Good Omen
Before I even reached the beginning of the trail, this red tailed hawk showed up as if to welcome me. It flew directly over my head and I barely had time to aim my camera. As I began to make my way down the mile-long trail, I spotted a Northern Harrier hunting in the marsh. I watched it for a while, hoping it would fly within range of my lens, but since it didn’t, I continued down the trail. I reached a bridge that went across a creek in a wooded glen. I noticed a disturbance in the water and stopped to see what might emerge.
Muskrat
It was a first for me to see a wild muskrat and it conjured up memories of that old Captain and Tennille song. After making my way slowly through the wooded area, on alert for more creatures, I came to a bridge over the end of a shallow lake. Out in the lake was a great blue heron. I kept my eye on it while I crossed to the other side of the bridge where the light was better. I saw it holding something in it’s beak and shaking it. It took a little while before I realized it had a snake!
Snake Falls Prey to Blue Heron
I stayed there watching the spectacle until the bird finally flew away with its prize. At this point I thought, well, this has been a good day. I didn’t hope or expect to see anything as exciting. So, at the next viewpoint with a bench, I sat down to have a drink of water and take in the beautiful view of the peak of Mount Hood rising up over the walls of the Columbia River Gorge. Just as I was about to attempt a landscape photograph with no tripod and a telephoto lens, I noticed a large bird soaring in the distance. When I looked through the lens, I couldn’t believe I was watching a bald eagle flying right in front of my view of the mountain.
Bald Eagle and Mount Hood
It was just about then that I knew this day was one of those “jackpots” of wildlife photography. And I hadn’t even reached the end of the trail yet. So on I walked. When I reached the end of the trail, I saw something that finally made me realize why it’s called the Gibbons Creek Art Trail. There are works of art all along the trail. I had been so captivated by the wildlife, I barely noticed the art.
Gibbons Creek Art Trail
And now it was time to walk back on the same trail I had just traversed. Thinking I must have seen it all by now, I walked a bit more quickly. But, I slowed down on the way through the wooded glen. As I looked carefully through the tall grass, I spotted something that looked like an interesting piece of wood on the other side of the creek. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an American Bittern staying very still in hopes of not being seen.
American Bittern Spotlighted
I know first hand how difficult it is to find and photograph these birds because they lived in a tree in my back yard in Yreka for years and I never got one good photograph of them. By now, I was like an addict looking for my next fix. I hadn’t had such a good wildlife day since winter at the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge.
Then, just a bit farther up the trail, I saw this.
Seeing Double
A beautiful doe. But wait, what’s that behind her? A young buck hiding in the tall grass. I saw much more that day, including Northern Flickers, Stellers Jays, and American Kestrels. If you want to see them all, click on the Galleries tab at the top of the page and look through the What’s New gallery. So now that I’ve had a good dose of wildlife photography, I’m ready for more landscapes. And being in the Columbia River Gorge, beautiful landscapes abound. But don’t worry, like a compulsive gambler, I will come back to wildlife eventually–because I’m hooked.
Oh, what day you had!! That is wonderful! Even one of those shots would have been good! But all of them? It was the proof that God exists!