Showing posts with label christine southwick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christine southwick. Show all posts

For the Birds: Snowy Owls—Have you seen one this year?

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Snowy Owls
By Christine Southwick


Snowy Owl at Edmonds by Doug Parrot

Snowy Owls are large, round-headed, mostly white owls (females and juvies have some dark scalloping), with yellow eyes, black beak, and thickly feathered feet. Being tundra natives, these birds perch where they can see in all directions. When Snowy Owls sojourn into Washington, they prefer open shorelines and salt marshes, often resting on beached logs. Usually you need scopes or strong binoculars to see them well. This year there are reports of a couple of Snowy Owls being on the roofs of one-story houses in Ballard. One was recently photographed in Edmonds.

Juvenile Snowy Owl resting on beached log by Larry Engles

Snowy Owls don’t winter in Washington every year— they may not come for five–to-ten year periods. When they do come in heavy numbers, that year is considered an “irruptive year”. If a smaller number of Snowys come the following year, it is called an “echo year”. Basically, these birds fly here for better hunting. The jury is still out as to whether it is due to “an extra low number of lemmings”, or to “too many young birds without good territories to support them”. Most of the Snowy Owls that travel south for food are young males. They will usually stay until mid-March, when they return north.

Snowy Owl yawning by John Riegsecker

These majestic predators mainly live and breed above the 60th parallel. Days stays mostly daylight in the summer, and mostly dark in the winter, so these owls have adapted to hunting both days and nights. While they are in the lower 48 states, they more often hunt at night. Their preferred prey are lemmings, but they are adaptive hunters and will take moles, voles, rats, ducks, ptarmigan, shorebirds, and even fish.

Pair of Snowy Owls by John Riegsecker
Their nesting sites require good visibility, accessible hunting areas, and lack of snow on a mound or boulder. The larger female, lays from five-to-eight eggs (14 in high lemming years) two days apart. The young leave the nest about 25 days after hatching—a month before they can fly. Both parents are fiercely protective, and may drive arctic foxes and wolves away from their territory when intruders are still a half mile from the nest. Since Snowy Owls don’t hunt near their own nests, and keep their nest-zone predator-free, Snow Geese have learned to nest near a Snowy Owl nest to improve the Snowy Goose’s clutch success.

Adult Snowys have few enemies, with habitat loss being their greatest threat. They aren’t used to many people so don’t crowd them—let them hunt and grow strong.

Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click the link under the Features section on the main webpage.


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For the Birds: Feed your local wintering birds

Friday, December 21, 2012

By Christine Southwick

Bushtits in Vancouver-- photo by Lyn Topinka

Wintering birds may mostly be able to endure our cold and wet winters, but you can make their little lives easier by supplying seeds, fruits, and suet. Additionally they need drinking water, which can be hard to find during freezing temperatures.

Fox Sparrow using heated bath in my yard
Photo by Christine Southwick

Sudden drops in temperature or windy winter storms can challenge the survival of a bird without a good fat layer. At times like these, it is especially helpful to have feeders so that birds can find food quickly and easily. Black oil sunflower seeds and suet are great high-energy heat-producing calories.

See a bird all fluffed up? It’s trying to stay warm by creating air pockets with its feathers. You can help keep them warm by creating brush piles, and having evergreen bushes for them to hunker down away from the chilling winds and some of that Northwest dampness.

Sparrow eating yard Snowberry fruits
Photo by Scott Carpenter

Feeders should be filled throughout the winter, since constant rain can be just as chilling as cold. Watch for clumping, which means the seed is starting to spoil. Throw that seed out since mold can make birds sick, then wash the feeder with a 10% solution of bleach. Don’t want to wash feeders? One option is to buy cheap tube feeders, and put out less each day, so that most of it is eaten every day, or if you are too busy to fuss with daily refilling, put a squirrel baffle over the top of the feeder. That will keep most of the rain from getting into the feeders, and slow down the squirrels too. Then when the feeder starts getting dirty, throw it away, and replace with another cheapie,

Bewick's Wren nestled in porch shelter created by Christine Southwick
Photo by Christine Southwick

Remember your hummer friends too: In cold weather, full hummingbird feeders don’t freeze above 28°F. Colder than 28F, bring feeders in after dark, and put out again at first light. If it stays cold during the day, tape a hand-warmer against the bottom of the feeder, or use non-LED Christmas lights. Anna’s hummingbirds feed well into dusk, and come back at early dawn. They need to fill up to survive winter over-night, and tank up in the morning to replenish their energy levels.

So, when the days are short, and the nights are long, the wild food has been mostly consumed, and insects are scarce. Heat your bird bath, give your yard birds food, and provide shelter from winter weather, and more of your birds will live to see their next Spring.


Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click the link under the Features section on the main webpage.


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For the Birds: Barred Owl- fierce protector of its territory

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Barred Owl. Note barring at neck and chest
Photo by John Riegsecker


By Christine Southwick

Barred Owls want to know, “Who cooks for you?  Who cooks for you all?”

But don’t answer near the nest tree—they will strafe invaders with their strong talons—the only defense they have. Unlike other raptors, owls rarely tear their food, preferring to swallow it whole, and then cough up the un-digestible parts in tidy packets, called pellets, which can often be found underneath their roost trees.
Barred Owl away from trunk
Photo by Doug Parrott
Barred Owls are closely related to Spotted Owls, and will hybridize with them where their territories overlap.  Barred Owls are larger and fiercer than Spotted Owls, with the females weighing up to two  pounds, but looking bigger because of all the feathers.

Barred Owls are generalist hunters, meaning that they have a wider range of prey choices than the Spotted Owls, which allows the Barred to live in mature second growth, and the edges of logged old growth, where they out-compete the pickier Spotted Owls. Barred Owls have learned to use abandoned hawk, crow, or squirrels nests, in addition to their traditional nests in large tree cavities. They will often use the same nest for a number of years.

Barred Owl
Photo by John Riegsecker

Barred Owls are recent arrivals in Washington State, having been long established on the East Coast.  They did not arrive in eastern Washington until 1965, and western Washington in 1973. This has put extra pressure on  the already threatened Spotted Owls. 

Barred Owls form long-term monogamous pair bonds, and both defend their territories throughout the year, but especially in early spring when they begin raising their two-to-four young. Reports of owl attacks usually occur during late fall, when people are still jogging and using trails late in the day, within the actively-defended Barred Owl territory. In the early spring, fewer people are running during the times the owls are active.

My,what a big foot you have
Photo by Doug Parrott
Usually it is hard to see any owl. Barred Owls mostly hunt at night, but will call, and hunt during the day, if the prey comes where they are sitting, waiting. Crows, jays and other birds will mob an owl, and will often be your best Barred Owl locator during the day. Look for owls high up in tall trees, near the trunks. Whitewash on the trunk or nearby branches, and pellets at the base of trees, are also good clues.

So, next time you hear, “Who cooks for you?," look for your successful local Barred Owl.


Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click on the link under the Features section on the main webpage.



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For the Birds: Western Grebe- the “Swan Grebe”

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Western Grebe with fish
Photo by Doug Parrott
By Christine Southwick

I don’t know about you, but when the weather is bleak and drizzling, I seem to end up near the water—Lake Washington, Carkeek Park, the Locks, or one of the many other choices nearby. I usually find Western Grebes, with their long white throat and black neck, in these, their wintering waters.

Western Grebes breed inland on open lakes and marshes which have edges of emergent vegetation (rooted water plants that stick up into the air). That’s why we only see their flocks locally from September thru March or April when they migrate to saltwater and open lakes along the Pacific Coast. Western Grebes feed almost exclusively on fish, and their neck structure has evolved to enable these grebes to move their long thin yellowish-olive bills like spears, or grab fish with clamp-like strength. Another adaptation—they eat large quantities of soft body feathers, and even feed them to their newly-hatched young, to protect their digestive tracts from sharp fish bones.

Western Grebe
Photo by Doug Parrott

Sometimes nicknamed the “Swan Grebe”, Western Grebes are known for their distinctive mating dance, called rushing: they run in unison, side by side on top of the water with their long necks gracefully stretched forward.

Both male and female use plant materials from under the water to build the floating nest, and both incubate the three-to-four eggs. Upon hatching, the non-striped young immediately leave the nest, and begin riding on their parent’s back. These water birds have legs far back on their body for swimming, not walking on land, and therefore are highly affected by the health of the bodies of water in which they live and swim. Rain run-offs with garden pesticides, oil spills, fishing nets and lines are real hazards to the Western Grebes that use our local waters for about six months of the year. 

Western Grebe
Photo by Doug Parrott

Even though there are plenty of Western Grebes right now, there is concern that their population is rapidly declining near the edges of their range, especially in British Columbia (winter), Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin (some of their summer breeding grounds).

During our winter season, scan the waters for Western Grebes.  Their blacks will be grayer, but their long necks supporting their black heads with white below their eyes will still take your breath away, and make you glad you looked for these elegant grebes.


Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click on the link under the Features section on the main webpage.


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For the Birds: A different type of bird seed

Monday, October 15, 2012


Goldfinch getting seeds
Photo by John Riegsecker
By Christine Southwick

Many of you have bird feeders, and know how important it is to keep clean, dry seed in the feeders during the fall and winter.

But did you know that many of your flowering trees and shrubs, and cutting flowers, have seeds that birds love, and will eat during the winter-time?

Golden-crowned Sparrow eating snowberries
Photo by Scott Ramos in Magnuson Park

Lots of wintering birds and our resident birds, such as sparrows, Spotted  Towhees,  goldfinches, nuthatches, chickadees, and bushtits, forage on garden and weed seeds, especially in the  winter  when  bugs can be hard to find.

Cone flowers, Bergamot, Black-eyed Susan, Coreopsis, Asters, Zinneas, Columbines,  Millet,  snowberries, salmonberries, raspberries, and yes, even blackberries all provide seeds, and/or attract small bugs that wintering birds need.

Fox Sparrow eating blackberries in Magnuson Park
Photo by Scott Ramos
If you leave tall grass in a back corner or along a fence line, and delay pruning your bushes until about February, when most of us get itchy to be out in the gardens, then you will be helping your local wildlife by supplying warmer and out-of-the-wind habitat during winter. Doing this also provides seed delicacies for the birds, and the birds clinging to plant stems while stretching for those seeds will reward you with hours of fun-to-watch antics.

Prune your fruit and flowering trees about the end of January, early February and you will be leaving habitat for birds during the winter, and priming the trees for strong growth in the spring, thus giving birds lots of blossoms to munch, or to help get rid of blossom bugs.

Golden-crowned Sparrow eating vegetation in the snow
Photo by Scott Ramos in Magnuson Park

Sure, the easiest way to attract birds is to put up bird feeders, and offer water. But it is lots of fun to watch birds forage for their own seeds that you have kindly left for them through the fall, and early winter. 


Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click on the link under the Features section on the main webpage.


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For the Birds: Eighty Yard Birds and Counting…

Friday, September 28, 2012




Purple Finch, male at back feeder
Photo by Christine Southwick


Eighty Yard Birds and Counting...
By Christine Southwick

What you may ask, defines a yard bird?  And how do you entice birds to your yard?

Any bird I can see (or positively ID by call) from my yard I consider a yard bird. The Osprey, Bald Eagle, Common Raven, and Great Blue Heron that fly over my yard are considered yard birds. The Mallard which lands in my next door neighbor’s grass, that I see and hear from my yard, is a yard bird. All the migrants that stop for water, food, and rest, and all the residents that live and raise their young in my yard are yard birds.

Fox Sparrow at heated bird bath
Photo by Christine Southwick

My yard was a blank slate when we moved in twelve years ago—dandelions, grass, and a corner bush.  We started filling it with rhododendrons, native trees, native bushes with fruit for wildlife, and cutting flowers for hummingbirds (and inside flower arrangements).  That first year, I had about ten species of yard birds, mostly due to the greenbelt behind the yard.

Rufus Hummingbird
Photo by Christine Southwick

I added feeders, and bird baths. I installed bird houses for young, which I clean out every September (mid-spring too, if the house was used for an early, or failed brood). I have two brush piles that cannot be seen from the house. I’ve planted ferns for additional cover. I have dragged fallen snags from neighborhood sidewalks, and beg people repeatedly for wood chips, and maple leaves. Within twelve years, I have returned a scorched-earth area to a mostly wild area in the far back of my yard.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Audubon
Photo by Christine Southwick

I have selected native plants, shrubs, and trees that serially provide berries/fruits for birds, and trees that host the kinds of micro bugs that warblers prefer. But the real draw has been the dripping, moving water set-up of bird baths that I described in my last article. They come down to drink, where I can see them.

Golden-crowned Kinglet
Photo by Christine Southwick

Most delightful yard birds: American Goldfinches, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Bushtits, Anna’s & Rufus Hummingbirds, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets;

Best skulkers: (needing wild leaf-litter areas) Spotted Towhees, Fox Sparrows, Varied Thrushes ;

Five woodpecker yard: Pileated, Hairy, and Downy Woodpeckers, Red-breasted Sapsucker, N. Flicker;

Snag-hole nesters: those five woodpeckers, chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches,  Brown Creepers;

Most unusual yard birds: Black-throated Gray Warblers, MacGillevray’s Warblers, Barred Owls

So put out the welcome mat—water, food, space for birds to thrive and to raise their young.

                                                   How many birds can you attract?


Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click on the link under the Features section on the main webpage.



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For the Birds: Birds need bugs

Sunday, July 29, 2012


Common Yellow-throat with caterpillar
Photo by Maggie Bond

By Christine Southwick

Birds Need Bugs:

Bugs are high in protein—just what migrating birds and developing nestlings need.

An Anna’s Hummingbird mother flies to her miniature nest and gently places her long bill into her nestling’s throat and delivers a meal of aphids, white flies, gnats, even tiny spiders.

Violet-green Swallow nestling with fresh bug
Photo by John Riegsecker
Nighthawks and Violet –green Swallow parents catch mosquitoes on the wing which their nestling eagerly snatch.

Blue Bird mothers bring tent caterpillars to their nestlings.

Local chickadees, nuthatches, and Brown Creepers are always on search and destroy missions, finding bug eggs and larvae on stems, leaves and evergreen needles, and devouring them before they harm our plants.

Yellow Warbler with caterpillar
Photo by Doug Parrott
White-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Bewick’s Wrens, and Oregon Juncos feed their babies insects, grubs, caterpillars, and spiders.

Our local Downy, Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers, and Red-breasted Sapsuckers feed their nestlings bugs found within tree trunks and braches. Flickers add ants to their menu.

New research on the cause of declines of city birds, especially Nighthawks and most sparrows, points to the lack of enough insects in cities due to pesticide usage, forcing breeding birds to nest elsewhere in order to feed their young.
bug meal for fledgling Oregon Junco
Photo by Mick Thompson

So how can you help the birds?

First, stop using pesticides.  Pesticides kill bugs we don’t like, but they also poison birds that eat the bugs, pollinating bees and butterflies that land on the sprayed plants, and family pets.  In our rainy climate, pesticides get washed into our local creeks, streams, lakes and finally into the Sound, disabling and killing fish and aquatic life all along the way.                                              

If you are having trouble with bugs, spray them off with water.  Caterpillars won’t kill deciduous trees—the trees just grow more leaves. Migrating birds thrive on the extra boost of protein in caterpillars.

Plant native shrubs and trees with berries.  Birds love native berries and will eat them before eating your berry crops. Native plants support more native birds, helping to make up for some of the birds’ lost habitat; the number one cause of bird deaths.

Add nest boxes. Wild Birds Unlimited, or Audubon can help you find ones properly made for the birds you want.

Add feeders and clean water (change weekly), and you can register your backyard as a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

Birds, and all our necessary pollinators will thank you, and you will have the joy of hearing birds in your yard, and watching their next generation grow.

Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click on the link under the Features section on the main webpage.



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For the Birds: Bald Eagle: Our Local Treasure

Saturday, June 30, 2012


Bullocks Oriole near Bald Eagle
Photo by Lyn Topinka
By Christine Southwick

Faster than a speeding car;
More powerful than other North American raptors; 

Able to lift prey heavier than its own weight; 

It’s a bird; It’s our national symbol; 
It’s the Bald Eagle

Ever wonder why a bird with a magnificent white head is called “Bald”? The word was “balled” in Middle English and meant “shining white”.

Juvenile Bald Eagle. Photo by Leah Serna

The Bald Eagle takes four to five years to sexually mature, and doesn’t acquire its white head and tail until then. Juveniles have a black beak, and are brownish all over, with more white patches showing each year until they reach maturity.  Once mature, they mate for life, only looking for another partner if something happens to their mate.  Like most raptors, the female is larger than the male; that’s called sexual size dimorphism.

Bald Eagle with prey, being chased by gull
Photo by Doug Parrott

Classified as a fish eagle, the Bald Eagle has specially adapted toes, with structures called spicules, which allow them to grab and hold fish, with gripping power ten times greater than a human’s. With their keen eyesight, estimated to be at least four times greater than humans, they can easily spot fish, locate ducks, or find dead salmon, a mile or more before swooping down and grabbing their prize with those strong talons. Their wickedly curved beak can easily tear through scales, feathers. Skin, or fur.

The Bald Eagle is unique to North America, with the largest eagles in the North, and gradually becoming smaller, with a smaller sub-species in Florida.  Bald Eagles in our area are mostly resident, with some going to Alaska in the summer.  Many thousands congregate on salmon-spawning rivers in B.C. during January and February.

Bald Eagle claiming Crow's intended meal
Photo by Bill Anderson

Bald Eagles are “apex” predators, meaning nothing hunts a healthy adult.  Being at the top of the food chain makes them vulnerable to toxins eaten by their prey. DDT, a powerful insecticide, caused the thinning of all raptor egg shells, and almost eliminated the Bald Eagle and other raptors, before DDT was finally banned in North America.

Bald Eagle Fish meal.
Photo by Patricia Damron

Bald Eagles have been protected since 1918, but some continue to be shot, often due to a misconception that Bald Eagles eat young farm animals. Being opportunistic feeders, they will eat dead farm animals and road kills, but prefer to stay around large fish-filled bodies of water ringed by large mature trees.  They use their nests repeatedly, and require large strong trees to hold nests that can weigh more than a ton, and may be thirteen or fourteen feet deep.

Although taken off the Endangered List in 2007, it is still illegal to harm Bald Eagles, disturb their nests, or even possess their feathers.


Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click on the link under the Features section on the main webpage.



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For the Birds: Killdeer love lawns - and Cromwell Park

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Killdeer baby, Olympia
Photo by Keith Brady
By Christine Southwick

Killdeer can be found running and searching for insects and other delicacies along water edges, on lawns, gravelly driveways and parking lots, and even golf courses. This mostly land-based shorebird prefers earthworms, snails, and aquatic insect larvae, but will eat large insects, grasshoppers, beetles, even small frogs and dead minnows and crawfish. Being an opportunistic eater it can thrive in places other birds ignore.

Killdeer
Photo by Glenn Hansen
Killdeer got their name from their loud call that sounds like “Killdeerr”. They call early and into the night, and even on the wing. You will usually hear a Killdeer before you see it. Their coloring blends with many backgrounds (except the lawns) making it hard to notice. It usually runs in bursts, then stops to search for its next meal, sort of like a robin. It is most easily identified by its round head, shorebird-length legs, double chest bands, and by their loud distinct call.

Killdeer will nest in almost any open, fairly flat area with vegetation one inch or lower, and that has sufficient water and food nearby. The male make several scrapes, not-built nests, on the ground, and the female selects the one she’ll use for her four to six eggs. The other nest scrapes may help confuse predators, and from time to time the parents add twigs and rocks to the scrapes.

The "broken wing" trick
Photo by Doug Parrott
Like all plovers, the babies are precocial—meaning that they are born with full feathers, and as soon as the feathers dry from hatching, the babies start running around. The babies are tiny, only have one neck ring and hide under their parents for protection. The watchful parents protect their young by loudly faking a broken wing and leading any predator astray.

Killdeer mother and chick
Photo by John Tubbs
In Shoreline, check out Cromwell Park, with its wetlands created to slow and clean rain runoff flowing into the north branch of Thornton Creek. Now that the native plants are filling in, both Killdeer and Red-winged Blackbirds are raising their young within viewing range of observant people.

Another place you can usually find a Killdeer or two is at Thornton Place near Northgate, where the Northgate branch of Thornton Creek is day-lighted.

The nest by the side of the road
Photo by Leah Serna
Listen for loud “Kill-deerr, Kill-deerr” starting about April when they have returned from wintering in South America. Then look on the ground for a bird about the size of a long-legged robin, running, stopping, then running again. You will find your noisy Killdeer.



Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click on the link under the Features section on the main webpage.


Read more...

For the Birds: White-crowned Sparrow—the serenader of parking lots

Monday, May 7, 2012


Puget Sound White-crowned sparrow (PSWS)
Photo by Whitney Hartshorne
By Christine Southwick

In April and May, parking lots are a place of serenading beauty:  one long note, followed by several trilled notes. The White-crowned Sparrow males are claiming territory, each loudly vying for a mate.  Since this species likes open spaces, it has adapted well to human expansion, often being heard in city centers that have trees and shrubs. In the Puget Sound area White-crowned Sparrows are here year-round.  Most are migratory, so like the American Robins, the ones we see in the summer probably are not the same ones we see in the winter.

The female will make her nest near the ground, in low shrubs, even in plants in garden nurseries.  All a seasonally monogamous pair needs is sufficient cover for the nest, and a nearby perch for observation.  The 3-5 nestlings will hop out of the nest 7-10 days after hatching, long before they can fly, since ground nests are so vulnerable to predators. Both parents feed their young, with the male often feeding them exclusively if the female sits on a second brood.

This nest was built in a Shoreline plant nursery on Aurora.
The owners sacrificed a tray of flowers so the birds would not be disturbed during nesting.
Photo by Christine Southwick

Here in the Puget Sound area, the sub-species that breeds here is named the Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow.  You can tell it from the other subspecies by its yellow, not orange, bill, and the back pattern has blackish centers with tan edges. There is a difference in the song too, but I haven’t learned to distinguish between the Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow and the Gambel’s with any accuracy yet. The Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrow passes through this area in the winter on its way to California. In the spring and summer, if you see a White-crowned Sparrow in western Washington, it will be a Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow, with very few exceptions.

Parents watching over the nest
Photo by Christine Southwick
During breeding, white-crowned stay in pairs, in the winter they flock as they roam around looking for seeds in weedy patches.  This is another sparrow that has learned to use blackberry brambles for food and winter shelter.

So next time you are shopping, and you hear a long note followed by several others, look at the parking lot trees, or lamp posts.  Chances are you will spot the White-crowned Sparrow in plain view, who is serenading the area, and you will find that you step a little lighter due to music in the parking lot.

Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.


For previous For the Birds columns, click on the link under the Features section on the main webpage.





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For the Birds: Hutton’s Vireo—It’s in the Bill

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Hutton's Vireo taken in Everett by Steve Mlodinow
By Christine Southwick

Recently, while enjoying my gorgeous blooming cherry tree, I spied a small yellowish olive-gray bird flitting among the blossoms, gleaning insects. What could it be I wondered?

It had to be either a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, or a Hutton’s Vireo, by size, coloring, and movement. This active little bird will travel in winter groups of foraging Bushtits, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and chickadees, so both are possible, and look very similar. Right now, both are generally quiet, so I couldn’t use their distinctly different songs.

Hutton’s Vireos are about five inches long; Ruby-crowned Kinglets are only four and a quarter long. The size of a solitary moving bird is hard to judge, especially since these two are smaller than Black-capped Chickadees.

Juvenile Hutton's Vireo, Taken in Lake Forest Park
Photo by Craig Kerns
Hutton’s Vireos flick their wings like Ruby-crowned Kinglets, but are slightly less active. The Hutton’s Vireo has blue-gray feet, while the Ruby-crowned Kinglet has yellow, but if you have ever tried to take a picture of either, you know how hard that can be, let alone see their feet.

Hutton’s Vireos are notorious for staying in the upper tree branches, and usually in the summer the only reason you notice them is their repeated 'zwee-zwee-zwee' song. A bird bath is the best way to get a good look at this bird.

For me, the key to identifying a Hutton’s Vireo is its bill. It is thicker than a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and it has a tiny hook on the end. Once I see that hook, I just use the foot color for confirmation.

Hutton's Vireo taken by Randy Bjorklund
Hutton’s Vireo is the only resident vireo in Washington. It’s not that common a bird. It avoids clear-cuts, but thrives in open mixed woods and forests, and has a fondness for oaks. Its nest is a cup that hangs in a tree fork, rather than resting on a branch. The three-to-five eggs are incubated by both the female and the male, a habit unusual in passerines.

If you see a small yellowish to olive-gray bird flicking its wings while searching in the foliage for tasty insects and spiders, try to get a good look at its bill. If you see a thick short bill with a hook at the end, you have a Hutton’s Vireo.

If you can’t tell, you may want to invest in a shallow bird bath, where vireos become still enough to get good looks at their bills and feet.

Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click on the link under the Features section on the main webpage.



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For the Birds: American Robin - the early bird gets the worm

Sunday, March 18, 2012

American Robins enjoying bathPhoto by Christine Southwick
By Christine Southwick

American Robins start singing just before dawn, and are seen running across the lawn early in the morning, suddenly stopping and tilting their heads looking, not hearing, for those tasty worms. Even though we see robins all the time, chances are they aren’t the same ones. Most here in the winter go further north to breed, and the ones who breed here probably came from Oregon or California. Even its name, Turdus Migratorius, recognizes this songbird’s short-distance movements.

Juvenile American Robin
Photo by Christine Southwick

Robins are one of the first birds most people learn to recognize, and their size is often used as a reference, as in, “Larger than a chickadee, smaller than a robin.” When you really look at robins, you’ll see that they are a pretty bird, with black stripes on a white throat, and white feathers around the eyes. Females are paler than males, and juveniles have spots on their buff breasts.

Robins are social and feed in small flocks, with larger flocks at night, and when migrating. In addition to worms, they eat volumes of beetle grubs and caterpillars. Robins watch vigilantly for predators like cats or hawks, and you can often see a robin on guard duty while others are bathing.

Robins and, unfortunately, parasitic Brown-headed Cowbirds, benefit from the opened forests and forest edges created by human expansion. Cowbirds don’t make nests, but place their eggs in others nests to be raised by their new hosts. Robins have learned to reject those eggs.

Female gathering mud for nest
Photo by Christine Southwick

The female makes the nest, coating it with mud and grass before laying three to five blue eggs. Jays, crows, squirrels and snakes like their eggs. Both parents loudly and boldly protect their eggs and their fledglings until they can forage on their own. Even so, less than 25 % of each year’s broods survive to see their first November. Cats, hawks, window strikes and pesticides that poison the worms and berries Robins eat, take their tolls. The average lifespan of American Robins is two years, but some live to 10-13 years.

The early bird gets the worm - American Robin with worm
Photo by Christine Southwick

When you hear cheery morning singing, look for the early bird running across your lawn, stopping to grab a worm. Robins also love berries, and fruits, so plant a Serviceberry tree, and add a shallow bird bath, and you will be rewarded with American Robins.


Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.

For previous For the Birds columns, click on the link under the Features section on the main webpage.



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For the Birds: Pine Siskin—the irruptive songbird

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Male Pine Siskin
Photo by Christine Southwick
By Christine Southwick

In the trees you hear a rising zhreeeee voiced by a number of birds. Your feeder has several smallish heavily-striped brownish birds with varying amounts of yellow on their wings and a needle-like bill. What are they? If you said Pine Siskins, give yourself a pat on the back. These small songbirds stump lots of people

Their gregarious flocks are highly nomadic as they follow the cone seed crop. One year you may see them much of the time, other years you may not see them at all. They are often seen clinging upside to branches of conifers, but they will also eat the seeds of garden flowers not dead-headed until spring, and they think dandelion seeds are a treat.

Because of their small bills, they won’t eat large unshelled sunflower seeds. They will eat black-oiled sunflowers, and shelled seeds, as will American Goldfinches.

Photo by Christine Southwick
Pine Siskins are susceptible to salmonella, so keep your seed feeders clean. I have stopped using Niger seed because it molds quickly, and it is expensive. During winter I buy inexpensive feeders, and replace, rather than wash, a feeder when it gets dirty.

Pine Siskins are serially monogamous and pick their mates during winter flocks. That’s why you will often see dominance fighting that isn’t seen in other species until spring. Nests are placed far out on a horizontal conifer branch, and hold three to four eggs. Well hidden, the nest may be part of a loose colony, or by itself.

Since the majority of the Pine Siskins breed in colder northern Canada, they have evolved to the female not leaving the insulated nest once the eggs are laid—the male feeds her until the babies are several days old, then both parents feed the nestlings for about twelve days after they have fledged. Pine Siskins can also increase their metabolic rate during sub-zero temperatures.

Pine Siskin on backyard bird bath
Photo by Christine Southwick
Once considered the most common finch in Washington, their numbers have gone down since 1966. Their nests are easily parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds which inhabit forest edges. Shrinking forest lands create more forest edges and more cowbirds are around looking for nests like Pine Siskins’.

Pine Siskins constantly chatter to each other, and even twitter while in flight. Their loud upward Zhreeee is an easy identifier. Once you hear that, look for heavily-striped birds at your feeders and watch for those flashes of yellow as they take wing.

Christine Southwick is on the Board of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and is their Winter Urban Color-banding Project Manager. She is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat Steward, having completed their forty hour class. We're happy that she is sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards.



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