Refuge Friday

Molly and I revisited the refuge and strolled down one of the dikes to see what we could see. So much activity. much of it at a distance. Pelicans, egrets, terns, gulls, and all sorts of unidentified birds.  Molly saw the carp and made a couple of attempts to catch them..mostly just an effort for fun I think.
The terns buzzed us a couple of times so I got the shots of it looking at me.
Enjoy!

Yellowlegs?!

Flaps up!

Molly looking for carp

Snowy Egret in flight.

Egrets and herons...

Refuge Thursday

Despite having a bad cold, I took Molly out to the refuge for a little while. Mostly I wanted to see how she would do compared to the first time when she was wild.
Today she behaved a lot like Murphy, roaming and then checking in with me. Except for the Western Grebes - she went into the water and swam towards them! Very cute, with less than zero chance of getting even close. Good exercise.
Here's some shots from today, an over cast day but warmer than anticipated.

It pays to peer down the quiet creekbed - three juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons!

Molly at fun..

Elegant beings

Carp jumping - never have seen this behavior before.

Mud puddles can be quite interesting!

Western Grebe moving along..

(Probably) A Forster's Tern fishing.

Backyard Buddies

With cooler weather the larger birds have returned to the backyard - of course, it helps to have food they like out for them. Hummers seem to have left for the season so these guys and their smaller counterparts - sparrows, house finches, lesser finches, wrens, - entertain us and educate us.

Before the storm

Visited the refuge today, my first time since they have opened up the entire road. Not much around in the way of raptors, a harrier and a kestrel were all I saw. This seems to continue the low raptor sightings that I've experienced all year.
On the other side, there were a lot of pelicans around and quite a few egrets. Some GBH's, very hard to see in the very tall grass.  Plus a very cute vulture!

Avocets love to walk and feed in a line.  Non-breeding plumage.

Hiding away

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Flight..

Mother and daughter

Cutie pie

Hovering hunter

Goofy pelicans!

Looking back

I'm reviewing the photos from Oregon, looking what to keep and what to delete. How many whales tails can you keep!!!!?
Here's some that I don't think I put on the blog before..

Vulture

Small crabs in tidepool.

Detritus on bottom of tide pool.

Travel day

We're driving to Portland to catch a 5pm flight home - so took a few goodbye photos this morning. Very chilly and damp as the rainy weather moves in.

Looking south

Ubiquitous crow taunting his buddies...

Patterns again

Looking north

Commercial fishing primer

Along the boardwalk at the Newport Bayfront is a series of signs describing various commercial fishing techniques for various fishes. Very interesting..