WEST SEATTLE BIRDS: Nine feathered neighbors – afloat, aloft, alighted

A Bufflehead coming in for a landing, photographed by James Tilley, starts this gallery of West Seattle bird photos shared by WSB readers, a periodic feature on football-game afternoons. Also seen in local waters, Harlequin Ducks, photographed by Michael Fischer:

Sharon Wada zoomed in on this Common Merganser snacking at Alki:

Two owl sightings:

Above is a Northern Saw-whet Owl that visited Jill Duffield‘s yard; below, @muddelicious tweeted us their photo of an owl (Barred?) just hanging out on a Delridge fence:

The ever-regal Bald Eagle is represented well in Mark Wangerin‘s photo:

In White Center, Samantha Burton photographed a Crow that neighbors have nicknamed “Beaky“:

That bird’s corvid cousins, Steller’s Jays, hang out – raucously – in Theresa Arbow-O’Connor‘s yard:

And we conclude with a daintier, speedier backyard bird, an Anna’s Hummingbird, photographed by Jerry Simmons:

Huge thanks as always to everyone who has shared their photos – westseattleblog@gmail.com is the best way to send us pics unless it’s breaking news, in which case you can text 206-293-6302 – thank you!

P.S. Bird lovers interested in participating in the Seattle Audubon Christmas Bird Count December 19th – even if you’re a casual bird-watcher and can only tally who shows up in your yard/at your feeder – can sign up here.

21 Replies to "WEST SEATTLE BIRDS: Nine feathered neighbors - afloat, aloft, alighted"

  • Carol November 21, 2021 (4:00 pm)

    Thank you WSB for these beautiful photos of the birdlife in West Seattle….and thanks to the photographers as well.  All great photos and greatly enjoyed!

  • waikikigirl November 21, 2021 (4:01 pm)

    I love all these pictures, the colors are amazing! I read elsewhere that someone commented how the hummingbirds are looking like little snowballs, I guess fattening up for winter and Jerry Simmons pic looks exactly like that…a fat little snowball with wings!

  • Insertname November 21, 2021 (4:09 pm)

    My favorite. Such wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing. 

  • Laura November 21, 2021 (4:10 pm)

    Great bird pictures!

  • Andy November 21, 2021 (4:56 pm)

    Great Picture.  Love the Buffalo Head.  I am a pilot and can appreciate what he is doing.

  • WET November 21, 2021 (4:57 pm)

    Do the photographers ever sell their photos? Would love that photo of the bufflehead. Could not find James Tilley online.

    • AlkiJames November 22, 2021 (9:01 am)

      email me at aaxluphoto@gmail.net and we can discuss.

      I do have an instagram account @aaxlu that crossposts to my facebook, but I think I probably posted the bufflehead photos to a bird group and not my general page.

    • AlkiJames November 22, 2021 (11:42 am)

      Sorry, email address should be aaxluphoto@gmail.com

  • Pessoa November 21, 2021 (6:00 pm)

    Exceptional Saw-Whet  photo.  These little guys often find themselves the target of raptors, and other bigger owls like the Barred Owl. 

  • newnative November 21, 2021 (7:33 pm)

    There were lots of birds out on the water today, doing their bird things. I usually don’t see that many different species during high tide. Lots of people were stopping and watching them dive. 

  • Annika November 21, 2021 (8:06 pm)

    Fantastic pictures – thanks for sharing them, everyone!

  • Samantha November 21, 2021 (8:46 pm)

    I look forward to the weekly bird photos so much! Thank you for the wonderful photos. 

  • C Densley November 21, 2021 (11:29 pm)

  • Mary November 22, 2021 (6:19 am)

    Kingston loves your posts that brother sends to me!!❤️❤️

  • flimflam November 22, 2021 (7:03 am)

    Really cute saw-whet. Love owls….

    • anonyme November 22, 2021 (10:21 am)

      Saw-whets are adorable!  Discovery Park used to have one that they used in teaching programs.  I used to assist with those, so it was fun meeting all the critters.

  • Michael Michael November 22, 2021 (8:46 am)

  • Seattle gal November 22, 2021 (9:41 am)

    Wow! I love the photos especially the bufflehead, common merganser, barred owl & stellar jays.I can never get my camera fast enough to catch these types of photos especially on blue stellar jay (I can hear them but they always fly away) I see the trick is to leave peanuts. These photos must be taken by professional photographers!  I’m new to birding so I love seeing all the potential birds I may see in Seattle. Thank you so much for sharing.

  • emcat8 November 22, 2021 (10:08 am)

    These are all so wonderful! I’m especially in love with my faves, the jays–the composition of that with the golden tree in the background and the complementary colors of the jays and the pumpkins–chef’s kiss!

  • Andrea November 22, 2021 (10:17 am)

    Amazing photos! Thanks for sharing them :)

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