THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER
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A feeding frenzy of sea birds, Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
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You can see some birds on the shore in the lower left center portion of the photo, Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
While holing up in one of the Kalaloch Beach cabins in the Olympic Peninsula National Park last August, I scanned the beach for bird activity. It was already getting late in the day. The sun was low behind a bank of thick marine clouds; therefore, it wasn't particularly good photography light, but I saw a large congregation of birds (Above) far out on the shoreline during a low-tide period. You know me, I can't pass up the opportunity to try to find some new birds. So I hiked out on the sandy beach at least a quarter mile towards the bird activity by the shore.
As I venture closer to the shore birds, I became slightly irritated with some people purposely running at the birds causing them to fly off in a flurry of squawks and wing beats. The flock flew off to a different location along the shore about a half mile away. So I obediently followed their course. Fortunately for me, this new location seemed a better spot. The flock joined another flock which seemed more diverse.
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Gulls and Pelicans on the shore, Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
As I closed in on this new location, initially I saw just the gulls on the shore. Soon I saw there were Brown Pelicans with ate least four different species of Gulls (Western, California, Heerman's, and Glaucaus-winged) and a couple of Caspian Terns. This group of birds on the shore (Above) was just the beginning. As I started taking pictures in this low light, I noticed more bird out in the water. There were birds floating in the water near the shore, then another flotilla of birds further out. The more I looked into the gray light, I saw that there must have been thousands of birds and they were weren't just passively hanging out. They were there for a reason. There was a lot of flying back and forth, and diving, as they were following an obvious food source in the water (Top photo - Feeding Frenzy). I guessed sardines, but thought that they were more of a warmer southern climate fish. On the hike out, there was much evidence of shell fish on the beach (Below), which would explain the large number of gulls on the beach.
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A crab on the Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
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What was left of a crab after the gulls had their way, Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
But there was much more feeding activity in the water. I thought perhaps there were a lot of shell fish in the water as well, but I saw many birds flying by with small silvery fish in their bills.
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Gulls and other sea birds diving for their dinner, Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
The first layer of birds were the Gulls, Terns and Pelicans on the beach. The second layer of birds were the birds dive-bombing the surf near the shore (Above and Below). There were some Sooty Shearwaters and Caspian Terns also in the mix.
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The sea birds were fussing at each other, no doubt competing for prime dinner fare; Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
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Murres, Murrelets, and Auklets, Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
A bit further out away from the crashing surf were another layer of sea birds joining this feeding frenzy. I didn't immediately recognize all the birds that were present, but later after analyzing my images with lots zooming-in and highlighting, I was able to identify lots of Common Murres, and a few Thick-billed Murres, Pigeon Guillemots, Marbled Murrelets, and Cassin's Auklets.
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More sea birds, even a Tufted Puffin (right center) even further out, Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
Then there was a third layer of birds even further out (Above). With more zooming-in and highlighting this layer, I was able to identify a couple of Tufted Puffins and Rhinoceros Auklets, and there were some more Shearwaters, but I wasn't able to know exactly what kind, although I suspected Sootys. Also in this layer were a group of rocks that were covered in birds - mostly Gulls and Pelicans with some Alcids surfing the crashing waves into these rocks.
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Brown Pelicans and Gulls resting on the rocks, Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
Altogether my little venture into the gray evening netted 14 sea birds, six of which were added to my life list. I didn't expect such a windfall (waterfall?) of avian life. I expected Gulls and Terns at best. Indeed, I was surprised to see Brown Pelicans this far North, and even more surprised to see so many Pelagic, which I wold never have thought to find so close to shore. These are birds that I thought I would need to be aboard a ocean-going vessel to ever observe. Most of my photos were not very good, but a few of the better ones below...
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Heerman's Gulls,Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
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Western Gull (left) and California Gull (right), Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
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Not a bird, but I liked the sea stacks with the backdrop of the setting sun peaking through the thick clouds, Ruby Beach, Olympic Peninsula, WA; 8/2/2012. |
1 comment:
LOVE the third picture, with the pelican surrounded by gulls in that cool evening light. Crab photos are nice, too!
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