Mission: To promote the appreciation of wildlife and increase harmony between humanity and nature.

On Instagram: @unionbaywatch

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Trick or Treat

Earlier this month, I happened to encounter a small flock of Golden-crowned Kinglets.

The yellow stripe on the top of the head makes the name easy to remember. My friend, Elaine, likes to point out that they also wear golden slippers i.e. in good light their yellow feet are very noticeable.

The Kinglets I saw were flitting about in a thicket of salmonberry beneath the long bouncing branches of a Douglas Fir. They moved quickly from one spot to the next. Sometimes, flying straight up to inspect the underside of the branches. The tiny creatures, that powered their flight, were so small I could not see them, even though the Kinglets were obviously eating them. 

With Kinglets, it is a now-you-see-them, now-you-don't type of experience. Many of my photos ended up showing a bare branch, i.e. taken just after the Kinglet departed.

I always feel lucky to catch a photo of a male showing off his crown.

Only the males have the striking orange highlight.

In this post, I am trying to find the bird species that best fits with a Halloween, trick-or-treat, theme. The Golden-crowned Kinglets are definitely a treat, and they are tricky quick, plus the males even have Halloween colors, i.e. orange and black, on the top of their heads. 

However, Kinglets are not the least bit scary and they are just too tremendously cute to be considered a Halloween creature.

When both genders of a species look consistently different to us, we call them sexually dimorphic. When we cannot see any difference, between the males and females, we call them monomorphic species. 

For example, I do not know if this red-breasted Sapsucker, which I saw a few days earlier, is a male or a female.

Curiously, the way we see birds is not how they see themselves. How is it that the birds themselves seldom seem to be confused about gender? Typically, humans cannot see ultraviolet (UV) light, specifically, in the 300 to 380 nanometer rangeEd Yong in his book "An Immense World" explains that many bird species not only see UV light, but they often have gender-specific, UV-reflecting feathers. Calling birds monomorphic may have more to do with our limitations than it does with the way the birds actually look.

A Red-breasted Sapsucker has more black on its body than a Golden-crowned Kinglet, and all the red on its head and breast could be said to look a bit like blood. (Actually, to me, they look like somebody poured red paint on them.) However, for me, the Sapsucker is a beautiful little woodpecker who simply doesn't inspire any Halloween feelings.

Barred Owls, on the other hand, operate in the dark of night. They have eyes and ears that allow them to function fine, even when we would be virtually helpless. If you happen to be walking through a dark forest in the middle of the night (I would not suggest it) an owl could easily swoop over your head without you seeing or hearing it. I have been equally surprised when this exact experience happened in broad daylight. 

Plus, their talons are long, sharp and dark. 

But, regardless of their scary skills, they are simply brown and tan. They lack the Halloween coloring.
 
A few years back, my friend Kelly Brenner, spotted this Long-eared Owl in the Arboretum. It does have some orange coloring on its face, which is a bit more Halloween-like. However, these owls are generally much smaller than Barred Owls. Plus, those shockingly long ears, curving up like a smile on top of the head, definitely counteracts any scary Halloween feeling.

This Great Horned Owl (Amazingly, it was also first located by Kelly Brenner in the Arboretum) is bigger than a Barred Owl and also operates perfectly well in darkness. They are even big enough that they will eat Barred Owls. Plus, owls have tricky feathers on the leading edge of their wings that break up the air currents and enable their virtually silent gliding. If the Great Horned Owl was a black bird with orange eyes, I think it would be the perfect Halloween symbol.

Speaking of black birds, here is a murder of crows, gathering in the tops of nearly leafless trees as darkness begins to fall. I admit these birds should be considered as finalists for my Halloween species.

However, when I looked through my files for the scariest American Crow photo I could find I found this grimacing creature. 

It turns out, that the grimace is enhanced by its pink gape, i.e. the pink corners of the mouth, and that this is an indicator of a young bird. Also, it is still sitting down on its tummy, like it might do in the nest, plus its feathers still look a bit fuzzy and its eyes have not yet turned black. In spite of its grimace, this bird's youth makes it decidedly un-scary.

Next, I considered the Common Raven. It is just as black as an American Crow but can be three or sometimes even four times heavier. It has a deeper voice, longer wings, and from my experience is considerably smarter than a crow. However, technically, it is the world's largest songbird. At best, it could be considered an honorary raptor.

If it operated at night, like an owl, I think I would chose a Common Raven to be my number one selection as the best Halloween bird species. 

I do wonder, Why are there no pure black owls? Doesn't it seem like that would be an appropriate color for a bird that specializes in hunting in the dark?

This black and yellow mellipede, harpaphe haydeniana, which exudes cyanide when threatened, certainly deserves honorable mention as a potential Halloween creature.

From an artistic perspective, the black and orange of a Varied Thrush also deserves to be mentioned as my winner for a Halloween-Color-Coordination-Award. I will admit that is no more scary than an American Robin, but its colors are appropriate.

By the way, Varied Thrush are sexually dimorphic, i.e. the females and the young are not as strikingly colored as the mature males.

Sadly, I have not found the perfect Halloween bird. However, my file of photos is primarily limited to the local area. I do wonder if somewhere among the approximately ten thousand bird species on this planet there might be one species that would be a perfect fit for Halloween.

Forgetting about birds for the moment, the conventional airborne creature that we all associate with Halloween is a bat. Returning to the book "An Immense World" by Ed Yong, in Chapter 9 he mentions bats. He describes at least ten different challenges and amazing adaptations related to their echolocating ability. 

One example, is the very loud sounds bats must make. At 138 decibels, many bat calls are louder than rock concerts. Bats would go deaf if they constantly heard their own calls while searching for food. (Lucky for us their calls are higher pitched than we can hear.) 

To make their volume challenge even harder, bats need to hear the bounce-back from their calls for echolocation to function. One amazing adaptation are muscles inside their ears that close each time they call. Then milliseconds later the muscles relax so the bats can hear and utilize the echo. Ed goes on to describe many other impressive "bat tricks" and numerous other sensory specialists whose skills and world views were new to me. 

I hope you found this post to be a bit of a Halloween treat!

Update:

Dennis Paulson just sent in these five wonderful candidate Halloween birds. Thank You! Dennis. These are stunning photos of Male Orioles that are sexually dimorphic and not normally seen around Union Bay. (Where possible their names are linked to appropriate range maps.)


Baltimore Oriole:

Bullock's Oriole:

Hooded Oriole:

Orange Oriole: (Birds of the World shows they are only found on the Yucatan Peninsula.)

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. 

Fall is a great time to plant trees because they need less care over the winter and are more likely to survive and thrive come spring. The most beneficial trees (for bird, insects and the ecosystem) are native trees. 

Which of the following photos of leaves are from native trees or shrubs?


A)

B)

C)

D)




Scroll down for the answer.







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




A) Japanese Maple - Non-native. (A Vine Maple would be a good native alternative.)
C) Thimbleberry - Native
D) Horse Chestnut - Non-native. (A Bigleaf Maple would be a good native alternative.)










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



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


Final Photo:



















 

Friday, September 27, 2024

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.







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







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