Photo Interlude
Yesterday Eli and I spent a few hours in a canoe on Lake Washington. The weather wasn't as perfect as we might have liked but it was still a fabulous time. I could almost believe that there is nothing so fine as messing around in boats except today we went for a wander around West Seattle and then spent some time fussing around in the yard and, well, it's so gosh-darn pretty out there just now that there's almost nothing so fine as spending time in the yard.
We saw about a million herons while out on the water and yet I've included only one heron photo in the following. I took something like 250 photos and at least two-thirds are blurry. It turns out to be challenging to take photos from a canoe--more so than it was last year which I just don't understand. Last year I was sitting on the floor in the middle of the boat; maybe that's a steadier perch than the back seat? So, some of the following are less than stellar quality but, well, who reads this LJ aside from me anyway? Those who will cut some slack, or so I hope.
Our trusty craft for the three-hour tour: UW75. My, she was yar.
A pied-billed grebe. They always look a bit pugnacious.
One of several redwinged blackbird photos; this one is Mrs. RW Blackbird.
Mr. Redwinged Blackbird
having a bite to eat.
And later, another redwinged blackbird singing.
We spent some time looking at this pair of barn swallows.
Here, one of them is singing.
And here one of them is flying.
Although he is looking away, I like the way the photo shows the subtle pattern on the redwinged blackbird's feathers.
To the best of my knowledge, there are no birds in this photo.
A cormorant attracted the attention of someone with a honking big lens in another canoe so I took some photos from a more respectful distance with my much smaller lens. I'm sure the other guy's photos are more impressive but I was still surprised to find that the double-crested cormorant has quite striking blue eyes.
An osprey was hunting (unsuccessfully) a little ways east of the cormorant.
It seemed possible that it was hunting us.
But then it flew on.
Hovering osprey
More hovering osprey
I'm assuming the second duck here is the infamous "hybrid mallard." He hung out with the other male mallards who, politely, didn't mention his differently inabled status.
And when they took off, he took off, too.
Cormorant Island was underwater so many cormorants preferred to sit on top of a light standard.
We must have seen three dozen herons and I took photos of most of them and yet it's this one of the guy in the tree that I choose to post.
And this may be one of my favorite photos of the day; it's a coot running across the water. We spooked a group of about half a dozen and they all took off, running as they do, to get up speed to fly. Eli noted that their wings bat against the water as well as their feet. I was too busy snapping the camera button, trying desperately to get even one coot focused in the frame. I didn't succeed.
We saw about a million herons while out on the water and yet I've included only one heron photo in the following. I took something like 250 photos and at least two-thirds are blurry. It turns out to be challenging to take photos from a canoe--more so than it was last year which I just don't understand. Last year I was sitting on the floor in the middle of the boat; maybe that's a steadier perch than the back seat? So, some of the following are less than stellar quality but, well, who reads this LJ aside from me anyway? Those who will cut some slack, or so I hope.
Our trusty craft for the three-hour tour: UW75. My, she was yar.
A pied-billed grebe. They always look a bit pugnacious.
One of several redwinged blackbird photos; this one is Mrs. RW Blackbird.
Mr. Redwinged Blackbird
having a bite to eat.
And later, another redwinged blackbird singing.
We spent some time looking at this pair of barn swallows.
Here, one of them is singing.
And here one of them is flying.
Although he is looking away, I like the way the photo shows the subtle pattern on the redwinged blackbird's feathers.
To the best of my knowledge, there are no birds in this photo.
A cormorant attracted the attention of someone with a honking big lens in another canoe so I took some photos from a more respectful distance with my much smaller lens. I'm sure the other guy's photos are more impressive but I was still surprised to find that the double-crested cormorant has quite striking blue eyes.
An osprey was hunting (unsuccessfully) a little ways east of the cormorant.
It seemed possible that it was hunting us.
But then it flew on.
Hovering osprey
More hovering osprey
I'm assuming the second duck here is the infamous "hybrid mallard." He hung out with the other male mallards who, politely, didn't mention his differently inabled status.
And when they took off, he took off, too.
Cormorant Island was underwater so many cormorants preferred to sit on top of a light standard.
We must have seen three dozen herons and I took photos of most of them and yet it's this one of the guy in the tree that I choose to post.
And this may be one of my favorite photos of the day; it's a coot running across the water. We spooked a group of about half a dozen and they all took off, running as they do, to get up speed to fly. Eli noted that their wings bat against the water as well as their feet. I was too busy snapping the camera button, trying desperately to get even one coot focused in the frame. I didn't succeed.