Birds of the San Juan Islands

I've been a bit remiss in getting these images up. These are some of the photos my father has been taking over the last several weeks up in the San Juans (a group of islands near Seattle, WA--you get there by ferry out of Bellingham). My folks have a cabin up there and spend the summer months in a less urban environment. I wish I could visit it more, but the air fares in August will clean you right out--often times the plane tickets are double the price of other seasons.

But my parents are up there right now, and since my father bought his Canon S2-IS, he's been shooting the local birds, and has gotten some great shots.

First, a Belted Kingfisher:

I love these birds, and would like to get this detailed a shot of the Kingfishers here in Tokyo. Then there's the Great Blue Heron, which is similar to Japan's Grey Heron in many ways:

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Note the feather in its bill--it was just preening.

Here's another one, different coloring, and a different angle:

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...And a nice picture of one on the water:

One more seabird for today: some Heerman's Gulls:

That's all for today--more to come soon!