Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plovers are handsome little birds. Erika and I saw two at the edge of a large flock of Western Sandpipers on the beach near Westport, Washington on 25 September 2021. These plovers nest in northern Canada and winter along the coasts of the United States south to Argentina and Chile. Population estimates are that there are slightly over 200,000 individuals and their numbers appear to be stable (Nol and Blanken 2021).

Sanderling

Erika and I counted a dozen Sanderlings on the beach near Westport, Washington, on 25 September 2021. Most foraged by running on the sand at the edge of the incoming and outgoing waves. This sanderling slept among the large flock of Western Sandpipers I reported on yesterday. Instead of brown and white, non-breeding Sanderlings are clearly gray, black, and white. Sanderlings do not gather in such large flocks as many other sandpipers. The number of Sanderlings is unknown—there may be 300,000 in North America. Nevertheless, Sanderlings breed around the northern hemisphere’s arctic regions and can be seen “on almost any sandy beach, anywhere on the planet!” (Macwhirter et al. 2021).

Western Sandpiper

During our 25 September 2021 beach walk near Westport, Washington, Erika and I listed few birds. An exception were Western Sandpipers. We estimated that we saw 400 above the high-tide mark along the beach. Over twice as many individuals might have been present. One key to identification is their reddish scapular (shoulder) feathers. Western Sandpipers are abundant migrants in western Washington, In some locations they are also common during the winter and they are uncommon in the summer. Western Sandpipers are one of the most abundant shorebirds in the Western Hemisphere, but breed only in western Alaskan and far-eastern Siberian tundra. Most winter along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia and Peru. Others winter from New Jersey to Venezuela. During migration, some stop-over locations host flocks of hundreds of thousands individuals—the total population is estimated to be 3.5 million birds (Franks et al. 2020).

Eccentric Sand Dollars and Blood Stars

On 25 September 2021, Erika and I took a spur-of-the-moment drive to Westport on the Pacific Ocean. The day was sunny and warm, with the weather forecast being for rain during the upcoming week. We do not have too many creatures to report—but any day at the beach is fun. We ended up walking along the beach, seeing little besides two Echinoderms—aka starfish. The first is probably an Eccentric Sand Dollar, Dentraster excentricus, found from Alaska to Baja California—eccentric because the pattern on the back is off-center. My understanding is that this species is the only one found in Washington and Oregon. The starfish may be a Pacific Blood Star—that is my best guess. These starfish is rebounding from near extinction from an unknown wasting disease that struck several years ago. They occur from Alaska to Mexico. Although Echinoderms show considerable variation, all are basically pentaramous, a trait they share with us Chordates. That trait along with aspects of their embryonic development indicate that, among the animals, echinoderms are our not-so-distant evolutionary cousins.

Savannah Sparrow

While I chased shorebirds on 17 September 2021 in Olympia, Savannah Sparrows fed among the rocks and in the grass along the Puget Sound shore. Over the years, at least 28 races of Savannah Sparrows have been named. Today about half of these subspecies are recognized. Molecular research suggests that a few of these races are actually separate, although similar, species—which is one reason why birders should pay attention to subspecies. I have shared the bottom photo before, which may be P. s. brooksi, the race that breeds in the Pacific Northwest. At this time of year, however, P. s. anthinus should be migrating through this area from Alaska or northern Canada. Most brooksi are smaller and paler than the northern race, but you really need them in hand to know for sure.

European Mantis

While at Scatter Creek Recreation area on 21 September 2021, this European Mantis flew up and perched on a Scotch Broom. The mantis’s scientific name, Mantis religiosa, refers to the posture of the first pair of legs, which often look like the insect is praying. Female European Mantises eat their mates, after, during, and sometimes before copulation. Sexual cannibalism is not well understood. Perhaps females require extra nutrition, which the males may or may not be happy to provide. Males are attracted to well-nourished females. European Mantises are found around the world and presumably have been introduced to North America. Some were released in hopes of controlling various other insect numbers, but the mantis rarely becomes common enough to do much good (Wikipedia and Bugguide.net). 

Western Bluebird

Scatter Creek Recreation Area is an upland prairie area about 20 miles south of Olympia. On 21 September 2021, Erika and I found a flock of a half-dozen Western Bluebirds feeding west of the parking area. Typical of the species, the birds perched on low branches and captured insects from the ground. The bluebirds then returned to their perches to consume their prey. As you can see in the last photo, birds often beat larger insects that have hard exoskeletons against the ground or on the bird’s perch. In the summer Western Bluebirds eat mostly insects—in the winter they switch to small fruits and some seeds. Studies show that Western Bluebirds enjoy a wide variety of prey items—crickets, like in these photos, grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, bugs, ants, spiders, wasps and bees, and a host of other arthropods. Snails and even lizards have also been reported as prey items (Guinan et al. 2020). 

Western Bluebirds look somewhat similar to their eastern relatives. They can be told apart by their blue, not chestnut, throats. Often Western Bluebirds sport chestnut backs, unlike the blue backs of Eastern Bluebirds.  

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Erika and I see Red-breasted Nuthatches all year at our bird feeders. This female—note her gray crown—visited on 17 May 2021. I keep hoping one of my banded nuthatches will appear somewhere else. Red-breasted Nuthatches breed from southern Alaska across central Canada to Laborador south through the Rocky and Allegheny Mountains. Northern birds appear to migrate in the fall. High elevation birds may migrate to lower elevations in the winter. Other populations seem to be year-round residents, with some individuals irrupting southward in alternating years. Ornithologists assume these flights are the result of varying food supplies on the breeding grounds. Curiously, no banding studies exist to demonstrate if migrating birds return to their nesting areas or if survival rates differ during irruption years (Ghalambor and Martin 2020).

Great Blue Heron

This Great Blue Heron display long pectoral plumes. These feathers indicate age, as immatures become adults. Fully mature birds have feathers up to a foot long. No doubt the feathers advertise breeding fitness. Erika and I discovered this individual at the Billy Frank Jr National Wildlife Refuge on 13 September 2021.

Short-billed Gull

This year ornithologists declared that the bird formerly known as the Mew Gull is actually two species—Short-billed and Common Gulls. Short-billed Gulls breed across Alaska and Northwestern Canada, south almost to the United States. Common Gulls breed across Eurasia, straying only occasionally to the New World. In the winter Short-billed Gulls migrate and are common residents along our Pacific Coast—a few stragglers remain in the summer. 

The problem is that the two species are extremely difficult to tell apart—“a very complex challenge” according to bird-identification guru, David Sibley. In his blog, Sibley says “there is a lot of variation and a lot of overlap, and you should not identify one of these gulls unless multiple features align with that identification.” Further complicating matters is that Common Gulls that stray to eastern North America are a different race and look different from Russian birds that might turn up in the West. 

Playing the odds, any of these gulls seen in the Pacific Northwest are almost certainly Short-billed Gulls. The gull in this photo, which I took on 17  September 2021 in Olympia, demonstrates this dilemma. The bill is plain yellow, lacking a distinct red spot—typical of Short-billed Gulls. But the head and neck are very pale and almost streaked rather than smudged on the back of the neck—a field mark of Russian races of the Common Gull.