Port Orchard Marina

Whenever we bird the east side of Puget Sound we begin by walking Theler Wetlands and end by walking the Port Orchard marina. I suspect I walk them in this order because I discovered Theler long before I discovered Port Orchard — and because it is a habit.  If I were only interested in wildlife photos, I probably wouldn’t bother to walk Theler this time of year and would spend all of my time at Port Orchard because I can get a lot closer to the birds in Port Orchard and because they are so accustomed to people that they don’t immediately dive when you try to take a shot, not to mention that I am more apt to see favorites like this Horned Grebe, 

Pelagic Cormorant, 

Double-Crested Cormorant,

and Hooded Mergansers.

Sunday Afternoon at Port Orchard

Although I’m still not seeing as my birds at Port Orchard as I have in past years, we did see quite a few different varieties at Port Orchard last Sunday, some for the first time this year

I have seen Hooded Mergansers on several previous visits, but the light hasn’t been good enough until Sunday to almost capture their beauty.

It would have helped if this guy had ever fully displayed the magnificent hood that gives it its name.

I actually saw more Barrow’s Goldeneye on my last visit, but this is the first time I’ve had enough light to capture one in flight.

I spotted a Western Grebe too far away to get a good shot, but I couldn’t resist taking one anyway.

I’ve seen Pigeon Guillemot’s in breeding and non-breeding plumage, but I’ve never seen one in transition quite like this. No wonder I only recognized it by its silhouette.

Seeing the Western Grebe and the Guillemot inspired me to go to Ocean Shores and Westport the next day since sunshine was in the forecast.

Birding at Port Orchard

Often in the winter birding is better at the Port Orchard Marina than at Theler Wetlands, but that wasn’t the case on our last visit; they seemed equally bad, except for the brilliant sunshine.

I did spot my first male Hooded Merganser of the season, but it seemed determined not to see me and swam steadily away from the camera, never turning back to see if I was still trying to capture a shot.

Hundreds of birds were offshore, barely visible with the human eye, though I wasn’t able to spot a single Goldeneye.

The marina itself was remarkably quiet with the exception of a small flock of Surf Scoters feeding on mussels, 

and a single Horned Grebe.

Eventually, those ducks offshore will have to come closer to feed, probably when the sun hides behind the clouds.