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

:

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.

Trumpeter Swans and Snow Geese

In my November 1st posting of this blog, called "Fall Migration at Semiahmoo", I talked about Canada Geese.  There are all-year, resident Canada Geese in coastal Washington and British Columbia, but there are also migratory Canada Geese. Can you tell the difference?  Those that migrate to the Arctic are generally smaller...some nearly as small as Mallard Ducks.  Our locals are very large, some weighing up to 11 kilograms/24 pounds.    

Bathing, Preening Canada Geese at Semiahmoo

We do have geese and swans who reside here only in the late fall and winter, arriving with the cold arctic air.  They are the Trumpeter Swans, the Snow Geese, and the Brants.  With the first snow falls, I go looking for these waterfowl.  The snow recently dusted the foothills and I headed for Skagit Valley.  

New Snowfall in the Cascades above Bellingham

November 20

Snow Covered Maples near Maple Falls and Glacier

November 20

When the snow falls in the mountains and foothills and the frost covers the ground of my home in Bellingham, I look for geese and swans in the farmlands and wetlands of the Skagit Valley.  You can often hear the geese before you see them, honking in flight, honking in the fields.  There were small flocks in flight, joining flocks already resting on the plowed or fallow fields.  Trumpeter Swans have often died when striking power lines.  The local power company has taken to putting flag or tinsel-like objects on the lines to warn the swans.  This has helped lower the number of fatalities.  

Trumpeter Swans Flying Over Skagit Valley Farms

I saw a flock of Trumpeters numbering over one hundred in one field.  I also looked for Tundra Swans.  Tundra Swans also migrate between the north shore of Alaska and our coastal area.  The Tundra Swan looks much like the Trumpeter Swan, but has a small, yellow spot in front of its eyes.  I did not see Tundra Swans.  The Trumpeter Swans, as can be seen in these photos, have heavy black markings in front of their eyes (the lores), joining with their black beaks.  The yellow spot is absent.

Adult Trumpeter Swan

Gray Juvenile and White Adults

The Trumpeter Swans spend much of the winter grazing on the tender blades of grass in the plowed fields.  In lakes they are dabblers, sticking their heads down into the mud for food.  This has led to large die-offs, because they ingest lead shot in the mud, while rooting for vegetable matter.  Lead shot is powerfully toxic to swans and geese.  Laws have been enacted to change shotgun and bird shot shells from lead to steel, yet the old lead pellets lay in lake mud and in fields of heavily hunted areas.  Efforts are being made to keep the Trumpeters from landing in lakes that were heavily impacted by lead shot.  Locally, death-rates are dropping, but are still a major concern.  

Birds have a preen gland at the upper base of their tail.  In waterfowl, spreading the oil from this gland is important to 'waterproof' their feathers to help them float.

Trumpeter Swan Preening

The Skagit River runs through the farmlands of the Skagit Valley and forks into north and south branches, forming an island.  This is where I saw between three and four thousand Snow Geese on November 19.

The South Fork of the Skagit River

I was amused to see that the Snow Geese were all in the posted 'No Hunting' area.  They were absent from the surrounding farmlands.  I have also visited the hunting areas in Skagit Valley and I have rarely seen a Snow Goose.  Evidently, these geese have learned a few lessons.  

Fir Island Reserve

Snow Geese at Fir Island

These two Snow Geese were showing their characteristic black primary feathers (wingtips) as they flew overhead.

Two Snow Geese in Flight

At least two thousand Snow Geese took flight within seconds, making a tremendous honking commotion.  Something must have scared them.  Bald Eagles often soar high over the valley, yet none were in sight (that I saw).  There may well have been a raptor that I did not see.  The geese flew, as if panicked, for at least a minute before landing.

Sudden Flight

Snow Geese fly in a loose V or U formation. 

'U' Formation

Snow Geese Landing

Some calm Snow Geese took to the water.  The adults are all white, except for their primaries.  The younger geese show more grey mottling.

Snow Geese Floating on a Diked Drainage Canal

You might be wondering why there are no dark-bodied Snow Geese in these photos.  Those with dark bodies and white necks and heads are called Blue Morph Snow Geese.  They were not present in this flock.

White Morph Flock with their Pinkish Bills and Legs

At the beginning of this posting, I mentioned that a marine goose, the Brant, should be arriving from the Arctic. I went to the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center (a Natural History Museum/Education Center) and asked about the Brants.  The person who had been given responsibility to note the arrival of the Brants had not yet seen them in Padilla Bay.  Perhaps I will be able to report on the arrival of these small, sea-loving geese on a future posting of this blog.

Previous Postings of the Bellingham Field Journal:

1. Merlins and Reading Nature; October

2. Shorthand for Field Notes; October

3. Trees: A Key to Understanding Birds; October

4. Fall Migration at Semiahmoo & Birch Bay; November

5. Feather Forensics:  Feathers Can Tell a Story; November

6. Urban Wildlife; November

Urban Wildlife

Gary Snyder, the poet and environmentalist, distinguishes between 'wild' and 'wilderness'.  I think that he is correct.  Bellingham is a large town near the Canadian Border, in Washington State.  It is certainly no wilderness.  Yet within this city of 81,000 people there are plenty of wild things:  urban wildlife.

As I look at my field journal from last week, I see than within the city limits I saw a coyote, three river otters, four racoons, a yearling-Black-tailed Deer (male), and a 3-point buck with his doe.  Oh...and plenty of squirrels.  Certainly there must be certain kinds of urban development that encourage these wild mammals to live in close proximity and relative safety with so many people.

In the case of Bellingham, I believe it is the creeks (Whatcom, Squalicum, and Padden) flowing from lakes and ponds to the bay.  The city created a system of urban trails, parks, greenways, and protected watershed that are used by us for recreation and by animals for a living.  Also, many residents do not fence their property.  Wild things are free to wander.

Bellingham also has a large bird watching community.  That means there are many bird feeders.  I have seen deer and squirrels regularly visiting these feeders for a snack.  On my street, within city limits, some people keep chickens, goats, and sheep.  This is an added attraction for wildlife.

In the photo below, notice the green ribbon running through residential and business properties.  This creek acts as a safe passage way and wild mammals, birds, fish and amphibians.

Padden Creek, Bellingham: An Urban Wildlife Highway

I saw this Great Blue Heron in the heart of the business district.  What was it doing there?  It was fishing in the relative peace and quiet of Whatcom Creek, which runs through downtown Bellingham.  Right now, Sockeye Salmon have been spotted in Whatcom creek.

Great Blue Heron in Whatcom Creek, Business District

In late summer, the bucks were 'in velvet'.  In other words, the soft skin that covers the growing antlers was still evident.  These bucks were in my yard.

Bucks with Velvet on Antlers

Now that it is late fall, mating season for deer (the rut) is here.  This buck is sharing what looks like a tender moment with a doe.  He and she are touching foreheads and noses, gently.  Soon, a male yearling came on the scene and the buck chased him away, then hovered near the doe aggressively.  This happened under the Red Cedars in my garden.

3 Point Buck and Doe, a Mated Pair

I have seen many coyote tracks after snow falls...especially near my neighbors' chicken coop.  Last week, however, I saw a coyote in the back of the Merlin Falcon Foundation Office.  It surveyed the grounds and then slipped back into the understory trees that line Padden Creek.

Coyote

I have been watching a family of River Otters who have a den near a popular coffee and espresso shop.  They regularly hunt fish (successfully) along the bay shore.  Last week, I watched as three of them entered their den.  One was curious enough to stand up and look at me.

  

River Otters

River Otters

In the summer, I watched Myotis Bats in the late evening sky.  At this time of year, some are going into hibernation...sometimes under the loosened bark of Birch Trees.  This bat's winter, tree bark home was disturbed, unfortunately.  At my home, I have put up a bat house in hopes that it will provide winter shelter.

for these flying mammals. 

Little Brown Myotis Bat

Some of our wildlife are not native.  The Western Gray Squirrel has been moving in on the territory of the Douglas Squirrel.  It is larger and more aggressive and has great acrobatic skills, when it comes to raiding bird feeders.  Still, they are entertaining.

Western Gray Squirrel

Western Gray Squirrel

Leaf Nest of the Western Gray Squirrel

Douglas Squirrels are still seen in the more mature, complex forests.  Fortunately, Bellingham has many parks and urban trails with mature tree canopies.

Douglas Squirrel

Douglas Squirrel

Another invader (or maybe pioneer) species is the European Rabbit.  It was brought here by settlers for a food source.  Then, some promptly escaped and became our local 'San Juan Rabbits'.

San Juan (European)Rabbit

If you have questions about these species, I recommend the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals and the easy to use (and kid friendly) Reader's Digest North American Wildlife.