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The number of brant along the Edmonds shoreline has been steadily increasing as they feed on eel grass before taking off for their summer nesting grounds in the far north. The birds can best be seen from Sunset Ave., Brackett's Landing North, and Marina Beach Park.
Monday afternoon (4-9-18) a flock landed at the off leash dog beach at Marina Beach Park while we were photographing orcas out in Puget Sound.
Many swallows were flying over the marsh Thursday afternoon (4-12-18).
Several violet-green swallows were flying around the nest box (which I have labelled box #5) on the far south side. These two had better claim it before another pair does.
I counted as many as five swallows in some of these photos.
Bushtits were gathering nesting material around the #2 (main) viewing platform. I believe they are building a nests in the evergreen trees next to the boardwalk.
Remember that old song Under the Boardwalk by the Drifters?
The past two years I have seen what I thought was a Douglas squirrel running across the street as I photographed the Pt. Edwards eagles' nest. One day I saw what was definitely a Townsend's chipmunk running along the same street. I thought maybe that was what I had been seeing instead of a squirrel.
Thursday afternoon (4-19-18) I finally caught the Douglas squirrel making several trips back and forth across the street.
The reason for these soirees became apparent. Someone in the house across the street was handing out peanuts in their backyard.
The squirrel stashed peanuts in different locations. At times it ran under my pickup.
The squirrel was not the only one taking advantage of the free lunch.
I still want to photograph that chipmunk I saw, which I assume was also getting peanut handouts.
They have been checking out the nest boxes. I hope they take advantage of the boxes like they did last year.
I found what may be the start of a new marsh wren nest on the edge of the cattail blow down off the boardwalk.
A bushtit was gathering cattail fuzz for a nest. This bushtit is a female as evidenced by its spooky yellow eyes. Trees bordering the marsh are popular locations for bushtit nests, which look like old sweat socks hanging on the branches.
A small flock of sandpipers was at the marsh Monday afternoon (4-23-18). The most common sandpipers to visit the marsh are least and westerns. I think these are least sandpipers due to their extremely small size and yellow legs. Compare their size to that of the song sparrow, located to the right of the four sandpipers.
I drug out the super telephoto setup for a closer view, but I'm not sure the photos were any better due to the usual problems of taking photos at the marsh on a sunny, warm day.
Spring has sprung and many of the marsh's avian denizens are acting accordingly. The red-winged blackbirds are aggressively chasing off crows. These two are enjoying a brief truce on the old martin gourd stand.
A male has been calling and displaying on the cattails close to the #2 viewing platform. This is an uncropped photo taken with the 5DIII + 500L telephoto lens + 1.4x teleconverter, tripod mounted.
A bushtit picked a larva out of a cattail head.
This marsh wren went for the fuzz to construct a nest.
Three bicyclists escorted a mother mallard and a flock of ducklings along two busy streets and across the railroad tracks from Arnies at the marina through Harbor Square to the marsh. The ducks crossed the walkway before I could snap a photo and went down into the marsh. I was afraid the dense cattails might be too much for them to traverse, but the troop later emerged on a mudflat. They are now safe from trains and cars and need only worry about eagles, hawks, falcons, crows, herons, raccoons, and coyotes.
Bushtits continue to make nests somewhere in the vicinity of the #2 viewing platform of the marsh.
Tuesday afternoon (4-24-18) I saw one removing cattail fuzz which may have been stuck in a spider web under the boardwalk . The bird struggled for a minute or two, but finally flew off with the fuzz.
I had been down to Sunset Ave. earlier that day and found Casey the hummer perched above the railroad tracks. Looking at my photos, I discovered that Casey's upper and lower bills are crossed.
Stretching prior to takeoff.
Wesley was checking out the native plants that have been planted by the walkway at the marsh.
I spent Wednesday morning and afternoon (4-25-18) at Sprague Pond in Lynnwood, where I found a cinnamon teal. The teal swam and flew to various locations around the pond. I took photos from Mini Park on the west side of the pond using both the 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter and the 1Dx + 100-400L telephoto zoom. Photography was difficult due to the bright sunshine.
Something kept flushing the waterfowl from the water. I suspected an otter. It finally surfaced near the west side long enough for me to get some quick grab shots.
Mini Park is about a mile from the osprey nest located off I-5 in the bus lot of the Edmonds School District. Tuesday morning I saw an osprey at the nest. It may have been the same bird that made two dives for fish while I was at Sprague Pond. I didn't get really good photos, but pond looks like the best local location so far to try for close up shots of an osprey diving for fish.
Thursday afternoon (4-26-18) at the marsh. A fight may be brewing for occupancy of the #1 nest box.
Black-capped chickadee
violet-green swallow
Two spotted towhees have been hanging out on the ground around the #2 viewing platform. This one was singing high in the tree behind the #1 viewing platform. I think of towhees as a ground/low shrub bird, not a high tree bird.
A flock of shorebirds was at the marsh. I believe they are least sandpipers, although I did get a poor shot of a lone bird that may have been a dunlin.
A few birds flew to the waterway closest to the #1 platform which enabled some close up shots through the grass.
It was very sunny, which made telephoto shots difficult. Today's overcast should make photography easier.
Sandpipers on their spring migration continue to stop at the marsh en route to their nesting grounds in the far north. Friday (4-27-18) started out overcast, so I wanted to get down there and photograph the birds. Wednesday and Thursday had been bright sunshine, which makes for bad photos due to heatwaves and glare off the mud flats. I believe these are least sandpipers due to the small size and yellow legs.
A black-capped chickadee has been hanging around the nest box off the #1 viewing platform. It kept trying to feed a larvae to something in the box, then kept returning to the perch with the larvae still in its bill.
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