There is something a bit strange going on right now here at the Chehalis Estuary....
the water continues to rise, slower now as there is a vaster area to fill, also there have been some pretty cool evenings of late although today and tomorrow that won't be the case as temperatures are rising to way above average....
No, what is strange is that about 4 days ago my husband was over at the park and noticed a swan of some sort way out.... due to the distance and the fact he was having to fend off a number of off leash dogs he couldn't make out what kind of swan or even get a photo of it. Yesterday I managed to spot it way over near where the arm of the Chehalis river joins the estuary....
got this very distant photo and then drastically cropped it and by the head and bill shape it is a Trumpeter Swan. Why is it here by itself, or could there possibly be a pair that has decided to nest here??? I guess only time will answer that question.
Now to add to the confusion, when my husband walked over to the park this morning he could still see the trumpeter way over in the same area, but then he spotted this...
out off of the area of the log bay....this also spotted him and came in towards him so he got a good look...
this is definitely a Mute Swan. You will recall that a pair were seen out there early last fall, probably the same pair that have been seen in the slough at Deroche off and on all winter...Mute Swan are not native to our area although I understand there is a small population of them becoming established. It is too bad, in a way, that as of Friday we will be away from here for a month or so, it would be interesting to see how this swan thing plays out.
It wasn't just swans that my husband spotted recently at the park...
this Coyote was over there the other day. We know, of course that there are several packs of coyote in the area and with the rising water their area to roam gets condensed.
The sunshine of the last few days is certainly making the....
Tree Swallows happy, there have been lots of them flying over head chirping away...spotted this guy yesterday letting those over head know that this spot was his!
Got for a walk down to the estuary yesterday afternoon....
the water continues to rise. It was quite a pleasant day but couldn't see much in the way of birds down there although I'd seen an Osprey fly over earlier and there were a pair of Red-tail Hawks circling overhead periodically. Could hear some tapping as we headed back...
and finally spotted this Male Hairy Woodpecker in the bushes.
It was nice enough to sit outside for a while and that was definitely where all the activity was!
there continue to be large numbers of Dark-eyed Junco, they seem to be enjoying the seed heads of the grasses.
while I was sitting on my patio swing, this little Chestnut-backed Chickadee flew down beside me and started collecting bits of my dogs fur....I guess a nest is under construction not too far away!
This Orange variant House Finch was at the feeder, along with masses of Purple Finch and some White Crowned Sparrows.
It wasn't just birds busy entertaining though...
this Townsend's Chipmunk was busy stuffing it's cheek pouches and then would go sit on a railing and proceed to enjoy it's meal.
the peanut feeder hangs just behind and above the swing, by sort of laying down and angling the camera upwards I managed to capture not only this Northern Flicker....
but this Red-breasted Nuthatch as well.
On the other side of the place....
the Band-tail Pigeons were hanging out....they continue to be rather spooky so this had to be taken through the window. There have been a number of Robins hanging out under this feeder and even a Varied Thrush - the first I've seen for several weeks, I thought they had all moved to their summer breeding grounds by now. Hummingbirds were zipping here there and everywhere and while trying to get a photo of one (unsuccessfully), I spotted a Nashville Warbler...unfortunately didn't manage a photo of that either. We have a week of nice weather on its way so maybe.....if we are still here....
Well there will be no more walks over to the park for a while now....
Easter Sunday was the last day you could make it over there and even then it involved some wading.
here is the first bay, well on it's way to being full.....
as is the log bay. A fair amount of bird activity over here...there was a male House Sparrow taking nesting material into one of the swallow nesting boxes...
there were a number of American Robins around,
also American Goldfinch. Saw a number of Ruby Crowned Kinglets, and Rufous Hummingbirds..
not sure what this Common Raven found out in this patch of grass but it flew off towards the hillside with something fairly large in its mouth...
the most exciting find was this male Wood Duck, there had been a pair as well but they flew...hopefully they will find somewhere to nest again....Wood Ducks nest in tree cavities, which of course requires large dead trees to be left standing....they will also next in nesting boxes but no one has put any of those up in this area, at least not yet.
The water levels are definitely rising now....
starting to creep up the boat launch....
won't be long until the path is under water....
there is a Canada Goose on a nest in this shot, taken near the extreme north west corner of the estuary. Saw a couple of Wood Ducks near here as well but there was no where to pull over so couldn't get a photo.
The American Goldfinch are showing up now,
and Rufous Hummingbirds, this one a female, continue in large numbers. Other species being seen regularly are Purple Finch, White and Gold Crowned Sparrows and
Dark eyed Junco - I'm hoping this one was just sunning itself....I know they nest on the ground but usually under a bush and not out in the open like this.
The pair of Eurasian Collared Dove continue to show up, I'm waiting for the day when they and the Band Tail Pigeons are out there together, so far that hasn't happened. Brown headed cowbirds are back although still in fairly low numbers....I'm wondering when we will see the first of the Black headed Grosbeaks.....should be fairly soon.
After a couple of days of rain and with no let up in sight, decided to try to get down to the estuary to see how the water levels were doing....
and they were definitely rising....compare this to the photo taken the other day!
and actually made it to the log bay...note that bottom log out there is just about completely submerged. Not a lot of bird activity around although I did notice an Osprey flying over.
and there was a collection of diving ducks, Common Merganser, Bufflehead and Common Golden-eye in this spot.
Noticed that.....
the flowers on the native Black Twin berry bushes were coming out, I've mentioned before how birds love the shiny black berries this shrub produces.
Lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets in the bushes along with some chickadees and hummingbirds.
Finally, today, made it down to the estuary and it would appear just in time because the annual change from estuary to 'lake' is just getting under way....
not really visible in this picture but the Harrison River is rising and is pretty much level with the gravel bars....had I made it to the log bay you would see that the gravel bars are disappearing. Last year at this time the whole area was already under water.
if you look carefully you will see a Killdeer (one of a pair) and a male Red-wing Blackbird, there were also a couple of Robins in the same area and Tree Swallow flying about.
The really exciting part though was seeing a number of.....
Greater Yellowlegs.....there were 3 in this area and a half dozen or more wandering along the shoreline further up. We missed seeing them last year due to the water rising so quickly.
Earlier in the day I had sat outside soaking up the sunshine....
and a couple of those Eurasian Collared Doves had come to feed....
I'm not sure what this Steller's Jay was chasing in the grass, but he was pretty intent.
and there was constant activity around the feeders...all Rufous Hummingbirds.
If you can't get to the birds, apparently the birds will oblige and come to you.....at least that is the way it has been here the last couple of days. First I want to mention that Ernie said there was a flock of small shorebirds down at the estuary today, he didn't get a good look and doesn't know what kind they were.
Yesterday I was standing looking out my sliding glass doors when I spotted.....
this Orange-crowned Warbler going over the plants in the bit of garden. You can just barely make out the 'orange' crown. It was a bit of a miracle I spotted it as it is the same colour as the plants and even more of a miracle that I got photos as they never sit still!
Noticed one of those 'odd ball' junco's yesterday too but didn't get a decent photo of it....
this White-crowned Sparrow was one of several.....
then today I spotted this....
a Eurasian Collared Dove, the first one I've seen right in this area although they have been at Kilby for a while now. Not sure if it is a good thing or not as this species seems to have moved in and taken over at an alarming rate the past few years.
and then there are the Rufous Hummingbirds...
Don't know if there is another wave of migrants moving through or what but there has sure been activity out there today around the feeders.
Oh yes, we saw the first Brown-headed Cowbird of the season yesterday as well.
Hello to all you faithful followers that keep checking this blog....I have just spent the last week and a half or so in hospital so haven't been able to do much in the way of birding. Am home now and hope I'll make it as far as the estuary in a day or so, but mobility continues to be an issue. I hear that the water levels of the Harrison are starting to rise a little bit. Checked this time of the year, last year, and was reminded that water levels rose quickly very early last year, in fact by now the whole area was pretty much under water.
I think I have shared some of Norm Dougan's incredible bird photos on here before. He sent me some yesterday to cheer me up......they are so spectacular I thought I'd post a few....
This is a Sharp-tail Grouse doing it's dancing mating routine. Sharp-tails are extremely rare in B.C., in fact are in trouble everywhere due to habitat loss. This is a species we would never see in our area.
Here is a pair of them. These photos were obviously taken before sunrise. Norm is an extremely dedicated nature photographer, most likely set himself up overnight to get these pictures.
Here is a Mountain Bluebird - my husband thought he saw one of these over at the log bay the other day. We often get a glimpse of them as they migrate through this time of the year.
something that has been missing around here this winter - a Pine Siskin.
wouldn't be spring without those American Robins.
I understand there are still lots of Dark-eyed Junco out there. This one looks like it could be a cross between the Oregon, that we get here on the coast, and a Slate coloured. The back looks more gray than brown.
So that is about it. The Hummingbirds are well established, I hear there were Band-tail Pigeons here for a bit and no doubt there will be more. Hopefully I'll get to give my new walker a go and be able to at least sit in the sun they have promised and get a picture or two. My cameras must be going through withdrawal!
