The bashful flowers of Salmonberries peer fearfully out among luminous lumps of little leaves. The Osoberries are done flowering - with fruit soon to follow - and Violet-Green Swallows have returned to swoop softly above the bay, while leaving lilting liquid sounds that linger only in our memories. It is Spring!
The stark coloring of a male Bufflehead, while beautiful, evokes shivering memories of cold winter days. This is partially due to their coloring. It is reinforced by their absence during the warmest months of the year. Buffleheads seldom, if ever, summer here. Later in Spring they will migrate to the central portions of North America, where the females will hope to find nests, lay their eggs, and raise their young.
Nonetheless, if we pay attention to their mid-March antics, we see they are clearly in a Spring-time frame-of-mind.
Here, four or five males linger in front of a female. Their plumage is crisp and fresh, and their desire for her affection seems obvious.
Males will run across the water, chase each other, and sometimes sit upright & flap their wings, while showing off for females.
Note how much smaller the female in the foreground looks compared to the males around her.
Buffleheads are one of our smallest ducks. Their weights vary. No doubt migration takes a toll. At the most, males weigh less than a pound and a half. All About Birds classifies them as "crow-sized".
Females can weigh even less. After egg-laying and incubation, some weigh less than 10 ounces.
The darkest feathers on the heads of the males shine with subtle iridescent shades of purple, green and blue.
In the right light, even shades of gold appear. It is easy to imagine how females might be entranced by their beauty.
Buffleheads are diving ducks, unlike Mallards, Gadwalls, and many others, who are dabbling ducks. Buffleheads find, feed, and even swallow their food while totally underwater. One of the downsides to this approach is that sooner or later they must come up for air.
Bald Eagles with their keen eyesight can no doubt observe Buffleheads while they are underwater. The Eagles are also smart enough to time their arrival to coincide with the moment a Bufflehead surfaces.
Given that the Buffleheads are smaller than most ducks and that they make a nice risk-free meal for a Bald Eagle, it is a bit hard to understand how their numbers can be increasing. Nonetheless, All About Birds quotes The North American Breeding Bird Survey, which says that between 1966 and 2019. the Bufflehead population increased by three percent per year.
After reading multiple online sources, my best guess at the reason for their success is actually their diminutive size. Buffleheads are cavity-nesters, however, they are unable to make their own nest holes. So they have to utilize pre-existing nests made by other birds, primarily woodpeckers. Given their size, they are one of the few ducks that can successfully utilize abandoned Northern Flicker nest sites. Their closest relatives, the Common Goldeneyes and Barrows Goldeneyes, are simply too big to enter an empty Flicker's nest.
So the next time you enjoy the site of Buffleheads in flight...
...give thanks to the Northern Flickers.
Have a great day on Union Bay...where nature lives in the city!
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.
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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, ie Keystone Plants, provide food for 90% of our caterpillars. This unique subset of native plants and trees enables critical moths, butterflies, and caterpillars that provide food for the great majority of birds, especially when feeding their young.
Note: Flowering plants and trees, i.e. those pollinated by bees, are also included as Keystone Plants.
This video explains the native keystone plant concept in more detail:
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:
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In this area, I typically display at least one photo with each post to challenge us to know our native lifeforms.
Which one of the following native trees produces this cone?
Hint: This cone was found near the Salish Sea at an elevation of less than 200 feet.
Scroll down for the answers.
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The Answer:
Sitka Spruce: (
Picea sitchensis) In addition to its cone being unique, the "checkerboard" appearance of its bark is unlike any of the other trees mentioned above.
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!
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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
In the PNW, when we first step out into the Spring sunshine and warmth, the solar heat may feel like the return of a long lost friend. When we glance about in our yards, parks and natural areas, we are likely to see scattered piles of brown leaves and yellow needles, freshly fallen Fir branches and twigs, and a green layer of moss and algae covering every stationary object - and even some that aren't.
The first impulse, after taking a cleansing breath of fresh air, is to think, "Time for some Spring cleaning!" In general, that is a great idea, however, for the benefit of nesting birds, there are some exceptions we might want to consider:
Leaves in the flowerbeds - Dark-eyed Juncos and the originating trees
Piles of sticks (hidden in out of the way locations) - Spotted Towhees
Moss and Lichen on branches, fences, and stone walls - Hummingbirds, Bushtits, Chickadees?
Spider webs - Hummingbirds, Bushtits,
Fallen Logs - PIWO
Bark on a cedar - Brown Creeper
Standing dry grass - is used by multiple species to build and/or line nests and as a hiding places for nesting ducks and geese.
Standing dry cattails - are used to build nests by Marsh Wrens and Red-winged Blackbirds
(Safely) Standing Snags and dead branches - Woodpeckers from DOWO - PIWO, WODU, COME, RBNU, BCCH, etc.
If you have birds boxes it would be good to clean them out asap as the birds are already checking them out and making plans for their egg-laying and incubation.
