Oceanspray

We finally got around to identifying this white-flowering bush on the edge of our yard—Oceanspray or Ironwood, Holodiscus discolor. Ironwood, though, is a name we usually reserve for an Eastern tree, Ostrya virginiana. By whatever name, Oceanspray is a common understory shrub in the Pacific Northwest and coastal California. Often it appears is recently burned areas, although we suspect our’s is an ornamental  plant. We found it is more wild habitat at the Saint Martin University in Olympia on 28 June, which is where the second photo was taken. Tribes in the area used the wood for tools, spears, arrows, and furniture. 

Pacific Hairy and Downy Woodpecker

Many birds of the Pacific Northwest (although not all) are darker than their eastern relatives. Elsewhere in this blog, I mentioned that, despite their apparent similarity, Hairy and Downy woodpeckers are not closely related. Nevertheless, both woodpeckers are much darker here in Olympia than in Minnesota. In the first photo, the red top of the head is expected in a young, male Hairy Woodpecker, even in eastern birds. But note the gray underparts—these would be bright white further east. The Downy Woodpecker in the second image is even darker. Also compared to eastern birds, both woodpeckers have fewer white spots on their backs. Obviously something favors this melanism, and even unrelated species are responding to this evolutionary pressure. We banded both of these woodpeckers in our Olympia backyard—the Hairy on 1 June and the Downy on 2 June 2019.

Blue-eyed Darner

Erika spied a pair of Blue-eyed Darners on 10 June 2019. These dragonflies hung under a vetch along a trail at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge near Olympia. Readers of this blog may recall that most dragonflies mate with the female collecting semen from the male, while he grasps her by the back of her neck. Dragonflies often fly about in this wheel position. This behavior prevents other males from mating with the female. One of the first things another male does is flush semen from the females with whom they are about to mate.

Blue-eyed Darners are common across much of the western United States, and barely into adjacent Canada and Mexico. They are found in all sorts of wetlands, even venturing into urban areas. They do, however, prefer open, rather than forested, habitat.

Belted Kingfisher

This image of a Belted Kingfisher is another early record, 20 April 2019, from when we first moved to Olympia.  We found it at Woodard Bay Conservation Area. Kingfishers breed across much of the United States and Canada. Some winter wherever water does not freeze, but most migrate, even as far south as northern South America. Despite this wide range, few biological studies are published on the species. Kingfishers specialize on fish, but will also take other aquatic creatures. What birds can’t digest is regurgitated in pellets, making tallies of food items relatively easy to catalog (Kelly and Hamas 2009).

Steller’s Jay

Steller’s Jays breed from Alaska to northern Central America in the Cascades and Rocky Mountains. These jays habituate to humans and are often found near bird feeders or campgrounds. They are common residents in forested areas of Washington. During winter, there is some elevational migration and young birds occasionally wander from breeding areas. Therefore, I am surprised that this Steller’s Jay, checking out our feeders, is the only individual I have listed in our Olympia backyard. Washington populations are not declining. Breeding Bird Surveys indicate Washington populations increased 1.3% from 1966 through 2011 (Walker et al. 2016).

Ring-necked Duck

According to The Olympian, our local newspaper, vandals attempting to rob copper piping from the abandoned Olympia Brewing Company, damaged a transformer. At least 600 gallons of mineral oil spilled into the Deschutes River and Capitol Lake—both great places to search for birds and dragonflies. The state was notified of the spill on 25 February but may have occurred before then. Despite full time, seven days a week cleanup, no completion date is predicted. The cost is estimated to be five million dollars. Erika and I photogrphed this pair of Ring-necked Ducks on Capital Lake on 23 April. Now that summer is upon us, most of the waterfowl have migrated from the area. We trust the environment will be cleaned by next fall. As of this writing, we have seen few dragonflies on the lake.

Read more here: https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article231320438.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article231320438.html#storylink=cpy

Band-tailed Pigeon

After two Band-tailed Pigeons discovered our feeder, I may invest in birdseed futures. These pigeons, the size of Rock Doves, are found from Alaska to South America. In North America, they are found along the Pacific Coast and in the Southwest. The species is found in a wide variety of habitats, from rainforests to cities and farms. Band-tailed Pigeons lay but one egg per clutch, but may complete three nesting cycles per year. Despite what might appear to be dangerously low fecundity, and despite being hunted, Band-tailed Pigeon populations are either steady or only sightly declining (Keppie and Braun 2000).

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallows are such common birds across nearly the whole world, one tends to give them little notice. But they are beautiful, little birds, as you can see in the top photo of one of the first of the season that Erika and I found at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on 23 April 2019. Judging by his tail length, this bird is probably a male. Tail length, along with other traits, indicate evolutionary fitness in both males and females.

The first photo sat in my blogging queue until Erika and I took the following sequence of images at Nisqually on 19 June. This bird was one of four young Barn Swallows begging to be fed. As soon as they spied an adult, all four opened their mouths and fluttered their wings. The adult flew in and, wbile flying, fed the young. I was surprised when the adult almost completely inserted its head in the young bird’s mouth. I suspect few scraps fell from that feeding!

Columbia Tiger Lily

Erika and I found a few Columbia Tiger Lilies during our hike yesterday, 17 June 2019, in one of our favorite places near Olympia, the Mclane Nature Trail—a tract for forest managed by the state, containing a large dragonfly-infested beaver pond. We found the lilies in a clearcut hillside. These pretty flowers are smaller than other species of tiger lilies. The plant grows in western North America, from Montana west to British Columbia and northern California. According to Wikipedia, bulb from these flowers were used by native peoples to spice-up various food items.

American Emerald

This American Emerald photo has waited in my blog queue since 26 April 2019. This species is an early flying dragonfly in Olympia—I found it hanging in the bushes, as typical for an Emerald. One of its characteristics is the thin yellow line at the beginning of the abdomen, This individual is immature. Later its eyes will turn emerald. They prefer forested edge areas, often flying in great numbers. This individual was in our backyad,  American Emeralds are found from Alaska across southern Canada, south to northern California in the west and North Carolina in the east.