Portland Birdwatching Experiences

As my youngest child is about to fledge to college, I am noting transitions in the lives of my backyard bird friends as well.

The most obvious recent backyard bird transition has been from noisy territorial and mating behavior to the intense but quieter work of feeding the newly hatched babies and teaching them to survive. Catching or finding food for babies requires focus and leaves little time to sing! This past week I observed a pair of female Kingfishers sitting in the same tree. It is unusual to see more than one of these birds perched together, so this was definitely worth investigating. With the help of my binoculars it was obvious that this was a mother teaching her “chick” how to fish. Soon, the young Kingfisher in a fit of independence flew away from the pond and into my yard to inspect my bird bath. After looking confused upon not finding fish in this body of water, she responded to her mother’s call, and flew back to join her.

Molting of feathers represents another transition. Bird feathers are not living tissue, much like our hair. When feather color changes it means they grew new feathers. Most species molt once or twice a year. Most water birds molt twice. This accounts for why the male Mallards in their “eclipse” (non breeding or fall) plumage look rather dull compared to their truly glorious jewel tone green head of the spring. Soon the intense yellow of the male goldfinches will be replaced with their winter phase dull olive feathers. Already several birds in my yard look “scruffy” due to the change over in their molting cycle.

Yet a third transition is the change from juvenile size and behavior and coloration to adult forms. We have had a pair of Canada Geese return to our pond every spring for the past 10 years. Each spring they hatch a number of goslings, but unfortunately they are taken by predators over the next several days. This year they successfully raised four babies which now are nearly the same size as the parents and can barely be distinguished by size or coloring. Seeing this pair of geese successfully rear four offspring has been truly sweet after many sad failures. Soon the youngsters will be graduating from life on their first pond to their first southward migration. Watching my son’s recent high school graduation, it seemed as though his young life had flashed by almost as fast as the childhood of our backyard young geese.

Visit www.flickr.com/photos/youngbirders/ for more pictures by Jeff Young.

As I was taking a tour group around in the spring a new bird watcher wanted to know why any bird would risk their precious young to being stomped by coyotes, dogs, deer or humans by nesting on the ground. In this area we have several ground nesters. If we are lucky we may see one of them in our own back yards. One year as I was cleaning up my spent daffodils foliage, I found a nest full of lovely Junco eggs with the parent attracting my attention wildly from a neighboring bush.  (Given the nest location I decided to leave the ragged daffodil foliage to camouflage that nest!). 

We have several ground nesting birds in our area from the California Quails to the Killdeers to Pheasants and some one might not expect such as White-crowned sparrows and the Towhees. Generally speaking diversity of type of food and nesting areas allows a larger number of birds per area than if they all wanted to stay in holes drilled by woodpeckers. 

We have plenty of such “cavity” nest birds in Cedar Mill from the ubiquitous House sparrow to the Tree swallows and Violet-green swallows and the Chickadees and Red breasted nuthatches. One of our most unusual cavity nest birds is the Wood duck who of course is much larger than the others mentioned but does in nature nest in large dead tree cavities. We have been fortunate to have a pair of Chickadees nest in our bird house (a kind of cavity nest) for years. It is vital to have the entry be smaller than the size of hole that could admit birds who love to eat other birds’ young such as Jays and Starlings and Cooper’s hawks.   

One of our most common Cedar Mill cavities nesting species is the Black-capped chickadee. Their songs and calls are part of our background “noise” in this area since they are numerous. Sometimes they use abandoned woodpecker holes in snags but most of us are not too enamored of dead trees unlike the birds, so gardeners tend to of course cut down old snags in our yards. So they will use birdhouses that we find more decorative and they find acceptable. It is a treat to see them learn to fly and learn to pick the aphids off my roses (which I don’t spray for that very reason—free bird food!) Last year I bought from a local pet food store a ball of woolen material they sold as “nesting material”. Indeed the Goldfinches and Chickadees and other birds picked off bits and took the material to line the nests. This year I could not find such an item so being a good recycler I improvised and used—– CAT HAIR from brushing my indoor cats (who love to watch the birds out the window at the feeders so this seemed like a good mutual sharing). Well lo and behold the birds enthusiastically embraced the recycling idea as you can see from the picture my husband captured of a chickadees collecting cat hair attached to the suet feeder! 

The baby Chickadee who emerged was nurtured with cat hair as his baby mattress. He or she was so adorable minutes after emerging from the bird house and we got so close before the parents came up and shooed the little one into the shrubbery away from prying cameras (and of course lurking Cooper’s hawks and outdoor cats). 

Reportedly at one time in the Tualatin Valley we had Blue birds- another cavity nesting species whose habitat was taken over by Starlings and House sparrows. There are still Bluebirds at locations further south such as Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge.  

Degradation of habitat is a problem for many ground nesters such as the Western meadowlark which is our state bird—this bird’s habitat has been reduced for years and their number of birds has declined.  Many “beach “birds such as the Plovers also nest on the ground and the intrusion of people, dogs and cars have impacted their ability to produce young who survive. 

So the next time you see a Killdeer family or a Quail family, celebrate the hedgerows, the marshes and the places where we don’t tromp on the young of these wonderful birds!! The amazing number of foods that birds eat, places they nest and songs they sing points to the many ways we can all take advantage of the bounty of nature if we are flexible.

Last week I took a bird tour group out on a tour in my own back yard in Cedar Mill. This was one of the tours I had donated to a local school auction and the buyers had mobility issues so wanted to sit AND see backyard birds. Since spring is typically “very birdy” I invited them to sit with me. One of the group members was very focused on getting his “list” topped off with a certain number of birds especially ones he had not seen. It is always a treasure hunt in the spring when migrants come passing through and it is very exciting to find a new bird and have a long and satisfying list after two hours.

And yet.. 

What we noted as we sat and I encouraged the group to listen AS WELL as look is that the many types of calls and songs are missed in the “birding by list” method of doing this activity. We distinguished between the “oh dear me” ( in minor note)  of the Golden-crowned sparrows with the “whinny” of the Robin and the “ wichedy wichedy” call of the Common yellowthroat and the staccato calls of the Marsh wrens. By the end of the tour they were competently able to pick out several common calls from the about 40 birds we did see in two hours. Mostly they were amazed at how rich it was to listen as well as see.

Finally I encouraged them to WATCH the birds not just check them off as identified. What was that bird  doing—in taking the time to watch and sit we discovered some fascinating things that would have been missed if we only marked that yes we saw a northern flicker and moved on. The Flicker in fact has a snail from the garden it was smashing on a rock to get to the meat. The Red-winged blackbirds were gathering old dry grass and flying off to weave it in a camouflaged nest we would never have seen if we hadn’t visually followed her to her nest site. The Scrub jays squawked loudly and if we hadn’t been alert we would not have seen the very stealthy Cooper’s hawk that landed in the dense foliage of the cherry tree—but the jay sure told us if we looked. Cooper’s hawks hunt other birds so the alarm call would have just been “noise” if we hadn’t been watching instead of marking off our list of identified species. 

Sitting and noticing bring us such depth and texture to the experience of being outdoors. We wonder—why is that bird doing that? Or what would be the reason those birds are over there? If we explore our world we feed our sense of wonder and curiosity which is good for our brains and good for the planet and very fun as a “side effect”. Have fun sitting and seeing what you can see in your own back yard!

One of our earliest spring migrants is the Violet-green Swallow who swoops over many of the ponds in our area. Tracking when they arrive every year has been a joy of mine over the years we have lived near a wetlands. Seeing them for the first time is like a family reunion—it brings me such joy to think they made the long trip to come back to
our area. It also means spring really has arrived!

These graceful birds winter in southern California and Mexico and even further south. One year when my son and I were on a river cruise in Belize we were sure we saw “our” Violet-green Swallows eating Belize insects! With its deep blue back and white underparts, this is one of our more recognizable Cedar Mill birds. They are responsible for eating many species of hatching insects, including mosquitoes. They will happily use nest boxes that homeowners set out. They sometimes arrive in late February; my records show the earliest date in the past 15 years to be Feb 28. This year they arrived March 14. Typically a few birds arrive before the major flock appears. They leave in late August or September and I always miss their aerial displays as well as their soft twittery calls. Swallows are a lovely addition to our spring through early fall community.  Look up and you can see them soaring over various Cedar Mill ponds. If you listen you also will hear them—go out before the traffic noise starts and enjoy a bit of Violet-green loveliness!

Their arrival means that other summer birds are just around the
corner. In the spring we can also look forward to our second hummingbird species, the Rufus hummingbird. The Anna’s hummingbird over-winters and I have recently seen them eating sap out of woodpecker holes to supplement the nectar from earlyflowering
spring plants. We will soon see the Rufous hummingbird competing for thehummingbird feeder spaces with our resident Anna’s birds.
Happy birdwatching!

We have started a flickr page as another way to share our photographs. An advantage of the flickr site is that it allows us to upload larger file photos. Please visit the site at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/youngbirders/

March 2010 

Mindfulness practices are a definite boon to good health. Some of the more recent scientific studies show that being mindful is good for your immune system and good for your brain in terms of emotional health and creativity.  Birdwatching is an engrossing and fun way to bring more mindfulness into everyday life– all that is required is to look outside or go outside and be fully present looking to see what you might see. 

So many people rush through their days and miss the lovely white crowned sparrow that was singing on the lamp post mid day outside of our Safeway store. I stood for a minute and listened to that beautiful song and even commented to passersby who said “what birdsong?”

Yesterday I went outside in my back yard and saw two Flickers doing something I had never seen– bobbing their heads up and down at each other than then gently touching bills over and over for about 15 minutes. No vocalizing at all. Spring is coming! And soon those very same flickers will be drumming for mates and in fact you will hear loud sounds all around Cedar Mill, Oregon as they stake out their territory.

Another thing I saw in my own back yard when I bothered to really look was that many birds have already started to change into their breeding plumage. Feathers are not alive so to change colors birds have to lose one set and replace them with a new set– a process called molting. Different birds do this in varying ways. You might have noted for example the mottled European Starlings are starting to develop their glossy dark black breeding plumage and their yellow beak color. All this requires a lot of energy as they lose one set of feathers and grow in a new set. Our most striking example of changes in breeding plumage are the Mallard male ducks with their bright green heads in the spring and the Goldfinches who change our of their drab olive winter feathers to the typical incredibly bright yellow of the breeding male.  See the website gallery for examples of Goldfinches in summer/breeding plumage and winter plumage.

Really focusing on what you can see changes your walks and visions out of your window from the mundane to the very interesting and is probably good for your health. Take a careful and mindful look outside.

February 2010

Winter brings many birds to our area that we see only briefly. In the case of the Brant Goose seen in the accompanying picture , this goose settled in Cedar Mill on Saturday Jan 23 for about a one hour rest period before resuming flight back to breeding grounds in Alaska. The Brant is rarely seen in the Willamette Valley and in the 25 plus years I have been bird watching in Cedar Mill I have certainly never seen one. In fact I have never seen one anywhere, despite reports they are occasionally seen at the coast.  See the photo in the website gallary.

Over the past few weeks I have heard migrating Tundra Swans overhead and ran out to see them. Often they are low enough one can see the details of neck length and beak color! Other times winter birds come closer as in the swarms of Juncos mobbing my bird feeder in my yard or the Yellow Rumped Warblers flitting around the suet—they almost hover as if they were hummingbirds, but their large size gives them away as warblers. Soon they too will leave our area to go north to breed and feast on the millions of hatching insects in the Alaskan summers.

The key to seeing these fleeting migrants is to listen for new sounds and then look out! If you are lucky enough to be by a window or be outside that is a special treat for those who are observant. Soon in our area the summer birds will be back, making nests, singing for territory and eating all they can to get fat to make eggs and sit on them for a while! Spring really is coming from the chives bursting through my garden soil to the just appearing young dandelions in the grass to the migrating geese and swans!

December 2009

Many birds who breed in the northern parts of Canada and Alaska find our winters to be “balmy” even with the occasional weeks of very cold temperatures we have had in the past few winters. As I write this in mid December, the pond in the back of my yard in a wetlands area of Cedar Mill is just starting to become free of ice around the edges.
This makes winter an excellent time to see many birds that we won’t see in the spring or summer unless you too fly to Alaska! Last week in my pond I saw Gadwalls, Green-winged Teals and American Widgeons. All these however were eclipsed by the “hawk” show—due to the ice they could not hunt their usual rodents and snakes so they picked off gulls and small ducks that were stranded in the center of the pond. While this sounds difficult to see, in many ways it is part of the natural order.
The winter has also brought to Cedar Mill many small song birds that breed in Alaska. We now regularly see large flocks of Juncos, Golden Crowned sparrows and Yellow Rumped warblers at our feeders. The Bushtits have flocked back up as well after pairing off in the summer to breed, but in the fall they form large flocks which will “bomb” a suet feeder with up to 50 birds at a time—making for a squirming mass of birds on one feeder.
Several Goldfinches appear to be staying for the winter in flocks, usually they migrate in fall to warmer climates but this year there appear to be many who have decided to stay—possibly it was a good seed year in Cedar Mill? I have seen them eating out of the pods of my sweet gum tree—when I looked in a pod I found numerous small seeds resembling the nyger thistle that we can buy at stores to attract these birds. And to think that I imagined those hard pods only being a nuisance in my lawn!
The absolute favorite bird however that I have seen recently in my back yard has to be the Great Horned Owl who I hear at night but rarely see, I know there are two owls out there who hoot back and forth. I was fortunate enough to see one perch on a tree at dusk. The “ears” of his Great Horned head were obvious in the twilight even if I had not heard his call which identified the bird.
In the greater Portland area over the course of a year there have been about 270 birds identified. The exact number changes from year to year and with the climate change we are seeing more “unusual” birds that we generally don’t see here In our own back yards if we look we can see amazing variety through the seasons. From the large Great Blue Herons and Great Horned owls to the tiny Anna’s Hummingbirds who stay all winter (keep your feeder full and unfrozen!) we have almost all those birds if we just look outside.

by Jonathan Brinckman, The Oregonian
Saturday September 05, 2009, 7:00 AM

Portland Birdwatching Experiences
Portland
Formed in March 2009
A bird-watching tour in Hawaii prompted Lauretta Young to form her own company in Portland.

The product: Customized birdwatching tours in the Portland area.

What stage: About 50 tours so far.

Price: $30 an hour for one to five people. Meals are extra.

The founder: Lauretta Young, 55, was born in Wyoming and moved to Portland with her family at age 14. She has a bachelor’s from Oregon State University, a medical degree from Oregon Health & Science University and worked for Kaiser Permanente for 25 years — the last 15 as chief of psychiatry.

Employees: Just Young, though she may hire another guide.

Her favorite place for tours: Sauvie Island, because of its diversity of birds, followed closely by Mount Tabor.

The idea source: Young took a bird tour in Hawaii and found it one of the most rewarding tourist experiences of her life. When she returned to Portland, she found no private birding tours and decided to start her own.

The money: $1,000 to create a Web site.

Young’s dream: To offer tours all over Oregon, including coastal estuaries such as Bandon Marsh, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and national wildlife refuges near Corvallis and Eugene.

Her favorite bird: The meadowlark. “There aren’t many around. I like their song. It’s very melodious and uplifting and reminds me of summer.”
Web site: www.portlandbirdwatching.com

–Jonathan Brinckman

The baby arctic terns in the protected park at Mendenhall Glacier were so camoflauged in their mottled black and white down that until t he parents arrived with tiny fish out of the lake we didn’t see them! Pictures will be posted in the picture gallery soon– they were balls of down with strikingly orange tern beaks . After eating they collapsed on the pebbly beach to digest and get warm in the sun! Such a privelege to see these babies up close from our kayak which would be the only way to see these tiny creatures in the island which is not accessible any other way. What a treat in Alaska to see these newly  hatched chicks!

Also heard grouse on top of Mt. Roberts and on several hikes doing their mating calls.  Of course eagles are so common one seees them as part of the background very soon after arriving.