Back to seasonal weather....

It would appear our venture into real winter is over for the time being....the rains have just arrived again.  Managed to get out today while it was still dry and this seems a good time to do a bit of catching up on the last few days....

we'll start with today where there was a pretty typical assortment out there....

It is really too bad we are seeing so few Trumpeter Swans up our way this year - that, of course could change if it warms up and we get a lot of rain because that could bring water levels up significantly.  At least this pair has decided to make the area home.  I could hear a lot of Killdeer along the shoreline today but wasn't able to actually spot any.

Now we'll go back a bit....

we know they are around, but we don't often get to see them, let alone get photos, so thought I'd toss this one in, part of a family in my yard last night.  They are, of course, Raccoon's, and an important part of the environment.

Speaking of being an important part of the environment, want to share some photos that show just what an extensive role those Chum Salmon play....

we should all know by know that they are the reason the Bald Eagles are here in such numbers...

but those dead salmon also feed the masses of Gulls - this one a Glaucous-wing Gull, that gather here and notice the female Mallard chowing down on a deal salmon....makes one wonder why anyone would want to hunt and eat a duck from this area!

Common Raven too as well as all  sorts of critters that I don't have photos of, like crows, bears, cougar, coyote...it goes on and on.

I'm going to share some photos now of what it can look like here when there hasn't been a lot of disturbance....

this was taken on Tuesday, December 10th.  There had been no one in the vicinity for at least an hour.  I took the photo from way back, through shrubs as I didn't want to create any disturbance by trying to 'get closer' or even angle to get a clearer view.

here is another section....anyone who knows the area knows there is a bench there....that is where I was sitting when I took these photos.  There was lots of coming and going but I counted approximately 100 Bald Eagles in that immediate location.

about the same number of Red-wing Blackbirds were coming and going for a quick bath at the same time.

I'll end now with a photo that my husband took yesterday morning, with his little tiny, slip in your pocket, Panasonic camera...