Virginia Rail

On 20 May 2020 at the nearby McLane Creek Nature Tail, Erika and I were attacked by a pair of Virginia Rails. We thought we saw several young swim away from us at the adults squawked. For once I thought to record the ruckus with the BirdNet app on my cell phone. The result appears on my eBird list for the day—click here.

Black-headed Grosbeak

On 23 May 2020, we banded a pair of Black-headed Grosbeaks in our Olympia backyard. The first photo is of a male, the second is a female. Black-headed Grosbeaks are common Western birds that interbreed with Rose-breasted Grosbeaks where their ranges overlaps. The males look quite distinct, but the females can be similar. Note that the female tend to have a much less streaky breast.  

During our traels, we often hear Black-headed Grosbeaks singing.They sound to me like a jazzed-up Amerian Robin.  Males sing for territorial defense. Females usually sing a toned down version of the male song. Female song is used to communicate with mates and nestlings. Curiously, females occasionally sing full male song, "apparently to deceive mates about the presence of intruders and force greater nest attentiveness” (Ortega and Hill 2020).

Vanilla-leaf

Vanilla-leaf, Achlys triphylla is in the family Berberidaceae. This wildflower is found along the western teir of states, from British Columbia to northern California. The species is said to be ubiquitous in western Washington. The flowers sprout from runners along the forest floor. Dried leaves are supposed to smell like vanilla. I crushed a fresh leaf, but it just smelled like fresh foliage. Dried leaves are occasionally used as mosquito repellent, but I can not vouch for that claim. A similar species in the same genus also grows in Japan.(Wikipedia). Erika and I noticed Vanilla-leaf in several local areas—this is from McLane Creek Nature Trail on 20 May 2020.

Solomon’s Seals

Erika and I try to take daily walks along area natural areas. One of our favorites is the McLane Creek Nature Trail. When we visited about two weeks ago, we had to share the trail with way too many people—most without virus masks and some not respecting safe distances. On that trip, however, we did take two wildflower photos. Both were out of focus. Early morning on 20 May 2020, being drizzling seemed like a good bet for a day without other people. We rediscovered both wildflowers, both lillies closely related to Solomon’s seals.

The first is Smith's Fairybells (aka Largeflower Fairybells) Disporum smithii. This flower is native to western North America from Vancouver Island in British Columbia south to central California. It grows in shady forest and woodland. The second wildflower is Star-flowered False Solomon’s Seal, Maianthemum stellatum. It is native across much of North America, from Alaska to California to North Carolina and Newfoundland, plus northern Mexico.

Western Tanager

Just a couple of days ago we reported seeing Western Tanagers and complaining that the bird we photographed did not have much red on its head. Who knew how soon we would find a bright, red-headed bird. Yesterday, 23 May 2020, we banded three tanagers in our Olympia backyard. The first bird is a male, the second is a female. These birds are common but relatively inconspicuous across most of western North America. The variation in the amount of red in male Western Tanager heads is well known but its cause is not understood. It does not vary with age of the adult, but diet is probably involved (Hudum 2020).

Anna’s Hummingbird

While Erika and I watched the Western Tanager reported in my last post, we witnessed odd behavior by an Anna’s Hummingbird. The bird made repeated passes at the Western Tanager, usually flushing it from the tanager’s perch. Anna’s Hummingbirds are very aggressive. When these hummingbirds display, they often plummet towards a female. Occasionally the males dive towards other birds perched in their territories (or even towards humans). Ornithologists are not sure why the hummers dive at other species. Some males will dive at nearly any bird. Other males are more selective, diving only toward female Ann’s Hummingbirds. Discrimination may come with age or individual levels of aggressiveness (Clark and Russell 2020). We witnessed this behavior on 18 May 2020 at a forest opening along a logging road in Kennedy Flats in Mason County west of Olympia.

Western Tanager

I am enjoying using BirdNet, an app that identifies bird calls that you record on your cell phone. So long has you have a strong Internet signal, you get a quick response, often giving you a species name, occasionally a list of two or three ranked possibilities. BirdNet’s first suggestion is usually correct. Reminiscent of Marvin, the depressed android in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the app notes how likely its identifications are correct. A wide range of self deprecations seem to exist, ranging from “highly unlikely” to “almost certain.”

On 19 May 2020, Erika and I heard an unfamiliar bird song from the forest along a logging road in Kennedy Flats in Mason County just west of Olympia. BirdNet announced that the bird was a Western Tanager, but considered this conclusion to be unlikely. A short distance up the road, we found three Western Tanagers, two males and a female, that flew up and began circling us. The male in these images, perhaps defending a territory, repeatedly landed on a tall, dead, small tree. Apparently this tree was also claimed by a male Anna’s Hummingbird, which persistently dove at the tanager, chasing it to the edge of the woods. I will share a photo of the hummingbird in tomorrow’s post.

Although these tanagers are common in western North America, these are the best images I have ever taken of the species. The amount of red on Western Tanagers’ heads varies among individuals. I look forward to finding a male with a completely red head. Finally, I should mention that the Western Tanager song sounds similar gutteral American Robin. BirdNet is a good way to learn bird calls.

Western Red Columbine

Western Red Columbine, Aquilegia formosa is similar to Eastern Red Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis. The two species’ ranges meet at the center of the continent. This native wildflower grows across much of the west and is found from coastal to alpine meadows. Erika and I found this columbine at the Woodard Bay Preserve near Olympia on 18 May. Aquilegia refers to the spurs above the petals, which resemble eagle talons. Formosa is Latin for beautiful. The plant attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. Some Native Peoples ate nectar as candy (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center). Just for the record, the second photo, taken near Northfield, Minnesota, is an image of an Eastern Red Columbine.

Purple Finch

Two races of Purple Finch are recognized in North America—the Eastern and the Western purple finch. The few birds I have banded in our Olympia backyard should be the western subspecies, which breeds from British Columbia to northern Baja California. Western birds have more olive-green in their plumage. Western Purple Finches also have their outer primary feathers longer than their fourth outer wing feathers. I still need to confirm the primary length issue, but this bird does seem somewhat olive between the dark streaks on its back.

Northern Bluet

Dennis Paulson assures us that this dameselfly is a Northern Bluet. We found just one flying along a forest trail on 10 May 2020 at the Darlin Creek Preserve just south of Olympia. This species is often common but hard to tell from a Boreal Bluet. Many observers combine the two species into one, calling both NoBo Bluets. If you enlarge this photo and look at the upper terminal abdominal appendage, you can see that has a tiny, sharp spine, The same structure is oval on a Boreal Bluet and looks a bit like a shark’s fin on another similar damselfly, the Familiar Bluet.