14 November

 A mid-afternoon visit that felt like a late-afternoon visit--still feeling the change from daylight saving time.  The low sunlight gave some fine effects.

The juxtaposition of dark fir trees and open, lighted glades at a distance gave an almost mystical quality to the forest.


There was a good fall of snow on the inner ranges and Mount Arrowsmith in the past week, but the weather has been unseasonably warm recently.   The snowfall has melted and the river is now in spate.



Downstream, Mr. & Mrs. Eagle continue their nest renovation.  

There was evidence of serious re-arrangement of branches and leaves,



and the nest looks bigger.  

In addition to the run-off from snowmelt and rain, it was a very high tide.

The Salish Sea was host to many gulls, and a flock of at least 100 wigeons.



I was happy to meet up with Deb Freeman, a very fine nature photographer and very pleasant person, near the duck-counting benches.  We chatted briefly, and she mentioned that she had seen a Cooper's hawk by the fields. This sounded right, as the high tide had brought in a sizeable flock of waterfowl in the flooded fields, and Cooper's hawks prey on smaller birds.  Just a small sample of the flock, here, including:


the first Eurasian wigeon I've seen this season!  Such an elegant duck.


A great blue heron watched over the tidal stream.

I was on the look-out for Deb's Cooper's hawk, but saw this handsome small raptor, first.


I was puzzled.  It seemed quite small for a Cooper's, and the plumage was a bit unusual.   It’s more like a sharp-shinned hawk than a Cooper’s.  Deb is really expert at bird identification--how could this be her bird?  

I proceeded along the path that divides the fields from the forest.  

Sure enough!  A much bigger hawk, with a longer tail, lighter eyes, and more typical Cooper's plumage sat on the top of a fir tree at the edge of the forest.


The afternoon had grown chilly and I was near the car park.  Time to head home, after a fine early winter walk.










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