As the tide rolled slowly out the Black Oystercatchers rolled in to feast on mussels freshly exposed. As this pair feasted on mussel and crab we feasted on that brilliant orange bill , yellow and orange eyes and pink legs of these beautiful birds in the early evening light. And oh yes, that wonderful call when they take to the air.
Seeing and hearing the Black Oystercatcher always gives us the feeling we have reached our destination on our occasional trips to the Pacific coast.
A quiet and relaxed Red Winged Blackbird poses for a quick portrait.
You know the week is off to a good start when there is a Black Necked Stilt foraging in morning light pink legs and all.
Hearing the Chickadees calling in the trees above our heads we expected to look up and see either a black-capped or mountain chickadee as we had seen them earlier this day. However to our surprise we we greeted by this little Chestnut-Backed Chickadee looking down at us and hunting insects just above our heads.
The all about birds website starts their description of this bird by calling them handsome and I would have to whole heartedly agree with that.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chestnut-backed_Chickadee/id
Terns are one our favorites to watch hunting. So elegant and graceful yet powerful and precise.
A Forsters Tern appears to make the catch of a small minnow where X marks the spot.
Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Now you don’t…
In the span of less than a minute this beautiful male Cinnamon Teal went form being extreme show-off to shy guy.
Wishing you all, extrovert or introvert, a wonderful weekend.
With things quieting down for the evening we found a Northern Flicker sitting quietly facing into the glow of the evening light.
No Drumming, singing or calling just a silent sunset.
A Double-crested Cormorant heading our way as they foraged in some shallow water of a temporary pond.
Love the blue eyes these of birds. Heck, we find the eyes of cormorants fascinating wether they are blue, green or red eyes. Watching them swim through the water with bodies riding low, diving and then swallowing their catch with a single gulp is something we always love to observe.
A Say’s Phoebe sat in the distance, perhaps too far for a nice trip photo, but something about the scene exuded softness. The bird, the background seemed to become one and sometimes soft is A-OK.
A conversation with a Great Horned Owl is a pleasant way to start the morning.
nature has no boss 
You must be logged in to post a comment.