Eric The Red Returns

In early November, this red-breasted sapsucker was still drilling for sap in a deciduous tree. The tree's leaves had already turned yellow and about half were on the ground. I wondered how long the sap would flow and when the sapsucker would switch to evergreen trees.

This bird worked one side of the trunk...

...and then the other.

While working in the upper half of the tree, it switched back and forth between the three main trunks. 

Just like pileated woodpeckers, the sapsucker would turn and pick its new destination before it took to the air. Some feeding spots were riddled with holes life this...

...while others were relatively new mining efforts.

I was lucky to catch this shot of the bird hugging the tree. I believe it was hiding from a larger bird, like a crow, passing overhead. It also looks like it may have been listening for the sound of a insect, moving inside the tree.

From the side, it is easy to see how woodpeckers use their tails like the third leg of a tripod.

From the back it looks like the bird may even be sticking one of its tail feathers into a sap well, for a little extra traction. 

This is a photo from last winter when we had red-breasted sapsuckers working in three different coniferous trees in the Arboretum. A number of us, watched these birds from mid-December through mid-February. I have been curious ever since about when and if they would return to the evergreen trees. This last week I got at least a partial answer.

Thanksgiving morning was the first day when Duck Bay was nearly completely covered with ice. I suspect the cold night had a hand in slowing the sap flow in the deciduous trees. The slow flow may have started sapsuckers thinking about their alternatives.

Monday one of the sapsuckers returned to this spruce. The dried white sap is leftover "frosting" from last winter's efforts. The dark wet spots are caused by sap flowing from new or freshened excavations. 

This sapsucker has been at the tree off and on all week. This morning, in the steady rain, the sapsucker appeared warm and dry stationed a few feet off the ground, under the protecting boughs. It is interesting to note that in the winter the sapsuckers seem to work closer to the ground than during the summer. Logically, if the sap for the whole tree is coming through the trunk then there most be a greater volume and larger flows towards the bottom of the tree.

It turns out that this same tree is the one which was used last winter by this red-naped sapsucker, whom I called Sugar. Red-naped sapsuckers do not normally winter here so it would be a real surprise if she returned this year. This same tree was also "shared" by a red-breasted sapsucker who I called, Eric the Red. Apparently, Eric has returned. Last year, the two birds had a difference of opinion around the concept of sharing. Eric is up to his old tricks, of chasing away competitors. However, so far this year, it is just hummingbirds and ruby-crowned kinglets going after "his" sap. To see more details, from last winter, Click Here.

I have been watching but so far neither of the other two red-breasted sapsuckers, or Sugar, have returned. It will be interesting to see when and if they make it back. I can imagine them working to extract the last little bit of sap from a sweet and tasty, deciduous tree. I suspect such a tree would be situated in a nice warm south-facing location and would still have a few yellow leaves left and a tiny flow of sap. I hope at least a couple more sapsuckers return for the winter.

Note: Last year one of the gardeners in the Arboretum asked me to mention that if we stand on the bark chips near the spruce trees it compresses the bark. This slows the decomposition and the release of nutrients for the trees. In the case of these trees, which are being actively "mined" by sapsuckers, kinglets and hummingbirds (and last year squirrels as well) I suspect they need all the nutrients they can get. I am doing my best to stay off the wood chips.

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Raptor Classes:

Bud Anderson, renown raptor guru from the Falcon Research Group, will once again be teaching evening classes starting in January. According to his website he is offering classes in Mt. Vernon and Bellingham. Last year, he mentioned possibly holding a class in Seattle. I suspect if enough of us send him checks for his class and stated our preference for a Seattle location, he might be persuaded.

In any case, whether the class is here or further north, Bud's extensive knowledge and incredible love of raptors makes his classes the best birding investment I have ever made.

For more details, Click Here.

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

Larry

Silhouette Challenge:

Can you determine what type of bird this is? The answer will be in next week's post.

Note: To be perfectly fair, this photo was taken on Puget Sound, instead of around Union Bay. However, one of these species is very common on Union Bay and has been featured in many Union Bay Watch posts. The other species is in the same family. This challenge is an opportunity to learn to distinguish the two closely-related, family members.

Last week's silhouette belonged to a red-tailed hawk. The width of the wings relative to their length distinguishes this bird's outline from that of a bald eagle. The bald eagle's wings are visibly longer, relative to their width. The shortness of the tail distinguishes this silhouette from that of a cooper's hawk. There may be other raptors with a similar silhouettes, but the red-tailed hawk is by far the most common around Union Bay.

Storm Watch

This morning, just before dawn, the sunlit moon looked somewhat egg-shaped in the western sky. I was waiting near Storm's new roost to see how she handled the sub-freezing temperatures. 

In case you did not read the previous post, this photo from last week shows Storm just outside her new roost in a cottonwood snag located near Foster island and Duck Bay.

For the first time this fall, on Thanksgiving morning ice extended across Duck Bay all the way to Nest Egg Island. 

Each morning since, has felt slightly colder.

This morning, as the sun turned the eastern sky pink, Storm peaked out of her roost. A bewick's wren moved silently around the tree below her. A spotted towhee "mewed" softly in the underbrush. A crow coming from the northwest landed in the top of Storm's tree. The crow was carrying human food, not doubt an Apple Cup leftover. 

Storm took turns glancing out at the frozen world and then shrinking back into the protective warmth of her roost. The feathers under her chin appeared to have a white frosting.

Over the period of thirty minutes, Storm slowly progressed, sticking her head out slightly farther with each external observation. 

During this time the sun gradually warmed the air and moisture formed into fog around Nest Egg Island. Nearly invisible, "the ghost" of a white gull drifted overhead. 

Storm silently sampled the air with her tongue before deciding on indoor work. The falling wood chips provided evidence of her efforts. Surprisingly, it turned out that I was not the only one watching out for Storm this week.

On Tuesday, not too long before sunset, I heard a mature male pileated calling softly. He flew directly in and landed in a tree top high above Storm's roost. Given our limited daylight it was actually just after 3 p.m. in the afternoon.

For ten minutes or so he looked in every possible direction.

While looking north, he suddenly began calling out in a very loud voice.

Faster than my eye could follow, Storm flew in from the north. She barely landed in a nearby tree before quickly moving to her roost.

Silently, she disappeared inside.

She glanced out a few times while the male kept watch above her.

Soon, the male moved to some distant cottonwoods. He appeared to feed for a few minutes before flying off in the direction of the Don Graham Visitor's Center. Whether he stopped or kept moving towards Interlake Park I could not see. 

In the past, I would normally assume a mature male pileated in this area was Elvis. For a year or two he even had a mark on his neck that allowed me to be positive of the identification. Elvis and his mate have raised young in Interlake Park for at least four years, and often feed together on Foster Island, in the Arboretum or even on top of light poles around Montlake.

All About Birds says, "A Pileated Woodpecker pair stays together on its territory all year round. It will defend the territory in all seasons, but will tolerate new arrivals during the winter." This male's behavior seems more than tolerant, it actually seems protective.

Elvis and Priscilla raised three young this spring. They hatched out two females and a male. One female was apparently hit by a vehicle on 23rd near Interlaken, and did not survive. 

The questions in my mind just keep on coming. Could this be the other young female? Is this male actually Elvis and is he still watching out for one of his progeny? Is this a second unrelated mature female encroaching on Elvis and Priscilla's territory? Has something happened to Priscilla? Is Elvis courting a new bride? Is this male not Elvis at all?, but a new male in the area? If this is a new male, has Elvis been replaced or is this new competition? Will there be a territorial dispute come spring? Who would have guessed there could so much mystery surrounding a Storm Watch.

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

Larry

Silhouette Challenge:

Can you determine what type of bird this is? The answer will be in next week's post.

Last week's silhouette belonged to a cooper's hawk. I can be positive because he was a banded bird that I have seen more than once. However, given the similarity between cooper's hawks and sharp-shinned hawks, either answer deserves full credit. The predatory beak and the long tail should be indicative in this area.

Windstorm Refugee

On Tuesday afternoon, the wind blew the top out of this living cottonwood tree on Foster Island, right beside the 520 freeway. Wood that is exposed to oxygen and moisture turns dark over time, unlike the light-colored wood which was freshly exposed by the storm. 

On the ground, the matching piece of the tree also displayed dark interior wood. My immediate thought was some poor creature just lost a beautiful home. The access hole and the remnants of moss reinforced my assumption that this hollow was quite likely a place of refuge. Unfortunately, I could not find any clear evidence to show what kind of creature might have been using the site. I left feeling a bit sad because homes like this are especially precious in the city. Usually they are found in dead trees, which are often removed during the construction of our highways, homes and parks.

Nature requires a wide variety of life to enable a functional ecosystem. Here is a partial example. On Union Bay the beavers eat the living bark from the base of the cottonwood trees which stops the flow of nutrients and kills the trees. Over time the trees fall and provide branches for the beaver's lodge, but in the meantime, the wood in the standing dead trees softens up and attracts ants. The ants eat the wood and create galleries in which they lay their eggs. The ants, their eggs and their larva attracts woodpeckers, who excavate holes and eat the ants. Occasionally, the holes are perfectly shaped to become nests for wood ducks, mergansers, barred owls, squirrels and dozens of other wild creatures. Fortunately, the Washington Park arborists understand this cycle and leave standing dead trees throughout the Arboretum. 

Wednesday afternoon I heard the sound of a pileated woodpecker near Foster Island. When I located her, my first thought was, "A female eating ants in a dead cottonwood tree."

As I looked closer, I saw she was actively removing wood from the tree, similar to when Elvis builds a nest. In my experience, Elvis and Priscilla feed in the Arboretum but do not roost or nest there, so this was a bit of a surprise.

A moment later, I remembered seeing flickers nesting in precisely the same place in the same tree back in April. It was at this point I realized this pileated woodpecker found an existing nest site, which was a bit small for her, and she was enlarging it. 

This made me suspect that she had just lost her previous roost since she was actively expanding a new site. I wondered if she might have been previously residing in the cottonwood by 520. Her behavior and the fact that she was alone made me conclude that she was not Elvis's mate, Priscilla. One way or another, she certainly seemed like a new refugee seeking shelter. 

I am thinking Storm seems like an appropriate name for this new female. As darkness fell, she disappeared into her new home.

Thursday morning she remained in the roost for an hour or so, sticking her head out from time to time, before finally resuming her excavations.

Mid-morning she left to find food.

Mid-day the renovations continued before she left for dinner.

At the end of the day, Storm carefully approached the roosting site from below...

...before calling it a night once again.

On Friday morning the work continued...

...suddenly Storm heard the call of another pileated woodpecker. As if by instinct she replied.

Notice how in the last three photos her crest becomes erect. I believe this is a sign of apprehension...

...because she immediately high-tailed it back into her roost.

A male pileated, presumably Elvis, flew swiftly in to investigate.

His crest is also fully erect as he cautiously inspects Storm's new site from a nearby tree.

Deciding to look a bit closer, he lands below Storm's new home.

He walks slowly up the tree before peering into the roost. 

Immediately, he flew away to a nearby tree. He hung around inspecting the tree for less than five minutes before leaving, presumably, to continue his feeding. Elvis did not seem overly concerned about a new female in his territory. Once spring returns, and nesting season begins, Elvis may become more territorial. It will be interesting to see if he allows Storm to hang around. Foster Island does seem to be on the northeast periphery of his territory, but if she encourages a new male in the area, her refugee status could get revoked.

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

Larry

Silhouette Challenge:

Can you determine what type of bird this is? The answer will be in next week's post.

Last week's silhouette belonged to a stellar's jay. The outline of a crest, while having a beak shorter than a pileated woodpecker, virtually limits the local possibilities to a stellar's jay.