Many years ago my young daughter Gavia and I would ride a bicycle along the dyke that borders Padilla Bay in the Salish Sea. On one occasion we stopped to watch a northern shrike perched atop a cluster of wild rose across a slough. To our surprise the bird flew directly toward us and seized a meadow vole we had disturbed near the bike. The bird flew back with its catch to its thorny perch and secured its prey amid some of the insects it had caught during its residency

Tony Angell

In winter owls will perch at dusk at the edges of our local forests. Their distinguished silhouettes stand out against a background of bare limbs and a tangle of branches. Their haunting calls proclaim the boundaries of their territories and their presence is a sign of the woodlands’ vitality.

Tony Angell

All owls can fix you with their large eyes set in a broad face but the saw - whet's inquisitive postures are quite singular

Tony Angell

When on our island the intense chortling and croaking of ravens is a common sound. Hearing several of them one day I went out to discover the focus of their vocal exchanges and sought to enter the conversation with an imitation of their greeting call. No luck there as one of the birds turned in my direction leaned over its perch and produced and angry growl before all the birds flew off. I took that to be a scold and an expression of resentment over my intrusion.

Tony Angell

In a saltwater a short walking distance of my studio I can watch land otters diving for morning meals. When successful they ascend the top of a convenient rock where they momentarily pin their catch on its surface before feeding. Their still wet bodies appear sleek and taut.

Tony Angell

Along many of the bays on our island, kingfishers have established residency. Here they patrol the shoreline to maintain their property rights including their food sources and nesting bluffs.

Tony Angell

This piece was first imagined in the conversation I had with the stone I carved it in. The material was round and there were suggestions of a pair of young foxes curled up and together. The social needs of such species is not unlike ours when it comes to keeping company with family were we can be warm and secure.

Tony Angell

An eagle studies an eddy in fast dark waters.

Thomas Quinn

Berries bitten from frost ferment. Gorgeous waxwings gorge. Some are happy, some are drunk.

Thomas Quinn

Coyotes sing in the burnt forest smoke yips of protest, wails of lament.

Thomas Quinn

I wasn’t near her when she tilted away, slicing down on the dawdling coots. But I imagined I was.

Thomas Quinn

A great nightbird lifts something of value, heavenward.

Thomas Quinn

The footfalls of a traveling wolf are rhythmic thuds. May they go on forever.

Thomas Quinn

Smugly the otter travels himself onto a creek bank to groom his enviable coat.