Spring is coming

Snowdrops are blooming, cats are sleeping outside in the deck chairs, sunlight is highlighting inside decorations - and it smells like spring.

Quiet Day

Very quiet at the refuge today - rained much of the time we were there. The refuge roads are pure ice so one does not go very fast/quick in any direction - at least not on purpose.
The features of the day were the weather, a Ring-necked duck, and the new GBH rookery. All the poles in the old rookery have been removed and replaced with new ones. The herons are back - just need to build their nests.

Named for a purple ring around his neck which is not discernible most of the time.

He gives new meaning to "Singing in the Rain"!

The very old and the new.

Now the question I have is - are these the girls waiting on the guys to show up to build the nests or are these the guys waiting on the girls to show up to tell them how to build it?

This gaggle of Canada Geese landed on the ice - but did pretty well handling the slippery landing.

Preparing for the storm?

Out at the refuge it was pretty quiet today - a few eagles sitting around on the fields (good to see) and no pheasants spotted at all. A brisk breeze from the south cleared the air and cooled my ears.
Murphy and I saw a raccoon and he got to run and chase after it - not too close, you understand, but he was pretty excited for a while.
Lots of folks have been looking for eagles and a lot of them are quite a distance away - but then I turned around in the truck and there was an eagle flying right over me!  Now how did that occur without me seeing it? So you never know what will happen.
Murphy and I were sitting in the grass on a dike watching a photographer on another dike try to get close to an eagle. I felt that there was a decent chance the bird would fly my way so we hunkered down in the dead grass and watched. Well, the bird flew about 100 feet out onto the ice just out of range for the photographer (I think the birds know what size lens you are using) so we didn't get a chance to get an on the wing shot - but, while sitting there 5 white pelicans flew over us! Now where would they come from on February 7th? Jeez I love the unexpected - almost fell over trying to get a shot of them. I love their color against the dark sky and hills.

Here's a few from today: The Rough-legged was sitting just about where I thought he would be. I was using a +1 stop on the internal exposure - could have gone with a +1.5.

He saw something out in the flats.

Off to the hunt.

I did get one shot of the eagle that flew over me.

Majestic.

Goldeneyes

Don't you love the name - Goldeneyes? For me it conjures up visions of otherworldly characters with golden eyes. In real life it is the name of these beautiful ducks passing through the refuge for a little while. 

And a favorite - a male Kestrel.

More beauty

Ice on Ice

The Common Merganser is still around - fishing with the Pied Bill Grebes.

These look like paintings to me.

The Rough-legged and the Red-tailed both will lift their butts and poop prior to flying off if you watch them for a while. Guess what that means!

An abundance of birds!

It happens about once per year and if we are fortunate, we see it!  Today it happened - about 10:15am the robins and cedar waxwings and juncos and finches (all types) and chickadees all gathered in the backyard.  We could not leave the window watching them - I was making a phone call and handed the  phone to Diana so I could grab the camera when I saw the Cedar Waxwings! Some things are more important than phone calls!
The birds gathered and ate berries off the Washington Hawthorne as well as the feeder and then - boom, they were gone!  Happens that way.
Here's some good memories of the moments of chaos!

Fun!

Here's some diversity with some different views.

They're coming to take you away!

Twilight Zone!