Ed Newbold - Wildlife Artist: Ed's Sightings

It looks like a shot of one warbler, an adult male Yellow-rumped Warbler. But there's also an Orange-crowned Warbler on the log looking down at him and another Yellow Rumped downstream that only shows a spot of yellow. That's the way it was all day on Butyl Creek, our 8 ft. artificial creek on Beacon Hill, Seattle.

Can you find all four Yellow-rumped Warblers? We had up to 9 bathing at one time in the creek, and it was busy all day, with occasional slowdowns.

A Nashville Warbler is staging. Nashvilles bathed about 5 times during the day, but it's not clear how many individuals that represents. The fallout consisted of 5 Warbler species, and a record of 17 species of birds bathed in one day.

A MacGillivray's Warbler gets ready for the plunge. The warbler not shown was the Wilson's Warblers, and although there were plenty of them, I didn't get any decent shots of them today.

Least Sandpipers--they could barely bring themselves to care we were 10 feet away (We weren't pursuing them btw, I try not to do that).

This Solitary Sandpiper might have looked great had it been digiscoped--it was out of range of my measly 300.

This Painted Turtle is an introduced, I suppose an invasive species--but at least it's a heck of alot cuter than English Ivy.

This is a Chestnut-backed Chickadee at Two Rivers Wildlife Area, owned by the Dept of Fish and Wildlife, south of Monroe, WA, about 30 miles NE of Seattle.

The White-throated Sparrow is the most common winter sparrow where I grew up in Pennsylvania, but is not so common out here. There were about 10 at the very least at Two Rivers, along with many Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows and Golden-crowned Sparrows.

Big-leaf Maples are common in the Two Rivers unit and they have lots of moss and Licorice Fern growing on them.

A field erupts in mist after a few minutes of a much-needed sun break. It's been very cold and a bit wet lately, so much so I'm worried about the swallows that have arrived and the Rufous Hummingbirds. The swallows have been off-territory lately, congregating in flocks in low areas where they can have a better chance of surviving. One field hosted a large flock of Violet-green Swallows flying low to the ground. (Swallows would rather be up high were they are safer from bird-hunting raptors.)

Two Yellow-rumped Warblers bathing in Butyl Creek, the recirculating 8 foot creek in our backyard

Here an Orange-crowned Warbler and a Yellow-rumped Warbler square off for the top of the waterfall, a favorite place to bathe.

Red-winged Blackbird at Union Bay, which is on the UW campus on the Lake Washington shoreline.

It's not a great photo, but it's the first I ever got of a this handsome, colorful species, the Virginia Rail. Virginia Rails aren't particularly skittish, but they spend a lot of time in the inner parts of cattail marshes, so they can be extremely difficult to see, unless they decide to come out in the open in front of you. Notice the long red bill.

This species is a little easier to shoot--they only reluctantly move out of your way. I liked the background and the lighting here--this is stuff you could never get to work in a painting.

This is back home at Butyl Creek--a Golden-crowned Sparrow takes a bath on April 13, 2008. Golden-crowned Kinglets and Orange-crowned Warblers are also bathing lately. The warbler took a five minute bath.

A male (shown above) and female Violet-green Swallow were cheerfully chattering this morning in front of the house. The female spent a lot of time checking out the nestbox. Now they have left--and this is only speculation--but they either could be going to a lower, wetter area to forage since it's quite cold, or they could be checking out other real estate options. If the latter, we'll add a rebate, lower the interest rate, and void all fees: We love our Violet-green Swallows! March 22, 2008

This was a group of turtles sunbathing at the Union Bay Natural Area near the UW in Seattle. I don't know turtles but I suppose they are mainly Red-eared Sliders with a Painted Turtle on the lowest left. March 22, 2008

Every time we go somewhere, there are more Great Blue Heron shots on the computer. This one is maybe better than usual for me--and it doesn't hurt that this is one good-looking heron.

These two male Red-winged Blackbirds were in the middle of a marsh, each surveying their half.

The sight of Trumpeter Swans in flight never fails to inspire awe, even if they're too far away to get a good shot.

Another truly mediocre shot, but the Snow Geese spectacle up there has to be included--the whole scene is so entertaining.

Swallows aren't considered to be too hard to identify, especially when they sit on a wire overhead. These were in a large flock of Violet-green and Tree Swallows. The top bird is a Violet-green. We were seriously confused about the lower bird, which has the forked tail of a Barn Swallow but the coloration of a Rough-winged Swallow. We settled on Barn, but I'm still wondering if it wasn't a juvenile Tree Swallow that had been playing in the mud.

Here's a great reason to plant flowering currant, AKA Ribes sanguinium, in your yard. This is a male Rufous Hummingbird that just arrived from Mexico: this shot is taken on March 15, 2008, so this individual is in the first wave of migrants, and he only showed interest in the flowering current, which is a native rose family bush that blooms early. Rufous Hummingbird migration is timed to take advantage of the blooms of this species and of Salmonberry. We've planted Salmonberry in the yard, but the plants have yet to thrive.

This shot is way off-focus but it does make a point about how colorful a male Anna's Hummingbird (on the same Ribes) can look.--a day later March 16

I'll try to get better shots of this guy so the kind visitors to my website don't get rewarded with headaches.

This female Pileated Woodpecker was working on an oldgrowth Maple complete with moss and Licoric Ferns at Stillwater Wildlife Management Unit, which is north of Carnation in the Snoqualmie River valley in Western Washington. March 2, 2008.

The more noticeable signs you encounter on entering (immediately north of the hamlet of Stillwater, which is a few miles north of Carnation on the main road) have negative messages. They have to in a way, given the annoying system the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife uses to implement a user fee, which is a Stewardship Pass that costs $12 and must me purchased on April 1 each year at designated locations not near the land you want to visit. The permit always expires on March 31st regardless of when you buy it, which means that if you suddenly decide to visit WDFW lands one time in the last week of March you must pay for the whole year.

This system completely bars impulse visits by anyone who does not have a stewardship pass.

I support user fees and I'd like to see hiking and wildlife watching help pay for land and land management. However, the current system combines the worst aspects of any possible system, not raising much money at all for the WDFW, yet at the same time maximizing inconvenience and discouraging use of the land by all but those who are willing to engage in a two-step process to get on to the land. Private sector purveyors of goods don't make it hard for customers to purchase them, but this is a bureaucracy controlled by legislators and a Commission, all with their own agendas, and the desire to please or facilitate the buying experience for their customer base is obviously low on the totem pole of concerns here.

I suspect a warm and welcoming sign coupled with a feebox based on voluntary donations and an honor system would actually raise more money for the WDFW.

These Pintails were in the pond on the first leg of the hike to McAleister Creek at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in early Feb.

This breeding plumage Great Blue Heron was resting in one of the ponds at the Union Bay Natural Area, which is on the Univ. of Washington campus in Seattle. It used to be called the Montlake Fill.

Two Bald Eagles flew over, this one came closer. In my opinion, it can sometimes be easy to gender-identify Bald Eagles in the air. This I'd call a male, because it's wings are rather narrow--short fore-to-aft that is, and the bird just looks small, for an Eagle I mean. I'll try to get a similar shot of a female for comparison if I can.

Even the Ducks were walking, it was cold and there wasn't too much open water. This is a male Northern Shoveler.

Sunbathing Coyote

This Coyote was at Discovery Park on Jan 21, 2008. It appeared to be totally content, scratching and yawning and clearly enjoying the sunshine on a cold day. It kept one eye on me as I clicked it's picture, but did not get alarmed. I could have gotten a much closer shot if I had stalked it, but it would have turned me into a real annoyance in an otherwise good day for this critter.

This is the Coyote that the Navy wanted the Wildlife Services agency to kill--this was in the Seattle Times Jan 27 and 28 and in letters the 29th I believe. A public outcry prevented its execution, and he or she may live to sunbathe again. Thanks, public!

Last ferry to Port Townsend!

Delia & I caught the last scheduled foot ferry to Port Townsend on January 6, 2008.

As we waited to leave we saw this Horned Grebe which was still in pretty good breeding plumage:

It was feeling pretty good, preening and shaking for a while:

before getting back to regular swimming:

These Barrow's Goldeneye were hanging around the dock in the fog and rain:

The trip was cold, darkly cloudy and windy but when we got to Port Townsend, the sun came out and lit up the town:

Here's another shot of this:

The trip back was cold, dark and windy with leaden seas--we never did see our target bird, the Ancient Murrlet and never did see any Marbled Murrelets although other birders on the boat with sharper eyes did spot several squadrons of Ancients.

But when we got back to Seattle, the same sort of thing happened, and an old friend of anyone's who lives in this area made an appearance:

This little guy jumped early and was on a ledge, not sure exactly what to do.

His (or her) two siblings found the episode interesting. The parents got upset and ushered him back up quickly. The birds are baby Barn Swallows on our front stoop, and we're hoping they'll fledge in the next couple of days, along with the Violet-green Swallow babies above them in a nest-box.- July-2-2007

Benefit for Pressnall family in Kent

June 9, 2007. This Harris Hawk was there for the big event down in Kent.

Of course we all walk around knowing it could happen to us. Dale Pressnall got a bad case of cancer the other year and after some strong therapy, he couldn't swallow for about 12 months. But he's bouncing back and was able to attend a benefit for him and his family. Denise his wife and Ariel his daughter were also there.

I sold prints in the corner. Since Dale is a falconer, a lot of falconers came out with their birds and equipment, which was all for sale the cause, and showed their support. I think we did ok. Thanks to Linda Kellogg for thinking this up and putting it together.

This Killdeer was up at Spencer Island in early June. On a nest on the road, so almost fearless.

It's party-time again on

Butyl Creek!

The migration is in full swing, and these travelers are looking for a place to bathe. Here an Orange-crowned Warbler, a Yellow-rumped Warbler and a Western Tanager are in various stages of bathing on Butyl Creek, our 10ft. artificial creek in our backyard on Beacon Hill in Seattle.

This is a Nashville Warbler on May 5. The Nashville is not too common in Seattle.

Here's another shot of the Nashville, which hung out three days, unless there were 10 or 12 that all bathed just once!

Orange-crowned Warblers are frequent bathers, and bathing is about the only time you see the orange on their heads.

Here's a Yellow Warbler on the right, an Orange-crowned on the left

another Western Tanager which...

gets chased away by a Robin

Here's a Swainson's Thrush

The Nashville again

This Townsend's Warbler female was really skittish, hence the one out-of-focus shot. May 5, 2007

A Western Tanager heads for the water, April 30 2007.

Here two Bushtits and two Yellow-rumped Warblers share the water nicely.

A young Yellow-rumped Warbler and a male Wilson's Warbler. These shots are from April 30-May 12, when a constant stream of songbirds came in for baths all day long. There is very little running water in the city, and that may be a factor in why this creek gets so much use.

After the bath foraging, here and next shot are Yellow rumps

And this is an Orange-crowned Warbler foraging 5/5/2007

May 16 2007: no neotropical migrants on the creek so far, is the migration over or is it just a lull?

False Alarm, Since then the creek has had Black-headed Grosbeak, Western Tanager, Yellow Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Red Crossbill and this next bird which is very beautiful--Take my word for it:

Hammond's Flycatcher. It has many look-alike relatives. Note the long "primary projection" the yellow tinged underside, the dainty bill, the slight crest. I may run this by some better birders to make sure I'm right. May 18, 2007

What's Up?-

Get your mud here!

We have a mud basin in our median strip (see Viewpoint #5) and it being such a dry May, the Robins and Barn Swallows are in competition for the mud.

Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival

The 2007 Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival is now history. Here are some shorebirds at the Bowerman Basin during the festival. Put it on the calendar for next year!

That means no Tree Swallow-hunting!

Do Pedestrians who get killed in Vegas get to stay in Vegas?

Delia & I were visiting my mom in PA. On the trip home our flight was late, we missed a connecting flight, and we ended up spending the night in Vegas, the city that wants to suck the water out of the ground from under the innocent folks who live in the rest of the state. Take a look at this situation we found. That's looking from our hotel to the Casino accross the street. Notice that despite the fact that this is a big Casino and a pretty big hotel, there are no provisions made for the safety of anyone who wants to walk between the two. Here's a close-up shot of the intersection:

While I was shooting the photos, I ran into a friendly (everyone we met there was friendly, that was nice) person walking here, trying to cross the street, and she co-incidentally brought up the difficulty of the pedestrian situation. Perhaps more amazingly, she informed me that a woman pedestrian had been killed there about six months ago. March, 2007

WDFW's idea of a Welcome mat:

Here's the kiosk at the parking lot of the Two Rivers Wildlife Management Unit just south of Monroe WA. The land is owned and managed by the Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife. I'm calling this new sign "not very welcoming." I like the idea of the user helping to pay for the acquisition and maintenance of natural land by paying-to-hike, but I believe we aren't doing a good job promoting this industry (See the Viewpoints home page, this website, then click on Pay-to-hike if you want to read more along these lines (!)).

Here are my new "high art" photos First is called Red on Gray:

the second one is called Yellow on white:

The top one is a Northern Cardinal--Easterners might notice it's awfully big-crested and bright: it's from southern Arizona. Second is a Lesser Goldfinch in the snow at my parents-in-laws Bob & Katie Scholes in New Mexico.

The Buck Stops Here!

This buck Mule Deer stopped to let us admire it in New Mexico's bootheel country.

Big Difference between these two:

These two birds were working the same Cottonwood tree at the same time in the Portal AZ backyard of Jeanne Williams & Bob Morse. The top bird has two white wingbars and no black wingbar. The bottom bird has one white wingbar and one black wingbar. These two notorious birding look-alikes are a Hutton's Vireo, above and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, below.

This Gambel's Quail also put in an appearance.

This is a shot of the Chiricahua Mountains I took while we were doing the Portal AZ Christmas Bird Count

circa New Year's day 2007

Stanwood trip Sept. 30 2006

Barn near Stanwood

Stilt Sandpiper near Stanwood. This bird is less common in the West than the East

It's hard to see that it's legs are yellow (although muddy), this shot is an impromptu digiscope, but the classic sandpiper shape of this species shows pretty well.

This Spotted Towhee was moderately willing to pose.

A Northern Harrier is putting on the brakes, it may have just heard a vole.

Bathtime on Butyl Creek

As mentioned below, we have an 8 foot recirculating creek in the backyard, and birds, especially in the city where the all the creeks have been piped, buried & forgotten, tend to get overjoyed with it. Here two Robins wait while one monopolizes a really good bath pool. Sept. 29, 2006

Here a winter plumage Goldfinch, a Golden-crowned Sparrow and a Yellow-rumped Warbler take turns

Here a tiny female Golden-crowned Kinglet bathes while another works up the nerve to jump in. Kinglets appear to worry about the safety of it all.

Bushtits must be among the most sociable of Northwest birds, they all jump in together. Oct. 1, 2006

Morning to Night Skinny

New Skinny!

I didn't plan it, but look at how the motion in these paintings is a downward continuing S curve. If I'd tried to plan it, it wouldn't have worked, it was just luck. This skinny, the Morning to Night Skinny, & will be available at the store beginning about Sept. 16, 2006.

Above, part of the Labor Day Parade in the small town of Nauvoo, in western Illinois.

Ed dies (not really) and goes to Illinois!

Of course Ed always loyally loves the Northwest, but if you are a birder, there's nothing like getting out into the woods and fields in a natural area in the midwest during the fall bird migration.When the warblers are moving, it's a bit like being in heaven.

Monarch Butterfly on a composite flower (Queen Ann's Lace?) in Illinois

Here's one bird list Ed put together birding from 3 pm to 6 at the Oak Grove Ranch near Bushnell, Illinois on Sept. 2. The ranch has huge Burr Oaks & a restored farmhouse, and is rented to hunting parties in the fall interested in, among other things, the White-tail Deer in that area that can be the biggest in the U.S:

Eastern Wood Pewee (still "singing")
Eastern Phoebee
Black-throated Green Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
American Redstart, including a couple together
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black & White Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat (heard only)
Blue Gray Gnatcatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Baltimore Oriole
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Green Heron
Eastern Towhee (heard only)
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Crow (heard only)
White-breasted Nutchatch
Northern Cardinal
Cedar Waxwing
Blue Jay
Chipping Sparrow
House Sparrow
Red-tailed Hawk
Chimney Swift
Willow Flycatcher
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
American Goldfinch
Common Nighthawk (we saw them every day in IL, but never enough!)
Cliff Swallow
Mourning Dove
Gray Catbird
Black-capped Chickadee

A Caspian Tern over Banner Marsh near Peoria in Illinois

Illinois should have a National Park (not created with eminant domain!) in it that would show that you don't need big canyons or white capped mountains to have a National Park. Midwestern woods, prairies & wetlands are as underestimated as anything in this country. The prairie grasses are so tall there, at one point I was trying to look at Warblers in a tree, and had to focus through 7ft. tall grass to see them. We stopped at the Banner Marsh outside Peoria before heading for the airport, and among our last memories was an Ovenbird and a Tenessee Warbler in a successional field full of young Indigo Buntings. We were visiting Delia's 98 year-old aunt Jessamine Shafer in Bushnell & we wish her well.

The young & the restless. A crew of Barn swallow babies (4) from last year. I didn't have the heart to put the shots up from this year's second batch, as a maximum of only 1 survived. Who knows exactly why. Rocket Science is easy, Wildlife Biology is difficult, even when the birds are 5 ft. from your kitchen window. posted 8/30/2006

San Juan islands trip

Aa shot of a Mink that isn't going to win any photo contests:

The beach is by the Lopez Island ferry dock in the San Juans.

She was moving quick and this is a very blown-up shot.

This subject was willing to stand still at least. That's Mt. Baker & Mt. Erie, part-bald, in foreground, from the ferry.

Here's a shot of a store at the Doe Bay Resort on Orcas Island that shows how great these folks are. How? See what's on top of the light fixture?

Here's a closer look. One baby had already fledged, and these are getting ready to go. With the very serious declines Barn Swallows are showing in Washington on the Breeding Bird Survey and in England & Europe, those who steward Barn Swallow reproduction in public places deserve special credit. Patronize Doe Bay--and any other place that lets Barn Swallows nest--if you can!

There's the Orcas ferry landing. This was the subject of a really nice (I'd say inspired) Alex Young painting that has been quite successful & is still sold quite a few places, I think by the GDC Co. It might be time for a new version of this scene that includes a cameo appearance by one of the wildlife species that lives in the San Juans.

trip: July 23-25 2006 photos placed on page July 26, 2006

Back in New Mex!

We were back in the bootheel of New Mexico visiting Delia's parents.

This is a Lucifer Hummingbird

This shot of a Lucifer shows how long the gorget is, how long the curved bill is, and how short the wings are.

and here's a Black-chinned Hummingbird. I cropped the feeder out of the picture.

Here's a Broad-billed Hummingbird, but without the sun on the blue feathers, it doesn't do the bird justice.

Black-headed Grosbeak were quite tame

But I had trouble getting anywhere near the Blue Grosbeaks and I couldn't even get a shot of the bright red Summer Tanager

Getting closer wasn't my highest priority here. This 2 or 3 ft. Black-tailed Ratttlesnake was quite courteous in giving me lots of early warning--she just didn't want to get stepped on.

This Road Runner was also trying to get closer to get a good shot at the birds

The Scott's Orioles were skittish but really wanted the hummingbird water. They can belt out a nice tune.

ditto for the Hooded Orioles

trip end of June beginning July 2006 shots posted Independence Day 2006

East side, Stanwood trips June 2006:

Would a bird ever

give this box a second look ?

Here's a bird box that on superficial review, you might think wouldn't work. It's 3 ft off the ground, by a busy highway & heavy equipment, about where you'd expect a mailbox, but not a bird box--and that's not to even mention the Jackson Pollack-style paint job on it. It's near Thorp, WA.

Answer:

I guess so!

This house obviously passed inspection by a mom & dad Tree Swallow and that's one of the babies already looking out at the world (June 11, 2006). Being close to human activity and may have been a plus--Swallows are hoping to avoid nest predation, and human activity can help in that cause. June 12, 2006

Stanwood Waxwing

Here's a Cedar Waxwing near Stanwood, WA taken June 3, 2006.

This is a Bank Swallow, one of Washignton state's least common swallows and the smallest, taken near Thorp, WA Jun 11, 2006.

Here is a distant Common Nighthawk over Robinson Canyon near Ellensberg, WA June 11, 2006. This is my favorite critter, and anyone who has ever watched one fly would understand. I worry for this bird and my belief-- admittedly not supported by data--is that corvid (Crow & Magpie especially) population increases are putting them at risk more or less everywhere. Don't create large expanses of lawn for Crows, and if you have a big lawn, let most of it go to meadow or shrubs. June 12, 2006

Let's Get to Work!

Now pretend you don't see the lawn in this shot. Here our male & female Barn Swallow are at the artificial mudflat in front of our house (see Viewpoint 5) and are starting to build their nest--May 14, 2006. The late start indicates they aren't going to go for 2 broods this year. One bird wanted to start early, it seemed, but the other kept disappearing until it warmed up. May 14, 2006.

July 26 Update: I was wrong about that, they are going for brood two (they raised all three in brood 1 despite one attack by some mammalian predator) and are sitting on eggs right now.

Sunday Afternoon (May 21, 2006) trip to the Montlake Fill

The Red-winged Blackbirds were showing off

The Gadwalls were in love

The Herons were pretending to be Bitterns

while others were striking more dynamic poses, this pose won 1st prize, a fish, just a minute later

And the Tree Swallows were being poorly photographed

The Cleanliness of the long-distance flier

The spring bird migration is on, so there's a lot of birds out there that need to find a place to take a bath. We have an 8ft. recirculating creek, which Delia has named "Butyl Creek" in our tiny city back yard. These are photographs I took today, April 30, 2006, on Butyl Creek.

This is a male Yellow-Rumped Warbler getting ready to take a bath.

Here are two male Yellow-Rumped Warblers with a female, I think, "Myrtle" form Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Here is a Nashville Warbler. Because he has taken a bath, it's easy to see the chestnut on the top of his head even though it's a marginal photo.

Here is a male American Goldfinch that has been doing a lot of singing around the homestead lately. Not quite as much of a long-distance flier as the Warblers, but still a migratory bird.

This is an Orange-Crowned Warbler. Some of these fly to breeding grounds north of Denali. This one may breed somewhere in the Pac. Northwest, however.

You could look at an Orange-Crowned Warbler that's foraging and never know why it's called an Orange Crowned Warbler. When they take a bath, however, the orange crown can be very obvious.

These male Wilson's Warblers are from the next day, May 1 2006. Wilson's Warblers aren't going much further. Like the other birds shown, it has a great song.

It's still going on May 10. Delia took this shot of birds queing up for the best pool (American Goldfinch male on left, Wilson's Warbler on right).

Jack Block Park trip, West Seattle

Also on May 10 Delia & I went over to Jack Block Park just before sundown (see Viewpoint 4 this website) and found this male Purple Martin looking for a mate before retiring in his chosen gourd.

Besides a nice view of Seattle there were also seabirds at Jack Block. At left is a beautiful Red-necked Grebe, next picture it's near an elegant Western Grebe, and the last is a spiffy Pigeon Guillemot.

Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival

We Just got back from the Gray's Harbor Shorebird Festival in Hoquiam, Washington. This is a poster I did for the festival. I try to have a new poster every year for this fantastic festival. Seeing 20,000 or so shorebirds in Bowerman Basin, even when you don't get there when the tide is right because you were set up at the Festival, is truly awe-inspiring.

I didn't get any photos of shorebirds, but I did get this shot of a male Osprey that is part of a pair nesting at the Bowerman Basin.

Delia & I were down at Discovery Park today (4-10-06) Too bad this shot is so obstructed. A Spotted Towhee had just taken a bath, and was puffing out and showing off. Check the tail on that bird. No one would believe it if you painted it. The Brant were still there: