August 30, 2008 by OrientSee.

 I got an early start this morning. I was out and in the park by 5:30 am. I was stuck with a bad case of jealousy. I missed the last Heron Count and so all I could do was ache to see that many birds from the Boardwalk. I expected that it might not happen and at first it was just robins and crickets. It was raining a bit and overcast. Gloom and disappointment. I could see some geese over at the Overlook, so I walked over and found this small flock with a few ducks and shorebirds. I was about to give up. The Egrets should have shown up by now.

I turned to scan a different part of the marsh and when I looked back, there were over twenty Snowy Egrets when there had been none a moment before. So I hung around some more.

They kept coming. More Snowy Egrets, some Great Egrets, two Cormorants and even more ducks. Wow!

It didn’t stop. More and more. Finally I counted fifty Snowy Egrets and twelve Great Egrets. I felt like I was at a private IMAX showing of Wildlife World.  I was grinning with sheer delight.

Then the King arrived. This Great Blue Heron landed in the middle of the crowd as if it were his royal court.

Before I left the Overlook, I saw two Ospreys on the platform and I assume that they were the juveniles because of all their aerial swoops and display.

The rain was just mildly annoying and as I left the Long Thicket, I found these richly colored leaves.

It was wet and the humidity annoying but I got over my jealousy. I got to see enough Egrets to hold me over for a long time. It won’t be much longer that they’ll be here. Soon only a few will be left behind and then all of them will be gone by October. So, if you wake up early before sunrise, do come and see them. It will make you grin and giddy.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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August 27, 2008 by OrientSee.

Today was terrific. I walked into the thicket by NE Casket and the T yard to see this small crowd of Egrets feeding frantically in a small puddle.

There were fifteen Great Egrets, ten Snowy Egrets, a duck and several Yellowlegs as well all in a very small body of water. The whole crowd was very active and there were all sorts of aggressive displays. The thickets were once again quiet even though there are still plenty of wild cherries hanging from the trees. The Ospreys are still around. At one point, there were three on the platform and one adult on a pole eating. So they have not yet left for warmer climes.

A small bit of plant life caught my eye in the sunlight.

It’s a locust seed pod backlit by the morning light.

The Overlook was very busy. Shorebirds and peeps were hustling through the mud and shallows. A dozen or more Snowy Egrets were stalking through the deeper parts while even a pair of Cormorants were feeding in what could only be 12 - 18 inches of water. A bunch of ducks were feeding as well. Beyond the panne, two Great Blue Herons and six Great Egrets were quietly resting in the high dry grass.  Beyond the west end of the panne are several small puddles. There were almost two dozen ducks feeding along with some Yellowlegs. Best of all several Great Egrets were actually in the grass at the edge of the puddle. I got to take some great pictures.

A formal portrait.

There was some back and forth that resulted in some flight time.

They simply flew/jumped a dozen feet and back down.

It was amazing to watch these birds.

The Boardwalk was dull by comparison and as I turned towards the park, my attention was drawn to a large flock of Tree Swallows overhead. Then a larger bird flew into the flock. It was a Merlin and it took a swallow in mid-flight.

The Merlin stood out amidst the swallows and then flew off with his meal in talon. It was the first time that I have actually seen this happen.

It was a great day to be out and there was much to see and enjoy.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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August 25, 2008 by OrientSee.

Back from a trip to Long Island, I went out this morning an hour after high tide. The thickets were quiet and little was going on. The south flats were empty as well. It looks like the Ospreys are gone. The platform is empty and no adults are perching on the poles. They may be still around but it seems less likely as time goes on. The long thicket was quiet except for the crickets who were very busy chirping away. The usual pack of catbirds wasn’t following me as I walked along. It was a little eerie. Finally at the Overlook, there was something to see.

Six Snowy Egrets were calmly resting and grooming. A flock of peeps were nearby as well a few black ducks. Darting around the fringes of the panne, there were a few Yellowlegs busy feeding.  A further harbinger of fall appeared as several flocks of Cormorants passed moving south.  The Tree Swallows were very busy and were swarming almost as if they were Starlings.

The Boardwalk was terrific. Even though it was nine am, there were over fifty Egrets spread out beyond the panne.

One Great Egret was quite close and seemed calm even with me so near.

A large number of peeps were in the closest panne along with a dozen or more Yellowlegs. It was all quite a sight.

The park had its own pleasures to share.

Finally on the way out of the park, I found this living piece of yarn crawling across the walk.

I was surprised by this caterpillar since it seems very late in the year for an insect like this. I wonder if moths or butterflies might pupate over the winter?

It was nice to be back home.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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August 20, 2008 by OrientSee.

The first cool Northwesterly blew in last night. There will be plenty more warm weather but this is our first notice that change is coming. Fall is nearing. This tree isn’t a Sumac and it’s not dried out. It’s just time to start getting rid of leaves.

There is change too with the Ospreys. For several days now the platform has been empty and only a single adult is still around. Perhaps the juveniles are still here but out training or perhaps they have already left. I’ll have to keep closer  track. The adult was eating a fish while roosting on a pole in the flats. It took a lot of balancing to do this.

It was fluttering about while trying to get a mouthful and staying perched on the pole.

The Overlook was quiet except for a large crowd of Starlings. The Boardwalk at first was no better. Then I noticed that one of the smaller pannes further out that was well hidden by the tall grass, actually had seven Great Egrets busily feeding. Then they started quarreling with each other.

While watching the argument, I looked up and noticed a Northern Harrier (Marsh Hawk). It was hunting over the flats and its presence disturbed even the Egrets who really had nothing to fear from the hawk. It’s been months since I’ve seen one at Belle Isle. Their fluid line of flight is graceful and a joy to watch.  Sorry, no good photos.

The park was quiet but then the creek by the Bennington St. bridge surprised me. A bunch of peeps and SemiPalmated Plover ignored me while feeding literally beneath me.

I’ve never been so close to such usually nervous birds.

Finally a Yellowlegs who had been feeding in the middle of the creek decided to leave and I caught his departure.

His shadow and a fluff of feather.

It was a surprisingly full morning walk beneath a clear sky and a delightful breeze.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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August 16, 2008 by OrientSee.

It wasn’t actually raining this morning although everything was certainly wet here in East Seattle. It was not only wet but quiet. Nothing was happening in the thicket and the flats were empty except for an adult Osprey perched on one of the poles. I came up into the flat park along Palermo and Lawn St and encountered this guy.

He froze and let me get close. I stood and took photos for a good five minutes. No movement except for a nose wrinkle now and then. Finally he gathered himself up and then darted off into the high grass. I haven’t seen at rabbit do this before. I can only guess that he supposed himself invisible while sitting still.

The long thicket was equally quiet. The Phragmites are bending in the wet and blocking the path. One was nearly horizontal and the seed head which later turns into a magnificent silver plume was purple.

Not all the reeds have this color but some do and the color is quite eye arresting.

The pannes and the park were quiet. A few distant Egrets, Starlings galore and lots of Swallows. Out along Bennington St. I noticed some weeds that I had not noticed before.

Now that’s yellow.

Just then in close formation, three Snowy Egrets flew overhead like a trio of sail boats.

I was wilting from the humidity and glad to get home and shower off the sweat and bug spray. It was still a nice walk through Belle Isle this morning.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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August 13, 2008 by OrientSee.

The tide was coming in but had not reached up to this part of Rosie’s pond this morning. There was a gathering of peeps feeding in the mud. I find them fun to watch but impossible to identify with one exception. There were a few Semipalmated Plover in the middle of this group. Semipalmateds have one stripe instead of the two that Killdeer have and are smaller. Further along five Egrets popped out of a puddle that is close to the fence along the T yard. It is screened by the high grass and so who knows what lurks there unless you battle you way through some uncooperative vegetation and thus alerting every bird for miles that you are coming.  It does seem to be a favorite of the Egrets.

The Osprey platform was busy today. There were at least three Osprey popping off and on the platform. One had a fish and seemed unwilling to share. A few people seem to think that one of the chicks is no more. I’ll try the siphon for a closer vantage soon.

I was walking along the thicket path and found this snake and relearned a lesson about snake poop.

Just an ordinary garter snake which didn’t slither away as I approached. So I picked it up. The snake did not like this and so it pooped all over my hand which then stunk really bad. I knew about this behavior from past experience but had forgotten. So instead of a nice close up of a Belle Isle snake, I got stinky hands, not skunky bad but still very smelly.  Just a word of warning from a relearned experience.

The Overlook panne was full but empty of birds. A flock of Starlings was wheeling about going nowhere in particular. The Boardwalk was quiet except for a few Egrets over on the Winthrop side of the creek.

On the hill in the park, I came upon this clover in all its simple elegance.

By the front gate, I watched this Goldfinch perched on a Phragmites leaf munching on thistle seed.

He leaned over to the thistle plant and chose from the buffet offered to him.

The sun was out and things were drying out. The marsh is still very wet and demands good boots but it was fun to be out and looking things over.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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August 11, 2008 by OrientSee.

Rain and thunderstorms are in charge of our weather. Today, I decided to get wet. Rosie’s Pond and the NE Casket thicket were very quiet except for the drip, drip.

I noticed a bit of a commotion with the Ospreys. It is clear that three birds with fifteen to twenty feet of wingspan are cramped on a four by four platform.

There’s just too much bird and too little nest. I think that it’ll soon be time to leave.

The Ailanthus trees are full of seed and it is a bright contrast to the leaves.

A group of these trees together are quite a sight now even in the rain.

Out to the Overlook, the path reminded me of African Queen where Bogart was dragging the boat through the reeds.

Everything is wet and it was raining. I did feel a little like Charlie Allnut. The path was a slog through a slow moving river. The Robins and Catbirds were out in full strength moving about and making noise. The ground is so wet that the mushrooms are starting to pop up everywhere.

This kind was very common out by the Overlook. A few ducks and terns were the only active birds out except for a big crowd of starlings. So wet but glad to be out, I went home to dry out.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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August 9, 2008 by OrientSee.

As I walked down through the thicket towards Rosie’s pond, I watched this Snowy Egret who very busy hunting in the mud flats. It was definitely finding food, most likely some kind of bug. It was too busy to pay much attention to me even though I was only thirty feet away. Two other Snowies were feeding nearby. I looked across the pond towards the Osprey platform and it was empty. I then noticed that one of the Osprey, probably an adult, was perched on one of the flood lights that illuminate the T yard. It was unusual to see it there. I have always imagined that the lights are quite hot.

Not much was going on out on the flats. The DCR crew has just mowed the field next to Lawn and Palermo Street. It opened up the field but ended the furious feeding of the Goldfinches on the thistle and chicory. The Long Thicket was wet and in places felt like a pool. The rain this summer has encouraged plant growth and the path is in danger of disappearing. Some judicious application of a cutting tool has helped but it needs more than my puny effort. I am beginning to realize how few people know about the path and use it.  At the overlook, I found this hawk asleep on the dead birch.

It didn’t mind my presence at all. It just dozed off and on.  A few ducks were paddling in the panne. As I started over to the Boardwalk, three crows noticed the hawk and started complaining. The hawk ignored them completely in spite of all the racket and went back to sleep. Then suddenly out of nowhere, an adult Osprey swooped down and flushed the hawk and forced it deeper into the thicket and out of sight. The protective impulse is still strong. That reminded me to check out the platform again and sure enough, the kids, all three, were back up on the pole.

They are still hooked on that soft couch up there.

The park was fairly quiet. A few Goldfinches were out by the front gate and a Downy Woodpecker was feeding on the dead trees.

It has been very wet the last few days and I was soaked except where my big rubber boots covered my legs. It wasn’t raining just lots of wet grass and phragmites everywhere.

The hawk was great to see and I was wet but happy to be out.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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August 7, 2008 by OrientSee.

This morning was overcast with mist blowing in from the ocean. It was strangely quiet except for the planes. The thickets were particularly empty. There just was not much to see. I emerged from the trees and noticed this unlikely sight.

It’s just grass but it is Spartina, marsh cordgrass, in full bloom. Seedheads full and each stalk green with health, the ultimate green enviro-engineer of the marsh. It converts salt water and sun into hay and seed for all.

The young Ospreys were off  and not to be seen. One of the adults was around sporadically.

The big entertainment of the morning were the Goldfinches. The wild plants are right now heavy with seed that the finches are gorging on while making lots of companionable noise to each other.

The Overlook panne had a few ducks including four adolescents dabbling in the shallows.

Out beyond the  Boardwalk, the Egret posse was hanging out in one of the more distant pannes. I was surprised to see them. It was dead low tide and they appeared to be mostly just hanging out and sleeping. They are an impressive gang of big white birds.

It was a fine day (it did not rain and the mosquitoes were not active) even it was a little slow.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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August 5, 2008 by OrientSee.

Osprey News Central:

Today the platform was crowded with the three young and an adult was perched nearby in the flat. No changes to mention. It was a cloudier day and the northwest wind had lessened. So I admired some Goldfinches and just before I started the path out to the Overlook, I saw this.

Nobody left. I couldn’t see any of the birds and walked on out to the Overlook to try from that perspective. It was great to see four Ospreys in flight at one time. They were soaring back and forth while loudly calling. The group flew overhead as I was at the Overlook.  I couldn’t get a group photo.

This was one of the juveniles as it flew over my head. It seemed well in control of itself. Then an adult passed overhead and revealed its trick to get the kids off the couch.

Yep, that’s a fish in its talons. Mom sure knows how to motivate the kids.

The flight continued for about fifteen minutes and then everyone returned to the platform for a rest and lunch. It was a thrill to see.

Since the tide was dead low, there wasn’t much to see except for this image. The marsh is separated from the open Atlantic by the Short Beach storm wall and the road between Revere and Winthrop. Often when Boston Harbor is crowded, ships anchor off the beach. There is a much bigger world beyond Belle Isle.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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