Elevators of the Marine Kind

May 3, 2017

Teri took me for a short visit to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks that ferry boats from kayaks to ships up to 760 feet long and 26 feet wide from the level of Puget Sound to the level of Salmon Bay, a 26' difference, in 10 - 15 minutes.

This day turned into a day so clear we could see all the way to snow covered mountains

When we arrived, a tug pushing a barge with piles of gravel on it was just entering the lock.  The pictures will tell the rest of the story.

Tug and barge entering the lock - water is the same level as the water behind the tug

Tug boat and barge are inside the lock and the gates are starting to close.

The gates continue to close and the tug/barge slowly move forward to just before the next gate -
 watch the green on the side walls of the lock

A lock worker has a rope attached to the barge and is walking across the lock from our position

Hostess Teri watches as the tugboat and barge pull up almost to the front gate

In a short time - I think only 10-12 minutes, the water has almost lifted the combo 26 feet up -
 it will get to the top of the green

The front gate opens - when closed, they form walkways across the locks

The gates have opened in the front and the barge has started to exit

Heading out of the lock

Besides the large lock, there is a smaller one that takes care of most of the private boats.

In the small lock

Ships pass from low to high and then the next seems to pass from high to low so the water can be used for ships in each direction without having to be changed.

A tour boat enters the lock - touring via this boat would be another fun adventure

Waiting to use the locks

All are welcome here

 Besides the locks, there is a dam and on the far side are fish ladders. Saddly, this is not yet the season for fish to be using them.

The dam with a wet walkway over it to the fish ladders on the far side and then to a park area where people were sunbathing

View from the dam crossing

These are almost to the fish ladders

Fish on tiles in the room with windows to watch fish swimming up the fish ladders

The park area on the far side of the locks and dam has a great blue heron rookery.  We counted some 20 nests there. The birds are just about to sit on eggs.  Many birds were on the nests but some nest watchers didn't think nesting had started yet as many birds were still bringing in sticks. 

I can (barely) see you hiding in the nest

View from the fish ladder side of the locks- the dam is just behind the greenery

This is a free site. and is one of the top ten things to see in Seattle.  The commercial ships fund everything,  including a lovely visitor center with great displays and informative videos. You will have to pay for parking, though.  There is also a small botanical garden on the grounds but we ran out of time before we got to it.

And the designer of the locks, Hiram M. Chittenton, designed other stuff, including the Yellowstone Arch and its road system.

Birding in Washington State with Friends Old and New

May 2, 2017

I am taking  a very circuitous migration route to Red Rock Lake National Wildlife Area in Montana. I came to Seattle to visit a dear friend I met while volunteering at Malheur NWR who I usually see once a year when she comes to visit me. (And I've managed to visit three other friends on the way and have one more meet up planed this weekend before finally reaching my summer home next Monday.)

Teri has been very good to me, taking me to the Seattle Market, to Bainbridge Island via a ferry, where we visited a lovely art museum and were awed by feather art - more later.) Yesterday we went birding until the rains sent us home to nap.  Today we went birding at the Stillwater Unit of Snoqualmie Wildlfe Area, run by the state of Washington. We went on a birding trip led by members of the local Audubon Chapter, including one of Teri's friends that we met up with while she was visiting me in Yellowstone National Park.  It was good to get to visit with him again.

I loved the trees which were festooned with other plants

We started off the trip, walking along a levy, looking for American bitterns.  I think we found a female first and a male a little later because only the second one was calling to both mark his territory and to advertise for a mate. Out leaders had scoped out the area the previous day and showed us pictures of a male also displaying a set of white, fluffy feather, that sort of made a band of white over his shoulders. We didn't see that behavior today but the female was within sight of him yesterday and we think he may only do that when females are watching.

Hunting for whatever birds they can find

I believe this bird was a female because it didn't call

This bird called repeatedly

I loved the trip because everyone was happy to spend a long time, both looking over an area and then lingering to observe bird behavior. 

My favorite birds were the red breasted sapsuckers.  I took a picture of the hole when we first went past it because it was so beautiful in between shelf fungus and with a pile of sawdust on the fungus. Then one bird went into the hole and we waited until it came  and sat with sawdust in its mouth, right at the hole entrance.  Then another bird flew in and landed beside the hole. 

The nest builder taking a break

The second bird

The pair

One of three pine siskins that were playing near the sapsucker hole

A black capped chickadee

We saw lots of tree swallows

Who were also setting up housekeeping

We enjoyed watching a pair of hooded merganser males

A mallard female and a Canada goose share a log

The only hereon we found was this great blue, sitting high in a tree

Another fun happening was finding four otters on a log. They were rolling around on each other on the log, then all went into the water and came closer to scope us out. 

The otters - too far for a decent picture

Up periscope

Just what ARE you doing>

Bullfrogs, an introduced invasive species were also present, but not calling

We saw or here lots more species including several species of sparrows, including the coveted Harris sparrow, looking very dapper in his courting clothes.  We also had a few flyovers of Vaux's swifts.  I haven't yet gotten the eBird list shared with me so I'm not sure of the total number of species.  But I expect it will be about thirty.  It was a very good day indeed. 

I'm linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday.  Click on the picture below to access lots of great bird blogs from around the world.

Arizona-Sonora Dessert Museum

April 22, 2017

One of my favorite places to visit is the Arizona-Sonora Dessert Museum in Tucson, Arizona. Since I was planning to take a southern route west so I could camp out at least some of the nights, it was a no brainer to plan a stop there.

I also have a blogger and Facebook friend who lives there and works as a docent at the museum. We ALMOST got to meet a second time and hang out together at the museum but then I had to leave a day late and she had previous commitments. 

This place is mostly an outdoor garden with a little bit of zoo thrown it.  It features the plants and animals of the Arizona -Sonora Dessert. (I've never had time to make it to the mineral collections. )

But this is what they advertise: 

The 98 acre Desert Museum is a fusion experience: zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, natural history museum, and aquarium.

• 21 interpreted acres with two miles of walking paths through various desert habitats
• 230 animal species
• 1,200 types of plants — 56,000 individual specimens
• One of the world's most comprehensive regional mineral collections

One of my favorite things about this place is that it opens at 7:30 A.M., giving you time to see a lot of it before the bright, sharp Tucson son makes the shadows sharp and you hot. 

I always have to spend several minutes in the parking lots which are beautifully landscaped with native plants, many in bloom. 

Then I head to the two aviaries, enjoying what I find along the way. Then it's time to check in on the big cats and the mountain goats. Finally, I go inside to see the otters, cats, dessert fox, and snakes, as well as fish that live in the riparian areas. 

Come along.

Seguaro blooms bring in the bees

Not sure if the woodpecker is after the nectar or the bees

Barrel cactus blooms

Cacti and succulent plants for pollinators 

Think this is an Anna's hummingbird

Some volunteers get to share the raptors with the public - barn owl

White winged dove

Another blooming cactus

I was surprised to see black-bellied whistling ducks have expended their territory to Arizona

California quail

One of the dozen hummers of several species in the hummingbird avery

The new mountain goat kid

Dragonfly

A very happy bee

Cactus flower and "leaves"

Glorious

Dessert fox taking a nap

Pair of bobcats

I took a quick trip to the neighboring Saguaro National Park which is adjacent to the museum but further up the hill a few miles. 

The Visitor Center

Shadow pattern on the visitor center patio

A view from the patio

Sorry for the late post but I'm visiting several friends.  I am in Seattle now, but I visited a fellow voluteer in Portland, then we both had supper with one of my bosses from Malheur.  Then I promised to meet another old boss, thinking she was in Seattle, but she was in Spokane, so I had another full day of driving, including a three hour delay on the highway. And then, of course, we are spending most of each day playing.