Mount Rainier Nat'l Park

Hello and Happy Thursday!

I am sharing some images from our first few days April 30-May3rd in Washington state and our visit to Mount Rainier Nat'l Park. We were happy the weather cooperated and we saw some blue skies along with the gray cloudy days. I have some common birds seen in Washington along with some pretty sky images.

One of the common Washington States birds we saw was this Oregon Junco below, they are cute.

A view of the mountains with a blue sky. As you go up the curvy mountain road you leave the greenery behind and end up with snow all around you.

We saw lots of white trillium along with some pink trillium in places.

Another view of our walk on the Trail of the Shadows, Mount Rainier Nat'l Park. This is at Longmire and an elevation of 2,761 feet.

The American Robin was one of the most common birds we saw during the whole trip.

A Belted Kingfisher seen during one of our walks along the river.

During our stay we saw blue skies and cloudy gray skies, either way the scenery and views were beautiful.  We even saw some snow flurries.

At the park we headed to the where the snow plows had stopped clearing the roads. Some roads were not supposed to open until the end of May or June.

Inside looking out from the Paradise Visitor Center, Mount Rainier Nat'l Park. You can see the snow piled up near the bottom of the window.

Paradise Visitor Center, Mount Rainier Nat'l Park is at an elevation of 5,400 feet.

For my list of thankful things this week:
I am thankful the weather was nice during our trip. After we left this area we heard they closed the road to the Paradise visitor center due to the warm weather could cause the snow to drop off like an avalanche into the road.
I am thankful we had good timing for our activities.


I hope you enjoyed my post and photos.  Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments. Have a happy day!

Thank you Michelle for hosting. Thankful Thursday

Thank you to the hosts of   Skywatch Friday

Dark-Eyed Junco

For this week's post I have the Dark-eyed Junco.

I am linking up my  post with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, this was our first White Christmas in years. In fact this Christmas Eve snow was the more than the whole 1.8 inches we had during the 2011-2012 season.

One of my winter birds, the Dark-eyed Junco. On a snowy day I seem to have even more Junco's in my yard. The male above is slaty gray overall and lores only slightly darker.

From my Oregon vacation this past summer this shot above is of the Oregon Junco,  you can see a difference between the Oregon Junco and my Dark-eyed Junco above. The Oregon Junco has a jet black hood and a brown back.

Back in my yard I have the male and  female which is more brownish in color.

And to throw in even more confusion above is a Gray-headed Junco I saw during a trip to Bryce Canyon in Utah. Definitely a difference seen on the Gray-headed Junco is their Rufous back.


Other Junco's that can be seen are the Pink-sided Junco and there is a Yellow-eyed Junco. It is interesting there are so many versions of the Junco.

To see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!

Favorite Mt Hood Scenes

I am linking up up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

These are some of my favorite scenes and shots of our to vacation. I have some shots of Mt Hood, Mirror Lake, some wildflowers, some of the birds were a Clarks Nutcracker and the Oregon Junco.

The Oregon Junco's seem to also be pretty common birds. This one looks to be feeding a juvie?

Timberline lodge plaque, Mt Hood, Clarks Nutcracker, Timberline Lodge, ski slope, skiers

Mirror Lake, large spruce trees and moss, wildflowers, bridge

Pretty reflection of Mt Hood on Mirror Lake.

The trail to Mirror lake. Along the trail I could hear various bird calls. I believe a common bird was the Veery. Edited: I was corrected about the Veery sounds, it was a Swainson Thrush I was hearing. Thanks Jen!

The Chestnut Chickadee a new lifer for me were everywhere we went. I could also hear and see the nuthatches.

To see more wonderful mosaics please visit Mary's Mosaic Monday  and to see photos and scenes from around the world at Our World Tuesday.
Thanks to Mary our host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting gang at Our World: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy.
Thank you for stopping by my blog and I wish everyone a HAPPY week ahead.

Oregon birds..Columbia Gorge

I am linking up with Our World Tuesday
and Wild Bird Wednesday

Last week I had a fun vacation in Oregon visiting the Columbia River Gorge area, Mt Hood and the beautiful Oregon coastline. We spent the first three nights near the Columbia River Gorge Area, we used the town of Troutdale as our base for our visit. There were many hikes to waterfalls and beautiful scenic views of the Columbia River. This river splits the state of Oregon from the state of Washington. I am starting my post off with some of the Columbia River Gorge birds I saw and a few waterfall shots.

Click on the photo if you would like to see a larger image

This is the Multnomah Falls, the trail leads up to the middle of the falls and to the top.

Multnomah Falls drops in two major steps. The upper falls is 542 ft and the lower falls is just 69 feet. A trail leads to the footbridge which allows visitors to cross over the lower falls. There is a lodge, restaurant and visitor center on site.

This American Dipper was near the stream near the Oneonta Falls. We stopped here the first day to check out the hike to the Oneonta Falls. One must climb over a large log jam and then walk upstream to get to see the Oneonta Falls. Hubby did do this hike and I will show more of the waterfalls on another post.

The American Dipper is found near streams, it is a chunky slate-colored bird. I noticed and captured the flashing eyelid on the shot above. At the Oneonta Gorge area I saw a few of these birds. I was thinking I came across a family.

 The bird above looks like a juvie thrush to me but I am not sure. If any one can help with the id, I would appreciate the help. Edited, thanks to Jen id help the bird above is a Swainson's Thrush.

The Oregon Junco is another bird I heard and saw often.  The Oregon Junco has a dark black head with rusty sides.This Junco was seen hanging around the visitor center at the Multnomah Falls.The Oregon Junco is a lifer for me since I only see the Dark-eyed Slate Junco in Maryland.

The scenic overlooks of the Columbia River were all gorgeous stops along the Columbia River Gorge highway.



To see more photos from around the world visit: Our World Tuesday and to see birds from around the world check out Wild Bird Wednesday.  Thanks to the hosting group of Our World: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy. And Stewart our host of Wild Bird Wednesday. Thanks, also for stopping by to see my post.