Monday (7/14) a marsh wren put on a good show at (where else?) the marsh.
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Wldlife of Edmonds, WA. 2014
- Thread starter Bill Anderson
- Start date
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Those quails live in a dangerous neighborhood with coyotes, hawks, and eagles nearby.
I'll check further. I have seen merlins in the vicinity in the past. It was smaller than a crow and could turn quite quickly while cruising low over the marsh in search of prey. It flushed the killdeer several times before we finally saw it.
I last saw it as it was flying away from me, northeast towards City Park. From the rear it looked much like a Cooper's hawk, especially the color and length of its tail, but the wing beat was too rapid.
If it will help with ID-ing the bird, here are three of the shots posted above that I have cropped much closer and lightened up.
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Sandpipers continue to stop at the marsh during their fall migration. There was enough exposed mud during Tuesday evening's (7/15) high tide for the sandpipers to establish a beach head on the south side of the marsh. It was late enough that I could get some shots which were relatively clear, although the low angle of the sunlight presented other problems.
Wednesday's (7/16/14) avian assortment.
A spotted towhee gives me the zombie-eyed stare.
A mother mallard and her duckling at the marina.
A Heermann's gull drops a fish off the fishing pier.
Migrating shorebirds continue to stop at the marsh. These look like least sandpipers.
A spotted towhee gives me the zombie-eyed stare.
A mother mallard and her duckling at the marina.
A Heermann's gull drops a fish off the fishing pier.
Migrating shorebirds continue to stop at the marsh. These look like least sandpipers.
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The eagle which has been perching on the telephone pole next to the railroad tracks at the west end of the marsh is strafed by a gull.
I stopped at the two osprey nests in the Meadowdale area of Lynnwood and could not find signs of babies at either nest. I'll check last year's photos to see when I first spotted babies.
Dunn Lumber nest. Male and female
Meadowdale softball complex nest. Probably the female.
I stopped at the two osprey nests in the Meadowdale area of Lynnwood and could not find signs of babies at either nest. I'll check last year's photos to see when I first spotted babies.
Dunn Lumber nest. Male and female
Meadowdale softball complex nest. Probably the female.
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Saturday (7/19) was the first overcast day we have had in a while, so my son and I made the rounds photographing the usual suspects in the usual places with the hopes the photos might turn out better than those of recent days.
I was really hoping to see some visiting sandpipers at the marsh, but had to settle for a resident marsh wren.
Daren wanted to stop at the viewpoints on Pine St. above the Pt.Edwards condos. We found some birds below one of the viewpoints.
A covey of California quail.
White-crowned sparrows.
A robin and a spotted towhee.
I was really hoping to see some visiting sandpipers at the marsh, but had to settle for a resident marsh wren.
Daren wanted to stop at the viewpoints on Pine St. above the Pt.Edwards condos. We found some birds below one of the viewpoints.
A covey of California quail.
White-crowned sparrows.
A robin and a spotted towhee.
Those quails live in a dangerous neighborhood with coyotes, hawks, and eagles nearby.
Some shots from Sunday (7/20). It seems counter-intuitive that it is easier to take photos on an overcast day, but in some respects, it is. 
A white-crowned sparrow by the boardwalk at the marsh.
The Canada goose family in the grass at the west end of the marsh.
Two northern kingfishers stare at each other while perched on the line that stretches over Willow Creek in the far SW corner of the marsh.
Amid a cacophony of gulls, one of the eagles flew in and perched on a pole near where the kingfishers were perched.
A Coppers hawk in a tree along Admiral Way near the marina. I wonder if it is the same hawk I observed as a juvie in the same area 2-3 years ago.
A white-crowned sparrow by the boardwalk at the marsh.
The Canada goose family in the grass at the west end of the marsh.
Two northern kingfishers stare at each other while perched on the line that stretches over Willow Creek in the far SW corner of the marsh.
Amid a cacophony of gulls, one of the eagles flew in and perched on a pole near where the kingfishers were perched.
A Coppers hawk in a tree along Admiral Way near the marina. I wonder if it is the same hawk I observed as a juvie in the same area 2-3 years ago.
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Good lighting conditions (overcast, no glare, no heat waves) = no birds.
Poor lighting conditions (bright sunshine, glare, heat waves) = several unusual birds worth photographing.
All photos: 7D + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter, tripod mounted.
Monday (7/21) was bright and sunny, so guess what showed up at the marsh? First up was a peregrine falcon buzzing the marsh and scaring the shorebirds.
I thought this was an osprey as I was taking the photos. When I got home, I discovered it was a peregrine falcon eating prey in mid air high above the marsh.
The bird in the foreground is a long-billed (?) dowitcher. I think the unfocused bird in the right corner is the peregrine falcon which was flushing the dowitcher and killdeer in the marsh.
My best photo of the falcon.
Poor lighting conditions (bright sunshine, glare, heat waves) = several unusual birds worth photographing.
All photos: 7D + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter, tripod mounted.
Monday (7/21) was bright and sunny, so guess what showed up at the marsh? First up was a peregrine falcon buzzing the marsh and scaring the shorebirds.
I thought this was an osprey as I was taking the photos. When I got home, I discovered it was a peregrine falcon eating prey in mid air high above the marsh.
The bird in the foreground is a long-billed (?) dowitcher. I think the unfocused bird in the right corner is the peregrine falcon which was flushing the dowitcher and killdeer in the marsh.
My best photo of the falcon.
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Second up was the long-billed (?) dowitcher that the falcon had flushed.
Best photo of the dowitcher.
The dowitcher took off after the falcon flew by.
Best photo of the dowitcher.
The dowitcher took off after the falcon flew by.
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Finally, a pair of kingfishers provided entertainment chasing each other.
The lead bird had a fish that the second bird wanted. The second bird chased the first one south across the marsh, across the Unocal grounds, and disappeared around Pt. Edwards in full pursuit.
The lead bird had a fish that the second bird wanted. The second bird chased the first one south across the marsh, across the Unocal grounds, and disappeared around Pt. Edwards in full pursuit.
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Nice shots, Bill. I think your Peregrine just might be a Merlin.
I'll check further. I have seen merlins in the vicinity in the past. It was smaller than a crow and could turn quite quickly while cruising low over the marsh in search of prey. It flushed the killdeer several times before we finally saw it.
I last saw it as it was flying away from me, northeast towards City Park. From the rear it looked much like a Cooper's hawk, especially the color and length of its tail, but the wing beat was too rapid.
If it will help with ID-ing the bird, here are three of the shots posted above that I have cropped much closer and lightened up.
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