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From Julie Wiese, who found busy birds in Edmonds Saturday.
Nice photos, Julia. An exhibit of bird pictures taken by local photographers in conjunction with the upcoming Bird Fest is on display at the Frances Anderson Center and Edmonds public library.
Thanks Bill. Also, any idea what type of birds those are on the wires? Are those Widgeons in the 4th photo?
The birds on the telephone lines are European starlings. Sometimes You can see them swarming above the ferry dock at sunset.
The ducks in the fourth photo look like female American widgeons.
Thanks Bill.
These are definitely American Wigeons (wigeon is no longer spelled with a “d”) but because of the time of year, it would be difficult to age or sex these birds. Adult ducks go into eclipse in July, which is their non breeding plumage phase. Wigeons usually do not revert to breeding plumage until October. At the same time, immature wigeons are on the water and have their immature phase flight feathers until November. As there is no need to sex or age these birds, it is safest to simply note that they are American Wigeons.