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.
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