At the pond... Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow, Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, Oregon on 12 April 2008 by Greg Gillson.

 

The Tree Swallow is generally the first swallow to arrive in the Pacific Northwest in spring. In fact, in northern California it regularly winters in small numbers in the Central Valley and along the coast. West of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington it arrives in late January. Additional birds arrive throughout the Pacific NW through March and into April, when they can be found over many ponds hawking insects and inspecting nest boxes placed there for them or inspecting holes in trees over water for suitable natural nest sites. Most migrate south from August to October, but there are some mid winter reports in the Pacific NW, primarily along the coast.

Tree Swallows are widespread across North America. In summer they occur from the edge of the treeless tundra in Alaska and across northern Canada south to just the northern edge of southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and the Gulf States. In winter, as discussed, they occur along both US coastlines from Virginia to Florida to Texas, and southern California and along the Colorado River in Arizona, and from there south throughout Mexico to Guatemala, Honduras, and also in Cuba.

The Tree Swallow is a metalic blue above with blackish-brown wing and tail feathers and white underparts. They show a black mask. Females are duller than males. Juveniles and first year birds can appear quite brownish, but show the darker mask. The photo above shows an adult male in brilliant breeding plumage.

A similar bird in the West is the Violet-green Swallow. The back of Violet-green Swallow, seen at close range, is a shocking bright lime green. The side of the face is white (lacking the black mask surrounding the eye that Tree Swallow shows). In flight, the Violet-green Swallow has shorter, more triangular wings, and white rump patches that almost meet at the base of the upperside of the tail. Violet-green Swallows are much more likely to make their home in nest boxes in your backyard than Tree Swallows--unless you live right on the water.

Juveniles and dull first year birds might be mistaken for Bank or Rough-winged Swallows. Indeed, some Tree Swallows show a hint of dusky breast band. But the dark, well-defined mask is a primary clue to identification if well seen. Bank and Rough-winged Swallows do not nest in nest boxes, so any brownish swallows doing so are likely Tree (or Violet-green) Swallows.

In the backyard... Bushtit

Bushtit, Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, Oregon on 26 March 2009 by Greg Gillson.

 

Outside of the breeding season, these tiny, long-tailed balls of gray fluff stay in family flocks and small groups of rarely more than 35 individuals. In the backyard, they search for spiders and small bugs among the leaves of ferns, bushes, trees, and even in crevices in the window sills or siding of the house. Here the constantly twittering birds seem to crawl in short jerky flight from one bush to another, a couple of birds at a time; rarely does the whole flock take flight at once.

In spring they search for bugs among willow catkins, getting covered with yellow pollen, as shown on the bird above. Some birds with excessively pollen-covered heads have been mistaken for Verdin, a similar yellow-headed bird found in the cactus deserts of the Southwestern United States.

Bushtits are residents from extrmeme SW British Columbia, southward from California to Texas. They also occur south in the mountains through Mexico to Guatemala.

In the Pacific NW they are scarce and local east of the Cascades in south-central Washington, more widespread, but still local east of the Cascades of Oregon along rivers and in juniper rimrock canyons and in towns. They are found in southern and southwestern Idaho, and southward. These birds have extended their range and become more common in many areas east of the Cascades through the Great Basin deserts in recent years.

West of the Cascades they are common residents in lower elevations throughout western Washington and Oregon, south through northern California, and from there south.

There are several races, each differing only slightly from one another. The bird in the photo above is typical of those west of the Cascades, quite brownish, especially the crown. Birds east of the Cascades and southward through the Great Basin are a much flatter pale gray, including the crown.

You can attract Bushtits to your yard with a suet feeder. On the small block of suet, a dozen or more birds may cover every inch as they feed!

In the backyard... Spotted Towhee

Spotted Towhee, Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, Oregon on 8 December 2007 by Greg Gillson.

 

Blackish above with rufous sides and a white belly, this large sparrow with a red eye and white spots on the back, wing, and tail corners is a widespread and common bird in the Pacific Northwest.

It has been about 10 years since the American Ornithologists' Union split the former Rufous-sided Towhee into two species, the Eastern Towhee and the Spotted Towhee of the West. Spotted Towhees breed in brushy areas from extreme southern Canada from British Columbia to Alberta and south through California east to west Texas, and in the mountains of Mexico to Guatemala. In winter the Rocky Mountain and western Great Plains populations move south.

In the Pacific Northwest, birds west of the Cascades and Sierra Nevadas are resident or only weakly migratory. Birds are found throughout the year in brushy woods, clear cuts, riparian habitats, and backyard hedges. They are not found in the deep woods or open fields, but take up residence in any open brushy areas edging these larger habitats.

On the other hand, east of the Cascades, Spotted Towhees are restricted to brushy areas in mountains and along riparian corridors, such as stream and lake sides. They are also found in backyards in most towns throughout the Pacific Northwest. In winter, most Spotted Towhees east of the Cascades migrate south. A few remain in backyards in towns.

The song of Spotted Towhees vary by population, but most Pacific NW birds start with a sharp note and then a long trill, for which they are named: tow-eeeeeee. Birds in the Great Plains have 1 to 8 introductory notes before the trill. The common call note is a nasal rising, zhreeee. Besides differences in migratory patterns and songs, birds west of the Cascades have smaller and fewer spots than more easterly and southern populations. The photo above is of this less-spotted form west of the Cascades. This bird's upperparts are more brownish, an indication that it is a female, though the differences between the sexes are slight.

In the backyard, towhees hop on the ground under bushes kicking up leaf litter looking for insects, grubs, and seeds. They will eat at tray feeders, but rarely venture out far from cover.

At the coast... Black Oystercatcher

Black Oystercatcher, Seal Rock, Oregon on 25 March 2007 by Greg Gillson.

 

These crow-sized shorebirds are rarely found away from rocky shores. Here, they expertly use their long, knife-like bills to pry limpets, mussels, and other marine mollusks from the rocks where they are quickly gobbled up. Paul A. Johnsgard (The Plovers, Sandpipers, and Snipes of the World, 1981) says, "The birds immobilize open mussels (Mytilus) by a stab through the posterior adductor muscles and spread them apart by inserting the closed bill and forcing the valves open. Closed mussels are struck with the bill until a hole is made and the muscles are cut."

Black Oystercatchers are easily identified by their blackish-brown plumage, thick pink legs, long orange-red bill, and orange eye. They have loud piercing calls, easily heard above the roaring surf.

The range of these birds is from the Aleutian Islands south to mid Baja California. They retract a bit from the Aleutians in winter down to southern Alaska, but are residents in most of their range, including the Pacific Northwest coast.

The next time you are at the coast, look for these striking birds at low tide on mussel beds or on basalt headlands, cobble beaches, and jetties.

In the backyard... Northern Flicker

Northern Flicker, Rood Bridge Park, Hillsboro, Oregon on 13 March 2009 by Greg Gillson.

 

Like the tale of the blind men describing an elephant, a new birder seeing this bird for the first time may be confused as to the identity of this unusual woodpecker. Will they note the robin-sized brown bird with black bars on the back probing on the ground with a long bill? Will they note the flashing orange wing and tail linings and white rump as it flushes away? Will they see a large white-breasted bird with round black spots and a black crescent on the chest sitting on their fence? Or will a person only "discover" this bird as an unwelcome spring dawn alarm clock, declaring its territory by drumming loudly and incessantly on their home's downspouts or siding?

This widespread woodpecker breeds in woods and forests across North America from the treeline of Alaska and northern Canada south to Cuba and through Mexico. They retreat from northern areas in winter. Two forms formerly considered separate species, Yellow-shafted Flicker and Red-shafted Flicker, were lumped in the 1970's into one species, Northern Flicker.

The breeding form in the Pacific NW is the "Red-shafted" form, with salmon-colored (pinkish-orange) wing and tail linings. The face is gray with brownish crown. Males, such as the one pictured above, have a red malar (moustache) stripe. The form found in eastern North America has yellowish wing and tail linings. The face is brownish with a gray crown and a red nape mark. Males have a black malar stripe. These forms intergrade in the Great Plains and western Canada. Birds from these intergrade zones show odd or contradictory combinations of facial markings or yellow-orange wing linings. These appear in the Pacific Northwest primarily in fall and winter. "Pure" Yellow-shafted Flickers are rare in the West.

Flickers spend as much time on the ground eating ants as they do on trees. You may attract flickers to your backyard feeders by offering suet or a peanuts. Flickers readily accept nest boxes built about 18-24 inches tall, with a floor of 7.25 x 7.25 inches, and an entry hole with a diameter of 2-1/2 inches about 14 inches from the bottom. Place nest boxes in the shade at a height of 8 feet or more. Search the web for "flicker nest box plans."