Just Lucky

Last week, my friends Dao and John were very excited when they spotted an elegant white bird at Duck Bay in the Arboretum. Lucky for me, John sent me a heads-up. I grabbed my camera and headed over. Thank you, both!

By the time I got there, the bird had flown out of sight, more than once. Thankfully, it also had returned and settled, at least for the moment, in a visible location.

At that distance involved, the bird seemed similar in size to a Great Blue Heron. The day before I had heard a report about a leucistic Great Blue Heron visiting Juanita Bay. So, the first question that came to my mind was, Could this be a leucistic Great Blue Heron or was it a Great Egret?

The first thing I checked were its legs. Great Egrets have black legs, Great Blue Herons do not. At that distance, the visible part of its legs looked white, but the lower legs were hidden by the lily pads.

When it flew I caught some in-flight photos, but I was too distracted to notice the color of the legs. Even if I had, it would have been hard to say if I was seeing dark legs or a coating of mud. 

When it flew closer, the white feathers were stunning. 

If it was a leucistic Great Blue Heron, I would have expected at least some feathers with color. For example, Click Here to see a photo of a young mostly white Great Blue Heron. I was leaning toward this bird being a Great Egret, but I wanted more confirmation.

As mentioned in the Sibley blog, via the link above, there is also a white-morph version of the Great Blue Heron that resides in southern Florida. However, it seemed highly unlikely that one of them might end up in the Pacific Northwest. Great Egrets, on the other hand, nest just south of Moses Lake in Washington.

There were other hints that we noticed. For example, John mentioned that the neck looked thinner than that of the nearby Great Blue Heron. I wasn't positive whether this difference was due to the two species being different or due to an age difference. I was thinking a younger bird might be full height but not yet have reached its full weight which might explain a narrow neck.

My previous experience with a Great Egret was in 2016 near the University Bridge. Frankly, I did not remember that bird well enough to know if this bird looked exactly the same or not, but in this view it obvious which bird looks heavier. To see more of the 2016 bird, Click Here. 

As the 2024 bird moved closer a number of things caught my eye. The legs were definitely black. Plus, the feathers on the neck seemed ruffled and thin. I wondered if the bird might be in the process of growing new feathers.

These feathers look soft and downy like one might expect to see on a young bird.

I also noticed the greenish-yellow color of the lores and the eye ring. This I remembered as being very similar to the 2016 Great Egret. However, the feature that really caught my attention was the black tip contrasting with the yellow on the rest of the mandibles. That was new to me.

I also noticed it did not have any plumes on the back of its head like Great Blue Herons often do. 

Soon I became distracted by watching it hunt for food...

...and its reflection in the water.

It was a real treat to see it up close.

I was lucky to notice it caught an insect.

But disappointed that it did not try to catch the insect when it fell.

Sadly, for me, it chose to fly a bit further away.

At the new location, it stopped to search the sky.

I don't remember seeing a Great Blue Heron look directly up into the air. Maybe it happens and I have missed it. Maybe this is the behavior of a curious young bird. or Perhaps, since pure white birds are exceptionally visible, they have to be especially vigilant about watching for airborne predators.

Soon it returned to hunting and caught a fish.

Moments later, it caught something larger.

I am pretty sure it caught an American Bullfrog tadpole. Locally, they are an invasive species so I was not disappointed to see one get caught. 

I was surprised to see the bird drop the tadpole back in the water, especially without even trying to swallow it. You can see the splash, where the tadpole hit the water, to the left of the Egret's legs.

But I was very surprised when the Egret turned and walked away without trying to retrieve the tadpole. I have seen Great Blue Herons washing off their food, and occasionally, drop it, but I don't ever remember seeing a Heron casually walking away and just letting its prey escape.

Later, I found two interesting bits of information in Birds of the World. It said:

1) Non-breeding juveniles have yellow bills with blackish tips.

2) "Northward dispersal of juveniles occurs Jun-Oct, with peak numbers in Aug. and Sept."

After further review, I am very comfortable concluding this was a young Great Egret. It appeared to be out in the world exploring and learning to hunt. I am not at all certain why it let the tadpole go. On the whole, the egret was much more active than the average Great Blue Heron. So I do not think it was starving for food. 

On the other hand, its neck did seem especially thin.

Especially, when compared with the adult I photographed in 2016.

Plus, when the 2016 bird caught a good-sized fish...

 ...it swallowed it without a problem,

So, maybe this 2024 Egret was simply aware that the tadpole was too big to handle. I don't know. However, I do know I am very happy that it chose to visit Duck Bay on a day when my friends Dao and John were there to see it.

Have a great day on Union Bay...where nature lives in the city and Black Birders are welcome!

Larry

Going Native:

Each of us, who breathes the air, drinks water, and eats food should be helping to protect our environment. Local efforts are most effective and sustainable. Native plants and trees encourage the largest diversity of lifeforms because of their long intertwined history with our local environment and the local native creatures. Even the microbes in the soil are native to each local landscape. 

I hope we can inspire ourselves, our neighbors, and local businesses to respect native flora and support native wildlife at every opportunity. I have learned that our most logical approach to native trees and plants (in order of priority) should be to:

1) Learn and leave established native flora undisturbed.

2) Remove invasive species and then wait to see if native plants begin to grow without assistance. (When native plants start on their own, then these plants or trees are likely the most appropriate flora for the habitat.)

3) Scatter seeds from nearby native plants in a similar habitat.

4) If you feel you must add a new plant then select a native plant while considering how the plant fits with the specific habitat and understanding the plant's logical place in the normal succession of native plants. 

*************** 

Keystone native plants are an important new idea. Douglas Tallamy, in the book "Nature's Best Hope ", explains that caterpillars supply more energy to birds, particularly young birds in their nests, than any other plant eater. He also mentions that 14% of our native plants, i.e. Keystone Plants, provide food for 90% of our caterpillars. This unique subset of native plants and trees enables critical moths, butterflies, and caterpillars that in turn provide food for the great majority of birds, especially during the breeding season. 

Note: Flowering plants and trees, i.e. those pollinated by bees, are also included as Keystone Plants.

This video explains the native keystone plants very nicely:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5cXccWx030

The Top Keystone Genera in our ecoregion i.e. Plants and trees you might want in your yard: 

Click Here

Additional content available here:

https://wos.org/wos-wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Native-Plant-Resources-10-7-22.pdf

******************

In the area below, I am displaying at least one photo with each post to help challenge us to know the difference between native and non-native lifeforms. 

A)

Is this a native frog?

B)

Is this a native frog?

Scroll down for the answer.

******************

A) American Bullfrog

B) Pacific Tree Frog

The Bullfrog is native to the east of the Rocky Mountains. It is invasive in Washington State and will eat our much smaller native Pacific Tree Frog. Plus, it will consume basically any creature it can catch and swallow (including birds) according to the National Aquarium.

*****************

The Email Challenge:

Over the years, I have had many readers tell me that Google is no longer sending them email announcements. As of 2021, Google has discontinued the service.

In response, I have set up my own email list. With each post, I will manually send out an announcement. If you would like to be added to my personal email list please send me an email requesting to be added. Something like:

                Larry, Please add me to your personal email list. 

My email address is:  

                     LDHubbell@comcast.net

Thank you!

*******************

The Comment Challenge:

Another common issue is losing your input while attempting to leave a comment on this blog. Often everything functions fine, however, sometimes people are unable to make it past the robot-detection challenge or maybe it is the lack of a Google account. I am uncertain about the precise issue. Sadly, a person can lose their comment with no recovery recourse. 
Bottom Line: 
If you write a long comment, please, copy it before hitting enter. Then, if the comment function fails to record your information, you can send the comment directly to me using email.

My email address is:  

                     LDHubbell@comcast.net

Sincerely,

Larry

****************

Recommended Citation

McCrimmon Jr., D. A., J. C. Ogden, G. T. Bancroft, A. Martínez-Vilalta, A. Motis, G. M. Kirwan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Great Egret (Ardea alba), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.greegr.01

Born To Fly

By April 15th, 2024 Stewart (on the left) and Hope (on the right) had returned to their nest site, at the University of Washington, IntraMural Activity field number three (i.e. IMA3), north of Union Bay, in Seattle, WA. This is their sixth year of egg-laying at this site and their sixth and a half year of nest building. Click Here to read more about their early efforts.

Assuming no fatal accidents or illnesses, they are most likely the same two individuals that we observed attempting to build their first nest, at this location in 2018. The fact that the Osprey have a strong sense of site fidelity and generally live 15 to 20 years helps to support this assumption.

Females on average weigh nearly twenty percent more than males. Their size alone implies that Hope, on the right, is the female. Also, with mature Osprey the females typically have some dark brown streaks or spots on the chest and males usually don't. These characteristics are also apparent in the photo. In addition, they have different reproductive roles, which are generally gender specific.

The male is expected to deliver fish to the nest, and both genders work on nest building, although the males may initially do more, and ultimately, the female spends much more time at the nest, laying eggs, incubating, and later feeding the young.

In this photo, Stewart was taking to the air to go find food. Osprey typically dine on fish. I have heard they will occasionally eat other small creatures but so far I have never seen that happen.

You might want to notice the size of their nest. In mid-April, it was still primarily confined to the area between the second and third lights from the right.

I remember hearing Hope begging Stewart for food. It would not have surprised me to see Stewart bring back food and use it to inspire Hope to mate with him. Click Here to see how that was done by the previous pair that historically nested just to the south in the Union Bay Natural Area.

However, when Stewart returned with his catch he seemed indifferent to Hope's hunger as he settled on a nearby light pole he looked over at Hope with his catch in full view.

Then he turned his back and proceeded to carefully consume his fish. 

I do not understand his logic. Maybe he needed to keep his strength up and was preparing to make another run to secure food for Hope. However, if that was the case, why not eat somewhere hidden from Hope? Clearly, Stewart does not think like me. 

Three months later, here is Stewart bringing a fish to the nest for Hope and one of their offspring. Evidently, Stewart successfully managed his relationship with Hope because they created offspring.

During the intervening months not only were eggs laid, incubated, and hatched but the nest also grew, dramatically.

Last week, Hope was still bringing sticks to the nest.

Also last week, one of their young could still be seen flexing its wings, gaining strength, and preparing to fly. Counting how many young Hope and Stewart produce is always challenging. Their nest is large and positioned on top of a very tall light pole. Young ones resting in the middle of the nest are completely hidden from the ground.

This time of year the young birds of most other species have already learned to fly and are learning to find their food. 

Since Osprey migrate, from Mexico, in the Spring their nest-building, egg-laying, etc. typically happens later than it does among our larger resident birds. As a result, the young of the Common Ravens, Barred Owls, and Bald Eagles are all out of their nests by now. On the other hand, when this photo was taken on August 14th, this young Osprey was still doing flight prep.

The young one is smaller than Hope. In addition to its size, there are other clues to its youth.

Update: My friend Martin Muller has pointed out that at this stage, when the young are ready to leave the nest, they are full-grown. In which case its size does not indicate youth but rather that it is a male.  

One of the most beautiful is the color of its irises. I find the orange coloring of a young bird's eyes particularly appealing.

The young bird's wing flaps close to Hope's head, but does not scare her into moving away.

However, Hope is smart enough to close her outer eyelid. 

Unlike ours, the eyelids of Osprey close from the bottom up. I suspect this arrangement is particularly helpful when a fish is wiggling about and hoping to make a last-second escape. I would think closing their eyes from the bottom up protects them a split second sooner than our top-down approach.

With enough food, patience and practice young birds learn to lift off and fly. 

However, learning where to land is another challenge. This young one quickly exchanged feet on top of this slender snag as the wood wiggled back and forth. It rapidly and repeatedly reached out and retracted its wings, trying to find a peaceful balance.

However, after a few seconds of intense effort, the young one departed, apparently aiming for a more stable substrate.

Here is another example of a young one trying to land on one of the slender wires surrounding the soccer field just below the nest.

Finally, here is one a few days later trying to perch on a wire on the south side of the U-Village parking garage. It eventually hopped over and stood on the top of the building. Clearly, figuring out where to land is a learning process. This type of behavior is another indicator of youth.

In flight, when viewed from above, the dark brown feathers on a fledgling's back and wings display long rows of white tips that show where each layer of feathers ends. The layering looks and functions similar to shingles on a roof. Since the arrangement of bird feathers is far more ancient than shingles, I suspect shingles may have been inspired by feathers.

Among mature Osprey the white tips on their feathers have worn away or been replaced with totally dark feathers, which makes the layering much harder to see.

When looking at the underside of the young ones, you may notice a tawny tinge of color on their white feathers. 

With adults, their white feathers are much "cleaner". The contrast between their light and dark coloring is quite crisp.

When the more mature young, who had already learned to fly, noticed Stewart heading toward the nest with a food, they quickly returned.

It was almost a family reunion...

... and when Stewart arrived, momentarily, the full family of five was reunited.

Seconds later a Great Blue Heron happened to pass over, high above the nest.

When Stewart took to the air, the Heron realized its mistake. It tried to speed up and change course, but Herons are not particularly quick.

Soon, Stewart caught up and chased the Heron away to the south. I lost sight of them when they both dropped below the tree line in the direction of Husky Stadium. I doubt Stewart attacked the Heron, but I suspect the Heron will not fly near the Osprey nest anytime soon.

One lucky youngster was "hand-fed" bite-sized pieces by Hope.

My friend Ronda, who watches the nest daily, sees the young more clearly than I do. She has named them Celine, Cyril, and Carmel. We saw Celine and Cyril flying about and playing chase with each other last week. Just this week Ronda reported Carmel is finally flying too.

In the early Fall adult females are usually the first to head south, they are followed by the adult males. Curiously, the young migrate south all on their own and without any previous experience. Click Here to see how the annual Osprey migration plays out on the animated eBird weekly abundance map. (Push the white arrow on the bottom to get it moving.)

If you want to see the young in flight or test your ability to pick out the young versus the adults, I would suggest visiting the IMA3 field soon. A month from now, the whole family could be gone for the Winter.

Have a great day on Union Bay...where nature lives in the city and Black Birders are welcome!

Larry

Going Native:

Each of us, who breathes the air, drinks water, and eats food should be helping to protect our environment. Local efforts are most effective and sustainable. Native plants and trees encourage the largest diversity of lifeforms because of their long intertwined history with our local environment and the local native creatures. Even the microbes in the soil are native to each local landscape. 

I hope we can inspire ourselves, our neighbors, and local businesses to respect native flora and support native wildlife at every opportunity. I have learned that our most logical approach to native trees and plants (in order of priority) should be to:

1) Learn and leave established native flora undisturbed.

2) Remove invasive species and then wait to see if native plants begin to grow without assistance. (When native plants start on their own, then these plants or trees are likely the most appropriate flora for the habitat.)

3) Scatter seeds from nearby native plants in a similar habitat.

4) If you feel you must add a new plant then select a native plant while considering how the plant fits with the specific habitat and understanding the plant's logical place in the normal succession of native plants. 

*************** 

Keystone native plants are an important new idea. Douglas Tallamy, in the book "Nature's Best Hope ", explains that caterpillars supply more energy to birds, particularly young birds in their nests, than any other plant eater. He also mentions that 14% of our native plants, i.e. Keystone Plants, provide food for 90% of our caterpillars. This unique subset of native plants and trees enables critical moths, butterflies, and caterpillars that in turn provide food for the great majority of birds, especially during the breeding season. 

Note: Flowering plants and trees, i.e. those pollinated by bees, are also included as Keystone Plants.

This video explains the native keystone plants very nicely:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5cXccWx030

The Top Keystone Genera in our ecoregion i.e. Plants and trees you might want in your yard: 

Click Here

Additional content available here:

https://wos.org/wos-wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Native-Plant-Resources-10-7-22.pdf

******************

In the area below, I am displaying at least one photo with each post to help challenge us to know the difference between native and non-native lifeforms. 

One of the following two flowers is native (Common Yarrow) and one is not (Queen Anne's Lace). Can you tell which is which?

Is this a native flower?

Is this a native flower?

Scroll down for the answer.

******************

Thank you to Whitney for pointing out the differences between these two plants!

Common Yarrow: (In the first photo.)

Yes. It is a native plant. There are records of a wide variety of medicinal uses which you can read about by Clicking Here. This same USFS post is also my source for learning that it is sometimes referred to as Milfoil. This must stem from the second half of its Latin name, "Achillea Millefolium" which means "having a thousand leaves." I think the frilly little leaflets in the photo certainly reinforce that definition. Click Here to see information from the Burke Museum.

This can be found south of the Friends of Arboretum Creek visioning site along the Loop Trial in the Arboretum, i.e. north of Parking Lot #19.

Queen Anne's Lace:  (In the second photo.)

This plant was introduced from Europe and is considered a weed by King County. It can be found around the IMA3 field below the Osprey nest. While very similar to Common Yarrow one easy difference is the relative sparsity of leaves. Click Here to see information from the Burke Museum.

*****************

The Email Challenge:

Over the years, I have had many readers tell me that Google is no longer sending them email announcements. As of 2021, Google has discontinued the service.

In response, I have set up my own email list. With each post, I will manually send out an announcement. If you would like to be added to my personal email list please send me an email requesting to be added. Something like:

                Larry, Please add me to your personal email list. 

My email address is:  

                     LDHubbell@comcast.net

Thank you!

*******************

The Comment Challenge:

Another common issue is losing your input while attempting to leave a comment on this blog. Often everything functions fine, however, sometimes people are unable to make it past the robot-detection challenge or maybe it is the lack of a Google account. I am uncertain about the precise issue. Sadly, a person can lose their comment with no recovery recourse. 
Bottom Line: 
If you write a long comment, please, copy it before hitting enter. Then, if the comment function fails to record your information, you can send the comment directly to me using email.

My email address is:  

                     LDHubbell@comcast.net

Sincerely,

Larry