Loons, Surf Scoters and more

[james thiel]

My wife and I went for a weekend get-a-way to a place called Semiahmoo. This is in NW Washington State and it looks out to White Rock, Canada, just across the bay. As a young boy I remember digging for Indian Artifacts where the resort is now. As it turned out, I saw four new birds all in breeding plumage. I felt very fortunate to have seen and photographed these all in the same day.

The first is the common loon. It was in it's breeding plumage. My first real opportunity for a reasonable close shot of this pretty bird.

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Then I saw this Red-Necked Grebe. It too waMs in breeding plumage. I have never seen this bird before.

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Then I looked over and saw a group of Harllequin Ducks. I have wanted to get a picture of these for a long time. I only got a few shots off before they flew off. I hope to get more opportunities in the near future as they are a beautiful bird.

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I saw lots of Surf Scoters. I took many pictures and will post more later on just those birds. Here a couple of them.

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And another first for me, a Black-Bellied Plover in breeding plumage
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I need an ID on this one. The yellow on the bill is throwing me off.
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Here is a harbor seal playing hide and seek.
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And an eagle that made a fast pass by. I turned and shot and only had a split second to acquire it. Wish I had seen it sooner.
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[hangin tree]

Great Series Jim

 

[cajun angel]

WOW, Jim! Loved every one of them! I'm envious you got such a wonderful shot of the surf scoter! Wonderful variety and oh what a nice job! I'm green! :biggrin: :tongue: :biggrin:

 

[james thiel]

Great Series Jim

Thanks Gary.

 

[james thiel]

WOW, Jim! Loved every one of them! I'm envious you got such a wonderful shot of the surf scoter! Wonderful variety and oh what a nice job! I'm green! :biggrin: :tongue: :biggrin:

Thanks Dianne. You would love it at this spot. The surf scoters were all over the place. I got lots of them flying and playing as well. I think I lost count at over a hundred of them. I thought your picture was very good. Last year I was on one of the San Juan Islands. I was taking a picture of an eagle when a lady asked me what the strange looking bird was down below us on a log. I saw it, took lots of pictures but had no idea what it was. It was my first time seeing a surf scoter. They are sure funny looking things. I hope you get more opportunities to shoot them.

 

[Louis Champan]

I'd say you had an outstanding weekend based on these excellent images. What a great variety Jim. You sure nailed it on the Loon. On the shots I got of the Loon I found it a bit difficult to get the exposure just right with the light I had. Again, excellent shots all of them.

Louie

 

[RonS]

Good shots Jim. Unusual birds to what we have inland.

 

[hillrg]

My goodness Jim - you had a great day! I have been wanting to get a common loon for ages. I've only ever seen one, and did not get a chance to shoot it.

 

[Gale]

All wonderful captures
Great work

 

[mike mac]

Very nice stuff all the way around sorry no help with the ID

 

[james thiel]

I'd say you had an outstanding weekend based on these excellent images. What a great variety Jim. You sure nailed it on the Loon. On the shots I got of the Loon I found it a bit difficult to get the exposure just right with the light I had. Again, excellent shots all of them.

Louie

Thanks Louie. I think the loon is one of the hardest birds to get a shot of. It seems that in order to get any detail on the eyes, then the whites get blown. I was lucky to have this one turn with the last sun of the day on its face. Most of my shots have no detail in the face but then that is ok as the body really shows up. I saw your shots and they were great.

 

[james thiel]

Good shots Jim. Unusual birds to what we have inland.

Thanks Ron. I think that is why I was able to add a few to my life list.

 

[james thiel]

My goodness Jim - you had a great day! I have been wanting to get a common loon for ages. I've only ever seen one, and did not get a chance to shoot it.

Thanks Rory. I felt very lucky indeed. The dock behind the resort had lots of loons as well as along the spit. The hard part was getting them to come close, but in time they did. I am not sure how long they hang around this area, but we also saw one near Everett as well.

 

[james thiel]

All wonderful captures
Great work

Thanks much Gale.

 

[james thiel]

Very nice stuff all the way around sorry no help with the ID

Thanks Mike, I have been told it is a young Goldeneye. I think that is why I could not ID it because my book does not show the bill the same.

 

[dmwphoto]

fantastic Jim!!!

 

[davidwcramer]

Really nice variety of shots! You must have had a well-deserved getaway.

 

[Gerald Plowman]

Seems there is more to do at Semiahmoo then play golf!
Haven't had a Loon close enough yet to get good images. They are a pretty bird.
Great images.

 

[alanhill]

Lovely shots - I particularly envy the harlequin (which hardly ever reach us in the UK). I hope you can get more shots of those beauties. The unknown is a female goldeneye - we do see those quite often :wink:

Alan

 

[Glacier]

Those are the kind of days that don't come around too often and you took full advantage. Excellent series!