I skipped (most of) the work day today. I didn’t want to stare at a computer screen for hours, there was nothing urgent I couldn’t take care of later, and most importantly, it’s been beautiful and sunny all day here in Seattle. I ended up going to both Discovery Park and Magnuson Park.
Shortly after I arrived in Discovery Park I stopped to look at a rather loud song sparrow and noticed movement on the tree trunk. At first I thought (by the size) that it might be a downy woodpecker, but no; instead, I’d found a reclusive brown creeper, the first time I’ve ever seen one!
Brown Creeper
Not long after, while carefully getting close to a small flock of bushtits, a juvenile bald eagle glided silently overhead, close enough that on one of the frames of the burst of shots I took I had to zoom out and it still filled the frame! Just behind it, apparently keeping an eye on the large raptor, was one of the many red-tailed hawks that live in and around Discovery Park.
Juvenile Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Now for the bushtits. There was a small flock of them quickly moving through some bushes and trees, feeding. Normally they don’t hold still for long, but this one had grabbed a small caterpillar of some sort and was violently smacking it against the side of the branch the bushtit was perched on, presumably to kill it before swallowing:
Bushtit with a caterpillar
Bushtit smacking caterpillar on the branch
Bushtit with limp caterpillar
A juvenile Cooper’s hawk flying above in the distance:
Juvenile Cooper’s hawk
And two different Anna’s hummingbirds I found while wandering around the south side of Discovery Park:
Anna’s hummingbird perched
Anna’s hummingbird closeup
After Discovery Park, I headed over to Magnuson Park on the west side of Lake Washington. It was pretty quiet aside from the constant calling of frogs and a trio of red-tailed hawks soaring in the distance, but I saw an empty nest:
Empty nest
There were a few swimming birds around as well:
American Wigeon
Pied-billed Grebe
Bufflehead pair
And on top of all these wonderful birds, when I got home I had an email waiting for me from the editor of the American Birding Association’s Birding magazine:
Hello, all. If you’re a recipient of this message, then your photo will be appearing in the members’ photo salon in the February 2015 Birding.
The photo I’d submitted about a month ago is going to be published! (which photo? Scroll to the bottom of this post, it’s the Eagle vs Heron picture)