Eggshells

In the book What It's Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing--What Birds Are Doing, and Why, David Allen Sibley writes: “If you find a broken eggshell on the ground, the shape of the pieces can give you some information about what happened. If an egg hatches normally, the chick chips away a ring around the widest part of the egg and the egg separates into two halves. The parents then carry the eggshells from the nest and scatter them some distance away. An eggshell cut straight across in this way is likely to be the result of successful hatching nearby. Eggshells in smaller pieces, fragmented or crushed, could be the result of an accident or predation. Given the opportunity, many species of birds and small mammals will eat the contents of an egg and leave the shell behind.”

To me, an eggshell seems like cramped quarters for a baby chick about to hatch out. I am surprised that they take the time and have the ability to chip away a ring around the widest part and cut the egg in half. Amazing!

Cowbird?

On May 21, I wrote about the Brewer’s Blackbird collecting insects by the river. I returned to the gravel bar earlier this week and saw them again collecting insects. This time they were flying over to the nearby willows to feed a begging bird that I could hear but couldn’t quite see. I watched them for a while and the baby bird stayed hidden at the base of willows in the shadows. Eventually, the insatiably hungry juvenile came out to meet the parent foraging nearby, and I got a better look. I thought… Wait a minute, is that a juvenile cowbird? I remembered from my earlier post that Brewer’s Blackbirds will have a clutch size of 3 - 7 eggs. So, should feeding only one bird lead me to be suspicious of cowbird parasitism?

The cowbird egg usually hatches out earlier than the host species. Afterward, they may roll the other eggs out of the nest. Cowbirds will often choose to parasitize smaller birds, so they have the advantage of competing for food with the other baby birds of the host family. They hatched out first, and they are bigger. From what I have read, they can literally starve out the other birds or literally crowd them out of the nest. I looked up juvenile Cowbirds and they look similar to juvenile Brewer’s Blackbirds. Hmm… What do you think? It got me reading and thinking about it more anyways.

Be sure to click on photo to get a better look.

Check out this introductory paragraph from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World: “The Brown-headed Cowbird, North America's best known brood parasite, lays its eggs in the nests of many different species. Originally these ‘Buffalo Birds’ were limited to short-grass plains, where they followed herds of North American Bison (Bison bison) and fed on the insects stirred up by their movement. The Brown-headed Cowbird has since dispersed widely as European settlement in North America opened forests and homogenized the environment into the agricultural and suburban landscapes of today. The expansion of the Brown headed Cowbird has exposed new species and naive populations to brood parasitism, and the pressure on such host populations can be substantial. During the breeding season, female Brown-headed Cowbirds wander widely, overlap the home ranges of other females, and may lay 40 eggs per season.”

Lazuli Bunting

Lazuli Buntings are small finch-like songbirds. Its length is 5.5 inches, which is a pretty small bird. It is smaller than a Western Bluebird (7 in.) and larger than a Lesser Goldfinch (4.5 in). The male is a dazzling blue with a warm orange breast, a white belly, and a prominent white shoulder patch. The female and immature are plain brown with a blue tinge to the wings and tail. They have two buffy wing bars and a pale tan breast. The male perches out in the open while it sings to attract a mate and establish territory. So it is a little easier to see it and capture a photo. The female is a little more challenging to see or photograph because she is usually in a shrub or on the ground.

Peterson describes its habitat as “open brush, grassy hillsides with scattered bushes, riparian shrubs, grassy patches in chaparral, weedy fields and ditches.” The Arboretum has lots of attractive habitats for it. I see them up the creek trail, around the south meadow, and throughout the east side where it is open and shrubby.

To locate this bird, listen for its song and call. Here is Peterson’s description of its voice: “Song a lively, ringing warble, often ending in a quick sputter. Call a sharp spit and a dry buzz.”

All About Birds had this interesting information to think about as you listen to its song: “Just like we each have our own voice, each male Lazuli Bunting sings a unique combination of notes. Yearling males generally arrive on the breeding grounds without a song of their own. Shortly after arriving, they create their own song by rearranging syllables and combining song fragments of several males. The song they put together is theirs for life.”

I love finding a good place to sit and watch this beautiful bird and listen to it sing.

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

Resources
Lazuli Bunting Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lazuli_Bunting/overview. Accessed 31 May 2023.

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

Red-tailed Hawk Eaten?

Walking along the road out to the barn yesterday, I came across some flies buzzing around something on the ground. It was a pile of some guts that had been slightly flattened by one of the arboretum vehicles. I looked up to the limb above it and saw feathers scattered across it. As I begin to scan the ground below the limb, I saw a leg that had been torn off or broken off that had a big yellow foot and black claws. A feather was on the ground nearby. It was a new feather that was still growing out, which indicates that this might have been a juvenile bird.

What happened here? I looked at feathers online and the color of the feet of large birds of prey, and my best guess at the moment is that it is a red-tailed hawk. I don’t really imagine these birds being preyed upon, and they probably aren’t very often. I could see more new feathers on the limb, so this was probably a juvenile still in the nest or perched on a limb nearby. I thought about what bird lives in the arboretum and is big enough to kill a red-tailed hawk. I looked up the diet of a great horned owl on The Cornell Lab’s All About Birds: “They eat mostly mammals and birds—especially rabbits, hares, mice, and American Coots, but also many other species including voles, moles, shrews, rats, gophers, chipmunks, squirrels, woodchucks, marmots, prairie dogs, bats, skunks, house cats, porcupines, ducks, loons, mergansers, grebes, rails, owls, hawks, crows, ravens, doves, and starlings. They supplement their diet with reptiles, insects, fish, invertebrates, and sometimes carrion.” This is quite an impressive list, and as you can see, hawks are on the menu. All About Birds also had this to say: “Although they are usually nocturnal hunters, Great Horned Owls sometimes hunt in broad daylight. After spotting their prey from a perch, they pursue it on the wing over woodland edges, meadows, wetlands, open water, or other habitats.” The nighttime hunting hours are pretty short this time of year, so maybe an owl was out this morning.

Whatever did this, it certainly perked up my awareness. It had the power to tear the leg off! Yipes!

Brewer's Blackbird

Brewer’s blackbirds are collecting copious amounts of mayflies in the shallow water on a partially submerged gravel bar along the river. When they can no longer stuff them in their bills, they fly off across the river and return in mere moments to start gathering another mouthful. Their clutch size is from three to seven, so many begging birds can call out for a meal every time they return to the nest. I watched them for hours, hopping between stones plucking them from crevices or off the top of the water. They are also very adept at swooping up and snatching them out of the air.

The female is a beautiful shale-brown. Her overlapping feathers cascade down her body like deposited mineral-rich silt, which occasionally catches glints of a slightly metallic, greenish sheen on her back. The male is glossy black all over with a starry yellow eye eclipsed by a black pupil. Its body is cloaked in black with iridescent blues on its head turning to greens washing down the back of its body.

I like Peterson’s description of their vocals: “Song a harsh, wheezy, creaking ksh-eee. Call chack.” Sounds like the beginning of a mystery novel: The wind was a harsh, wheezy, creaking “ksh-eee” as it whipped against the weathered wooden boards of the house, straining the nervous, decrepit nails. The loose screen door was bouncing in and out of the jamb with a tiring “chack.” The windows had long been shuttered at the Brewer’s residence since that tragic day.

Warbling Vireo

I love this bird’s soft gaze, and its tranquil, gray body. A sentient being cut from the cloth of a quiet mist drifting through the willows in the cool dawn air. Its song is a warbling stream gently smoothing the surfaces of stones. I reach down into the stream and pick up one. Its fluid rind is soothing and washes over me. It reminds me to take my time and slow down. As I look up, this little bird pops out onto the branch of an osoberry and tugs at my spirit. I follow it to the bank of the river. I sit down, take off my shoes, and put my feet in the water. I splash water on my face and arms. I dig my toes down into the silty shore and squeeze it between my toes.

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

Golden-crowned Sparrow

The Golden-crowned Sparrow is a fall and winter resident along the Pacific coast and commonly encountered at the arboretum. They migrate north in the spring to nest in Alaska and western Canada.

In the summer during breeding, they have bold markings with a black crown and a bright-yellow forehead that changes to a light gray stripe on top of the head. The immature Golden-crowned Sparrow and the adult winter plumage, the black is brown and the yellow is duller and more subdued.

As I write this post I realize that I am not aware of the song of this bird, mostly I imagine because it probably doesn’t sing very often in its nonbreeding territory. That said, it is spring, and I am hoping that maybe it will start to warm up its vocal cords before it takes off. Peterson describes their vocalizations as: “Song three to five high whistled notes of plaintive minor quality, coming down in scale, oh-dear-me. Sometimes a faint trill. Call a sharp tsew.” Click here to listen on the Audubon website. The recordings are at the bottom of the sidebar on the right side of the first page.

At Mt. Pisgah, I observe them foraging along the edges of paths or meadows where they can easily slip into thickets of shrubs or blackberries for protection. During winter and migration, their diet consists of many kinds of seeds, fruits, grains, buds, flowers, and plant sprouts. They also eat insects like ants, wasps, bees, moths, butterflies, beetles, crane flies, and termites. Interestingly, their diet in summer is not well known but is probably a variety of fruits, seeds, and insects.

All About Bird writes’ “This sparrow is one of the least known of our songbirds, particularly on its northern breeding grounds. It has been the subject of only a few laboratory and field studies, so most of what we know about it comes from scattered notes in scientific journals.” So if you are looking for a way to spend your summer, think about going camping and studying Golden-crowned Sparrows.

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

Resources
“Golden-Crowned Sparrow.” Audubon, https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/golden-crowned-sparrow. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

Golden-Crowned Sparrow Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Golden-crowned_Sparrow/overview. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

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

Black-capped Chickadee

Because small songbirds migrating through an unfamiliar area often associate with chickadee flocks, watching and listening for chickadee flocks during spring and fall can often alert birders to the presence of interesting migrants.

Bushtit Lining Nest

Nature is magical, and one of its most magnificent creatures is the bushtit. Their nest is a woven elegant satchel from earthly ravelings of yarns of mother earth. To line the nest, bushtits wander the landscape collecting tiny feathers—faint notes caught in the rustling music of the wind as it plays through hidden corridors. They are tucked inside their home to cradle the eggs and whisper nurturing songs that infuse them with gentleness and peace. Notes filled with levity will play in their hearts and carry their spirits when they take flight.

Hound's Tongue & Hummingbird

While researching and creating a page in my nature journal for Pacific Hound’s Tongue, I read that this flower is one of the first to bloom in spring and a favorite among hummingbirds. Yesterday in the late afternoon, I was out at the arboretum watching this plant when my friend Patrick walked up. I told him what I just told you and at that moment a hummingbird came up to sip nectar from the flowers! I missed the photo opportunity so I decided to return the next day to try again. I showed up and sat by a small patch of these flowers in front of the visitor’s center. I had only been sitting there 15 minutes when an Anna’s Hummingbird showed up and captured these photos. I sat there for about an hour and half to two hours watching. During that time bumblebees, mason bees, and honeybees all came by looking for nectar. This is a great native plant to add to the landscape around where you live.

Orange-crowned Warbler

This little songbird is olive green with yellow undertail coverts and slight streaking on the breast that looks blurry. They have sharp pointy bills and a thin white or yellow stripe over the eye. There is an orange crown on the head that is seldom seen unless the feathers are raised when the bird is excited or agitated. This bird must have a peaceful spirit. I browsed photos online and didn’t come across any photos of the crown raised. Also, I imagine the orange is fairly subdued and not as bright as a ruby-crowned kinglet, for example.

If you want to see one at the arboretum, look along the river bank. I am seeing them foraging in the willows and osoberries. Their diet consists mainly of invertebrate prey, including ants, beetles, spiders, flies, and caterpillars.

On All About Birds Most it says, “Orange-crowned Warblers nest on the ground, possibly to avoid nest-robbing birds. One exception is the sordida or ‘dusky’ subspecies that breeds on California’s Channel Islands.” I thought this was interesting because I didn’t imagine a warbler that I see flitting through trees and shrubs as nesting on the ground. In Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests it says, “Nest and placement are similar to those of other ground-nesting wood warblers; frequently on shaded woody slopes, hillsides, canyons, or steep banks.”

Peterson describes their voice as: “Song a colorless trill, becoming weaker toward end. Often changes pitch, rising or dropping slightly. Call a sharp stik.” Click here to listen on All About Birds. When you go to listen, you’ll notice that Orange-crowned Warblers are divided into four subspecies. “The one named celata is found in Alaska and across Canada, and it is the dullest and grayest. The Pacific Coast form, lutescens, is the brightest yellow. Found throughout the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin, orestera is intermediate in appearance. The form sordida is the darkest green and is found only on the Channel Islands and locally along the coast of southern California and northern Baja California (All About Birds).”

Resources
McFarland, Casey, et al. Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021.

Orange-Crowned Warbler Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Orange-crowned_Warbler/lifehistory. Accessed 15 Apr. 2023.

Orange-Crowned Warbler Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Orange-crowned_Warbler/overview. Accessed 15 Apr. 2023.

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

Chickadees Foraging

To me, chickadees are very aware, curious, and smart birds. Watching them will clue you into many interesting things in nature.

At the moment as the osoberry leaves are continuing to emerge, some of the leaves aren’t unfolding. Some of the leaves are growing and staying tightly wrapped together. Inside this envelope of leaves, there are tiny, white larvae. Somehow, the eggs of this insect have caused the shrub to create this casing of leaves which also has a noticeable fuzziness too.

Chickadees love opening these little packages and they hang and cling to them in all sorts of acrobatic ways. Sometimes the leaf wraps will pop off and the chickadees will carry them over to a branch. Either way, within 10 to 15 seconds, they are able to open them up and extract the larvae.

I have put mesh produce bags around some of the branches to see if I can capture some of these insects as they mature into adults. Since the larvae are all so small, my thinking is that they will develop to maturity fairly quickly. I am hoping that within the next week or so I will see an insect flying around inside the bag.

California Scrub-Jay

The California Scrub-Jay is a magnificent bird that is a year-round resident out at the arboretum.

The upper part of the bird is blue and gray which is contrasted by pale, whitish feathers on its underside. The blue extends off the back of the head and neck onto the sides of the breast creating a scarf or necklace that accentuates its white throat. It has a thin, white eyebrow stripe that sits above a dusky gray that surrounds the eye. The plumage is the same for both sexes.

It is a sizable bird at 11 inches in length which is slightly larger than the American Robin and smaller than the American Crow. As it perches on treetops surveying its surroundings, its long tail becomes apparent.

Its bill is straight and stout, with a hook at the tip that comes in handy for gripping the smooth shell of a nut. I recently watched it collect a cached hazelnut and fly off to eat it.

The California Scrub-Jay likes open habitats, oak woodlands, and chaparral areas. Out at the arboretum, I often see it around the parking lot, the upper part of the creek trail, and the edges of the south meadow.

This bird can be very vocal and is a familiar and recognizable sound to most people. Its voice seems to carry across the landscape as it moves through the treetops defending its territory, warning of predators, expressing the love of its life and home at the arboretum, etc. Peterson describes its voice as: “Rough, rasping kwesh…kwesh. Also a harsh shreck-shreck-shreck-shreck and a rasping zhreek, zhreek.” In contrast to these cacophonous sounds, during courtship or when the pair is close together they sing “a soft medley of sweet notes that can last up to 5 minutes (All About Birds).” Click here to go to All About Birds to listen.

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

Resources
California Scrub-Jay Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/California_Scrub-Jay/overview. Accessed 29 Mar. 2023.

Curry, Robert L., et al. “California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma Californica), Version 1.0.” Birds of the World, 2020. birdsoftheworld.org, https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cowscj1.01.

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

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.