regarding nature

someone asked me what my blog was about, and I said "well...it's regarding nature"

[regardingnature]

Marsh Wren singing loud for all to hear.  And their song is often the best way to identify these birds that are usually hard to see in the tall marsh grasses they call home.  Their song is fast and musical like most wrens, but with more of a raspy rattle to it.  

[regardingnature]

There are eight species of Chipmunks in the Pacific Northwest.  This is likely a Yellow-pine or a Townsend’s, but that’s only based off of their geographic range (these photos were taken at Lake Stuart in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness).  

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Here are two fun birds that I see regularly around Seattle, the Wilson’s Warbler (top photo), and the Violet-green Swallow (bottom photo).  The yellow body and black cap of the Wilson’s are easy traits to identify in the field.  Additionally, this is one of the few wood warblers that’s more common on the west coast than the east coast. 

The Violet-green Swallow is in the same family as the more common Tree and Barn Swallows.  They can be difficult to distinguish from Tree Swallows, but when they finally land it’s clear that they have many more green feathers than the bluer Tree Swallow.  

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Savannah Sparrow showing off its most distinctive identifying feature: yellow lores, the feathers between the eye and beak.  While this sparrow is keen of grasslands, it’s actually named after the city in Georgia.  Keep an eye out for these summertime visitors across much of the US.  

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Great Blue Heron silently and patiently stalking aquatic prey.  Not only an awesome bird, but also our marriage spirit animal!  Happy anniversary Liss!

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Rufous Hummingbird.  Not only is this bird extremely attractive, it’s also very impressive.  They migrate annually from Mexico to as far north as Alaska; pretty impressive for a 3″ bird that weighs between 0.1-0.2 ounces (that’s correct zero point two ounces, not two ounces!).  Given that they beat their wings about 55-60 times per second, it’s a truly incredible journey.     

Rufous Hummingbirds are also very aggressive and smart.  They will defend a food source or territory from much larger birds, and sometimes even small mammals.  Additionally they’ll regularly return to the same yard where a feeder  was hung the year before.  Amazing and gorgeous!

[regardingnature]

I photographed this wren a few weeks ago, and thought I knew what it was at the time (probably based on song), but I’ve since forgotten what I thought.  My initial identification was Pacific Wren due to the short erect tail and smallish overall size of the bird.  Now I’m not 100% sure on that ID.  It could be a Bewick’s Wren, but the white “eyebrow” looks too faint, and the tail too short.  However the pale grayish belly and breast are inconsistent with Pacific Wren.  

Your guess is as good as mine.  

[regardingnature]

A few weeks ago we went hiking near Mount St. Helens.  It’s a truly amazing place to visit and explore.  Along the way we saw a herd of elk browsing across the trail from us.  

Thirty-six years ago today Mount St. Helens erupted and became the most deadly and destructive volcanic event in United States history.  Prior to the explosion the mountain was 9,677 feet tall.  In a matter of minutes over 1,312 feet of the mountain exploded, resulting in a new height of 8,365 feet.  You can clearly see the mile wide “crater” visible at the top of the volcano in the photo.  The debris field that we hiked through was many miles from the site, yet there were still chunks of mountain the size of trucks scattered across the landscape.  It’s hard to comprehend the power that was released when that eruption took place.

If you visit Washington this is a truly unique site and I highly recommend visiting.

[regardingnature]

Northern Flicker.  Ubiquitous across much of the continental US, these large handsome woodpeckers actually spend much of their time foraging on the ground.  This flicker was going after worms in the grass much like a Robin would.  

Flickers are great because they’re everywhere, loud, and attractive.  Listen for their distinct repetitive calls echoing through urban parks or suburban woods.  And if you see one in flight they’re easy to identify by the large white rump patch visible when flying away from you.

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Song Sparrow atop a cattail at Green Lake.  

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Double-crested Cormorant.  These fish-eating birds are often overlooked as crows of the sea, but upon further inspection they're quite impressive (as are crows).  They often have bright green eyes, and orange face skin that contrast beautifully with their matte black head and neck feathers.  

While they are capable of flight it's a laborious undertaking.  This is because cormorants are specially deigned for underwater fishing.  They have heavy bones (good for sinking, not for flying), hooked and serrated bills (for grasping and holding slippery fish), and less water-resistant feathers (good for diving & swimming).  It's this last quality which defines cormorants most common trait; standing with their wings extended.  This habit is used to dry their wings after swimming to make flight more efficient.  Other species of diving birds don't have to dry their wings because they have higher concentrations of preen oil that makes their feathers more water resistant, and hence better for flight but less efficient underwater.

There are many species of cormorants, but Double-crested are the most common (only the males grow their namesake "crests" during the breeding season).  Next time you see a cormorant take a minute to appreciate them and their incredible abilities both in flight and underwater.

[regardingnature]

Notice anything strange about the duck in the center of the top image?  

Every winter it's easy to find large flocks of American Wigeon.  Lakes will often host flocks with hundreds of birds in them.  But if you're lucky, and you look closely at these flocks, you might get rewarded with a visitor from across the Atlantic: the Eurasian Wigeon.  

Not the most uncommon of rare birds, but certainly an exciting find.  Every year a handful of individuals get lost and find their way from Europe to North America where they mix into flocks of American Wigeon.  They are easy to identify with their beautiful chestnut brown heads (in contrast to American Wigeons green and white heads), and gray, black, and white bodies.  You might first assume they're Green-winged Teals, but upon closer inspection you'll notice the lack of green on Eurasian Wigeon.  

Next time you see a large flock of American Wigeon study them closely, and hopefully you'll find a Eurasian in their midst.  

[regardingnature]

On a recent hot air balloon ride (my first, and it was awesome!) over the Snohomish Valley I got a birds eye view of a flock of birds.  I believe these are Snow Geese or Tundra Swans, both of which winter in large numbers in fallow agricultural fields.  I think that I was approximately 3/4 of a mile above these birds when I took the photographs.  I estimate that there are about 1,000 birds in this flock.

[regardingnature]

American Dipper.  These are very unique songbirds that are only found near streams in western North America.  Named not for their habit of "dipping" into streams to forage, but for their funny dip/dancing motion they do while perched above the water.  It's not clear exactly why they dip so feverishly.  

What is clear is that they are the only North American songbird that regularly dives underwater for its food.  Dippers have a fantastic ability to forage for aquatic insects, larvae, and small fish underwater.  This behavior is much more common in ducks and cormorants than passerines (perching song birds).  

This video captures both their dipping behavior, and their ability to dive underwater and catch small fish.  Next time you're out near a stream be sure to keep an eye out for the ever-entertaining American Dipper.  

[regardingnature]

Varied Thrush.  A lovely and attractive bird found only in the pacific northwest.  As a member of the thrush family, these birds are related to the more ubiquitous American Robin and Wood Thrush.  While their song is much less musical than Wood Thrush or Hermit Thrush, it is no less magical.  Just two notes, one rising, one falling, whistled slowly, with a glassy echo; you'll know when you hear a Varied Thrush.  

Often it's easier to hear them than to see them.  They prefer deep dark dense woods, and forage on the ground often in dense understory.  Fall and winter are usually the best time to see them when they switch their diets from insects to fruits and berries.  Varied Thrush will occasionally visit feeders as well.  

[regardingnature]

It's likely this is a Coopers Hawk.  Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawks are almost identical and very hard to distinguish in the field without a side-by-side comparison; Coopers are slightly larger than Sharpies (as they're called).  

I saw this bird near Green Lake keeping its eye on a mixed flock of chickadees, kinglets, and gold finches.  Coopers Hawks are infamous for their speed and agility that they utilize to prey on smaller song birds in mid flight.  It's impressive to witness the explosion of feathers when a Coopers captures another bird in midair.  If you have a bird feeder and suddenly all the little birds freeze or flee, scan the yard for a Coopers Hawk!

[regardingnature]

Raccoon tracks found at the Union Bay Natural Area.  I found these coming up a bank from a small creek into a meadow with scattered trees.  Raccoons often spend their days in trees, and night scavenging for a variety of food along waterways or near human trash.  Raccoons have relatively long and dexterous fingers, and their tracks often resemble small human hand prints.  

How many tracks can you see in this photo?  I see at least three.  The center track is the most clear and well defined, but just under that is another raccoon track.  Also, at the top of the photo is a third track.  Judging from the depth of the center track, and the proximity of the two bottom tracks to each other, I bet this raccoon was moving faster than a walk when it left these prints.