New Year...For the birds

Sandhill Crane - Mark

Here we are again. At the beginning of another new year. Time to reflect on all the ups and downs of the past year and wonder what the upcoming year has in store. Or not, as the case may be. For some it's time to nurse your hangover and pray that at some point early during the next year you will stop feeling like you died a slow painful death inside a toilet bowl. For me, any year that doesn't begin with breast cancer surgery is already off to a good start. So in the spirit of something-or-other I decided to make a few resolutions this year:

1. Set aside time to be creative; write, paint, knit, play flute
2. Exercise more, lose weight, drink less (the last one would probably accomplish the first two)
3. Try to avoid becoming a stereotypical 40-something "stay-at-home mum" (not as easy as it sounds)
4. Listen more and talk less

I like the new year. It is an opportunity to close the door on the past year and make a somewhat fresh start (although admittedly this feeling usually wears off by mid-January). For some reason I sense change this year. But then, as someone once said, nothing endures but change.

We've had a good holiday. Not quite the relaxing time we'd hoped for because we still had people coming and going for River's intervention. But it was mainly peaceful.

On Wednesday we got out to one of our favourite places, the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. It was an extremely cold (and I mean bloody cold) but bright, sunny day. I lost feeling in my feet, but the kids love feeding the ducks that follow you along the trail in their comical waddling way, waiting for you to throw seeds. The views from the lookout tower were spectacular - even if I was terrified and freezing all the way up and down. Among the highlights was walking down a path and coming face to...errr....beak with 3 very impressive Sandhill Cranes.

'ello, 'ello, 'ello - what's all this then?

They didn't seem worried about our presence at all. Very beautiful and majestic birds.

The Great Horned Owl was turned towards us this time, looking down from its roost with the sort of distracted interest that owls seem to have.

Then there were the Lesser Snow Geese that winter here, flying back and forth from the Fraser River estuary and the Skagit River estuary in Washington. The birds fly 4000 km from Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean, north of Siberia. Thousands upon thousands of birds; an estimated 75,000 this year. Although now the bulk of the birds are on the Skagit River estuary, so we have to revisit the sanctuary in March when they return.


Lesser Snow Geese

Upon some unseen signal a flock of 20,000 or so birds will fly up in a dense noisy swarm; becoming a dark swirling, moving cloud that swoops this way and that, one minute white and the next in shadow. It is really something spectacular to see and hear. The sound is very difficult to describe, but it completely fills the space between you and them. (One of these days I will compile a list of my favourite sounds). Here are some more pics, mostly taken by Mark.

for the birds...

Going up the tower

Me, w' mi babbies

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!