A Secluded Spot ... and Wildlife

In my hometown, Hoquiam, Wash., there is a wild stretch of riverbank along the last gentle bend of the Hoquiam River before it empties into Grays Harbor bay.

It's a secluded spot on the outskirts of town, isolated by the no-trespassing rail yard atop the bank, and bookended by the Simpson Avenue drawbridge and the Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad swing bridge near the mouth of the river.

The only (somewhat) legal way to access the area is by passing underneath Simpson Avenue Bridge and then sneaking through some brambles around the face of the railroad's little used concrete and steel dock. In eight years of exploring there for my Hive photography, I've never encountered another human, which makes it one of my favorite spots in Hoquiam.

Last week I made it out there on an unseasonably warm and sunny spring day. The tide was in, but it wasn't so high that it covered the grassy, walkable swaths of the upper riverbank.

The PSAP bridge is the most prominent feature in the area for a photographer, and in the past it has taken all my attention during my walks out there. The view and the landscape features available as foreground change every 25 yards or so.

I made an effort to photograph other aspects of the area, like this runoff channel worn into the riverbank, which offered a glimpse of Simpson Avenue Bridge.

I noticed several of the gravel runoff channels. I'm curious to know how these formed: is the bank a gravel bed that mud and silt settle on top of? Or has the runoff eroded the mud down to this gravel layer, as I first assumed?

It's a mystery I'm not sure how to get an answer for.

I don't go for macro photography so much, but I couldn't pass up these pink blooms.

There were two or three pairs of geese swimming the river, keeping an eye on me and offering idyllic scenes.

The riverbank here does not offer a great view of Simpson Avenue Bridge, but I took one shot looking back from close by the swing bridge. Beacon Hill provides a backdrop.

After photographing Simpson, I changed from the wide angle lens to my 75-300mm zoom and settled down to see what wildlife might present itself. Soon I spotted this little shorebird hanging out on a dock piling near the railroad trestle.

This is the second or third time I've seen a shorebird in that exact spot. This bird must be a year round resident, and that dock piling a favorite perch.

While I was photographing the shorebird, a kingfisher landed atop a tall dock piling right next door. The final shot of the following series shows the kingfisher and shorebird essentially hanging out together.

I was keen to capture the kingfisher in flight. I switched the shutter to multishot mode and waited. Finally it dove off the dock piling and went chittering past, skimming the surface of the water without touching it.

It isn't National Geographic, but these are the best shots of the kingfisher in flight that I've ever captured.

Seconds after the kingfisher went by, the shorebird took off and followed it upriver. I swear these guys are buddies. I didn't get a good shot of the shorebird, unfortunately; it's even tinier than the kingfisher and twice as quick!

Later I caught this cormorant tracking the river out to the bay. (And if you expand this photo, you can just make out a deer near the center on the riverbank; I was oblivious to it being there until I processed the shot!)

I was excited about the kingfisher shots and wanted to get home to check out what I had on the computer, so I packed up and headed home. I wasn't quite done for the day though.

Walking along the river through town, right next to where the Hoquiam tugboats are docked, I came across a brood of goslings, the first of the season.