adult, Least Sandpiper

For the past week there has been a steady stream of waders passing through Montlake Fill in Seattle. Typically for freshwater ponds Least sandpiper has been the most common species with a few western sandpipers, four spotted sandpipers and only four long-billed dowitchers. However Autumn migration is only beginning. Most of the birds passing through are probably females, they are the first to migrate, leaving the males and first years to follow on later. Migration peaks in late July and early August when the males start to appear followed by a flood of young birds.

All the activity has also attracted the attention of birds of prey. Today a Cooper's hawk and northern harrier also made an appearance at Montlake Fill. The harrier was a young bird, probably reared locally and moving though the area, possibly from the Snohomish valley to the northeast. Waders are not too bother by harriers since they mostly feed on rodents and cannot easily match the acrobatics that waders use to elude predators. This bird was more interested in stopping for a drink from the central pond and playing with twigs it found at the waters edge. Cooper's hawks are another matter. Accomplished hunters of waders, pandemonium broke out with dozens of swallows mobbing the hawk as it flew onto the trees by the pond. Once the least sandpipers, long-billed dowitchers and killdeer saw what the commotion was all about they deserted the ponds flying out across Union Bay and heading south.

I have been out taking photos for most of this week however the results have generally been mixed. It has been very warm, by Seattle standards at least, and the majority of the photos have been slightly fuzzy. I thought that the problem was vibration when I was taking the photo although I was using a cable release. Now however, I think that the source of the trouble is the heat haze with warm air causing a rippling effect and giving the photos a blurred appearance. This is most obvious when viewing birds at a distance and I thought that since I was only a few metres away from the birds this could not have been a problem. The soil at Montlake Fill is mostly clay which was used to cover the area after it was stopped being used as the city garbage dump. Once the clay dries out it is rather pale and so reflects a lot of sunlight, heating the air. It is possible to see the warm air rippling at close range but you have to look very closely so I am not totally convinced this is the answer however I am at a loss for a better explanation - assuming that my ability to take photographs has not suddenly left me.