Wldlife of Edmonds, WA. 2014

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Friday (6/6/14) afternoon I was photographing trains on Sunset Ave. when an osprey and its crowtourage flew over me.

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Monday (6/9) Janine and I were photographing marsh wrens when one of the Pt. Edwards eagles flew over the marsh with its crowtourage in hot pursuit. The eagle landed on a telephone pole next to the railroad tracks where the evil minions of the Dark Lord continued to strafe it.
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A flock of starlings were flying around the marsh. They flew past the eagle and landed on telephone wires in front of it.
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The starlings took off and landed farther north on the wires, which caused the wires to bounce up and down.
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After the starlings departed, the crows continued their strafing of the eagle.
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While we were photographing the eagle, Janine noticed a small bird in the mud in front of us. I recognized it as a spotted sandpiper. I believe it is the first one I have seen at the marsh.
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Tuesday (6/10) one of the regular Yost Park owl hunters showed me the nesting burrow of the park's resident pair of pileated woodpeckers. He said there are two juvies, a male and female, which he believes are about to fledge.

We caught the male poking his head out as he awaited a food delivery from his parents.
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I like the hot pink punker spiked hair style of the juvies.
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We are approaching the summer solstice, which sees the most extreme tidal differences of the year. This affects water levels of the marsh, especially if there is little or no rain. I don't know if any of that is related to changes in bird behavior we have recently been observing there.

The crows, many of which have nests nearby, have been out hunting in the marsh.
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Starlings have been roosting on the telephone lines along the railroad tracks at the west end of the marsh. Periodically they will from the phone lines to the marsh and back.
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I don't think it is the classic starling murmuration, because they will land in the marsh and look for something.
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The marsh wrens at the Edmonds marsh will perch on atop a cattail to curse and moon you, then they will disappear into the cattail jungle before you can document their misbehavior. The song sparrows, on the other hand, are happy to serenade and pose for you while being photographed.

5DIII + 500L telephoto + 1.x teleconverter, tripod mounted moiunted.

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This afternoon afforded some pleasant sunlight and nice views of the Marsh Wrens and Song Sparrows at the Edmonds Marsh.

Canon 7D and 500mm f4L + 1.4x

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Good shots. It was not easy shooting in that bright sunshine at the marsh due to the heat waves coming up off the mud flats.
 
Tuesday morning (6/17) I caught an eagle making a dive at Brackett's Landing while I was on Sunset Ave.
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Some of the people on the jetty were looking the wrong way to watch the eagle, but two children appear to catch the action.
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I suspect the eagle is one of the Pt. Edwards pair, who constantly ignore the No Diving signs around the ferry dock.
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This week has seen some of the lowest tides of the year. Later Tuesday afternoon from about the same spot on Sunset Ave., I saw two eagles at the Shell Creek spit. The spit is located north of Brackett's Landing and is the northern apex of the Edmonds Birdmuda Triangle. The eagles were probably the Hutt Park pair.

I initially snapped some photos with the 5DIII + 100-400L zoom + 1.4x teleconverter.
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I was curious how photos using the 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x TC would come out given the bright sunshine and heat waves. I set up the tripod and took these photos. As you can see, a longer lens does not always guarantee a better photo.
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My favorites are the shots of the eagles flying right behind the oblivious folks on the walkway! Great job!
 
Saturday (6-21-14) was the first day of summer and I spent time set up on Sunset Ave. Late in the afternoon an osprey made two successful dives.

Dive #1: 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 1.4 teleconverter, tripod mounted.
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After consuming the fish while sitting on a shortwave radio antenna at the end of Hanna Park Rd., the bird returned and caught a second fish at the same location.

7D + 100-400L zoom, hand held. Although the osprey flew relatively close to me, photography was difficult due to the afternoon back lighting.
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The osprey attracted the attention of an evil minion of the Dark Lord.
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Both fish were fairly small, as the osprey could carry them using only one foot.
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