Wildlife of Edmonds, WA. 2017
- Thread starter Bill Anderson
- Start date
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Thanks. Birds are probably the easiest wildlife to find and photograph in an urban environment.
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Long distance birding from Sunset Ave. Tuesday morning (5/2). Taken with my 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 2x TC mounted on a tripod as the birds appeared as dots to the naked eye.
Common loon.
Mystery murrelets. They disappeared before I could adjust the exposure compensation. I could have used a 60x, $3000 birding scope.
Horned grebes engaging in a courtship dance.
Rhinoceros auklet.
Common loon.
Mystery murrelets. They disappeared before I could adjust the exposure compensation. I could have used a 60x, $3000 birding scope.
Horned grebes engaging in a courtship dance.
Rhinoceros auklet.
Wednesday afternoon (5/3) was very warm for a PNW spring day, but you still needed a windbreaker out on the fishing pier.
A small flock of Barrow's goldeneye continue to hang around the fishing pier.
The male has iridescent feathers on its head.
A western grebe was off the pier.
A small flock of Barrow's goldeneye continue to hang around the fishing pier.
The male has iridescent feathers on its head.
A western grebe was off the pier.
A juvie double-crested cormorant dove under the pier.
Some swallows were riding updrafts along the waterfront. If was the first time I have seen swallows do this in much the same way crows, gulls, and raptors do.
Long shot of a swallow that had been checking out one of the marsh nest boxes built for tree swallows. The swallow can be seen in the air to the right of the box.
Long shot of a swallow that had been checking out one of the marsh nest boxes built for tree swallows. The swallow can be seen in the air to the right of the box.
A flock of dunlin(?) was at the marsh. The bright sunshine created heat waves which made telephoto shots difficult.
Some backlit shots from the #3 viewing platform looking into the late afternoon sun.
Some backlit shots from the #3 viewing platform looking into the late afternoon sun.
The marsh wren has built a second nest near the #1 viewing platform of the Edmonds marsh. The second nest is not far from the first one.
The wren was busy lining the second nest. It does not take the wren very long to build a new nest.
The wren was busy lining the second nest. It does not take the wren very long to build a new nest.
While everyone else was enjoying Thursday's (5/4) sunshine and warmth, the weather (prior to the thunder storm) made photography at the marsh difficult for me. The problem was not the distance, but the distortion caused by heat waves and glare rising from the mud.
Red-winged blackbird and tree swallow checking each other out.
Many shorebirds were present. Once again my efforts to photograph semipalmated plovers were thwarted by the glare and heat waves.
Mystery bird.
My guess is a female or immature male yellow-headed blackbird, but your guess is welcome.
Red-winged blackbird and tree swallow checking each other out.
Many shorebirds were present. Once again my efforts to photograph semipalmated plovers were thwarted by the glare and heat waves.
Mystery bird.
My guess is a female or immature male yellow-headed blackbird, but your guess is welcome.
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Two dunlin in breeding plumage were at the marsh Friday evening (5/5). Conditions for distance photography were better than the day before.
A yellow warbler at the marsh 5-9-17. I believe there was a second one present, but I barely got shots of one. These are my two best. Some poorer shots show the vertical red striping on its breast that clearly ID the bird.
From Friday (5/12).
A marbled murrelet was off the south end of the fishing pier. It disappeared shortly after I took some photos of it.
A duckling and a northern flicker in Pine Ridge Park.
Last year volunteers installed five nest boxes at the marsh for tree swallows. A pair of violet-green swallows has been building a nest in the box off the #2 viewing platform, but a pair of tree swallows has laid claim to the box off the #3 platform.
A marbled murrelet was off the south end of the fishing pier. It disappeared shortly after I took some photos of it.
A duckling and a northern flicker in Pine Ridge Park.
Last year volunteers installed five nest boxes at the marsh for tree swallows. A pair of violet-green swallows has been building a nest in the box off the #2 viewing platform, but a pair of tree swallows has laid claim to the box off the #3 platform.
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I got a call Friday morning that a pileated woodpecker and barred owl were in close proximity to one another in Pine Ridge Park. My son and I walked over as it is not far from our house.
Two Douglas' squirrels were chasing each other on the edge of the park. I got a photo of one.
Male pileated woodpecker.
Owl and woodpecker.
The woodpecker worked trees fairly close to the owl.
A pair of hairy woodpeckers have a burrow near the service road. Both parents were making food deliveries into the burrow.
Two Douglas' squirrels were chasing each other on the edge of the park. I got a photo of one.
Male pileated woodpecker.
Owl and woodpecker.
The woodpecker worked trees fairly close to the owl.
A pair of hairy woodpeckers have a burrow near the service road. Both parents were making food deliveries into the burrow.
I returned to the park later in the afternoon with a fellow member of the Bird Fest committee that I ran into at the fishing pier. The Pacific wren is often heard but seldom seen in Pine Ridge Park, but she spotted one and its burrow. The bird would enter the burrow from the bottom and exit through the top.
Photography was made difficult by the forest canopy and concurrent lack of light, which caused high ISO settings even at 1/500 and f/5.6.
ISO = 8000
The noise from the high ISO settings discouraged closeups and close crops. These wider views look better.
ISO = 6400
Photography was made difficult by the forest canopy and concurrent lack of light, which caused high ISO settings even at 1/500 and f/5.6.
ISO = 8000
The noise from the high ISO settings discouraged closeups and close crops. These wider views look better.
ISO = 6400
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Shots from Tuesday (5/16).
An interesting assortment of birds was at the tethered of the underwater dive park at Brackett's Landing.
An interesting assortment of LBB's (little bitty birds) was at the marsh.
A western wood peewee caught and ate a bee. It was eventually run off by a swallow.
A pair of tree swallows provided some avian porn.
To which a barn swallow showed a passing interest.
An interesting assortment of birds was at the tethered of the underwater dive park at Brackett's Landing.
An interesting assortment of LBB's (little bitty birds) was at the marsh.
A western wood peewee caught and ate a bee. It was eventually run off by a swallow.
A pair of tree swallows provided some avian porn.
To which a barn swallow showed a passing interest.
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"Documentation" shot of a common yellowthroat.
Bushtits. The male has black eyes while the female has spooky yellow eyes.
At least three Wilson's warblers were in trees and bushes around the #2 viewing platform.
I finished the day back at Brackett's Landing where several Caspian terns were cruising over the water.
Bushtits. The male has black eyes while the female has spooky yellow eyes.
At least three Wilson's warblers were in trees and bushes around the #2 viewing platform.
I finished the day back at Brackett's Landing where several Caspian terns were cruising over the water.
Wednesday afternoon (5/17) my son and I were driving down a street near our house when we saw a pileated woodpecker in a tree beside the street. The woodpecker took off and flew down the street ahead of our pickup. We followed it to a tree on a side street and got a few shots before it took off again. This location is only about a block from Yost Park as the pileated flies, so it may be the female of the Yost Park pair.
youngwarrior
Member
Nice bird photography.
Thanks. Birds are probably the easiest wildlife to find and photograph in an urban environment.
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Marsh wrens are still busy serenading and building nests at the Edmonds marsh.
The nests are easiest to spot when they are new as the grass blades are still wet and dark green, which makes them stand out from last year's dead reeds and cattails. There is a limited viewing window as new spring growth will eventually hide the nests. One enterprising individual has built three nests off the #1 viewing platform.
Wednesday (5/17) I was watching as he picked wet grass blades off the floor of the marsh and draped them over the stalks of the reeds. It was much the same way someone would dip strips of old newspaper in water to make paper mache and drape them around a wire frame to make a pinata or miniature mountains for a model railroad. Look closely to see the well-disguised wren in these photos.
The nests are easiest to spot when they are new as the grass blades are still wet and dark green, which makes them stand out from last year's dead reeds and cattails. There is a limited viewing window as new spring growth will eventually hide the nests. One enterprising individual has built three nests off the #1 viewing platform.
Wednesday (5/17) I was watching as he picked wet grass blades off the floor of the marsh and draped them over the stalks of the reeds. It was much the same way someone would dip strips of old newspaper in water to make paper mache and drape them around a wire frame to make a pinata or miniature mountains for a model railroad. Look closely to see the well-disguised wren in these photos.
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Thursday afternoon (5/18) a black-capped chickadee was digging through cattail heads to find and eat the larvae that live inside. Taken with the 5DIII + 500L + 1.4x TC, tripod mounted.
In these two photos you can see a larva in the bird's bill.
I tried to capture the floating fuzz that the bird dislodged as it dug through the cattail.
In these two photos you can see a larva in the bird's bill.
I tried to capture the floating fuzz that the bird dislodged as it dug through the cattail.
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