Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
Warm, sunny days seemed to fill the air again with bird song. Little flocks of black-capped chickadees had a great time flitting from one branch to the next. I could hear but only briefly see them.
Isn’t that a sweet bird name? Chickadee.
Sometimes dogs like people for themselves. Sometimes it’s just about the cookies in pockets. Why pretend otherwise?
Today is the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. It’s not hard to believe because we’ve had spring-like weather for the last few days. This doesn’t always happen here but it’s certainly appreciated.
If you’re interested in such things, tonight’s full moon is the last of three supermoons of 2019. It will appear bigger and brighter, weather permitting. The last supermoon that occurred on spring equinox was in 2000. There won’t be another until 2030.
We can’t claim until tomorrow that spring has officially arrived but last Sunday provided a spectacular preview. It was warm enough to take a walk without bundling up in layers. First time I’ve done that in over six months.
Yesterday I showed you a female harrier hawk having a look for dinner. Yesterday evening I had the good fortune to find a male harrier on the wing and I was witness to an air show I hadn’t seen before.
This bird was flying in great swoops, making big circles on the wing while calling.
If you’ve ever seen a hummingbird perform a courting dance, this harrier was putting on showy stunts of that sort, flying up, then soaring down dramatically. The downward dives were so fast most of my shots were blurred.
I hadn’t seen a harrier do this before. I assume there was an impressed female somewhere nearby. I know I certainly was.
If you notice differences between yesterday’s harrier and today’s, you’re correct. The females have more reddish coloration on their chests and wings. The males are more grey and white. They’re also smaller than females.
One reason I like walking late in the day is the opportunity to watch the local harrier hawks hunt for dinner. Catching them in the act is another matter entirely.
I do try to avoid politics here. Heaven knows in the U.S. it colors virtually everything these days. But I found this bumper sticker irresistibly amusing.