A self-taught photographer, Aaron Baggenstos was surprised to find poisonous amphibians, vibrant orange and yellow western painted turtles, dragonflies and over 200 bird species right in his Kirkland backyard.

But before he discovered his passion, the Western Washington University business alumnus was working a 9-5 office job several years ago.

“I was just thinking to myself the whole time, this can’t be what life’s all about,” said Baggenstos, 27.

So the Kirkland resident bought his first camera, left his job and went on a tour of Peru’s Amazon jungle. He was inspired by all the amazing wildlife he saw – scorpions, snakes, tarantulas and exotic frogs.

When he returned to Kirkland, he looked up various wildlife refuges where he could go take photos of wildlife.

“And I started doing research about what’s around here and my roommate says, ‘well, you don’t need to drive very far,’” Baggenstos recalled. “He said there’s a wildlife sanctuary right down the street at Juanita Bay Park. I was like, no way.”

He took many wildlife photos at Juanita Bay Park, which led to his first book that sold out last November, “Juanita Bay Park Wildlife.”

Baggenstos will launch his second book, “Wildlife of Lake Washington,” during an event on Dec. 1 at Parkplace Books. The 96-page hardcover book features wildlife across the Lake Washington region.

Baggenstos says he got great feedback from his first book.

“I take this book with me where I shoot at these parks and I leave it and kids come up and they look at it,” he said. “People are very surprised when they look through this book that these animals are here. The expressions that I get are like, ‘oh my gosh, where did you see this?’”

But Baggenstos was also amazed at some of the wildlife he captured with his Nikon 500 mm lens.

“It was all surprising to me because we live in this urban environment and so much wild activity goes on and being able to capture it through a camera lens is a special experience.”

He flips through his new book and shows a photo of a colorful wood duck he spotted at Juanita Bay Park with red eyes and a multicolored plumage.

“I was taking pictures of it (the wood duck) and I was like, oh my gosh, I didn’t know that existed here. I think it’s the prettiest duck in North America,” he added.

Other photos include an Anna’s Hummingbird hovering in Kirkland, a bald eagle gaining elevation above a gloomy Lake Washington, juvenile green herons balancing along the slough at Marymoor Park and a pair of osprey nesting at Hidden Vallen Sports Park in Bellevue.

The book also includes interesting facts about each creature.

“This animal is the most poisonous animal in Washington State,” said Baggenstos, pointing to a photo he took of a rough-skinned newt. “There’s enough toxins in that animal to kill between six and 12 people.”

He explains how green herons, which he spotted at Marymoor Park, are one of the few tool-using species of animals in the entire world.

“They actually take objects and throw them into the water to attract fish.”

He said he learned a lot about the wildlife during the eight-month process of compiling his book, both through observation and research.

Many of his photo descriptions also tell readers the best locations in the area to find certain creatures. Marymoor Park at dusk and dawn, for example, is a great place to look for short-eared owls.

To capture his photos, Baggenstos said some days he stood along a boardwalk all day. Other days, he kayaked, or walked through a forest.

During one outing while he was at Juanita Bay Park, he noticed newly hatched wood ducks huddled on top of the mother’s back in a pyramid formation. He said he ran for 10 minutes to get closer and was successful in capturing the shot.

Less frequently, he hid behind a camouflage blind in more natural locations.

“If animals don’t know that you’re there, they let you see a bit more natural behavior,” said Baggenstos. “A lot of these animals are afraid of humans because we mistreat them. So when you can hide yourself from that, you can see what the raccoon does sifting through the mud, grabbing snails and eating them. That’s when it gets really good.”

It depends on the time of year, too. Different parks are better at different times of the year to find certain species, he explained.

“We live on what is called the Pacific Flyway – it’s the migration of birds north and south. So as the seasons change the different birds come, like the osprey, which have already gone south,” he said.

That ever-changing cycle was also the most challenging part of the entire process, he said. He points to a photo of Pied-billed Grebe hatchlings. He went to a site in Union Bay every day until he got to watch them hatch.

“These birds were listening to the cheers of the Husky Game,” he said. “So that was one of the most challenging things was locating a specific species of animals that was elusive.”

Next year, Baggenstos plans to work with city officials to install colorful and educational signage at Juanita Bay Park.

“I want to put up some colorful information signs about the wildlife you can see at the park so that when people go there, if it’s a bad day and they don’t see the animals, at least they know that they’re there and they know to look for them there so they can come back and get excited,” he added.

More information

The book launch event happens at 7 p.m. Dec. 1 at Parkplace Books. “Wildlife of Lake Washington” will be available for purchase ($34.95) and is also available at most bookstores. For more information about Kirkland wildlife photographer and author Aaron Baggenstos, visit www.aaronbaggenstos.com.