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I have wanted to take a "walking on water" series of a cormorant taking off. Monday at the fishing pier I finally got the angle and distance that I wanted for the shots.
After photographing the barred owl at Pine Ridge Park Wednesday afternoon (3/18), Terry, Janine, and I drove over to Chase Lake, which Rocky better described as a pond. Scoop the male ring-neck duck was present, but there were no sightings of the wood ducks or the red-breasted mergansers. Lots of small birds were in the park.
Black-capped chickadee
Male downy woodpecker
The weather had warmed up to where two of the park's many turtles were out sunning themselves. One was on a log at the pond's edge.
The other was on a log in the water.
It was disturbed by a mallard and swam closer to shore.
I walked around photographing the many the small birds we heard and saw.
The park is home to many red-breasted nuthatches. One was looking to hide a seed it had found. They like to stash seeds and nuts in the bark of trees.
A robin was foraging for food on the ground.
Yellow-rumped warbler
Pine siskin. I was surprised to see only one, as they usually travel in flocks.
Janine has developed quite a cult following via social media. Two other bird photographers and a couple out bird watching were at the park, which seldom has any visitors. The bird watchers said they were drawn to the park by Janine's photos on the internet.
I finished the afternoon at the marsh. The tide was high and getting higher, so I only got fleeting views of snipes as they ran or flew between patches of vegetation on the high ground. Here is a Sasquatch shot of one running in the mudflat off the #3 viewing platform taken from the #2 platform. A short time later the mudflat was covered in water.
Most entertainment was provided by the coming and going of ducks and geese.
The tall, poofy-topped tree in the background is the raptor tree on the fish hatchery grounds.
First of the year, at least in our yard. Even though they are 'feeder' shots (my least favorite), it was exciting to see this female Rufous Hummer show up yesterday (Wednesday 3/18). Pretty much on schedule I think.
Thursday afternoon (3/19) my son Daren and I met up with Debbie Lynne Chally for a quick photo session at the marsh and fishing pier. Nothing exciting was happening at the marsh, but there were a few interesting birds at the fishing pier.
A female red-breasted merganser caught a gunnel.
A red-necked grebe caught a shrimp.
We caught a male red-breasted merganser floating between the fishing pier and the ferry dock.
With all the excitement about the owl, I forgot to mention the turkey vulture I saw flying over Edmonds Thursday morning. It is only the second time I have seen one in town.
I had to do some major tweeking to get the bird to turn out more that just a silhouette.
Sans tweeking.
The evil minions of the Dark Lord must have mistaken the vulture for a predator like a hawk or eagle.
Saturday afternoon (3/21) Terry, Daren, and I found three snipes at the marsh in the usual location off the #1 viewing platform. Here are two snipes together. It was a sunny day, so I experimented with the 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 2x teleconverter, which in theory produces an 8.0/1000mm telephoto lens.
One stepped in front of an American male and female green-winged teals. Note the male's head and vertical white stripe.
Highlight of the day was a male Eurasian green-winged teal swimming in the small pool created during high water just off the boardwalk between the #1 and #2 viewing platforms. There had been previous reports of sightings of the bird at the marsh. According to Sibley's, it is an occasional visitor to North America.
Compare these photos of the Eurasian green-winged teal with the photo above of the American green-winged teal. The Eurasian bird has no vertical stripe, but does have a thin horizontal stripe running the length of its upper body. The stripes which outline the blue-green band on the head of the Eurasian bird are much more pronounced than those of the American bird.
Sibley's says that Eurasian birds from Asia are slightly larger than the American birds. I thought it looked larger, but that may have been because it was closer. It was not as shy as its American cousin, for it remained in the pool while several of us stood nearby on the boardwalk photographing it. The American birds usually do not come that close to the boardwalk or walkway and if they do, will swim away when approached.
ah, there it is... great catch! i've never seen one of these! will have to keep an eye out. though usually the green-wings only stick around until about the end of March before heading north for the summer. last time i was at Juanita, about a week ago, there were still a few, but nowhere near as many as in mid-winter.
ah, there it is... great catch! i've never seen one of these! will have to keep an eye out. though usually the green-wings only stick around until about the end of March before heading north for the summer. last time i was at Juanita, about a week ago, there were still a few, but nowhere near as many as in mid-winter.
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