saltlake-sunvalley-portland-rockaway-hoquiam-seattle-boise-saltlake

the pacific northwest is easy to love.

birds identified on this trip:

red-breasted merganser (first time!)
hooded merganser
barrow's goldeneye (first time!)
bufflehead
mallard
american wigeon
great blue heron
bald eagle
swainson's hawk
red-tailed hawk
northern harrier
american kestrel
raven
eared grebe
fulmar or petrel? (ah, seabirds i don't know! it had a sad petrel eye, and was floating alone)
black-billed magpie
rough-legged hawk
flocks of finches and starlings

also saw a chaos coyote in sun valley on a misty river morning.

i don't think i would have been able to identify half of these animals if it weren't for holiday binoculars from my boy and my copy of sibley's from my parents.