This Earth Week, I celebrate the beauty of wildlife from our home on the shore of the Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest.
Even as the greedy Powers that Be seem intent on destroying what remains of the natural world, we bear witness to the resilience and beauty of the wild creatures we are so lucky to live among here on the edge of the vibrant sea. When Thor and I acquired this land — a rare high-bank waterfront parcel along Semiahmoo Drive just south of the Canadian border — the previous owner had illegally clearcut, and it was mostly rubble and stumps. The county required us to plant and protect a native-plant buffer, which we call our Wild Zone. We love the beauty of the plants like the pink-blooming wild currant bushes, and so much bird and other animal life it supports.
Thor built a (removeable) swinging cabana at the edge of the Wild Zone so we could watch the seabirds, seals, and whales up close. This spring we’ve been lucky to spot several pods of migrating gray whales as they passed close to our home. A couple days ago, while eating dinner on our deck, we first heard loud snorting from the sea, then spotted the spouting whales passing by, surfacing and blowing:
The whales migrate from winter birthing in Baja California to summer feeding in the Arctic. On the way, they cruise into Semiahmoo Bay to feed on the shallow bottom by turning sideways and scraping up small crustaceans. A large pod followed along the other day while I was wading (needed my mermaid fix of the sea) along Semiahmoo Spit, looking toward the Canadian mountains across the bay.
Seals are regular visitors when lower tides reveal rocks for basking in the sun. They will hang out until the rising tide floats them off.
Seabirds like these cormorants also like the rocks.
Our resident pair of bald eagles nests and hangs out in our neighbor’s fir tree. The other day, we watched their brief mating dance up there, accompanied by a lot of “singing” afterwards.
Bats and owls visit during the evening, but occasionally we see owls in the daytime, too. Here’s a barred owl:
And a grumpy-looking great horned owl. Thor was doing his “hoo-whoo” call, and the owl did not look amused.
So many songbirds flit, nest, and sing here!
Thor’s favorite, the hummingbirds:
Driving home the other day past nearby Drayton estuary, we saw an unusually large group of great blue herons fishing at low tide.
Can’t forget the adorable bunnies munching in our yard and sheltering in our Wild Zone. Hopefully they are watching out for that great horned owl.
And we can’t forget the garter snakes sunning, and the lovely spring songs of the tree frogs.
Good night and gratitude from our aerie over the sea!
(photo credit: Most of the animal photos were taken by Thor Hansen, with his telephoto camera.)
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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and an International Pulpwood Queens Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). It’s also a love letter to the stunning beauty of her native Pacific Northwest wild places. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
