かなりアクティブなしゅうまつをすごしました。- I had a pretty active weekend. 

I went

back to the state park on Saturday and then went skiing today. The weather was great on both days.

Let me tell you about yesterday first. I went back to the lake where I had that amazing experience seeing so many birds, including dozens of bald eagles in March. That was the craziest day in my life as far as bird watching. I was curious what it was like a month later, so I paid the park another visit. 

Things were much quieter. At first I did not see much at all, there were some water birds out in the distance, but that was about it, nothing compared to the sight back then. In the course of the afternoon, however, I did get some nice photo opportunities.

First, I spotted a yellow-rumped warbler (#1). Then there were still a few pelicans cruising around, and I had fun trying to capture them in a nice light. Next, I came upon a herd of mule deer. It was funny, because they emerged from the thicket onto the trail in front of me. As I kept walking they just followed the trail keeping me at a distance. 

The next bird I spotted was a mourning dove (#6). Finally, two bald eagles were perched on a branch. One took off as I started taking photos and the other one soon followed. I tried to capture them in flight, but it's so hard! The results were no good... 😏

As I was about to return to the car, I got a surprise encounter with a racoon. I have never been able to photograph one, they usually don't show themselves in daylight and don't stick around, but this little guy sat on this branch of an old tree and gave me plenty of time. Racoons don't have a good reputation as they get into trash and can damage homes if they find a way in, but they sure are cute!