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Category Archives: birds

Finding an Owl

Birding always brings something interesting. Sometimes when we go with expectations of seeing something in particular, our hopes are dashed when we miss it. But the search is always fun. Yesterday we went down to the Columbia River where it was warm and spring-like. Despite the warm temperature we did not see any swallows or bluebirds which have already made an appearance at my house. The water was calm and glassy giving us a beautiful background for the numerous waterfowl we observed. They are all in their spring plumage and the colors are brilliant in the strong sunshine – mallards, goldeneyes, canvasbacks and many more species were seen. We saw nests of Common Ravens and also Great-horned Owls. Bald Eagles, Northern Harriers and Red-tailed Hawks were paired up and some were cavorting in flight! We heard the songs of a Bewick’s Wren and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Western Meadowlarks sang in several locations.

We did have a target bird yesterday – Northern Saw-whet Owls. People have observed as many as five of them in the state park and we even knew which campsites to search for them. Unfortunately the state park staff was engaged in clean up with noisy machines – leaf blowers and leaf vacuums. We picked the group site to begin our search, as far from the machines as we could get. Two big evergreens seemed like likely candidates to shelter these tiny owls. We found the white wash we were looking for and even found pellets but could not spot a small owl. We began to take apart the pellets (a pellet is the part of the meal that is undigestable and is regurgitated onto the ground, usually composed of bones and fur) to entertain ourselves, making a tidy display of teeny little bones on a board.

Having had enough of fur and bones, we moved on to the rest of the campground despite the machinery. After a while I tired of that but Juliet kept looking while I went to the riverbank to see what I could see. I caught up with her at the last area, nearest where we had left the car as she was searching intently high in a dense tree with her binoculars. She said, it has to be here; look at this big white wash! I stood there and looked straght up into the tree and what did I see? A bird butt! I moved around and sure enough, there it was, a tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl looking down at me.

 

Small mammal bones

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These bones are tiny. The jaw bone on the left is maybe half an inch long.

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Small but ferocious

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The owl was more interested in people farther away than us immediately under it.

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It wanted us to leave so it could go back to sleep.

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This is a Double-crested Cormorant skull, one of two that we saw on the riverbank.

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Winter Wonders

As a birder, there are certain birds that really spark my imagination. Snowy Owl is one of those birds. This winter, like last year, there seems to be an ‘irruption’ of these charismatic birds. This means that a higher than usual amount of sightings are being reported around the Pacific NW as well as in other parts of the country. Snowy Owls nest in the far north tundra of Canada and Alaska. In a good year, when many young survive, there may not be enough food (voles, mice, lemmings, etc) for all of them to survive in the southern areas of Canada so they push farther south into the US. This year, the reports of these birds arriving in an emaciated state in locations that are sometimes not suitable habit, such as urban Seattle; indicates that many of the young birds may be starving. Wildlife rehabilitators all over Washington have been ‘rescuing’ Snowy Owls in hopes of building up there strength so they can be released again to more appropriate habitats. The good news is that some have already been returned to health and then released.

On Tuesday, driving down from the Rendezvous on a foggy, dark day, I was lucky enough to see a Snowy Owl with my friend Jennifer! It was a first for her and I was delighted to know it was out there. However, when I slowed the car it flew and disappeared into the the snowy sage-covered hills; very wary of anyone wanting to view it. To my eye, that’s a good sign that it is a healthy bird. The emaciated ones have allowed people to get very close to them because they could barely fly.

Yesterday more friends saw the owl and made some wonderful photos! Of course, I could not ignore this and had to try myself to get some images. Despite a head cold that knocked me for a loop yesterday, I ventured out, strengthened with cold meds. The bird was in the same general area and allowed me to park and get out of my car with my camera on a monopod! When it would turn its head away from me (often as much as 180 degrees), I’d advance a step or two. This continued for fifteen minutes or so til it (and then I) heard voices up the hill. There were some people on a walk, oblivious to the scene below. The bird became quite wary and flew off to another perch and then still another one. I decided it was time to leave the bird alone so it could enjoy the sunshine or hunt in peace and went on my way.

 

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An Egg in the Fall

Today the dogs and I walked a different route from usual. We went down the draw on the west side of our property, following the deer trails through the brush and scattered pine trees. No person has walked there for sometime. The deer use that area frequently and sometimes the dogs wander down that way but not often on their own.

I found this egg, lying in the trail under a pine tree. It is completely intact as if it had been recently laid.

 

It’s a pretty good sized egg – not from a song bird.

 

Here’s a view giving a fairly accurate impression of its size.

Do you know what bird laid this egg? Most birds around here lay eggs in the spring. Is it possible it’s been in an abandoned nest and only recently fell to the ground, without smashing? I know that crossbills can raise families anytime of the year as long as there is a steady supply of food but this egg is too big for a crossbill and I have not seen them at the feeders recently. The pines closest to this are pretty tall – fifty, maybe seventy feet. I’m not very good at estimating height. All comments on this are appreciated.

 

Common Loons of Lost Lake

Common Loons are a favorite bird of mine and around here they are not so ‘common’. One of the charms of Lost Lake is the fact that the loons not only spend the summer there but there is a nesting pair. This year they hatched two, or maybe three, depending on who you ask, chicks. One was killed by a Bald Eagle who has also made meals out of the Canada Goose goslings. The remaining loon chick is maybe half grown now and too big for an eagle to catch. The parents and the young bird spend their days moving around the surface of the lake, fishing, preening and resting. Occasionally they make the unique loon sounds that echo off nearby mountain sides. It’s truly a haunting and beautiful sound. I have read that loons make four distinct calls and they all are used to communicate among themselves and declare territory. My favorite is the long drawn-out wail, similar to a wolf howl.

 

The young bird. It lacks the distinctive plumage of the adults.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parent searching for fish

 

The young bird is learning from the parents.

 

 

 

Everyone needs a good stretch once in a while.

 

 

Just a Few Bird Photos

Last week we identified 114 bird species. It seems like a lot but we missed an awful lot of so-called ‘common’ birds – all the owls, all the grouse, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers and the list goes on. And we saw no real rarities. It was pretty fun birding with lots of birds singing and we worked on learning and re-learning the bird songs and calls. It’s a challenge from year to year to keep them in my head. Some stick with me; for instance Rock Wren and Willow Flycatcher. Others – well let’s just say, it’s going to take many years for me to learn the few warblers we have in our region and remember them.

I managed to get a few photographs of birds. I didn’t really try too much bird photography. It is time consuming and we were really focusing on seeing and hearing a good variety of birds.

 

Hooded Merganser female at Lost Lake

 

 

 American Coot adult and chick

 

 

 

 

 

Spotted Sandpiper chick along Maryanne Creek Road

 

 

Spotted Sandpiper adult