Wildlife of Edmonds, WA.

[Bill Anderson]

Hummer Wars

A three way battle took place Saturday (8/31) morning at the marsh. Wesley, the Anna's hummer which rules the #1 viewing platform, was fighting off two invaders.

This is the same tree where the green heron was perched two days earlier. Wesley was facing down one opponent......




when a second foe showed up. In the past I have photographed two hummers chasing each other, but this is the first time I have gotten three combatants in one photo.




One of the winged warriors taking a break.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Snakes on a Path

While I was at the marsh looking for birds, I found several garter snakes sunning themselves along the marsh walkway. One nice thing about the Puget Sound area is that our snakes are cute and harmless. There are no venomous snakes waiting to bite you or illegally released pet pythons or boas trying to hunt you down and squeeze you to death.

These small garter snakes must be vigilant, as they are hunted by crows and hawks.


Two snakes in this photo.




Although the snakes appear to be all of the same species, some have yellow stripes and some have orange stripes. A function of age and/or sex???????

 

[Terry O]

Great and unusual hummer shots, Bill. Keep up the good work while I'm gone! See you on the 15th See if you can keep the green heron at the marsh!
BTW, our garter snake was doing the same thing - its certainly grown!

 

[Christine]

Gosh.. love the Hummer shots!! Your in bird paradise up there!!

 

[Bill Anderson]

Gosh.. love the Hummer shots!! Your in bird paradise up there!!

You should come up for the Bird Fest next Saturday.

 

[Bill Anderson]

For the past two weeks migratory shorebirds have been stopping at the marsh. Our "California" summer of continuous bright, sunny days has made photographing the shorebirds very difficult as heat waves rising from the mudflats and water greatly distort the photos. Matters are made all the worse by use of a telephoto lens, which compresses the distortion over the distance I must shoot.

Sunday (9/1) a flock of nine large shore birds touched down briefly at the marsh. I believe they were greater yellowlegs due to their slightly upturned bill and yellow legs. I'm sorry the photos are not better.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Labor Day (9/2) was no holiday for Wesley as he continued to fight off invaders in his territory around the #1 viewing platform of the marsh.




A great blue heron landed on the old light tower at the end of the Pt. Edwards walkway.


Down at the marina, this heron meticulously groomed a single feather.


A photo of Boeing's Dream Lifter circling Puget Sound. After I downloaded the photos to my computer, I realized a Caspian tern was in the shot. Although the compression factor of the telephoto lens makes it look as thought the tern was in danger of getting sucked into one of the Dream Lifter's jet engines, I can assure you that no birds (man-made or natural) were harmed during the making of this photo.

 

[Bill Anderson]

The green heron made another appearance on the north side of the marsh Tuesday (9/3).


It got scared by a passing train and flew back to Willow Creek on the far south side of the marsh.




A cloud cover made photographing the sandpipers much easier.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Wesley was out hunting for bugs.


And the hummer wars continue.

 

[JaniceL]

A photo of Boeing's Dream Lifter circling Puget Sound. After I downloaded the photos to my computer, I realized a Caspian tern was in the shot. Although the compression factor of the telephoto lens makes it look as thought the tern was in danger of getting sucked into one of the Dream Lifter's jet engines, I can assure you that no birds (man-made or natural) were harmed during the making of this photo.
View attachment 12047

Love the "evasive action of aircraft.

 

[Bill Anderson]

We had another thunderstorm Thursday (9/5) morning, our second in one week. After the downpour stopped, I noticed an evil minion of the Dark Lord buzzing something in my next door neighbor's back yard. It was a juvie Copper's hawk drying itself out on my neighbor's back fence.


I see a Cooper's hawk in the back yard about once a year. My backyard neighbor and I both have bird feeders, so I suspect the hawks are in the vicinity but hide from the crows. The other day I found some feathers and a small skull by the back patio. At the time I thought that one of my cats had gotten a bird, but I now wonder if the bird hunter was a hawk.

The marsh was fairly quiet except for a kingfisher which was bathing by flying low over the water, then landing by means of a belly flop and splashing around.


Two years ago I photographed a kingfisher doing the same thing up at the retention pond at the end of the Pt. Edwards walkway. Too bad the kingfisher at the marsh was so far away. It was entertaining to watch and photograph the wash, rinse, and repeat.

Later in the afternoon I parked at the top of the bluff on Sunset Ave. and photographed a pair of Caspian terns diving for fish below me in Puget Sound. The terns had to be careful that their hard earned meals would not get pilfered by one of the local avian beach rats.


After a dive, terns and osprey will pause in mid air and shake off the water to lighten their payload. Bald eagles have not learned that trick and will fly off loaded down with prey + water clinging to their feathers.


The light was not the best and the water was rough. The terns' eyesight is amazing, as they still caught fish under those less than ideal conditions.


For the locals, don't forget the Puget Sound Bird Fest at Edmonds runs this weekend: http://www.pugetsoundbirdfest.com/

 

[Bill Anderson]

A black-headed grosbeak was at my backyard feeder Sunday (9/8). I cannot remember seeing one at my feeder before.

 

[Bill Anderson]

This is Wesley, the Anna's hummer who guards the #1 viewing platform at the marsh.


Saturday (9/7) he was stalking a bug.




Naturally the camera broke focus just as he moved in for the kill.


Edit: I believe this is a female Anna's. There are three Anna's which have been chasing each other around the #1 viewing platform, one of which is Wesley and one of which is this female.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Some backyard birds from Monday (9/9).

The female black-headed grosbeak continues to hang out in my backyard. From what I have read, she is probably a migrant passing through town. She is a welcome relief from the hordes of house finches and juncos which empty my feeders this time of the year.




Red-breasted nuthatches like to take peanuts from my feeder and stash them in the deep crevices of the bark of my Doug firs.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Down at the marsh, a flock of red-winged blackbirds were digging for larvae which live in the cattail heads. The blackbirds dislodge the cattail fuzz, which flies away to spread seeds for new plants. Everyone wins except the larvae.








While stopped at an intersection near Pine Ridge Park, my son and I saw what I thought was a juvie Cooper's or sharp-shinned hawk perched high in a tree next to some houses. I parked the pickup and took some shots. Taking a closer look on the computer, I wonder if it was a merlin.


Edit: The photo has been viewed by several birders who agree that the bird is a merlin. It is only the second time I have photographed a merlin in Edmonds.

 

[Bill Anderson]

I believe this is a female Anna's. There are three Anna's which have been chasing each other around the #1 viewing platform, one of which is Wesley and one of which is this female.

Wednesday (9/11) Wesley was checking out the female Anna's.




Wesley was also busy hunting bugs. Many people don't know that hummers eat bugs as a source of protein.

 

[Bill Anderson]

A yellow-rumped warbler in non-breeding plumage was also busy hunting bugs.







It raided numerous spider webs and consumed the occupants.

 

[Bill Anderson]

I saw four garter snakes sunning themselves in the morning sun along the marsh walkway before the record-setting high temperature for the date got too hot for them. I have always had a fascination with reptiles and appreciate the fact that our local snakes are non-threatening.

 

[Bill Anderson]

From Thursday (9/12).

I finally got a shot of the female black-headed grosbeak in the sun. I will be happy to supply her with all-she-can-eat peanuts if she will spend the winter.


A Bewick's wren, one of my favorite backyard birds.


A flock of seventeen shorebirds landed at the marsh. From their cries, I thought they were all killdeer and initially did not give them much thought.


Closer inspection (and some closer cropping) , however, revealed a sandpiper and semipalmated plover among the killdeer.


Reeeaaaallly close cropping.
Left: killdeer, middle: sandpiper, right: semipalmated plover. Note the smaller size and single neck band of the plover compared to the similar looking killdeer.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Wesley and another Anna's were strafing and chasing each other by the #1 viewing platform. I tried to capture the hummer in the air at the bottom of its "J" dive as it swooped past the hummer perched on the tree. The challenges:

1) Having to back off to the 100mm end of my 100-400 zoom so I could get both hummers in the photo. This leads to very close cropping back home at the computer.

2) Shooting hundreds of shots in the hopes of getting the one shot at the instant the stafing hummer flew past.

3) Balancing the aperature setting and shutter speed to achieve sufficient depth of field so both birds are in focus and the strafing bird is frozen in flight, plus an ISO setting low enough so the photos are not noisy.

Here are some of my first efforts. The shots were taken over the course of several "J" dives at 1/1000 sec., f/20 and f/16. Watching the action live, the strafing hummer is just a blurred dot as it races past the perched hummer.











My next step will be to try this with a tripod locked onto the bird on the branch so I can track the strafing bird before initiates its dive. This will save me hundreds of shots.