Dave and I left the dogs behind in the land of fog so we could look at birds at sunny Padilla Bay. We were really hoping to see a snowy owl, but unfortunately there were none to be seen. The day was so enjoyable though, even owl-less that we had a terrific time and I highly recommend this lovely hike.
We were first greeted by a hawk, perched up in a tree watching for small critters in the grass below.
The next thing we saw was a pair of blue herons in courtship! I have never seen this before and it was really beautiful. They walked along in tandem at first with their heads pointed up at the sky like snobby feathered ballerinas, then the male (I assume) held his wings down at different angles. It seemed it would be a long courtship, so we took some photos and some video and then walked on.
We saw a little sandpiper nibbling along in the mud on just one stilt. His useless leg was tucked up under his wing, but despite his disability he seemed to be doing pretty well for himself.
There were a couple types of sandpipers that we saw while we were here.
There was a cool old barn along the walkway also. Dave peeked inside and said it is now being used as a boathouse.
There was a cormorant here, drying its wings and soaking up some sunshine from the top of a piling.
There were many varieties of ducks all along the walk. There were so many of them swishing their beaks for things in the mud that you could hear the squishy gobbling sound quite loudly. It was pretty funny.
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| Northern Pintail- there were a lot of these |
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| Green Wing Teal- his little mask shone green in the sun |
After leaving Padilla Bay, we stopped by the Spirit Island area to again check for owls. We saw a lot of hawks, and this stately heron.
It was an incredible sunset, both the golds and peaches to the west behind Spirit Island, and the glowing rose that lit up Mt Baker to the east. What a perfect day.
I believe the old boathouse at Padilla Bay always was a boathouse, used as a duck hunters' clubhouse. Masonite cut-out decoys possibly dating from the 1930s are still stacked among the boats (Masonite was first marketed in 1929). The rusty winch mounted on the rotting flatboat beside it was powered by a salvaged automobile engine and drive shaft/differential connection, possibly from a Model A Ford or early Willys Jeep. The winch appears to have been used to drag a net used to capture spawning salmon, back when Big Indian Slough and Little Indian Slough still supported salmon runs. Despite many passers-by taking a peak, the site seems to have been essentially undisturbed since circa 1957.
ReplyDeleteI believe the old boathouse at Padilla Bay always was a boathouse, used as a duck hunters' clubhouse. Masonite cut-out decoys possibly dating from the 1930s are still stacked among the boats (Masonite was first marketed in 1929). The rusty winch mounted on the rotting flatboat beside it was powered by a salvaged automobile engine and drive shaft/differential connection, possibly from a Model A Ford or early Willys Jeep. The winch appears to have been used to drag a net used to capture spawning salmon, back when Big Indian Slough and Little Indian Slough still supported salmon runs. Despite many passers-by taking a peak, the site seems to have been essentially undisturbed since circa 1957.
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