be eating something off the plants - berries I suppose.

This is the only picture I got of them flying - their wingspan can reach up to 6.9 feet.

Their beaks are so big they look like swords. I was told that they are vicious and will attack if you get too close - we stayed a good distance away.

Wait until you see what these cranes do next!

Ducks and Swans

Driving the backroads we often come across some amazing sightings of birds. On the old hiway from Burlington to Alger, WA we saw flooded fields and huge flocks of Pintail and Mallard Ducks - more Pintails than Mallards. The two ducks often flock together.

When the fields flood there are lots of temporary ponds for the ducks. We've had a very rainy winter this year.

The feathers on Pintails are spectacular . . .

And the Mallards . . . there is almost nothing as striking as their green head . . .

Across the road from the flocks of ducks were some of the Tundra Swans that over-winter here. We usually see them a little farther south so it was a treat on this sunny day to find them.

Time to go - bye!

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.