April 25, 2014

Duration of Visit: 9:45am-3:15pm
Weather: Slightly overcast but sunny most of the day. Mid to high 60s.

Map of Union Bay for Reference: CLICK HERE

Species count was 41: robin, spotted towhee, black-capped chickadee, brown creeper, barn swallow, Virginia rail, tree swallow, violet-green swallow, double-crested cormorant, bushtit, mallard, green-winged teal, ring-necked duck, American coot, bald eagle, Wilson's snipe, American crow, northern shoveler, American wigeon, bufflehead, pied-billed grebe, yellow-rumped warbler, marsh wren, northern flicker, song sparrow, Anna's hummingbird, Canada goose, European starling, red-winged blackbird, gadwall, GBH, Savannah's sparrow, house finch, golden-crowned sparrow, killdeer, rock dove, Steller's jay, red-tailed hawk, cinnamon teal, organge-crowned warbler, common yellowthroat

Notes from the day:

After having guests with me for the last few weeks on my bird walks, I have to admit that it was really nice to be flying solo again today. When I was with my guests, I'd feel weird telling them to hang tight for 45 minutes while I observe the shovelers interact with one another on the pond. So I really haven't had an opportunity to observe behaviors on extended sits until today.

The walk's predominant theme was babies. They were everywhere and many species were out flaunting their young in the warm sun. It's funny since I was just here 5 days ago and didn't see any young - except for the Anna's. The natural world and it's cycles truly are an amazing phenomenon.

I came across my first group of ducklings in Yesler Cove. They stuck close to their mother and she was doing a good job of keeping them near the edge of the pond where there was plenty of cover.

Soon after the duckling encounter, I came across a group of goslings dining on grass seed heads with their parents watching intently nearby. One parent would feed while the other would stand guard over the family with it's neck extended. I wouldn't want to be a predator trying to snatch away one of the goslings. Canada geese can be incredibly mean and aggressive when they want to be.

As I followed an orange-crowned warbler sound that I had heard in brush north of the Southwest Pond to see if I could get a sighting, I was surprised to what I found. A male northern flicker flew right above me and began to preen for a few minutes. I was super happy to get to observe one of my favorite birds from such a close distance. Much to my surprise, it got better when the female flew in and perched right next to him. Soon after, he mounted her and I was able to witness a rare mating moment. I was even able to snap a photo.

I was fortunate to witness a pair of red-winged blackbird males performing courtship displays for a female near southeast pond. They were taking turns stretching out their wings perpendicular to their head so as to flash their bright red and organge colors to the female. They ended up spotting me and decided to put their dance temporarily on hold. I guess they like their privacy.

In the past few weeks, the violet-green swallows were the predominant swallow species feeding over the ponds, lake and meadows. Today, I believe I only saw one violet green the entire day. Both the tree and barn swallows were heavily concentrated in various places along the main trail. Here was a tree swallow that took to one of the gourd nests near the greenhouse.

The wood ducks have been nowhere to be found for about 3 or 4 weeks now. Their young are precocial so almost as soon as they hatch, they jump to the ground from an elevated nesting cavity and head towards their mother on the water. According to the Birder's Handbook, incubation time for wood duck eggs can last up to 37 days. So I'd like to think that I'm a week or two from seeing wood duck ducklings. Fingers crossed.

I saw my first least sandpiper of the year along the shoreline of the Main Pond. It was foraging right alongside a killdeer and since it was about half it's size, I initially thought it was a killdeer chick. Upon closer inspection, I was able to determine that it was either a semipalmated or least sandpiper due to it's plumage and body size. Once I got in better light, I noticed the greenish yellow legs, which is a giveaway for a least sandpiper (the semipalmated's legs are black). I wonder if there is a specific symbiotic relationship between the sandpiper and the killdeer? They seemed to follow one another fairly closely. I'll make sure to study this behavior more closely if I'm able to witness it again.

Here is another picture of that same sandpiper with one of it's legs tucked up against it's belly to conserve heat. It looked as if it only had one leg at first glance but this is a common sandpiper behavior.

It was amazing to experience all of the new life at Union Bay today. I can't wait to do it again next week.

April 16, 2014

Duration of Visit: 10:45am-2:15pm
Weather: Beautiful day overall. Mostly sunny and in the 60s.

Map of Union Bay for Reference: CLICK HERE

Species count was 43: robin, spotted towhee, dark-eyed junco, black-capped chickadee, brown creeper, American goldfinch, tree swallow, violet-green swallow, double-crested cormorant, bushtit, mallard, green-winged teal, ring-necked duck, American coot, bald eagle, Wilson's snipe, American crow, northern shoveler, American wigeon, bufflehead, pied-billed grebe, yellow-rumped warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, Bewick's wren, marsh wren, northern flicker, song sparrow, Anna's hummingbird, Canada goose, European starling, red-winged blackbird, gadwall, GBH, golden-crowned kinglet, Savannah's sparrow, house finch, golden-crowned sparrow, killdeer, rock dove, Steller's jay, hooded merganser, brown-headed cowbird.

Notes from the day:

Today I took a little different approach to birding at the Fill since I was with my students from Alderleaf. Typically, I prefer to find high activity spots and sit for prolonged periods of time to allow the birds to relax and resume baseline behavior. When in a group, it's rare that everyone has enough patience to sit for long enough to be able to enjoy the birds when relaxed. So I essentially just took the approach of reviewing where the different species were located throughout the area and what specific behaviors that they've been demonstrating as of late.

One great benefit of being in a group was that we had a lot of eyes and birds were harder to miss. One of the students spotted a Cooper's hawk perched mid canopy in Yesler Swamp. I probably wouldn't have spotted it on my own. It was also the students who located the first pair of cinnamon teals to arrive for the year. We spotted these two on the Main Pond. They just arrived here from their wintering grounds in South America. I'm expecting to see the blue-winged teals within the coming weeks who are travelling from just a little farther south.

The mallards truly are the bravest of all the ducks. At least here at Union Bay. For some reason today I was able to get closer to them than I ever have before. Maybe it's because they've expended so much energy in courting, nesting and territorial defense that they aren't as quick to move as they once were? Here's a picture of one of the students hand feeding a female mallard near the Southwest Pond.

Another killdeer mating pair (maybe it's the same pair from last year) has nested in the tall grasses in the the meadow directly to the west of the Main Pond. I didn't get to witness it myself, but another group of students was able to observe one of the killdeer do a broken wing display. The broken wing display behavior is one typical of birds which nest on the ground near open areas. Then intent is that the bird pretending to have a broken wing is trying to lure you away from it's nest by becoming an easy target for a predator. The white-crowned sparrow also performs the same behavior.

The baby Anna's hummingbird in the cherry tree near the Turtle Logs has almost grown bigger than the nest. They typically only stay in the nest for between 2-3 weeks so this is probably one of the last times I'll get to see it here. I've had a chance to watch this little guy since it's first days, thanks to another birder who pointed out the nest location.

One of the other teachers heard a common yellowthroat off the main trail near Shoveler's Pond. As you may have figured, they are elusive little guys and didn't show themselves. They typically sing their easy to recognize, simple song over and over from within cover. Let's put it this way, I've heard about 15 of them so far this year and have only seen one and that was only for a split second.

A house finch nest had fallen to the ground just north of the Turtle Logs - just across the trail from the hummingbird nest. It seemed however that they had built a new one already since one was bringing nesting material back to the same spot where the previous one fell (about 15 feet up within a ledge on a large tree). Here is one of the student's displaying the nest.

Overall, it was a great day with the students and a few of them even got the birding bug. I also found out through them that you can rent a canoe for $9 an hour and I think that one of these weeks I am going to rent one to get a different perspective. Also, I'd be able to observe some areas of the Fill that I typically wouldn't be able to get to.

April 12, 2014

Duration of Visit: 9:30am-2pm
Weather: It went from sunny to overcast throughout the day but it was beautiful out overall. There was a brief time in the afternoon where it got into the high 60s..

Map of Union Bay for Reference: CLICK HERE

Species count was 43: robin, spotted towhee, dark-eyed junco, black-capped chickadee, brown creeper, American goldfinch, tree swallow, violet-green swallow, double-crested cormorant, bushtit, mallard, green-winged teal, ring-necked duck, American coot, bald eagle, Wilson's snipe, American crow, northern shoveler, American wigeon, bufflehead, pied-billed grebe, yellow-rumped warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, Bewick's wren, marsh wren, northern flicker, song sparrow, Anna's hummingbird, Canada goose, European starling, red-winged blackbird, gadwall, GBH, golden-crowned kinglet, Savannah's sparrow, house finch, golden-crowned sparrow, killdeer, rock dove, Steller's jay, hooded merganser, red-breasted merganser, brown-headed cowbird.

Notes from the day:

For the second week in a row, I searched for the brewer's blackbirds near the helipad but neither heard or saw them today. However, in the slough near the helipad, I did get to see this female hooded merganser swim by me. I should appreciate them while they're around because they should begin nesting soon up in tree cavities, much like the wood ducks have already done.

The American wigeons have been decreasing in numbers every week for the last month or so and today I only saw one all day long. It was swimming pretty far out on the lake amongst a mixed flock. The birds weren't heavily concentrated in any one spot out on the lake today rather they were spread out all over for the first time all year. I believe it was because there was so much activity on the lake, being it a beautiful Saturday to be boating. The University of Washington rowing team was also practicing in the area making the area even busier still. Maybe all of the humans were serving as a safety barrier from the eagles? I didn't see the eagles hunting over the lake at all today so that could possibly be the case.

After having only seen one or two white-crowned sparrows all year long here, today I began to spot them all over the place. Here is a picture of one that I encountered. They seem to be almost as bold as the golden-crowned sparrows, as this guy let me get pretty close.

I finally located the Wilson's snipe near the Southeast Pond! I had been seeing it's tracks near the area for a couple of weeks now and I decided that I wasn't going home today without actually hearing or seeing one. The matted down cattails provide cover on almost all sides for the 1-2” deep puddles surrounding the pond, making the area a picture perfect habitat for the snipe to do it's foraging. I was able to get around 10 feet away until we noticed one another at roughly the same time. The snipe took to the air over to the other side of the pond and I decided not to pursue out of respect.

Savannah's sparrows were singing all throughout Union Bay today. It's also the first time that I've seen them here this year. Speaking of sparrows, it looks as if the Lincoln's sparrow that has been hanging out in the shrubs near Wedding Rock has finally migrated out of the area to it's nesting grounds for the summer. With one species's exit, comes another's arrival. Here is a pic of one of the Savannah's sparrows.

I saw my first brown-headed cowbird of the year out near the snag in Hoyt's meadow. Did you know that cowbirds got their name because they use to follow large herding mammals such as bison and cows and snatch the insects up as they were disturbed? Bison and cows are nomadic so that probably explains why the cowbird has adopted a parasitic nesting behavior. If they raised their own young, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the herds. Makes a lot of sense.

The water was even higher this week than it was the last. When I walked past the Canada goose nest near Canoe Island in the morning, the mating pair that's always there wasn't anywhere in the vicinity. While the water hadn't enveloped the nest as of yet, I was worried at the time that the high water had driven them off of their nest. Luckily, later in the afternoon, I saw a pair back near the nest. Almost as soon as I took notice, another mating pair quickly flew into the area and attacked the ones near the nest. It turns out that the pair that I initially saw weren't the nesting parents after all. They probably saw a potential nesting habitat (or good feeding/resting area) and decided to take residence while the owners were away. I assume the actual nesting pair easily won the battle because they were willing to expend significantly more energy in defending their territory since they had already laid their clutch. It was a cool experience to witness the confrontation. Below is a pic of the nesting parents after their territorial defense victory.

Almost all of the bushtit nests were close to being finished this week and I was able to get a really good look at one particular nest near the Turtle Logs. It was hanging directly over the trail, so I was able to really admire the brilliance of this bird's nest building skills. These particular bushtits used cherry blossom petals, lichens and flower dead heads to weave this amazing nest together. They were padding the inside of the nest with cattail fluff and continued to do so once I moved along.

According to a few other birders that I spoke with throughout the day, American pipits were spotted by Shoveler's Pond and a common yellowthroat was spotted in the wetland area just north of Southwest Pond. I looked for the yellowthroat for about 15 minutes in the afternoon but was unsuccessful in my search. I did however see one today at Spencer's Island in Everett so I assume they'll be easy to spot at Union Bay within the coming weeks. Overall it was great birding today.

April 4, 2014

Duration of Visit: 9am-2pm
Weather: It was mostly sunny throughout the day in the high 50s to mid 60s. It was a little windy over the lake but calm almost everywhere else.

Map of Union Bay for Reference: CLICK HERE

Species count was 40: robin, spotted towhee, dark-eyed junco, black-capped chickadee, brown creeper, American goldfinch, tree swallow, violet-green swallow, double-crested cormorant, bushtit, mallard, green-winged teal, ring-necked duck, American coot, bald eagle, Cooper's hawk, American crow, northern shoveler, American wigeon, bufflehead, pied-billed grebe, yellow-rumped warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, Bewick's wren, marsh wren, northern flicker, song sparrow, Anna's hummingbird, Canada goose, European starling, red-winged blackbird, gadwall, GBH, golden-crowned kinglet, Downy woodpecker, house finch, golden-crowned sparrow, killdeer, rock dove, Steller's jay.

Notes from the day:

I've learned over the course of the last few months that my best days here at Union Bay are usually the ones where I don't come into the day with any expectations at all. But today, I kind of expected to see some intense nesting behaviors and I wasn't let down at all.

I came across two Anna's hummingbird nests throughout the day, one being trailside in Yesler Cove and the other just off the main trail near the Turtle Logs. The nest by the Turtle logs actually already had a brood in it. It was the first brood that I've seen from any species this season and I wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't for my friend Kristian, who joined me for part of my walk today.

I also presume that quite a few other species have already laid their first clutch due to the activity of the corvids - the Steller's jays specifically. They were all over the place today, especially near Wedding Rock. I witnessed one jay get a little too close to a robin nest and the robin began to attack by swooping down on it. A few moments later, another jay arrived on the scene and together they drove the robin away. I watched for awhile longer to see if they'd go for the nest but they never did. I presume they were waiting for me to go away.

I've noticed that both the crows and the starlings have been a little scarce the past couple of weeks. I believe they're both off nesting, or at least the crows are. A fairly large group of them are nesting somewhere near the cove and this morning, I saw them all take flight in pursuit of some sort of bird of prey, presumably either an eagle or a red-tailed hawk that had gotten too close to their nests. I couldn't actually see the bird of prey, but I know that there was one given how the crows reacted. It was a mobbing behavior that I've witnessed numerous times in the past. Plus, I know that there are both red-tailed hawks and eagles nesting nearby.

On the trail going into Yesler swamp, there's a pair of bewick's wrens that I see almost weekly in the same spot along the trail. This week, I only saw one of them though. He was collecting feathers from some of the nesting waterfowl near the swamp. Bewick's wrens typically nest in tree cavities and other natural structures, so all they essentially have to do is collect a soft bedding material. There are plenty of feathers all over the shoreline so it looks like this guy's nest is pretty comfortable.

The Canada geese were no longer congregating in large groups. While a couple of geese have already been nesting for close to 2 weeks, almost all of them have paired up and at least begun the nesting process. The geese were very aggressive today, chasing both one another and other various species out of their territories. For some reason they don't seem to mind the buffleheads getting too close though. It's almost as if there is some sort of symbiotic relationship between the two. This is the second week in a row that I've noticed the buffleheads hanging out with the geese.

A killdeer was feeding and/or drinking in the dime lot until a group of crows began to dive bomb it. The killdeer took flight and would circle around the lot trying to return to the same area. The crows would continue their dive bombing in the air until the killdeer finally gave up and flew to the other side of the lot. It turns out that all the crows wanted was the bathing spot along the edge of the parking lot. They hung out in the area for awhile and the killdeer soon returned. Here is a pic of the crows having a bath.

I came across 4 different bushtit nests today, all hanging from trees/vines/shrubs between 5-10 feet off of the ground. I noticed how one of the nests had more than 2 bushtits working on it, and this perplexed me at the time. After consulting the Sibley Behavior Guide I found out that unpaired males and paired mates who have lost their nest or brood will help other bushtits build nests and raise young. They apparently have very complex social structures. Anyway, the nests were all at different stages of construction, but this one in the picture below was the finest of all four.

It seemed as if the swallows were swooping around in practically every open area that Union Bay had to offer. While there were significantly more violet-greens than tree swallows, I did get to see the tree swallow nesting across from Shoveler's Pond on one of the tall snags perched above her nest. She'd swoop to catch an insect on the wing and then right back to her perch. I wonder if the population of tree swallows is going to be significantly less this year at Union Bay than it was the last? I know a couple of the dead trees that they nested in last year near southwest pond were removed, so I'll keep my eye out for a potential decrease in numbers.

The house finches seemed to be all along the main trail near Shoveler's Pond today. The males were chasing one another and establishing territories. They were also nesting in the vents of the football stadium and over near the Turtle Logs as well. This male was staring down another male in a territorial dispute. I was lucky to snap this one at all since this finch was almost constantly on the move.

Last week I ran into another birder who told me there was a mating pair of brewer's blackbirds near the helipad. I searched around in that general area but couldn't seem to locate them today. I typically never walk over in that general direction but I'm glad that I did for even though I didn't find the blackbirds, I did get to see quite a few different species of waterfowl all along the slough. I believe it was such a popular hang out spot today because of the high water everywhere else.

For the second week in a row, the wood ducks were nowhere to be found. I'm pretty sure that they've begun nesting. Unlike the other dabbling ducks, the wood ducks don't nest along the shore. They'll nest sometimes as high as 70 feet up in the cavity of a tree or snag. Maybe the next time I see them they'll be swimming around with some ducklings?

The water all throughout Union Bay was at it's highest level all year today. Almost everywhere seemed to be flooded. The ducks and coots have taken to standing pools of water inland due to the islands being submerged in water. Many of the areas with standing water also have some pretty great cover to offer and I saw numerous mallard pairs taking advantage of it by building their nests in the brush cover. I spooked one pair out of it's nest but it's ok, I gave them some bread as a peace offering. It's all good.