Birds, Yes...and More

One of the unexpected gratifications of birding is seeing the unexpected around you. It might be a beautiful sunset sky , snow capped peaks, a country road, or maybe a family of River Otters enjoying a sunny winter day. And, yes, then there are the birds.

Last week I spent several days in Skagit County for my work (the thing that pays for cameras, lenses, gas, binoculars, etc.) and visited the famous Skagit River and Samish River deltas. These are fantastic places to see Trumpeter and Tundra swans, Snow geese by the thousand, and Short-eared owls. Besides the birds, the snow capped peaks and colorful sunsets just topped it off.

                    Short-eared Owl, Fir Island, Skagit River delta

                     Thousands of Snow Geese lift off when a Bald eagle flies over, Fir Island

                      Trumpeter Swans at sunset, Fir Island, Skagit River delta

                        Trumpeter Swans at sunset over Puget Sound, Fir Island, Skagit River delta

                         Trumpeter Swans "dancing"

Then, as I looked around, I realized that birds weren't the only thing worth looking at! Mt. Baker and the Cascades were in their royal winter robes of snow.

                       Whitehorse Peak, Skagit River delta

                       Mt. Baker from the Samish River delta

                      Cascade Mtns. from Samish River delta

Closer to home on the Kettle river, I spied this mother otter and her pup doing some fishing and sun bathing. The Kettle River is mostly froze over right now, but has a few open leads for waterfowl and otters to swim and feed. These cuties were spotted just down stream from Barstow.

                       Momma otter checking me out from the Kettle River

                      Fish for lunch (breakfast and dinner, too)

                    Momma otter and her pup playing and sunning

                     Checking the surroundings before taking another fishing expedition

So don't get so hung up looking for birds that you miss the best scenery on earth!

                                                - Hawkeye