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Late Sunday afternoon (8-11-19) it clouded up to the point that I might get photos of shorebirds at the marsh without the distortion caused by heart waves and glare off the mud. High tide helped as well.
I believe this is a flock of western sandpipers. A birder friend who was at the marsh said that semi-palmated sandpipers also travel in flocks of westerns. The two birds look alike to me, but she said that semi-palmateds have slightly smaller bills than westerns. Very hard to tell at the distances I was shooting.
I never did see the mystery shorebird from the day before. My friend had viewed my Sasquatch shot and believed it was a yellowlegs.
Monday morning (8-19-19) I heard a tapping sound in my backyard. From my back deck I photographed a male hairy woodpecker pounding away at one of the "habitat" trees/stumps/spars, which continue to attract woodpeckers.
I was shooting at 1/250 to keep the auto ISO setting low (1000). This blurred the woodpecker as it took off.
An Anna's hummingbird frequents my neighbors' garden. Taken Tuesday (8-20-19) from my back deck with the 1Dx 100-400L II telephoto zoom.
Uncropped.
It looks like a female or immature male.
The neighborhood Anna's pretty much ignore my sugar water feeders while flowers are in bloom. They will return once cool weather has arrived and real nectar is no longer available.
Two green herons were flying around Sprague Pond at Mini Park in Lynnwood around noon on Wednesday (8-21-2019). These photos were taken with the 1Dx + 100-400L II telephoto zoom.
As might be expected, the herons disappeared after I hauled out my big telephoto setup.
One of the Pt. Edward adult eagles was not the only raptor at the marsh Friday (8-23-19) afternoon. Some birder pointed out a juvie Cooper's hawk sitting atop one of the far swallow boxes.
Juvie Cooper's hawks usually start showing up at the marsh in August. I suspect they are fledglings of the pair that nests in City Park, located just east of the marsh across Hwy. 104/Sunset Ave. They usually hang around through autumn, then disperse.
Sunday afternoon (8-25-19) Two or three kingfishers were chasing each other between the marsh and the marina. A male stopped a few times on the old martin gourd holder to groom itself.
KIngfishers have a distinct call. I usually hear one before I see it.
A mystery shorebird flew up out of the marsh too quickly for me to get shots with the big telephoto. I did get some far grab shots of it in flight with the 1Dx + 100-400L II telephoto zoom. I think it is a yellowlegs.
Wednesday's (9-4-19) noonish shots from Sprague Pond at Mini Park in nearby Lynnwood. Taken with the 1Dx + 100-400L II telephoto zoom as I was too lazy to drag the super telephoto setup out of the pickup tor only a little over an hour photo shoot.
Female wood duck.
Pied-billed grebe. The same (?) one usually spends winters at Sprague Pond.
Female red-breasted merganser. My first of the 2019-20 migratory bird season.
An osprey perched in the tree on the east side of the pond. The cell phone tower which housed the nest at the relatively nearby school district bus barn has been replaced. I don't know if/where that pair nested this year.
It never dived while I was there, much to my chagrin.
Kenmore Camera had a used first series 600L telephoto lens and a used 1Dx Mark II for sale which I could not pass up. The first series 600L weighed about twice as much as the two used series II 600L's that were also for sale. At half the price, I opted for the heavier lens over a lighter wallet.
I traded in my 1Dx and 500L telephoto lens on the new (to me) equipment. I had read reviews comparing the first series 600L with the second series model. The reviews eventually descended into techno jargon that was incomprehensible to me, so I used the "eye" test. I have been very happy with the quality of photos I have gotten with the 500L, also a first series model. I reasoned that a first series 600L should therefore give me satisfactory photos as it would have the same level of technology and materials as the 500L
My first opportunity to try out the new lens was Thursday afternoon (9-26-19) at the #2 (main) viewing platform of the marsh . The setup was the 5DIII + 600L + 2xIII teleconverter (total focal length = 1200mm) mounted on a tripod. This package is too heavy to carry over my shoulder, so I bought a used four wheel walker to haul it into position while the setup is still in the lens carrier. I may scout used baby accessory stores for a second hand SUV grade buggy/stroller to carry all my equipment from the pickup.
Cropped shots of a kingfisher perched on the old martin gourd holder. Settings: 1,000; f/8.0; auto ISO = 2000.
Here is where the 1200mm focal length comes into play. These shots capture the action with no cropping. Settings: 1,000; f/8.0; auto ISO = 2000.
Cropped shot. The kingfisher flew to the opposite "branch" of the martin gourd folder. Downside of the 1200mm focal length: the field of view was too narrow to capture the bird landing on the opposite branch. Settings: 1/1,000; f/8.0; auto ISO = 1600.
Woodpeckers continue to visit the two habitat "trees" in my backyard. I took these photos Saturday morning (9/28/19) of a female with my new/used 1DxII + 100-400L II telephoto zoom.
Settings: 1/500; f/5.6; auto ISO = 8000.
Various woodpeckers visiting the stump have dug a fairly deep hole into it.
If you look closely at photo #4, you can see the woodpecker's tongue. Settings: 1/500; f/5.6; auto ISO = 6400.
My two habitat trees are the spars of two western hemlocks which were dying. I had the tree trimmers cut the trunks down to a height of 15-20 feet rather than remove them completely. The spars are in my back yard, so I don't have to worry about them appearing unsightly to the neighborhood.
I still have four very tall Douglas firs in my backyard for birds such as Steller jays and crows that like to perch on the branches. Bewick's wrens and brown creepers like to hunt for insects in the rough bark while red-breasted nuthatches use it to stash seeds from my bird feeders.
I still have not had ideal lighting conditions to test the 600L telephoto, but Wednesday (10-2-19) afternoon's overcast was better than the previous days' sunshine glare.
I set up the super telephoto package (5DIII + 600L telephoto + 2x III teleconverter) at the #2 viewing platform of the marsh. A birder discovered three long-billed dowitchers out in the mudflats which were only visible from the #3 viewing platform. I did not want to drag everything down there, so I walked down with my "walk & stalk" package (1DXII + 100-400L II telephoto zoom) while my son stayed behind and guarded the super telephoto package.
The dowitchers walked away up one of the waterways......
and became visible from the #2 platform, where I took some photos with the super telephoto package in the dimming light.
Tuesday afternoon (10-8-19) I spotted a juvie Cooper's hawk near where the Pt. Edward eagles hang out. Taken with the 1DxII + 100-400L II telephoto zoom as I knew it would not wait for me to set up the big telephoto package.
+1 exposure compensation
Super crop. I was told by a local raptor expert that the dark "teardrops" on its breast are a defining ID feature of a juvie Cooper's hawk.
Several Edmonds area photographers recently got more than our 15 minutes of fame (a reference probably not understood by anyone under 60) when our photos were used in a study of the Edmonds marsh by Windward Environmental LLC for the city of Edmonds.
Thursday afternoon (10-10-19) I found a northern shrike perched in a tree over Willow Creek opposite the railroad tracks and employee parking lot of Anthony's Restaurant. A kingfisher had been perched in the same tree a few minutes earlier.
We only see shrikes in Edmonds about once every 1-2 years. Taken with the 1DxII + 100-400L II telephoto zoom. Naturally the bird flew off not to return after I set up the 600L telephoto lens.
Given the bright sunshine and heat waves, I'm not sure I would have gotten any better photos with the 600L telephoto.
My son and I then went to the main viewing platform of the marsh. A kingfisher was fishing in the marsh waterways and occasionally perched on the old martin gourd hanger to dry off.
Hanging out with Wesley, the resident male Anna's hummingbird. I set up the 600L telephoto lens, but had to use the 1DxII + 100-400L II telephoto zoom to get back far enough to get both birds in the photo.
5DIII + 600L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter (840mm focal length). I used the 1.4x TC instead of the 2x so I could lower the ISO settings by shooting at f/5.6 instead of f/8.0. It also enabled me to use more auto focus settings.
It looked as though the kingfisher had caught a small fish, but I think it was only a feather.
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