Ocean View Beach today had an Eagle visiting. He was perched in the poplar tree that the crows and eagles use regularly as a look out.

When I first got to the beach there he was.  From the photo below you can see he is a black dot in the tree. Not long after I took two photos he flew off to the madronas on the hill to the south.

Behind me I found two crows hanging out. They were doing the guard crow duty of watching the much bigger and dangerous eagle.

I went about my business and walked down the beach even though it was high tide. Upon my return I went up onto the small marine residence there. This has a raised bulkhead with a swing, benches and viewing areas. I use this to feed the crows, watch the otters (who I was looking for but they were a no-show) and enjoying the view in general.

As I walked up the stairs I saw Seagull feathers. They are easy to spot since they are white and light grey.  Here is what it looked like. It is odd since two feathers are still attached. Not your usual molting type deal.

As I walked across the area I noticed more feathers.

Then I saw another pair of feathers still attached and knew a gull had become an eagle meal. The way the feathers were spread it looks like the eagle sat in a madrona tree that hangs over the marine residence.

I walked around up the trail behind the swing and there was more feathers. This just confirmed my suspicion even more.

This is life’s cycle. A bit disturbing but we have to remember Mr. Eagle has to beat out a living and it might mean a dinner of seagull. Now you know why the crow families watch out for each other by posting guards.

It is easy to just focus on the pretty things. I would be remiss if I only shared those views. However, to end on a positive note here is a view of Puget Sound not long before finding the gull feathers.

Then serendipity led me to another sweet find that balances what nature delivered.  There I found this budding periwinkle flower. The snow and cold here in Seattle had just left a few days ago and this plant is trying to show us spring is not far off.  I leave you with that little bit of purple determination.