Lake Stevens student snaps prize-winning shot

Published 7:10 pm Friday, January 15, 2010

A killdeer with an attitude scrambled on rocks near the railroad tracks on the Mukilteo beach.

Lake Stevens High School senior Catherine Straume was walking nearby with friends. It was an encounter that led to a photography prize.

“We heard a weird noise and looked around. It sounded like a mad bird. We found it and wondered why it wouldn’t fly away. It was just looking crazy. It was puffed up, and its wings were spread out.

“We looked around and realized that she had eggs to protect on the rocks. We didn’t want to upset her. I got a lot of pictures. I was glad I had my camera,” the 17-year-old said.

Her black-and-white close-up of a killdeer, shot with a Canon Rebel with a telephoto lens, won the youth division of Washington Trails Association’s annual Northwest photography contest.

“Everything is in color. Black-and-white gives you a feel of what you’re looking at (in some subjects). It stands out … provides a certain mood,” Catherine said.

“This shot was definitely my favorite. I think it was the eye and the detail.”

Catherine has taken several photography classes at Lake Stevens High School and is a photography teacher’s assistant. She says she’ll probably attend a community college next year and wants to take more photography classes.

And maybe enter the trails association photography contest again.

Winter outings

The Washington Trails Association offers a great service. Hikers post their latest outings on the Web site, www.wta.org. The reports are usually short and include the conditions and reasons for going.

The association adds a box with the region, agency, trail number and average rating, and a link to a longer description.

Last weekend’s reports included:

Heather Lake: View of Mount Pilchuck, road in good condition, no ice or snow until about a quarter-mile mile from lake, loose rocks do fall (see boulder fields).

Lake Twenty-Two: Water on trail, little snow at the lake, recommend poles for those cautious about footing.

Lake Serene: Trail in excellent condition, easy creek crossings, snow and ice the last quarter-mile, mostly frozen lake.

Feeders

If you are using, or will use, bird feeders, here’s the deal: Clean the darn thing. Birds are susceptible to a few diseases that can be carried from feeder to feeder. You may be personally responsible for conditions that lead to sick birds.

Make this the year that you pay strict attention to your feeders because here’s the choice: Clean them or consider yourself an accessory to untimely deaths.

Eagles

Volunteers armed with binoculars and scopes continue to assist and inform visitors about eagles that feed on fish carcasses on a stretch of the Skagit River.

In a typical winter 3,500 rafters and more than 10,000 other visitors come to see eagles.

The Eagle Watchers are stationed at three locations on Highway 20, each with off-road parking: near milepost 98 at the Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Rockport; milepost 100 rest area; and the Marblemount Fish Hatchery.

Hummingbirds

A reader questioned the 3:1 mix of hummingbird water used by another reader in last week’s column. Yes, experts have recommended the 4:1 mix because it is close to the sugar mix in nectar, but the latest research is indicating a different mix at certain times of the year. I’ll write about the research in a later column.

On the bookshelf

“For the Birds” ($20) is written by three bird-watching sisters. It’s a very good month-by-month guide to attracting birds, focusing on food, water, nesting and habitat.

Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.