Nisqually Wildlife Refuge - September

I got to try out my new camera at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge today.  It's so much nicer than a little point and shoot.  I can't wait until I have a zoom lens with which to play.  I did get a few good photos, especially with the help of some cropping and editing. 

The twin barns.

Our destination in the distance.

This is a portion of a photo of some berries that I took.  I didn't notice the bug until after I got home to look at the photos.  He's kind of neat looking.  See the main part of the photo below (red berries).

Even grown up, they swim in lines.

I liked the overall look of this photo with the mud and water, but the heron flying in the distance was a cool bonus.

This heron was hanging out close to the boardwalk.  My camera couldn't zoom quite enough for a really good shot of him, though.

These tiny flowers look really interesting.  I have no idea what they are.

Here are three out of four river otters frolicking in the water.  The one on the right is enjoying a fish.
 

Thistles may be prickly, but they sure look cool close up.

We found this little berry low to the ground.  They looked so much like tiny tomatoes.  I didn't even notice the bugs on the berries when I took the photo. 

Common snowberries are abundant in the refuge right now.  They are so pretty.  Too bad they are poisonous.

My favorite photo of the bunch.  I hadn't noticed that the flower was dewy until I got home and looked at the photo.

Nisqually in Bloom

Sam and I took our monthly walk at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge today.  The theme for the day ended up being wildflowers; they were every where.

The beginning of the boardwalk was lush and green.  What a beautiful start!

We haven't studied botany yet.  We'll probably study that the year after next.  Until them, I have no idea what any of these flowers are except the daisies.  It sure was nice to walk through the refuge with all of the flowers, though.

Even the pond was full of new flora.

Look closely and you'll see a pair of young wood ducks on the log.  You should be able to click on the photo and get a larger version.

We saw plenty of birds, as usual.  What was different about this trip was that we saw three herons instead of just one.  We also saw three mature bald eagles, sea gulls, ducks, and tons of tree swallows.

The arrow is pointing to a small dark spec.  That spec is the tiny, but ever so noisy marsh wren.  It was hard to believe that such a small bird could be so noisy and loud.  He has a cool call, though.

This is looking out in the direction of the estuary.  Compare it to the same general photo taken in Janurary.

January's overview photo is much more brown, dontcha think?

I also take a photo of Sam each month in the same location.  This is today.

This is February.  We didn't get the idea to take a photo of Sam in the same spot every month until then.

We also got a good look at these cliff swallows.  The bird outside the nest appeared to be mama.  She kept leaving and coming back, poking her head into the next.  I think she was feeding the young but almost ready to be on their own babies.

Finally, my camera was acting up and several photos came out with a eerie pink hue.  This one was neat looking.  I hope it doesn't start doing that all the time!

Nisqually Wildlife Refuge - April

Sam and I took our April walk at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.  Our goal is to visit at least once a month, taking photos of various locations and anything of interest that we see.  We want to see how it changes throughout the year.  Today was a great visit with lots to see.

The beginning of our route was blocked by a downed tree but the boardwalk was still open.  No problem...just scramble over it.  Sam loved the tree.

The big excitement at the refuge our the owlets.  We saw them when they were little last month.  This month, they are almost as big as mama, just fluffier.  A kind photographer put his camera with its super huge lens on live feed so we could watch them up close for a moment.  Mama was hanging out on a nearby limb; she blended in so well that you can't see if in the photo I tried to take of her.

Walking across the dike to the estuary was fun today.  Hundreds of tree swallows darted all about.  This was one large group of them; there were also tons of individuals flitting here and there.

Of course, there's the ubiquitious Canadian geese. They aren't too concerned about us humans, but they'll wake up and move off the side of the trail when you get too close.

Walking on the estuary boardwalk, we noticed tracks in the mud (it was very low tide).  I thought they looked kind of cool.

For now, I'm calling these the mysterious holes.  The mud in some areas was full of them...dark little mounds of mud with a hole in the center.  Some type of clam maybe?

At one point, one of the mature bald eagles was flying around the board walk.  We stopped to watch it for a while.  It looks further away in the photo that it was.  It was fun to watch.  We continued after it finally settled down, perched in a tree.

This is one of the pictures we take every month to document the changes in the refuge and Sam over the year.  Today Mount Rainier was hidden behind the clouds.

We got to see one of the blue herons pretty well, too, today.  Normally, they aren't quite this close to the boardwalk.  It was also standing in a different area than we normally see them.

This was the most exciting part of the trip.  The juvenile bald eagle flew right overhead several times.  The rest of the time we were watching it, it soared in circles very close to the board walk.  Its tail looks a little roughed up, dontcha think?

This duck-like bird is an American Coot.  Their white bills really stand out against their black bodies.

There's lots of these ducks at the refuge also.  These are Northern Shovelers.

We've become very familiar with robins because they visit our yard by the dozen.  They are so cute and round.

Sam just had to visit the downed tree again before we came home.  It will be gone within the next couple of days.

Nisqually Wildlife Refuge - February

Sam and I decided that we plan on going to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge at least once a month so we can view and document the changes with the seasons.  We're are hoping to get a couple of pictures from the same general spots.  Scott suggested we get a shot of Sam each time, too.  Today was February's visit; it was a beautiful, sunny, but cold day with a bit of a breeze.

One of the first things we noticed were signs of spring on one particular kind of tree.  Yay!

This is a photo of the boardwalk taken from near the beginning of the boardwalk.  As you can see, we arrived when the tide was out.

This is pretty much the same picture taken an hour later on our way back.  The tide comes in quick!

We saw a great blue heron again.  They are pretty common at the refuge, but they still look neat.  We also caught sight of all three resident bald eagles soaring over a nearby hill.  In the wind, they were able to just hang there with their wings open, going nowhere.  A hawk also flew overhead.

We thought these kayakers were nuts.  It was cold and windy on the boardwalk.  I can't imagine how it felt right on the water.  They were fighting the incoming current and wind.  We overtook them easily.

Here's Sam with Mount Rainier in the background.  I'm hoping to remember to take this same photo each month.

Near the end of our 4 mile walk, we got our special treat for the day.  I heard something and stopped Sam to turn back.  It was a river otter that I heard splashing.  It was gathering grasses on one side of the boardwalk (just tearing into them) and swimming to the other side of the boardwalk with them.  There was a small group watching it work.  On each trip, it got to a very specific spot where it dove under the water.  We were able to follow its route by following the bubbles.  It would disappear for a moment along the bushes overhanging the shore before we caught sight of bubbles again, following them until its head popped up again.  If you look closely, you'll see it in the water just a bit to below and to the right of center (it kind of looks like a log).  I sure envied the guys with the giant lenses today.