Saturday, I drove around the Olympic Peninsula on Highway 101. On my way
there from here, I stopped in Elma at Vance Creek City Park to see if
any birds survived the windstorm on Friday. The park and park-side lawns
were full of crows, robins, and starlings, and swimming along in the
Creek were three Double-crested Cormorants--yellow bills in the air! Not
only were they lovely to watch, but this was a first for my life list.
Nearby at Brady, I drove around the Loop Road there and saw Mallards and
Canadian Geese (among other ducks that I could not get close enough to
identify).

That was the highlight of my trip until I was driving down Hood Canal on
the way home and stopped at a pull-out between Brinnon and DuckaBush
because I saw a Great Blue Heron standing in the water near the highway.
Once I was out of the car and walking towards the water, I saw 2
Killdeer standing at the end of a short boat ramp about 25 feet from me.
The amazing thing (to me)was that not a bird moved until I started to
get back in my car. Then, one of the Killdeer flew up to confront
me--landing about a yard from my car, fluffing out his feathers, and
staring at me until I drove away. At a different time of year, I would
have thought he was deflecting me from a nest, but surely it is too
early for that?

Darlene
Cinebar