Willow Flycatcher at Silver Lake, Washington

I've probably photographed a number of flycatchers, but there are many species, and I don't feel overly qualified to identify a lot of them (the Black Phoebe and the Ash-throated Flycatcher being the only exceptions for me). I was walking the nature trail at Silver Lake a few weeks ago when I saw this small flycatcher in the bushes. It stayed in place just long enough for a few pictures, and as best as I can tell, it is a Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii).

Silver Lake is a natural lake produced by mudflows from Mt. St. Helens. The nature trail follows an old railroad line that crossed a portion of the lake. It's overgrown with shrubs and trees, providing a nice habitat for birds. I've posted a few other pictures of birds from the location.

Great Blue Heron at Silver Lake, Washington

I haven't posted on Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) much of late, primarily because I haven't come across any. They are found around wetlands all over the west, and have shown up a fair amount on this blog, but the ones I've seen in my normal haunts have been kind of skittish and fly off before I can get any shots.

I've been all over the Pacific Northwest for the last week and a half, ostensibly to chase an eclipse (maybe you've heard about it somewhere), although the fact that we've visited various sets of parents, siblings, and a grandparent suggests other motives as well. In any case, we were on our way to the Seattle area, and decided to camp for a night at Seaquest State Park on the shore of Silver Lake. The lake came into existence around 4,000-5,000 years ago when a huge debris avalanche from Mt. St. Helens blocked a tributary to the Toutle River. The lake is about four miles long, but the western end is filled with water lilies and other pond vegetation, and thus is an excellent habitat for the herons. This particular individual was quite patiently feeding and hardly moved while I watched, so all the pictures had the same pose.

Silver Lake is a great setting for a quick look at Mt. St. Helens if you are traveling on Interstate 5. It's only five miles off the interstate, and there is an excellent interpretive center about St. Helens, and a the one mile long nature trail that we were following when I caught this picture.

Spotted Towhees from All Over

Spotted Towhees (Pipilo maculatus) are beautiful colorful birds that I've seen a fair number of times, but I've found them difficult to photograph. Most of the time it is because they are foraging in thick underbrush, and they never seem to sit still. A case in point: I got a nice shot of the Towhee above at Silver Lake near Mt. St. Helens in Washington at Christmastime. But it never turned around to show its colorful breast.

Then, I was at Don Pedro Reservoir on the Tuolumne River to take a look at water levels prior to the big storms of last week (which also explains why no birds for two weeks; I was distracted by events being posted at Geotripper). There was a Towhee in the parking lot foraging for seeds or bugs. I got a shot of the bird's front, and a video as well. But no side shots!

Finally, I was out on the Tuolumne Parkway Trail today for the first time since the storms began, and I saw another Towhee foraging in the open. I got the side shot I wanted, so I was finally able to cobble together this post, from three different locations and with three different birds.

Very Small, Very Tough, and Fearless: Golden-crowned Kinglet below Mt. St. Helens, Washington

I was privileged to catch sight of some Golden-crowned Kinglets (Regulus satrapa) today. We were at Silver Lake in Washington state. The lake was formed by mudflows from nearby Mt. St. Helens thousands of years ago.

The sense of privilege comes from the fact that I've never seen any before, and because their preferred habitat is way up in the canopy of conifer forests, where they search for bugs. In these winter days, the bugs are less prevalent, so these kinglets had come down to the pavement in the parking lot for the Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center, looking for seeds or bugs on the ground.

Fearless? Yes, they danced around the pavement less than 10 feet away from me. Frenetic? Yes! They never stopped moving while I was watching them and trying to get a few photographs. I took 30 shots or more, and only four or five came out at all. Look below to see an average shot...

A real-life Angry Bird?

Tough? Yes. It is the beginning of winter, and these birds weren't messing around with migration to warmer climes. According to the Cornell Ornithology website, they can survive temperatures of -40 degrees, sometimes huddling together for warmth. It's amazing that they don't freeze; they're barely bigger than hummingbirds!

Very small, very tough, and fearless. But also quite beautiful!