Herons and Eagles

They're not as abundant as in Alaska, but there's a great place to watch eagles and shore birds that's a lot closer to home. Just up the road from Seabeck, a wonderful tiny village on the shores of Hood Canal, is a small inlet that's a mud flat during low tide. And it's a magnet for birds, who come in at tide change to fish.

We were there last Saturday, out for an afternoon of geocaching. When we spotted two photographers with massive telephoto lenses, we pulled over to see what they were watching.












While I pulled out my camera, two juvenile eagles flew right over Dave's head. There were 6 adults flying the currents, and another half dozen sitting at water's edge. The herons were the bravest, though... one landed right near the bridge, and walked across the stream to look for lunch. These are probably my favorite bird. There's a heron rookery near my home, and I love to watch them build their nests in the spring. And if we're lucky, herons will visit our small pond and fish for frogs.

There's lots of room to pull over on the shoulder on both sides of the road. The bridge is narrow and sits at road level. Still, a fellow geocacher said that he recently stood there to watch eagles, and saw an eagle fly underneath the bridge toward the water, swooped down to grab a fish, and kept right on flying out over the Canal. Wouldn't that be a sight to see!