December in Photos

In early December, we had heavy rains. So heavy our "bayou" filled up to overflowing. The flood apparently was a bit much for Matilda, the alligator. Her tail flipped upside down.

 

 

 

 

 

 But eventually,  the rain stopped, water went down, and Matilda was repaired. 

We had many bird surveys to fit into the few dry days. And one CoastWatch survey that is not a bird survey... but naturally, I took photos of birds anyway. A Belted Kingfisher was fishing over the ocean from a tidal rock, something I've never seen before. Johnny saw it kiting over the ocean. Such high hopes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Of course, I had to take a photo of a Black Oystercatcher, who is supposed to be on rocky shorelines, feeding on shellfish.

 

On the way home, we stopped at Gunaldo Falls, our traditional stop. Thanks to all the rain, it was visible through the trees. In the summer, it disappears.

Then came the Upper Nestucca Christmas Bird Count on the Solstice. The weather was decent if you don't mind fog; the Forest Service roads were very good; but the birds were silent and few on this the shortest day of the year. I got no photos of birds. So I took one of a spider web catching the sunlight in a spot that happened to have some.

Here Mary and Johnny trudge up the Forest Service trail in one of our areas that we call Raven Hill. We saw four ravens flying across the top when we got there. That unit seems to be on their flyway. Those were the only ravens we saw all day.

 

With few birds to be seen and none willing to be photographed, I took a photo of a rock wall along the road I was hiking. It was in the sun during one of the rare moments when there was sun.

In spite of the lack of birds in our sector, some of the sectors had plenty and we all (or most of us) got together in the evening for food and stories of the day in a local restaurant in Willamina.   

We have one more Christmas Bird Count to go... that one on New Year's Eve day.  

 

But first will come Christmas Day... with the unwrapping of the beautifully wrapped gifts from Jessica (and family, but she does the wrapping). What else we will do is anyone's guess, since it depends on this completely undependable weather.

Happy Holidaze anyway!

 

Thanksgiving Day

 It seems I have not written a single blog entry in December. That shows how busy this cold and rainy month has been here. When it rained, I made wreaths to send to family and friends... in November and December... until they were finally all distributed or mailed.

 

On Thanksgiving Day (which did not make it into my November in Photos blog post), we were visited by a bobcat in a field surrounded by Johnny's new very high fencing. Friends told me that bobcats are "cats" and fences are things to climb, like trees.

 

Before the bobcat arrived, we had driven up Agency to look for Dippers, our standard holiday excursion. The first thing I saw was this strange and magical structure in the woods alongside the road. It wasn't until we drove back that I saw it from the backside... and realized what it was. I won't spoil the surprise yet.
 

We did finally find a Dipper that consented to having its photo taken.

All along the way there were Bald Eagles perched near Agency Creek.                                  

 

When we looked down over one bridge, we discovered why. The tribe gets spawned-out salmon from hatcheries and throws the dead fish into the creek wherever there is a bridge to throw from. The eagles come for salmon dinners. But enough of the carcass escapes into the water to help replenish the nutrients needed to support salmon fry.

 

Here Johnny looks for Dippers off Asinine Bridge, so named because as you may be able to tell by the curve around the cliff on the left, beyond Johnny, the bridge was built in reverse to the curve of the cliffs so it had to blast the cliff out of the way as it made an S to get over the creek. Someone read their blueprints wrong, if they had any.

 

An adult Bald Eagle is up high with a juvenile lower, maybe digesting eagle remains.

 

Johnny wore out while I was hiking and took a little rest by the road.

 

One of the many small waterfalls on Agency Creek.

 

...And "The Chutes" where the water squeezes through a narrow passageway...

 

On the way back home, we stopped at the strange structure I'd seen on the way up. I got out to take photos and get closer. Believe it or not, it was the roots of a tree that had fallen. I prefer to think of it as a woodland fairy home.

 

  And then we drove home and shortly after, saw the bobcat. I went out to take a photo. It did not see me or if it did, it paid no mind. But when I looked away and looked back, it was gone. It must have gone over the fence in that few seconds as it was no longer in the field. 

                                                          A magical Thanksgiving Day.