Birds, Big and Small

Our friends who have a terrific new Mt. Baker foothills home-away-from were kind enough to ask us back to celebrate New Year's. It was different up there this time, with up to a foot of snow on the ground and the mania of commuting skiers in the background. But off the highway, blissfully quiet and serene.

We did a bit of slightly stiff-legged neighborhood walking, with hardpack and ice on the roads. This picture was taken from road within a couple blocks of "home." We passed up both the community New Year's banquet ("plans of our own") and the polar bear swim in the unheated pool on New Year's AM. Maybe next time?

We also made a couple expeditions out to what passes for civilization, in one case for things like a toilet plunger and caraway seeds (two separate projects, trust me) and in another for eagle-viewing.

Our version of survival under these harsh circumstances involved sausage-chicken gumbo one night and spare ribs and sauerkraut the next. Breakfasts were similarly lavish affairs. Can you say self-indulgence? It's gratifying to spend time with folks who are similarly interested in taking the time to prepare savory food and chowing down when the good stuff is ready.

But I'm here this time mostly on the topic of birds. Raise your hand if you've seen a Bald Eagle in the wild. How about 100 at one time? Late December and early January are one of the peak periods for eagles in the Pacific NW, keyed to salmon-spawning. So this visit was coincident with that theoretical blip. Our little excursion on NY Eve certainly yielded all the eagles I could have hoped for. They were everywhere, perched on prominent woody outcrops out on the floodplain (binocs revealed that almost every prominent white spot was a baldie) and skulking in trees by the time we got there, presumably having had their fill of salmon, leaving the field to the seagulls and crows.

But in addition to our gluttonous piscean brethren belching and farting away up in the trees, there was the occasional vagabond who came soaring through, scaring the daylights out of seagulls and other smaller birds but leading humans to hold their breath. That is a truly jaw-dropping spectacle.

Later, we were delighted to finally be welcomed to the neighborhood by some other familiar birds. Juncoes! Steller's Jays! And, for that matter, Varied Thrushes. Amazing what a little birdseed and peanuts will do.

Back home, in the meantime, we were thrilled to be visited again as we were two years back by a Townsend's Warbler.