Hudsonian Whiteface

On a warm, sunny 29 April 2919, Erika and I explored the hiking trails in the McLane Creek Nature Trail Pond, located southwest of Olympia. The weather is still a bit cool for dragonflies, and we only saw one. We became disoriented and hiked a short distance up the foothills behind the ponds. In an old clearcut area, maybe five years old and very brushy, a very small dragonfly flew ahead of us, landing low in the trailside undergrowth. If you look closely, you may notice that the black spots on the hind wings have pale veins—a trait unique to the Hudsonian Whiteface. Males and some females are reddish. This yellow-spotted female does sport a few anterior spots with pale orange tinge. The spots are also wider than in other whitefaces.

Hudsonian Whitefaces are found from Alaska and across Canada, south to central California, Nevada, Michigan and New Jersey. Females wander from their acetic, boggy ponds and are often found away from water in forest clearings (Paulson 2009). This whiteface is the first I have ever encountered.

Pioneer Violet

A backyard flower—I assume it is Viola glabella, the Pioneer or Stream Violet. This common, native wildflower inhabits the western United States, Canada and northeastern Asia. It is a shade-loving plant, often found under conifer forests. The dark lines on some of the petals serve as nectar guides for pollinating insects. Young leaves are said to be edible, but the flowers can cause diarrhea (Wikipedia).

Swift Forktail

When Erika and I arrived in Olympia, Washington, we knew one of the early flying damselflies is the relatively uncommon Swift Forktail. Often they are gone by midsummer. After three days of searching grassy areas near area ponds, on 26 April we found a couple of these forktails in our own, dry, backyard. They flew low to the ground, often landing on dandelion and other leaves. Their relatively extensive blue tail tips often alerted us to the forktail’s location, This habitat surprised me, since Swift Forktails are supposed to prefer clear water with lily pads. Paulson (2009) assures us that this speciess also perches on the ground more often than do other forktails. Swift Forktails are found from southern British Columbia to northern California.

Surf Scoter

On 9 April 2019, Erika and I took a pleasant stroll along a rainforest trail at the Evergreen State College. The trail ended at a small beach along Eld Inlet of Puget Sound. A pair of Surf Scoters swam among much smaller Buffleheads. Surf Scoters breed across northern Canada and winter off the coasts of North America. Pairs often migrate together to breeding sites. After a few weeks, males depart to coastal molting sites. Only the females incubate the nests. At sea, scoters eat bottom-dwelling invertebrates.

California Darner

On 24 April 2019, I found my first dragonfly of 2019. This California Darner flew in circles about six feet from the ground in a clearing in our backyard in Olympia, Washington. Occasionally it landed in brush piles or bushes at the edge of the lawn. This relatively small darner is found across wide areas of the western United State and in southwestern Canada.

The day was warm and sunny. I wandered from the house, despite having a long list of chores. When I saw the darner, I ran back inside for my camera. I relocated the dragonfly, onbly to discover my camera’s battery was completely spent. Back to the house for a fresh battery. I was only able to capture a couple of images before the dragonfly flew.

The California Darner is a new species for my list. I was searching for one, since I knew that this dragonfly is one of the first darners to fly in the spring. By mid-summer they become uncommon, replaced by later species (Paulaon 2009). This individual is an immature female. Dennis Paulson writes me that they often occur surprisingly far from the ponds in which they breed.

Wilson’s Warbler

When I banded this male Wilson’s Warbler on 24 April 2019, I knew this Olympia bird looked different from the Eastern birds. It seemed brighter yellow, had a huge black cap, and the forehead sported an orange tinge. All of these traits suggest the race Cardellina pussila chryseola, which breeds in coastal lowlands from southwestern British Columbia to southern California. Overall, the species nests across Canada and the western United States. Western populations show mDNA sequence diversions from eastern birds. Across their range, Wilson’s Warblers appear to be declining, presumably due to destruction of riparian habitat (Ammon and Gilbert 1999).

Green-winged Teal

Erika and I took this photo of a Green-winged Teal at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on 30 March 2019. The teal is seining the marsh mud for tiny animals like nematodes, ostracods or copepods that live along the mud surface. The edges of Green-winged teal bills have fine combs to strain their prey from the water. 

But seining is not the only way that Green-winged Teal capture prey. Overall this species enjoys an opportunistic diet, which includes “seeds of sedges, grasses, and aquatic vegetation; aquatic insects and larvae, molluscs, and crustaceans.” Although they generally eat smaller prey than other ducks, they are not adverse to foraging in winter fields of corn, rice, or other crops (Johnson 1995).

The blue sides of this teal’s head are a bit strange—they should be green. Birders, however, know to be weary of iridescent duck plumage, which notoriously reflects different colors depending on the sun’s position.

Intergrade Flicker

Northern Flickers come in two forms—Yellow-shafted Flickers in the East and Red-shafted in the West. Because the races interbreed where their ranges overlap, these flickers are thought to be the same species. I have always known that this hybrid zone runs across the Great Plains. I was surprised when I banded this apparent hybrid on 15 April 2019 in our Olympia backyard. This female has but a trace of the red stripe which should be prominent on the back of the head on a Yellow-shafted bird. But, on the other hand, you can barely see on this photo that the shafts of this bird’s wing feathers are yellow, not red.  This bird appears to be an intergrade flicker.

Actually I should not be so surprised to find a hybrid flicker in Olympia. After running north/south through the Great Plains, the hybrid zone veers northwest, reaching coastal, southeastern Alaska. Flickers migrating south from that region and from central Alberta and central British Columbia undoubtedly find their way to western Washington during the winter. Wahl et al (2005) write that hybrid flickers are common in winter in the state.

Least Sandpiper

Least Sandpipers are very common migrants over most of the United States. The species breeds from Alaska across northern Canada. Most winter in northeastern South America. They are recognized by their small size, brown plumage, and yellowish legs (which can pass unnoticed if they are muddy). Erika and I photographed this bird on 15 April 2019 at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge near Olympia, Washington.

Greater Yellowlegs

Not all the birds of Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge are hard to see—take this Greater Yellowlegs we photographed on 15 April 2019. This species nests on the groungd in “inhospitable, mosquito-ridden muskegs” across central Canada and southern Alaska. As a result, this shorebird’s breeding biology is relatively unstudied. Although often a solitary bird, Greater Yellowlegs are, nevertheless, common across North and South America during migration and winter. The species consumes invertebrates and small fish (Elpick and Tibbitts 1998).