Early this morning I went on a long walk in Seattle while Rick taught his morning class. It was in the 30’s this morning and there was a thick layer of frost over the rooftops and on the windows of parked cars along the roadside. Neighborhood lawns were painted white. Jack Frost was busy last night! I walked over to the Fremont Cut and was kicking myself for not having grabbed my camera. Because of that, you are reduced to only hearing about the three ducks on the frosted bank along the Fremont Cut, warming themselves in the morning sun. In fact, I missed photographing some of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen this past week because my camera was not with me in the early morning when I taught at St. Joe’s and at Continental Place. No camera in hand, I drank in the beauty with my eyes and relay it with words.
Chehalis River: Morrison Riverside Park
Chehalis River: Morrison Riverside Park and Boat
Yes, I know!
This was taken on the second stop we made today, which is along the 1500 acres of mudflats and salt marsh at Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuse, also known as Bowerman Basin, well known for the thousands of migratory shore birds that feed here in the spring. Rick is in the photo (right).
Mudflats (tide coming in), Bowerman Basin
The light show grows more dazzling!
Setting Sun Seen Through Winter Trees
Bowerman Basin
By Bob Morse
The Site
The highlight of the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, a.k.a. Bowerman Basin, is the spring migration of shorebirds. Lying within the Pacific Northwest Coast Ecoregion, the refuge’s 1,500 acres of salt marsh and mudflats play host each year to tens of thousands of shorebirds that stop to feed and rest during their 7,000 mile journey from South America to their nesting grounds in the Arctic. One of the four most important estuaries in North America for migrating shorebirds, Grays Harbor as a whole has been named a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Site. Bowerman Basin and five other sites within the estuary have been designated as Washington State Important Bird Areas.
@admin: I just have to say your blog is the first I’ve come across this morning that doesn’t
have typos every other sentence. Thank you for taking the time to write something that doesn’t look like a 6th grader put together. Sorry, just had to vent.
It’s funny you should come up with this as I had been just thinking about it the other day. You’ve stated my ideas
exactly.
I enjoy your blog. The pictures you post are beautiful! You and your husband’s photos really capture the beauty of the PNW. May I ask what cameras you and your husband use? I am interested in nature photography and need some guidance as to what camera (beginners) I should steer towards.
Thanks
Thank you, Tim, for your complementary comments. I am so happy that you enjoy my blog! Rick and I both use Leica cameras. Mine is a Leica D-Lux 3 and Rick’s camera is a Leica V-Lux 20 (there is a newer version which is a V-Lux 30). Rick’s is substantially more expensive than mine was because his has a longer zoom and a macro lens. I do not have those features, so I can’t bring the snowy owls close up with all the detail that he can get and I can’t get the pollen on a thistle! However, I am really happy with my camera. For a beginner, I would suggest the camera I use. In general, the majority of photos you see on my blog were taken by my Leica D-Lux 3 (if the photo is Rick’s, I always make mention of it), and as you can see, you can really get great photos. You can go on line and check out the prices. Good luck to you!