Nearly a Wildlife Refuge

Back Patio View of noisy Cackler Geese flying about

I  lolling around downstairs in my home when the phone rang. My neighbor telling me to get the heck over to a window to see the mass flock of geese that just flew into the large field behind our homes. Being downstairs, I hadn't heard the racket of the fly-in geese. Soon I was upstairs and out on the back patio, gawking at the huge number of birds next door. 

Geese, more geese and 3 oddball geese

Based on the racket the birds made, I knew they were Cackling Geese (a new yard bird last month). My neighbor, Barb, was in her backyard with binoculars. "SWANS?", she called to me. 

"YES!" I squealed excitedly. I was staring at 3 white blotches at the edge of the flock. I ran downstairs, fetching my camera. One look and lo and behold, not swans (to my defense, these white birds seemed quite large and bulky) they were Snow Geese! Another new Yard Bird, YIPPY! 

New Yard Bird Species: Snow Geese

'Why are these guys staring at me?'

As you can see in the photos above and below, the brown geese have white cheek patches, which once-upon-a-time meant they were a small subspecies of Canada Goose. But some years ago, the powers that be decided based on the size, very different voice and short dinky beaks, these were a different species from Canadas, and they were named after their raucous calls: Cackling Goose.  Cackling geese are only a little bit larger than Mallard Ducks (or domestic, white Peking Ducks). 



Itty bitty-ish Cackling Geese

with itsy bitsy beaks

Cackling Geese

The day after the first inflight of Cacklings, they returned yet again. This time the Snow Geese were not present so I assume either this is a different flight of Cacklings or that the Snow Geese took off on their own path. 

On day two, as on day one, I realized there were also Canada Geese amid the Cacklers, but there were so many Cacklers that if the Canadas were honking, their noise was overshadowed by the b'jillion Cacklers. 

Canada Geese, eh?

Canadas have bills that are the same length as their head,
whereas Cackler bills are half the length of their heads.
Do you really need these details? I thought not. 

So that's how my Sequim Washington 'Yard List', after five years, is up to 63 species. I am right chuffed! For comparison, my California, Fair Oaks Yard List took 23 years to get to 47 species. That's the difference between suburban habitat and semi-wild suburban habitat.

Aurora on the Home Front

Northern Lights seen here in Sequim!

May 10th and the Northern Lights popped by for a visit. I am happy to see them, but honestly, how DARE they! I traveled all the way to northern Norway to see the lights just last year. Time, money all to strike that magical phenomenon off my bucket list. Then I came home, only to see them out my bedroom window. I mean, come on! Same thing has happened frequently with birds. I travel across the country to see birds, then when I returned home, one or more of my newly viewed in place of origin, shows up in my home state on a whim. I can almost hear said bird(s) calling cheerily, 'Nanner, nanner, you could have stayed home to see me!' 

Rude I tell you. Just rude.

I guess Mother Nature enjoys thumbing her nose at me. Or perhaps... perhaps she is not thumbing her nose, but knowing how I enjoyed seeing her treasures in places far from home, she treated me to the her treasure, closer to my home. OK, let's go with the latter theory.  Anyway, here are photos I took on this wonderous night, all taken from my bedroom balcony, or 2nd floor patio. Enjoy!

view from upstairs patio

Green borealis lights are from a higher altitude than the pink lights. In Norway the lights seen were all green - I could barely make out some pinkish streaks in the Norwegian night skies... then to come home and see PINK. Wow. 

The pink! 

It amazes me that my phone camera can even capture constellations

*Big happy sigh*  There's a line from a famous movie that fits here. Something to do with wandering off to find something when you could just as well stayed home. If I could only remember where the hell I heard it... 

Amboseli National Park, Part II and Goodbye Mother Africa

Mount Kilimanjaro - Kenya's sleepy volcano

I've seen the 'Big Five', i.e., Elephant, Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Lion & Leopard & I birded for all I am worth. It has been a soul changing visit to the land of my ancestors - my first trip to Africa & surely not the last. This wonderous trip ends tomorrow.

Blabber aside, today's agenda was checking out Amboseli. 

Cattle Egrets, now commonly found
in North America accompany elephants

 

You never know where you'll spot Hyenas - this pair are enjoying a post-mud bath snooze.

Hippos - notoriously dangerous - trot about like tanks on parade

Yellow Baboons 

Impala

My favorite - a happy Cheetah
If ONLY I could have one for a pet, like the Egyptians of old

Wha... you talking to me?

Water Thick-knee

Great White Pelicans

Gray-crowned Crane

Western Yellow Wagtail

White-faced Whistling Ducks

African Spoonbill

Long-toed Lapwing

Black-winged Stilt

African Jacana

African Jacana

Malachite Kingfisher

White-bellied Bustard

Have to say, I grew up in a time when Africa was either a National Geographic special or old Tarzan movies. As a kid the version of Africa I was shown frightened me. As a kid, I was afraid of most insects and was certain there back then a trip to Africa would be terrifying with insects the size of guinea pigs. That view of Africa presented to me was so, so very wrong. All I have seen of the continent from North Africa down to Tanzania, is heart poundingly gorgeous and the only insects I have seen on this vast continent were butterflies. I wish more than anything that my first trip overseas had been to Africa. Ila and I will be on a jet headed home tomorrow. I can't wait to come back.