The test of winter, both for my spirits and my camera, is the paucity of light. Broadly speaking it’s not just the pervasive gloaming and mid-afternoon sunsets, but the all-too-sudden blanching of the terrain—how suddenly October blue and gold bleeds away to the dun of November, then freezes, melts, and freezes again for three months on end. Throw in the added darkness of the Covid quarantine and, well, you can have quite a bummer on your hands.
One antidote (aside from winter poetry, which is of no use to the camera) is the fleeting miracle of alpenglow with its dazzling spectrum from neon plum to electric tangerine. Another is winter birds and especially the exquisitely-dressed diving ducks: the Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, and Mergansers that are more prevalent in the colder months. I’ll leave it to the biologists to explain why they stay. It’s enough for me to learn how to improve my chances of bringing them into focus, to move gently through the thorny brush, and be willing to laugh and learn from the quotient of failure. All the while counting the days until spring arrives.
It is hard to improve upon the sleek beauty of mergansers, and the regal wardrobe of Great Blue Herons, but by early December I was looking forward to my near daily visits with a bachelor Barrow’s Goldeneye, whom I nicknamed Gordy, just for fun.
Latah Creek, where I found him, drains a large section of the northern Palouse. During winter rain and snowmelt periods the water rises quickly and churns to caramel with Palouse soil. Gordy, like the other diving ducks, was a reliable visitor during the periods of calmer, clear water but, as you’d expect of a proper diving duck, took flight for cleaner water when the creek became swollen. By early February he and the other Goldeneyes had moved on. Blessedly there were other visitors, most with feathers, some with icy wet fur, and some with skis, snowshoes, or boots like mine.–tjc
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Tundra Swans during fall migration at the Slavin Natural AreaLower Latah Creek flowing north toward Spokane in mid-winterGordy the (Barrow’s) Goldeneye, checking me out in early DecemberGordy popping to the surface with a bit of a snack. We’ll call it duckweedFemale Common Merganser swimming (and diving) soloHeron with ice pendant, Lower Latah CreekCurious river otter, ice on his whiskers, lower Latah CreekMale Hooded Merganser cruising upstreamIce on branch of Red twig DogwoodGordy boosting himself to get a better view down the creekThe front end of a small armada of mostly male Goldeneyes in early winterGreat Blue Heron assembling for take-off
A pair of female Goldeneyes heading upstream on a calm winter dayMale Hooded Merganser near the Marne Bridge in early winterFrost in the marsh at the Turnbull National Wildlife RefugeMature beaver, headed north, on an icy day in FebruaryA Bewick’s wren (pronounced Buick) checking me out in a creekside thicketGordy swimming during a light snowfallIce on rocksMoose snacking on Red Twig Dogwood, Turnbull NWRGreat Blue Heron, focused and fashionable against the winter chillA quintet of Tundra Swans on a half-frozen scabland lake in late FebruaryBrown Creeper picking small insects from pine bark near the Sandifur Bridge natural area in west SpokaneLow-flying Belted Kingfisher
Frozen marsh and lakebed, western Spokane CountyFlexing Trumpeter Swan during late winter migration at Turnbull NWRTrumpeter Swan working its way onto an ice shelf at the Turnbull NWRIce on woodCalifornia Quail in a snowy thicket in mid-FebruaryA chatty Magpie briefly holding straight and still on a Locust branchRobin making the best of a late winter snowburstThe Heron’s Bad Hair DayTrumpeter swan at Turnbull NWR
Ice grommets on red twigSong Sparrow, fluffed against the cold, in a mid-winter day in the brushHooded Merganser pair popping up from a diveGreat Blue explaining the art of fishingA female Common Merganser taking flightTundra Swans near SpragueWestern Meadowlark signing from a stalk of Wooly Mullein along the Whitman/Adams county line in early MarchTundra Swans taking flight
What a beautiful psalm, Pentecost of joy, random act of kindness, senseless act of beauty, virtuoso solo. Sing on, you hardy full throat singer.
Magnificent lives, perfectly attuned to place and season. Many thanks!