What bird is that?... Questions and answers

Question: "We were visiting San Juan Island this last week and saw an orange bird with brown/olive wings. I am wondering if you can help me identify it. I have attached a picture of the orange bird and another one that came to the feeding tray at the same time and I am wondering what the identification is of this bird as well. Thank you."

Joanna

Answer: Yes, Joanna. The larger birds are Red Crossbills. The red one is the male and the olive one is the female. The smaller striped bird is Pine Siskin. These are both common birds throughout the Pacific NW--especially near forested areas. [Click photos above for larger view.]

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Question: "Feel a bit sheepish posting this question, since I've been paying attention to birds around Portland for a number of years now, think maybe I'm supposed to know.... but I don't know what these were, I couldn't get binoculars on them on time, then they were gone.

Flock of around 15-20 medium-sized birds flying to the tops of firs at SE 71st and Clinton (ish) in Portland. I only saw them from underneath; they had short tails and their bellies appeared pale and unmarked (not streaky) from where I was (which was on a lawn two houses away from the very tall firs, so possibly too far away to say they weren't streaky). The tail looked darker; the tail was fairly straight across, just a mild convex curve. They were making sharp calls (not whistling like cedar waxwings). These seemed consistent with everything I've heard about red crossbills - the call could have been described as "jip," the flocking, the fir (they hung out on the fir and appeared to be feeding, then flew off as a group) - but I've never actually been certain I've seen a crossbill before, and they didn't look reddish from below. Also, no one on OBOL is talking about seeing crossbills, and I feel like people like to post crossbill sightings if flocks are around.

So.... since I admire the way you identify birds from scanty data... thought I'd impose and provide my meager description.

Thanks for any relief you can provide."

Susan in Portland, Oregon

Answer: Well, my first guess was going to be Cedar Waxwings. I saw my first flock this spring just yesterday, though some hang around Portland most winters.

The reason I don't think your description fits Red Crossbill is that crossbills are generally small and streaked underneath. They are plump, House Finch-sized, but quite short tailed with strong fork or notch, not squared as you describe.

That leaves Evening Grosbeaks. Evening Grosbeaks are everywhere right now, making sharp loud calls. Because they are so common right now I recently wrote In the backyard... Evening Grosbeaks.

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Question: "Yesterday I found a nest right next to the house where I was weed eating..., contained very small eggs (2 cm X 1 cm) with many brown speckles. Main color - rather tanish. No birds around. what is this bird ? thank you for your time."

"The nest was rather hidden beside the house, very small nest, eggs in a small round nest with dry grass and a few hairs or fur of another animal."

Sandra in Port Townsend, Washington

Answer: Sandra, one hundred years ago a birder was likely to be one who collected eggs and nests of birds. Birding has changed since then, and it is now illegal to possess nests, eggs, feathers, or any other part or whole wild bird without a permit. Thus, most modern field guides no longer describe the nest and eggs. However, my first bird book does--Peterson's 1969 Field Guide to Western Birds. It is nearly worn completely out, and held together with tape, but I wouldn't be without it, for I wrote in it voice descriptions and other helpful ID tips. But I digress.... Based on the placement of the nest on or near the ground and made of grass, as well as the small speckled eggs, my guess is Dark-eyed Junco. Peterson describes the nest as: "a well-lined cup on ground in woods. Eggs (4-5) spotted)." More information about juncos is in the article In the backyard... Dark-eyed Junco.

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Send your queries about Pacific Northwest bird identification or behavior or other topics. I'll do my best to figure out what you saw. I'll do some research. Then I'll write an article to answer your question. If you have a certain question, no doubt others will, too, and appreciate knowing the answer. My goal will be to do one Q & A article each week, answering all the questions I receive that week. I'll just use your first name and city in my answers. If you send photos I will likely use them (perhaps cropping and adjusting exposure for the web) so others can see what you are seeing.

Send questions to me using this link: PNWBB Q & A

At the pond... Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat, Tualatin River NWR, Sherwood, Oregon on 9 May 2009 by Greg Gillson.

 

About the first of April, Common Yellowthroats arrive in the Pacific Northwest and within days are found skulking about most wetlands habitats. Favorite habitat in much of the Pacific NW is blackberry tangles along water courses and ditches, but they are found in reeds and sedges and cattails out in the marsh, as well. Fewer numbers may be found in wet brushy meadows or low elevation clear cuts that have a lot of herbaceous undergrowth. Despite their secretive actions, their presence is exposed by their loud and distinctive song, given throughout the day: "witch-i-ty, witch-i-ty, witch-i-ty, witch." The call note is a husky: "chep."

Yellowthroats are small with a longer rounded tail. They are colored olive-green above, whitish on the belly, and with bright yellow throat and undertail coverts. The males have a black domino mask with a pale border on the forehead. Throughout their range males of the 13 different populations differ slightly in the width and color of the border above the mask (white, gray, yellow), the intensity and extent of the yellow on the underparts (more yellow in most southern populations), and the song arrangement.

These birds breed across Canada and the entire 48 states of the US, and into north-central Mexico. In winter, northern populations retreat south to coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico, SE US, southern California, through the Caribbean and Mexico to Panama.

Bird Festival... Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua

American Avocets, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah, 2003. Copyright 2009, Rosalie Winard. Used with permission.

 

The Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua will be held on June 19-21, 2009.

Choose from among several field trips, presentations, and workshops. Enjoy an evening of dinner and music.

Check out the Lee Vining Chamber of Commerce for details on where to stay. Lee Vining is about 170 miles east of Stockton, California, traveling through Yosemite National Monument. Or, it is about 140 miles south of Reno, Nevada.

The 2008 species list included 153 bird species.

Presenters and field trip leaders: Karen Amstutz, Don Banta, Ted Beedy, Peter Bergen, Jon Dunn, Margaret Eissler, Lisa Fields, Nancy Hadlock, Tom Hahn, John Harris, Justin Hite, Debbie House, Ann Howald, Quresh Latif, Jack Laws, Burleigh Lockwood, Jeff Maurer, Chris McCreedy, Paul McFarland, Peter Metropulos, Stella Moss, Lisa Murphy, Kristie Nelson, Richard Potashin, Bob Power, Sarah Rabkin, Ane Carla Rovetta, Dave Shuford, Rich Stallcup, Bob Steele, Susan Steele, Erik Westerlund, David Wimpfheimer, and Ben Winger. Keynote presenter: Rosalie Winard

Bird feeding... types of food

Black-headed Grosbeak, American Goldfinches, and Purple Finch enjoying black oil sunflower seeds, Hagg Lake, Washington County, Oregon on 7 July 2007 by Greg Gillson.

 

The Southwestern Idaho Birders Association has this list of backyard bird foods.

They also have a table of common birds attracted to various types of food.

Birding technique... The early bird gets the worm; the early birdwatcher gets the bird!

American Robin searching for worms, Rood Bridge Park, Hillsboro, Oregon on 13 March 2009 by Greg Gillson.

 

Yesterday (22 May 2009), David Bailey made an interesting observation on the Oregon Birders On-Line (OBOL) mailing list. The post concerned migrant seabirds, but applies to birds on land, as well--perhaps even your own backyard.

Bailey said:

"I have been conducting morning surveys in the upland forest of the Coast Range since 1 May and visiting Boiler Bay most days around 0800. Comparing my numbers and species richness to Phil Pickering's and Wayne Hoffman's counts during the same period has shown ample evidence that counting within two hours of sunrise rather than in the third hour produces much higher numbers of individuals and species. Today was no exception, though the northward flights of birds were still occurring while nearly completely tapering off by 0900."

Indeed, birders arriving in later morning and seeing only a few birds floating offshore from this Oregon coast State Wayside, wonder about the reports they read online. I've even been asked if certain regular Boiler Bay bird reporters were making up those large shearwater, murrelet, and auklet numbers. No, I assure them, the birds are definitely there near shore, very early in the morning.

Since sunrise in May is about 5:30 AM, that means that birders arriving after 8:00 AM will likely NOT see any of the target species of seabirds. In fact, they are not likely to see very many birds at all. Migration for the day is over and birds sit on the water farther offshore, unseen.

Tim Rodenkirk added:

It is certainly the same for passerine species and birds like Black Swift which are regular coastal migrants this time of year. I have posted bird lists at the learning center at New River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (SW Coos Co- BLM land) after point counts only to hear, "I didn't see any of those species"-- well of course, they were looking later AM and even worse, in the PM when the winds typically howl on the Oregon Coast (if you don't want to see birds, always arrive a few hours after sunrise) However, if you are out at sunrise, and the first couple hours after sunrise, you'll hear and see all sorts of birds, but by even 8 or 9AM on the coast, the show is over and the winds begin howling.

It's true. Birds are most active at dawn. Many neotropical migrants fly all night and land at dawn, sing, eat, and then sleep or rest in the shade as the sun crawls higher in the sky. Early birders see more birds. In fact, it is often light enough to see birds a half an hour before official sunrise. And, certainly, the dawn chorus starts well before sunrise and tapers off an hour or so after sunrise. As Rodenkirk reproached: "If you don't want to see birds, always arrive a few hours after sunrise."

To see the most birds, get up while it's dark and be where you want to be birding when the sun rises.