This has been a fun week of gallivanting, both in Lincoln City and down the coast. But a visit to my favorite spot yielded the most birds per site - 30 varieties on a less-than-half-mile trail. Pretty fun!
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| Golden-Crowned Sparrow |
It was freezing cold, with frost and ice on the path and edges of the water. A handful of YELLOW and WHITE CROWNED SPARROWS boldly dug in the grass next to the path, only moving when I stopped to take pictures.
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| Varied Thrush |
I was surprised to see many VARIED THRUSH in the area - I don't recall seeing them there before. I've seen many more of them this year than ever before!
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| Townsend's Warbler |
A flock of CHESTNUT BACKED CHICKADEES and YELLOW RUMPED WARBLERS included five TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS.
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| Great Blue Heron |
The GREAT BLUE HERON was in his usual spot where the trail splits --you can see the frost on the grass, there was also a bit of ice on the water near him.
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| Mallards |
Out on the water, MALLARDS were looking pretty with their green heads glowing in the winter sun.
More ducks are coming in every week, hundreds and hundreds of them, all kinds. What a treat!
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| American Wigeon |
Heading back toward the parking lot, I stopped to visit with a gentleman who was peering up into the trees at one of the VARIED THRUSH. You don't happen to be Dawn? he asked. He went on to say that he enjoyed reading my posts on OBOL. I gotta tell you, it was just so cool! I am not an expert and sometimes make "serious" gaffs and get discouraged, so it was just fun to have someone say something positive. As I said, just too cool!
As I reached the head of the trail, a little movement at the base of a tree caught my eye - I glimpsed a PACIFIC WREN. You gotta know that Wrens are among my favorite birds -- all of them! So I snuck around hoping to get better views and, wow, there were two of the little guys! One of them decided I was no threat, and after a brief scolding, hopped out onto the tree trunk for a nice photo shoot!
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| Pacific Wren - the Scolding |
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| Pacific Wren - Photo Shoot 1 |
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| Pacific Wren - Photo Shoot 2 |
A couple of poses... then he was done.
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| Pacific Wren - Done Posing! |
If you haven't visited the Salishan Nature Trail, you really should stop by sometime when you're over here on the coast. Great mix of habitats, even with the marsh trail temporarily closed. If you continue past the end of the trail, there's a path to the beach for even more fun!
Looks like a fun outing... That's great about the guy who reads your OBOL posts... Once someone recognized me from my blog photo and I nearly fell down in shock. I love the Varied Thrush- their sounds always make me smile..
ReplyDeleteCool! Have you gotten a new camera? You've been posting more close-ups lately. Or maybe you're just becoming one with the birds. :-)
ReplyDeleteSame camera, perhaps more patience?
ReplyDelete