Recently I received a message from a regular reader and was immediately reminded of my first-ever bird identification.
On a sunny morning in May 1977, I was living in an apartment along the Nisqually River. On the roof of an adjacent building there was a flock of birds that looked like small, brightly colored parrots. They seemed to be feasting on the maple seeds that had accumulated on the roof.
Curiosity kicked in and I had to solve the mystery: What are those birds? I had old binoculars, and I dug them out; within a day I had purchased a bird identification book, "Birds of North America," one of the Golden Field Guides. (I still have that little book, now well worn, with all the species check marks for my early birding years).
An evening grosbeak.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
Of course, I soon figured out that they were evening grosbeaks. The males of this species are beautifully colored black and yellow birds with bold white wing patches and a large thick bill (females are similar, but duller-colored). These are finches, seed eaters, and Thurston County irregulars, some years common and some years rare. Their life pattern is to migrate from place to place seeking an available food supply, in this case a winter accumulation of maple seeds.
My reader reported that evening grosbeaks recently have been coming to her bird feeder. These birds breed primarily in the foothills and mountains, not down at lower elevations. May is perhaps the best month to find these birds locally, as the move around seeking that last feast before migrating to their breeding territory in the uplands.
A Caspian tern.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
The species range maps in my old memory-filled 1977 bird book also show how much things have changed. For example, the northern edge of the Caspian tern range then was mid-Oregon, and their northern breeding range limit was the Central California coast. Now, nearly 40 years later, there are large breeding colonies of Caspian terns at the mouth of the Colombia River, in Grays Harbor, and other northern locations.
It is possible that the Olympia area has, or will soon have, its own small breeding population of Caspian terns. Currently, there are several pairs of these birds here; they can be seen easily flying over the Port of Olympia. They are gull-sized, but you can distinguish them from the gulls at the port by their dramatic pointed wings (looking very different than a gull’s), bright orange pointed bill and, most dramatically, by their loud raucous call, "kraak!"
These terns nest in open places like sand bars. They scrape out sites in flat areas with sand, shells, pebbles, or gravel. It is possible that the coastal breeding colonies are becoming so crowded that some breeding pairs are moving inland, with the flat graveled roof tops of our urban area providing possible nesting sites for these wanderers. This is something to expand the summer excitement for Olympia-area birders.
KNKX, our closest NPR radio station, features an interesting short feature called BirdNotes. A recent program featured bird drumming, but it was not about woodpeckers. Rather, the drumming bird was species we sometimes find in the forested parts of Thurston County, the ruffed grouse. This is a chicken-sized bird, well-camouflaged with barred and spotted gray and brown plumage. It hides so well that it is most often seen flying away after being surprised by a passerby.
A close-up of a ruffed grouse.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
This is one of the gamebirds of Washington state and there is a fall hunting season. Since the birds like to hang out in forest edge areas, many hunters seek them by walking quietly along forest roads.
In the spring, ruffed grouse interests turn to breeding. The male grows breeding feathers (the “ruff” that the species is named for) and seeks out a downed log or stump where he poses and shows off his male charms.
There he flaps his wings in a rotating pattern, at first slowly but increasing rapidly. This beating creates a unique sound that is impossible to fully describe. Fortunately, our local Capitol Land Trust captured this video of a drumming ruffed grouse at one of its Thurston County land preserves.
Needless to say, I had no idea when I first sighted those evening grosbeaks that birding would become such an integral part of my life for these many decades. But I’m glad it did, and trust that paying attention to our avian neighbors will enrich your life for many years, too.
George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 45+ 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.
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Terrilovesanimals
So glad you dug out those old binoculars! Oh, I have never seen a grouse, but learned about them through you! Learning something every day is my motto. And there is so much to learn about birds!
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