I set out for Broughton Beach this morning hoping to catch a sweet sunrise, but was immediately disappointed by the amount of fog and haze and clouds. The dogs and I trudged on anyhow, hoping for at least a wayward shorebird. Instead we got a giant ridiculous chocolate lab all up in our grills while his owner ran across the beach to come haul him away. But then I looked up...
Wowzer. I was not expecting that. It kept getting brighter and awesomer.
Back up on the bike path I found a kestrel was nibbling on the head of a vole...
On our walk back down the bike path I saw bird zipping around in the sky. I followed it with my bins until it morphed into a gull and landed on the beach. Then I realized that next to the gull was the mystery bird so I dragged the dogs down the trail back out onto the mud to investigate. Turned out to be a Black-bellied Plover!
Around this time a huge swarm of swallows gathered nearby. Hard to see in the photos, it was pretty impressive in person...
This evening after dinner I thought another walk with the dogs might be nice. We headed over to the Columbia Slough Trail just in time for the sunset.
There were a few Greater Yellowlegs mingling with a couple of herons in the slough...
And the sky as I was heading back to the car...
Good times!
Wowzer. I was not expecting that. It kept getting brighter and awesomer.
Back up on the bike path I found a kestrel was nibbling on the head of a vole...
On our walk back down the bike path I saw bird zipping around in the sky. I followed it with my bins until it morphed into a gull and landed on the beach. Then I realized that next to the gull was the mystery bird so I dragged the dogs down the trail back out onto the mud to investigate. Turned out to be a Black-bellied Plover!
Around this time a huge swarm of swallows gathered nearby. Hard to see in the photos, it was pretty impressive in person...
This evening after dinner I thought another walk with the dogs might be nice. We headed over to the Columbia Slough Trail just in time for the sunset.
There were a few Greater Yellowlegs mingling with a couple of herons in the slough...
And the sky as I was heading back to the car...
Good times!
I just love the sun through the fog - you really captured it!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful captures of the sunrise/sunsets. Great capture of the kestrel and the Plover is cute. Great post, Jen!
ReplyDelete