Hi All,

I took a walk along the Edmonds waterfront this morning starting at the
Union Oil/Edmonds Marsh. As I was pulling in to a parking space along the
north edge of the marsh, I noticed a Cooper?s Hawk perching very low in an
alder along the path. I was very careful exiting my vehicle, setting up my
camera and moving into a position behind a car where I could photograph the
Hawk without disturbing her. Just as I got her in my sights, something
obscured my view. I looked up to see two people staring at me as they
walked by on the path. I also saw the hawk flying away in the background.
Oh well. I felt worse that the bird had to waste precious energy and give
up her position to potential prey than I did about missing the photo.

The path along the north end of the marsh was teeming with life. Pine
Siskins, goldfinches, House Finches, Bushtits, Ruby-crowned Kinglets,
American Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds were filling the willows and
alders that line the path. A lone Yellow-rumped Warbler was foraging in the
upper branches of an alder near the tennis courts. The usual Anna?s
Hummingbirds were present, as were Song Sparrows, Bewick?s Wrens and
starlings. The marsh itself was very quiet. The only movement I saw was a
few crows and a flock of Canada Geese.

At the fishing pier the usual overwintering water birds were present.
Horned and Western Grebes were about, as were Red-breasted Mergansers,
Buffleheads, miscellaneous gulls, Double-crested Cormorants and Surf
Scoters. As I walked along the marina I stopped when I saw a series of
concentric rings in the water just below where I was standing. I got my
camera ready and waited for whatever had caused the rings to come up for
air. After about 30 seconds, a male Common Goldeneye popped to the surface.
In addition to photographing the goldeneye, I did capture a few other images
today. 10 of them are now in my New Photos gallery here:
http://www.goatislandimages.com/photogalleries.htm
My complete list from this morning is below.

Edmonds Marsh/Waterfront 02/02/09

Cooper?s Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer?s Blackbird
European Starling
American Robin
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Song Sparrow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Bushtit
Bewick?s Wren
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Crow
House Sparrow
Anna?s Hummingbird
Rock Pigeon
Canada Goose
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Surf Scoter
Red-breasted Merganser
Great Blue Heron
Double-crested Cormorant
Western Grebe
Horned Grebe
Mew Gull
Western Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull

Happy Groundhog Day!

Kevin Mack
Edmonds, WA
www.goatislandimages.com (version 2.0 coming soon!)