Christmas Day

 We've had some wild weather the last few days, frigid temperatures, another foot of snow, followed by freezing rain and then just plain old rain....it finally all let up enough this morning that I could get out for a walk to see what was what.

what we have is an expanse of snow, however unlike a couple of days ago, you could see where the water is and the snow has compacted that it was possible to walk rather than 'wade'.

there were a number of Bald Eagles in the area, including this young one enjoying a fishy breakfast.

I looked to see if I could find the Killdeer that have been hanging out here for most of the winter, but there was no sign of them today

over at the log bay, there still wasn't much in the way of open water....

the little bit that was there was home to this Trumpeter Swan family and a number of Mallard ducks

this Bald Eagle was perched nicely

and remained cooperative.

a Great Blue Heron flew in as well.

A few songbirds showed up including a small flock of House Finch...

this would have been a great Spotted Towhee photo if only it was in focus!

with more rain and mild temperatures in the forecast, we shall see how it may change (or not) the next time we venture out.

Winter solstice

 Today is the winter solstice.....official first day of winter, although it seems we've had winter for weeks now!  Normally I would have been out with my camera recording the day, however, with the temperatures we are having, and after yesterday's experience, I didn't even attempt it.

We did venture out yesterday after the snow stopped....

trudging over to the park was hard work with snow in drifts up to our knees in places.  This was the first bay....

where there were some Killdeer in the open water.

lot's of Varied Thrush....

could see lots of activity as we approached this spot where there are a number of Pacific Crabapple trees that still had fruit.  It was also about this spot I realized I was loosing feeling in my fingers, despite gloves and mittens.

found American Robins....

and then, a Bohemian Waxwing!  This is a species we only see in winter, and not every winter.  They are more common in the interior.

got one more decent shot of it and decided it was time to head home and thaw out my hands!

I'm not sure what will happen now because as of yesterday pretty much all the fruit was stripped off these trees and there is all winter still to come, which is probably why my small yard was overrun today with Varied Thrush -28 and counting.  We are raiding the freezer for frozen berries for them and going through bird seed and suet like crazy!

More snow, then freezing rain and finally rain, in the forecast.  Going to be an interesting winter!

Brrrr

 So cold out here that I didn't even attempt to venture out!  

Yesterday was bad enough!  

there were half a dozen Killdeer in the first bay and I understand they were still there today, there are springs here that keep the water from freezing....at least we hope it will keep it from freezing, because it is everywhere else.

Not so long ago we were wondering where Varied Thrush were, and now they are all over.

A friend had found some Tundra Swans in the morning, so I ventured out again in the afternoon to see if I could find them...

and I did.  She had seen 4, there were only the 2 when I got there.

there were some Green wing Teal on the way...

and Wilson's Snipe.  There has been something else with the snipe that flies up into the riparian habitat - neither myself or my friend have been able to get a good enough look at it but are wondering if it could be a Rail.  We will attempt to find it, if only the temperature would warm up slightly.  Don't mind cold, but this is a bit too much, and now more snow is on it's way.

Woodpeckers ruled the day

 A busy day, we were a little later getting out for our walk along the dyke....you just never know how a walk will work out....

it started out incredibly quiet, not much of anything out there on what is left of the river.

we did see a Belted Kingfisher way out there...

and there were some Bald Eagles here and there along the route....

at almost our turn around point....

we spotted the Northern Shrike that we'd noticed a couple of days ago.  This time I managed a picture.  Would have liked to get closer, but he just wasn't cooperating.

Then, just as we turned around.....

we saw something fly to the trunk of the tree with the newest eagle nest.

notice the bit of red about 2/3 rds of the way up the middle tree...

a male Pileated Woodpecker!  

a little further along....a male Downy Woodpecker....

now we need a Hairy....

well a male Northern Flicker can be added to the list...

would we find our Hairy?

Nope!  Found another Downy, this one a female.

It was fun searching though.

Christmas Bird Count time

 Today was the official Christmas Bird Count for the Chehalis Estuary area while this coming Saturday, is the count that includes Kilby and the dykes on that side of the river.  Not sure how the count went as the only area we got to count was just inside our complex, and it seemed, like with most count days, the birds know and are no where to be found!

It was a good excuse to get out and spend most of the day looking for birds though.

this Great Blue Heron was sheltering this morning, where he got the morning sun.  (Had to point him out to the official counters because where they were positioned, they never would have seen him)

It's been a while since we've seen the House Finch, nice to see they are back.

there was a fair bit of eagle activity, this guy had a live one, it took him a bit, but he won the battle.

after lunch we headed over the bridge for a walk...

down by those pilings we spotted...

a young Trumpeter Swan.  At first we thought it might be sick or injured, but no, it appeared to be perfectly healthy and happy.  I'm wondering if it is the same one we saw in the same general area, several weeks ago.  Strange for one to be all by itself.

still Robins hanging around....

wandered down to the estuary again before the sun disappeared completely

getting to be more and more swans up this way

there was a fair amount of Eagle activity as well.

then, just as we were heading home, saw a Downy Woodpecker.

Should mention that we also saw a Townsend's Solitaire today but unfortunately no picture.

Pretty typical days

 Activity has been pretty typical for the time of year.

Bald Eagles continue to feed, this morning there were more than usual.

and this picture say's it all, the reason why we are an Important Bird and Biodiversity area, Bald Eagles and Trumpeter Swans

enjoying breakfast.

We must not forget the little guys ....

an Anna's Hummingbird this morning catching the first sunrays

and a Dark-eyed Junco.

In the afternoon we walked the dyke over at Harrison Bay, the river is so low and the water is so far away, pretty much beyond the ability of my camera to capture anything...

we did spot this Pied-billed Grebe out on the river, a species not seen all that often, at least in winter, they do nest in the quieter areas of the estuary in summer....

also this Double-crested Cormorant - a winter visitor.  We used to have a lot more than we have had in recent years, partly because they removed an over head wire that they used to love to perch on.

there was activity at the 3rd eagle nest today, so all 3 nests in the area have been seeing activity, this pair raised young last year, hopefully this bodes well for the local eagle population.

Might as well finish off with a few more eagles....this one a young one...

we weren't sure just what this one was doing, posing with his wings out like this.

Should mention that we saw a Northern Shrike today but unfortunately, missed getting a picture of it.