Immature Eagle | Hunting Near 520

Yesterday morning this immature Bald Eagle was hunting near the 520 east bound on-ramp in the Arboretum.

It takes Bald Eagles about 5 years get their mature colors, e.g. white head & tail, yellow beak & eyes, like Albert and Eva in this Thanksgiving photo from last fall. 

Often it is the motion of a bird in flight that first attracts my attention. However in this case I was simply approaching a bench in the park when suddenly I realized this young eagle was calmly sitting on a branch about 10 feet above the water and less than 30 feet in front of me.

My mind raced wildly as I tried to remain calm, move very slowly and get my camera focused.  I wondered, could this be last-year's eaglet, Si'ahl, returning as an immature eagle? Why weren't the crows going crazy? Will the adult eagles attempt to run it off? Why is it so close to the ground? How old is this bird?

As far as the bird's age is concerned, all I could conclude is that it must be at least one year old since Eva is still sitting on this year's eggs and logically it is most likely less than 5 years old because it lacks the white head and tail. 

After a few minutes, the eagle flew into the small inlet surrounding Elderberry Island at the mouth of Arboretum Creek. This time the bird perched maybe 2 feet above the water. This low elevation hunting style is surprisingly different than that of Albert and Eva who usually perch on the 520 light poles, or near the tops of cottonwood trees along the shore. Maybe being closer to your prey increases the odds for a young bird who has not learned to hunt as efficiently as the adults.

The eagle took a quick dip in the water but came up empty…

...before returning to a tree very near its initial perch.

This time the eagle attracted some attention. This pair of Canada Geese started honking wildly and, contrary to what would seem like good sound logic, paddled over and sat directly below the eagle. This was the highest perch (about 25 feet) that the eagle picked during the next hour.

The eagle was curious about everything, but not particularly disturbed by the geese. They honked for awhile and then paddled off to some more profitable endeavor.

Perhaps the noise of the geese attracted the attention of this crow that bravely approached from the back side. None the less, the eagle remained calm and soon the crow was also gone.

 During the next hour the eagle would twist and turn as various visitors passed nearby.

As its feathers dried out, it became obvious that some of its feathers were showing a lot of wear while others looked shiny and new. 

At one point a Pileated Woodpecker came calling loudly and settled into the top of a cottonwood almost directly above the eagle.

Later four canoes full of children and adults came paddling up. The children called out excitedly as they sat directly below the eagle. The bird waited patiently for their excitement and attention to pass.

In this photo the eagle has closed the nictitating membrane, e.g. third eyelid, to protect its eye from what might be a piece of feather.

Finally the eagle must have noticed a fish passing by. It swooped down and circled once above the water.

It then landed on a relatively small branch just a few feet above the water.

The eagle peered intently into the water before making its final approach.

It looked like a classic approach, but sadly for the eagle the fish avoided becoming brunch.

It has been more than six months since Si'ahl, Eve and Albert's 2013 eaglet, left the area. While it has been about year and a half since the 2012 eaglets left. Is this one of those young birds returning home for a visit? Will it be able to hang around the area? Will the eagle continue to hunt below the treetops and out of sight of the adults? Will the adults ultimately find it and run it off since they are preparing to raise new young this year? 

There are certainly more questions than answers, however one thing is certain, it is a tremendously exciting time on Union Bay. You might want to take a walk to Foster Island and take in some of the beauty and grace of nature.

Have a great day on Union Bay…where nature lives in the city! 

Larry

PS: The Downy woodpecker (See last weeks post) has now excavated a nesting hole that is large enough for him to disappear inside. The female has been seen watching nearby and even meeting him on a branch to offer encouragement (or instructions). After the exchange, the male went to work on the lower hole about 3 or 4 feet below the upper site. Apparently the female wants options.

House Hunting Controversy

Last Spring a pair of Downy Woodpeckers nested near the water at the north end of the Arboretum. (You can read their story here.) Over the winter the top 75% of their nesting tree fell to the ground. Given the short little stub left behind one had to wonder if they would return to nest in what was left of the tree.

The good news is that on Monday morning this male Downy was discovered, in a tree a couple of hundred feet away, starting a new nesting hole.

Most of the time he would work at deepening the hole but occasionally he would stop and clean away some obstruction around the edge. Cornell says the Downy's consistently chose the underside of a leaning tree to make their entrance hole. I suppose it gives them cover from rain and maybe from predatory birds as well.

After a while a female Downy showed up at the new nesting tree. She watched from a distance at first, before working her way up the branch where the male was working. 

The Downy's seem to prefer trees where some type of fungus has softened up the wood, which certainly must make their annual excavations easier.

Her surprise was that she stopped at a fresh hole about 3 feet below where the male was working. Above last years nest it looked like there was an escape hole about a foot further up the tree. However a 3 foot distance seems a bit extreme so it makes me think they are having a disagreement about the optimal nest location. (By the way have you noticed how to tell the difference between the male and female Downy? It should be obvious in the photos above.)

In any case while she worked at her hole the male took a break and went looking for food. After a bit she moved up and inspected his new excavation before moving on. 

On Monday afternoon a Black-Capped Chickadee was seen going in and out of the male's new hole. It was as is the bird was happily thinking, "How nice a brand new nesting hole." I am not sure when the Downy put an end to the fantasy, but I am sure it was short-lived.

On Friday morning the male was once again working on the same hole. Often removing one tiny chunk of wood at a time. Cornell says that both birds working together can take from 1 to 3 weeks to complete a nest. That makes sense given the careful and meticulous manner in which they work.

On the other hand clear progress is being made. If you look at the very first photo you can see that there was hardly room for his head in the hole. While in the photo above, four days later, he is working with more than half of his body in the hole.

All of this work can make a person hungry. So our lead excavator visited a nearby tree to inspect the new buds for edible delights.

At one point his feeding was interrupted by this like-minded warbler.

After determining the danger was minimal he returned to his feeding.

In the end he went back to clearing out his choice for a nesting site. It seems when he is working deeper in the hole that he removes a number small wood fragments and then tosses them all out at one time with a single flick of his head. It will be interesting to see if the female continues to work on the lower hole or whether she trades off with the male on excavating the hole he prefers.

By the way here is a bit of a birding challenge to test your powers of observation.

What type of bird do these feathers belong too? While you consider the challenge here are a couple more fun photos.

A pink Rhody in blossom and…

…a Black-Capped Chickadee feeding on what I think is a flowering Crabapple tree.

Here is the answer to the feather challenge.

The feathers are from the wing of a female Wood Duck. The colors on these birds are particularly brilliant right now. It is a bit hard to see but the top of her head even had a green sheen. Here is one more interesting Wood Duck feather challenge.

Have you ever noticed the white and black feathers on her body that are normally covered by her wings?

It is odd but I had never noticed them before either and yet this week I just happened to get a photo of the same feathers on both the male and the female Wood Duck. Does anyone know the purpose of these feathers or what they are called? It is a mystery to me.

Have a great day on Union Bay…where nature lives in the city!

Larry

Odds and Ends:

I have not seen the female Barred Owl at Interlaken all week. My best guess is that she has given up on her mate and the concept of nesting and is off looking for a new mate. 

Concerning the rat poison that killed her mate, someone asked this week, What can we do? The best thing I know of is to get rat poison off the market in the City of Seattle. Here are the links to support this position all in one location. You can see that:

1. The EPA is attempting to get rat poison off the market nationally but is being fought in court by one the manufacturers.
2. King County has an extensive list of methods to deal with rats that speciffically do not include poison.
3. Marin County, Ca has proven the problem and has found a means to solve it locally. What we need is someone with the time and knowledge to lead an effort to do the same thing here in Seattle.

Thank you for your concern!

Interlaken and Beyond

Yesterday, Magnuson Park had a special visitor. This little gull is seldom seen on our side of the Cascades and is believed to be a Franklin's Gull.

Notice the dark head, dark legs & feet. I especially liked the almost delicate beak.

When flying away it was easier to see the dark wing tips and the broken band of black on the tail. (Thank you to Barry Levine for pointing it out.)

Surrounded by larger gulls this little gull aggressively defended its personal space.

It seemed to be able to stop on a dime. You might want to drop by the park to see if he (or she) hangs around.

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This little wren took a break from nest building to sing a song in Interlaken Park this morning.

It repeatedly went in and out of this small crevice and was once seen carrying a large chunk of moss into the hole. Apparently the stick and leaves that are wedged in the crevice above the nesting site will provide a roof while the moss provides a bed. It sure looks like this little wren will be a thoughtful and caring parent.

Sometimes when leaving the nest it would stop for a moment as if it was planning its next step. By the way, do know which type of wren this is? You can find out in this earlier post.

Also if you would like to hear this wren's song Click Here.

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 Can you find the bird in this photo? Granted it is not perfectly in focus due to all the foliage.

How about now? This bird is inspecting a potential nesting site in Interlaken Park.

Here is a bit cleaner photo of the same bird. It is a Cooper's Hawk, although a very skinny one. We can only hope this beautiful bird can avoid the the same fate as the Barred Owl.

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In regards to the Barred Owls in Interlaken, it is looking like the female is all on her own for now. A special thank you to Dan, Charles and Ronda who went looking for the owls this week while I was away. 

Also, a thank you to Susan who led me to the link below. It seems that Wildcare, in Marin County, CA, has found that over 75% of their tested patients had a least one rodenticide in their blood. They are happily reporting that the local response to the situation has led to restrictions on the use of such products in their area. It seems like a logical approach to me.

To find out more Click Here.

Have a great day on Union Bay…where nature lives in the city!

Larry

Hope for Owlets

Given the report last week of the demise of the male Barred Owl in Interlaken Park, the good news is a Barred Owl has been seen fairly consistently in and around the nest in Interlaken this week.

Sunday

 Monday

Tuesday

On Tuesday evening an owl was seen just before leaving the nest.

 Thursday

Friday night, for about 15 minutes, an owl moved around to three different trees near the nest. At each location it stopped and hooted a few times, but no answering calls were heard. Finally it moved up the ridge to the east and called a few more times in the distance. On a more positive note one of the neighbors reports hearing what she thought was more than one owl calling during the last week or so.

A couple of different sources have mentioned that this week is about the right time for the female to be laying eggs. If another male does not show up to bring her food it would be unlikely that a single owl could protect and warm the eggs while also hunting and feeding herself.

If you find yourself in Interlaken Park this week please watch to see if you can spot more than one owl at the same time, or in the evening if you can hear multiple owls calling back and forth from different locations. Additional proof that there are two owls working together would be very encouraging and help hold out hope for owlets this year.

You could also look at the photos above to see if you can find any differences that might indicate there is more than one bird in the photos. I do not see anything convincing…but I am trying to remain hopeful.

By the way, after reading this post, a concerned family member suggested placing a box of mice under the nesting tree…that might be a step too far.

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Last Sunday a male Pileated Woodpecker (most likely Elvis) was seen feeding in a couple of holes in a tree on the way to Foster Island. This is the first time this year I remember seeing the male without the female somewhere nearby. Maybe the female is beginning to sit on eggs in the nest. Last year just about this time the Pileated Woodpeckers in Interlaken were already starting the nesting process. See the story, photos and links to videos by clicking here.

Curiously in one photo the male is looking very sleek and normal while…

…just a moment later he has raised all the individual feathers on his head. Maybe it was a reaction to some potential danger or maybe it was just a shiver. In any case he quickly put his feathers down and returned to feeding normally.

He remained feeding on the tree so long that I eventually got hungry and left while he was still working away. 

Have a great day on Union Bay…where nature lives in the city!

Larry

PS: By the way there were some interesting updates added at the end of last weeks post. Click here to read them.