My Other Backyard

I'm lucky enough to live in a part of the country that offers me, the nature photographer, plenty of subject matter to photograph. For some reason I've migrated (forgive the pun) to birds more than any other thing to shoot. What makes me even luckier is to live very close to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. It is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and encompasses the Nisqually River Delta where the river enters the Puget Sound. It's a haven for migratory birds of all sorts and offers wildlife viewing opportunities year-round. When you consider that an annual pass costs only $12 and it's only 6-miles down the road from home - you'll have to agree it's ideal for my needs.

Last year the park started a project to remove dikes that held back tidewater for over 100-years. In late September they breached the dike and allowed the first tidewaters in on what had been farmland reclaimed from the delta. (Click here for a great video) The bad part of this work is it removed a 5.4-mile trail that provided all sorts of birding opportunities. Now that part of the park is inaccessable to us humans. The good news is that starting next month a boardwalk 1-mile in length will be built that will allow us to go back into the current 'no-man's land'.

That 'no-man's land' is where I've taken many of my favorite pictures. On one of our nature walks, my wife (and trusty assistant/human tripod) and I saw a beautiful mature American Bald Eagle sitting atop a dead tree from quite a ways away. As we neared we saw there was an unimproved trail that headed out towards where it was perched. After some slipping and sliding down muddy slopes I found an opening in the tree canopy that provided a clear shot. I give you....



See you next time...