I took advantage of the beautiful weather we had today and drove over to Fir Island to see what I could find.  I didn’t have a very good start, but eventually found this Black-capped chickadee (and its mate) excavating a cavity in a tree limb about 20′ off the ground.  I watched as the bird threw several mouthfuls of wood out of the cavity, and it finally gathered a really big beakfull and flew away.  I don’t think this work is progressing in earnest now, but it might be that these birds, like several others, develop several nesting sites and then choose one in which to nest.

Black-capped chickadee excavating nest cavity.

My next acquisition was a Marsh wren at the Rawlins Road access.  The bird announced its presence to anyone listening, and I spent about an hour and a half patiently waiting for the opportunity to photograph it.   Unfortunately the sun was harsh and the photo didn’t come out that well, but just getting any photo of one of these birds can be an accomplishment.

Marsh wren.

My next significant bird was what I’m calling the season’s first Savannah sparrow, photographed at the Jensen access.  There appeared to be only one in the area and I obtained a photo of it.  As the spring progresses this will be a favorite location for these birds.

First Savannah sparrow of the year for me!

I drove down Channel Drive on the way back and found a Golden-crowned sparrow eating parts of the blossoms on what I think was a Salmonberry bush.

Golden-crowned sparrow eating blossoms.

At the beginning of my trip out I had seen a Pied-billed grebe (first one this year for me) at the Cap Sante Marina, but I didn’t stop for photos.  On the way back I swung by the marina and the grebe was gone but a Common loon was in evidence.

Common Loon.

Ahhh… the price we photographers pay!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was made several trips to the Rawlin’s Road access in January and February trying to obtain some good photos of Short-eared owls.  On one of my trips to the area I noted that the Short-eared owls seemed to be spending much more time in the large field to the north.  I knew there would be a problem crossing the ditch near the access point, but I resolved on one of my visits to cross the ditch and venture across the field in hopes of getting closer to the owls.

I was carrying my camera with large lens mounted and also with my monopod mounted.  This alone weighs about 13 pounds but in addition I was carrying my bag with photo equipment which probably weighs close to another 20-25 pounds.  I found a place where the ditch wasn’t very wide… and attempted to jump across.

Instant disaster!  In the first place I now have an artificial knee, and it doesn’t propel me well nor does it provide a very secure landing.  I had failed to notice that my landing point had a considerable slope to it and was covered in some kind of ‘reedy’ vegetation which, especially when wet, provided a natural sliding surface.  I sort of made it across the ditch, but as soon as I hit the other side I realized that I was off balance and needed to lean forward more.  As I tried to shift my balance point my foot started slipping on the vegetation and I went down on one knee.  I managed to protect my photographic gear but one of my feet slowly sank into the ditch!  Those ditches out there are gross and I didn’t want any part of my body in them, but I was now past that point.  I managed to drag myself up the bank and still protect my photographic gear, but I was a mess by the time I was able to stand.

They say that every cloud has a silver lining, but this cloud’s lining just happened to be gold!  I walked just a couple of feet from where I had fallen in the ditch and flushed an American bittern.  It didn’t fly very far and by some careful maneuvering I was able to obtain a few rather poor photos of it hiding in the reeds.  If you’re a birder you know that this can be a very difficult bird to find due to their excellent camouflage for their habitat and their habit of freezing when anyone is in the vicinity.

So I was somewhat disappointed in the photos I obtained (I’m not displaying them here) BUT… I was now alerted to the fact that there was at least one bittern that probably frequented this area.

So about a week later I was in the same area and this time I was looking for the bittern.  I didn’t have to look long or hard.  I found the bittern completely out in the open where I had encountered the heron about a week previously.  It immediately went into its ‘beak in the sky’ hiding pose… but it was completely in the open!  Over the next hour or so I managed to photograph the bird at my leisure, and I even alerted other photographers in the area to the bird’s presence after it had moved from it’s open position.  I probably took a hundred photos… some of which I’ll now share with you.

So the first three photos here are of the relatively rare sight of the secretive American bittern in the open…

And finally, a couple of photos of what makes you appreciative of seeing this bird at all!

I spent considerable time birding Fir Island in January, and most of my focus was on trying to photograph Short-eared owls and Northern harriers at the Rawlins Road Fish and Game Preserve.

When I’m in the area I usually stop at the Snow Goose concession to see what can be coaxed from the brush along their parking area.  On this particular day I obtained photos of Song sparrows (which are quite common along the edge of the parking lot)…

Song Sparrow

and a very cooperative Bewick’s wren, which can be challenging to find and even more challenging to photograph.

Bewick’s Wren

Once at the access area I discovered that it was at a period of low tide.  The resident Great Blue heron there was by this time getting quite used to people and I was able to observe and photograph the bird while it was finding food in the drainage ditch.  It seemed to be mainly searching in the tangled grass along the side of the ditch, and I could see it obtaining light-colored objects from the grass from time to time.  I assumed that it was getting small crustaceans, but in magnifying some of my photos in the camera viewer I could see that the heron was actually retrieving very small fish that had apparently been left in tangled vegetation as the tide receded.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Despite several forays to the area over a several week period I never did obtain a Short-eared owl photo of the quality I wanted.

Short-Eared Owl

Before I get to photographs I want to mention that our first confirmed Rufous hummingbird sighting of the year occurred on March 21.  It was a female.  I think we had seen two other females in the yard about a week previously but were unable to confirm whether they were Annas or Rufous.  However I never noticed a female Anna’s wintering-over so I suspect the Rufous females were actually here around 3/15.  And the very next day after the female confirmation, a male Rufous showed up in the yard but hung around only briefly.  (Sorry, no photos yet.)

These birds will provide several months of photo opportunities here in the yard, and it won’t be long before my blog switches back to concentrating on birds that visit the yard.

If you feed hummingbirds, now is about the time to put out feeders!  The Rufous hummingbirds will be showing up soon.  A good indicator of their arrival is the blooming of the Red currants.

With the good weather we had today I decided to do a little birding in the Samish Flats this afternoon.  My first tour was around March Point where I found this male Eurasian wigeon mixed in with a large, but strung-out (not on drugs!) group of American wigeons.  I returned a couple of hours later and he was still in the same area.  This is my personal best sighting of the Eurasian wigeon and my first photographs.

Male Eurasian Wigeon