Category: Port Townsend, WA

Hawk Visit

Are you looking at me?

As I was reading the morning news the other day, I was startled by a small bird hitting the window. Always sad when that happens, but when I looked up I saw a larger bird land on the top of our fence. The hawk that was chasing the small bird was nervous about coming closer to the house. But it was still interested in the small bird … it hung around for a bit, but eventually flew off. But not before I had time to get my camera out and snap a few shots. I spent a bunch of time trying to determine if it was a Cooper’s Hawk or a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. My best guess (but still a guess) is Sharp-Shinned.

Fence Top Hawk
Leaping Hawk

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Partial Rainbows

Partial Rainbow 1

I expect that partial rainbows are much more common than full rainbows. We get both kinds pretty often here in Port Townsend … one of the advantages of our frequently rainy weather (and there aren’t many). But I saw several in a couple of days the last week or so. The rain plus broken clouds did the trick.

Partial Rainbow 2

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Bull Kelp

Bull Kelp

Bull Kelp is a very common seaweed in Puget Sound and provides some important protection for young salmon … and important nutrients for the food chain. It is an annual … what you see here is just the top of a mass of kelp (you can see some of it in the water running down to the left lower corner. A lot of the bull kelp will wash up onto beaches where young kids try to play crack-the-whip with it.

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The Strait meets the Sound

The Strait of Juan de Fuca meets Puget Sound

Port Townsend (where I live) is at the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets Puget Sound… and at the top of what is referred to as the Admiralty Inlet area.

This image shows the area where the two bodies of water meet. In the distance is Whidbey Island and above it Mt Baker, the northern-most of the stratovolcanoes of the Washington Cascades. Tidal currents in the area can reach 6 knots. (Canoes and kayaks beware!)

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