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I have photographed several raptors hunting from the light posts and telephone poles along Pine St. and assumed this one was doing the same thing. After several minutes (and hundreds of shots) the bird dove down into the bushes below the telephone pole.
The bird remained hidden in the grass and bushes for several minutes. I took the opportunity to cross to the same (south) side of the street as the bird while it could not see me. I could hear the bushes rustle and see movement. I hoped the bird had not become entangled in a blackberry bramble.
After several minutes, the bird flew up from the grass carrying a garter snake.
The bird flew past me to the low branch of a nearby tree. I took several shots of the bird killing the snake, then left it to eat alone in peace although the presence of my son and me did not seem to bother it.
Now for "the rest of the story." I had assumed the raptor was a juvenile peregrine falcon while I was photographing it, but began to have my doubts after viewing the photos at home on my computer. I sent some photos to a well-known local expert on raptors and received the following reply:
Well, although I have to disappoint you about this being a peregrine, I can raise your spirits by telling you that you hit the jackpot with this one. This is a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk, one of the rarest hawks in western WA and a bird I have never seen on this side of the mountains!
I later talked to him on the phone. He said that broad-winged hawks are native to the Midwest and East, but their range has been extending west across southern Canada to British Columbia. Some experts believe the bird may be establishing a range in southern British Columbia. He said the bird I photographed was a first year juvie, probably hatched in May. It is the time of year when hawks migrate and this one was probably just passing through the area. I checked Pine St. several times last week and did not see it.
Friday (9/11) my son and I returned to the fish hatchery to look for the broad-winged hawk and the juvie peregrine falcon. We found neither, but we came across a pair of female yellowthroats. I wonder if it is the same pair I have photographed at the #1 viewing platform of the marsh.
We went to Pine Ridge Park where I caught one of the wood ducks starting to molt into its adult male plumage.
Edit: I have received two votes for the small birds at the fish hatchery being orange-crowned warblers. Looking very closely, I can see slight striping on the bodies like that of an orange-crowned.
I have posted up photos of the Douglas's squirrel in my backyard. Sunday (9/13) three of them were present. That is the most I have seen at one time anywhere.
One got close to my cat, which was watching the squirrels and birds. A few minutes later she chased after one of the squirrels, which earned her a trip back indoors. I don't think she could take down an eastern gray squirrel, but the Douglas's are much smaller, about the size of a chipmunk.
Monday (9/14) Daren and I went to the fishing pier. We noticed a flock of local birders had gathered to view and photograph something on the marina breakwater opposite the pier. The object of their gathering was a willet. One of the birders told me that it was only the third sighting of a willet in Snohomish County.
Initially the willet was sleeping next to a juvie gull.
Something woke both birds. The willet relocated to a lower rock while the gull flew off.
The willet later flew off as well and passed a paddle boarder.
Three ruddy(?) turnstones were foraging on the marina breakwater while we were watching the willet. Although neither a lifer for me nor a rare bird for the area, they do not often visit Edmonds.
The turnstones are very well camouflaged against the rocks.
Ballinger Park in nearby Mountlake Terrace is looking very autumnesque. Monday afternoon I walked the park while my son was playing tennis. I did not see any green herons, but saw many small birds.
Two females from the flock of red-winged blackbirds that lives by a small pond in the park.
Although the Pt. Edwards eagles are off on their annual two month fly-about, I always check their family tree at the top of Pine St. for other birds which may be taking advantage of their absence. Such was the case Tuesday afternoon (9/15) when I saw a merlin perched on the tree. I have seen merlins perching there intermittently for the past 2-3 years. I suspect there is a nesting pair in the area which may be the parents of the juvies which have shown up at the marsh for the past two years in August.
The peregrine falcon made another cameo flyover of the marsh Thursday afternoon (9/3) on its way towards the marina. It traversed the marsh quite quickly and was very hard to photograph, especially with the 5DIII + 500L + 1.4x teleconverter combo. The only shots I got were when it flew past the Pt. Edwards condos.
Some who have viewed the photos I posted believe it may be a prairie falcon, a species seldom seen in this area. With their encouragement, I have submitted a rare bird report to the Washington Ornithological Society. I'll report back what they think.
Here are closer crops and enlargements of the photos I originally posted. Opinions as to the bird's species are welcome.
Some small birds from Wednesday (9/16). First up was the fish hatchery.
Either a Swainson's or a hermit thrush. The two are difficult for me to tell apart.
Pileated woodpecker.
Distant ID shot of a golden-crowned kinglet along the creek.
We had run into our friend Dave at the fish hatchery, who told us that he had just seen the green heron at the retention pond at the end of the Pt. Edwards walkway. We failed to find the green heron as we moved along the fence that borders the pond, but we saw some more small birds.
As we climbed back up the hill to return to the car, I looked back down at the retention pond and spotted the green heron. It became apparent from this angle why we had failed to spot the green heron while we were standing on the road behind the fence on the north side of the pond.
Can you spot the green heron looking through the 100mm end of the 100-400L zoom? This is very close to what it looks like to the naked eye.
Taken with the 400mm end of the 100-400L zoom and cropped. I used negative exposure compensation to keep from over exposing the heron's white feathers.
Late Thursday afternoon (9/17) a merlin spent an hour entertaining several of us as it hunted dragonflies from perches on the north side of the Edmonds marsh near the boardwalk. I did not get any good flight photos as the bird was too fast and too close to us. Neither our presence nor the sounds of Amtrak's Empire Builder passing under a telephone pole it was perched on appeared to bother it.
These shots were taken with the 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter mounted on a tripod at the #2 viewing platform while the merlin was perched on the stand where the martin gourds used to hang. It was the best spot for photos as the other perching locations were backlit from the low sun.
According to my bird books, there are several color variations among merlins. Hopefully some raptor experts reading this will compare the photos and shed some light on the birds. I'll pass along any comments I may receive via e-mail.
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