Cavity Nesters of Hazel Wolf Wetland

Ted Burris at Hazel Wolf Wetland

Before you read any further you should check out this video link to a Wood Duck nesting box in near Richland, Washington, the link was forwarded by Ted Burris.

  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/rrgc-duckcam

The young ducklings have just hatched and are expected to leave the nest in the first day or so. Inside the nesting box are at least 9 ducklings. They can quite often be seen crawling around, under and over their mother. 

Update:  The young, Richland Wood Ducks have left the nest. They used the little claws on their feet to climb the wooden walls of the nest and one after the other hopped out into the world. Hopefully, the video will be repeated.

We are lucky to have multiple nesting boxes like this on Union Bay. In particular the one just S.E. of Foster Island is active and the eggs in that box should be hatching at anytime. (You can see proof of nesting on the video link in the Young Love post.) So not only is this Richland video fun to see but it is a great example of what to watch for on Foster Island.

This story began in March with the publication of the Ducks in Trees? post. Ted Burris saw the post, contacted me and graciously offered to take me along when he and Jim Nicholson did their spring check of their nesting boxes and cameras at the Hazel Wolf Wetland. 

Jim Nicholson at Hazel Wolf Wetland

Ted and Jim donate their time, funds and considerable effort to creating and maintaining nearly 50 nesting boxes. They do this work for a number of reasons:

• They provide cavity nesting birds, like Wood Ducks and Mergansers, with places to reproduce. In nature the major source of nesting cavities of similar size results primarily from the work of the Pileated Woodpecker.
• They take local high school students out to introduce them to the wonder of cavity nesting birds and their eggs.
• They are providing input to scientists who are trying to determine if the "camo" on the nesting boxes reduces the number of eggs that are abandoned.

A couple of weeks ago the time arrived and I got the chance to see this operation in action.

This box was inhabited by the female merganser and her in-process, eggs.

As we worked our way around the wetland, Jim carried the ladder the whole way, there were repairs to be made to boxes,

 adjustments to cameras needed 

and beautiful flowers, trees and birds to be seen along the way.

Trillium

Some boxes contained live birds and eggs and some did not. 

In this next case all but one of the eggs from last year hatched successfully and this single Wood Duck egg never realized its potential.

Ted and Jim told a number of interesting stories as we circled the wetlands. From the bear that was captured on film as it inspected one of the nesting boxes, wanting eggs for breakfast no doubt, to the stories of high school students developing a life long love of nature as they learn about what really happens in the wetlands.

If you would like to learn more here are two links to pages that Ted maintains about their work.

Cavity Nesters of the Hazel Wolf Wetland

Cavity Nesters of Canyon Creek Wetland

Volunteers like Ted and Jim deserve our respect for all the hard work they do to help nature perserver and even thrive in a world of human-induced changes.

Thank you both!

Larry

PS: Time to go. I don't know about you but I am heading out to Foster Island hoping to see our local Wood Duck Ducklings as they leave the nest. From watching the live feed above I know this will be a very quick process. So if you are the lucky one who actually sees the process please leave a comment below or send in photos if you are very lucky. Thank you!

A Mother's Love - Goslings +

A Mother's Love is unconditional... 

...no matter which direction the children wander...

...to the left ...

...or to the right.

On the land..

...or on the "sea"...

...or in the air.

O.K. so maybe the last photo is a bit of a reach for those "winglets", but you have to give the Gosling an "A" for effort.

The best guess on the age of these goslings is about one week. Two weeks ago a Canada Goose was photographed nesting on the 520 bridge structure immediately north of the Arboretum where these birds are consistently seen.

On Friday the nest was empty except for some feathers. While these gosling may not be from that particular nest, given their size, the timing seems likely.

In formation...

...or taking a little rest...

...and relaxation the mothering instinct is so strong they are never alone.

Someone mentioned, shouldn't there be a second parent watching out for the goslings. If you take a look at the fourth photo from the post one year ago ( Click here to see ) both parents are clearly in attendance.

It would be interesting to know which is the usual situation, one parent or two. Cornell gives more information, like  the parents can have a wingspan of over 5 feet and weight can be nearly 20 lbs, but it does not address the issue of how long the male bird hangs around. If anyone visiting the Arboretum sees the second parent feel free to leave a comment below.

One thing seems certain there is no question about the Mother's love and devotion.

Happy Mother's Day to one and all...and in particular to my own mother and to the mother of my children! Thank you, both!!

Larry

Some parting shots:

A gosling through the leaves.

With this mallard family, also seen this week in the Arboretum, there is no question about whether both parents are involved. Did you see the ducklings on shore?

A short time later they trailed just a bit behind the parents.

Nesting in progress: Start vs Finish

Yesterday, while passing by the first dead tree east of Elvis's Chinese Empress, it was impossible to ignore the incessant cries of this bird.

In a just a few moments it became obvious there was a nest in the tree and more than one bird involved. The initial assumption was that the noisy bird was a fledgling that had just recently learned to fly, had not yet figured out how to find its own food and was crying for its parents to bring it food. However further research at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology brought a number of surprises to light.

First of all juvenile Red-Breasted Nuthatches (RBN), unlike adults, have yellow on their beaks. 

So this loud little bird is an adult not a young nestling who has just learned to fly. Another surprise was to see this busy little bird carry wood chips out of the nest in a manner very similar to a Pileated Woodpecker or a Flicker. In this video the wood chips are rather small and towards the beginning.

Nest Building Video 

Again the first assumption, e.g. that this bird had taken over a nesting hole created by a Downy Woodpecker, was wrong. Not only does Cornell state that these birds excavate their own nests but in addition they place resin around the nesting hole to deter other birds from entering their nest.

Since the Nuthatch feeds on small creatures that it finds in the nooks, crannies and crevices of the tree it needs the strength to go after the food from any direction. If you glance back at the first photo and take a look at the feet of the RBN you will notice not only are they huge for the body size but the single rearward facing claw is very large. This allows the bird to easily perch at any angle.

In addition RBNs need the ability to watch for danger and look into the dark crevices at virtually the same time without loosing their balance. Their extremely short necks allow them to shift their direction of focus without a great change in the distribution of their body weight. This along with their speed makes it seem like they can almost look in two directions at once. (Technically, with eyes on both sides of their heads they actually can look in two directions at once.)

So if you happen to stop by the Arboretum and walk towards Foster Island watch for the active little RBNs and their nest. 

They can be rather hard to see if you are not watching closely, for example did you miss the bird in the previous photo?

On the other hand if you listen for the sound of the Nuthatch you are far more likely to find the source of the call. My best guess at this point is that the RBN was singing out to proclaim its territory. Here is a prime example:

RBN Singing Proudly

So hopefully this pair of RBNs is just starting the nesting process. It will be wonderful to watch and see if they produce a young bird with yellow on the underside of its beak.

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5/15/13 Update  

Ellen's comment below inspired me to listen to the RBN calls or Cornell. My best guess is that the call in the previous video is a territorial call. If you would like to check out the calls for yourself here is the link:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-breasted_Nuthatch/sounds

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Update from Bill Anderson:

Good shots.  The red-breasted nuthatch is one of my favorite little bitty birds.   The ones at my feeder are very picky and toss away sunflower seeds like frisbees.  The prefer peanuts and hide them in the crevices of the rough bark of my Doug firs.

Bill 

Thank you Bill for the very lively and vivid description.

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I hope to run into you somewhere near Union Bay while observing the beauty and wonder of nature. If you need encouragement to get out and about take a look at the Odds and Edds for a few highlights from the last week.

Larry Hubbell

Odds and Ends:

On my way back from the Nuthatch nest, a Downy Woodpecker stopped to inspect holes in the dead tree just to the west of the Chinese Empress. (By the way the folks at the Arboretum have completed the modifications to the Empress just as described in this earlier post about Danger in the Park.)

Note the freshly-cut, wood glow inside the lower hole which makes one think this is a fresh nesting spot that could bear watching closer.

However the Downy has a different point of view.

Earlier this week I saw my first Pied-Billed Grebe nest (with an egg exposed) and watched two Pileated Woodpeckers mating. I couldn't get a close enough to determine if the male was Elvis, but in any case it is good to see Pileated Woodpeckers around the Arboretum area.

The Broadmoor eagles continue to be very protective and attentive to their egg(s). As the sun was setting last night the parent on the nest had its mouth open and its tongue hanging out and the temperature hasn't even reached 80 degrees yet. Parenting can be hard work.

I also got photos of a Bald Eagle sitting above the Barred Owl nest in Interlaken Park this week. 

Neighbors had reported the eagles were harassing the owls. However the next night I saw one of the Barred Owls and heard both of them calling, so hopefully their nesting was not disturbed too much. (By the way: To the woman who was taking photos at the same time I was if you send me an email describing what you lost on the trail I will tell you where to find them.)

The Union Bay area is full of nests and lots of potential for the future. 

Earth Day Ducklings

Monday was my second annual Earth Day Challenge. Each year the goal is to photograph as many different species of birds as possible, in and around Union Bay, between dawn and noon. The sunshine was brilliant and my curiosity was burning. Would I find the same types of birds in the same locations in which they were found last year. (Last year's quest can be seen for comparison by clicking here.)

Starting at Interlaken Park the Barred Owl was no where to be found, however a male Pileated Woodpecker was just returning to this year's nest.

Before leaving the park two other birds decided to reveal themselves. The first was a female flicker.

The second was an American Robin, who was sitting with the golden light of dawn shining through the surrounding leaves.

The next stop was to check on Eva (former mate of Eddie the Eagle) to see how she was doing with a new set of eggs in her "basket". She was her calm and regal self resting high in the nest above the Broadmoor golf course.

The next step was into the kayak to begin my counter-clockwise, circumnavigation of Union Bay. Before reaching the water I checked the top of a nearby pink flowering tree for a male hummingbird who likes to sit in sun on top of the tree. 

He usually keeps his back to the sun so I was very lucky to get this shot with the red reflecting from his face.

Just below "The Bridge to No Where" I slipped the kayak into the southwest corner of Union Bay. The next bird to reveal itself was a Pied-Billed Grebe who was searching for its slippery breakfast in the shallow waters of SW Union Bay.

Next a Chick-a-dee, dee, dee flittered past.

As I paddled west, just south a 520, three rock doves groomed themselves on one of the light poles.

Thank you to Phil Mattocks who noticed that this is a Greater Scaup and not a Ring-necked Duck which was feeding between Marsh and Foster Islands.

A few minutes later I happened upon this Canada Goose nesting between the northern and southern lanes of 520.

I got quite a charge out of her choice for a nesting location.

From there I passed to the east of the large beaver lodge and headed south along the edge of Foster Island. As I turned east I heard a crew of crows raising a racket. With the sun in my face and the noise of the crows in my ears it was very hard to figure out what was going on. Slowly I got close enough to see the focus of their attention.

Peering down from the small, unnamed island, to the south and west of Foster Island, was a Red-Tailed Hawk (RTH). A RTH has been visiting the area fairly regularly for the last few months, he does seem to stay to the north or west of Foster Island, which logically is the opposite side from the Broadmoor Eagles nest.

As I attempted to pass by the ruckus and get between the sun and the birds 

I became aware of Mallards swimming towards my kayak. It seemed as if they were coming to me for protection. Only at the last minute did I notice the ducklings and their mother.

The juvenile hawk (note the tail is not yet red) leaped off the branch and passed directly over the ducklings.

With the crows in hot pursuit the hawk left all six ducklings huddling safely beside their mother and continued north.

Turning to the east my next encounter was with this male Wood Duck in full breeding plumage.

Southeast of Foster Island this Sparrow peered into the water as if studying his or her reflection.

This Starling seemed to be standing guard not far from a Downy Woodpecker hole where Starling's were nesting a week or two ago.

The Red-Winged Blackbird (RWBB) was very vocal about my intrusion into his territory.

Unlike the RWBB this Bushtit was very quiet and focused solely on feeding.

Paddling quietly out of the marsh I was surprised to see this Hooded Merganser (HM) in the distance. Most of the HMs on Union Bay seem to disappear during the summer, this might be the last one until next winter.

High in an Alder tree the Stellar's Jay did his signature hop, hop, hop up the branch to a momentary perch in the sun.

Before heading north of 520 I took one last look back into the Beaver Lodge Marsh to see if there was anything I missed. Perched in a small tree and appearing to weave back and forth among the cattails was a small, bright patch of yellow, a male American Goldfinch.

On the north side of 520 the Cliff Swallow nests from 2012 were all gone and none of the swallows were anywhere to be seen, maybe next year.

On the log where the cormorants normally dry their wings a band of Common Mergansers enjoyed the morning sun.

On the north side of Union Bay hundreds if not thousands of Coots were proof that "birds of a feather, stick together."

Having already seen crows earlier this fellow does not count as another species of bird, but with his eye lid closed and reflecting the blue sky he does his best impression of turning a blind eye to me as I pass by.

Gadwalls swim nearby, bring my species count up to 24.

This next encounter did not increase the count but watching a crow being harassed by a bird in black (e.g. the RWBB) seems like a fair turn of events and an opportunity not to be missed.

Just to the west of the Union Bay Natural Area a Double-Crested Cormorant was sitting in the sun. Most people remember the Cormorant as the blackish bird they see drying its wings in the sun as they speed by on 520.

If you have looked at a Cormorant with binoculars you may have been surprised to notice the colors of its eyes and face.

However unless you are extremely observant and patient you may have never noticed the blue color. This is not a crystal clear photo but it does show the surprising flash of blue, inside the mouth of the Cormorant.

 The Tree Swallow was the only swallow seen this year.

The Buffleheads added one more species to the count.

Next came two Western Gulls.

The last species of bird seen just before noon was a Great Blue Heron.

This brought the total to 29 species which is down about ten percent from last year. It will be interesting to see as the spring continues if the birds, like the Cliff Swallows, that were seen on Earth Day last year show up later this year. Either way we are very lucky to live in a city were this variety of bird species can all be seen and photographically documented before noon in a single day.

Happy Earth Day!

Larry

Odds and Ends:

Also seen: