Wildlife of Edmonds, WA. 2015
- Thread starter Bill Anderson
- Start date
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Chad
Thanks. It is probably the same red-tailed hawk we have been seeing flying over the marsh, the fish hatchery, and Pt. Edwards for the past two weeks. Every year two or three red-tails usually spend the winter at this location.
I'm not kidding, Bill - as I stood there at the creek, there were two ruby crowns that I think thought I was one of the bushes - they were very close to landing on me. Some gal walked up while I was there and wouldn't stop talking to me, so I lost concentration for a bit, but got probably 30 shots or so with the kinglets sometimes too close to get a focus.
BTW, I think you are exactly right - I took off the extender on the 400 - way better luck getting a focus lock.
Also by the way, the ISOs for my shots were mostly 3200, including the merganser, with two other shots at lower ISOs (1000 and 2000). Love my 5Diii.
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Terry, my son Daren, and I drove to the marsh Thursday (2/26) after lunch. We caught Wesley, the most photographed Anna's hummingbird in the PNW, chasing another hummer through the tree on which he usually perches.
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The evil minions of the Dark Lord drew our attention to a red-tailed hawk perched in a tree above Willow Creek on the far south side of the marsh.
The hawk wasn't just taking a break. It made a swoop down to the marsh with its crow-tourage in tow.
Hawks are ace aviators, the envy of a "Top Gun" fighter pilot. It spotted something on the ground and pulled up suddenly through an emergency "full flaps down" braking maneuver. It then initiated a barrel roll to position itself over the prey.
A hawk's neck must be extremely flexible. Half way through the barrel roll it twisted 180* to maintain a level head in order to keep an eye on the prize.
Finishing the barrel roll.
The hawk wasn't just taking a break. It made a swoop down to the marsh with its crow-tourage in tow.
Hawks are ace aviators, the envy of a "Top Gun" fighter pilot. It spotted something on the ground and pulled up suddenly through an emergency "full flaps down" braking maneuver. It then initiated a barrel roll to position itself over the prey.
A hawk's neck must be extremely flexible. Half way through the barrel roll it twisted 180* to maintain a level head in order to keep an eye on the prize.
Finishing the barrel roll.
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Pouncing on the prey.
Checking to see if it is all clear for take-off.
The hawk departed holding a small snack in its left talons.
The crow-tourage followed.
The shots are heavily cropped, having been taken at about 300-400 yards with my 5DIII + 100-400L zoom. I can only wish that I had set up my tripod with the 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter.
Although the 5DIII may not have Canon's "latest and greatest" autofocus system of the 7DII, it did a very good job of locking on to the hawk at a distance.
Checking to see if it is all clear for take-off.
The hawk departed holding a small snack in its left talons.
The crow-tourage followed.
The shots are heavily cropped, having been taken at about 300-400 yards with my 5DIII + 100-400L zoom. I can only wish that I had set up my tripod with the 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter.
Although the 5DIII may not have Canon's "latest and greatest" autofocus system of the 7DII, it did a very good job of locking on to the hawk at a distance.
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We then drove over to the Willow Creek fish hatchery where we spotted a pair of red-breasted sapsuckers at work on a tree by the creek.
The sap wells indicated these were not the first woodpeckers to have worked this tree.
Terry had to leave, which all but assured that something special would show up. My son and I walked to the retention pond at the end of the Pt. Edwards walkway where we saw a pair of hooded mergansers. They are very shy and skittish, but we managed to sneek up and get a few good shots before they took off.
The black & white male is the more photogenic of the pair.
The sap wells indicated these were not the first woodpeckers to have worked this tree.
Terry had to leave, which all but assured that something special would show up. My son and I walked to the retention pond at the end of the Pt. Edwards walkway where we saw a pair of hooded mergansers. They are very shy and skittish, but we managed to sneek up and get a few good shots before they took off.
The black & white male is the more photogenic of the pair.
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photographmemories
New Member
You're not kidding. Great documentation as always!
Chad
Thanks. It is probably the same red-tailed hawk we have been seeing flying over the marsh, the fish hatchery, and Pt. Edwards for the past two weeks. Every year two or three red-tails usually spend the winter at this location.
Going back through my photos, I realized that I did not include the first photo of the hawk's barrel roll. Rather than go back and edit my original post, I'll just post the full sequence here. The rapid fire rate of the 5DIII is six frames/sec. I could have used a 1Dx with its rapid rate of 12 frames/sec.
The raptor experts among us may wish to comment on this hawk's remarkable maneuver.
The raptor experts among us may wish to comment on this hawk's remarkable maneuver.
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Terry O
Well-Known Member
I stopped by the Pt. Edwards detention pond today (a rainy Friday) to see if the Hooded Mergansers were still there. I managed a couple of shots while somewhat hidden - the minute I started to move to a different position, they were off.
I dropped by the Fish hatchery to see what might be there during the rain. Turned out there were some very active and 'friendly' Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
All of these shots were taken with the Canon 5Diii and 400mm f5.6L (no extender).
I dropped by the Fish hatchery to see what might be there during the rain. Turned out there were some very active and 'friendly' Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
All of these shots were taken with the Canon 5Diii and 400mm f5.6L (no extender).
Those ruby-crowns only come out in the open for you, never for me.
Wesley struck some nice poses Friday afternoon (2/27), once again demonstrating why is is the most photographed hummer in the Puget Sound region. It was overcast, which created good lighting conditions for photographing him. Bright sunlight will blow out his bright, reflected colors.
Terry O
Well-Known Member
Those ruby-crowns only come out in the open for you, never for me.
I'm not kidding, Bill - as I stood there at the creek, there were two ruby crowns that I think thought I was one of the bushes - they were very close to landing on me. Some gal walked up while I was there and wouldn't stop talking to me, so I lost concentration for a bit, but got probably 30 shots or so with the kinglets sometimes too close to get a focus.
BTW, I think you are exactly right - I took off the extender on the 400 - way better luck getting a focus lock.
Also by the way, the ISOs for my shots were mostly 3200, including the merganser, with two other shots at lower ISOs (1000 and 2000). Love my 5Diii.
Saturday afternoon (2/28) Rocky arrived at the marsh just as my son Daren and I were leaving to go up to the Pt. Edwards walkway. On the walkway I got some grab shots of a peregrine falcon flying north.
We later joined Rocky down at the marina, where we spotted a seal watcher's sign at Olympic Beach. Volunteers help prevent harassment of baby seals while they are resting on the beach.
A crowd gathered on the walkway above the seal.
A volunteer wearing a day-glo hat can be seen at the top of this photo of the seal scooting towards the Sound.
The seal made it to the water and swam away.
That morning a humpback whale had been spotted breaching in the Sound off Edmonds.
http://myedmondsnews.com/2015/02/scene-in-edmonds-humpback-whales-breaching/
A crowd gathered on the walkway above the seal.
A volunteer wearing a day-glo hat can be seen at the top of this photo of the seal scooting towards the Sound.
The seal made it to the water and swam away.
That morning a humpback whale had been spotted breaching in the Sound off Edmonds.
http://myedmondsnews.com/2015/02/scene-in-edmonds-humpback-whales-breaching/
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Time for another snipe hunt. Sunday afternoon (3/1) I found one off the marsh walkway between the #2 and #3 viewing platforms near the outdoor tennis courts. I walked past it the first time without seeing it.
I only spotted it because I was looking at a song sparrow through my camera and saw something else that looked out of place.
The snipe remained motionless and I slowly moved around to position myself for better shots with my 5DIII + 100-400L telephoto zoom. I was able to shoot as slow as 1/125 at f/8 in order to keep the ISO setting reasonable.
The snipe was still there when I returned an hour and ten minutes later to show it to someone.
The person with me moved too quickly, which startled the snipe into running back into the cattails.
I only spotted it because I was looking at a song sparrow through my camera and saw something else that looked out of place.
The snipe remained motionless and I slowly moved around to position myself for better shots with my 5DIII + 100-400L telephoto zoom. I was able to shoot as slow as 1/125 at f/8 in order to keep the ISO setting reasonable.
The snipe was still there when I returned an hour and ten minutes later to show it to someone.
The person with me moved too quickly, which startled the snipe into running back into the cattails.
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Back at the #1 viewing platform, Wesley was putting on a good show as he hunted for bugs.
A pair of song sparrows may be building a nest in the vegetation below Wesley's fence. He does not like to share his perch with them.
A pair of song sparrows may be building a nest in the vegetation below Wesley's fence. He does not like to share his perch with them.
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