Rosedale Wanderings

Cindi and I took a left with our dogs out of our house and headed north on Ray Nash Drive. We ended up a mile or so past Rosedale Market. It was a cool 40 something degrees but at least the sun was out. Here are a few shots…

Rosedale Market
Turkey Vulture

Belted Kingfisher

Deck Shots

I stepped out on the deck today at around noon just as the sun broke through. The waterfowl population was very active and I took these four pictures within 11 minute of each other.

American Widgeon
Barrows Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser

Canadian Goose

Painted Pair

I am beginning to believe there may be a nesting pair of Wood Ducks along Ray Nash Bay. Much to my delight while looking our window this afternoon, I spotted this pair of the painted fowl.

I thought this description of the Wood Duck I read on a web-site was interesting......if you look at these pictures closely, you will see that the Wood Ducks are surrounded by Muscles and Clams....They seem to enjoy the salt water...

"Rarely seen on marine waters, the Wood Duck is a bird of wooded wetlands and slow-moving, tree-lined rivers, with a preference for deciduous-tree habitats. This cavity-nester requires either a natural cavity or nest box to raise its young".

This couple hung around the rest of the day, so my guess is they have eggs in a tree hollow nearby…..now, if I can only spot the nest and get some shots of their ducklings when they hatch…. Stay tuned… (you can click on each picture if you want to see them close up)...

Merry Christmas & Crab Battle

Wow! It is March 15th and we still are getting snow in Gig Harbor. ...hmm..

Later in the day ....the sun came out for about 20 minutes and I was fortunate to catch a Seagull versus Dungeness Crab battle on the beach… Enjoy!

You want a piece of me!

I am not dead yet!

Put up your Dukes!

OK, I give up...... UNCLE!

"Sea Mouse" sighting

This has been a good week for bird watching. On Sunday I was fortunate enough to capture some pictures of my second favorite duck..... the Wood duck. Today (after four days of being on the road) I look outside to see a pair of my favorite all time duck, the Harlequin.

Here is something new I just read about this beautiful duck: “When engaged in behavioral interactions, the Harlequin Duck gives distinctly un-ducklike squeaks, the source of one of its local names: sea mouse”.

Uncommon Visitor

While on an early morning Sunday walk, I spotted one of my favorite species of waterfowl. A male Wood Duck had flown into a large fir tree next to our house, nervously looking for his mate.
If you challenged a professional painter

to paint the most beautiful duck he could imagine, he could not match God's creative colors and design of the male Wood duck.

If there was a little more light this morning, the colors of the drake would be even more vivid. Fortunately, even though it was not very light outside, I was able to get some pictures (thank you Nikon D-90 at 3200 ISO).

Here is some information on the Wood Duck:

"A colorful duck of wooded swamps and streamsides, the Wood Duck is one of only a few North American ducks that nest in trees. Many people consider it to be the most beautiful of all waterfowl".

Gig Harbor Kayaking

Our good friends and their father/father in law came to our house this morning to launch out in kayaks. It was an unbelievable morning with a blue sky and snowy Olympic mountains. These pictures show why we love the Pacific Northwest...