Thursday, April 16, 2015

Of Kissing Cormorants and Other Things

First, though, before I get to the birds, here is Truman at work yesterday asking me WHY I forced him to spend a day away from his sofa:


Silly dog.

On our walk in to work via the Montlake Fill, we spied the usual Double-crested Cormorants hanging out on the soccer field lights:




One pair engaged in a bout of bill touching -- from what I've read, it is a sign of affection.


You can see a short video of the bill-touching display here:


In case that doesn't work, you can also view it on on my Flickr site by clicking here.

Here is a view from our walk, which makes for a very pleasant stroll to and from the office:



On our walk home from work, we saw many fine herons, the usual Marsh Wren singing from the top of a cattail, and the female pheasant that's been at the Fill since last summer, which came out from the brush to cross the trail:


For some reason, the phrase "Why did the pheasant cross the road?" popped into my head.  Probably for the same reason the chicken does, I expect.

The forecast today is for 60s and sunshine.  Hope I get a chance to enjoy it during my lunch break.

2 comments:

  1. "The pheasant that has been at the Fill all summer?" Just what month is it? (And why is it that I haven't heard about this pheasant before? Clearly it's been too long since I've been to the Fill.)

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    1. Well, it feels like we've had enough warm sunny weather over the past few months to equal a typical Seattle summer. Post, though, has been emended to read "since last Summer" -- I think it turned up end of August/early September. You have heard about it before, because I posted photos of it before several months ago.

      Of course, it usually is hiding in the tall grass/brush and no one ever sees it. Right place, right time is the key. Even Connie has seen it only twice.

      Perhaps the canoes are calling to you?

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