August, 2020
A bird and a boat
Airborne or waterborne, birds or boats, they are all terrific aren’t they? In truth, some birds are not airborne, they don’t fly. Hmmm, I don’t personally know any boats that are not waterborne, although the Spruce Goose was certainly built as more of an airplane than a boat. Interestingly, the Spruce Goose is now here in the Pacific Northwest. It is on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. I’m sure there must be a campground around there somewhere close to McMinnville.
Ah, but let’s get back to my bird-and-boat adventure here on Fidalgo Island.
After my morning on Mt. Erie, I had lunch back at the campground in my trailer, then I headed out on foot simply for a hike on the trails and the small roadway that winds around the edge of the campground. Oh boy, that was beautiful. The road and the trails are mostly in woods, but there are some beautiful overlooks out over the waters of Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands.
My favorite viewpoint of the day was at a rather large overlook with a view of Burrows Island immediately to the south.
How nice that the motor-sailer cruised past while I was taking photos.
I stood and watched the boat for a little bit, and walked around the viewpoint a little bit. By and by, I noticed a cluster of folks at a picnic table, all of them looking up and to the right. Hmmm, what are they looking at?
I started looking around with my camera, using its zoom lens.
Ah ha! There, up on that branch … do you see it?
There was much discussion among the humans about what type of hawk this was. I listened to the humans long enough to realize that agreement was not going to be forthcoming. What a sweet hawk it was though. And I suspect she/he knew her/his own name. 🙂
Do any of you readers know what type of hawk this is?
I found the photo below on the internet. It shows you that exact same area … and it shows you the really gorgeous dead tree that was there. I was so preoccupied with and engaged by the hawk that I didn’t think to get a photo of that tree.
When I turned my attention back to Burrows Island and the boat that was cruising past, I found the boat was long gone.
Oh, but wait. I looked to the right, to the west, into the western sun, and there was the boat right down there, just leaving the passage between Fidalgo Island (where I was standing) and Burrows Island. The boat and its occupants were heading west, out towards the San Juan Islands. I wished them fair winds and safe passage … and adventures along the way.
You can park overnight in the large parking lot behind the Evergreen Museum in McMinnville. I’ve done it many times going through there.
Thank you, Ivan! I’ve made a note of that and will surely stop there.
Everyone, check out Ivan’s RV blog by clicking on his name. It’s a perfectly safe link and it’s a great blog.
My guess is that you’re looking at a juvenile bald eagle. And that wonderful dead tree has been dead for more than fifty years. It was a favorite setting for high school yearbook pictures back when we were in school. It was bigger then, and had more branches. I think of all the attention it has received over those years and I am amazed that it is still standing there.
Like always, wonderful pictures of birds.
Juvenile Bald Eagle it is indeed. Thanks Fritzi. The folks sitting around that picnic table mostly thought it was a Harrier Hawk, but it sure didn’t look like that to me, even in the moment. And when I got back to my trailer and my computer and the internet, the photos online of Harrier Hawks showed they are much different than how this bird looked. I looked at other hawks online but never thought of looking at photos of juvenile eagles. Now however, with a wise word from you, I looked at photos of juvenile Bald Eagles and it’s a perfect match. How cool is that?
Nice info about that dead tree too. I’m glad it’s still there. 🙂
The eagle must be fairly young. Did you notice how much down it appears to have? Don’t know that you can ever call an any eagle cute and cuddly, but this one comes close.
So the white is the down. I didn’t realize they have down, but of course they have down! Boy, have I learned a thing or two. Thank you. And, compared to the stare of that adult female on the last day of my trip to Scenic Beach, this little youngster is definitely cute and cuddly. Funny how we humans think of eagles as fierce and intimidating maybe mostly because of how their eyes and brows and beaks are shaped. Maybe that adult female was smiling at me.
I don’t have any idea about the hawk, or whatever the bird is, but I continue to be amazed at how you always find great things to see and do, and people to talk with, Ann. And what an interesting wide range of topics you find interesting, and you share with us. Your interest in the entire world around you is really impressive. Thank you for taking us with you on your journeys. You are super.
Aw shucks, Tim, thank you. Those are really nice words. You are super too. As long as you folks are willing to ride along, I’ll keep on truckin’!
Ann, I just saw your answers pop up to the comments above. What?! Yet another eagle looking at you!? You’ve had a string of them lately. Now THAT’s cool. 🙂
I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest almost all of my life (except for 6 years in the Philippines), and I’ve been a boater in Puget Sound and Canada for the past 29 years or so. But I surely don’t remember ever seeing this many eagles is such a short time frame. Maybe I wasn’t looking … or maybe, like you say, this is just really cool. 🙂
Oh man, you got me again with another boat photo. Wow, what a great pic of that boat cruising into the sunset. Looks like they might be heading to Lopez Pass south of Decatur Island. I’ve been through there, anchored in Mud Bay. Though who knows, they could turn to port or starboard and still end up in a beautiful part of the islands .. sigh.
Hey, I’ve anchored in Mud Bay too! Maybe when you were there. Wouldn’t that be a hoot. And I went in through Lopez Pass too. Oh, those islands are surely gorgeous aren’t they. Great memories.