Snowy Owls

A couple days ago, my sister and I made it to Damon Point to see the Snowy Owls, and it started with a flimsy excuse.

Chambers Creek Ospreys - 2012

For the first time in months, I visited Chambers Creek Properties without seeing our local Ospreys. I’m sure that there will still be a few lingering sightings, but I think I can go ahead and recap the year in Ospreys.
My first sighting this years was on April 5. Several Ospreys were fighting over the nesting platform. These two took their fight to a light on the other end of the dock.

Vacation 2012

Vacation 2012, a set on Flickr.

I have finally finished uploading vacation pictures to Flickr. This year, my family went on an Alaskan cruise on the Norwegian Pearl from June 10 - June 17. Among the places we visited were Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay National Park, Ketchikan, and Victoria.

Chambers Creek Owls

How did I miss it? I walked by there so many times, but overlooked the nest.

Last Sunday, I found a Great Horned Owl in the canyon area of Chambers Creek Properties. I had some suspicions about this location and returned yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The Ospreys Return

Each year in early April, Ospreys return to Chambers Creek Properties. Today, I saw them for the first time this year.

I knew that they would be back soon, so I modified my walk to ensure a lower tide when I reached the beach. The primary alteration to the trip was a walk into Steilacoom along Chambers Creek. I grabbed my camera and got a better look at the BNSF bridge where Ospreys have been known to nest. A single osprey was seen. That was my first sighting of the year. The second was on a tree above the dam that overlooked the creek. That could have been the same bird for all I know.

Then the beach. As soon as the nesting platform by the North Dock was in sight, I grabbed my 500mm spotting scope again. The platform was not empty as one osprey was guarding the nesting platform. Two additional ospreys were flying nearby. At one point, two were fighting for a spot on light pole. This became my first uploaded osprey picture of the year.

More pictures will come in the not-too-distant future. Walking south along the beach (the reason that I wanted a low tide), I saw one osprey on the BNSF bridge and another fly to the nest.

I returned North to the North Dock area. Once again, three Ospreys were in the area. At one point, all three were fighting over the nesting platform. They eventually took a break from the battle, and a fourth osprey decided to visit. I am confident that the two further south were not among these four. That made six Ospreys seen for the day… at least. Don’t get your hopes up too high. I have seen more than two ospreys in this area before just to have them drop down to two… to four again (when a couple young ospreys hatched on the platform).

1,000 Flickr Items

I have just posted 25 new pictures to my Flickr Photostream. This put me past the 1,000 item milestone. As of now, I am at a total of 1,013. For those who don’t like decimal, I am at 1111110101 binary and 3F5 hexadecimal as of today. Obviously, that number will change.

Snow pictures… finally

I finally got around to posting pictures to Flickr from our recent snow and ice storms here in the Puget Sound region. For those who don’t know, we received a couple inches of snow on January 15 (pictures were already posted to Flickr for that event). We had a much larger storm drop half a foot on the 18th. This was followed the next day by an ice storm that wasn't in the forecast until after it had started. I’m not going to go into details. After all, I’m so late posting that the storms are now old news.

They do close the East Slope Trail

Yesterday, I walked the East Slope Trail. This trail is considered to be the steepest at Chambers Creek Properties. The Soundview Trail, which is also steep (but not considered as steep) was closed due to the weather.

Part of the reason for the East Slope Trail being open is that it isn’t as simple to close. Closing the Soundview Trail is simply a matter of not opening the gates in the morning. There are no gates on the East Slope Trail.

What they ended up doing was putting two strands of that yellow Caution tape stuff between two signs. Then, they attached a warning sign to the tape. They probably closed it for the worse of these two days. The snow had partially melted and refrozen since yesterday’s walk. There might not have been as much on the trails, but they were definitely slicker today.

Washington Snow

In the past, I loved playing in the snow. After seeing ugly snow elsewhere, I no longer enjoy disturbing the beauty.

A lot of our snow is light and wet. It doesn’t hide the trees, it sticks to them. Since most of our trees are evergreen, normally green trees develop the appearance of being white from above and green from below. From a distance, this creates the illusion of a softer green color.

I lived in Utah. The snow was gray. Their license plate even reflect this fact. Oh, wait. There was a misunderstanding, and they insist that it’s the “Greatest” snow on earth rather than grayest.

I also lived in Ohio. Their snow might be a little more interesting than Utah’s since it’s at least closer to snow color. Unfortunately, their snow is dry and their trees die for the winter. You wind up with a white floor with sticks poking out of it.

I dare anyone to find snow as beautiful as what we get here in Washington.

While on one of my many walks to Chambers Creek Properties, I brought along a new toy. I recently purchased a waterproof camera that was begging to see some activity. I managed to take a few shots, and some of the better pictures are available on Flickr.

Lunar Eclipse

I woke up this morning at around 5 o’clock. A thought popped into my head. Wasn’t there supposed to be a lunar eclipse? A headed out the door and moved around looking for a hole in the trees to my West trying to find it. Eventually, I saw the moon shining with a piece missing.

Chambers Creek Ospreys - 2011

As you might already know, I have been watching the Ospreys at Chambers Creek Properties since I first saw them on April 7. I have gone through my Osprey pictures from the year and am ready to share them with all of my visitor.

My first movie attempt

I just posted my first movie on Flickr. Unfortunately, I had to cut a little more than I wanted. I like the idea of “long pictures,” but I would rather have to stick to 2 or 3 minutes rather than 90 seconds.

Now let me explain the movie in more detail than I have provided at Flickr. I was testing out my ability to record video at my favorite Osprey nest. My primary interest was in the young ospreys. I managed to get them with both of their heads up, but then the adult started talking. This talk turned into a shout. At one point, I could clearly see one of the young adding to the vocals. Another osprey flew through the frame (but refused to unblur his face). The adult on the nest left to chase it. This was followed by a return to the nest by itself. Since the young were left on the nest alone and it appeared to be more of a chase than a reunion, I’m guessing that the osprey that flew by was not the second parent. I’m guessing that it was a visitor from one of the other nests on the property.

I did figure out a few things from this first attempt. First, even tripods aren’t perfectly stable. Second, I sure could use a better microphone. Third, always try to be as quiet as possible when recording. Fourth, record in 720p60 (better utilizes Flickr’s service) instead of 1080p30.

Vacation 2011–Day 15

We didn’t see much on our way out of the refuge. It didn’t help that we were going between sunlight and shade. Visibility definitely could have been better. Refuge sightings included Hummingbirds, Deer, Turkeys, Chipmunks, Robins, and Squirrels.

Vacation 2011–Day 13

Today turned out to be another driving day. We were a little slow getting out partially thanks to a black bear that was blocking the exit. We also saw a Woodpecker, Steller’s Jay, and Robins on our way out.

Vacation 2011–Day 12

We didn’t see a whole lot in Banff National Park today. We were limited to Robins and Ravens before crossing the continental divide into Cascadia and Yoho National Park.

Our stay in Yoho was not long lived. While there, we saw Ravens and Marmots. Our primary objective was the waterfalls of Yoho Valley. As we hiked further into the valley, the weather constantly got wetter. When I first saw moisture on my camera, we probably should have turned back. I didn’t even say anything. When we reached Laughing Falls, I knew that my camera was getting too wet. Unfortunately, the decision to turn back was too late. Right now, I am having problems turning on my camera. The last time that it turned on, it couldn’t read, write, or format with a fresh memory card. Perhaps the realization that I was going to replace it anyway next year justified recklessness. Regardless, I haven’t taken any pictures since that trail, and we still have some vacation time ahead of us.

Vacation 2011–Day 11

Today was a lot like yesterday. The big difference was that we went further along the Icefield Parkway into Jasper National Park. Before we reached Sunwapta Pass (the boundary between parks), we saw Elk, Robins, Ravens, and another Grizzly wandering along the side of the Parkway. Within Jasper National Park, we saw Chipmunks, Squirrels, Goats, and Ravens. We saw Tangle Falls without too much effort. We also looked at some of the glaciers from roadside viewpoints. While most of our stops were simple, we did a little hiking today.

Vacation 2011–Day 10

Today was spent primarily along the Icefield Parkway. This means that we left the fenced freeway with wildlife overpasses for a road that was a little more wild. Early on, we saw a bear walking along the side of the road. We stopped at a few viewpoints including Crowfoot Glacier.

Vacation 2011–Day 9

Today was another driving day. We saw an Osprey and Robins before heading up to Alberta. We were heading to Banff National Park and didn’t want to take too long, so we took a very un-scenic route 2 to Calgary before heading West on the Trans-Canada Highway. For those who are familiar with South Park, I believe that the Trans-Canada Highway is Canada’s “only road.” After reaching Banff, we decided to make camp at Protection Mountain. Since entering the park, we have seen an Osprey nest, Elk, Juncos, Robins, and Thrushes.

Vacation 2011–Day 8

Today was another one of those days when I let my notes run together. Among our sightings were Ravens, Goats, Chipmunks, Squirrels, a Deer, and a Thrush.

Vacation 2011–Day 7 (Glacier National Park)

We have reached Glacier National Park. Due to a closure of Going-to-the-Sun Road at Avalanche as well as construction along US-2, we settled with Two Medicine Campground. Since today was a long drive, I don’t have a lot to report. Among the sightings are Ground Squirrels, Robins, and Chipmunks. More importantly, our campground appears to be frequented by Mountain Goats. We walked around a bit for pictures. The walk was somewhat awkward since I was wearing river sandals. It didn’t take much for a pebble to find its way to an uncomfortable position. Perhaps I never should have removed my socks. That’s right. I started the day just like one of the characters from the PEMCO commercials. Personally, I don’t mind Washingtonian stereotypes being applied to me.