Shadow Darner

On 27 September 2020, Erika found me a Shadow Darner at Darlin Creek Preserve south of Olympia. I have seen dark darners several times there, but this is my first successful photograph, Most of its field marks, aside from its small abdominal spots, are not clearly shown in this image. This dragonfly, however, is a late-flying species—into December in Oregon (Kerst and Gordon 2011)—that often oviposits in rotten wood (Paulson, pers. com.). This species is found from southern Canada and across must of the United States north of the extreme south.

Summer Swallows

Barn Swallow. Washington: Thurston Co.: Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. 25 June 2020. The white feathers behind the wings may be out-of-place underwing coverts. I have seen other photos of Barn Swallows with similar patches. I can find no mention of swallow’s using these feathers for anything like nest lining or anything.

Tree Swallow. Washington: Thurston Co.: Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. 25 June 2020. Note the dark sides of the face, compared to the Violet-green Swallow below. 

Violet-green Swallow. Washington: Thurston Co.: Rainier. 5 July 2020. An adult (above) and a recently hatched bird (below). I narrowly missed photographing the adult feeding the young bird.

Rufous Hummingbird

I have previously written about the elliptical migration route made by Rufous Hummingbirds. About the last Rufous Hummingbird I recorded here was on 3 September. Now we have several Anna’s Hummingbirds visiting the nectar feeders. I do not know if the Anna’s are the same birds that we have enjoyed all summer, or if these are new birds coming in from elsewhere. 

This Rufous Hummingbird hit the bird net on 6 August 2020. Another species, the Allen’s Hummingbird, is theoretically possible in western Washington. They are found along the coast from southern Oregon into western Mexico. Young birds may make post-breeding dispersals into our area, Although considered by Wahl et al. (2005) to be a casual vagrant here, there is only one known specimen for the species, taken in 1894, from the state. Other records are unconfirmed or mistaken. The two species can be extremely similar. One difference is that the outer tail feather is very narrow (pin-like) in the Allen’s Hummingbird. But my hummer’s outer tail feather is definitely rounded, so I figure it is a Rufous Hummingbird.

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskins are year-round visitors to our backyard. In the summer they bring young to the feeders. This photo was taken on 13 July 2020. Pine Siskins breed in evergreen forests from Alaska across Canada, including the far North Woods of the eastern United States. They are also found in the Rocky Mountains south through Mexico to Guatemala. In the winter they spread out across almost all of our country, southern Canada and Mexico. Across this wide winter range, siskins tend to be of unpredictable occurrence and numbers They can be abundant one year but absent the next. They will even breed south of their normal breeding range after invasion years. Ornithologists assume this variation in distribution is caused by fluctuation in the seed numbers on which they feed (Dawson 2020).

Red-winged Blackbird

I believe these two Red-winged Blackbirds are young birds. Immatures of this species are often very similar to adult females. The first photo, taken on 11 August 2020 at the Nisqually wildlife refuge, shows the yellow in the face typical of immature birds. The second photo, taken on 19 September 2020 at Capitol Lake in OIympia, has pointy tail feathers, as do most immature birds. Red-winged Blackbirds enjoy a variable diet, usually taking more animal matter during the breeding season, and more plant material in the winter. The bird in the second photo appears to be eating alder seeds, which would hardly be surprising, although not specifically mentioned as a food source by Yasukawa and Searcy (2020). These authors, nevertheless, list “tree seeds” in their discussion of Red-winged Blackbird diet.

Northern Shoveler

The ducks are migrating into the Olympia area. At Capitol Lake on 19 September 2020, Erika and I found a dozen Northern Shovelers among twice as many Mallards. This individual’s dark crown and black, tan-edged, back feathers suggest to me that this bird is a male in mostly immature (Basic) plumage. Shovelers breed from Alaska across central Canada and the northern Great Plains. They also nest from Europe across northern Asia. They winter south to northern South America, central Africa, and much of India and southeast Asia.

American Pipit

On 15 September 2020, Erika and I spied an American Pipit at the Nisqually national wildlife refuge. Pipits are sparrow-like birds with small pointed bills. “American” is an odd name for a bird that breeds from central Asia south to Japan and only then across Arctic North America and Alaska south through the Rocky Mountains. Europeans more appropriately call it the Buff-bellied Pipit. Actually this bird was until recently called Water Pipit, found from Great Britain east to North America. Genetic work, however, indicates that the North American birds, along with those in eastern Asia, are genetically distinct from those in the western Old World.

Hendricks et al. (2020) warn that "Subspecific identification of American Pipits is difficult, and should be undertaken with great care.” Four races are known from our continent. The bird in the photograph appears to be the Pacific American Pipit, the race expected here in the Pacific Northwest. Clues to its identity include the faint back streaks, the moderate breast streaking that appears to be almost spotted on the sides, and the yellowish belly.

Golden-crowned Sparrow

On 16 September 2020, I banded a young Golden-crowned Sparrow, one of the few fall migrants I have caught this year in our backyard.  This sparrow is an abundant west coast bird. They breed from Alaska across much of British Columbia. Norment et al. (2020) relate that Western gold miners called this bird “Weary Willie” due to its song, “I’m so tired!”  These authors also relate that “Others called it the "No Gold Here" bird, and disliked it because it repeatedly sang this unpleasant, but often correct, phrase.”

Belted Kingfisher 2

Two more Belted Kingfisher photographs, these taken on 15 September 2020 at the Nisqually national wildlife refuge. Imagine how fine these images would have been on a day without both fog and smoke! These pictures are of the same male kingfisher. This species excavates burrows in which to nest. Although both sexes excavate the site, most of the digging is done by the male.The burrows are usually near water, “but ditches, road cuts, landfills, and sand or gravel pits, sometimes distant from water, are also acceptable. Unusual nest sites include sand dunes, sawdust piles, dredge spoils, mud slides formed by beaver, a furrow in a plowed field, and holes in dead trees and stumps” (Kelly et al. 2020). Burrows extend a couple of meters into the substrate and are unlined. 

Glaucous-winged Gull

Erika and I found what appears to be a Glaucous-winged Gull at the Billy Frank Jr. National Wildlife Refuge on 14 August 2020. This gull breeds along the coasts of the North Pacific from Russia to Washington and northern Oregon. The species winters south to Japan and Baja California. Elsewhere I have written about the frustration of gull identification in Puget Sound, where Glaucous-winged and Western gulls massively hybridize, resulting in young with every imaginable mixture of field marks. The hybrids even have their own name, Olympic Gulls, but you don’t get credit for either bird when you report the hybrids on eBird. This situation is further complicated by Glaucous-winged Gulls hybridizing with Herring Gulls in Alaska. These birds also migrate down the Pacific Coast, but I have yet to feel confident that I have seen either a Herring Gull or one of the Alaskan hybrids here in Olympia.