My town of Edmonds, Washington, sits perched on the eastern shore of Puget Sound, the “Sound” being part of the greater Salish Sea. Across the Sound, in view, is the Kitsap Peninsula. Beyond, the Olympic Mountains form the backdrop. Over the years I’ve watched the tides rise and ebb. Low tide lets me walk the beach for miles, if I choose. High tide limits the amount of beach exposed and the distance one can traverse along the shoreline. When the celestial bodies align in a definitive way, we have the highest of high tides called King Tides.
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Chuck Norris dropped an apple once, and gravity was born.
The ocean tides are influenced by the force of gravity from the sun and moon. Additional force on the ocean is exerted by ambient air pressure and wind.
What is a King Tide?
King Tides are the highest tides that occur during each winter season when the sun, moon and earth are all aligned. The earth rotates around the sun in an elliptical orbit, and during the winter season, our planet is closer to the sun in that orbit, resulting in a greater gravitational pull from the sun. When the moon is aligned with the sun, both produce a stronger gravitational pull on the oceans, resulting in King Tides.
MyNorthwest.com
Here’s a cartoon that illustrates what that looks like.
So, what does a King Tide look like where I live. Let’s look at some photos and see. The recent King Tide event occurred on January 14, 15, and 16, 2024. I went out on January 16th to view the King Tide down at the Edmonds waterfront. I included some photos from other times for comparison.
The little wavelets lap up against the concrete bulkhead in front of the Edmonds Waterfront Center. You can normally walk the beach here in all but the highest tides. The Edmonds fishing pier is upper far right.
These steps usually provide access to the beach. No beach on this day. The Edmonds fishing pier is upper far right.
This photo was taken on October 15, 2023 at a medium tide and shows about how much beach is typically exposed. Much more sand would be exposed at low tide where the waterline would be far to the left in this photo. The Edmonds ferry dock is in the background. Dogs are not allowed on Edmonds beaches because the beaches are classified as marine sanctuaries. Some dog owners think they are exceptional (fyi, I’m a dog owner, two dogs, who follow the rules)
This is at King Tide, 01/16/24. Compare to the above photo. This is at about the same point where dog woman was walking.
Another view at King Tide, 01/16/24. Compare to the next photo.
This photo taken on December 1, 2022, at a relatively high tide, but not a King Tide. Windy day with big waves. Compare to the above photo.
Like the above photo, this photo taken on December 1, 2022 at a relatively high tide, but not a King Tide. Imagine a King Tide during one of these blustery days. It has happened.
The following map shows a portion of the Edmonds waterfront. The above photos were taken on that stretch of shoreline, from the Edmonds fishing pier (red dot) to the Edmonds ferry dock (WA 104 on the map). This stretch of beach is known as Olympic Beach.
A portion of the Edmonds shoreline. Red Dot — Edmonds Fishing Pier. Green Dot — South Brackett’s Landing Park
Let’s look at some of the birds I observed during the King Tide. Let’s first start at the Edmonds Fishing Pier.
American Wigeon. This little flock was tucked in close to shore, which is typical, and is where they feed on vegetation, especially sea lettuce (Ulva).
Pelagic Cormorant. I’m seeing a lot lately.
Double-crested Cormorant, taking off.
Red-necked Grebe. I’m seeing a lot of these grebes lately.
Red-necked Grebe. Has a shrimp.
Red-necked Grebe. Feather maintenance is extremely important for these birds that spend most of their lives on water.
Horned Grebe. Not seeing as many this year.
Surf Scoter. Juvenile male, doesn’t yet have those electric straw yellow eyes, but the bill is getting there.
Glaucous-winged Gull, likely a hybrid with a Western Gull. The slightly darker primaries suggest a Western Gull while the smudgy head is Glaucous-winged Gull. Western Gulls maintain a white head all year.
Glaucous-winged Gull. Same as above.
I left the pier to walk to South Brackett’s Landing Park (the Green Dot on the map). On the way I spotted a couple birds worth mentioning.
American Crow. They’re common along the shoreline. Maligned but become interesting if you spend some time observing them. This one was munching on some discarded food scrap.
There was a little beach exposed and I was gifted a nice view of a single Killdeer.
Killdeer
South Brackett’s Landing Park (Green Dot) has a combination of some dense shrubbery, some less dense shrubbery and small trees, and park features like benches and an open grass area. All this makes it attractive to small passerines.
A few weeks ago while walking the pier, I chatted it up with an out-of-towner birder from New Jersey. I gave him a quick overview of the birds to look for. I mentioned likely House Finches at South Brackett’s among other small birds. He was rather dismissive of House Finches. Well, I disagree.
The House Finches like the dense shrubbery, staying about mid-level, looking for seeds, rarely on the ground.
House Finch (male)
House Finch (male)
House Finch (female)
A Song Sparrow popped out for a quick look. Not seen but always expected here are White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows. All these sparrows seem to prefer foraging on the ground.
Song Sparrow
Yellow-rumped Warblers were happening. They also like the dense shrubbery.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
From what I read, House Sparrow populations have declined over the last several years. There is one place along the waterfront where they can reliably be found, and it’s not McDonald’s. It’s just a short hedgerow by an office building. I haven’t figured out yet why they like this particular location.
House Sparrow (male)
Well, that’s all I have. What’s up in your own natural worlds?
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