As most of you know who even occasionally visit this site, I’ve posted precious few updates for the past two months or so and none with photos. My problems stemmed from switching from a PC to a Mac and making the transition with Adobe LightRoom (which I use for photo processing). Just today I think I can announce that, thanks to the help of a consultant, my troubles seem to be behind me. The computer situation has been so overwhelming that my photography has suffered… time I would have spent in the yard or out running around the country taking photos was instead spent working on my computer problems… or in a ‘blue funk’!
These are my latest photos and I have to say, not some of my best. I’ve been running the ISO up on the camera to compensate for the lack of light and my results with that tack have not been spectacular. Nevertheless I feel the need to resuscitate the blog and I’ll work out the photography quality as time goes on.
One more note: The birds have been rather scarce in the yard these last few weeks, probably due to the presence of an accipiter which visits the yard. My wife actually saw it sitting on one of the staging sticks on the watercourse one day. The birds come out and eat for a few minutes a few times each day, but they don’t linger and they aren’t taking baths where they can’t see the surrounding area. I enjoy having an accipiter to photograph from time to time, and if I’m going to have to have one, this is the time of year for it to visit!
This Red-tailed hawk was sitting in a field… probably on Fir Island. I should mention that this year I am seeing more Rough-legged hawks than usual on my forays.
This goose was in a large flock of Snow geese at the Hayton access on Fir Island. It has unusual plumage color, to say the least!
And in the same flock, but considerably closer to the road, was this Cackling goose. I have seen those on only one other occasion… a pair in the Samish Flats couple of years ago.
This is a different Red-tailed hawk I encountered on Dodge Valley Road. I’m always glad to obtain photos of a Red-tailed hawk on something other than a power pole or line, and this day encountered two!
And finally, this American kestrel just outside LaConner. Probably this same bird has been returning to the same area for several years now. I have found kestrels to be extremely wary, but this one let me stop close by and take as many photos as I wanted!
