Northern Pintail

I was not too close to this Northern Pintail pair on 6 January 2021 at the Nisqually wildlife refuge. I took the photo because it seemed a pretty image. Females choose mates based on male attentiveness and plumage (whiter breasts and more colorful scapulars). Clark et al. 2020 write, “male dominance is a result rather than a cause of female choice.”

Bufflehead Courtship

On 7 January 2021, I watched Buffleheads court in Budd Bay in the Port of Olympia. Two males courted a female, who was clearly attracted to one of the males. The male did nothing to dissuade her, raising his wings at her approach—a typical courtship display.

At her approach, called a Following Display and indicative that the birds are paired, this male raised his head feathers, lowered his head, and directed his white head patch towards the female. The raising of the head feathers greatly increases the size of the white head patch. A few times the first male, swimming with speed, chased off the other male. 

The  male ran across the water, making splashes behind me as he flew low enough to beat the water with his feet—another courtship behavior used to impress potential mates Gauthier (2020).

Trumpeter Swan and Wigeons

A few days ago, I wrote about Ring-necked Ducks feeding alongside Trumpeter Swans on Capitol Lake in Olympia. Dennis Paulson commented on my blog that American Wigeons also take advantage of the swans’ messy eating habits. On 7 January 2021, we found a dozen swans surrounded by wigeons, just as Dennis predicted.

While I was photographing the swans, Erika called to me, “Look! There’s a Eurasian Wigeon!” Sure enough, among the American Wigeons swam at least one Eurasian Wigeon. These much less common birds, at least in North America, breed across the Old World and into Alaska.

American Wigeon

Erika and I went to the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on 6 January 2021. Our goal was to add waterfowl to our new year bird list. We added seven ducks, but missed quite a few others. Among the first we saw were a large flock of American Wigeon loafing and feeding along a grassy roadside.

Later we observed several wigeon bathing during high tide. After splashing in the water, the birds dried off by raising their front ends and flapping their wings. Such bathing serves as a courtship behavior. The wing flapping shows the birds white wing patches and advertises their age and their candidacy of being a successful mate (Mini et al. 2020). Normally the sides of a drake wigeon’s head is iridescent green, but on this beautiful morning, the heads shown bronze.

Canada Jay

On 8 January 2021, after an almost two-year search, Erika and I finally found a Canada Jay in Thurston County.  Our search was hindered by the popularity of the McLane Lake Nature Trail. Often this year we have turned around upon finding a full parking lot—the trail is heavily used by Olympia dog-walkers. Over these two years, Canada Jays were occasionally reported along the trail. This day, four flew high in the trees near a nearby lake.

Nine subspecies of Canada Jay are described. The expected race in Olympia is the Oregon Jay. Note this bird's white the underparts and relatively dark head (most races have mostly gray underparts). Prior to 1944, Oregon Jays were considered to be a distinct species, and today some ornithologists argue that full species status should be reapplied to this population.

Rough-skinned Newt

On 4 January 2021, Erika and I were surprised by the rain letting up, so we took a stroll at the Woodard Bay Preserve northeast of Olympia. In our path, we discovered what we presume to be a Rough-skinned Newt. According to the Burke Museum, these amphibians are found west of the Cascades in Washington—overall the species is found from Alaska to California. These newts are toxic. Touching them can cause mild skin irritation—but eating one (I am not sure why you would eat one) can result in paralysis and/or death! The breeding season in Washington is from December through July. They may make long migrations to breeding ponds. Others breed as larvae in their ponds

Pine Siskin

Early January witnessed an influx of Pine Siskins at our feeders. This particularly handsome siskin posed for a photograph on 5 January 2020. Siskins  seem particularly susceptible salmonellosis at feeders and often succumb to the disease. Some birders stop feeding birds during invasion years. I noted that the siskins I have been banding appear to be emaciated. It was with interest that I read a post on the Washington bird listserv by veterinarian Dave Parent. He wonders if siskins really get sick at feeders and suggests an hypothesis that sick, starving siskins may look to feeders for salvation. He points out that most birds harbor Salmonella, which is not lethal to healthy individuals. Perhaps the onslaught of winter weather, (incessant rain in Washington) and food shortages drive sick birds to bird feeders. Parent concludes that bird feeders should be kept clean to guard against a variety of fugal and other pathogens but that feeders are probably responsible for saving more birds than for killing them.

Tundra Swan—Ring-necked Duck

Trumpeter Swans are increasing on Olympia’s Capitol Lake, We regularly listed four birds during most of December, but, on 29 December 2020, Erika and I counted 11. We took photos of two of them that ventured relatively close to us. Feeding close to the swans, and appearing to follow the larger birds, were four Ring-necked Ducks. It almost looked like some sort of cooperative feeding was afoot. Both species eat aquatic vegetation. We wondered if the swans might be more efficient foragers than the ducks, which have to dive to reach their food. Perhaps the swans are messier eaters, leaving “crumbs" for the ducks to salvage. Another possibility is that the ducks follow the swans to rich feeding areas.

California Quail

Finally a winner for the World’s Worst Bird Photo Contest—there is a California Quail somewhere in this photo—like just about near the center you might see a pale line that runs down the bird’s back. Four quail scurried about the brambles on 31 December 2020 along the Chehalis Bike Trail. One them occasionally called, and I, for once, had the wherewithal to whip out my cell phone and record it: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/292939261. I used the Android app, BirdNet, which can often identify the recordings you make with it. (They say an iOS version is also available.) If you attach these recordings to eBird lists, the files are stored at Cornell’s Macaulay Library.

Rock Wren

Erika and I ended 2020 with a rare bird—a Rock Wren on 31 December along the Chehalis Bike Trail. These wrens are found in western North America, south into Central America. Strays are occasionally reported from eastern states. Rock Wrens can be common breeders in eastern Washington, but very few are seen in any season in the western half of the state. This Rock Wren was first reported on eBird in mid-December, but the one time we ventured to the spot, a farm feed-lot along the tail, way too many birders to be Covid-safe were searching for the bird. When we did find it, the wren was not our objective. We wanted to walk at a nearby conservation area—but that parking lot was jammed full. So we walked down the bike trail instead. We found the Rock Wren exactly where eBird promised.