My Daily Pelican(s)

As most of you know, the American White Pelican is my favorite bird.  Why?  Because it's what some folks term a "spark bird" -- the bird that turned you from a casual observer into a full-fledged passionate birder.  They are rarely seen in the Puget Sound area, but there are some around eastern Washington, and I get to enjoy them nearly every time I go for a walk along the riverfront.

This sighting from early this past week was particularly fun because it came with a bonus Common Loon.

Sweet!

However, before I get to more of my Daily Pelicans, there was also a sketch outing -- the group met at a private garden which is used for weddings and other celebrations.

The grounds were beautifully landscaped and full of fun things like this hammock that I wanted to take a nap in:

Everywhere I turned, there was a sketchable view.

I wandered all around for a good twenty minutes trying to decide what to draw.

Far too many choices!

There was a summer house full of fuchsias where tea could be served.

One of the hedges had holes in it:

I finally settled on a view of a gate with arbor that included part of the hammock:

Another fun outing with the group.

At home later that week, I did a practice piece that was a little different from my usual style.  I worked from a photo from a book on Japanese gardens, and used only watercolor, with a lot of wet-in-wet blending.  Turned out fairly well.

Okay, back to the birds.  This was my daily pelican from Thursday:

I typically see just one or two of them at a time when walking along the river in Richland.

But pelicans are birds that like to hang out in groups, because they use a group circling technique to bring up food from the river bottom.  Where were the rest of the birds hanging out?

Not on the Columbia River in Richland.

The Hounds like to help me look for birds during our walks.

These were Friday's pelicans -- only two  (with a bonus cormorant).

Here is Saturday's pelican, all by its lonesome:

I wanted to find the larger group of pelicans, and I knew where to look.  In years past, I'd seen groups of 20-50 pelicans at the Walla Walla River delta, and smaller groups at the McNary National Wildlife Refuge in Burbank.

So on Sunday morning I headed over to McNary, about a twenty-minute drive, without the Hounds (too hot).

There are usually a lot of swallows near the Refuge entrance, and sure enough, I was greeted by Barn Swallows swooping about.  One perched on a sign for me:

It had what I think is a dragonfly in its beak.

A bit farther along the trail there were Tree Swallows:

And a bonus bunny:

This spot is called the Burbank Slough, a marshy spot that is perfect for waterfowl, with plenty of tall reeds for cover.

There was quite a variety of birds on the water -- this is a Blue-winged Teal.

The birds were quite far off, so photos were a bit blurry.  Here is a Ruddy Duck:

There were a lot of Ruddy Ducks about -- this is a female on the left, male on the right.

They'd been busy -- female on the left with Ruddy Duck ducklings!

I also saw Mallards, American Coots, and Pied-billed Grebes. 

There were Yellow-headed Blackbirds in the reeds, and I would have liked a good photo of one, but my camera insisted on focusing on the plants instead of the birds.  Dang.

At least I got a decent shot of this American Goldfinch:

And not too bad a pic of this Downy Woodpecker:

All very nice birds, but of course, I was there for pelicans.  I had seen a couple flying over the slough during the walk around the main trail, and so I walked a ways in the direction they flew, and that's where I found them:

There were several groups fishing in circles.

More flew in:

Plus I got a bonus Great Egret fly-by:

A very satisfying encounter all round.

It was just after nine a.m. when I finished birding at the Refuge, and while hot, it wasn't unbearable, so I decided to pop over to nearby Sacajawea State Park on the way back.

Shortly after stepping out of my car, I saw a flycatcher flitting about, and it landed on a branch for its photo op.  This is a Western Wood-Pewee:

I hadn't been to this park in many, many years.  It was lovely and quiet.

There were plenty of big shade trees, and in one I spotted two Bullock's Orioles above their nest.  The lighting was all wrong, but by the time I got to the other side of the tree, the birds had flown off.

I rounded a bend and was surprised to see a river boat:

It would normally dock in Richland, but there were boat races there, so it had to put in at the park instead. 

I met a park volunteer who knew about the birds there, and he told me about an Osprey nest on a tower near the park entrance.  I stopped there on my way out -- the red circle marks the nest spot:

It was 80 degrees by then, and thankfully I only had to wait about five minutes before one of the birds flew in with a fish. 

I've missed watching the Osprey nest in Seattle at the Montlake Fill, so this was a nice treat. 

Speaking of the Fill -- I plan to check up on it regularly in a short while.  I'll be heading up that way later this month. 

Now I'm off for the morning dog walk by the river.  Maybe I'll see a pelican today....