Good shot. I love mergansers of all varieties. Monday I may have photographed as many as eight individual eagles. I'll post the photos later.
Wldlife of Edmonds, WA. 2014
- Thread starter Bill Anderson
- Start date
PNWPhotos.com a friendly and growing community of photographers with an interest in the Pacific Northwest region.
We feature a Photography Discussion Forum and Pacific Northwest Photo Gallery. It's a fun and friendly place to talk with other photographers, ask questions, share you knowledge, view and post photos and more!
As the birders say, the redhead was a lifer for me.
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)
Things were very quiet Tuesday (2/4) at the usual hangouts. Wesley, the Anna's hummer who guards the #1 viewing platform at the marsh, felt sorry for me and gave me some nice poses.
He started cursing out another hummer that was diving and strafing him. I was not fast enough to get shots of the subsequent chase.
He started cursing out another hummer that was diving and strafing him. I was not fast enough to get shots of the subsequent chase.
I tried to get shots of a cormorant washing itself below the fishing pier. It is harder to get a good shot than you might think. If the splashing water is in focus, then the bird is out of focus. If the bird is in focus, the splashing water is not.
I tried focusing on the bird's head, as that was usually the part not hidden behind the splashing water.
I tried focusing on the bird's head, as that was usually the part not hidden behind the splashing water.
Some non-bathing cormorant shots.
As I was photographing the cormorant in the water below me, another one flew between us.
Retreating butt shot.
As I was photographing the cormorant in the water below me, another one flew between us.
Retreating butt shot.
Last edited:
My only eagle sighting of the day was of a juvie which flew over the marina from the south.
It made several circles over the water between the marina and the ferry dock,
then continued its flight north.
It made several circles over the water between the marina and the ferry dock,
then continued its flight north.
Last edited:
But it is so sunny outside right now, even though the thermometer on my back deck is reading 20*F in the shade. I have already taken shots of the hummers that the cold is driving to my feeders.
Wednesday (2/5) morning the thermometer on my back deck read about 12*F and the two hummer feeders were frozen. The sugar water solution was old anyway, so I brought the feeders inside and replenished them with fresh sugar water. There are at least two Anna's hummers in my back yard: Dexter, the alpha male, and a female. Neither has visited my feeders very often for the past six months except when it has been extremely cold like this week.
After I refilled the feeders, the female flew in for a drink. I took several photos from the back deck in temps around 20*F in the sunshine. The Anna's are very hardy birds. Those who have studied physics know that their body mass/surface ratio and high level of activity does not favor the retention of body heat necessary to survive a cold winter's night.
From my position on the deck, the feeder was back lit. I experimented with different camera settings using my handheld 5DIII + 100-400L telephoto zoom + 1.4 teleconverter.
After I refilled the feeders, the female flew in for a drink. I took several photos from the back deck in temps around 20*F in the sunshine. The Anna's are very hardy birds. Those who have studied physics know that their body mass/surface ratio and high level of activity does not favor the retention of body heat necessary to survive a cold winter's night.
From my position on the deck, the feeder was back lit. I experimented with different camera settings using my handheld 5DIII + 100-400L telephoto zoom + 1.4 teleconverter.
Last edited:
Terry, Janine, my son Daren, and I met at La Casa Maldonado, aka McDonald's, for lunch. After lunch we drove to Hutt Park , where we found one of the resident eagles perched in the family tree. I think it was the male.
Later on I went down to Marina Park to look for Janine, eagles and sunsets. I found all three. Janine and I waited patiently for one of the Pt. Edwards adults to fly up and land on the piling. We no sooner turned our backs to the piling when one flew in with a fish. We missed the approach shots, but got some of the eagle eating a fish it had caught.
After the eagle had finished eating, it joined us in waiting for the sunset. I ran into two friends, Jenn and her sister Mar, who also stayed to watch the sunset.
Later on I went down to Marina Park to look for Janine, eagles and sunsets. I found all three. Janine and I waited patiently for one of the Pt. Edwards adults to fly up and land on the piling. We no sooner turned our backs to the piling when one flew in with a fish. We missed the approach shots, but got some of the eagle eating a fish it had caught.
After the eagle had finished eating, it joined us in waiting for the sunset. I ran into two friends, Jenn and her sister Mar, who also stayed to watch the sunset.
Last edited:
A juvie flew over......
but that did not bother the adult.
The eagle, Jenn, Mar, Janine, Daren, and I stayed for the cold, cold sunset.
but that did not bother the adult.
The eagle, Jenn, Mar, Janine, Daren, and I stayed for the cold, cold sunset.
Last edited:
While Monday (2/17) saw passing squalls and a brief hail storm, the winds finally died down and the sun came out for periods of time.
I started the day with a pair of Steller's jays in my backyard retrieving peanuts I had thrown out. Jays are extremely intelligent birds. This regular visitor to my backyard has mastered the art of carrying away two peanuts at once. It will first select a peanut small enough to partially swallow. Look closely and you will see it in the jay's throat. It will next select a second, larger peanut which it can carry in its bill. Then it will fly away with both.
The jays will swoop in to retrieve peanuts ahead of the squirrels and crows while I am still standing on the back deck. Not only have the crows not learned how to carry away two peanuts at once, most of them will wait until I have gone back inside before landing on the grass to hunt for them. By then the squirrels have taken all the peanuts. One of them has seen the light and will land on the grass while I am still on the back deck.
The rain of the past 2-3 days had raised the water level of the marsh enough to attract ducks and herons. Two Eurasian wigeons (red heads) were among the American wigeons (green heads) and a green-winged teal (red head w/green racing stripe).
A small flock of Brant at Marina Beach. In most lighting situations, individual Brants are not very photogenic due to their black eyes + black heads. As a flock, however, they are quite photogenic against the background of Puget Sound.
After lunch my son and I went to the fish hatchery. We had not been there in quite some time and were rewarded by shots of a varied thrush.
I started the day with a pair of Steller's jays in my backyard retrieving peanuts I had thrown out. Jays are extremely intelligent birds. This regular visitor to my backyard has mastered the art of carrying away two peanuts at once. It will first select a peanut small enough to partially swallow. Look closely and you will see it in the jay's throat. It will next select a second, larger peanut which it can carry in its bill. Then it will fly away with both.
The jays will swoop in to retrieve peanuts ahead of the squirrels and crows while I am still standing on the back deck. Not only have the crows not learned how to carry away two peanuts at once, most of them will wait until I have gone back inside before landing on the grass to hunt for them. By then the squirrels have taken all the peanuts. One of them has seen the light and will land on the grass while I am still on the back deck.
The rain of the past 2-3 days had raised the water level of the marsh enough to attract ducks and herons. Two Eurasian wigeons (red heads) were among the American wigeons (green heads) and a green-winged teal (red head w/green racing stripe).
A small flock of Brant at Marina Beach. In most lighting situations, individual Brants are not very photogenic due to their black eyes + black heads. As a flock, however, they are quite photogenic against the background of Puget Sound.
After lunch my son and I went to the fish hatchery. We had not been there in quite some time and were rewarded by shots of a varied thrush.
Last edited:
The Woodway raven pair flew overhead as we were walking up Pine St. to the Pt. Edwards walkway. Its triangular tail feathers distinguish the raven from a very large crow on steroids.
Before we reached the retention pond, we took the left fork, which leads up a short gravel walkway to the driveway above the pond. Based on past experiences, we did this so as not to flush any ducks swimming in the pond below. It proved the wiser course, as the redhead which has been seen by others earlier this month had returned. Local birders are quite excited by the presence of this duck, as it is reportedly quite rare in this area.
The redhead was swimming with a ring-necked duck. Birds of a feather? The redhead is a "lifer" for me.
Several hooded mergansers were also in the pond. These two are males.
There was no eagle action at Marina Park although one flew in near sunset.
Before we reached the retention pond, we took the left fork, which leads up a short gravel walkway to the driveway above the pond. Based on past experiences, we did this so as not to flush any ducks swimming in the pond below. It proved the wiser course, as the redhead which has been seen by others earlier this month had returned. Local birders are quite excited by the presence of this duck, as it is reportedly quite rare in this area.
The redhead was swimming with a ring-necked duck. Birds of a feather? The redhead is a "lifer" for me.
Several hooded mergansers were also in the pond. These two are males.
There was no eagle action at Marina Park although one flew in near sunset.
Last edited:
As the birders say, the redhead was a lifer for me.
The rain abated Tuesday (2/18) by late afternoon which left a 1-2 hour window of sunlight. I went down to Marina Park to try to catch some eagle action. One of the eagles sneaked in just after sunset, ate its fish fairly rapidly, then departed. Its flight paths to and from the piling are fairly consistent, which will make setting up the 2.8/400L and tripod fairly easy if we ever get a sunny day with no wind.
landscapes&birds
New Member
Great sequence! Looks like he left some of his fish on the piling.
The eagle waited until the sun had set behind the clouds, so the light was not that great. At 1/500 and f/8.0, the ISO settings ranged from 640-1250-1600. I used the lightening and auto contrast features of Picasa to enhance the photos.
Last edited:
Last edited:
PNWPhotos.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com