Killdeer

One of my last photographs of 2021, a Killdeer on 29 December at Capitol Lake. Although these plovers are common all year in Washington, Erika and I have not seen one since mid-November. This photo is a first for our December collection. Again, The water is warmer than the ambient air temperatures—in the upper 20°s F on this chilly day—so the Killdeer may be warmer belly-deep in the water.

Northern Shoveler

The eBird 50-image in December challenge had Erika and me appreciating even abundant birds. For example, we never really knew how extravagantly beautiful are drake Northern Shovelers. These ducks are abundant winter residents in western Washington, where they also rarely breed. Shovelers breed across much of northern North America and across Asia to Europe. Like many birds, this duck is standing on one foot. We have previously posted that this stance is energetically efficient. The water is actually warmer than the ambient air temperatures—in the upper 20°s F on this chilly 29 December 2021—so the duck might actually be warmer with both feet in the water.
 

Bushtit

Erika and I captured this already banded Bushtit in our backyard on 27 December 2021. These grayish-brown birds appear to be drab until you see them close, where they prove to be subtly elegant. In previous posts, I mentioned that Bushtits travel in large flocks, breed communally, and share their origins with Asian birds. This year we’ve banded over 70 bushtits and ringed birds have been reported to us from about a mile radius of our nets.

Great Blue Heron

Recently I complained of being unable to leave a Great Blue Heron unphotographed. This bird was special at the Billy Frank Jr National Wildlife Refuge on 13 December 2021— image number 67 on my eBird photo quest. (You may recall eBird challenged its membership to capture 50 bird images during December.) Not too surpisingly, various studies suggest that herons and egrets are most closely related to ibis or, somewhat more unexpectedly, to pelicans.

Anna’s Hummingbird

26 December 2021 dumped four inches of snow on us (the all-time record for one day is 14.2 inches). The next night, temperatures dropped to 24° F. Much to Zelda’s (the indoor cat) delight, Erika and I moved the hummingbird feeders under the eaves of the house. Anna’s Hummingbirds quickly rediscovered the feeders. This fluffed-up female obvious felt the cold. Clark and Russell (2020) write that these hummers “Can survive sub-freezing temperatures provided a food source is available, but is likely vulnerable to starvation in such weather. Anna's Hummingbirds can sometimes survive several hours without food, but it seems probable they cannot go an entire day without food. Starvation is likely the major cause of mortality…” 

Belted Kingfisher

On 13 and 21 December 2021 and 21 December 2021, Erika and I saw Belted Kingfishers, perhaps the same individual, at the Nisqually national wildlife refuge. The males are blue-gray and white—the females have the rusty sides. Kingfishers are often heard before they are seen. Click here to listen to a kingfisher audio-bombing my recording of two Ring-billed Gulls on 21 September. The kingfisher is one of the first birds you hear.

Red-winged Blackbird

One of the stranger bird behaviors Erika and I have seen was what this Red-winged Blackbird was doing in the Billy Frank Jr National Wildlife Refuge on 17 December 2021. The bird fed at the base of cattails in the marsh. Instead of flying from plant to plant, the blackbird leapt, about a foot or so, without bothering to open its wings for either fight or balance. The bird appeared to be in perfect health and eventually flew away.

House Finch

The Olympia Christmas Bird Count happened on 19 December 2021. Most readers are familiar with these 15 mile diameter count circles conducted from 14 December to 5 January every year. These world-wide counts are coordinated by the National Audubon Society. Erika and I volunteered to count wherever we were needed and ended up covering a small area northeast of Olympia. Despite limited places to easily park and walk, and a surprising absence of residential bird feeders, we enjoyed our count. We tallied 30 species of common birds, including 14 House Finches—birds we do not see often at home—masquerading as Christmas ornaments.

Eurasian Wigeon

At Capitol Lake in Olympia on 5 December 2021, Erika and I scoped a large flock of ducks.  We delighted to add an Eurasian Wigeon to our list. For some reason I am reminded of “Where’s Waldo?” The errant wigeon is fairly common in the winter in western Washington and swam among hundreds of American Wigeons—it is the duck on the far right in this photo. Actually two other ducks of interest swam among the wigeons. The bird at the lower left side of the image, judging by its warm-rufous head color, is probably a non-breeding plumage male Eurasian Wigeon. The duck with the white patch behind its bill at the center of the photo appears to be a female scaup. It is gray-sided like a Lesser Scaup, but has a head profile reminiscent of a Greater Scaup. At this distance, I am not sure.

Least Sandpiper

On 17 December 2021, Erika and I found a flock of a dozen Least Sandpipers at the Nisqually national wildlife refuge. Least Sandpipers are rare winter residents in western Washington, but are reported all year from the refuge. We were glad to grab an image to add to our eBird December photograph collection. We had not listed any since 11 October 2021. Least Sandpipers are fairly easily recognized by their small size, brown plumage, and yellow legs.