Some Like It Hot

Lately, I have found the weather to be a bit too hot. Last Tuesday while watching a young great blue heron, I heard an alarm call. A moment later, two birds hurriedly took flight. The heron and I watched as a river otter swam out of the shadows.

My last otter sighting was in Spring. Both times I was standing on the shore of Foster Island and looking at virtually the same location in the water. In the Spring, I suspected the otter was searching for freshly laid duck eggs. This time I wondered if the otter was hoping to sneak up on an adult mallard. Most of the mature mallards are currently unable to fly, while they are growing new wing feathers. The otter quickly left the heat and bright light of the sunshine and swam back into the shadows.

I was surprised by how quickly the heron went back to hunting. It did not seem to be worried about the otter. Hunger must have a real focusing effect.

As I was leaving Foster Island I noticed a couple of dragonflies basking in the sunshine. They were both Eight-spotted Skimmers. Evidently, the name comes from counting only their black spots. They made me think of the merlin which I saw the week before in the top of a near by tree. 

Last week, Barbara Deihl sent me an email about this merlin. Merlins are one of her favorite birds. Barbara explained that a blue eye-ring, a blue cere - the area at the base of the beak - and a short tail can indicate a young merlin. Plus, the protruding crop - the bump where the neck should be - indicates that this bird had recently fed. Barbara suggested that the most likely food for a young merlin would be dragonflies. That seemed particularly likely since this merlin had been sitting above Duck Bay.

Evidently these Duck Bay dragonflies were a bit faster than the ones the merlin had caught. In any case, as long as there was no immediate danger the dragonflies seemed quite happy sit in the heat of the sun.

The next day I spotted a couple of cold-blooded turtles by the large pond at the south end of Azalea Way. They were sitting on the concrete wall along the edge of the pond while basking in the sun. When the weather is warm, turtles become more active. These two were certainly flicking their heads from side to side much faster than I had ever seen before.

By the way, The Seattle Garden Club is building a new garden just to the north of the pond. The garden is to help celebrate their 100th anniversary. They have installed a new stone wall which is set back from the pond but at a complimentary angle. It looks very nice, I will be excited to see how the garden looks once all the new plants arrive. I hope the plants provide blossoms and fruit which attract lots of birds, bees and butterflies.

On Thursday and Friday, the weather felt even hotter and the air smelled from the smoke of Canadian forest fires. On Friday morning I spotted this female flicker just sitting on the ground in the shade. She wasn't even feeding. It looked like she had simply found the coolest spot around and had decided to wait out the heat.

I hiked all the way to the north half of Foster Island before I saw another bird. Just as I walked out from under the new freeway I saw this crow cleaning and preening while sitting in the full heat of the sun. I wonder if crows have some type of special heat regulating system.

As I neared the water of Union Bay, I heard a young crow calling for food. The incessant cry was annoying. It made me wonder how the parents could possibly stand it, especially with all the heat, smoke and noise of the preliminary Seafair party flotilla. 

Out on Union Bay there were plenty of boats, but the only water birds I could see were Canada Geese. If I had to pick two avian species which would thrive, in spite of global warming, I think I would bet on American Crows and Canada Geese.

As I turned toward home and walked under the new bridge, I noticed this great blue heron in the distance. It was standing in the water and mostly in the shadow of the bridge. I wondered if it was using the shade to avoid the heat.

A few steps further on I spotted this young robin. The spots on its chest indicate its youth. Unlike the young crow, the robin was waiting quietly for a parent.

A moment later the adult showed up. I suspect most birds feed in the cool of the morning and by the time I was up and out they were simply sitting quietly in the shade like the robin, the heron and the flicker.

I did find one other avian species which was active in spite of the heat. Can you see the bird in this photo? I must admit I have the advantage of having watched it arrive at this location. The brown creeper is directly below the largest leaf on the right.

While I watched, the creeper moved up to feed on something in this knot hole.

A moment later there were at least two and maybe three creepers flittering about. In their usual manner they fluttered down to the base of the trees and then worked their way up searching for food. 

They worked mostly in the shadows, obviously unfazed by the heat. It looked like one of the creepers was an adult. My clue to its age came from what appeared to be a full-sized youngster who began chasing the adult - non-stop. The adult was basically unable to hunt because of the constant pressure. Up the tree they would go, one after the other. If it had been earlier in year I would have thought it was a male chasing after a female. But this time of year it seemed more likely to be a parent and its young. As soon as the adult tried to fly down to the base of the next tree, the youngster would take to the air. Like a little brown 'blue angel' it would fly right on the tail of the older bird. I never did see any exchange of food. It looked to me like a self-defeating process for the youngster.

Over a hour had passed since I first saw the female flicker sitting in the grass. On my way back I stopped by the same spot and sure enough there she was, still sitting in the shade. She was apparently happy just to wait for the heat to pass.

I put my camera away assuming that most birds were taking it easy and I was not likely to see many more. I headed towards home thinking how nice a cool shower would feel. Sadly, I was wrong about the birds. 

Just a hundred feet before leaving the Arboretum I heard an indignant Stellar's Jay crying out. It was being chased by a young Cooper's Hawk. When the jay momentarily landed in a conifer, the young hawk also landed and chased it through the branches. The two birds cork-screwed up and around the tree with the jay expressing obvious frustration. The jay finally escaped to the north and they both escaped being photographed since my camera was out of reach.

I hope you are finding a way to enjoy the heat!

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

Larry

Going Native:

Without a well-funded Environmental Protection Agency, it falls to each of us to be ever more vigilant in protecting our local environments. Native plants and trees encourage the largest diversity of lifeforms because of their long intertwined history with local, native creatures. I have been told that even the microbes in the soil are native to each local landscape. My hope is that we can inspire ourselves, our neighbors and local businesses to plant native flora and to support native wildlife at every opportunity. My intention is to include at least one photo each week and visually challenge us to know the difference between native and non-native lifeforms.

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This is Devil's Club. It is a native plant which loves wet and shaded spots. The leaves can be over a foot in diameter, the stalks can reach above your head and the thorns can make you see red. 

The existence of Devil's Club usually indicates you are in reasonably undisturbed Pacific Northwest habitat, often in the shade of the forest and near water. I suggest you enjoy the environment without allowing yourself to come in contact with this plant. The thorns can be nasty.