In the backyard... Red-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch, Tillamook, Oregon on 16 January 2009 by Greg Gillson.

 

This tiny bird is a backyard favorite where it occurs in the Pacific Northwest. It breeds in northern and montane forests, from coast-to-coast across southern Canada, from coastal Alaska to northern California, in the Rocky Mountains south to Arizona and New Mexico, and in the Appalachians to Tennessee. In the winter it can irrupt southward, irregularly visiting backyards in any of the contiguous states in the United States, but very rarely as far south as Mexico.

Exactly what is an irruption, and why do birds do this? John K. Terres, in his 1980 book, The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds describes an irruption in this way. He says an irruption is "an irregular migration... often a spectacular mass movement southward in fall and winter of birds that normally live year-round in parts of Alaska and Canada." Red-breasted Nuthatches may do this periodically when their populations are high and their food sources become scarce.

The seeds of pine and spruce cones are a large component of this bird's diet in the winter. They supplement this with insects they glean from the bark as they actively forage over the trunk and limbs, often crawling upside down! Most of the summer food is composed of insects. Thus, the range of this species is restricted to conifers. So, these birds are missing from extensive grasslands in the Pacific northwest and sage lands of the Great Basin. However, they are found in towns throughout these regions where a few conifers have been planted. Their food preference means they are found from sea level shore pines to the alpine fir of treeline on the highest mountains.

If there are conifers in your neighborhood then this little bird will probably find your feeder. They often come to the feeder to take one sunflower seed at a time and fly away with it to a tree branch. They lack the side-to-side chewing ability of the bills of sparrows and finches. Instead, they hold the seed between their feet and pound it open with blows from their sharp bill. They are also attracted to peanut butter and suet cakes.

The larger White-breasted Nuthatch generally prefers deciduous trees. In the ponderosa pine forests of the West, the smaller Pygmy Nuthatch is found. While they all behave the same, and have blue-gray backs and very short tails, neither of these other nuthatches have the rusty breast and white eyebrow. When you see the distinctive coloring and unique behavior of the Red-breasted Nuthatch you will know it!

At the pond... Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron, Dawson Creek Park, Hillsboro, Oregon on 11 January 2009 by Greg Gillson.

 

The widespread Great Blue Heron is found near water from southern Alaska and across the mid-latitudes of Canada, south to Florida, Texas, and northwestern Mexico. Most birds move out of the frozen north and interior in winter and are found well into Mexico.

This bird is found in all sorts of wet habitats. In the Pacific Northwest you may see one hunting voles out in a flooded grass seed field, stabbing at fish in a small puddle or backyard goldfish pond, walking the mudflats of the estuary, perched on jetties in the ocean, or even hunting frogs or snakes in the freeway median. In fact, this bird is so well known in the Pacific Northwest that it is the official City Bird of Portland, Oregon!

Many persons are quite surprised the first time they see herons perched in trees! These herons nest in small colonies quite high in trees near water. They build large stick nests 2-3 feet across and lay 2-6 eggs, March to May.

As for similar species, Green Herons are 1/3 the size and colored differently. "White Herons" in the West are the slightly smaller Great Egrets or the much smaller Snowy or Cattle Egrets. Many people call Great Blue Herons "cranes." However, the Sandhill Crane is a larger, sandy-colored bird with a red crown with populations nesting in agricultural grasslands of the Great Basin. Flocks of these local cranes, supplemented by birds that nest in Alaska and Canada, winter locally in the Willamette Valley (Sauvie Island NWR, Oregon and Ridgefield NWR, Washington) and the Central Valley of California. Herons may congregate in wetlands, but do not migrate in noisy flocks as do the cranes. While Great Blue Herons fly and rest with their long necks crooked under their breast with the head resting on the back (as shown above), cranes always walk and fly with their long necks held straight out.

In the backyard... White-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow, Timber, Washington County, Oregon on 28 June 2008 by Greg Gillson.

 

The handsome White-crowned Sparrow is not overly common at backyard feeders in the Pacific Northwest in winter. But migrant birds pass through in April and September, often visiting backyard feeders in good numbers. West of the Cascades and especially along the coast these are common summer birds.

But this is an over-simplification of a fascinating population dynamic. If you look at the range map of White-crowned Sparrow in North America, you'll see birds breed from Newfoundland and across northern Canada through Alaska. From there they breed in the Rocky Mountains to northern Arizona and New Mexico, and also along the West Coast to southern California. Northern birds winter to the south, to the central latitudes of the interior US, along both US coasts, and into Mexico.

Ornithologists divide the White-crowned Sparrow into 5 populations. Each has a slightly different range, plumage, and song.

It is a bit complicated, but in the Pacific Northwest the birds breeding in the Rocky Mountains and mountains in the Great Basin are the "Mountain White-crowned Sparrow." This form has black lores (feathers between the bill and eye). All other regular forms in the Pacific Northwest have pale lores. They depart for southern regions in winter.

Spring (April) and fall migrants and occasional wintering birds, primarily east of the Cascades, are the "Gambel's" form nesting in Alaska. These winter in the deserts of the American Southwest and into Mexico.

West of the Cascades from southern British Columbia to northwestern California breeds the "Puget Sound" form (as photographed above). Some birds remain to winter, but most migrate south into southern California.

From Mendocino County, California, south along the immediate coast lives the non-migratory "Nuttall's White-crowned Sparrow".

Many of the birds in fall and winter are immatures with rusty brown and white stripes, rather than black and white. These young birds can be confused with immature Golden-crowned Sparrows. Likewise, the rather rare-in-the-West White-throated Sparrow is very similar, but with a blackish bill and white throat clearly set off from a grayish breast.

White-crowned Sparrows eat black oil sunflowers and other seeds at your backyard feeder. This may allow you to examine them more closely, perhaps noticing differences related to age or population as discussed above. For more details see especially the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America.

In the countryside... California Quail

California Quail, Shevlin Park, Bend, Oregon on 13 June 2008 by Greg Gillson.

 

Originally, the California Quail was, indeed, restricted primarily to California, with birds spilling over into all of Baja California, southwestern Oregon, and western Nevada. In the mid 1800's sportsmen began introducing these quail widely into western Oregon and Washington. Today they are common from southern British Columbia, south through all of Washington and Oregon, eastern Idaho, northern Nevada, and locally in Utah, as well as in the traditional range in California and Baja.

California Quail are instantly recognizable with their scaled bellies, white-bordered black face, and drooping top-knot. In the southwest deserts live the similar Gambel's Quail. But in the Pacific Northwest the look-a-like bird is the Mountain Quail. These birds have chestnut and white barred sides and long straight head plumes. The usually secretive Mountain Quail are usually found in forest clearings in the hills, not in agricultural areas.

In fact, California Quail are found in a wide variety of habitats, often near water. They like agricultural lands, brushy woodlands, lower clear cuts and forest edges, rimrock and sage lands, chaparral, and even some suburbs with brushy cover and open feeding areas. They are found in most open areas of the Pacific Northwest, but are not found in the high mountains or deep forest. They are generally rare in the Coast Range and along the coast north of southern Oregon.

Scurrying around the brush in coveys of family groups, they can be quite secretive. When pressed, or surprised, they burst into flight, the wings making a loud whirring sound while they utter cackling notes. Often a single male will act as sentinel as the rest of the covey feeds (as the bird photographed above).

In spring the coveys break up and birds pair off. It is during this time the males crow their familiar chi-ca-go song.

At the pond... Killdeer

Killdeer, Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, Oregon on 11 April 2009 by Greg Gillson.

 

While the Killdeer does frequent mudflats around ponds, this upland shorebird is just as likely on a gravel farm road, golf course, plowed field, or even in a parking lot with a grassy median.

It is in the breeding season that this bold, robin-sized bird comes to the attention of casual observers and the general public. Because it lays its eggs in gravel--often the center or edge of a lightly-traveled gravel road--it has a unique way to protect its nest and young. When a potential threat (human or animal) approaches too near, the nesting bird sneaks a distance away from the nest and begins a distraction display. Screaming loudly and feigning a broken wing, fanning its tail and exposing its bright orange rump, the parent bird drags itself along--apparently severely injured--and leads the predator away. When it has led the intruder far enough away from the nest or young, it "miraculously" recovers and flies off, seeming to laugh: kill-dee! kill-dee!

The young are precocial, leaving the nest within a day or two of hatching. The fuzzy, golf ball sized chicks follow their parents about. When danger appears, the chicks freeze, and the parents go into the distraction display to lead the danger away. Interestingly, the chicks and juveniles have only one black chest band, rather than the two of the adult. In such a case, an inexperienced birder may mistake the young Killdeer for a Semipalmated Plover, or even something rare like the Wilson's Plover.

The Killdeer breeds across North America, from southern Alaska eastward, and south from California to Florida and the northern half of Mexico. It migrates out of the northern and frozen interior to the coast and south, joining other birds that are apparently non-migratory. A separate population is resident in the West Indies, and a third population is resident in Peru.

In the Pacific Northwest the Killdeer is found in grasslands, meadows, wetlands, farms, and similar human-altered open spaces. They are absent from forests, high mountains, sage flats, deserts, and ocean beaches. However, they are found along shores of rivers, ponds, and lakes throughout these other habitats.