Sun Dogs & Eagles

 

Strange Light Phenomenon

Barbara and her Aunt Judy and I drove around Clallam County today. We had a true field day, taking Covid-housebound Judy out to sightsee the snow covered Olympic Mountains, and as much wildlife as we could locate. We drove along 'Schmuck Road', where elk were mere polka dots in the distance, as were the Trumpeter Swans  (white polka dots, not in photo below).

Elk, far off in AM

Much closer in the PM

Sequim is full of Bald Eagles. During the day they floated & soared all over, and later in the day, a couple of adult baldies sat right by the road, put on a lovely display of nonchalance. They calmly ignored the cars with noisy humans that took photos and pointed excitedly. 

Pose worthy of appearing on a coin

Around noon we drove past the Olympic Game Farm, and had to laugh because even the elk - and bison - that normally loiter near the road, were polka dots in the distance. Had to tease Judy that all the animals were going out of their way to avoid her. When we drove up on the ridge behind the Olympic Game Park the usual yaks that loiter up there were also no where to be seen. Decided it was time to ditch the critters and go to my house for lunch. 

Lunch and a chit-chat in my currently empty box strewn home

It was on the drive to take Judy home, past Schmuck Road, past the Holstein cow dairy and on up hill, that I spied the prism of bright light through some trees. I knew it was something unusual, and I sped up to a tree-free spot to park and get some photos.

The prism was already fading a bit

We knew we were not looking at a rainbow, but what was it? The name 'Sun Dog' came to me, and I was certain I had name wrong. I noticed the light wasn't too far from the sun which was low in the sky, and thank heavens I got a photo of the sun and the prism, because later in the day, the juxtaposition of the sun to the prism allowed me cinch the light's ID. It was a Sun Dog, or its more official name of Parhelion. Sun Dogs are light scattered by ice crystals in the sky. I guess I read about Sun Dogs sometime in my Ravenclaw past but didn't recall precisely what caused them. 

In the photo above, you can just about make out the ring (called a 'Parry Arc')that surrounds the sun, and connects to the Sun Dog at where the 3:00 would be on an analog clock. Below is a photo I lifted off the internet that shows a much better photograph of this phenomenon, with its accompanying pair of Sun Dogs at 9 and 3 o'clock. 

Sun Dogs, Parry Arcs and their ilk are more normally products of the far north where ice crystals are in the atmosphere. Now, it's chilly in Sequim, but today's temperatures were below 40 degrees. The temps were not below freezing range, but what we feel on the ground is not necessarily what's going on up in the atmosphere. Who knew a little Sun doggie would outshine the eagles today?

Is Sequim 'for the birds'?

Loads of new things to discover about living in Northwest Washington state. Nothing surprised me more than how birds, that I consider to be 'common', i.e. easy to find, are not quite as easy to find here as they were in California. Yes, it is likely just a matter of learning the new territory, but still, I have yet to find such 'common' species here, such as the Western Meadowlarks, and such. Where the heck are they? 

On the other side of the coin, there are birds here in Washington that were harder for me to locate in California, but are very nearly 'trash birds' here. For example, there is a Peregrine Falcon that I know to look for in Downtown Port Angeles. The large bird likes to sit atop a tall tree on top of a tree, easily visible from many spots. The proud fowl seems to be enjoying the easy life, living off the numerous downtown pigeons. 

Not that the falcon is always in its spot on the tree top, but it's nice to know it is sometimes there. 

Another bird is easy to find fall & winter, Trumpeter Swans. They seem to enjoy their time gleaning whatever-the-hell-it-is-they-eat, in fields that farmers have harvested. I see large flocks of Trumpeters, their heads a little dirty from digging in vacant corn fields and other harvested crops. 

Foraging Trumpeters in vacant corn field 

Happy gleaners

A spot where aquatic birds of many sort are often found is Ediz Hook in nearby Port Angeles. I was lolling there, in my car waiting for something interesting to fly in, and instead I watched something swim by. Is that a River OTTER?! It was

I got out the car so fast you would have thought it was on fire. I looked around and after a while I spotted the otter again, not to far away, eating a fish it caught. It laid on driftwood and debris just across from where I stood.

I don't know when it is going to be automatic for me to use video instead of still photos. But I took stills, and so how large that fish was, and come to that, what kind of fish it was isn't known. 

The otter seemed a little shy with me watching it, because it climbed down into the water. Then after a couple of minutes it swam over to me, stunning me to the point where I couldn't operate my camera (I was using my android phone). It stared at me for a half a minute or so, then disappeared back from where ever it came.  

Oh well. For all my fussing about birds I have yet to find up here, I have to say, while it took me twenty something years to get my California Yard bird list up to 48, it only taken a few months to get my Washington bird yard list up into the forties.  AND my WA yard list includes Bald Eagles galore, Townsends Solitaire, California Quail and a delightful host of others. 

Hooded Mergansers hard to find in Sacramento, but abundant in Sequim