Wrentit

The wrentit is part of an Old World family known as Babblers (Family Timaliidae), and it is the only species of this family in North America. It is a plain, brownish-gray bird with a long, rounded tail that is often cocked. It has a short, slightly curved bill and a lightly streaked breast. Males and females, as well as adults and juveniles, look alike.

It prefers to stay hidden in the cover of shrubs and thickets, so it is more often heard than seen. Here is the description of their song by All About Birds: “Wrentits sing a distinctive song reminiscent of a ball bouncing that lasts for about 4 seconds. In males this starts out as 3 to 5 pits followed by an accelerating trill; the ball bounces away. Females also sing but they catch the ball and sing only 3 to 14 pits without the accelerating trill. Both sexes sing at all hours of the day, all year long, although they are more vocal within the first hour after sunrise and early in the breeding season.” Click here to listen on All About Birds.

Breeding season is here, and many birds are beginning to establish territory and trying to attract a partner, both of which Wrentits most likely have already accomplished.

First, “Wrentits may pair up as early as 30 to 40 days old, and they stay with that mate for the rest of their life (All About Birds).”

Second, once a pair establishes a territory, they defend it year-round and rarely leave. In fact, “Wrentits are homebodies and may be the most sedentary bird species in North America. They rarely travel more than 1,300 feet from where they were born (All About Birds).” The pair I see are usually roaming around the wetlands or on the adjacent hillside in the vicinity of the incense cedar exhibit.

Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. I look forward to seeing you out there.

Resources
Ehrlich, Paul R., et al. The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds: Including All Species That Regularly Breed North of Mexico. Simon & Schuster, 1988.

Peterson, Roger Tory, et al. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. 4th ed, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.

Sibley, David, et al. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior. 1st ed, Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.

Wrentit Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wrentit/overview. Accessed 15 Mar. 2023.

Downy Woodpecker Continued

The Downy Woodpecker is a delightful little bird that can be seen throughout the year at the arboretum. It is black and white with white spots on the wings, a white stripe down the center of the back, and a striped head. It also has spots on the outer tail feathers. The sexes are easily distinguished by the vivid red patch on the back of the male’s head, which is absent on the female.

As I stated in my previous post, in the fall and early winter, the males and females lead more independent lives. This is all about to change as winter draws to a close and they start pairing up for mating. The first sign of this is when both sexes begin drumming by striking their bills against resonant parts of trees—hollow trunks, dried branches, or planks created where a tree has broken during a storm. These rhythmical sounds ringing across the landscape function to establish territory and to attract mates, as many birds accomplish through vocalizing a song. I expect them to start drumming soon.

I followed a pair of downy woodpeckers around for a few weeks when they were drumming last year. I realized that there were many damaged trees due to storms because they were popular drumming posts. I also became more aware of the amount of snags peppered throughout the landscape because they were also popular drumming posts and places to forage. Does part of a healthy ecosystem include damaged trees from storms? I think the woodpeckers would say yes.

Resources
Downy Woodpecker Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/overview. Accessed 2 Mar. 2023.

Ehrlich, Paul R., et al. The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds: Including All Species That Regularly Breed North of Mexico. Simon & Schuster, 1988.

Peterson, Roger Tory, et al. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. 4th ed, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.

Stokes, Donald W., et al. A Guide to Bird Behavior. 1st ed, vol. II, Little, Brown, 1983.

Downy Woodpecker Foraging

I love Downy Woodpeckers. I watched this one yesterday and wanted to write a little about them. I looked back in my blog posts and saw that I wrote about the Downy Woodpecker on Feb. 18, 2021. I have noticed that I often observe and take photos of the same birds at the same time each year.

I found this interesting observation on All About Birds by The Cornell Lab: “Male and female Downy Woodpeckers divide up where they look for food in winter. Males feed more on small branches and weed stems, and females feed on larger branches and trunks. Males keep females from foraging in the more productive spots. When researchers have removed males from a woodlot, females have responded by feeding along smaller branches.”

I love the last photo that shows the Downy twisting its neck to presumably be able to better extract an insect larvae.

European Starling Cleaning Cavity

Male starlings begin building the nest before mating takes place. They choose the nest site and use it to attract females. Yesterday I saw a European Starling cleaning out a nest cavity which has been used by Starlings for at least the past 5 years.

What originally drew my attention to this Starling was all of the interesting sounds it was creating. After making a couple of trips taking debris out of the nest cavity, it would perch on a branch next to the hole and vocalize an array of whistles, warbles, chatters, and bird mimicry. Individuals can learn the calls of up to 20 different species, such as, the Eastern Wood-Pewee, Killdeer, meadowlarks, Northern Bobwhite, Wood Thrush, Red-tailed Hawk, American Robin, Northern Flicker, and many others. This Starling was occasionally throwing in the sound of a Red-winged blackbird.

Starlings are beautiful birds. In winter, their plumage is brown, covered in white spots. In summer, they have a purplish-green iridescent (which I see a little appearing in the photo) with yellow beaks. All About Birds had this cool fact: “Starlings turn from spotted and white to glossy and dark each year without shedding their feathers. The new feathers they grow in fall have bold white tips – that’s what gives them their spots. By spring, these tips have worn away, and the rest of the feather is dark and iridescent brown. It’s an unusual changing act that scientists term ‘wear molt.’”

See you out there!

Common Merganser

Lately, two males and one female common mergansers have been swimming around on the river at Mt. Pisgah. They are sizable birds at 24-25 inches in length. The male has a long, whitish body with a breast tinged a rosy peach. It has a black back and green-black head. Its bill and feet are red. The female and immature have a gray body with a crested, rufous head that contrasts with a white chin and chest.

Common Mergansers spend the breeding season in northern forested habitats near large lakes and rivers. They are year-round along the Willamette river and are frequently seen at the arboretum. They usually nest within a mile of water in natural cavities or ones made by woodpeckers. So, forests along the river must be preserved in order to mature into trees large enough to allow for a suitable nesting cavity.

Common Mergansers have 1 brood, a clutch size of 6-17 eggs, and an incubation period of 28-35 days. After Common Mergansers are born, the leave nest cavity after a day or two. Even though they are flightless, they fearlessly leap out of the nest cavity (which can be up to 100 feet off the ground), land on the forest floor, and head for the water. From the beginning, they are able to catch all of their own food and start by diving for aquatic insects. Amazingly, they switch over to catching fish at about 12 days old. These bold and independent chicks are still small and vulnerable and will stick close to their mom for protection.

The Common Merganser’s diet consists mostly of fish, and their bills have sharp serrations for grasping this slippery prey. They also eat aquatic invertebrates (including insects, mollusks, crustaceans, and worms), frogs, small mammals, birds, and plants.

They are found throughout a large part of North America. Check out the range map on All About Birds by The Cornell Lab.

See you out there!

Dark-eyed Junco

The Dark-eyed Junco is a small hooded sparrow about 6-6.5 inches. It has a rounded head, usually a whitish belly, and a stout, pale bill. It has distinguishing white outer tail feathers that flash as it flies. Dark-eyed Juncos vary across the country. Peterson lists five main subspecies groups: “Oregon” Junco, “Pink-sided” Junco, “Gray-headed” Junco, “Slate-colored” Junco, and the “White-winged” Junco.

The “Oregon” Junco is generally the most widespread species in the West and the one I commonly see at the arboretum. The male has a dark hood, brown back, and buffy sides. The female and immature are duller and have a lower contrasting gray hood. These earth tones are excellent camouflage and improve your awareness of nature. If I am not paying attention, it is easy to walk up on Juncos foraging along the trail and flush them into the underbrush.

In winter, they form small flocks. At the arboretum, I regularly count a group of around 50 birds together. They stay in constant contact with each other as they forage and move through the landscape. Their communication sounds are fairly subdued, so keep a keen ear out. Peterson describes their vocalization call as “a light smack.” They also have “clicking or twittering notes.”

For me, Juncos are warm-hearted, peaceful little birds. They can be fairly tolerant of my presence if I am quiet, move slowly, or sit still. I always look forward to hearing their gentle, trilling song in the spring. At the moment, you don’t have to go far to find them. I regularly see them foraging on grass seeds in the parking lot or the meadows just beyond the White Oak Pavilion.

Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. I look forward to seeing you out there.

Resources
Dark-Eyed Junco Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/overview. Accessed 11 Feb. 2023.

Peterson, Roger Tory, et al. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. 4th ed, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.

Mallards

A pair of mallards have been paddling around and exploring the wetlands this winter.

Male Mallards have a dark, glossy-green head, white neck ring, chestnut-brown chest, gray body, orange feet, and a yellowish bill. They also have a noticeable black tail curl at the rear part of their bodies. Females and juveniles are mottled brown with orange-and-brown bills. Both sexes have a white bar on both sides of a blue speculum patch in the wing. You can see it in the photo of the female searching for food below the surface.

Mallards dabble to feed. You will often see them in shallow water tipped forward with their hind quarters in the air as they reach for submerged plants and animals on or near the bottom. They will also forage on the top of the water and along the shore.

Interestingly, all of the quackings you hear coming from mallards are made by females. The males don't quack. Instead, they make quieter sounds that Peterson describes as “yeeb or a low kwek.”

Mallards are powerful flyers. Migrating flocks of mallards have been estimated traveling at 55 miles per hour (All About Birds).

Also, they can launch directly into the air from the water and don't need to run across the surface to reach takeoff speed. To achieve lift-off, their first wing beat pushes against the water's surface. This is handy in places like the wetlands out at the arboretum, which is dense with vegetation.

This mallard pair is fairly tolerant of my presence if I slowly and quietly walk out onto the bridge. They are so peaceful to watch as they swim around.

Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. I look forward to seeing you out there.

Resources
Ehrlich, Paul R., et al. The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds: Including All Species That Regularly Breed North of Mexico. Simon & Schuster, 1988.

Mallard Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mallard/overview. Accessed 26 Jan. 2023.

Peterson, Roger Tory, et al. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. 4th ed, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.

Sibley, David. What It’s like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing -- What Birds Are Doing, and Why. Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.

Anna's Hummingbird Courtship Dive

I have been seeing the male Anna’s hummingbird performing his courtship out at the arboretum and in my backyard.

The display begins as the male rises up into the sky above the perched female. Then he dives down, swoops past, and rises above her. When he completes the arc, he will hover, face her, and sing a squeaky song. At the bottom of the dive, he makes a high-pitched chirp which is made by air whipping through his tail feathers. Look closely, and you can see him whizzing by towards the middle of the video.

If the female is receptive to all of the male’s courting, she will lead him toward the nest site, where she will perch. The male will then hold his body horizontally and fly back in forth in short tight arcs above the female. I have not seen this second phase of the courtship, and I am imagining that will mate at this time.

Males and females don’t form pairs. The Birder’s Handbook has its mating system labeled Promiscuity. This is defined as males and females mating more or less indiscriminately. With Anna’s hummingbirds, only the females care for the young. The Anna’s hummingbird nests that I have seen being built were created by the female.

It is interesting that all of this is taking place in the middle of January. I am not sure if they will try to nest this early, and I haven’t seen any nests being constructed. Perhaps the male is setting up his territory and trying to attract females for the future. That said, Anna’s hummingbirds are some of the first nests that I find in spring. I’ll keep you informed if I come across more about when they start to nest in our area.

Northern Pygmy Owl

I was standing at the corner of the main meadow just above the barn. Up to that point, the day had been quiet. So I was happy to see a nice flock of juncos foraging around a favorite poison oak bush of theirs. Mixed in were some ruby-crowned kinglets, and some chickadees and white-breasted nuthatches were rambling through the oak trees nearby. I was trying to take a photo of a ruby-crowned kinglet when suddenly the juncos erupted into strong alarm calls as they retreated to the poison oak bush. The chickadees and nuthatches were incessantly alarming as well. There is a predator around! I watched for about 10 or 15 minutes but didn’t see anything moving. I cut through the edge of the meadow down to the barn and walked down the main path to check in with the nuthatches. That is when I noticed a small bird silhouetted against the pale, winter sky—the Northern Pygmy Owl.

Peterson states that this small owl at 6.75-7 inches tall. For comparison, the American Robin is listed as 10 inches. This owl may be small in stature, but it is a fast, adept hunter.

It perched facing out in the meadow and was scanning in all directions. Suddenly it swooped down across the meadow and landed on a lower branch of another oak tree about 20 yards away. I walked down to hopefully get a better look at it, and I saw that it had caught a small songbird. I couldn’t believe it! I watched it as it flew, and I still missed it catching what appeared to be a junco.

I was able to capture a couple of photos before it flew away. In the second photo, a notable field mark of “eyes” on the back of the head are visible.

As I was watching it from its first perch, I saw it cough up a pellet. I went back after it flew off and luckily found it on the ground.

I was grateful to have a glimpse at this amazing bird, a great bird to start off the year. Have a Happy New Year. I hope that you have a great year of birdwatching. See you out there.