On Friday, Nov 2, 2012 the weather was again trying to be nice.  I set off in the early afternoon with some good intermittent sun, but it didn't last long.  The weather continued to deteriorat all afternoon until it began sprinkling by about 6pm and the precipitation got increasingly heavier after that.  But by that time I already had some photos in the bag!

First up, a Red-tailed hawk... probably the same one I photographed (and I think posted) last week.  I drove past the hawk, turned around to make another pass but it was now on the wrong side of the car.  So I turned around again and when I got back to the area where it had been it was gone.  I looked around but didn't see it so again turned around.  On my way back to my main route I glanced to the side of the road and there, just into the field, was the hawk on the ground and it was obvious it had some prey.  I took several shots but another car came along, swung wide around me and slowed to see what I was photographing.  This was too much for the hawk and it flew, and as it did I took photos of it in flight.  In processing my photos I could see that it was carrying a rather fat field mouse.

This may be my best photo of a flying hawk!  

 I encountered another American kestrel (this was in addition to the one I mentioned in a prior post), and this one flew to a power line and was in the process of landing when I took this photo... 

I went back to a bush thicket near the Swinomish Channel where I've gone for my last several outings and took photos of this Fox sparrow... 

this Golden-crowned sparrow...

... and this Song sparrow eating berries.  

 

 I next made my way over to Fir Island where I found our winter crop of Snow geese... thousands of them.  I took a lot of photos of them flying.  Unfortunately the weather had deteriorated to the point that the sun was no longer shining, but the white of the geese's feathers provided enough light for photos of them flying.