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The eagle made one fishing run out to the Sound while I was there, but returned empty-taloned.
I experimented with the eagle shots by using a circular polarizing filter (CPF) in conjunction with my 5D mk III + 100-400L telephoto zoom + Tamron 1.4x teleconverter.
This year's crop of Canada goose goslings is growing up quickly.
The killdeer are year round residents of the Edmonds marsh. As such, it is quite easy to take their presence for granted and ignore them. One ventured closer than usual to the boardwalk, so I snapped a few photos of it.
Wednesday morning (6/13) at Scriber Lake in nearby Lynnwood, WA.
Ducklings and turtles share a log.
The duckings have quickly learned the mooching ways of their parents and swim over to the floating walkway in the hopes of a getting handout from me.
No handouts from me. Cuteness will only get you so far in this world.
Robins don't need no stinkin' handouts.
This black-capped chickadee had just flown out of a burrow in a nearby tree. I didn't have time to stick around and see if it would return with food for nestlings.
Later that evening I went to Yost Park in search of baby owls. I drew a blank on the owls, but got some interesting photos of a pileated woodpecker that spent time pecking away at two trees beside the path.
Some shots from Monday (6/17). I also took photos of two local osprey nests, but I'll start a separate thread for those.
A violet-green swallow was checking out a potential nesting site at the marina.
A pair of red-breasted sapsuckers kept working a nearby tree while I was taking photos of the osprey at the Meadowdale softball complex. I finally got a decent shot of one when it landed on the trunk below the branches.
This one stopped on the light pole below the osprey nest while heading back to its burrow. You can see an insect in its bill.
I like the shadow on the pole as it took off.
I assume the pair of sapsuckers have a burrow with babies in the grove near the light tower, as they kept flying between there and other trees in the area for the entire time I was photographing the osprey.
Tuesday (6/18) evening I returned to owl hunting at Yost Park. Five of us were chatting on the boardwalk at the bottom of the ravine when I saw a Swainson's thrush perched on top of a stump. It was nearly dark and I snapped this photo at 1/125, f/5.6, and ISO 51200. Given the lighting conditions, I was surprised to get an image at all.
I believe I have seen and heard more Swainson's thrushes in Yost Park this year than in past years. I must admit to spending more time in the park than in past years as I hunt "this year's" bird, the park's pair of barred owls.
Earlier in the evening I photographed one of the pair perched in a Doug fir located high up the side of the ravine in the NE corner of the park. Once again the robins helped me locate the owl.
A few minutes earlier, my son and I had startled the owl from a perch which was about the same level as us. Based on my observations, I conclude that the barred owls are not bothered by humans as long as they are perched above us.
Wednesday (6/19) Terry and I hit the marsh before lunch, where we found a spawn of the evil minions of the Dark Lord sitting on the walkway by the main (#2) viewing platform.
We were both concerned as the baby crow was too young to fly, but both parents were nearby and there were bushes for it to hide in.
One of the parents fed it.
And remained nearby.
I have found that baby crows are not very afraid of humans, so I knelt down and got close to the baby to see if it would come to me. The parents did not like this and began raising h*** and buzzed me. I was hoping Terry would take a photo of the action, but he didn't.
Later that afternoon my son Daren and I went to Yost Park, where we found the barred owl pair perched together in one of their usual spots at the bottom of the ravine near Shell Creek.
The "catch of the day" was what appeared to be a family outing of three pileated woodpeckers near the parking lot. The birds remained under a dark, heavy, canopy of Doug firs, which forced me to shoot at very high (and noisy) ISO settings using slow shutter speeds.
This one is probably a recently fledged juvenile as evidenced by its "punker" pink top knot. It was noticeably smaller than the other two birds.
The juvie looks to be a male based on the developing (and barely visible) red patch below the proximal end of its bill.
Most likely the mother, as there is no red patch below the bill. I know it's a lousy shot taken in deep shade through intervening foliage, but I wanted to show her tongue reaching down into the hole in search of bugs.
Probably the father based on the red patch below its bill.
Sunday (6/23) Terry and I walked the beach south from Pt. Edwards in Edmonds/Woodway to Pt. Wells at Richmond Beach. The tides were the lowest of the year (-3.5 ft), which exposes sandbars that run from the shore out into Puget Sound. Fish and crabs become trapped in isolated tidal pools, which draws eagles and herons for an easy buffet lunch. We were on the lookout for both the Pt. Edwards and Pt. Wells pair of bald eagles.
We did not have to walk far before spotting one of the Pt. Edwards eagles in a tree on the bluff above the railroad tracks.
Looking west. Lots of people were on the beach hunting clams and enjoying the annual summer super low tide, which created interesting photos of the eagles and people in close proximity.
One of the Pt. Edwards eagles joins its mate.
I believe eagles recognize their mates by the use of screech recognition software.
This past weekend I discovered a pair of Bewick's wrens (one of my favorite LBB's) nesting in a decorative bird box that my wife hung under the back deck. I can take photos a few feet out the back door from the bottom of the stairs which lead up to the deck.
The male has been hunting for food and dropping it off in the nest for the female.
