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The eagle was not the only avian action at the marsh Sunday afternoon (11/8/15). While I was photographing the eagle in front of the #1 viewing platform, two Anna's hummers were skirmishing behind it.
Several birds were very close to the fishing pier, but shots were difficult due to the poor light. I should have been shooting with the 5DIII instead of the 7DII as the former handles high ISO settings better than the latter.
nice series... did you by chance see the humpbacks last week? i was talking to a gal up at Stanwood today who said there were a pair of them that breached and splashed around within a hundred yards or so of the pier... sure would love to have seen that!!
nice series... did you by chance see the humpbacks last week? i was talking to a gal up at Stanwood today who said there were a pair of them that breached and splashed around within a hundred yards or so of the pier... sure would love to have seen that!!
There are usually one or two off the fishing pier every winter. You can recognize them by the Confederate flags and NASCAR logos tattooed on their backs.
There are usually one or two off the fishing pier every winter. You can recognize them by the Confederate flags and NASCAR logos tattooed on their backs.
The Olympic Mountains and Mt. Baker finally got snow. Friday (11/20) at the marina I experimented with small aperature settings in an attempt to get the mountains and birds in focus.
I think the kingfisher stole the show, Bill . My take on the snow-covered Olympics, is that especially with bird shots in the foreground, I would rather see the background blurred anyway.
Dexter, my backyard Anna's hummingbird, was hitting the feeder Saturday (11/21/15) morning. Although I keep two feeders on my back deck filled year round, the hummers don't show any interest in them until the onset of cooler weather in late October or early November.
Later that afternoon I went down to the fishing pier. It is that time of year when direct sunlight is coming in at a very low angle and can blow out the white feathers of birds. Negative exposure compensation may be necessary.
Common murre
Bonaparte's gull. Named after a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Wednesday (11/25) was a beautiful, sunny day. My photography started with a trip to Sprague Pond at Minipark in Lynnwood while my son was working out at the gym. All of these shots were taken with -1 exposure compensation due to the bright sunlight coming in at a low angle.
Pied-billed grebe.
Male & female buffleheads.
Male & female northern shovelers, one of my favorite ducks.
Next stop was the Edmonds marina and fishing pier. These were also shot using negative exposure compensation.
A juvenile surf scoter was swimming by itself off the fishing pier. It was somewhat unusual to see a lone surf scoter as they usually travel in flotillas.
A double-crested cormorant ate lunch below the fishing pier.
A red-breasted merganser makes a water landing.
I have often heard that kingfishers are very skittish and difficult to photograph. I think the marina's resident pair is habituated to people. The female posed for several minutes on one of the salmon sculptors mounted on the breakwater near the walkway to the fishing pier. Several people on the walkway stopped to look at the kingfisher, which did not bother it in the least.
The day concluded at the marsh, where two snipes were in the muddy waterway off the #1 viewing platform. The photo was taken with no exposure compensation as the snipe was in the shadows. I used Picasa's auto contrast feature because I was looking straight into the sun with its attendant glare when I took the photo.
I did, only that one was much closer. It was swimming in that small mudflat/pool of water just off the boardwalk between the #2 and #1 viewing platforms. It did not mind several of us photographing it from the boardwalk.
Late Tuesday (12-8) afternoon ("late" afternoon being any time after lunch but before the 4:16pm sunset), Daren and I went to check the water level at the marsh. After several days of rain, the marsh now qualifies as "Lake Edmonds."
It was getting dark and raining; but a lone, small duck caught my attention as I headed back to the pickup. I assumed it was a green-winged teal that was swimming at the north end of the marsh due to the high water. I really perked up when I failed to see a vertical white body stripe ahead of the wing. Yes, it was a (the?) male Eurasian green-winged teal. I got a few shots in the rapidly diminishing daylight.
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