In my absence this past year, my mom has taken up two hobbies with a vengeance: singing in a barbershop choir and watching birds.
I am hopelessly tone deaf, so when I got home I couldn't join my mom's singing. But birding! Now that's something I can get behind!
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| My fearless birding captain and me. |
Here are some photos I took during four awesome birding jaunts with my mom in the month of June.
(And remember, you can always click on a photo to launch a high-definition slideshow!)
Juanita Bay Park
Kirkland, Washington
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| Cedar waxwing. |
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| Crows mobbing a red-tailed hawk. |
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| A female red-winged blackbird. |
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| A juvenile red-winged blackbird. |
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| Wood duck. |
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| Pollination! |
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| American robin. |
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| How many (Western painted) turtles can you count? |
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| This bald eagle is just begging to be memed. |
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| Don't feed the rainbow wildlife. |
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| Mama wood duck and ducklings! How many can you count? |
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
Olympia, Washington
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| This savannah sparrow nestled in wildflowers reminded me of an Easter basket. |
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| Cinnamon teal. |
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| Interesting footprints! I'm thinking they were trod by a raccoon. |
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| A grazing black-tailed deer doe. |
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| Bad hair day? |
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| Ah, that's better. This female hooded merganser just needed a good blow-dry. |
Montlake Fill
Seattle, Washington
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| Anna's hummingbird. |
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| A hummingbird nest with two sword-billed chicks! The inside of the nest was about the size of a penny. |
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| A red-winged blackbird stares into the distance. |
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| A song sparrow sips from a pond. |
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| "Bottoms up! Time to dabble!" says Mr. Mallard. |
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| A marsh wren gives a free concert. |
Upper Skagit
Corkindale Creek and other sites in Skagit County, Washington
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| Our first bird: a western scrub jay! These guys are NOT supposed to be this far north. |
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| A rufous hummingbird positively glows in the sunshine. |
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| Work those wings, little hummer! |
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| Coyote scat full of blackberry seeds. |
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| A lazuli bunting in the maple tree! This bird was startlingly blue. |
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| A whole family of ruffed grouse went flying when we stepped into the meadow! |
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| A willow flycatcher? Gotta ask the expert for this one... |
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| A singing spotted towhee. Maybe he's singing a little barbershop for my mom! |
Springtime
If ducklings, wildflowers, and bumblebees weren't enough to convince you it's springtime... just look at these gorgeous fiddleheads.
Spending a year on the equator was amazing, but there are some things the tropics just can't provide. I'm glad to be back in my temperate Seattle where I can watch the seasons come and go with people I love!
