Saturday, April 21, 2012

Fir Island, WA

For spring break, F and I headed north to my favorite spot: the Pacific Northwest. During our brief but relaxing stay, I hooked up with my blogging buddy Dave from WildFidalgo who introduced me to beautiful Fir Island in the southwestern corner of Skagit County. Fir Island is an important habitat for wildlife. The Canadian snow geese make it their resting place during the winter months when they can be seen by the thousands as they feed in the many agricultural fields. The wildlife preserve is a wonderful place to do birdwatching, which is what we did. We parked in one of the lots and strolled along the dikes. Solitude surrounded us except for the many chirping birds, quacking ducks, and, crying eagles.  It was still early in the season, so the trees were bare, but that allowed us better views of the birds and waterways. Here's a quick tour of the surroundings, (sorry you bird lovers, my lens wasn't quite able to capture those little critters!)
Starting out along one of the dikes...
That's an eagle's nest in the tree on the left side of the photo...
The waterways opening up to the bay...
The Skagit Bay estuary with the snowcapped Olympic Peninsula off in the distance...
A tree tunnel forming along one of the old dikes...
Heading back to the parking lot...
Calm waters...
Pretty spring flowers lined the trail...
After we left the wildlife preserve behind, we stopped to photograph Fir Conway Lutheran Church...
Daffodils left over from the Easter Sunday celebration...
Blue skies!
Check out Dave's blog where you can view gorgeous shots of the Canadian snow geese. And if you ever find yourself roaming around the Skagit Valley, do check out wonderful Fir Island. You won't be disappointed!

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