Author: Loren

Birding is a lot like fishing: you have good days and you have bad days, but even a bad day can be saved by a remarkable catch. That proved true on our visit to the Westbrook Marina when we didn’t see many Brown Pelicans, or other birds for that matter, until we had walked to the end of the jetty. I was checking out the pier across the entrance for Pelicans when Leslie called my attention to several nesting Brandt’s Cormorants.

I’ve taken so many pictures of Cormorants in these pierhead beacons that I barely looked at them as I snapped a photo, but Leslie demanded that I take a closer look, so I zoomed in and was surprised but what I saw.

I’ve seen this a few times in photos in magazines, but I’ve never personally seen a Brandt’s Cormorant in breeding plumage like this. Nor have I ever managed to get this close before.

I was even more surprised when a nearby cormorant elevated his head and exposed just how big that bright blue gular pouch really is.

As if I weren’t impressed enough, it struck an even more striking pose

before flying off and revealing the nesting bird behind it.

I was surprised to learn that the breeding plumage for both male and female Brandt’s Cormorants is basically the same except that males tend to be larger.

We saw hundreds of shorebirds later in the day at Bottle Beach, but this moment turned out to be the unexpected highlight of the day.

In Winter and early Spring, I go to Westport to see the Common Loons, preferably in breeding plumage, but in late Spring and Summer I go to see the Brown Pelicans. I was pleasantly surprised to see a Common Loon in breeding plumage on our visit, but I was disappointed at how few Pelicans I saw.

To make matters worse, I saw the most Pelicans as they flew directly overhead as we got out of the car and before I could get my camera out. As it turned out, I only saw one more Pelican fly by — and the sun was directly behind it.

I seldom see Brown Pelicans from above, so I wasn’t totally disappointed by the shots I got, but looking back at earlier blog entries I realized the shots weren’t as good as previous ones I’ve taken.

In past years, the piers have been crowded with resting Pelicans, but it was obvious that either there are fewer Pelicans this year or they were all out hunting for lunch.

Still, it was good to see Brown Pelicans again. I find them strangely attractive.

Although the Spring Migration of Shorebirds is rapidly coming to a close, we spent Monday and Tuesday of this week on the Washington Coast and saw quite a few birds. Being frugal, we usually just drive up for the day and come home in the evening, but the tides weren’t very cooperative this week, with high tides at 8:15 pm on Monday night and another high tide at 7:00 am. If we had gone home Monday, it would have been nearly midnight before we could get home. If we had tried to get to Bottle Beach by 7:00 am we would have had to leave before 5:00 am; I love my birding but not that much.

As it was, we could take a leisurely drive to Ocean Shores to start the day, even though I didn’t expect to see too many birds there. We didn’t, but I always enjoy seeing Turnstones, particularly Ruddy Turnstones in breeding plumage.

The most common bird of the day was the Semipalmated Plover,

but there were many small flocks of sandpipers like these two Sanderlings in non-breeding and breeding plumage.

Best of all, the weather was delightful, sunny with light winds. We got in a 3-mile walk to start the day, followed by a visit to our favorite Ocean Shores art gallery and a hearty lunch at the Galway Bay Irish Pub. We saw enough birds that I knew we would get a good showing at Bottle Beach during our evening visit, so we checked into the newly remodeled Saltwater Inn and took a short rest before walking the marina looking for loons, pelicans and other migrating birds.

Thanks to the rain, we only got to walk around Lake Ralphine the entire week, and even then, we couldn’t walk all the way around Spring Lake because the trail was closed due to flooding.

As a result, we saw fewer birds than usual, but I appreciated them more than I might have usually, precisely because we had been trapped in the house so long.

We see male Buffleheads regularly at home, but seldom as close as this little guy was.

We often see Northern Flickers in our yard, and one even joined us while we were practicing Qi Gong in the front room, but I still liked this shot a lot.

We see Hairy Woodpeckers less often, so it was nice to spot this one.

My favorite shot of the day, though, was of my favorite California bird, an Acorn Woodpecker holding the food that gives it its name.

I’m always amazed by how many birds I see when I walk around Lake Ralphine/Spring Lake, despite the considerable number of people who walk there. Of course, if I had my way I would walk it every day I’m in Santa Rosa, at least everyday I wasn’t at Bodega Bay.