Category Archives: wildlife

How Close Can I Get To The Hummingbirds?

We had a quiet time with the hummingbirds in our back yard for a while. I am not sure where they went but they were not on the feeders very often. However, that has changed as summer has rolled on and we now have a ton of them in the yard, often fighting with each other over who gets to feed. I decided to go and stand out near one of the feeders and stay still to see whether I could get closer to them or not. Little did I realize how uninterested in me that they were.

After I had been there a few minutes, they came in to feed and also to check me out. They would fly up to me and then move around me, stopping as they went. I seemed to be a curiosity for a moment and then they lost interest. Instead they would start sparring with each other. Some dramatic aerial jousting would take place, often around me. It must have been something to see from our deck because it felt amazing being there. No pictures of that because it all happened at high speed but I was able to get some shots of them as they hovered near the feeder at the times when they weren’t in battles.

Heron Swallowing Its Lunch

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Herons hunting for their food have been on here before. I have often been trying to get good shots of them making the strike as they go after a fish in the shallows. The effort to then eat that fish has also been covered here. Therefore, I am going to be repetitive today. I happened to be a lot closer than usual to a heron when it was fishing and I got some good close up shots of its head as it swallowed its meal. Looks like the fish didn’t have much of a chance!

Baby Red Wing Blackbird

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Earlier in the year, I got to see the red winged blackbirds nesting in Juanita Bay Park and then defending their nest from threats real and perceived. The humans were not causing them any problems but the herons were happy to much on a baby blackbird. It wasn’t long before these babies had fledged and were out with their parents. As with many baby birds, they were very demanding regarding food and not interested in getting it themselves. I came across this parent and child along one of the boardwalks. The chick looks like it should be able to take care of finding food but instead it just hung around making a ton of noise while the parent was busy trying to find something to keep it quiet!

Salmon Climbing The Ladder

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The salmon that come through the locks in Ballard come in three waves according to the park rangers. There are three types of salmon and each type comes at a slightly different time of year. (I’m sure the sales like this so they get three feeding times!). Within the fish ladder, they have a viewing gallery which allows you to see the fish as they loiter for a while before surging up the next step in the ladder against the flowing water.

It is quite impressive to see how fast they can go when they make an effort. They swim gently against the current in the viewing area waiting for a time that seems appropriate to them. Then they align themselves with the inlet port through which the water is rushing. This needs a dose of acceleration to avoid being pushed back into the gallery and then, once they are stabilized, a surge of effort and they zip up the port. Photos don’t do it much justice but video is a better medium. The reflections off the glass are not ideal but you will get the idea.

Jumping Chickadee

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Tracking moving birds can be tricky, particularly if they are small ones that are very agile and move fast. There was a chickadee perched on the railings of one of the platforms in Juanita Bay Park and I got a few shots of it as it hopped along the wood. A couple of times it launched into the air as I was tracking it. The shots are not that sharp as I was not prepared for it to move and it was quick but I found the look it is – as if it was jumping up – to be rather interesting. A cute looking bird.

Butterflies Or Moths?

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A bit of a Google search on the distinguishing characteristics of butterflies versus moths helped me out a bit but I don’t think it was quite as clear cut as I was hoping. We have a fluttering insect that seems to like our lavender plants a lot. I spent a little time one evening trying to get some shots of them at work. They don’t stay on any one section for long so a little patience and luck is in order. I didn’t know whether they were moths or butterflies. I think that they might be butterflies but, if they aren’t please don’t be too harsh in the comments.

Bees On The Lavender

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Nancy has been busy planting in our back yard at home and one of the plants she has gone with is a lavender plant. Some of the plants take a while to get established and even longer to attract the wildlife but the lavender seems to be an instant hit. It has had a steady stream of bees visiting it as well as other creatures. Bees are the focus today.

I spent a little time lying on the ground by the plant with the macro lens fitted. This is not necessarily an ideal choice as my macro is not a high end lens and it has pretty slow focusing motors. The camera tries to drive it but often it can’t keep up. However, stick with it and you can get some shots that work out. One of the things I had not anticipated was the proboscis that the bees have. Maybe they tuck it away when not on plants but, as they move between parts of the plant, it stays out and it is rather an intimidating looking item!

Osprey Getting In On The Seafair Action

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I spent the Friday of Seafair down at the shore of Lake Washington watching the flying demonstrations (and taking the occasional work call). The planes weren’t the only aviators over the lake though. Despite a TFR being in place, a local osprey decided to ignore it and cruise along the shore line. I never saw it actually dive after any prey for the whole time I was there. Instead it would just start towards the south end and gradually drift northwards. After it had completed the leg, it would return to the start and repeat the process.

Fortunately, it was very close to the shore and nowhere near the display box so there was no risk being posed to the performers in the show. However, it was quite a distraction to everyone around where I was and we would turn to watch it rather than the display aircraft each time it came through. Initially it was a little offshore and a bit of a reach with the long lens but it came progressively closer in and was right overhead on a number of occasions.

Heron In Flight

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Much of my heron photo collection is of them hunting for their lunch as they stand at the water’s edge. However, I do occasionally get photos of them in flight. Now I like most things that fly but I do think that the heron is not the most elegant bird when it is flying. The long outstretched neck works for a swan or a goose but, for a heron, it seems rather out of balance. With the large wings, it is an efficient flyer but it doesn’t have the look of a bird that is having an easy time of it. This one was heading across Juanita Bay and over the the shore where another heron had been hanging out and, as is the way of wildlife, it was determined to drive the other bird away whether it needed to or not!

Hummingbirds On Real Plants

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I have taken a ton of photos of the hummingbirds that come to our feeders in the back yard. However, a cooler shot is one that involves real plants rather than a metal feeder. We have hanging baskets which have sometimes provided food for the little critters but the majority of the flowers in our baskets this year do not seem to have interested them. Only one of the flowers seems to get some of them to feed and it is a narrow trumpet shaped flower that seems to thrive on the far side of the basket away from me and the light.

Of course, the sun does move so, with a little patience and forethought, it is possible to get in position and try to stay very still so as not to scare away the blighters. I have had some backlit results but they aren’t very appealing photos. They are better than nothing but getting on the right side of things is the goal and one I have finally managed to achieve. If I could get better angles, that would improve things but there are a good start. Now to spend more time waiting for them and try to avoid freaking out the neighbors in the meantime.