Snowy Owls and a Rough-Legged Hawk

SNOWY OWL

Sandy Point, December 27

After Christmas, I was itching to get outside and look for birds.  David Drummond and I headed for Sandy Point, on the Lummi Indian Reservation, to look for Snowy Owls.  David is a biologist and the head researcher/ornithologist at the Merlin Falcon Foundation.  With his level of expertise, I did the driving and he did the spotting. 

On the way, we passed a Red-Tailed Hawk every half kilometer and a Bald Eagle, every kilometer.  Interestingly, we saw two Red-Tails patrolling a field together (and last week I saw eagle pairs).  The days are getting longer and pre-mating season pairings are already occuring.

When we arrived at Sandy Point, there was a wet, cool wind blowing from the South, the kind that brings rain at this lower elevation and snow to the nearby Cascades. Sandy Point is a peninsula, dividing  Lummi Bay from the Georgia Straight.  Driving on it, you see a beach strand, built up with houses that face the San Juan Islands.   

Our first sign of 'owl' was when David spotted the clipped, grey wing of a small passerine, about the size and color of a Junco or sparrow.  Shortly after that he saw this owl (above), using a chimney to shelter from the wind.  I was happy.  I had spent four years feeding a Snowy Owl at a raptor 'rehab' center, who was blinded in one eye, but this was a healthy FREE owl.

Our first concern, of course, was to observe without disturbing.  This Snowy Owl had just made an epic migration from Northern Alaska to Bellingham, from latitude 70 degrees to 48 degrees!  This would be equivalent to flying from Seattle to Baja California.  It will be calorie depleted and need rest.  What it doesn't need is to be stressed by people with binoculars, getting too close.  David and I watched from my vehicle and then carefully set up a spotting scope behind it.  We minimized noise and our presence.  The owl closed its eyes frequently and even tucked its head occasionally.

Females and immature males have quite a bit of barring.  Adult males lose this coloration.  The half-blind owl I helped take care of was a male, almost totally white.  The eyes are yellow.  The feathering covers the feet, a good adaptation in snow country.  One thing I have noticed about 'snowies' is that they are almost always silent.  Only twice, in four years did I hear the male vocalize and that was during mating season.  Frankly, I am glad it was usually silent.  The cry was so piercing it almost hurt my ears.

As we left this owl to rest, I spotted a second Snowy Owl on a roof top facing a boat canal.  We remarked on what a great area this was for winter feeding.  The small residential area was surrounded by shoreline, estuary, marsh, meadow, and small gardens.  This area has a variety of small rodents, song birds, shore birds, fish, and the occasional Garter Snake... a broad buffet for a hungry winter migrant.

Driving out of the Lummi Nation, David asked me to pull off the road.  He had spotted a Rough-Legged Hawk.  We watched it hover hunt over a field of Reed Canary Grass.  The hawk stooped (dove) and caught a Townsend's Meadow Mouse, then flew to a perch in a willow tree.  It ate the mouse in three bites and cleaned its beak.  What a great day!

Living on the Edge: Ecotones and Animals

At this place, one of our forested mountains meets farmland, a fresh-water stream, and a salt water bay.  On November 5th, I stood here, where four of these different habitats come together.  I was overwhelmed by the richness of life.  In ten minutes, in my immediate vicinity, I saw a Stellar Jay, a Red-Tailed Hawk, a Peregrine Falcon,  a Great-Blue Heron, and a Bald Eagle (who happened to catch some unidentified, aquatic creature).  The hawk and falcon flew directly over my head, both from a nearby stand of Douglas Firs.  Looking out on the bay, I saw at least one-half million ducks (mostly Northern Pintails and American Wigeons), rafting between Blanchard Mountain and Samish Island.  According to the man standing next to me, this was a conservative estimate.

ECOTONE:  WHERE DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEMS MEET

      Blanchard Mountain                               Skagit Farmland                               Samish Bay          

I was standing at an ECOTONE.  An ecotone is simply where two or more ecosystems or habitats come
in contact with each other.  It is a transition zone; an interface.  It can be the best of two worlds coming together or a clashing disharmony.  Some animals are ecotone lovers and some are ecotone haters.  Those that have evolved to exploit the resources of more than one habitat will fall into the first category.  Those species who avoid ecosystems may be limiting their evolutionary options as we humans change the environment.

This Great Blue Heron was fishing where the waters of a freshwater river and saltwater, Drayton Harbor mix.

Great Blue Heron

This Bufflehead and Belted-Kingfisher were at the same river-harbor-forest confluence where I saw the Great Blue Heron.

                         Bufflehead                                                                      Belted - Kingfisher

Bald Eagles are seen fishing in the salt-water bays, hunting salmon up the Nooksak and Skagit Rivers, and perched by our many lakes and ponds.  However, you'll also see them patrolling dairyfarms for placental afterbirth, and of course they scavenge dead calves.  They also steal food hunted by hawks.  While volunteering at Sardis Raptor Center, I had to rescue one unfortunate Red-Tail that got the worst of such an encounter.  He required stitches, but recovered and was later released. 

Adult Bald Eagle on Farmland

An Impressive Raptor who Exploits Several Habitats

A tidal shoreline is obviously an ecotone between land and water.  Birds that exploit the tidal zone fit into those adapted to this ecotone.  They include gulls and shorebirds, like this Black Oystercatcher and this   Glaucus-Winged Gull.

Immature Glaucus-Winged Gull

with a Mussel, at Semiahmoo

Two Black Oystercatchers at Semiahmoo

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Humans can create ecotones where there were solid, unbroken ecosystems.  Within a short time, old-growth temperate forests can become a patch-work of logged meadows, old-growth forest, farms, and urban development.  Where they meet we see instant ecotones.

Some species retreat in the face of ecotones, like the Spotted Owl. They only succeed in

old-growth forests. Some very closely related species do well in ecotones...like the Barred Owl.  We are seeing this eco-drama being played out right now in Washington State.  The Spotted Owl is retreating into remaining old-growth forests.  The Barred Owl is moving into former, degraded habitats of the Spotted Owl.  While I have seen several Barred Owls in the 'wild' (Parks, Gold Courses, Rural properties), and one Spotted-Barred Hybrid in Custer, I have never seen a Spotted Owl.  The photo of this Spotted Owl is not my own, but a free domain download.   I wish you Happy Holidays!

            Spotted Owl                                                                              Barred Owl 

Fungi, the Forest Under the Forest

You may be wondering why I am devoting today's field notes to fungi, when I mostly have been reporting on birds.  Two reasons:
1.  All species in this Pacific Northwest, eco-region are interdependent.  As you will see below, even owls are connected to truffles!
 2.  Most of our region's birds and mammals are directly or indirectly dependent on forests...and without fungi, these forests would not exist.

Fungi and Red Cedar in association

Before I go further, I need to make a disclaimer and an apology to anyone from the Bellingham Mushroom Club.  I am a novice at identifying mushrooms.  There are mushrooms that look so similar that they can only be distinguished by studying the spores under a microscope or by their bruise patterns.  That is why the identifications, below, are tentative.  I do not wildcraft (gather for eating) mushrooms, as even a small mistake can be fatal.

STROPHARIA, but what species?

poisonous or edible?

Still, I hope that I can make some observations that might increase your own appreciation of the complexity of our ecosystem:
1. Start noticing associations between species.  For instance, is a certain type of mushroom always found in association with a certain species of tree?
2. Ask the 5 Ws:     Who?  (Who's been nibbling on the mushroom?)

                              What?  (What kind of fungus is it?)

                              Where? (Is it on a fallen log?  Growing under a Birch?  on a conifer?)

                              When?  (When did you find it?  Time of year?  Weather conditions?)

                               Why?  (Why do Birches decay so quickly?)

LEPIOTA

possibly, Lepiota rachodes

Shaggy Parasol, Growing Under Red Cedars

The watercolor sketches of mushrooms are from one of my field notebooks.  I was inspired by Beatrix Potter's work... no, not Peter Rabbit.  Beatrix Potter was a formidable mycologist (one who studies fungi) and she illustrated her discoveries with watercolors.  I find sketches help me better observe.

RUSSULA

 Russula, a gill mushroom

growing under Douglas Firs

Nearly all plants on earth depend on fungi, including the mushrooms.  The oldest fossils of land plants, from 450 million years ago, show symbiotic fungal structures.  Fungi act as rootlets, vascular systems, and immune systems for plants in a symbiotic system called the mycorrhiza.  Trees would not exist without fungi.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the flying squirrel, Spotted Owl, and conifers are linked together by the Truffle, an underground 'mushroom'.  Here's how the mycorrhizal system works:  Conifers use the fungal mat of the truffle as root hairs.  This is how the trees absorb water.  Inside the truffles are nitrogen fixing bacteria that help fertilize the trees.  The flying squirrel seeks out the truffle as its favorite food.  It eats the truffle, incubates the spores, and spreads them through the forest.  The Spotted Owl, of course, eats the squirrels, and also helps spread the spores, while controlling the squirrel population.  

Boletus, showing signs of being eaten by slugs

I have also seen boletes eaten by squirrels.

 Boletus
possibly Boletus mirabilis
'Admirable Bolete', a 'tube mushroom'

Decomposition is also part of the cycle of forest life.  Bracket fungi help recycle trees and return them to the soil.

Bracket Fungi, a polypore

Pore Fungi

also known as Bracket Fungi

Lichens are a symbiotic association of fungi and cyanobacteria.  The 'green-blue' bacteria photosynthesize, turning sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into sugar.  The fungi provides the home for the bacteria and gets the benefit of the sugar.  Some lichens also fix Nitrogen, which leaches into the forest floor and fertilizes the forest.

Lichen, the bluish-green growth on the tree bark

Perhaps the strangest fungi are the Slime Molds.  They can exist as separate Amoeba-like cells, scavenging microscopic life, but suddenly they congregate and form a body, like the one seen below.  Cells flow in this body, as if they were blood cells streaming.  Finally, they form a slug-like body and crawl to a place where they grow vegetative stalks and make spore capsules.  This is truly a bizarre creature that seems to act animal-like, protozoan-like, and fungi-like.

Slime Mold

I hope that this little tour of the Fungi Kingdom has helped you appreciate a world of life that is often overlooked.