Questionable Stropharia

At the McLane Creek Nature Trail, on 9 November 2021, Erika found a stand of unfamiliar fungus. iNaturalist identified it for us as Stropharia ambigua—the Questionable Stropharia. The name is due to its difficult identification. This species is common in leaf litter and wood chips, usually under conifers in western Washington and in western North America. This fungus grows in cool, damp habitats. Apparently it is less common further east. Experts question if Questionable Stropharia are edible and generally conclude “mistakes can be serious.” They are similar to a number of hallucinogenic and/or dangerously toxic species. Furthermore, apparently people vary in their reactions upon eating this mushroom. The general consensus is that “it’s best to leave this one off the plate” (Healing-mushrooms.net).

Redhead

A few Redheads were reported at Capitol Lake the week before Erika and I found this duck on 9 November 2021. Olympia is the only place where we have seen fewer Redheads than the similar looking Canvasback. Redheads have a more typical duck profile, while Canvasbacks sport a “ski-slope” shaped forehead and bill and have a much paler back. This record is only our third that we have seen in Washington. Wahl et al. (2005) consider the Redhead to be an uncommon migrant and rare breeder in western Washington. The other birds in this photo are Ring-necked Ducks.

Ring-billed Gull

During our last visits to the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Erika and I noticed Ring-billed Gulls’ diving for prey. These photos are from 8 November 2021. I’m sure we’ve seen this behavior before, but not to the extent observed this year. Its almost like the gulls took a correspondence course on diving like a tern, The gulls hover, turn, and power dive, flying into the water. I’d give them a B in their course—they are not as elegant as a tern diving, and they didn't submerge completely under water. But the gulls do get the job done, since they appeared to be successfully catching small fish, Ring-billed Gulls usually stroll for their prey on dry land or swim when they are in the water. Pollet et al. (2020) apparently do not mention, in Birds of the World, diving in these gull.

Fox Sparrow

Finally a day without rain—8 November 2021! Erika and I celebrated with a morning’s stroll in the Billy Frank Jr National Wildlife Refuge. A Fox Sparrow greeted us. Fox Sparrows are relatively uncommon birds at our backyard feeders, but they are secretive and we seldom see them elsewhere. The dark Fox Sparrows in the Pacific Northwest look quite different from Eastern birds. They look like different species, and further genetic studies may prove that what we call Fox Sparrows are actually three or four distinct species. Birders new to the West often have trouble separating Fox from Song sparrows, Song Sparrows here are also very dark birds which are almost the same size but which usually show more of a facial pattern. Song Sparrows, however, sport unicolored, dark bills. 

Pine Siskin

From New Years Day through 27 June 2021, I banded 244 Pine Siskins. This photo was taken on 6 May. Except for a few last month at the Nisqually Refuge, I have not seen a siskin since. I wonder where they are now. Siskins last spring were starving and many died from Salmonellosis, a highly contagious bacterial disease. I released unbanded obviously sick birds. Two or three of my banded birds were recovered in Olympia, but not from more distant locations. During my 25 years of banding in Aberdeen, South Dakota, I banded 13,239 Pine Siskins, more than any other single species and, despite their being absent during some winters. Two recoveries illustrate their nomadic nature--one banded in Aberdeen on 10 March 1985 was found in Connecticut on 11 March 1988; another Aberdeen siskin, banded on 12 December 1992 was recovered near San Francisco, California, on 5 January 1995.

Bald Eagle

November has brought a lot of rain to the Pacific Northwest. Erika and I ventured out during a lull on 3 November 2021 to the forest in southern Mason County a few miles east of Olympia. We did not bring the camera in the rain, but did manage a cell phone photo of two eagles perched high above a stream. Dead and dying fish are preferred by eagles, which, around here, commonly congregate around salmon streams. Although opportunistic foragers, and not adverse to taking birds or mammals—dead or alive—Bald Eagles prefer fish. 

Brown Creeper

Brown Creepers are tiny songbirds that have evolved to behave somewhat like woodpeckers. They crawl up tree trunks, all the while supported by their stiff tails. Erika calls them tree lice. They are not closely related to woodpeckers. They have three toes forward and one back, like most songbirds. Instead of pounding on tree trunks, they glean small arthropods from under the bark and among the other plants growing on the trees. The creepers were traditionally allied with the chickadees and nuthatches. Genetic studies suggest creepers and nuthatches are most closely related to wrens and gnatcatchers (Poulin et al. 2020). Eleven species of creepers are known, but only Brown Creepers are found in the New World. Erika and I found this creeper at the Nisqually national wildlife refuge on 2 November 2021.

Western Grebe

Erika found me three Western Grebes on 1 November 2021 at KGY Point in Olympia. We have seen only a few Western Grebes in Olympia. Local birders tell us that for the pst 30 years Western Grebe numbers have fallen significantly. This observation is supported by LaPorte et al. (2020) who write that the Puget Sound area has witnessed major declines of these birds from the 1970s to 2007—like up to 90% for wintering populations. Fortunately, during this same time, winter numbers have increased along the California coast.

Black Scoter

We enjoyed two birding adventures this week. On 29 October 2021 we finished house cleaning and ran out to Capitol Lake in Olympia. We did not see many birds. We did meet  two birders, a high school student and his grandfather. They confirmed the lack of exotic birds, but mentioned that they were on their way to look for a Black Scoter at KGY Point, jutting out into Puget Sound about a mile from Capitol Lake. When we finished our walk, Erika said, “I suppose you want to look for the scoter.” She needed to ask?

Several birders patrolled the point, including the two birders we just met. “Have you found the scoter?” I asked. “Yes, it is with the Surf Scoters about a quarter-mile away between two buoys.” Even from that distance, the white cheek patches and sides to the neck on the Black Scoter were distinct. In the first photo, the Black Scoter is on the left—a Surf Scoter is to the right. This is the second Black Scoter I have seen in Olympia. This large duck is common enough in the ocean, but is encountered less often in the sound or further east in Washington.

American Avocet

A birding adventure—American Avocet. Last Wednesday, 27 October 2021, Erika and I took a break from the rain and walked in the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. There we introduced ourselves to the leader of the weekly bird walk, led by a near neighbor to us. We did not join the walk, since they spend 7 hours in the field and go a whole lot slower than we do. We were frustrated to learn that the birders found an American Avocet about an hour after we met them, close to the estuary boardwalk, where we had walked and seen nothing.

Then Washington enjoyed an atmospheric river pass through, but reports of an avocet at the refuge continued to appear. So on Saturday, 30 October, we ventured back, specifically to try to see the avocet. The day was cold, beautiful, but very windy. We stopped in the area where the bird had been seen but saw nothing. The tide was low—previous reports were from periods of high tides. Nothing. Being Saturday, the refuge was fairly crowded. An obvious birder walked by with a scope on his shoulder.  I asked sarcastically, "Seen any avocets lately?" He replied, "Yes, right in front of you, among those three Ring-billed Gulls about a third of a mile across the estuary." We would NEVER have seen it on our own.

As you can see, avocets are stunning birds (even more so in the summer, when they sport orange heads and necks). The use their upturned bills to scythe the water surface for various aquatic invertebrates.  They also jab and probe for small fish and seeds. The species is unexpected in western Washington, were it is considered to be a rare, local migrant. Although the species is an uncommon breeder in eastern Washington, this observation was our first in the state.