October 23, 2011

Driving North

From Mima Mounds, I headed north to Olympia. I had read that there was some good birdwatching around Budd Inlet, which also happens to be next to the Farmer's Market which is open daily. Since it was lunch time, I drove that way. The Farmer's Market was fun, but not so many birds. I couldn't go to Capital Lake because the parking was taken up by Occupy Seattle.





I got two photos from the city and was ready to go, so I drove up 101.

There are many pullouts and parks along the highway and I lost track of where I took photos. I have many photos like this (too-cloudy-blurry-moving-too-far-away birds):


I guess that's a Harlequin Duck?


Could it be a Loon?


This one was more cooperative! Killdeer.


I'll leave the gull ID to you all (John?). I will be posting many more photos. They were everywhere.


I also have many nice fall foliage photos. Such a pretty time of year.



Here's someone who looks good with fall foliage. I think this is her season.



I found this jellyfish on the shore and it was huge! Probably 14" or so.



Further up the road I pulled out at a dumpy tavern to view some sea lions. There were shorebirds too, but I'd need a scope to see them.



As we were driving along, all the cars ahead of me came to a stop and I couldn't see why. Suddenly I saw movement to the right and saw this!



Fortunately, there was a driveway to pull into and I sat and got many more photos. There must have been almost two dozen elk. This shouldn't have surprised me. About 1/4 mile before this I had stopped at a park to use the facilities and noticed piles of *large* scat in the parking lot. I figured it was elk. I just had no idea they were so close!



They crossed the street and went into this gate. It looked like they would be trapped in there, which I hoped wasn't the case.



This young one was crying for them to wait:



Meanwhile a good portion of the herd continued to graze on this side of the road.






This was the highlight of the day.
Next stop: Port Townsend

Revision: Those are Harbor Seals (not Sea Lions) and the gull is a California Gull both corrections per John. (thanks!)

4 comments:

  1. Incredibly beautiful photos. Your dog has such a sweet face and that photo just above is perfect

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  2. Wow those are awesome elk photos! Hope they didn't get trapped. The foliage photos are beautiful, and that photo of Maggie is definitely frame-able! I loved Port Townsend when I visited there a few years ago- especially the Port Townsend Brewery beers!

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  3. Looks like a wonderful trip. Your gull is a young California Gull (blocky head, long thin bill, blue-gray on the legs). The marine mammals are Harbor Seals. They look like giant slugs. So cute.

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  4. John: thanks for the ID and the correction on the seals. They do look like giant slugs!

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