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.

Disappearing snow and some swans

 

With slightly warmer temperatures, our snow is rapidly disappearing, at least for the time being.

We've been stuck close to home this weekend.....

I understand there were a lot of eagles in the trees down by the bridge....well there were still some here at the estuary.  This was the tree by the viewing platform....

and speaking of the viewing platform - this was the view from there this afternoon - still a lot of eagles out there on the flats.

and we have more Trumpeter Swans than we've had for a while...several pairs...

and several families as well.

this pair were even resting on the gravel (mud) bar today.

It is also nice to see...

that there are still some salmon spawning.  Despite the fact that this food source continues, although definitely slowing down, it has been quite noticeable that some of the eagles are now in hunting mode - mass panic among the duck population every time one flies over.

A shift in eagle locations

 Our snow is gradually melting...

this was the beach at Harrison Bay on the 7th....

and this was today....

the most noticeable thing the last couple of days...

are the numbers of Bald Eagles in trees all long the shoreline...

on both sides of the bridge.

as well as all points in between.  As you can tell, yesterday it was a bit misty, but one of the better days for birds recently.

the water is so far away that it is hard to see just what is out there, but this Belted Kingfisher was hopeful

with slightly milder temperatures and no wind, the smaller birds were venturing out, like this Song Sparrow.

not sure what was with this pair of European Starling at a nesting site - they are early nesters, but not this early!

Varied Thrush were eating the fruits of the Pacific Crabapple

as were these Northern Flickers.

Snowy day

Woke to snow....so just had to head out with a camera....we are going with 'misty and moody' because crisp, clear photos aren't possible in a snowstorm...at least not with my equipment and frozen fingers!

 initially, snow was pretty light....

there were so many Varied Thrush!

Bald Eagles in trees all along the trail

others down on the ground enjoying a meal

a pair of Hooded Merganser in the snow, that was getting heavier

this young Bald Eagle was perched on the Martin box post for quite a while

despite this gull that kept dive bombing it for some strange reason.

there were several pairs of Trumpeter Swans, barely visible in the snow

and then there was this guy who bite off a bit more than he could chew - or did he?

looks like he is getting it down the hatch

this guy was giving the heron a good look

there are still so many American Robins around, very strange.

and final find as we were heading home to dry off and thaw out...a Northern Flicker - we had seen several others, but this one is an intergrade between our normal red-shafted and the yellow-shafted.  It has the colour on the wings of the red shafted, but the red marking on the nap of the yellow shafted, and even appears to have at least a partial black mustache marking which is again typical of the yellow shafted.

we will leave with this snowy scene....wonder what tomorrow will bring!

Cold and clear days

We've had some pretty spectacular days since the snow fell....if you have enough layers on that is, because it has been pretty cold, especially with the outflow winds that whip down the valley here.

this scene sort of sets the mood...

while this gives an indication of the winds we've had - that is dust blowing over the sand bars out where there should be river.

the cold weather has brought the Varied Thrush down from higher elevations.  We'd been wondering when they would ever arrive - well they are here now!

over at Harrison Bay....

there are still American Coots, but in not nearly the numbers there were before.

the Bald Eagles are loving the weather.  There haven't been as many to see on the ground as they are too busy soaring around over head, the numbers, at times, have even those of us who have been watching this spectacle for 20 years and more, in awe.

there are still a few live Chum Salmon but the numbers are rapidly decreasing.

Killdeer are being seen quite regularly in open areas where there are little springs that keep the water moving.  There are 4 of them in this picture.

today the winds died so we went for a walk along the dyke beside the river - what river there is at least!

There is actually a lot of waterfowl along the shores on both sides of the river.  The Trumpeter Swans were on the far shore, along with assorted ducks.  I can see Mallard, American Wigeon, a few either Scaup or Ring Neck and a lone Bufflehead in this picture.

there was a Belted Kingfisher...

and several Great Blue Heron like this one, perched on various pilings.

spotted this Pileated Woodpecker up in one of the big Cottonwoods as well.

to show how crazy low the water is...this picture is taken from the highway just at the edge of the bridge

there is a lot of activity there....but very little water.