Then there's Folly Cove

 

Great Egret against the cliffs

One sunny day after a slow morning in the Park I checked Folly Cove, the coastal indent that borders Halibut Point. Scoured, fractured granite cliffs on its rim show the price of opening northeast toward fierce ocean storms.

The Egret taking flight

Under calm conditions the arc of its rocky beach provides hunting habitat for occasional visits by Great Egrets.

Bufflehead male

The Cove's shallow water and sandy bottom attract diving ducks like this Bufflehead.

Red-breasted Merganser swallowing an eel

A Red-breasted Merganser is able to catch and hold an eel with its long serrated bill. Males change their plumage coloration into extravagant patterns for the courting season.

Common Loon

Common Loons also take on spectacular markings. The complete discard of their drab gray winter feathers leaves them flightless for a few weeks.

Two pairs of Long-tailed Ducks

A small band of Long-tailed Ducks floats conspicuously on the on the far side of the Cove, lingering in local waters later than most of their kind.

Male Long-tailed Ducks in diverse plumage
Detail of photo above

Male Long-tailed Ducks undergo complex seasonal molts. In the photograph above, one of them still retains the white head and rich facial patterns that have delighted observers on the winter shoreline. The upper bird has already switched to its near-black head coloring of summer, with a white facial patch. Both forms show the long, slender tail feathers.

Herring Gulls

These two Herring Gulls seem pleased to have pulled a prank on their audience as one descends noisily on the other. The normally feisty birds put forth a raucous but companionable duet on this fine day. It must mean that food is not an issue at the moment.

The Ronka boys' initials

The departing egret flew past ancient graffiti on the far cliff. Arne and Ensio Ronka carved their initials in the granite when their family boarded with the Seppalas, who managed Sunnyside Farm and its small dairy herd at the head of Folly Cove. Their father Samuel was the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Lanesville from 1905 to 1913. Services were conducted entirely in Finnish.