Album Wildlife

Yvonne said:
more eagles today for a total of 17 in less than 2 hours
They were literally everywhere.
I'm renting a 200-600mm zoom lens next week so I can get a few better images than the ones I posted so far.
Click to expand...
Hard to imagine ones better than these. I'll look forward to seeing them! Are you still at Dungeness? Or somewhere else where you're seeing so many?
 
Janice said:
Hard to imagine ones better than these. I'll look forward to seeing them! Are you still at Dungeness? Or somewhere else where you're seeing so many?
Click to expand...
these were taken close to home south of Tacoma. There is a place called Nisqually Wildlife Refuge where they love to hang out.
I'm definitely back soon, it was pretty awesome. The hike was only 5 miles roundtrip on a boardwalk but there was a lot to see along the way
 
Yvonne said:
these were taken close to home south of Tacoma. There is a place called Nisqually Wildlife Refuge where they love to hang out.
I'm definitely back soon, it was pretty awesome. The hike was only 5 miles roundtrip on a boardwalk but there was a lot to see along the way
Click to expand...
Great to know in case we're in that area sometime. I wonder if so many eagles will be there in other seasons, too. Keep us posted!
 
Yvonne said:
I guess I will learn to figure it out throughout the year when I visit.
I heard that winter has a lot of migratory birds. SO I'm excited.
Even more when I can afford my wildlife lens, lol
Click to expand...
Yvonne,

The Nisqually isn’t bad for being a close quick trip. Some winters the migratory birds use Nisqually as a stop over and it can be great if they are there, or not so great. Kinda weather dependent. There used to be lots and lots of people walking there, but the changes they made in the last few years cut that down somewhat. I used to live in Tacoma area for years before moving south a few years ago to the Central Valley for work and spent lots and lots of time out and about in the NW.

The Skagit however, it the place to go. Usually awesome birding starting about Jan 1. I have seen over 20 eagles in one tree. My record was over 100 in a day. If you want a good route to do, let me know and I will put it together and send it to you. Eagles, Tundra Swans, many hawks, mostly red tails, but some variety, lots and lots of ducks, snow geese, Ross geese, etc. Flocks of thousands of the geese…

For wildlife go check out the elk feeding station at Oak Creek near the junction of hwy 410 and 12, near Naches in the Winter (Feb). There is also a bighorn sheep feeding station just a couple miles away from the elk feeding station. Worth the trip just to see the large number of elk and sheep that winter there and they make great photos. You can ride the wagon out into the elk herd.

Another good spot in the winter for birds is the Ridgefield NWR, a bit north of Portland just off I-5. This one isnt very big and can be combined with a drive over to the coast along the river and back up around Grays Harbor. Some good birding in Grays Harbor as well in the winter with various things.

Welcome to the NW and happy hiking In the rain!
 
KJR said:
Yvonne,

The Nisqually isn’t bad for being a close quick trip. Some winters the migratory birds use Nisqually as a stop over and it can be great if they are there, or not so great. Kinda weather dependent. There used to be lots and lots of people walking there, but the changes they made in the last few years cut that down somewhat. I used to live in Tacoma area for years before moving south a few years ago to the Central Valley for work and spent lots and lots of time out and about in the NW.

The Skagit however, it the place to go. Usually awesome birding starting about Jan 1. I have seen over 20 eagles in one tree. My record was over 100 in a day. If you want a good route to do, let me know and I will put it together and send it to you. Eagles, Tundra Swans, many hawks, mostly red tails, but some variety, lots and lots of ducks, snow geese, Ross geese, etc. Flocks of thousands of the geese…

For wildlife go check out the elk feeding station at Oak Creek near the junction of hwy 410 and 12, near Naches in the Winter (Feb). There is also a bighorn sheep feeding station just a couple miles away from the elk feeding station. Worth the trip just to see the large number of elk and sheep that winter there and they make great photos. You can ride the wagon out into the elk herd.

Another good spot in the winter for birds is the Ridgefield NWR, a bit north of Portland just off I-5. This one isnt very big and can be combined with a drive over to the coast along the river and back up around Grays Harbor. Some good birding in Grays Harbor as well in the winter with various things.

Welcome to the NW and happy hiking In the rain!
Click to expand...
awesome!!
Thanks for all the input and information
 
This surprisingly bold and curious young sheep approached us at close range while hiking Alberta's Castle Wildland last week. As it is usually only mature rams that are solitary, our thinking was that the rest of the herd had dropped off the ridge unseen as we approached, and maybe this one got left behind, as it kept on trying to go by us and then backing off. It was still in the process of shedding the winter coat.
P1280138-copy-2.jpg
 
Yvonne said:
these were taken close to home south of Tacoma. There is a place called Nisqually Wildlife Refuge where they love to hang out.
I'm definitely back soon, it was pretty awesome. The hike was only 5 miles roundtrip on a boardwalk but there was a lot to see along the way
Click to expand...
I stopped by the refuge last week while on our trip. The ranger told us where to look for possibly two eagles nests. We were able to locate one but it appeared the fledglings had flown the coup. Still quite an impressive place!
 
Our well treed 45 year old suburban Calgary community has seen an influx of bobcats in recent years, as have other adjacent neighbourhoods which like ours, border on a number of large natural area parks as well as the Bow River valley. They have been popping up on doorbell cameras at all hours, get spotted regularly strolling nonchalantly down sidewalks in broad daylight, and in one instance- sunning as a family on a backyard deck as if they owned the place, in typical cat fashion. Our garden had a visit one night this spring- unseen but the tracks in freshly dug soil told the story in the morning, So I was quite pleased to finally come face to face with one while on a morning mountain bike ride in the city last week. Riding uphill around a corner on single track- there it was 5 m in front of me! We eyed each other for 10 seconds while I extracted my compact camera from my waist pack, then it casually walked off a little ways into the bushes and sat there while I parted the shrubbery and advanced a bit trying to get a clear view. At about 4 m away it hissed at me- close enough! I was fortunate to get a decent shot:
P1160490-copy-2.jpg
 
while exploring some tide pools, I found some stinking cute sea otters!! Three in a row, how lucky I am.

sea%20otters%202%20copy-XL.jpg


sea%20otters%203%20copy-XL.jpg


a bit later I found another one floating in the ocean

floating%20otter%20copy-XL.jpg


sea%20otter%20copy-XL.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top