Who's Looking At Who?

With the weather staying nice I had no reason not to go down and walk my new favorite loop near the red-tailed hawk pair. I'm beginning to wonder if these hawks aren't watching me as much as I watch them, as Ruth (RTH2) seems especially curious and always circles above me a few times every time I'm there. I'm no longer sure if I find her or she finds me!

Perhaps I'm anthropomorphizing a bit, but taking a closer look at this photo confirms I'm not the only one doing the observing. Her head is turned down and her eye is looking right at me! Click on the photo to see a larger version, which also gives you a better look at those gorgeous tail feathers.

No matter where you live, one can still get bogged down in some of the issues that surround you in daily life, whether its chores or stress or dealing with people. I try to make a point every so often to really take a good look around and not take it for granted that I live in an amazingly beautiful place. The other day, in the middle of a walk in the warm sunshine, was one of these moments, and you can see how rough life is for me here in the on San Juan Island:

Also, a brief update on the orcas. All three Southern Resident pods have been seen in the area in February, an unusual time of year for them to be around. Not enough salmon where they usually are in the winter, or more salmon here now? It sounds a recent local salmon fishing derby was a big success, so maybe the whales around to take advantage of those fish too. Two new calves have been seen - designated J44 and L112 - but as of yet the mothers are not confirmed. Also, as was feared late last fall, it looks like male L57 is not with them at this time. To see some amazing aerial video footage, check out this clip of L-Pod from the King5 News Helicopter this afternoon down in Puget Sound.