Weather: sunny, light wind, few light clouds
Temp: 75 F
Time: 2:30pm-4:30pm
Location: Discovery Park
This week at Discovery Park, we turned our heads up from the ground towards the trees and skies to observe birds! However, as any bird observer soon realizes, we have to use our ears the most, since most birds are more easily heard than seen. We positioned ourselves on the northern end of Discovery Park this time where there would be more wooded areas for birds to sneak about in. Here are the general types of commonly sighted birds around Discovery Park, as well as what species we were able to observe!
Hummingbirds
These tiny birds have a very distinctive squeaky call, which is how I usually find them. Look for a small bird flying relatively low (eye level to tree tops) and flitting quickly from flower to flower in bushes. Many times, I hear the squeaky calls and look up to see a solitary hummingbird perched at the very top of a tree in plain sight, surprisingly, giving off lots of communicative calls, and will stay there for relatively long periods of time (1-5 minutes). We spotted a brilliant Anna's Hummingbird flying solo feeding off Himalayan Blackberry flowers. They are easily spotted when they turn towards you to reveal a vibrant magenta chest (most pronounced in sexually selected males). You can also spot them if you happen to come bird watching with me, since I will often yell "Hummer!" and point animatedly.
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| Anna's Hummingbird |
We observed these commonly sighted marine birds several times flying high overhead, approximately 30 meters up, since Discovery Park lies adjacent to Puget Sound. I saw them flying in pairs a few times. They flew slow and steadily. Likely we were viewing the common Western Gull, the species we normally refer to as "seagull."
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| Western Gull |
On our expeditions, we have commonly spotted the Black-Capped Chickadee as well as the Chestnut-Backed Chickadee, a pair of species that one must look closely to distinguish, as they both have similar head and chest markings. The major difference lies in the chestnut color on the appropriately named latter species. We usually see these small birds hopping around in the underbrush of the woods in trees or shrubs, making lots of melodic calls. They don't tend to stay in the same spot long. If they do stay in the same vegetative area, they will hop from branch to branch, and they are usually by themselves.
We stopped for a while to observe a Black-Capped Chickadee. We first heard it and observed it a little bit, hopping and hiding, obscured through the branches of an Indian Plum. Then it flew into better sight after a few minutes into a Bigleaf Maple. We observed it hopping again from branch to branch, probing for small bugs in the wood and around the flowering catkins. During this time it remained relatively quiet and focused. We noticed through the lenses of our binoculars when it finally caught a bug of some sort. It ate it, then called for a little while before returning to the foraging activity. We left after about 10 minutes since the bird did not seem to be leaving the maple any time soon. We assumed it may have either decided to sing to defend the tree as the bird's new territory, or may have been notifying other black-caps that this tree bore "fruit," as it were. I might guess the latter, based on the description from our field guide that credits the black-caps as being "among the friendliest and most cheerful of woodland inhabitants." They also apparently travel in family groups in summer and band together in flocks.
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| Black-Capped Chickadee |
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| Our Chestnut-Backed Chickadee Like I said, pretty similar unless you can see it's back |
Well, we all know the American Crow. The urban ones display their marked intelligence and social behavior most clearly, banding together in gangs to forage and defend territory. The field guide remarks that the crow has flourished because "much of its survival strength lies in its ability to adapt to a variety of habitats, food resources, and environmental conditions." As such, this species persists here in the PNW year-round, at least in the lowlands and areas that do not experience harsh cold. Studies show that some crows even commute to the city for the "work day," while their nests and mates remain in the wooded outskirts of town awaiting their return in the evening. We've observed crows in Discovery Park, and this last week, we spotted one roosting atop a tree cawing loudly and grooming itself. It came down for a minute to a post to be observed a bit clearer. They appear to be fairly nonchalant and unconcerned of predators and are usually found out in the open or flying up high.
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| Our American Crow shot |
We also observed a majestic Great Blue Heron flying effortlessly high above us moving away from the direction of the Sound. No matter how many times I see these birds, my heart still gives a little flutter at seeing them in flight, based on their pure size and wingspan, along with their prehistoric look and elegant flight. Herons can be distinguished from cranes in flight by the "S"-shape of the neck. Cranes keep their long neck straight.
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| Great Blue Heron |
Often spotted out in the open, we observed a few American Robins this week as well. The American Robin is actually in the thrush family. Usually we see them feeding, looking for insects and worms in the ground, in open grass field. We saw one calling loudly from the top of a Douglas Fir, out in the open and grooming itself, just like the crow. They are pretty brash in our experience and seem to hardly notice our presence. Sometimes they appear to be listening for prey, but are actually looking for movements in the soil. Interesting fact: Robins can't look down, and have to tilt their head sideways in order to do so. Which may explain this picture we snapped in week 2:
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| American Robin "See, I CAN look down" |
These small birds are relatively common, yet hard to see and distinguish from each other. They are usually some variation of brown, white, and black with small spots or stripes on its wings, back, and sometimes chest. We have identified the White-Crowned Sparrow there, as it has a distinct white stripe on its head, but have seen several others flying quickly and low, usually a pair chasing each other. They don't usually stay put long enough or close enough to identify.
However, this week we had a little bush adventure that allowed us to get closer to some of the smaller, shy birds! We decided to try using my iPhone to play a few bird calls in the hopes of seeing any of the shyer bird species. It all started when we heard and could partially see a Spotted Towhee hopping around in a blackberry thicket. It was not calling, and most of the noise was coming from the rustling of the bushes...the Towhee is actually a relatively large sparrow. We looked up the call and played a few different ones. The towhee hopped closer for a look. We kept playing the songs, and after about 5 minutes, we had four towhees responding from all directions! The first one hopped up higher into another bush and another one came to join it and they looked at us accusingly... keep in mind we were hoping to get a better look for educational purposes! Another one flew into a tree up above behind us and called, looking around for the source. It was exciting to get to see these elusive birds so close!
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| Spotted Towhee |
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| White-Crowned Sparrow |
Our last interesting find as we left the park shows that Spring has progressed now enough for the caterpillars to begin emerging and start foraging intensively on all the new deciduous vegetation. As we walked under a tree, I looked up and saw what I assumed to be a hairy, brown hat someone had stuck up on the end of a branch. I looked harder and realized it was a swarming mass of Tent Caterpillars!
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| Tent Caterpillars |
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| Time to eat! |
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