Category: Special Places

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge: A Photographic Journey


After several days, I finally narrowed the thousands of pictures Leslie and I took at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge over two days to just 520 photos.  Of course the hardest part is still ahead because I’m not about to post that many photos on my site.  Even more of a problem for me is how I want to organize them.  Sometimes I post Leslie’s photos first and mine later, but we actually shot a lot of the same shots. I also seriously thought about sorting them by species, but there are a lot more shots of Grebes than anything else, and I didn’t want to slight striking birds like this Yellow-headed Blackbird,


these White Pelicans, 


this baby American Coot,


this mother Coot, 


this male Ruddy Duck, 


or this Western Grebe.


Remarkably, all of these shots were taken by me in the first third of the Auto Route while Leslie was even busier taking photos of different birds from her side of the car.

Although the highlight of this visit had to be Grebes and their babies, much of the appeal of this place is the amazing variety of birds found here throughout the year.   

Timing is Everything When You’re Birding

I’ve never liked having family spread out across the country, especially before Leslie retired and there was never enough vacation to visit everyone. The one good aspect of Tyson and Jen  living in Colorado is that I’ve ended up seeing places I would never have seen if they didn’t live there.  I’m not going to drive 3,000 miles without  stopping and seeing local sights.  Historically, those have been places like Yellowstone, The Grand Tetons and national parks in Utah. 

In the last few years, though, I’ve always stopped at The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge near Ogden, Utah, a favorite place to see American Avocets, White-faced Ibis and Grebes. Of course, what we see depends on when we get there. Last year was a little disappointing, but this year was definitely not.  

In fact, we saw American Avocets, 


White-Faced Ibis,


and, best of all, Wilson’s Phalaropes


before we even got to the refuge tour.

I haven’t seen Wilson’s Phalaropes for several years, so long that I can’t remember whether it was at Malheur or at Ocean Shores. 

As we were driving to the refuge I saw a car precipitously hanging off the edge of the road.  When I slowed down to see what was happening, I noticed a photographer with a 500 or 600 mm lens taking pictures of several birds in a very small pond right next to the road. As it turned out, we returned to this spot four different times in the two days we visited and got some of my favorite shots of the visit.

This auspicious beginning was followed by two days of exciting birding, and more than 2, 000 photographs — which I am still trying to process. 

Exploring Nature: Narada Falls Hike from Cougar Campground at Mt. Rainier

I’m still working on the Colorado/Utah photos, but I took a break from the computer and the three amigos went for a hike on Mt. Rainier.  We originally hoped to hike to Comet Falls, but once again the parking lot was full by the time we got there.  Luckily, we already had an alternate plan in place: hike from Cougar Campground to Narada Falls.  It’s a familiar hike, having done it for four or five years in a row. It’s also a challenge this early in the season, nearly seven miles roundtrip with 1,700 feet elevation gain.  The trail either follows or parallels Paradise River, making for scenic breaks and cooler temperatures on a warm day.

The hike starts by crossing the Nisqually River, which offers spectacular views of Mt. Rainier.


Although  most of the hike takes place in heavily forested areas, you can still catch glimpses of surrounding peaks.

Thank goodness the trail doesn’t try to ascend those peaks, though at times the ascent seems to suggest otherwise.  

Much of the time I’m focusing on the trail trying to avoid tripping on rocks and tree roots, but occasionally I look up and am reminded of the powerful forces that have created this wilderness


or the fragile beauty that finds its own place amidst these forces.


Though I enjoy the quiet of these dense forests, the sound of rushing water seems almost more calming.

 


At 1.5 miles you reach Carter Falls, the point where most hikers turn around, 


but if you go a little further you run into another falls which is almost as impressive. 


If you’re willing to push on another one and half miles, you leave the crowds behind and can visit the even more impressive Narada Falls at the end of the rainbow.


It feels like a major accomplishment to reach the falls, but seeing the hordes of visitors who have driven right up to the falls takes something away from the experience of walking three miles to see it.  

Knowing the Tides is Vital for Birdwatching


I took so many photos at Ocean Shores and stopped to have Sushi that we ended up being late getting to Bottle Beach on the other side of the harbor.  Ideally, I should have been there at least an hour before high tide, but it was almost a full tide when I arrived.  Despite that, we were greeted at the beach by the same birds we had seen at Ocean Shores, a Semipalmated Plover and a Western Sandpiper.


We saw a lot more of those.  In fact the only shore birds we saw at Bottle Beach that we hadn’t seen at Ocean Shores were Dunlin. 


My favorite moment at Bottle Beach actually came when most of the birds had stopped feeding and were resting, huddled in along line behind the larger Dunlin to get out of the wind.


I was disappointed with myself that I had miscalculated the high tide, but it was hard to be too disappointed when we ended the day with some nice shots of the Brown Pelicans


flying overhead on the Westport Jetty.   


Of course, I also consoled myself with ten dollars of chocolates from the candy store in Westport to eat on the way home.  Sushi should always be followed by chocolates.