ingridtaylar's photostream  

Title taken from a line in the Joyce Kilmer poem, Trees ("I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree.")

This was one of the last lingering Bald Eagles (juvenile, Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) around the Rockport and Concrete area of the Skagit River. We drove up there a month ago in a downpour and saw tons of eagles dragging salmon carcasses from the river, but the light was way too low for workable photos (with my gear, that is).

This time, plenty of light, very few eagles. They've moved on from the salmon spawning grounds. We checked this year's eagle counts at the Interpretive Center and this season, the highest counts were the weekend of December 23.

Taken just outside the Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center, perched above the Skagit River.

I went against my better judgment, and stopped on Fir Island (Skagit County, Washington) on our way south to Seattle this past week. It's the last week of hunting season, and I should have known better. I try to avoid hunted areas because of the helplessness I feel -- hard-wired as I am to rescue injured animals.

In other words, what started as a bucolic and lovely photo op, unfortunately, ended with a lot of disruption. We stuck around until after shooting hours, to make sure the injured geese weren't left behind.

This photo expresses a happy moment -- when we first caught a glimpse of this alabaster field, filled with the murmurs of thousands of Snow Geese. It was my first glimpse of them this season.

I will revisit Fir Island some sunny day after the shooting season ends (today) ... to reprogram my brain for the better. :)

This pigeon flew into frame as I was shooting a vertical line of birds on the wire overhead.

Tweaks: cropping, levels, sharpness and slight straightening.

American (or Northwestern) Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), sitting out the snow storm that hit Seattle last week.

Shot at Elliott Bay Park on the Seattle waterfront.

American Robin scarfing winter berries in the snow (Seattle, WA)