photos ©ingridtaylar – email me for permissions mouette = from Middle French mouette = from Old French moette = diminutive of Old French maoe (Anglo-Norman mave, mauve) = from Old English mǣw (“seagull”) = from Proto-Germanic *maihwaz, *maiwaz (“seagull”) Someone challenged these gulls with leftovers from the patisserie. If a gull can swallow a starfish,…
Anatomy of a Cormorant Landing
Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus. Photographed with my Olympus E-3 and Zuiko 70-300mm. The birds were silhouetted in late afternoon light, high ISO 1000, some post-processing NR to compensate for the darker conditions.. I shot this series along the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle. If you’ve watched Double-crested Cormorants [literally] coming home to roost,…
Flight of the Snow Geese
Snow Goose – Chen caerulescens Hugh and I waited until the end of duck hunting season to drive into Skagit Valley’s Fir Island. We were hoping to find one of the massive flocks of Snow Geese who winter around the island after a long migration south. When hunting season ends in late January, there’s a…
A Bird Called Hummingway
He was christened Mr. Hummingway by a dear friend who likes birds but is ambivalent about interaction with birds. She had formative experiences that made her view birds as flapping missiles who get tangled in your hair, dive bomb you, or suddenly ditch into the open window of your moving car on a freeway. Those…
Pelecanus Occidentalis Californicus
There’s a federal band (steel) on the right leg of the Brown Pelican in the first shot, but I didn’t see it until I off-loaded my photos. Zooming in, I can’t read any numbers from the shots I took. The blue bands are easier to spot, and were created precisely for that reason: to make…
Sandy Shorebill
At this point in my California life, I’d be chugging caffeine before the sun comes up, and getting to my favorite shorebird sanctuaries and mudflats as the light turns magenta rose …
The Enculturation of Wigeons
There’s an Eliza Doolittle thing happening at the local duck lake. Hugh and I have been frequenting our neighborhood shoreline on Puget Sound — a local, private beach where we hold the golden ticket: an access pass. It’s a coup really, because a lot of the shoreline is privately held here in Washington. This short…
Crow on the Outside, Looking In
There’s a wetlands pond not far away, with a group of friendly, habituated Mallards . . . and a small contingent of alert, migrating ducks (this week: Wigeons) who keep to themselves in the shade of the reeds, as far from humans as possible. The Mallards approach any new human. The possibility of food from…
Fly Away Home (and Safe)
As we inched our way toward the cranes, I heard the sound that always shatters my serenity like, well, a shotgun. Because it was a shotgun — very close by. In a clearing across the river, just a hop and a skip from where we were …
Great Blue Dreams
We came upon this Great Blue Heron, perched statuesque above a leash-free dog area. The dog walkers didn’t look up. Neither did the dogs. But my eye is always looking …
