Showing posts sorted by relevance for query for the birds. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query for the birds. Sort by date Show all posts

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: Water - Serve It and They Will Come

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Black-throated Gray Warbler (female)
Photo by Christine Southwick

By Christine Southwick

As more trees, grasses, and native habitats are cut down, plowed under, paved over, and built upon, finding  much needed water becomes harder and harder  for birds and other wildlife.

You can literally save the lives of many migrating and native birds by supplying moving water.  The sound of dripping water will bring tanagers, warblers, thrushes, even flycatchers down from their travels.

Western Tanager (female/juvie)
Photo by Christine Southwick
With native trees and fruiting shrubs, migrants may spend up to a week of welcome respite and refueling before flying on.

In my yard, I have two different set-ups: one is a day-light recirculating fountain on a timer, which the hummingbirds seem to prefer. The second set-up I have developed over the years through trial and observation.  

Yellow Warbler enjoying bath
Photo by Christine Southwick
I have a three foot tall, shallow birdbath with a dripper attachment. I have it positioned at a slight incline so that it will drip into the half-inch deep leaf that you see in the pictures. That in turn drips into the two other bird baths. The reddish one is set up so that birds can walk into the water. The shiny one is a garbage can lid, with a flat rock in the middle.  

This way I have shallow enough water for the small birds, and slightly deeper water, like one would find in a mud puddle, for the larger birds like Spotted Towhees, Robins, Flickers, etc. The dripper is on a ¼ inch line, and I turn it on in the morning of hot days to just drip a little throughout the day, and turn it off about 6:30 pm. Since I have moving water I don’t worry about mosquitoes. 

Northern Flicker and dripping water
Photo by Christine Southwick
I have shrubs nearby for cover, which encourages more birds to partake, than a birdbath out in the middle of a lawn. I have fencing on two sides, and native plants with thorns on the third side to discourage roaming cats.

Since I work during the day, I have set up a motion-activated camera positioned on the lower baths.  I often wonder who is using the top birdbath while I am gone…

Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Photo by Christine Southwick
If you offer moving water, you will attract a wide variety of migrating and resident birds to stop to drink, and clean their flight feathers.  You will be helping wild birds survive, and the birds will brighten your day with their bathing antics.

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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Wishes for the local high school sports scene for 2012

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Veteran sports observer Frank Workman shares his thoughts for the local sports scene for the coming year.

By Frank Workman

While Mariner fans can wish for Prince Fielder (wish for him in one hand and spit in the other --- see which hand fills up first), and Husky fans can hope for an improvement in Defensive Coordinators (Baylor just scored again), I choose to keep my sports wishes for the new year of a more local variety.

This ardent observer of the local high school sports scene hopes for the following:

  • For Shorewood Football Coach Rob Petschl, continued participation and commitment from even more boys, and the sort of steady and sustainable improvement that will find the T-Birds challenging for the top spot in Wesco year after year.
  • For Shorecrest Football Coach Brandon Christensen, the chance to develop another quarterback as gifted as Ted Hammond has been for the Scots. And for both coaches, it is hoped that their families’ fast friendship thrives and survives the fractious festivities that occur one Friday night each fall.
  • For venerable Shorewood Boys Basketball Coach Marv Morris, good health that will enable him to stay on the sidelines as long as he wishes, and the kind of receptive and respectful boys that make coaching his own personal Fountain of Youth.
  • For Basketball Coach Brian Fischer, a chance to take his Scots to State for the first time, with the elegant and graceful Junior Chibuogwu leading the way.
  • For Shorewood Soccer Coach Nathan Davis, a season (soon!) of injury-free play for his boys and girls.
  • For Mindy Dalziel, an extra goal here and there for her Shorecrest girls, so they don’t have to suffer through the shoot-outs that have bedeviled her team the last few years.
  • For Nina Lowe, T-Birds Girls Basketball Coach, the opportunity, just one time, to coach a player as talented and driven as she was when she was winning State Championships for Shorewood.
  • For Shorecrest Girls Coach Dori Monson, as brilliant an ending to the Basketball season as the beginning has been for his talented veteran team.
  • For Shorewood Baseball Coach Wyatt Tonkin, another 2-run lead in the bottom of the last inning of the State Championship Game. And a sense of welcome to the T-Birds’ new home at Meridian Park – the new ballpark there, with lights, should prove to be a valuable community asset.
  • For Shorewood Track Coach Lance Neubauer, a way to manufacture and bottle his infectious enthusiasm that has attracted more and more kids to participate in the spring for the T-Birds.
In a non-sports-related vein, I have two other wishes.

  • That our elected officials, local and national, from Dogcatcher to President, wake up every day and remember who is the Master and who is the Servant.
  • And I hope the people in charge of the Shoreline Area News exercise better judgment in 2012 than to again depict the essence of our unique American holiday, Thanksgiving, with a picture of a ‘tofurky’.  (See offending article here)



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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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After electrifying start, Shorewood game ends in 31-26 loss to Blaine

Saturday, October 21, 2017

#13 Josh Lee breaks up the play


Shorewood Thunderbirds 26 Blaine Borderites 31
Shoreline Stadium, Friday, October 20, 2017, 8pm

T-birds Overall Record 3-4

By Aaron Bert
Photos by Lisa Hirohata

Excitement buzzed in the air, as the rain clouds held their payload and a chill settled over Shoreline Stadium Friday night, as Shorewood took on Blaine in a non-league match-up for Shorewood’s Homecoming. With a convincing win last week over Sultan, Shorewood was looking to extend their winning streak and establish a new tradition - winning back to back games - alas, the Thunderbirds would come up short.

Shorewood struck first. The first-half kick-off was a deep ball down to the Shorewood 15 fielded by #10 Mathew Bangsberg (Jr, WR/DB) - Bangsberg began to run right, but on a reverse, gave the ball to #21 DeShawn Alexander (So, RB/DB) who streaked to the sideline, kicked in the afterburners and was gone for a 85 yard kickoff return - the first such play of the year for Shorewood and the crowd jumped to its feet in adulation and joy. The ensuing extra point was blocked, a harbinger of things to come in the kicking game, and Shorewood was up 6-0 with ten seconds off the clock.

Blaine, led by #5 Julian Gonzalez (Sr, RB/DB), answered immediately on the next drive starting on the Shorewood 33 and marching 67 yards in 2 minutes to take the lead 7-6. Gonzalez, listed at 5’8” and 160 pounds proved to be a punishing runner - hardly ever coming down on first contact and often it would take a host of T-birds to stop his momentum. He ran with a purpose - old school, smash mouth football - and seemed to relish in taking hits and dishing out punishment to the defense. Gonzalez would prove to be the key to the Blaine win.

#3 Robert Banks runs the ball with #20 Noah Keys blocking

The next drive had Shorewood starting on their own 29. #3 Robert Banks (Sr, RB/DB) had a solid game at running back - demonstrating brilliant flashes of speed when he would find a crease in the Borderite defense. The first play from scrimmage found Banks bursting for a 27 yard gain and Shorewood was off. Two plays later, #4 David Snell (Jr, QB) connected with #21 DeShawn Alexander for a 45-yard touchdown pass and the T-birds took the lead 12-7 as #54 Phil Ball, the starting right guard on the offensive line and placekicker having his second extra point of the night blocked. Snell got the start at QB for Shorewood as #7 Skylar Hammer (Jr, QB/DB) was out due to a non-football injury sustained earlier in the day.

Shorewood’s defense would step up on the next two series, forcing the Borderites out on downs, to include a stop at the Shorewood 3 when it looked like a touchdown was imminent. Lead by tough-nosed and passionate linebacker #34 Levi ‘Rocky’ Williams (So, OL/LB) and #22 Kaden Graves (Jr, OL/LB) - the T-birds stuffed Blaine’s Gonzalez on a dive over the left side and the Green and Blue of Shorewood was back in business.

#4 David Snell throws a pass
 

On the next drive, Shorewood faced 3 and 13 and Snell dropped back to pass and lofted a lazy toss over the middle which was intercepted by Blaine’s free safety and the Borderites were down to the Shorewood 4 with first and goal. After two unsuccessful gives to Gonzalez, Blaine faked the dive to Gonzales and #82 Cruz Rodriquez, (Sr, TE/LB) released to the left flat and was uncovered for an easy touchdown. With the extra point, Blaine took the lead 14-12 and held it the rest of the game.

As has often been the case with Shorewood all year, failure to execute basic fundamentals have killed promising drives and given the opposing team opportunities to capitalize and score points. Shorewood fumbled the snap on the first play of their drive after receiving the ensuing kickoff and Blaine took the ball down for a field goal, taking the lead 17-12.

#3 Robert Banks got the next drive started with two back to back runs of 21 yards each, but Shorewood stalled by committing two offensive holds and a giving up a sack - denying the T-birds the momentum on a promising drive. Blaine in turn stalled on their next drive and had to punt at the 2:16 mark remaining in the 2nd quarter. The punt fielded by Shorewood's Alexander, danced and cut, causing Borderite defenders to dive for him when he had already swiveled and spun out of the space they thought he was at - and he was off down the left sideline for a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown. With the crowd going wild, a hush soon settled over the ecstatic fans, as once again, a yellow flag rested on the 40-yard line marking the spot where Shorewoods lack of fundamentals - a block in the back - negated the go-ahead touchdown.

#84 Logan Freitas kicks off
 

Blaine opened the 2nd half, starting on their own 35-yard line and behind the power running of Gonzales, and poor tackling by Shorewood took the ball down the field and scored a touchdown. The clocked showed 9:15 remaining in the 3rd quarter and Blaine up 24-12. The succeeding kick-off had #21 Alexander and #10 Bangsberg ready to showcase their return skills once again. Not learning how dangerous this duo was proving to be, Blaine’s #14 Bryce Kamrath (Jr, K) booted the ball deep to Alexander. This time, faking the reverse, Alexander once again hit turbo boost and was off like a rocket and the improbable looked possible as he streaked for another kickoff return for a touchdown. And yet, disappointment would rule out this spectacular effort - with Shorewood getting called for another block in the back, taking the ball back to their own 11 to start the drive.

All was not lost - #3 Banks took the deep handoff from Snell, and like last week, found a crease over the right side for an 89-yard rushing touchdown - Shorewoods longest play from scrimmage all year. With the two-point conversion good, Shorewood pulled within 4 and the scoreboard read Blaine 24 - Shorewood 20.

Blaine immediately answered on their next play - seemingly punching the whole Shorewood defense in the solar plexus - stunning the T-birds and the Homecoming crowd by ripping off a 76-yard touchdown run from scrimmage by who else, but #5 Gonzalez. From the stands, you could see the whole Shorewood sideline deflate and Blaine was up 31-20 with 8:30 remaining in the 3rd.

#20 Noah Keys blocks the punt
 

Shorewood's next three drives resulted in: turning the ball over on downs; a fumble and Snell throwing his second interception of the night after Shorewood started on their own 46. Blaine had three series in a row where they were forced to punt. The defense on those three drives found a more aggressive, ball-swarming mentality and showed glimpses of what they could do when pressure was applied up front and hits on the opposing running back were low - rather than trying to tackle at the shoulder pad level.

Shorewood did make it interesting at the end. Taking the ball over at their own 34 with 5:43 remaining in the 4th, the T-birds took it in for a score on a 10-yard fly sweep to Banks for his second rushing touchdown of the night. The drive was helped by a Blaine pass interference call and a Shorewood botched play which found two T-bird receivers executing a tip drill surrounded by three Borderite defenders and #10 Bangsberg coming up with a huge 45-yard pass catch, which eventually set up Banks for the score. The two-point conversion failed, and the scoreboard read Blaine 31 - Shorewood 26.

Even with various setbacks, Shorewood showed some tremendous spark and talent during the course of the game and have begun to develop building blocks of success. With two games remaining in the season, the question still exists - can Shorewood play four quarters of consistent football?

Next up for Shorewood (3-4), is Sehome High School from Bellingham. Sehome (2-6), who had a 23 game losing streak entering the 2017 season, is now on a 2 game winning streak, beating Granite Falls, 46-28 last night. The Mariners of Sehome will surely be looking to take that momentum into their matchup with the T-birds - Friday, October 27, 2017, 5 PM at Shoreline Stadium.





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For the Birds: Birds of Prey have gotten a bum rap

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Sharp-shinned hawk. Photo by Ron Green
By Christine Southwick
Birds of prey, also called raptors, have it hard. Nobody wants them in their neighborhood. Smaller birds mob them to make them leave, and many people scare them away when they see them at their feeders.

Hawks, falcons and eagle s are all day hunters, which is called diurnal. It is common to see any raptor, except Osprey, being mobbed by crows, red-winged blackbirds, or almost any breeding bird. Most all birds ignore Osprey since they only eat fish and don’t have baby birds on their menus.

Owls are also birds of prey, but since they hunt at night, the only time they are mobbed by smaller birds is early morning before an owl goes to its roost, or when crows or chickadees discover an owl on an exposed roost.

In this area, we have Sharp-shinned Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Peregrines, Bald- Eagles, Osprey, Barred Owls, Northern Saw-whet Owls, and in some places Barn Owls, and an occasional Short-eared Owl. Many raptors breed in this area, including a pair of Merlin who have set up housekeeping in a tall tree in Shoreline for the second year.

Cooper's Hawk. Photo by John Tubbs.
Mortality is high for raptor youngsters. Many raptor species have up to a 75% mortality rate for the first year. Fledglings only have a few weeks before their parents migrate South, often as far a South America. They need to learn how to hunt well enough to feed themselves, without crashing into windows, telephone lines, or moving cars or trains.

Then they have to travel South by themselves, and hunt food as they fly hundreds of miles each day. Fledglings need to find an unclaimed–productive-enough habitat to feed themselves until it is time to fly back here for the summer breeding.

After they are grown, another danger is eating poisoned vermin. Did you know that grinding up a couple of vitamin D tablets into some peanut butter and putting the peanut butter in a rat run will kill the rats, but not harm raptors, cats or other predators? Tis true. I’ve used it successfully.

Because they are at the top of the food chain, raptors can die from eating prey with lead shots, or other human caused contaminations, like pesticides.

Photo by Wendy Duncan
Raptors help keep flocks healthy and smart. Birds that are ill are slower, and easier to catch. Birds that are less intelligent are more easily tricked and caught. Birds that have learned to adapt to being hunted, are more adaptable in general, and more likely to survive.

Raptors are birds of speed, grace and intelligence. Where you see birds of prey means that the area is reasonably healthy, and that you are doing things right for the birds. Remember that the smart birds hide, and wait until the hunter is gone, before venturing out again. Birds of prey are an important balance in the bird world, maybe even in your own yard.

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's sharing her expertise with us about the birds in our backyards. 

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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: Help Your Local Birds

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Black-capped Chickadee really into its cooling bath.
Photo by Craig Kerns

By Christine Southwick

Water is probably the most important item you can provide - clean and cool in the summer, liquid in the winter. Water can be as simple as a large dish, or it can become a dramatic yard feature. Running water, like a fountain or mini stream will draw in more resident birds and even migrants flying over, needing a refreshing stop.

Black-headed Grosbeak, male
Photo by Craig Kerns
Plant trees and native bushes for food, roosting, and hiding places for most of our local birds. 

Keep large trees (dead trees made-into-snags are vital for larger cavity birds) for nesting sites, and plant native serviceberry trees and/or crabapple trees, or other fruiting native trees like Indian Plum and bushes like Snowberries. 

By planting native vegetation, local insects, which birds need to survive, will be found and controlled by our native birds. Birds are great pollinators which help fruits and even flowers.

Think about creating your yard as a Certified Wildlife Habitat to help compensate for major habitat loss—the most dangerous cause of loss of birds—both in numbers and in species.

Golden-crowned Kinglet juvie note the gape coloring
Photo by Craig Kerns

If you have insects that are eating some of your plants too fast, spray them off with water, hand pick, or buy beneficial insects, and attract more insect-eating birds into your yard with water and habitat. That will make both you and local birds happy.

Pesticides kill an estimated 72 million birds each year! So don’t use pesticides. They aren’t good for birds, kids, dogs, cats, or the environment.

Western Tanager, breeding male just passing through, stopping for a much needed drink
Photo by Craig Kerns
And please, watch for cats. Spray them with water if they come into your yard. They will learn to go elsewhere, at least when they see you.

Cats are an invasive species which kill approximately 2.4 billion birds EACH year!

As a cat owner, I love my cat(s). Most cats will easily adjust to watching birds through windows, and chatter away and swish their tails. I had one cat that really wanted outside. I built a successful small enclosed outside area with a cat door access so it could go in and out of the house unassisted. 

My cats and I are happy and the birds are safe. So, for the few cats that insist on going outside, that is a do-able solution that also keeps cats safe from our neighborhood coyotes, cat fights, and being hit by cars. (There are fancy catios available if you prefer.)

Seed and suet also help birds and make bird watching a delight. Suet can be used all year around and helps provide protein when the bugs are sparse—especially welcome while hungry fledglings are learning to hunt bugs.

Previous For the Birds columns here


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For the Birds: Red-breasted Nuthatch - Our local tin-horn player

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Red-breasted Nuthatch belting out its
tin-horn sound. Photo by Craig Kerns
By Christine Southwick

There’s a small blue-slate colored bird with a striped head moving quickly along the trunk of my cedar tree - sometimes headfirst, then zig-zagging sideways then downward again. 

It repeatedly stops and energetically pokes into crevasses looking for bugs. The tree and the bird like each other - the bird finds its meals while helping to keep the tree healthy.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is sort of a noisy bird - its contact calls sound like a tiny tin-horn. It doesn’t really have a song as most people think of bird songs. When it gets excited it makes a series of yank-yank calls.

Female feeding nestling. Note the resin around
 the nest hole. Photo by Craig Kerns
Their nest is exceptional. They peck their own eight-inch-deep nest holes - one of the few non-woodpecker birds to do so and the only local non-woodpecker bird. 

They try to find softer or dead parts of trees for their excavations (you can help by creating a wildlife tree from a dying tree). 

After lining the nest with grass, pine needles, fur and feathers, for some reason the pair will smear tree pitch around the opening.

These birds have been known to use a piece of bark to spread this resin - crows aren’t the only birds that can use tools. The adults fly directly into the nest during brooding to avoid contact with their applied nest protection.

The male feeds the female while she sits on the eggs
Photo by Craig Kerns
The pair are usually monogamous, with the male feeding the female while she sits on the 5-8 eggs for about 2 weeks. 

Both feed their young for the 18-21 days in the nest, and then for the first two weeks after they fledge.

When the female is on her nest she is mostly silent. When the nestlings fledge, those tiny tin- horn sounds abound. A person can locate the newly hatched brood by following their calls.

In the wintertime these short-distance flyers join chickadees and other small birds for successful winter foraging. These nuthatches eat seeds and insects (like spiders and earwigs) and will store winter supplies in bark crevices.

Male eating suet. This is a typical pose.
Photo by Craig Kerns
They readily come to seed feeders and suet. They love black oil seeds and mealworms.

They will use nest boxes but are fussy about size and aging. It is better to put out a nest box in the fall so that it will age over the winter (and local birds can use it for winter shelter). 

A preferred nest box mimics a cavity like the nuthatch would excavate.

See previous For the Birds columns by Christine Southwick HERE



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For the Birds: Got Nest Houses?

Friday, March 30, 2012

Violet-green Swallows feeding young
Photo by John Riegsecker
By Christine Southwick

Wanted: House, 1 bedroom, with view, nearby water, food and shelter. Will remodel as needed.

Our backyard birds are looking for a place to lay their eggs and raise their young. Many birds use dead or dying trees (snags) to make their nest cavities. As these snags are cut down, there are fewer nesting sites.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee house with nearby branches
Photo by Christine Southwick
You can help by buying or building the right box for the species you want to help. Black-capped chickadees, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Bewick’s Wrens, and Violet-Green Swallows readily use nest boxes; ground nesters like Dark-eyed Juncos, Spotted Towhees, and Song Sparrows do not.

A good nest box is made out of rough, unpainted wood with ventilation and drainage holes, and the right size entrance hole. The right size entrance hole will attract the birds you want, while keeping out House Sparrows and European Starlings. House Sparrows and Starlings are two non-native, non-protected species that actively eject native birds and their eggs.

Bird House with hole adapter by Craig Kerns
If you have a house with too large a hole, go to Wild Birds Unlimited and buy a hole adapter. It will also deter predators by adding depth to the entrance hole. And get rid of any ‘cute’ perches—native birds don’t use them; predators do.

Placing them in the right location is also important. Fortunately there are a number of good guides to help you. The Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife has great information.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has lots of great resources and directions.

Bird houses should be placed with a clear line of flight to the entrance. Placing them with trees or shrubs just a quick wingburst away is required by chickadees and Bewick’s Wrens. They have learned to be cautious going to the nest, and will often come from different branches and directions before entering.

After the season, clean the nest box and leave the side open. If you have wasps in your yard, lightly coat the inside of the roof with soap or wax, and you won’t have to worry about that issue.

Think of snags as Habitat Trees
Pileated Woodpeckers nesting in snag
Photo by John Riegsecker


Once you have your nest boxes up, watch for birds to start investigating. It may take a while, or not. My friend had Chestnut-backed Chickadees within the week of putting up a house, and they’ve been back every year.

Think of snags as Habitat Trees. If you don’t have any, put up a bird house. You and the birds will both be glad.


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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T-birds top the Seagulls 30-13, as Shorewood improves to 4-1 on the year

Sunday, September 30, 2018

#31 Brandon Main #71 Cameron Whitehead #8 Kevin Hirohata plug the gap
Photo by Lisa Hirohata


Everett Veterans Memorial Stadium, Friday, September 28, 2018
As of Game Final - record for next week:
Shorewood (4-1 Overall / 3-1 WesCo South)
Everett (1-4 Overall / 1-3 WesCo South)


School
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
F
Shorewood
0
7
16
7
30
Everett
6
7
0
0
13

Going into the game this week versus the Everett Seagulls, Shorewood coach Brandon Torrey knew the game would be won or lost at the line of scrimmage.

“Everett has a lot of tough kids that never give up. It’s extremely important that we take care of the ball and create a new line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”

#22 Kaden Graves sacks the Everett QB
Photo by Lisa Hirohata
Shorewood has a fairly experienced offense line, anchored by senior Tres Zeigler, but they are extremely undersized when compared to other schools. Same story on the defensive side of the ball - the T-birds often lineup a nose guard who weighs around 190 pounds.

With a smaller line, success will come by blocking angles and pulling lineman in order to create running lanes for the back - seldom will you be able to stuff it down someone's throat in smash mouth football.

Speed becomes the defining factor on the defensive line - you take your quicker lineman and seek to use explosiveness off the ball to avoid getting locked into a block and seek to disrupt the run behind the line of scrimmage.

At the end of the first half - Shorewood was losing the battle at the line of scrimmage. Everett had a cadre of talented and disruptive offensive and defensive lineman and were winning the battle at the point of contact - pushing the T-bird defensive line back a few yards, and overpowering the Shorewood offensive lineman while the Seagulls bull rushed into the backfield.

Coach Torrey is a former offensive lineman, having played at Western Washington University and he must have put something in the halftime gatorade, or truly invoked the need to win the battle upfront, for both the offensive and defensive line came out in the second half and gave the T-birds the spark needed to turn the game around and record a solid victory.

#18 Alex Lim kicks off after a SW touchdown
Photo by Lisa Hirohata
In the 3rd quarter - Everett lined up for a punt around their own 25.

The snap sailed high over the punter's head and rolled to the end zone - the punter, in a moment of panic, tried to cover the ball, but then inexplicably decided to try and kick the ball off the ground.

Safety Shorewood and the score was now Everett 13 - Shorewood 9.

Offensively in the 2nd half - the T-birds went to the air, with senior quarterback David Snell hitting his cadre of sure-handed receivers - putting two TD’s onto the board to include a great catch by junior Spencer Osborn who leaped into the air between two Seagull defenders - brought down the catch and scampered in for a 30 yard touchdown.

Defensively - the T-birds adopted a swarm mentality, with the defensive line getting great pressure on Everett as they fell behind and were forced to go to the air. The Seagull running game which shredded the Shorewood front seven in the first half - had no answer in the second, as the white jerseys and blue numbers of the defense showed yet again, a bend, but not break attitude and nose for the ball.

#15 Kody Carpenter gets a pick six Photo by Lisa Hirohata
The night was capped by a Shorewood secondary pick 6 - their second in the last two games, as junior strong safety Kody Carpenter took the interception back for a 30 yard score.

The Shorewood Thunderbirds are on a roll and won the battle of the birds - as the victory soured Everett’s homecoming celebrations.

A few notes:
  • Shorewood has not started 4-1 since 2002 - also the last time they made it to the week 10 preliminary state play-in game;
  • In Shorewood's 4 victory’s to date - Shorewood has outscored its opponents by 114 points - with an average victory margin of 28 points;
  • Through 5 games - Shorewood has scored more points than they did in their 3 previous full seasons - total points scored for 2017 - 150 / 2016 - 98 / 2015 - 150;
  • Since 1997 - Shorewood is 13-5 against the Lynnwood Royals - next week’s opponent - but have dropped the last 3 meetings - including a 52-6 loss in 2016.

#1 Shorewood fan Nicole Nelson
Photo by Lisa Hirohata
The battle for the top spots continue to shake out at the mid-way point in the season. 

Snohomish sits atop the WesCo 3A South standings after a thrilling 33-27 overtime victory over Shorecrest. 

Snohomish is now 3-0 in league play followed by Shorewood at 3-1.

Shorewood plays Lynnwood next Friday night - October 6, 2018 at 7pm at Shoreline District Stadium.

Lynnwood comes into the game 0-5, but should not be overlooked - the Royals have played competitively all year.

--Aaron Bert



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