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Don't hesitate. Terry and I always look forward to this time of year when the horned grebes are at their prettiest, but it is for a very short time before they leave our area.
I did something to my knee, as Thursday night it swelled up and began to hurt. I have pretty much been staying off my feet ever since in the hopes of avoiding a trip to Group Health. I did make a brief trip to the marsh Saturday (4/4) morning. In many Asian cultures, 4/4 is the unluckiest day of the year. My son Daren stayed home, but not because he is Korean or superstitious. He just wanted to watch TV.
A song sparrow in the tree behind the #2 (main) viewing platform.
A woman at the #1 viewing platform saw three snipes before I arrived. The water had receded and I saw just this duck. I hope she is not sitting on a nest, as this spot is not above the high water line should we have a combination of rain + high tide before the eggs hatch.
The swallows are back. Here are some violet-green ones.
My knee still hurts, but I had to get out of the house for a few minutes on Easter Sunday (4/5) to keep from going stir crazy. Daren and I went down to the marsh where we ran into our good friend and fellow bird photographer Jerome. Wesley and another hummer were furiously chasing each other near the #1 viewing platform.
I had set Daren up with the 7D + 70-200L zoom lens which he used to catch some airborne action.
I caught them perched on the fence with my 5DIII + 100-400L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter. I had earlier attached the teleconverter and forgot to remove it. I regretted my forgetfulness as the teleconverter greatly slowed down the camera's autofocus.
Four sandpipers were out in the marsh. I believe they were dunlin due to their long, slightly curved bills and black belly feathers. I went back to the car and drug out the tripod + 500L telephoto + 2x teleconverter. That proved not so effective due to the heat waves rising from the mudflats.
Don't let Wesley hear you say that! I am waiting for the day he starts demanding royalties in the form of a hummingbird feeder stationed off the viewing platform.
I swung the tripod head around and got some shots of him with the 5DIII + 500L telephoto lens + 2x teleconverter before we left.
Monday (4/6) Wesley continued to show why he is the most photographed hummer in the PNW. I set up the 5DIII + 100-400L zoom with the camera set at 1/100 and f/16 + auto ISO in the hopes of getting a takeoff shot of Wesley flying directly towards me.
Scratching an itch.
Stretching the tail feathers. Getting ready to take off?
Wesley finally took off. For all my waiting, the shot was so-so.
I wonder if I could have gotten him in complete focus had I used a wider range autofocus setting. Something to experiment with next time, as Wesley is very dependable and predictable.
Tuesday afternoon (4/7) I was giving my son Daren a nature lesson as we walked the boardwalk out to the #1 viewing platform of the marsh. I told Daren to look for a predator whenever he saw the birds out on the marsh acting disturbed or taking flight, as these ducks were doing.
We spotted the usual suspect, one of the Pt. Edwards eagles.
A bird must remain vigilant, as there may be more than one predator lurking in the marsh.
The coyote walked towards the spot where the eagle had been bathing in the creek.
The eagle took flight and perched in a nearby tree.
The coyote walked back towards the north side of the marsh and out of sight.
I believed I could pick it up again at one of the open spots between the #3 and #4 viewing platforms. I was right, but the coyote spotted me as well. It took off running back south towards the creek, even though I was probably 100 yards away.
It looked like Baldy, the marsh's resident coyote. I photographed Baldy three years ago shortly after he had stripped all the fur off his tail, most likely from crawling under a chain link fence. The fur looks like it is growing back with just the very end of his tail remaining bare.
Baldy gave me a final look before disappearing into the trees on the other side of the creek.
A pelagic cormorant in breeding plumage off the fishing pier.
A pair of red-tailed hawks circled over Hwy. 104 in what I believe was courtship behavior. The hawk on the left was carrying what appeared to be a rodent.
The same rule about bird activity applies along the beach below Sunset Ave. as it does at the marsh. Look for a predator when all the Brant are put to flight.
In this case it was a juvie bald eagle flying south over the beach.
Wesley is still very intolerant of his neighbors the song sparrows. He had been buzzing this one before perching on the fence for a break.
After catching his breath, he resumed his strafing runs.
Hovering.
Diving.
I caught Wesley at the top of one of his dives.....
And as he was climbing back up from buzzing the sparrow.
The 6 frames/sec high speed burst rate of my 5DIII was not rapid enough to catch Wesley in between the two shots. I need the 12-15 frames/sec high speed burst rate of the 1Dx or 7DII for that.
My son and I drove to the Meadowdale Softball Complex in Lynnwood to see if the osprey had returned. We found both of them on the nest box. One of the neighbors said the pair had returned last week, about two weeks earlier than usual.
5DIII + 500L + 2x teleconverter, tripod mounted. This combination lets me back off for a flatter photo angle at the nest platform than in years past.
looks like the osprey will be starting their nest from scratch this year... good shots! i'll have to go down and check the nest on Riverside Ave to see if that pair has returned yet... as of about 10 days ago, they hadn't, and the nest from last year, while still intact, was growing grass...
Thursday morning (4/9) Janine and I found a pair of yellowlegs at the marsh. I took a lot of shots with the 5DIII + 500L + 2x teleconverter. The heat waves radiating off the mudflats ruined all but one of the photos. I think they are lesser yellowlegs due to their fairly white breasts and straight bills.
Later that afternoon I photographed a pigeon guillemot "walking on water" during a takeoff near the fishing pier.
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