Bird watching and listening

George Walter

Photo by Jill Severn

June’s long hours of sunlight make it possible to spend an hour or so either before or after our work hours checking out what birds are up to at the time when the birds are most active and vocal.

Following my own advice, I got out early a few days ago and went to a birding site I have recommended in past columns, the LOTT’s Hawks Prairie Reclaimed Water Ponds on Hogum Bay Rd. I was interested in walking the area; with both my binoculars ready and my Merlin sound I.D. turned on.

I arrived at 5:30 a.m. and was surprised how chilly the temperature was - I needed a light jacket to be comfortable. It was “early” for me but not for truck drivers. The Hogum Road location is adjacent to numerous warehouses, and the noisy traffic was impressive, even at that early hour.

Right off, I was greeted by an Anna’s Hummingbird attending a blooming bush near the entrance; that was one species on the list even before I turned Merlin on. When I reached the first pond, I could hear many birds singing. The most obvious was a Black-headed Grosbeak and numerous Purple Finches and House Finches.

Purple Finch

House Finch

These latter two finches look similar, but the males’ songs are very different. Also, the Purple Finch both male and female have a bold eyebrow stripe. This is a good location to sort them out.

There were eight, possible more, male Willow Flycatchers singing their “Fitz-breew” song. If you want to identify one of the mysterious flycatchers with certainly, this is the place. And it’s also a good location if you’d like to get close-up to a Red-winged Blackbird. They’re everywhere, with the males making their loud territorial calls from prominent perches around every pond.

Virginia Rail

The most impressive vocalization, however, was coming from a Virginia Rail. These are fairly common wetland birds but they are secretive; hearing this loud raucous call was a real treat. And I do mean loud. Throughout my hour site visit, I could hear that rail which, I realized, explains its common name – it was loudly railing to proclaim its territory.

Virginia Rails are the size and shape of a small chicken, with an upturned tail and a large, red-orange bill. They are primarily rusty-colored, with a gray head, streaked back and have black and white barring on their sides. The sexes look alike, but it’s a male that was making all that noise.

Other birds I found along the wetlands included both species of chickadees, Yellow Warbler, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco and Swainson’s Thrush. And, not surprisingly, there were numerous Robins. Crows were flying overhead, of course, and there were several Spotted Towhees singing nearby.

Pied-billed Grebe

Right in the middle of the largest pond was an interesting bird, a Pied-billed Grebe. Grebes are fish-eating diving birds, and most are seen here as non-breeding birds in salt water. The exception is the smallest member of the family, the Pied-billed Grebe. It is 11+ inches, larger than a robin, but is the smallest bird likely to be seen swimming in open freshwater. They have an interesting habit of simply sinking rather than diving; one instant there, the next instant gone with nary a ripple.

It appears dark brown, although its feathers have black tones. In breeding season its bill has a vertical black stripe, which explains its common name. These birds breed along the edge of wetlands, ponds and backwater coves of lakes. They are fairly common breeding birds in our county.  

The Hawks Prairie site also includes a small woodland area with larger Douglas firs. In the woodlands, I added several additional species to my list – Yellow-rumped Warbler, Brown Creeper, and Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Lesser Goldfinch

The most surprising find of the morning was a small number of Lesser-Goldfinch. Not many years ago, this bird species was not found in our county (only its cousin, the American Goldfinch). But a few years ago, it appeared on the Olympia Christmas Bird Count, in relatively small numbers. And now, with spring and summer observations, one has to wonder whether it is joining our list of breeding birds.

There you have it – my report for an early morning hour of birding. My total species count for the trip was 24. I found the Merlin site very useful, including that it confirmed what I thought I had heard, but was uncertain. This number was near what I guessed as possible, although weather conditions can make quite a difference.

I hope you are able to spend a similar hour from time to time, both to visit our avian neighbors in their home territory and to give yourself a chance to take in one of our Thurston County natural areas.

George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 40+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com

Photos for this column are provided by Liam Hutcheson, a 17-year-old Olympia area birder and avid photographer.