California Darner

California Darner, Rhionaeschna californica. Washington: Thurston Co.: Olympia. 16 April 2020. Immature male. My first drangofly of 2020. This species is, indeed, one of the first dragonflies to flt in the spring. Thanks to Dennis Paulson for ID confirmation.

Killdeer

Despite Killdeer’s being fairly common all year in Thurston County, Erika and I this year did not find this shorebird until 8 April. Migratory and resident populations inhabit western Washington. Three birds foraged and rested along the shell-strewn mudflat where Schneider Creek enters Olympia’s Budd Bay. There is a small overlook here that is usually deserted, making it ideal for these days of social distancing.

Arctic Sweet Coltsfoot

In Kennedy Flats, on 7 April 2020, Erika and I found what we take to be Actic Sweet Coltsfoot, Petasites frigidus. Coltsfoot is a Composite (Asteraceae) found in northern regions of both hemispheres. In western North America, it reaches down to California. This plant flowers in early spring and then produces large leaves during the summer. It prefers moist, shaded ground, often near streams or springs. Wikipedia maintains that the leaf stalks and flowers are edible but, because of toxic alkaloids, consumption should be very limited. We kind of think this statement implies that coltsfoot should be considered to be inedible.

Scotch Broom

Scotch Broom, Cytisus scoparius) is an invasive plant in western Washington. We found several of these shrubs in Kennedy Flats west of Olympia on 7 April 2020. This plant is in the Pea Family, Fabaceae, and is native to Europe. Now it grows in India, South America, Australia, New Zealand and western North America. You can find it along roadsides and in pastures and disturbed areas. Scotch Broom out-competes native herbs and young trees, which results in loss of grasslands and open forests. The seeds are toxic to livestock. In Washington the distribution, transport, or selling of this plant is illegal (nwcb).

Horned Grebe

Erika and I watched a Horned Grebe dive at the Bremerton Ferry on 14 February 2020. Grebe legs are so far back on their bodies that they can't walk on land. Their legs propel them into and through the water. They have lobed toes, which act as paddles on their back strokes and dives, but which fold into streamlined blades when moved forward.

Grebes are usually thought to be closely related to loons. Although ornithologists are not in complete agreement, many current studies suggest grebes are actually very closely related to flamingos! These morphological and genetic data suggest that these two apparently disparate families should be considered to be descended from the same ancestor and are, in fact, in the the same order of birds (Winkler et al. 2020),

“Pink” Moon

Last night, 7 April 2020, the moon’s orbit brought it closer to the earth than it will be for the rest of the year. The moon lit up our backwoods. The resulting supermoon, the frst full moon of the spring, is often called the Pink Moon, since Phlox subulata, or Moss Pink, blooms in the early spring. Other ;names include the "sprouting grass moon" or "egg moon,” Blue moons occcur when two full moons occur in the same month, which will happen this October (CNN).

Western White-ribboned Carpet Moth

A sure sign of spring, several Western White-ribboned Carpet Moths flitted about the garden on a sunny, 60 degree afternoon on 5 April 2020. When flying, these small moths looked mostly white. Their forewings, however, are exquisitely patterned. This moth found across much of western North America.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet vs Hutton’s Vireo

I was surprised at how few times I’ve posted about Ruby-crowned Kinglets, which are common birds in both Washington and Minnesota. So I made sure to take this top photograph when I banded a female Ruby-crowned Kinglet on 3 April 2020. Much less common on Washington and absent from Minnesota is the Hutton’s Vireo. I took the bottom photo on 16 December 2019.

Sibley (2014) writes that these two species are “strikingly similar.” Not only do they look alike, they behave the same. I don’t think they are that hard to identify in the hand. The kinglet has an almost completely black, thin, pointed bill. The vireo’s bill is somewhat thicker, paler, and hooked at the end. Furthermore, the vireo is a stubbier bird. The vireo’s head appears to be slightly flatter in profile, while the kinglet’s head is smaller and rounder. These traits are very hard to see in the field. Erika began to notice that birds we called kinglets seemed greener backed than others with more grayish-green. We suspect kinglet backs are subtlety brighter than vireo backs. The two birds have different songs, but they are hard to see as they sing and both are quiet in the bird net. See also my previous post.

Pacific Wren

Although I have banded a couple in our backyard, I can’t really tell how common Pacific Wrens are around here. I don’t think I could take you out to and I have banded a couple in our backyard. I don’t think that I could take you and and promise that we could find one. Even when you do see this scretive bird, like this one at the Woodard Bay Natural area on 3 March 2020, the wren is briefly visible, but disappears before the automatic focus kicks in. If we do search, we may have to be content to hear one singing from the dense tangles of Old Growth Forest. Here is an interesting discussion of their song.

Hooded Merganser

I have been making a slight effort to photograph pairs of ducks. Here are a pair of Hooded Mergansers that Erika and I found at the Tumwater Historical Park on 5 March 2020. These ducks produce single broods. These birds nest in tree cavities in bird boxes. Females often select breeding sites the summer before they pair.  Pairs form in November. Nesting season depends on location, with southern birds beginning before northern ones—late February to mid-April in Washington. Males abandon the nest as incubation begins and only the females care for the  hatchlings. The females abandon the young after about five weeks (Dugger et al. 2020).