Seattle Beach Walk And Lots Of Water Birds

Surf Birds in Flight

Black Turnstone in flight

Sunday we did an urban hike along West Seattle's Alki Beach waterfront and I was surprised by all the waterbirds and other marine activity including scuba divers and seals. 

Sometimes seeing birds fly makes identification much easier.  The surf birds above were grouped with the black turnstones, but the turnstone's black and white wing design made it easy to identify when we got to the bird book. 

And along with these photos of the sitting surf birds, we were pretty sure we got these right too.  And my trusty birder expert confirmed. 

Surf Birds Not Flying

Surf Scoters

Sometimes, even with my little camera I can get reasonable photos of birds, but the Harlequin Ducks were too far out. 

Ferry headed toward downtown Seattle, from West Seattle