Sightings of Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens) are rare on the Olympic Peninsula, particularly in the coastal areas west of Port Angeles. Yet on November 9, I noticed a single goose that I didn’t recognize wandering on my land. It was a beautiful gray and white bird lacking the characteristic white chin strap of the Canada Goose, which is both common and plentiful in our area this time of year.
Category: Wildlife
Bobcat!
This curious bobcat came by the house early this morning to check out our hens. He (or she) seems underweight for this time of year, so I suspect it’s a juvenile still learning to hunt. I took this picture with my Nikon, but later that day, I checked one of several game cameras I have…
Orange-crowned Warbler
In spring, the Orange-crowned Warblers (Oreothlypis celata) are frequently seen flitting around in bushes and small trees looking for insects. They can be spotted crossing open meadows as they move from one woodland area to another where willow, alder, and maple are plentiful. The males arrive each year before the females to establish territory, which they…
The Golden-crowned Kinglet. North America’s smallest songbird.
At a mere 4 by 7 inches, the Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) is the smallest songbird in North America. On the Olympic Peninsula, it is a year-round resident. Though widely seen and active high up in dense woodland habitats, one has to listen carefully to hear their high-pitched tsee-tsee-tsee call. Kinglets are small but hardy….
The Belted Kingfisher
Belted kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) make a prominent appearance along local shorelines with their loud, cackling calls and determined flight patterns. They are largely aquatic feeders with skilled diving techniques, using their long straight bills to catch their prey in the water. The birds are short, stocky, and bluish-gray, with a rock-star-quality crest on the head…
Last rodent standing: The Mountain Beaver
Along the coastline of the northern Olympic Peninsula, a relatively obscure rodent has been burrowing out an existence beneath stands of Douglas-fir and western hemlock for centuries. Known commonly as “mountain beaver,” no relation to the North American Beaver, has been called many names, notably “boomer,” “ground bear,” “giant mole,” or “sewellel beaver.”