Living in the great
Pacific Northwest affords ample opportunity to see up-close and personally
a wide variety of sea birds. I am referring to all those winged creatures
that inhabit the shorelines and forests near the ocean. From the
magnificent Bald Eagle to the diving, water loving Cormorants, they fascinate
me. As a child in the mid-west, I saw an occasional seagull.
Of course, I knew they were ocean going birds. I had also heard the
story of the miraculous rescue of the Mormon farm land in Utah..
Still, I wondered why the gulls were so far from the sea. I came
to find out that they were wandering inland from the mighty Lake Michigan.
Wherever there was water, there they were. In school I saw photos
and read of the comical looking puffins that inhabit shorelines in various
parts of the world. Sanderlings, Sandpipers and their relatives were
intriguing. I found myself longing to go to the places where they
existed in reality.
My opportunity arose in the late 1960's when
my husband and I took our two sons to visit his parents in Washington state.
We met at the beach for an impromtu picnic. As I listened to the
waves roaring, another distinctive sound grabbed my attention. Was
that a small dog
"As I listened...another distinctive
sound grabbed my attention."
barking? No, it was above my head. There they were, hundreds
of seagulls squawking and whirling and doing seagull antics.
More trips to the seaside gradually introduced
me to the winged denizens I had read about as a child. There were
the black Cormorants, dipping for their meals and when satiated, would
stand on rocks or pilings and extend their wings to dry. There were
the tiny sandpipers, scurrying forth and |
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back at the edge of each breaking wave, stopping
abruptly to dip beaks into the sand for a tender morsel before bustling
off again, this time in the opposite direction, as fast as their little
short legs could carry them. I became aquainted with the habits of
the large graceful Great Blue Heron and his relative, the White Egret.
While I have yet to see for myself the Puffins in their natural habitat,
or experience the awe of observing an American Bald Eagle soar overhead,
I've talked to people who have done so.
Recently there have been flocks of California
Brown Pelicans migrating to the Northwest Coast. I love to watch
them glide over the waves with wings nearly touching the tumbling surface.
"... the awe of observing an
American Bald Eagle soar overhead."
These are but a small sampling of the shore
and surf fowl that I have been priveleged to see since I moved to Washington
State. As I study them, I sketch and paint them. They are as
much a part of the scene as the cliffs and rocks, the rolling surf, and
crashing waves. The plaintive cries of the seagull harmonize with
the chirruping of the tiny sanderlings. Flashing white and grey flocks
counterpoint the rock-steady quiet poise of the Great Blue Heron.
In sunlight and under cloudy skies, these creatures are an enduring part
of the ocean scene. I am eagerly looking for those puffins, and hope
one day to see a magnificent eagle touch down on the shore and stride elegantly
across the sand. Get paint and canvas ready, Carol, that day may
just be tomorrow!
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