The Birds of Cape Disappointment

In mid-June I got a new camera!  My first full-frame DLSR!  (For those of you who are not photographers this is a big deal, at least to me).

Of course I couldn't wait to try out my new toy.   It didn't take long for an opportunity to present itself.  The following Friday my neighbor invited me to accompany her on a bird-watching trip to the coast.

White-crowned sparrow

 

My neighbor was hoping to find some pelicans to photograph.  But our first stop, Fort Stevens State Park on the northern Oregon coast, was a huge bust.

Caspian Terns

 

Undeterred, she suggested we cross over the Columbia River into Washington and see what was happening bird-wise at Cape Disappointment.  After photographing waves there on New Year's Day (which after all that's happened, seemed so long ago) I was game.

Terns hanging out on the beach

 

We parked near one of the beaches at Cape Disappointment State Park, loaded up our camera gear and set out to find us some birds.  On our way to the sand, I spotted a cute little White-crowned sparrow who posed so nicely for me I had to take it's picture.

Tern with a fish

 

Once we reached the beach, my neighbor and I walked towards the crashing waves.  Suddenly she spotted a large cluster of birds sitting on the sand.  They were a flock of Caspian Terns which are not a species one sees everyday.

"Hey Bob, those weird ladies with cameras are at it again!"

 

These birds were taking turns flying over the ocean, diving down and catching small fish in their beaks.  My new camera got it's first real workout trying to capture the terns in flight with fish in their mouths.

Sleeping seagulls

 

A little further down the beach we came upon a large flock of unusual seagulls.  Instead of being all white these were partially gray.  My neighbor didn't know what type of gulls these were, but the birds didn't seem to mind two ladies with cameras snapping away.

Seagull telling someone off

 

Most of the seagulls were tucked up trying to sleep.  If one of us got too close, the birds would get up and walk a short distance away before settling down into napping position once again.

No one wants to play with this guy

 

The gulls were so used to people, we were able to get really close and capture some funny shots.  Like the one above.  It looked as if none of the other gulls wanted anything to do with this guy.

Tern in flight

 

After awhile we wandered back to the terns and got a few more photos of the birds in flight.  They were a lot of fun to watch.

Tern and ocean view

 

 And I got more practice trying to capture moving birds.  Not easy!

My favorite in-flight shot

 

I can't tell you how many photos I took just to get one good image.  Good thing I shoot digital and not film.

Osprey with his lunch

 

As we were walking back to the car my neighbor spotted an osprey sitting atop a nearby tree.  The osprey had a fish in his talons, and a crow was trying to steal it from him.  Trying to escape the pesky crow, he flew our way and landed on another tree right in front of us.  As the osprey resumed his lunch, my neighbor and I snapped images like crazy.  Opportunities like this don't happen very often!

Osprey taking his lunch elsewhere

 

Finally, the osprey got tired of the paparazzi and took his lunch elsewhere.  But my neighbor and I now had full memory cards and were ready to head home.  A successful day on the coast and my new camera performed like a dream.  I'm looking forward to many more photo shoots.