Two weeks in Snoqualmie has given me lots of time to observe one of the
local bald eagle pairs, possibly a new female as she looks much much larger
than what I remember the long-time female's size and behavior. Her wingspan
is so wide she takes longer to obtain enough lift to leave the lake and her
fishing techniques seem to take longer for success. Sometimes she seems to
just wait for her mate to bring her something. The pair seem much less
vocal. The female has a single note call when waiting for the male, and of
course they both use loud alert calling when there's an invader. Other than
that, they are pretty quiet. The one I believe is the female likes to sit
on the left high branch of their fishing tree and the one believed to be
male sits on the top of a long bare branch off to the right. The female
preened for hours yesterday morning. The male likes to sit on his perch
when the sun is setting. Crossing fingers for a successful breeding season!
Photo links below.

Also watched two wood duck pairs, along with a single mallard pair. Showing
up daily at the lake. The mallards nest along the lake every year and their
young quickly disappear as there are many predators in the area. (coyote,
bald eagles, great blue heron, etc.) Link below.

Delighted to watch a male Belted Kingfisher two days ago. Also, watched
hummingbirds gather fluff from cattails! New for me.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/149757809 at N04/26875300167/in/dateposted-public/

(let me know if the link works)

Here's to the rain reducing pollen! Happy birding.

T.L. Stokes
Ames Lake


--
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20180428/b03275a1/attachment.html>