Wildlife of Edmonds, WA. 2018

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Bill Anderson

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Staff member
The first two sequences were taken with the 7DII + 100-400L II telephoto zoom. This sequence was taken with the 1Dx + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Two western hemlocks in my backyard were dying. Rather then have them clear cut, I had the spars left in the hope birds such as woodpeckers would use them as backyard habitat. Tuesday evening (6-19-18) I saw a northern flicker perched and calling out near the top of one.

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I photographed the back of its neck to see if it was an red/yellow shaft intergrade. No red chevron, so it is a pure red-shafted flicker.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
A pair of violet-green swallows are nesting in the nest box off the #2 viewing platform, where it is fun to photograph their comings and goings.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Thursday afternoon (6-21-18) a green heron flew over Sprague Pond at Minipark in Lynnwood and landed near the tree where last year's nest wqas located.

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It disappeared under the tree.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
I started out Saturday (6-23-18) with a trip to Pine Ridge Park. I failed to find any of the resident barred owls, but a good looking male wood duck was in the pond.

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I heard a very loud drumming sound on the walk back to the pickup. I assumed it was a pileated woodpecker, but the sound was loud even for a pileated.

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The loud noise was the pileated hammering on a nest box.

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Later that evening I had to brake for a rabbit in my court. I have lived in the same house since 1991 and had never seen a rabbit in my year until last year.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
I visited the marsh mid day where I photographed a female violet-green swallow carrying a fecal pellet out of the #2 nest box.

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John999R

Member
Fantastic variety of wildlife Bill. Looks like the 1DX is working well, the sharpness the combination of camera and lenses produced outstanding results.
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Monday (6-25-18) at the marsh.

Even an evil minion of the Dark Lord has its photogenic moments.

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A flock of juvenile red-winged blackbirds were flying around the cattails.

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Adult male and female.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Wednesday (6-27-18) close-ups of geese at Mini Park (Sprague Pond) in Lynnwood. The geese have become accustomed to being fed and will come quite close if they think you have food for them. I have seen some people pet them while giving them food.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
A visit to the marsh later in the day.

A trio of juvie crows continue to entertain visitors.

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Song sparrows do their imitations of marsh wrens.

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A violet-green swallow hatchling peeks out of the swallow box off the #2 viewing platform.

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Cowbirds.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
One of the bird spotters I often see at the marsh told me she had seen the swallows hatchlings fledge. Friday afternoon (6-29-18) I saw a swallow fly into the swallow box. I set up my 1Dx + 500L telephoto lens + 1.4x teleconverter to see if it was still getting fed by an adult. Here is one of several sequences I photographed.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Photos from Independence Day.

With apologies to Han Solo, I have named the juvie that refuses to leave the swallow box at the marsh the Millenial Swallow. There have been discussions among those of us who have watched these swallows as to whether these are violet-green or tree swallows. After going back and forth on the subject, I think they are violet-greens. Readers are free to chime in.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
The Fourth of July had begun earlier in my back yard with photos of a female (?) Anna's hummingbird and some Steller's jays. The jays had been picking berries off my red huckleberry bushes.

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This jay was perched atop one of my "habitat stumps", made from two western hemlocks that were dying.

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There have been reports as early as 6/30 of sandpipers at the marsh. I photographed a flock of about 15 that afternoon. Two birders along side me were trying to determine if they were least or westerns.

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I finished the day at Sunset Ave. with a white-crowned sparrow that spent several minutes calling from its perch on a blackberry bush.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Friday afternoon (7-6-18) the fishing pier looked like the set of Jurassic Park when a juvenile brown pelican flew in from across Puget Sound.

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The pelican turned north and disappeared behind the ferry.

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A friend of mine spotted it off Ocean Ave. where it was floating north with the outgoing tide.

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It was only the second time I have seen a brown pelican in Edmonds. The last time was four or five years ago.
 
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
July is typically a slow bird month at the fishing pier, but Friday proved interesting. In addition to the appearance of the brown pelican and one of the Pt. Edwards eagles making two passes over the marina, a pair of marbled murrelets made a brief appearance below the pier.

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Pigeon Guillemots are summer regulars.

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They show their trademark bright red-orange legs when they dive.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
A flock of over forty sandpipers was flying around the marsh Saturday afternoon (7-7-18).

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The birds were hard to photograph on the mud due to the heat waves and glare.

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A crow flew up to the old martin gourd stand with the remains of a rodent.

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The millennial swallow has not left the nest box and is still getting fed by its mother.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Monday afternoon (7-9-18) I found a pair of western sandpipers at Brackett's Landing North.

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The small size of the sandpipers became apparent when they approached a gull.

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Foraging on the beach just short of the water.

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A flock of least sandpipers was at the marsh. Least and westerns are about the same size and are difficult to distinguish from a distance. The main difference, the color of their legs (least = yellow, western = black), can be difficult to see under poor light or when they are wading in mud.

A good spotting feature is the bill. The bill of the western is longer than that of the least when compared to the head.

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Can anyone ID the small plants in the mud with the yellow "flowers"? The "flowers" are not really flowers but look more like mushroom caps in closeup shots.

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