Category: Port Orchard

After Friday’s trip to Belfair I went to Port Orchard to see what was there since I hadn’t been there for nearly a month. Specifically, I wondered if the Horned Grebes would be in breeding colors now since this is about the time of year they change colors.

The first one I saw at the foot of the entrance looked exactly like the ones I had taken pictures of in February.

I didn’t have to look too hard, though, to find others that were definitely beginning to change colors, like this one

that had not yet developed the â€?”horn” that gives the species its name.

In fact, a lot of them looked downright mangy, like this one,

something I can identify with it since I’m in the process of letting my hair grow out again.

This was the closest I saw to one in full breeding colors,

but it’s obvious it is going to be at least another week or two before most of them are in full breeding colors.

Regular readers know I always follow-up a trip to Belfair with a stop at Port Orchard and last week’s trip was no different. I continued seeing lots of hooded mergansers,

though this picture is actually made up of three shots of the same bird. I’m so used to identifying birds by their profile that I’m sometimes surprised when I see them from a different angle. For instance this is the first time I’ve noticed the way the stripes run down the back of the merganser, and I’m always surprised by how thin their head is compared to its length. Do you suppose that’s an adaptation to help it dive?

I regularly see Surf Scoters at the Port Orchard Marina, so often that I tend not to see them at all even though I was originally fascinated by the colorful beak of the males.

Generally though I don’t see White-Winged Scoters. In fact, I only have a few shots taken at a considerable distance. They seem much more common in the Western part of Port Orchard.

I think I could’ve gotten even more spectacular shots if I’d walked further down the pier, but I stopped when I got half way down the runway and saw this great blue Heron standing on the dock.

Taking pictures of birds often disrupts their routines, but I still try to do my best to avoid spooking them, particularly in winter when there’s little energy to waste.

If you’re a regular visitor, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve posted several pictures of red breasted mergansers. Perhaps because it’s a bird I’ve only seen occasionally, I’ve focused in on it this year.

I began to notice their arrival about three weeks ago on Ruston Way. About two weeks ago I spotted one on my way to Port Orchard. I managed to get what I thought was a couple of pretty good shots when I was at Fort Flagler.

Although I’ve never seen them in the Port Orchard marina before, there were several there when I was there on the 12th. I really like this shot of what I think is a female Red-Breasted Merganser.

This shot, though, makes me question any identification as male or female at this time of year.

I’m sure all three of these birds are male mergansers, and I’m positive the one in the front is. However, the two in the back definitely shows signs of male plumage, and they look remarkably similar to female plumage.

My favorite shot of the week, a week full of shots I really liked, is this one of the male merganser taking off.

This certainly seems like the climax of a long period of trying to get a good shot of a Red-Breasted Merganser. I’m not sure how I can trump it in the future.