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Monday evening (8/4) I went to the marsh looking for the merlin. These photos were all taken from the #2 (main) viewing platform. Last week someone with a range finder measured the distance from the viewing platform to the first tree/hedge line as 289 yards.
7D + 100-400L telephoto zoom
This is how it appears to the naked eye.
But the real action was the appearance of the marsh coyote after sunset. Several people watching the coyote commented how healthy it appears compared to others they have seen.
The coyote was out in the open, then disappeared into the vegetation along the north bank of Willow Creek. I could see ducks and geese farther west in the creek. I figured the coyote would stalk the birds by creeping down the creek, then make a mad dash for the kill like a lion or cheetah on Wild Kingdom.
That is exactly what happened, but the birds flushed and the coyote came up empty.
This coyote has a full tail. One marsh coyote I have photographed in the past had a hairless tail. I don't know if this is a different coyote or if the former coyote has grown back the fur on its tail.
The coyote watched the birds fly off after it had flushed them.
Looking at us standing on the #1 (western) viewing platform.
It moved east and began hopping in the grass like coyotes do when they are hunting rodents.
Tuesday afternoon (8/5) I had just stepped out of my car in the IGA parking lot in downtown Edmonds when I heard the familiar cries of gulls announcing the presence of an eagle. I thought one of our local first year juvies was circling high over town, but the wing and tail shapes looked wrong. An examination of my photos at home revealed the bird to be a red-tailed hawk. It is the first red-tail I have seen in town in a long time.
After dropping my son off at tennis lessons later that evening, I stopped to check on the Hutt Park eaglet while on my way to the marsh. The eaglet was perched in the nest tree when I arrived.
My last stop before sunset was the marsh. I dug out the 500L + 1.4x teleconverter in the hopes of catching the merlin perched in the trees at the south side of the marsh, where it rests between dragonfly hunting soirees in the cattails below.
The merlin did not disappoint us. It appeared to seek out the remaining sunlight from the tops of the trees. I hope these photos are good enough for a falconologist to identify its age and sex.
I wonder what the future holds for this merlin. Will it set up residence at the marsh or is it merely passing through town?
A song sparrow was drying off in a blackberry bush next to the #3 viewing platform.
The return of Wesley. I have not seen him in months. His habitat next to the #1 viewing platform has been torn up with the installation of a second training boat in the corner next to his tree, which is dying as a result.
The marsh merlin was across the tracks near the marina.
The herons have returned to the mash. Six of them were at one of their usual spots off the #1 viewing platform.
At least four kingfishers have been chasing each other along Willow Creek at the south side of the marsh. One of them was perched on the pole in the middle of the photo and had just dived into the creek as two others flew past.
Later that evening Terry and I paid a visit to the Pt. Edwards walkway. A Cooper's hawk was hidden in a bush near us and flew up to a small tree as we approached. It perched in the tree for a few minutes, then flew off.
We walked down to the retention pond where once again we saw the resident heron capture a rodent which was burrowed int the bank of the pond.
The heron will dip the rodent into the water. I don't know if this is to drown it or make it easier to swallow.
Thanks, Chad. I was about a 100 yards (well, would you believe closer to 200 feet). Shot it with the 400 and 40D at 1,000s ISO 400....its actually a pretty good crop.
Some great blue herons have returned to the marsh. A contact in DFW says the white heads indicate they are sub adults.
A Wilson's warbler and a robin were at the fish hatchery grounds.
The rodent catching heron of the Pt. Edwards walkway was up in the old light stand. I think it is accustomed to people as it was not disturbed by our presence.
Around 6:30pm I returned to the marsh in the hopes of getting more photos of the merlin. The kingfishers have been very active as well. I finally got some halfway decent long distance shots using the 7D + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter without the heat distortion.
I switched to the 100-400L zoom when the merlin began flying to the north side of the marsh and perching on trees near the #1 (far west) viewing platform.
This shot required a lot of tweeking as the merlin was just a silhouette. I was looking west right into the sun and the bird was completely back lit.
The shots got easier when the merlin landed in the evergreen which overhangs the boardwalk to the east of the #1 platform.
After a few trips to the boardwalk, the merlin remained on the far south side of the marsh. The kingfishers made a few trips north across the marsh. In these shots, a male with something in its bill is chasing a female. Is this a courtship ritual or a territorial dispute?
Some herons were flying into the marsh shortly before sunset. You can always expect some squabbling if one lands too close to another one.
