November - Point Roberts

At the risk of being repetitive, I'll start November off with all my shots from Lighthouse Marine Park for the month. The rest of the month's posts will detail other sites I've visited as I tried to diversify this month.

November 3

Just a couple of worthy shots on this day. The first one shows a pair of Surf Scoters. The colourful male is on the left with the female trailing.

Surf Scoters - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

The next shot is not as sharp as I'd like, but it does show the white patterns on the back and underside of the Red-breasted Merganser.

Red-breasted Merganser - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

November 12

Point Roberts is quite close to Tsawwassen and it's not unusual to see ferries heading for Vancouver Island. The rush for the cafeteria seats is over and the winners are probably enjoying their lunch.

Speaking of lunch, this Horned Grebe has captured its midday meal. They are very successful here. I have similar photos from other recent visits. I believe one of  the common fish species here are Sculpin.

Horned Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Farther offshore are bigger hunters, the Steller's Sea Lion.

Steller's Sea Lions - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

This merganser was close enough to shore to get a close-up shot. This is likely a female, but immature males are similar in appearance.

Red-breasted Merganser (F) - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

As mentioned in other posts, there seem to be House Finches here in good numbers, even in November.

House Finch - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

And finally on this day, I got an interesting shot of a Pelagic Cormorant looking right into the camera. It's interesting how rounded their head appears looking straight on at them.

Pelagic Cormorant - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

November 18

The last post of the month from this location. Here's a close shot of a Common Loon when it came close to the shoreline.

Common Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

There are a few resident Bald Eagles here, but I see them infrequently. 

Bald Eagle - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

The pair flew away, their wing beats seemed to be in unison.

Bald Eagle - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

These Pelagic Cormorants are not quite as synchronized. The  nearby Double-crested Cormorant is not interested in joining them.

Pelagic Cormorants and Double-crested Cormorant
Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

That's it for Point Roberts for the month, there will be another post or two for December.