The Marbled Murrelets Have Moved On. In the Space They Vacated… We Now Have Rafts of Eared Grebes…

The Murrelets have vacated the Bay and are off to start their breeding and nesting soirees.  There are a few adolescent birds floating about, still hunting fish and filling their bellies, probably wondering what all that pairing off ruckus was about…   The bay appears to be empty:

But that is not quite the case… A very long distance telephoto shot shows that there are new seabirds rafting out there in the Bay:

Zooming in a bit further… you can just about tell what they are… but not quite:

Focusing on a pair closer to Great Northern… A Pair of “I’m ready for my close up Mr. DeMille” Eared Grebes:

So what do we now have roaming throughout our little bay: Rafts of Eared Grebes. Now if I had a really powerful telephoto lens matched with a high-end camera body… this is what I would be able to show you:

To read more from Cornell about this most populous Grebe variant: Eared Grebe Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Another migrant has come back from South America: Purple Martins. One of our favorites that spend their summers up here and farther North, and winter down South. The first “Scouts” appeared a few days ago. The rest of the migrating flocks will appear soon. If you are interested in finding out more about them: Purple Martin Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

So now you know…

Side note: Great Northern is now ready for more adventure and will be “migrating” North for the summer and fall once we finish our last preparations for departure. Just a few more things to take care of locally and in Seattle…