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The dunlin continue to hang out on the logs anchored in the underwater dive park at Brackett's Landing. I cannot remember dunlin spending past winters in town.
Taken Friday afternoon (2-5-16) from Sunset Ave. with the 5DIII + 100-400L II telephoto zoom. The closest spot for photographing the dunlin is from the levee at Brackett's Landing North.
Here are some photos from Friday (2/12), our last sunny day. Wind and waves out on the Sound had grounded the local heron fleet, which sought safe harbor in the marsh. I counted 18 herons, although only 16-17 are visible in any single photo.
Thursday morning (2-18) a flock of dunlin took off from the log anchored at the underwater dive park at Brackett's Landing North and headed south.
The flock did not return, so I drove to Marina Beach to see if the flock was at its usual spot at the marina breakwater. A friend of mine was already there photographing the flock.
I took a lot of photos which I spent later much time editing.
For me, the thrill of shooting dunlin is photographing the flock, not individual birds. I wanted to get some shots of the flock with the ferry in the background.
Terry, Daren, and I returned after lunch. The waves had grown larger, so I tried to get shots of the dunlin with the waves crashing around them.
The dunlin can seek shelter inside the marina when they get tired of being pounded by the wind and waves.
The water level at the marsh was high Friday afternoon (2/19) due to recent rain. Sometimes that will draw ducks closer to the walkways on the north side of the marsh.
I scanned a flock of green-winged teals for the lone male Eurasian we have been seeing this winter. Can you spot it?
I got some closer shots from the #3 viewing platform.
The herons were at their usual location.....
but one was in the cattails near the walkway between the #2 and #3 viewing platforms. It flew towards the others after we walked past.
Saturday afternoon (2/20) Stefan and I paid a visit to Pine Ridge Park while Daren was at tennis lessons. We did not see any owls, pileated woodpeckers, or wood ducks, but we did see a female bufflehead,
I was at the fishing pier Monday afternoon (2/22) when some cormorants flew past. I thought it was funny that the wing beats of the three birds n the left were synchronized while the one on the right was out of step with the others.
Tuesday afternoon (2/23) I caught what I believe was a Copper's hawk perched in a tree past the retention pond at the end of the Pt. Edwards walkway. Cooper's hawks will tolerate much closer human presence than the skittish red-tailed hawks,
I cropped to show the head and tail, which are used to distinguish between the Copper's hawk and its look-alike cousin, the sharp-shinned hawk.
I was at the marina Wednesday afternoon (2/24) when Katy, the resident female kingfisher, flew up under a roof to eat a fish she had captured. Kingfishers will slam their catch on a hard surface (usually a rock) to kill it.
After eating, Katy made a dive into the marina for a second course, but came up empty. She perched on a boat to shake off the water and look for another fish.
Failing to more fish in the marina, she perched on a breakwater salmon sculpture, one of her usual hangouts.
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