Since getting a digital bridge camera with a long zoom lens six months ago I’ve discovered I really enjoy photographing birds. But it’s a new hobby that is not without its pitfalls.

We all get used to seeing the “normal” birds, like crows, robins, chickadees, Canada geese, and mallards. They are the species most adapted to urban and suburban living and the least shy around humans. They are also easy to identify. It can leave one with the impression we have boring birds, and that all the really interesting birds live in other parts of the country.

But once you start pointing a long lens at more distant birds you realize, holy heck, we have tons of neat birds in the Puget Sound region!

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