Wildlife of Edmonds, WA.

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Bill Anderson

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Cormorants appear to "walk on water" as they take off, something I have never photographed at close range. This cormorant had just eaten a large fish and groomed itself, so I thought that it might fly off to a dry perch to sleep off lunch.

I set up for the take off and got a few halfway decent shots in the series. Unfortunately, I had to shoot at 1/500 in our usual gloom & doom lighting to avoid insanely high ISO settings. This caused the wings and water to blur somewhat as I focused on the body.

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This is not the effect I had hoped to capture. Hopefully I will get more chances on sunnier days when I can get the angle I desire and can shoot at higher shutter speeds to freeze the action.
 
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
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From the fishing pier I walked south along the marina. Two female kingfishers were perched on the inner breakwater at the entrance to the marina across from Anthony's Restaurant.

One at the north end.
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And one at the south end.
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This winter a woman at the fishing pier told me that she had witnessed a gull attacking and eating a kingfisher which made the mistake of landing next to it on the breakwater. I nearly witnessed something similar as a gull attacked the kingfisher perched on the south end of the breakwater.
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The kingfisher escaped to a nearby boat.
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Earlier the kingfisher had been eating a small fish. I don't know if the gull was going after the kingfisher per se or just hoping the kingfisher was holding a fish which the gull could scare it into dislodging. The gull could then swoop down and eat the fish.
 
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
After dropping my son off at the gym Tuesday (2/12) morning, I spied an eagle perched in one of the tall firs on Daley St. just east of 7th Ave. Last year I photographed a juvie in the same tree. It appears to be a third or fourth year sub-adult as its white head feathers are still a little "dirty". It is definitely not one of the mature adults of the Pt. Edwards or Hutt Park mated pairs. I think it may be the same bird I photographed on 1/31 perched in the tree near the corner of Sunset Ave. and Edmonds St. (see post #8 of this thread).
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At the marsh, a black-capped chickadee was digging for larva buried in the cattail head.
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Everyone has been posting up their heron photos, so here is one of mine from the marina.
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Getting my gulls in a row.
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This otherwise poor photo requires an explanation. I was at the marsh boardwalk and noticed some crows buzzing a raptor perched on the pole by Willow Creek at the southwest corner of the marsh, over 400 yards away. I have photographed Junior, the resident juvie Cooper's hawk, perched on the same pole several times before and assumed that's who it was. The bird flew off before I could drive over to Anthony's employees parking lot for a closer shot.
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After looking at the photos on my computer, I believe that the raptor was not Junior but an adult peregrine falcon. It is probably the same one I photograph once or twice a year in the Edmonds Birdmuda Triangle.
 
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
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You have a pretty incredible set of photos here.

Thank you. Today I met a young woman at the marsh who showed me some great bird photos she had taken with a power shot type camera. I told her about this forum and encouraged her to join so she could post her photos here and learn from the members.
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Wednesday (2/13) my son and I went to Scriber Creek Park in nearby Lynnwood in search of its resident green heron. We did not see the heron perched near the path by the pond and it flew out of sight as we approached. All I got were two out-of-focus shots of it on flight. :mad:

Our luck was much better last summer when we visited the park on August 30th [2012]. Like Wednesday, the heron was hidden on the same side of the pond as us and flew up as we approached.
5D Mk III + 100-400L zoom, hand held
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Unlike Wednesday, it flew across the pond to the sunny north side where I could take well-lit photographs.
Remaining shots: 7D + 2.8/400L + 1.4 teleconverter, mounted on a tripod.
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Something in the water got the heron's attention.
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It grabbed a large bullfrog tadpole which had not quite developed into a full grown adult and ate it. My understanding is that the bullfrog is an invasive species originally imported from Asia and it threatens our native amphibian population. Bravo for the heron! Biological pest control at its finest!
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After lunch the heron contemplated having some mating dragonflies for dessert, but it just perched on the log and digested the bullfrog instead.
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Bird nerd notes: Bird books as recent as my 2000 Sibley's do not list the green heron as a resident of the PNW. My local bird book, Birds of the Puget Sound Region, does list the green heron and states that its numbers are increasing in the Puget Sound region while the American bittern's numbers are decreasing.
 
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
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Wednesday (2/13) was pretty much a bird bust. Trips to Scriber Creek Park in Lynnwood and Yost Park in Edmonds yielded nothing. My best shots were of a lowly female house sparrow perched on a blackberry bramble on Sunset Ave. in Edmonds.
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Bird nerd notes: The house sparrow is an introduced species. It and the Eurasian tree sparrow are classified by Sibley's as Old World sparrows. From my Sibley's: The house sparrow was introduced to New York in 1850 and spread to California by 1910.

It is a cute little bird, none-the-less. :D
 
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Another exciting chapter in the continuing saga of the Kingfisher Kronicles. Friday's (2/15) episode is titled Kingfisher Konflicts.

On the surface it may appear that life at the Edmonds Marina is an idyllic one of perching in the sun........
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and diving down to catch a fish dinner which conveniently swims your way..
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But peel away the thin veneer of glitz and glamour displayed for the benefit of visiting boaters and tourists by the Port of Edmonds and you will discover the dark underside of the marina, the world of Kingfisher Konflicts. :eek:

You are chased and harassed by one of your sisters merely because you dared dive for a fish.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Just when you think you have finally found a place to sit in peace and enjoy the sun...
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You are stalked and unceremoniously evicted from your spot by an evil minion of the Dark Lord.
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There is no use in trying, the evil minion is not going to let you back unto your perch.

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Will our heroine ever get to perch in the sun and eat her fish dinner in peace? Stay tuned for another exciting chapter of the Kingfisher Kronicles.
 
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Things were less dramatic earlier in the day at the marsh.

Elmer, the Anna's hummingbird who guards the main (#2) viewing platform, was perched on a cattail stalk....a rarity for him. He is usually found in the trees or bushes behind the viewing platform.
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A flock of bushtits, our local bird which is the next size up from a hummer, was hunting for larvae in the heads of the cattails. I have photographed several species of birds doing this.
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The birds are winners as they get a source of protein.
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The cattails are winners as the birds dislodge the cattail fuzz when they dig for the larvae and thereby disperse the seeds.
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The only losers are the larvae which are found and eaten.
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Christine

New Member
Your bird shots are always amazing..you are lucky to live such a short distance to see and photograph them.!
 

squirl033

Super Moderator
Staff member
you have some very nice shots here Bill... many remind me of the kinds of images i've captured at Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland. it often amazes me how many opportunities there are to get good bird photos in natural settings right in our own neighborhoods.... though alas, Juanita is no longer in my neighborhood. :( i do plan to visit there at least a couple of times this spring, though, to spend a Saturday afternoon with the birds...
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
The Virginia rail is the phantom of the Edmonds marsh. It is a master of stealth and can quite literally slip through the marsh without causing the cattails to quiver. Many times last year I heard its loud and distinctive call emanating from the cattails only a few feet below the #2 viewing platform, but the rail remained invisible.

I have photographed rails just four times at the marsh and once at the fish hatchery. Most of the photos are what I call "Sasquatch shots": dark and out of focus with parts of the bird obscured by the heavy vegetation. These are my best rail shots, taken on 7/29/12 in a permanently shaded area under the trees just east of the #2 viewing platform at the marsh.

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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Another member of the rail group is the sora. According to Sibley's, the Puget Sound region is in its migratory route. I have only seen one, which was at Scriber Lake in nearby Lynnwood on 9/14/11. I only got two good shots as it was walking on the water lilies on the east side of the lake.

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arlinescott

Super Moderator
Staff member
Bill, I can't say how happy I am that you posted the Sora shots. I love all your little bird friends and last year, caught a glimpse of a bird I had never seen before... My first Sora, but they are soooo elusive that it was the very camoflauged, duck and run into the underbrush. If we hadn't been at a full stop at the refuge for the Marsh Wren's song, I never would have noticed this shy little Rail.
 

squirl033

Super Moderator
Staff member
nice catch on the rail and sora! both are extremely shy and elusive, and as you mentioned, they can slip through the reeds and grasses with nary a sound or a movement of the reeds. catching them out in the open is tough, though i've managed a few at Juanita Bay Park...
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Sunday (2/17) started out with "backyard birds" at the feeders attached to the shed.

Female red-shafted flicker
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Male red-shafted flicker
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Pine siskin
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Chestnut-backed chickadee
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Bewick's wren
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
In the afternoon I met my friend Terry at the Pt. Edwards walkway where we photographed the hooded mergansers which are visiting the retention pond. We spotted two adult pairs and a fifth bird which may be a juvie.

Adult male
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Adult female (rear), juvie female? (front)
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Adult male (left), adult female (right)
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I finished the afternoon at Sunset Ave.

What would scare a flock of Brant to fly south?
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Possibly a juvie bad eagle on patrol over the Sound. I have seen this eagle or one like it flying back and forth along the waterfront the past two weeks. It may be the 2011 hatchling of the Pt. Edwards pair.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Monday (2/18) I caught one of our local eagles sprucing up its nest. I want to keep the location under wraps until I'm sure the eagle is settled in and won't be disturbed by viewers.
5D Mk III + 2.8/400L telephoto +2x teleconverter, tripod mounted.

Flying in with new twigs in its talons.
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Arranging the twigs.
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Taking a break.
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As I was photographing the eagle, a coyote came up to about 25 yards of me. It saw me and retreated as I tried to slowly retrieve my 7D + 100-400L zoom from the pickup to take its photo. :mad:
 
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