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Monday (8/25) I went to the fish hatchery for a change of pace and to avoid the distorting heat waves of the marsh. In Joe's black-throated gray warbler thread I had mentioned that I had not seen one in three or four years. Monday I saw one or two in a tree on the fish hatchery grounds.
A lot of yellow on the breast, but I still think it is a black-throated gray warbler.
Thanks. The warbler was farther away than I would have liked as well as being in constant motion among the branches and in & out of the shadows.
Here are photos I took earlier of a much closer black-capped chickadee which appears to have just taken a bath in Willow Creek. It was drying out in a tree on the opposite bank from me. Intervening branches prevented magazine quality photos.
Wednesday afternoon (8/27) a flock of 30-40 barn swallows gathered on the telephone lines at the west end of the marsh and a nearby building under construction across the railroad tracks. I had never before seen such a large flock of swallows and assumed they were in the process of migrating south for the winter.
Thursday afternoon (8/28) I once again caught the adult Cooper's hawk hunting along Pine St. on Pt. Edwards. Unlike the shy red-tailed hawk, the Cooper's hawk will let you get fairly close while it scans the ground below for prey.
I once again caught the adult Cooper's hawk hunting along Pine St. on Pt. Edwards. Unlike the shy red-tailed hawk, the Cooper's hawk will let you get fairly close while it scans the ground below for prey.
Thursday morning I got a few shots from the marsh. I dragged out the 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter + tripod as it was still overcast and heat wave distortion was minimal.
Semipalmated plover.
From a distance they can be hard to distinguish from their larger cousins, the resident killdeer, one of which is in the background.
Sandpipers continue to be a mix of least and westerns. I hope they stick around through Bird Fest.
Friday I got my 5DIII back from the Camera Clinic. Labor Day (9/1) after my return from Vancouver (WA), I made a brief tour of the usual spots with the 5DIII + 100-400L telephoto zoom + 1.4x teleconverter.
I found the Pt. Edwards adult Copper's hawk hunting along Pine St. It was perched on one light pole and flew to the light pole directly above me after I got out of the car. I had to back off to the 100mm end of the zoom to get the bird in flight. The really good shots of it headed directly at me were not in focus, but I managed to get a sequence of it landing on top of the light pole.
I pulled the lens out to the 400mm end of the zoom to get some close ups.
Too close.
The hawk is not shy and will let you stand underneath it. My only fear is that it will get hit by a car as it swoops down over the street from the light pole. Cooper's hawks have a reputation for injuring or killing themselves by flying into things as the swoop down on prey.
We had a fairly rare visit of an adult Coopers Hawk this morning.
All shots were with my old Canon 40D and 400mm f5.6L hand held - ISO 800 and in the 1/320s to 1/800s range at 5.6.
This first shot was through our kitchen window - it was sitting on a bent pine adjacent to our feeders just waiting for a morning snack
Then it flew down for a moment and then back up to the top of our feeder stand - so these shots look like they were taken at the zoo....Bill knows how much I don't like feeder shots, but beggars can't be choosey
Just after this shot, it flew down to our pasture and headed southwest.
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