Got any bird pics?

Wadin' Boot · Sep 3, 2023

G_Smolt said:
Rufous Hummingbird, sheltering from the storm.
View attachment 77478

I'm diggin the yard art also, don't know how I missed this! Do you make those Mark?
So used to getting Osprey on a perch, typically the only reason they are on the beach is if they are scavenging, or prey is too heavy, maybe if they have to do a fine talon clean..
.

Brute · Sep 3, 2023

MT_Flyfisher · Sep 3, 2023

I wonder how many miles this fellow could see with such a clear blue Montana sky?

Scott Salzer · Sep 4, 2023

Dunlin?

Scott Salzer · Sep 4, 2023

Brute:

That is a big brood. Good luck to her / them.

tkww · Sep 5, 2023

Scott Salzer said:
Dunlin?

Sanderling?

Stonedfish · Sep 5, 2023

I’ve seen Loons in the saltwater before, but not nearly as often as in freshwater.
I’ve been seeing a Loon lately on one particular beach I’ve been fishing. Very cool to hear their call early in the morning.
What would cause a Loon to take up residency in the salt rather than freshwater, a food source?
There are a lot of herring available at this beach.
SF

Brute · Sep 5, 2023

Scott Salzer said:
Brute:

That is a big brood. Good luck to her / them.

Moments after I took this pic, a seagull attacked and swallowed one of the chicks...this was at Brooks Falls in AK last summer...

MT_Flyfisher · Sep 5, 2023

This is one the reasons why this place is called Paradise Valley.

smc · Sep 5, 2023

Some amazing bird photography here: https://www.birdpoty.com/bpoty-2023-winners

Hard to pick a favorite, but this one is lovely...

View fullsize 'Dawn at the Door of the Farmhouse' by Julian Fernandez Quilez

'Dawn at the Door of the Farmhouse' by Julian Fernandez Quilez

Stonedfish · Sep 6, 2023

The Osprey hatchlings were really talking last night. I couldn’t quite get a good picture of them. Their nest is on a cell tower at the Home Depot on Aurora Ave North. These birds definitely get to see some freaky stuff.
They should start their southern migration pretty soon.
SF

Bonefish Jack · Sep 6, 2023

Interesting feather coloration on the back of this Black-capped Chickadee in my back yard. It seems like it is not a molting thing ... and I have never seen this bird before ... Ideas?

Scott Salzer · Sep 7, 2023

There is a term for it - leucistic. Not sure the spelling is quite right. I have seen a chickadee like that at our feeder.

Scott Salzer · Sep 7, 2023

leu·cism

(lo͞o′kĭz′əm)
n.
A partial loss of pigmentation in a human or other animal, resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, fur, or feathers but not the eyes.

SKYKO · Sep 7, 2023

MELinOre · Sep 7, 2023

These two ducks were guarding my boat on Tuesday morning. They were within 6 feet of my drifter.

Wadin' Boot · Sep 8, 2023

Stonedfish said:
The Osprey hatchlings were really talking last night. I couldn’t quite get a good picture of them. Their nest is on a cell tower at the Home Depot on Aurora Ave North. These birds definitely get to see some freaky stuff.
They should start their southern migration pretty soon.
SF

View attachment 80995

Those guys are frequent kleptoparasitic victims of the Eagle family at Haller lake. Ground zero for the fish steals? Generally 60 feet above King County Hazardous waste dropoff or the Halcyon mobile home park. You could, if you were bold, stand on 125th and verify which of those two sites is the better for birding. You could also see, as you allude to, no shortage of other transactional relationships (including mating dances), preening behaviors, petty squabbles and so on between the flightless, nonmigratory birds of Aurora Avenue....

SilverFly · Sep 10, 2023

Some kind of dove. Mourning? Eurasian... ?

Cabezon · Sep 10, 2023

SilverFly said:
Some kind of dove. Mourning? Eurasian... ?

View attachment 81612

Mourning
Steve

Greg Armstrong · Sep 10, 2023

Stonedfish said:
I’ve seen Loons in the saltwater before, but not nearly as often as in freshwater.
I’ve been seeing a Loon lately on one particular beach I’ve been fishing. Very cool to hear their call early in the morning.
What would cause a Loon to take up residency in the salt rather than freshwater, a food source?
There are a lot of herring available at this beach.
SF

Love hearing that call they make. I saw/ heard one making that eerie sounding call one time while in full flight. I didn’t expect that.

It’s pretty common for them to migrate to and overwinter on the Sound, especially northern Puget Sound and on the Canal. I suspect for the abundant food source plus, the water doesn’t freeze.