Striped Meadowhawk

We found this Striped Meadowhawk on 6 September 2019 on Orcas Island after we discovered the White-faced Meadowhawk described in my last post. The two dragonflies look similar, but we noted the obvious yellow stripes on the sides and top of this species’s abdomen. Oten very common, Striped Meadowhawks are found across most of western North America. Paulson (2009) writes that males often set up territories over dry, grassy, weedy basins near water. They often lay their eggs on the ground, hoping the area will later flood. They may perch on the ground, like this one. 

White-faced Meadowhawk

We found a White-faced Meadowhawk in our Orcas friends’ garden on 6 September 2019. Identification took an embarrassingly long time, since the whote face and red abdomen are diagnostic. This dragonfly is common across most of southern Canada and the northern United States. This ode was common in Erika’s Northfield, Minnesota, garden. Here in the West, the species is often found in mountain forests, where they can be “superabundant” (Paulson 2009). Although White-faced Meadowlarks are almost never found right on the Pacific Coast of the United Stetes, numerous records from Vancouver Island, BC, exist. To our surprise, our record appears to be a first for Washington’s San Juan County (Odonata Central).

Turkey Vulture

An adult Turkey Vulture and its young stood in the grass along an Orcas Island roadside on 6 September 2019. I am not sure what they were doing there—probably feeding on roadkill, although possibly the red-headed adult was feeding the young bird. Both birds flew up to nearby trees, which supports the roadkill hypothesis. The birds could have been waiting our departure before returning to a feast. We don’t see vultures very often in Olympia, but they appeared to be common on Orcas.

Orcas Island

Erika and I spent the weekend with friends on Orcas Island—a bautiful and remote location. Verizon welcomed us to Canada, although we had our feet firmly planted in the United States. Granted we were north of nearby Victoria, BC. We enjoyed an excellent time, although the birds and dragonflies were not very cooperative. Images will follow over the next few days.

Common Merganser

In the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on 22 August 2019, Erika and I watched a large flock of Common Mergansers feed cooperatively. These ducks swam in a loose line, with birds in the rear splashing the water as they tumbled forward and leap-frogged the birds in the front. The whole scene was chaotic, but the flock slowly moved forward, driving their prey ahead of them. Adding to the tulmult, several gulls scavenged overhead, stealing fish from the merganser flock.

Townsend’s Warbler

On 2 September 2019 I banded an immature male Townsend’s Warbler. Only a few days ago, on 27 August, I waxed eloquently over the beauty of the female of this species. At the time, I indicated males were even more striking.  See what you think.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Recently fledged Golden-crowned Kinglets, like the first bird banded on 10 June 2019, presented me with an identification challenge. I had never seen this species with no color in its crown. It took me several days to come up with a name for this bird. The Sibley guide, however, does illustrate this plumage. The second photo was taken on 4 September 2019. This bird is molting from its fledgling plumage into its first basic (winter) garb. I have never banded birds in Golden-crowned Kinglet breeding territory, thus even this older bird is like nothing I have seen before—even though identification in this case was no problem. The few orange feathers appearing in its crown indicate this kinbglet is a male.

Glaucous-winged Gull

Watching the salmon run with us on 1 September 2019 at the mouth of Capitol Lake were two immature gulls. These birds fed on barnacles or mussels on nearby bridge supports and appeared to take no interest in the fish. Gull identification is always sort of tricky, expecially here in Puget Sound. Here the ranges of Western and Glaucous-winged gulls overlap—Westerns for the south and Glaucous-winged from the north— and the two “species” massively hybridize. In this hybrid swarm, almost no genetically pure birds exist. Frustratingly for birders, these “Olympic” Gulls can not be definitively counted as either species, so neither is counted on our lists. (You would think, by seeing one hybrid, you would get credit for both species.) An exception to this dilemma may be immature Glaucous-winged Gulls, which sport noticeably pale-colored primary feathers.

The Salmon are Running

Chinook and Coho salmon are swimming up Puget Sound and into the Deschutes River in Olympia on 1 September 2019.  A small dam separates the salty sound from fresh-water, Capitol Lake. Without even bringing up the specter of pollution, the fish face survival challenges from Harbor Seals and Ospreys. Cormorants and gulls, scavengers or outright predators, line the shores. People take salmon from the Sound, and Native People take a quota from the river. Milt and roe are collected from some and transported to a nearby fish hatchery below Tumwater Falls. Apparently salmon can not make it over the falls, despite a rather elaborate fish ladder, thus our run is not of historic or evolutionary significance.

Autumn Meadowhawk

This Autumn Meadowhawk landed in Erika’s Olympia garden on 28 August 2019. Bad news. These dragonflies are about the last to emerge—a sure sign that autumn is around the corner. Dennis Paulson assures me, however, that odonates here in Washington “carry on through October, a few even into November, if there’s warm enough weather.” Autumn Meadowhawks were common in late summer in Erika’s Minnesota garden. The species has a curious range, breeding in the Northwest and in eastern North America, with few records in-between. Field marks include their yellowish-brown legs, and clear, amber-tinged wings. Females, like this one, have a ventral, triangular plate at the end of their abdomen. Males have brown bodies and bright red abdomens.