Chickadees Eating Honeysuckle Berries

I heard the sound of chickadees calling and walked up the path to see what they were up to. They were in a mixed flock of birds that included white-breasted nuthatches, red-breasted nuthatches, brown creepers, ruby-crowned kinglets, golden-crowned kinglets, dark-eyed juncos, bushtits, Townsend’s warblers, Steller’s jays, and a varied thrush. There was a frenzy of activity from the ground all the way into the upper part of the canopy.

The chickadees were eating the bright red honeysuckle berries! (They were also gleaning insects out of the lichen and moss on the tree branches, and eating poison oak berries. Check out the post - 09/26/23.)

The chickadees mostly swooped by or briefly hovered to snag a berry. On occasion, they would grab onto the end of the vine and pluck a berry off. Once they had the berry, they would fly over to a branch to eat it. Afterward, I would see them taking off with one of the seeds up into the tree and returning fairly quickly for another berry. Perhaps they were stashing the seeds somewhere in the tree to eat later.

It was difficult to get these photos and they aren’t the best. The chickadees were so fast at snagging the berries, and it was tricky to anticipate where they were going to be. Plus my camera wants to take its time focusing, so I took a fair amount of blurry chickadee photos as they zipped away or in-focus photos of the berries after the chickadee flew off. There are loads of honeysuckle berries before and after the incense cedar exhibit. Those are good places to post up and potentially watch them eating the berries. Good luck!

Licorice Ferns

Licorice ferns grow on fallen logs, tree trunks, rocks, or on the ground in mossy beds where their roots can be protected. They are considered summer-deciduous here—with the lack of rainfall during the summer, these plants die back. The first rains at the end of summer or the beginning of fall will awaken the new leaves.

They grow from a rhizome that is usually tucked into a bed of moss where it is protected and kept moist. The rhizome has a licorice flavor which is unrelated to the other plants that have a licorice taste such as star anise, fennel, or licorice. Daniel Mathew writes, “In the Northwest, licorice fern rhizomes were sucked by hungry hunters or berry pickers along the trail, or fed before meals to finicky young eaters. In quantity they may prove laxative, but most people find them too bitter to eat in quantity.”

On the mossy log in the last photo, you can see leftover stems where some animal has been eating the new, unfurling leaves at the end. There is no mention in any of my field guides of the leaves or the early shoots being edible for people.

I love the beautiful patterns they make as they grow and overlap in a carpet of lush green on the ground or cascade down the side of a tree. Their vibrant spring green in the fall is uplifting to my spirit as the light wanes into winter.

Resources
Mathews, Daniel. Cascade-Olympic Natural History. Raven Editions in conjunction with the Audubon Society of Portland, 1988.

Antlions

Adult female antlions lay eggs singly in sandy or loose soil. When the egg hatches, the larva digs a conical pit and hides just below the surface at the bottom. When an ant or small insect falls into the pit, the antlion grabs its prey with its jaws (mandibles), pierces its body, and drags it below the surface. The hollow barbs or spurs on the jaws can both inject and suck. They inject poison to immobilize their prey and enzymes to break down the internal tissues. When the antlion finishes sucking the juices out of its prey, it will cast the insect out of the pit and wait for the next one. I found a couple of shriveled-up ants on the top of one of the cones.

Along some of the paths at the arboretum, you will find these pits, usually protected under the canopy of trees. I have often seen these pits in soil under the eave of a house or barn where it is sheltered and stays dry.

When the larvae are ready to become adults, they dig deeper into the soil and form a round cocoon made of sand and silk. After about a month, the insect emerges as an adult to mate and repeat the cycle. The adult has a long, skinny abdomen with four narrow, veined wings and resembles a damselfly. The antlion is differentiated from a damselfly by its prominent clubbed or curved antennae. Also, the antlion rests its wings back in an A-frame fashion, and a damselfly holds them together. I have been looking around to find one to photograph, but I haven’t found one yet.

To find the antlion larva, I took a spoon and scooped the ground underneath and around the pit. I didn’t want to hurt it or have it retreat into the soil if I tried to extract it directly from the pit. I put the scoop in a little sieve and gently sifted out the dirt. I was left with tiny stones, flecks of wood, and other debris. It took me a minute to locate the antlion larva because it blended in so well with this assortment of organic matter. I gently moved it onto a leaf and then onto the ground. I was surprised by how cooperative it was in being handled and photographed. I sat beside it and watched it, hoping to see it make its pit. After about 10 to 15 minutes, it slowly retreated to slightly below the surface. I waited for a little longer, but it didn’t move. I marked the spot and returned the next day to find that it had remade its pit and was waiting at the bottom. I love this insect! I hope to see you out there.

Resources
Antlion. https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/neuroptera/antlion/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

“Antlion Adults.” Missouri Department of Conservation, https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/antlion-adults. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

Antlions | Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County. https://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/antlions.shtml. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

More Birds Eating Red-osier Dogwood Berries

These are not the best photos, but I wanted to document and share what other birds are eating the red-osier dogwood berries. Over the past couple of weeks, I have seen warbling vireos, Swainson’s thrushes, and varied thrushes eating the berries. These birds are a little shier than the robin I took photos of eating these berries in a previous post. They tended to either eat berries more towards the inside of the bush where there was good cover, or they would pluck a berry from the outer limbs and retreat into the bush to eat it. A few times they briefly ate a few berries out where I could get a photo. I also had to stay back a little ways when taking the photos, otherwise, they withdrew back to the inside of the shrub. I am not sure what it is about this particular red-osier dogwood shrub that has drawn so many birds to it. It is definitely loaded with berries and maybe its close proximity to the water has made the berries tastier and juicier.

Curiously, there has been lots of cedar waxwings flying around in the vicinity, but I haven’t seen any of them eating the berries yet. I would think that these berries are part of their diet.

Virginia Rail Walking

I have been revisiting the wetlands to hopefully watch the Virginia rail. I have been lucky enough to see it again! It has been venturing a little farther into the open, and I got to see it walking around and foraging. One of the things I noticed is that sometimes the rail used its whole foot as it walked through the wetlands.

Most birds are digitigrade animals which means that they walk around on their toes, not the entire foot. The backward-bending joint that looks like a knee is actually the bird's ankle. The rail mostly walked around on its toes. However, it often moved or stood in a kind of crouched position and engaged its whole foot. This seems like it would provide support with balance and stability while walking on slippery surfaces. I could also see it useful when stalking, lunging at prey, or leaning forward to probe around with its bill. Additionally, the rail has long toes which helps distribute its weight when walking on soft surfaces like the muddy bottom of a marsh. I imagine that long toes with claws further aid in stabilizing and gripping slippery stems and leaves of lilies like in the wetlands.

Chickadees Eating Poison Oak Berries

When I awoke, the land was damp from overnight showers and the sweet smell of the earth filled the air. The rain has arrived just in time to herald the beginning of fall. It was a cool, cloudy morning, and I went for a walk at the arboretum. I ambled up the creek trail to the joyous vocals of the black-capped chickadees celebrating the rain’s return. They were bursting with energy as they bounced back and forth between the tree canopy and the understory. As I rounded a corner on the path, I could see that they were foraging poison oak berries. They quickly would fly down to a cluster of berries, pluck one, and fly over to a nearby branch to eat it. This patch of poison oak has lost its leaves, so it was easy to see the chickadees eating the berries. I also became more aware that the leafless poison oak blended in more with its surroundings as the chickadees circled all around me eating berries.

Mixed in this whirling eddy of chickadees along the creek trail were many other birds. Red-breasted nuthatches were looping around the trunks and limbs of trees. Two downy woodpeckers were actively pounding on dead branches. A brown creeper was hopping up a tree probing the nooks and crannies of the bark. Steller’s jays were at the top of the canopy collecting acorns. A western screech owl was sleeping in the entrance of a tree cavity. A couple of spotted towhees were scratching around in the leaves on the ground. A Bewick’s wren was bouncing around an Oregon ash looking for something to eat. It was a rollicking fall festival!

Happy fall! Happy birding! See you out there!

California Ground Squirrel Collecting Acorns

I heard some rustling at the top of an oak tree and various bits of debris and an acorn or two were falling through the canopy. I looked up to see a squirrel rustling around in the foliage. It appeared to be gathering acorns, but I couldn’t quite get a clear view. After about 5 minutes or so, it came scurrying down. It would climb down the trunk, perch on a limb, and survey the surroundings. Once the scene was assessed to be safe after about half a minute, it would continue down to the next limb. When it got low enough, I saw that it was a California ground squirrel and its cheeks were bulging with acorns! Ground squirrels have cheek pouches that they can stuff with extra food to take with them to cache for later. This one looks like it managed to cram maybe six to eight acorns or more in there! Maybe it had already retrieved any acorns that had fallen on the ground or maybe it was just easier to gather and choose yummy, healthy, bug-free acorns from the tree instead of hunting for them on the ground. I’m not sure, but it was interesting to see a ground squirrel at the top of an oak tree. I hadn’t really imagined it venturing up there, but it seemed at home navigating its way around high up in a tree.

Yellowjackets Investigating Willow Leaves

There is a willow down by the river at the small beach where people and their dogs go swimming. It is teeming with yellow jackets crawling on the leaves. It was slightly unnerving to stand next to it record this video and check out what they find so alluring. The undersides of many of the leaves are covered with tiny aphids. So, the upper surfaces of the leaves below them are lightly sprinkled with honeydew. My guess is that the yellow jackets are attracted to this sugary substance. It was fascinating to watch the yellow jacket’s antennae sweep the surface of the leaf as they walked around foraging. I read a little about insect’s antennae and was captivating to read how they work and see all of the different shapes and sizes. Yellow jackets perceive the sense of smell, hearing, and touch through their antennae.

Another interesting thing I observed happening was that some of the yellow jackets had difficulty flying away. After moving around on the leaves for a while gathering honeydew, they would pause for takeoff, flutter their wings a few times, achieve enough liftoff to clear the leaf, and then fall to the ground. They would then crawl around on the ground, and I kept a close eye on them to make sure that they didn’t crawl up under my pant leg. It’s kind of strange, right? What was happening to them?

I also wondered why the yellow jackets didn’t forage any of the aphids. They didn’t seem interested in them at all. Aphids seem like tender little morsels that would be easy pickings.

What Bird Is This?

I briefly watched this bird out in the wetlands as it flew around catching insects. I liked the way the light was shining behind it illuminating its rusty-colored tail. I was only able to watch it for a few minutes and then it flew back into the wetlands where I couldn’t see it. For fun, I thought it would be interesting to see what you thought this bird might be. Leave your guesses/thoughts in the comments below.

I just want to add that this small wetland area attracts so many birds. It is a real eye-opener how crucial wetlands are, no matter the size, in supporting so much diversity in wildlife.

Virginia Rail

It was early evening, and I took a leisurely walk through the arboretum. As I approached the wetlands, I heard the calls of chickadees moving through the lower part of the canopy and decided to go see what they were up to. I walked out onto the bridge in the wetlands to find them flitting around in the red-osier dogwoods. As I was watching them, a small flock of Bushtits came sweeping through and descended onto the lily pads sticking out of the water. They were excitedly gleaning insects from the surface of the leaves. As my eyes followed their acrobatic tumblings, I came across another bird at the water’s edge. A Virginia Rail was squatting on a lily pad and quietly foraging.

A Virginia Rail’s habitat is mostly shallow, freshwater wetlands but can also occupy brackish marshes near the coast. They prefer wetlands with “40–70% coverage of tall, emergent vegetation” (All About Birds). This consists of cattails, rushes, grasses, and plants like spirea, red-osier dogwood, and willow found in the wetlands at the arboretum. These areas provide great cover. Coupled with that, Virginia Rails have excellent camouflage and are mostly solitary birds, so they are often heard more than seen. With their long toes and strong legs to help them walk around on floating vegetation, they are right at home in a marsh habitat.

Their diet consists of “beetles, snails, spiders, flies, small fish, slugs, crayfish, and frogs. In the winter, they eat aquatic invertebrates as well as plant material and seeds” (All About Birds). This one appeared to be probing into the mud for food and eating bits of vegetation.

Seeing this bird is a reminder of how important it is to stay tuned into my surroundings. This encounter only lasted a few minutes, so it can be easy to miss these brief, but exciting moments. I am also reminded to be curious about places that I have been to many times because they can offer new and delightful experiences.

I hope to see you out there.

Resource
Virginia Rail Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Virginia_Rail/lifehistory. Accessed 16 Sept. 2023.

Black-capped Chickadee Eating Oregon Ash Seeds

Chickadees are so curious and have such a varied diet. This morning I heard them calling from the canopy and decided to go over and see what they were doing. I found them plucking Oregon Ash samaras, carrying them over to nearby limbs, and eating the seeds. They were so adept at balancing, lining up the samara along the limb, and picking the seed out of the end. They would eat some ash seeds for a few minutes, then dart over to an oak tree to rummage around through the canopy for a couple of minutes, and then pop back over to the ash for more seeds. I am always amazed at how action-packed they are and that they never seem to stop moving.

Gopher Snakes & Western Fence Lizards

Here are some more notes from wandering along the river. I have been seeing many small Western Fence Lizards. I see them basking on the rocks, leaping between rocks, and looking around and underneath rocks. They are curiously exploring their world. I imagine their bodies find it thrilling to feel all of the different textures of the rocks—gritty, smooth, bumpy, etc. They must be acutely tuned into all the different temperatures of the rock’s surfaces from the hot tops in the sun to the cool bottoms next to the damp ground and every thermal reading in between.

Another animal that is keenly tuned into its surroundings is the gopher snake. It was quietly moving in and out of the rocks and through the willows. I imagine it was aware of all the scurrying lizards and was looking for a meal. Its diet includes insects, lizards, rodents, birds, and bird eggs. Gopher snakes are constrictors. I watched it for a little while hoping to witness it capturing its prey but didn’t have any luck.

Canopy Opens

Last fall or winter (maybe it was two years ago), an old Bigleaf Maple tree split in half. The tree forked near the base and had become rotten inside. Half of it is still standing and being propped up by other trees. The other half was leaning towards the trail, so for safety, the arboretum cut it down. This opened up the canopy allowing the sun to reach into the forest that was mostly in the shade. As a result, numerous sprouts have started to emerge from the trunks of these Bigleaf Maples that were growing next to the Grandmother maple. It will be interesting to see how these new shoots develop and the landscape fills back in over the next 20 or 30 years.

Bushtit Eating Blackberry

I was watching a flock of bushtits move through the landscape. They fluttered and tumbled into a thicket of blackberries that were growing up through a cottonwood tree. As I peered through the foliage, I found some of them eating the blackberries. I captured one plucking off one drupelet at a time. I love its stance of one leg down grasping a tree limb and one nearly straight up holding onto the berry. I imagine the thorns of a blackberry are potentially harmful to birds. They have easily torn open my skin on more than one occasion when I was picking the berries. This one is playing it smart and showing off its acrobatic skills by finding a safe place to perch away from the thorns.

Favorite Tree

Every time I go out to the arboretum, I remind myself to slow down and take my time. I often begin by sitting on a bench, tuning into my senses, and letting go of all the busyness in my life. I hear chickadees calling, crickets singing, and leaves rustling. I feel the warmth of the sun and the wind brushing against me. I smell the dampness of recent rains and leaves starting to decay. I taste some ripe blackberries. I see insects buzzing in the air, and squirrels climbing through the trees. There are so many discoveries to be made in nature and it is more likely to happen if I start this way.

After sitting for a little while, I took a walk out to my favorite tree. It has so many beautiful forms, patterns, colors, and textures to behold and experience. It stands upright and its canopy is open and spacious.

The needles are long, soft, and green. They radiate outwards forming wispy brooms that sweep back and forth in the wind. The old needles turn orange and are scattered in a loose mat underneath the tree.

There are old cones still attached to the tree. They are gray and small bits of lichen are scattered across their surfaces. The scales are still nestled together at the base forming a beautiful pattern. Some old cones have partially detached leaving behind barnacled florets. The new cones have opened in the warm, summer sun. Their copper-colored bodies develop into a bouquet of arching scales. Red-breasted Nuthatches visit the cones looking for seeds to eat or cache for later.

Its catkins are tubular and dry a papery, reddish-brown.

The tree produces a sticky sap that always manages to find its way onto my body or clothes somewhere. It has a cool, sharp scent that feels refreshing.

The bark of the trunk is layered with flakes creating a furrowed, craggy landscape. It has a warm, sweet smell. The bark on the young limbs is reminiscent of a snake’s skin.

It has a gentle song and a peaceful dance as it sways in the wind.

There is so much to learn, notice, and experience with this tree. It can live to over 500 years old. This is only the beginning of its life. I will only get to know it and be friends for such a brief time.

Fishing Spider or Wolf Spider?

I was sitting along the edge of the river turning over stones, and occasionally one of these dusky, gray spiders would come shooting out from underneath one. Most of the time, they would disappear back underneath another rock as quickly as they appeared. They are lightning-fast. They could even escape by dashing across the surface of the water to another pile of rocks. It was difficult to follow one and keep up with where it went. Turning over stones to find it again was tricky. It felt like that magician’s game where a ball is placed under one of three cups, the cups are speedily switched around, and then you have to guess which cup the ball is under. The spider seemed to never be under the rock I thought it was under. I would turn over a rock and see it bolt out from the one beside it. It would disappear under another rock as it continued to play the game and give me the slip. I was very grateful when one of the spiders finally paused out in the open for a moment and kindly allowed me to take its photo.

When researching which spider this is, I narrowed it down to two similar but different kinds, a wolf spider and a fishing spider. Let’s compare them. The first area to consider is the location where they are found. They are both terrestrial, but fishing spiders are found near bodies of water and can move across the surface of water. Another thing to notice is their legs. Fishing spiders have longer legs which helps them walk on the surface of water. Wolf spider’s legs are shorter and stocker. Thirdly, is the placement of their eyes which they both have eight. Fishing spiders have two rows of four eyes. Wolf spiders have three rows—two eyes, then two larger eyes, then four small eyes. I imagine this can be difficult to discern. Color can also be a helpful clue. Fishing spiders tend to be gray or brown with banded legs. Wolf spiders are also different shades of brown or gray and frequently have a light or dark stripe running down their backs.

My spider seems to fit the description of a fishing spider more than a wolf spider. Beyond the name or category, I love the color and pattern of this spider.

Fishing Spiders
Fishing spiders don’t spin webs to catch their prey. They roam around looking for prey or they will sit at the edge of the water, place their legs in the water, and detect the movement of insects or even small fish to catch. Fishing spiders are nursery web spiders. The female carries around her egg sac and when the eggs are near hatching, she will suspend the sac in the protection of folded leaves.

Robin Eating Red-osier Dogwood

The American Robin eats a wide variety of fruits, so it is no surprise to find them eating the Red-osier Dogwood berries. One of the shrubs next to the river had an abundance of berries, and I watched a robin eating from it quite a few times on different days. It would fly in, perch, and watch its surroundings for a moment. It would then pluck a berry, hold it in its beak, slightly toss it back, and swallow it whole. I feel like it ate around 6 - 8 berries before flying off. I found it interesting that I have only seen one robin at a time eating the berries. It is not unusual to see a group of robins in a tree devouring fruit. Also, I usually see them start to gather together this time of year. For example, in the recent post Grasshoppers - August 20, 2023, there were probably a dozen robins together out in the meadow eating grasshoppers.

Common Knotweed

It hasn’t rained in a dog’s age. It is dry as a bone. This old road through the South meadow was traveled by farm equipment for years and many people walk on it daily. It’s compacted hard as a rock. It is gravelly and bakes in the full sun. It seems unlikely that any plant would grow here. That said, common knotweed grows on the road, is green, and blooming.

It grows in these fairly dense flat mats. The stems radiate from a central, knot-like structure and maybe that is the origin of its common name. It has small green leaves, and the flowers are white. It produces a plethora of seeds. I often see dark-eyed juncos congregating on the road in the fall and winter eating the seeds.

It is not a beautiful, showy plant, but it got my attention because of the location of where it grows and its hardiness.

White-breasted Nuthatch Cleaning Out Nestbox

I subscribe to Birds of the World by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology which is a resource found on their website that they describe as, “Birds of the World is a powerful resource that brings deep, scholarly content from four celebrated works of ornithology into a single platform where biologists and birders can find comprehensive life history information on birds. Every bird has a story. Discover them all with Birds of the World.”

When I looked up nesting of White-breasted Nuthatches there surprisingly wasn’t a lot of current information on certain topics and little information on others. The information on nest construction cited sources from 1948, 1968, and 1978. Under the section “Selection,” it only stated “Not clear which sex selects the nest site.” Under the section “Maintenance And Reuse Of Nests,” it only stated “No data but thought to reuse nests often. No information on maintenance.”

Birds of the World is a great resource but obviously doesn’t contain all the information about White-breasted Nuthatches. That’s good news. There is probably still much to be discovered about its life. The even better news is that it is a common bird found at the arboretum that I can watch, study, and enjoy. Who knows, maybe I’ll make a new and exciting discovery about its life.

A couple of weeks ago I observed this nuthatch partially cleaning out this box. A pair of nuthatches have used two different nest boxes out at the arboretum the last two summers, so maybe it is scouting out a potential nesting site for next year. White-breasted nuthatches seem like curious birds, and I see them thoroughly investigating trees. They are constantly circling branches and the trunks of trees as they forage. It is not uncommon to see one pop into the cavity of a tree to have a look around. It makes sense to keep track of potential places to seek refuge during bad weather, escape danger, nest, etc. Next spring I’ll be wondering if they decide to nest in this box. I hope to see you out there!