Piebald Deer

 

Surprise! Just when the beauty of Washington takes on a blasé air, something really interesting will either scamper across the road or pop up out of the shrubbery. Thus one ought not have been surprised to see, not one, but a pair of piebald Mule Deer walking about near the entryway to Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. 

The second piebald deer was nearby

The second deer had less spotting. It had the ambiance of an Appaloosa pony. Does it look like an Appaloosa to you too?

They're Back

Group of Adults and dusky gray juveniles. These birds
 showed up on my brother's birthday, Nov 9th, 2021

Trumpeter Swans are HUGE. When they are standing near Canada Geese, the geese look like ducks. The only swan you can see in the states that is larger are Whoopers... which occasionally fly from Asia into the western bits of  Alaska.

The annual excitement of the waiting for the Trumpeters began in September. The return took took forever... OK, took until November, for the Trumpeter's arrival. Now they are here though, scattered around Sequim, rarely solitary, they group up from 20 birds to a few hundred. 

Elk seen from Schmuck Road

On the way home from the grocery store, I love to drive up Schmuck Road (yes, that's the name) where I can see wild Roosevelt Elk, and numerous species of waterfowl in the agricultural fields along the road. 

But one morning on my to the grocery store, only a mile or so from my place, there were nearly 100 Trumpeters in a field off East Anderson Road. I pulled off the road and sat watching, photographing and video taping the lolling Swans. Their amiable chatter is enchanting. Listen, and see if you can understand their morning chit-chat.