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. 

Feather 'Forensics': Feathers Can Tell A Story

Feather Forensics:
     Feathers are amazing products of evolutionary technology.  As we now know, feathers link birds to their dinosaurian ancestors.  Looked at through a magnifying lens, feathers show an interlocking system of barbs that predate Velcro by more than 60 million years.  Seen through DNA analysis, they are revealing surprising relationships.  (eg - Falcons are related to Parrots.)  Analyzed chemically, they can reveal pollutants to which birds have been exposed and feathers can reveal the bird's habitat history.  For the amateur scientist or backyard birder, they also have stories to tell.

Common Raven

Feathers and the Law: 

     Unfortunately many birds became endangered or extinct in the last three hundred years, because their feathers made them the target of the fashion industry, the decorative arts, and collectors.  Among the extinct birds who died for their feathers was the Carolina Parakeet.  Those who were endangered by the feather trade were the Western Grebe, the Laysan Albatross, the Snowy Egret, the Spectacled Eider, the Bald Eagle, and the Common Tern.

     Laws protecting migratory birds and raptors were enacted by Congress to keep more species from going extinct.  These laws prohibit the collecting of feathers of these birds, HOWEVER, you can collect molted feathers or bird kills (window hits, predator kills), if you turn them over to the proper agencies:   natural history museums, wildlife centers under the overview of Fish and Wildlife, and authorized biological studies.  

     In this blog, I will tell you how you can make a legal, fake collection and what this collection can tell you.  

Spotted Towhee

Primary Flight Feathers - left wing

Legal Feather 'Collecting':

     My feather collection consists of facsimiles: my watercolor sketches, photos, computer scans, and photocopies.  The feathers can then be returned to nature or given to the appropriate agency.  Using a color copier is the easiest.  It can give amazing results  I have shown these photocopies to people and one or two thought they were real feathers.

     This kind of 'collecting' follows the American Birding Association's code of ethics, that our actions should not endanger birds, other wildlife, or the natural environment. 

Thayer's Gull

Secondary Flight Feather - Right Wing

What Feathers Can Tell You:

     There is an identification book for feathers, appropriately named Bird Feathers, by S. David Scott and Casey McFarland.  It does not have every North American Species, but a good sampling from each region.  I use it, but also use local experts.

           What does the sampling of feathers below show us?  I watched this tree over a five month period.  The Merlin (falcon), usually a male, consistently brought its prey to this tree, where it would pluck off the flight feathers.  Over the five months, by collecting and identifying the feathers, I was able to discover this Merlin's food sources.  These feathers were found on July 7th.  All  feathers were given to the Merlin Falcon Foundation, as part of the Merlin Project.

(feathers seen clockwise from top)

Merlin Feather, Cedar Waxing Feather, & White-Crowned Sparrow Feathers

all found under the same Sitka Spruce tree

The photo, below, was from a dead Swainson's Thrush in my neighborhood.  I had heard what I thought were Swainson's Thrush calls in the dense tree canopy, but they had not shown themselves.  (Bird watchers know that this bird is very secretive and has a beautiful song.)  The body was a kind of sad confirmation.

Swainson's Thrush

predation kill

found near my house

The photo, below, shows a particular type of predation.  The smaller raptors often clip off the wings and tail of their prey.  The wings and tail contain little of nutritional value and make it harder to carry the prey back to their perch, mate, or young.  If the body is missing and the clipped wings are scattered on the ground this is what you might be seeing. 

Varied Thrush

predation kill

also found in my neighborhood

The picture of the Northern Flicker shows a new feather erupting from its feather sheath.  These feathers are sometimes called blood feathers, because there is arterial flow into the growing feather shaft.  When the feather is fully formed, the blood is withdrawn from the artery and the artery withers.  Pre-fledging juveniles are particularly vulnerable, because all of there new feathers are going through this phase.  If these feathers are broken before they are fully formed the bird is put in jeopardy from blood loss.  It is important that pre-fledge juveniles are not put in danger by our actions.

Northern Flicker

predation kill

found in the Lake City District of Seattle

This was a mature bird regrowing a feather lost to molting.

Colors in feathers are generally produced by pigments or by structure.  The orange-red colors in the Northern Flicker feathers come from carotenes, the same pigment that colors carrots!  The browns and black colors come from melanins, the same pigment that gives us humans our wonderful pigments.  The blues in the wing color bar of the Mallard, below, do not come from pigments.  They are derived from the way the light interacts with the feather, itself.  The same is true for most birds with blue feathers.

Male Mallard Duck

Lake Terrell, Whatcom County

cause of death unknown

If you find a molt feather, note its condition.  Feathers get rough treatment from sun and friction.  They are kept in shape as long as possible by careful preening and the application of oil from the uropygial gland or 'preen gland' found at the rump.  If you see a preening bird sticking its bill at its rump/base of tail, it is getting oil to apply.  This is exactly like you putting on sunscreen.  If you are a duck, this preening keeps you afloat and waterproof.  

     Still, birds like the Red-Tailed Hawk have a rough and tumble life.  Taking down prey, like a mouse or a snake, they flatten their wings and tail against the ground, surrounding their kill.  By the next molt, these feathers often have a raggedy look.   

Red-tailed Hawk

Molted Tail Feather

You can learn a whole lot by observing feathers.  Sometimes bird watching means looking down, not up.

Fall Migration at Semiahmoo and Birch Bay

      Autumn is bringing winter southward.  I've found that one way to stay aware of the changes is to keep a journal.  Another is to keep a dedicated calendar.  For example, today, I saw a female Downy Woodpecker and female Northern Flicker at my suet feeder and they became calendar entries.  After a full year, you will begin to see a 'parade of species':  like when the Russula Mushrooms sprout under the Douglas Firs, when the Black-Tailed Deer fawns have lost their spots, when the Coho Salmon have returned,  and so on... 

     One of the great seasonal changes occurring now is the fall migration of birds.  On October 27, I went to Birch Bay and a few miles further north to Semiahmoo Spit (which protects a bay on the US-Canada border) to observe the return of waterfowl that had summered in the Arctic.  If you live along the coast in Oregon or California, you may see some these same birds later this fall or winter.  I feel both awe and wonder when I think of their annual round-trip journeys!  

      One familiar sight right now is V formations of Canada Geese.  I recently came back from a road trip and saw large V flights of Canada Geese in the San Joaquin Valley, California.  Many Canada Geese, however, will stay as resident populations.  Our Canada Geese will be joined by thousands of Trumpeter Swans, Snow Geese and Black Brants (a small goose) in November.

(Please note, these photos were made with a camera, held up to a spotting scope.)

Canada Geese preening and foraging for eel grass

that has washed ashore.

- more than 90 at Birch Bay -

     This day, I talked to an 'old timer' from Birch Bay.  She told me that the numbers of migratory ducks and geese and shore birds has been declining since she started watching in the 1970s.  Later, another birder at Semiahmoo told me the same thing.  Our journals can help provide an historical perspective that is desperately needed for ecological awareness.

Canada Goose preening

 

     One of the seasonal changes that can be seen is the change in plumage.  The brilliant feathers of the breeding season are being replaced with non-breeding, winter plumage... more subdued and probably providing more camouflage.  I found it interesting that the males who still had their breeding colors were conspicuously still paired with their mates.  On the other hand, males in winter plumage or juvenile plumage were sometimes in flocks of mixed species.

     If you wish to learn to identify these birds, it is important that your field guide has pictures of both breeding and non-breeding phases.  I suggest a regional field guide if you are new to an area, not an 'all-the-birds' book.  Comprehensive field guides include many species you may never see.  For those who live in this area, I recommend Birds of the Puget Sound Region, by Morse, Aversa, and Opperman.

Dabbling Ducks:   Among the dabbling ducks I saw this day were Pintails, Mallards, and American Wigeons.

Northern Pintail Duck

The Pintail is a dabbler, not a diver.  It feeds on water plants by dipping its head down under, with its tail sticking up.  Like other dabbling ducks, they feed in the shallows.  Other dabblers seen this day were Mallards and American Wigeons.  You are more likely to see the dabbling ducks closer to the shore, in the more shallow water.

American Wigeons at Semiahmoo

American Wigeons at Birch Bay's Creek

Diving Ducks:  Like the name says, diving ducks are at home swimming under water for food.  Many eat crustaceans, mollusks, and small fish.  Harlequin ducks frequent marine environments like these in the winter, but move into mountains - inland and north - in breeding season.  If I had to pick one duck as the most beautiful, I would choose the Harlequin.  This day, I also saw a mated pair of Golden-Eye Ducks and a mated pair of Buffleheads.  Both species are also diving ducks.  

Harlequin Ducks

Diving Sea Ducks:  This day at Semiahmoo, I saw Scaups and Scoters...ducks at home in a marine environment.  I still cannot distinguish a Greater Scaup from a Lesser Scaup, so lets just say that I saw fewer than ten scaups.  Large flocks of scoters rafting at Birch Bay and Semiahmoo both numbered over one-hundred.

Surf Scoters

Surf Scoters showing white nape spot

White-Winged Scoters

White secondary feathers show in the spread wing display

Pair Bonding Displays:  Many species of ducks maintain their pair bonds even when breeding season is over.  It was fascinating to watch mated-pair-strengthening behaviors in both Mallards and in White-Winged Scoters.  I watched one Mallard pair bobbing their heads in unison.  Another Mallard pair and White-Winged Scoter pair did a 'dance' that went something like this:  Head Dip in Water (HDW)-HDW-HDW-HDW, followed by rising up out of the water and flapping wings. (See above.)  This was followed by the male and female 'pair swimming'.    

Loons and Grebes:   Loons are not related to ducks and geese (Anatidae) but belong to a different avian family, Gaviidae.  They are a good indicator species for polluted water.  They require pristine waters for breeding and nesting.  They are amazing divers, staying underwater up to a minute, while making dives of over one-hundred feet.  All the loons I saw were in their non-breeding plumage.

Common Loon
Non-Breeding Plumage

Loon fishing

Loon eating its catch, probably a crustacean

Grebes:  The grebes are also diving birds.  This day, they were actively fishing.  They were also in their winter plumage.

Western Grebe

Horned Grebe - Winter Plumage

Shore Birds:  The Dunlins, a kind of sandpiper, are gathering in flocks. Their breeding grounds were on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, 2,500 miles to the north of the US-Canada border.  They are always in motion, running along the shore, flying in tight flock formation every minute or so.  The amount of energy expended must be incredible.  Some of that energy will be transformed as they become prey to Peregrine Falcons and Merlins.    

Dunlin

Small Flock of Dunlins

about 120 - 140 birds

The Ever Adaptable Crow:  Of course, I saw crows.  Two excellent books on these scrappy, intelligent, social, opportunistic birds are:  In the Company of Crows and Ravens, by John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell and Crow Planet, by Lyanda Lynn Haupt.
   

American Crow

Questions or Comments?:  rogersfieldjournal@yahoo.com