Sunshine!

What a treat to wake up to no rain, and when the clouds burned off, some blue sky and sunshine!

the distant mountains were definitely ‘snow capped’….

even Mt. Woodside sported a white top.  Despite the sunshine we didn’t venture over to the park, figuring after all the rain, everyone would be out and about and truth be told, that poor tiny little park is so over used that walking there isn't the pleasure it once was.

so we just concentrated on the immediate area where there were Bald Eagles, like this fellow having a meal…

and this one with a disgusting looking carcass – unfortunately there don’t seem to be any more live salmon in the water so the pickings are getting slim…

I wish this picture had turned out clearer but it was one of those things that happened so fast I was lucky to catch it at all.

for the first time in a while there was a Great Blue Heron sitting in the sun…should mention that Ravens have been very active and vocal lately but not cooperative for a picture!

the usual assortment of ducks, including this pair of Hooded Merganser,

this Spotted Towhee was down in the boat launch area…as were those Red-wing Blackbirds, which all dove down into the riparian habitat and disappeared from view. 

in my yard I had been trying to capture the Chestnut-backed Chickadees, the Black capped Chickadees and the Red-breasted Nuthatch that were all fighting over the feeders at the same time….this is the only picture that turned out even part way presentable…

just as my camera battery died this Steller’s Jay showed up – since they are notoriously hard to get a picture of, I tried – and surprise, it is one of the better pictures I’ve managed recently.