We Bird Again

Finally, a day to get out and bird my favorite birding partner and good friend! Freshly charged camera batteries, lucky penny tucked in my pocket a cool, crisp, dry day and we were off!!

I arrived at Kim's just before 8am where she was eagerly waiting and ready to go so wasting no time, we buckled up and hit the road. As we headed toward our favorite birding spot, Kim asked if I wanted to see eagles......of course I did, who wouldn't. Kim made the left turn and right away we could see several of these magnificent birds circling around in the sky. I didn't count, I just stood there in awe. There were both mature and juvenille, some in flight, others in treetops and one lone beauty busy building a nest, a very large nest!

I'm sure we would have stayed longer to gaze at these amazing creatures but we were right next to the water and there was a freezing wind blowing so we packed our cameras back up, cranked up the heat in the car and got back on track to Reifel! We arrived just before the gates opened to the public which was a good thing as it is Spring break and we knew the crowds of people with their children would be taking over the sanctuary soon.

We were barely through the gate when I was able to observe my first life bird of the day, a Golden-Crowned Kinglet. As cute as can be but next to impossible to photograph as the  few seconds he sat still, he was hiding beind the branches. I got several butt shots but did manage a frontal shot.

Golden-Crowned Kinglet

Of course as we wander down the trail, we must stop to visit the chickadees...

.......admire the Song Sparrows.....

...and trying to snap a shot of this elusive Marsh Wren, life bird #2 for me.

We were lucky enough as we ventured further through the sanctuary, to come a cross a Marsh Wren sitting atop a cattail just belting out a tune.

The morning was passing quickly and parents and their children were starting to fill the trails so we decided it was time to move on to our next stop. As we approached the last display pond before the exit we spotted a pair of unfamiliar ducks,  life bird #3, a lovely couple of Ring-Neck Ducks.

Ring-Neck (female)

Ring-Neck (male)

After biding adieu to the mayhem of mallards, we were off to our next stop, Richmond's Nature Park. The park is just around the corner from Kim's work and it is where she spends her lunch hours on beautiful dry days and she was excited to share the spot with me.

Once we got there we began hiking along the seemingly endless trail, it was a good work out but not a feathered friend to be seen or heard. When we got back to where we started, we parked ourselves on a couple of the adorable little seats that were dotted around the variety of feeders hung from the post. We sat for some time enjoying the Black-Capped Chickadess, Spotted Towhees, Song Sparrows, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Purple Finches, Gold Finches both Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers and life bird #4 for me, the Fox Sparrow.

Fox Sparrow

Black-Capped Chickadee

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Dark-Eyed Junco

Purple Finch

American Gold Finch

Hairy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

We had enjoyed our visit to the park and it was time for us to go but not beofre a little reminder that spring is right around the corner....an American Robin popped out to say good-day!

As usual we had an awesome day and can hardly wait until our next adventure!