Sentri the Big Purple 💜

It's convenient that birds also have habits and routines that they follow. This eagle is sitting at this same spot pretty much every time I go to this park. It's like seeing an old friend! They look at me, I look at them, I take a picture. Sometimes they even make noises!
#baldeagle #nature 🪶

I feel so lucky to live in a place where I can just go out and see an eagle basically any day all year. It doesn't get old for me. I watch in awe every time.
#nature #birds 🪶

Kingfishers are so elusive, very rarely I get to take a good picture of one. I love watching them fish and hearing their calls. These are some of my favorite pics I've ever taken! I love the depth with the fence.
#kingfisher #nature #birds 🪶

I always love seeing waxwings. They look too smooth, you can't really tell the feathers apart. I joke that it is just a bird made of liquid. Their group antics are fun to observe too!
#waxwing #nature 🪶

More pics of the pied-billed grebe nest. I watched mama bird get settled to the nest and all five babies trying to push themselves under mom's feathers. You can see their little stripey faces. Look at the yawn! So adorable I feel like I'm going to melt 😭
#nature #birds #babybird 🪶

Herons are so cool. It's such a large and calm bird, often you can get pretty close to them. Feels like watching a Jurassic creature when looking at their legs slowly move and listening to their noises. Dinosaurs never really went away!
#greatblueheron #nature 🪶

Spotted towhees are easy to find, they make themselves known! Their weird little creature scream is easy to identify. Did you know the only way to tell Spotted and Eastern towhees apart is your location? They look basically identical!
#towhee #nature 🪶

Had a pleasure of seeing this young song sparrow on my front yard. Tricky ID made easy by the mama bird perched right next to it! Mama teaching the baby to forage. I especially love it when their tail is not quite the adult length yet. So cute!
#songsparrow #babybird #nature 🪶

I really love seeing the female and immature Red-winged blackbirds. They camouflage themselves in the brush but they possess a whole different beauty from the easily identifiable males.
#rwbb #nature 🪶

For some reason this seagull stands on this electrical pole in my neighborhood every day around sunset. We are kinda far from any water. I guess it's a little hobby? Like clockwork it is here every day. Birds are so weird!
#seagull #backyardbirding 🪶

Throwback to last summer when a pileated woodpecker decided to come check out my suet feeder. They don't often visit me, haven't seen one since. They are awe-inspiring birds!
#birds #nature 🪶

One more photo of the hard-working mother. She is taking a little break on the floating platform nest, all tucked in. Can you believe there are five babies hiding in those feathers! You can even see a couple beaks sticking out. Too cute! 😭😭💜
#nature #birds #babybird 🪶

What's this? A video upload?
A giant tree wrecked my house this last winter and I am still dealing with the impact. If you want to see how busted my house got, watch the vlog!
https://youtu.be/xK9lfXSNPAQ

Happy #WorldOtterDay! Sea otters were hunted almost to extinction between 1741 and 1911. With hunting bans and conservation efforts their populations are recovering in some areas. I was very lucky to photograph this mom and pup in the wild in Monterey, CA. I hope to see them in Washington some day!

The waxwings almost never come alone. It's always a group of ten or so. This was during the golden hour. The waxwings are trying to catch the last rays of the day up in a tree. Until suddenly they decide the moment is gone and they all fly away together!
#waxwing #nature 🪶

*Peeks into the new week*
Yeah not so sure about this...

I was lucky to find a Pied-billed grebe nest at the wetlands! The first pic is (presumably) the dad going out to find food. The nest is a floating platform on water. I know it's hard to see but you can just barely make out the striped chicks between the reeds. I counted five!
#nature #birds 🪶

@DeltaWye@tiggi.es If you can, get your property and surrounding trees inspected. You can even get a visual inspection on your neighbor's trees. Keep a day-bag packed with a change of clothes and some immediate supplies in case you need to evacuate in a hurry.

Make sure you know what is and isn't included in your insurance policy. Be mentally prepared that you will have to fight hard to get the things that you paid for. The insurance companies count on you getting tired and frustrated and hope you'll give up. But don't!

If something happens, write down absolutely everything at all steps. Maybe record some voice memos. Take many many pictures of every single thing, every change, every piece of work. Take way more pictures than you think you'll need. Every day go and log what has changed and what was said in every conversation between you, contractor, insurance. You'll want that paper trail. We had a very successful time talking with the state insurance commissioner too, but I don't think that kind of service exists everywhere.

Wow it's been a turbulent and stressful time. House still being fixed, progress is slow but constant. I've done a real bad job responding to people and generally existing... I'm going to do some bird-posting again this week though. I hope you'll enjoy my photos!