My neighbor (Rachelle) and I set out one afternoon to look for birds, especially Trumpeter Swans. She can see flocks of them flying down the valley from her house. (I can hear them, but hadn’t seen many.)
We first stopped at a field to let her dogs run around, and then drove to a bridge – and found swans! (A little far from the bridge.)
A large flock few overhead, but landed in a different part of river.
There were a couple of birders there before us. One man pointed out a few Short-eared Owls and Northern Harriers hunting.
A beautiful autumn day.
We drove around the corner to Carnation Farm. There was a large herd of elk there.
It was getting dark, so we headed back. It’s so amazing that we can see this beauty within 10 minutes of our house.
I joined some Birds Connect Seattle (nee Seattle Audubon) walks this month. I enjoyed the walks – I saw more birds than I would have on my own, and visited some Seattle parks that I hadn’t seen before. I did manage to go on some bird walks on my own. I recently got a new large lens (150 – 600mm), and it was good practice.
January 5 – Marymoor
Not actually a new park for me.
January 11 – Carkeek Park
Great Blue Heron
January 19 – Snoqualmie River Valley
I usually drive up to the Skagit Flats to see Trumpeter swans, but I saw on ebird that they were closer – in the Snoqualmie River Valley. So I got up early on a Sunday and drove out to see what I could find. I basically followed my usual bicycle route, and found a flock near Carnation farm
It was very foggy in the morning
Since it was too foggy to see much, I drove around. I found a hawk, but not many other birds beyond chickadees and bushtits.
Finally, just down a street in Carnation (the town), I found some swans and geese in a field.
I drove back to the bend in the river where I saw the original flock. They were still there, and closer to the bridge.
It was still a little misty.
As I was packing up to leave, I saw a river otter approaching along the bank.
The birds did not like that – I assume otters would grab birds, if they could.
January 25 – Ballard Locks
Bushtit
Red-bellied Sapsucker
January 26 – Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
