<>E

January 23: . . .and Falcons

By halfway through Friday I was glad I had rested up the day before. Alexia took our learning group out to the Skagit valley. In one day I saw more assorted raptors than I see in most years.

Four species of falcon danced on scimitar wings: harriers flew lazily by: hawks stared at flocks of geese and waterfowl from the top of every telephone pole. Flocks of dunlins flew like a single organism, a swirling orb, streaked with silver as they flashed their bellies to the sun. Merlins swooped after sparrows: our clunky van raced a rough legged hawk. Trumpet and tundra swans flocked and preened: eagles built nests. Thanks to friendly fellow birders and their spotting scopes we were able to see a prairie falcon and Harlan’s hawk as though at arms length.

We saw birds in all their moods through every part of their day. Arriving home in the after noon I pried my fingers from their white knuckle grip on my binoculars and lay down for a nap taking a few hours

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.