Olympic National Park: Ruby Beach

Last December I got to spend a little time in Olympic National Park. I had been once before, but only up Hurricane Ridge; this time, we drove out to the coast. But first, we stopped briefly at Lake Crescent.

Then we headed out to Ruby Beach. A storm had just torn through the region, leaving much of the area without power for several hours to days. Although there was less debris washed up than we expected, it was still a bit chilly and blustery, with some fun waves.

We couldn't quite believe our eyes as we walked down onto the beach and saw...

A bald eagle pair!

I was particularly excited, as I hadn't seen a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in several years, and probably not more than one at the same time since a family trip to Alaska more than a decade ago.

 

This impressive whale bone was sitting on the beach.

While these birds were too far away to see clearly, they were presumably some type of cormorant (Phalacrocorax), given the wing-spreading, which is generally considered a wing-drying behavior, although it may have additional purposes.

The iconic view of the arch.

And to cap off a wonderful day, on the drive back, we had a nice surprise as we drove through Forks: a large herd of elk (Cervus canadensis) on the tiny airstrip. Unfortunately the late was fading, but I got a few shots that weren't too terribly blurry.