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I went up to Pt. Edwards to check on the eagles. I found one of them in the sentry tree, but another bird of even greater interest flew into the photo. Can you spot the two birds?
Thursday afternoon (10-12-17) I drove up to Pt. Edwards to look for the eagle and noticed some crows diving at something perched on a treetop. I got out of the pickup for a better view and saw that the evil minions of the Dark Lord were harassing a fellow corvid, one of the Woodway ravens.
This photo show the distinctive tapered tail of the raven, a good spotting feature to distinguish it from crows when relative size is not apparent. Crows have a rounded tail.
I may have seen a pair of ravens at the marsh Tuesday, but my photos were to poor to ID the birds.
Speaking of the marsh, a spotted towhee spent a few minutes posing for me beside the boardwalk. This was relatively rare behavior for a towhee, as they like to spend most of their time hidden in the bushes.
Last stop was Sunset Ave., where a pair of kingfishers were chasing each other near the railroad tracks.
I have heard house finch numbers are down in the area. Those that remain ones are all at my feeders.
A Bewick's wren, one of my favorite little brown birds.
There are at least three Steller's jays that raid this feeder. I saw a jay & squirrel mix (unshelled peanuts + large kernels of corn) at my local pet food store that I may try out this winter when my current bird seed stock runs low.
The crow on the left appears to have some kind of bill deformity.
A spotted towhee did not mind the rain.
Two from Sunset Ave. I did not want to set up the 500L telephoto on the tripod due to the wind and rain, so I braced it with my arm while I sat in the pickup with the window rolled down. A dozen Harlequin ducks were gathered around the tethered log at the underwater dive park at Brackett's Landing. Some of the ducks were bathing in front of the log.
The ducks were joined by a rather late in the season Heermann's gull on the right end of the log.
Thursday afternoon (10-19-17) I spotted a first year northern shrike hunting small birds at the west end of marsh.
The shrike is nick-named the "butcher bird" for its habit of impaling its prey on branches or brambles while it eats. In this case, dinner appeared to be a yellow-rumped warbler.
This warbler had better be careful or it will be the second course.
The shrike was perched on the shrubs where Wesley usually perches. I prepped for a take-off as I assumed an approaching train would scare it.
It flew to the far south side of the marsh....
then returned to perch on a bush next to a telephone pole beside the tracks.
About once every 3-4 years I see a shrike at the marsh in the fall and winter. The shrike spent a lot of time hunting at the west end of the marsh near the #1 viewing platform. I would not be surprised if it stays for awhile.
About once every 3-4 years I see a shrike at the marsh in the fall and winter. The shrike spent a lot of time hunting at the west end of the marsh near the #1 viewing platform. I would not be surprised if it stays for awhile.
For the locals: I received an e-mail from someone who lives up in the condos that she has seen the shrike for over a week perched on a spar near the fish hatchery. I hope it spends the winter here, as there are plenty of little birds in the area to keep it fed.
The day had started out with the neighborhood's four resident Steller's jays (the Blues Brothers) raising a raucous in my back yard. I suspected the presence of a predator and found a juvie hawk eating a small bird in my neighbor's tree. With the high number of small birds at my seed feeders this fall, I wondered how long it would be before raptors and owls start showing up to dine at the birdie buffet.
Shooting over the fence through leaves and branches without scaring the bird was difficult. My photos included the tail feathers and legs, which may help answer the eternal question: Cooper's or sharp-shinned hawk?
A red-tailed hawk was circling over downtown Edmonds as we drove down Main St.
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