These ducks were taking shelter from the wind along the shore in front of the Visitor Center yesterday.

Did you notice the odd duck? Can you identify it?

I’ve been following the Biorka Island Radar for over a year now. About a year ago I wrote a script to download the images each day in hopes of getting a better sense of when migration really gets going – or at least the kind of migration that shows up on the radar. Unfortunately by the time I had this consistent record, migration had already started. A couple of days ago it occurred to me that I should check out the images and see if any clear signals of migration had started.

There were a couple of early March nights that were suggestive that some migration may have been occurring, but it was difficult to say for sure. Of course it’s not really possible to see evidence of migration unless the atmosphere is largely free of the precipitation that shows up, and there were several nights where that was a factor. Finally, starting on the evening of 17 March, it seem clear there was a decent north bound flight of birds over night. I did not see so much activity on other nights before or after, and I’m not sure what triggered things that night -though my guess would be a combination of weather and daylight.

Based on what I’ve seen around here, I suspect the primary migrants are waterfowl and gulls. Many gulls have shown up in town over the past week or two. I’m sure some of that is just repositioning and/or concentration of gulls that were in the area all winter – the start of long-lining season and the resulting pumping of fish waste in to The Channel attracts many gulls. However, I think it’s also safe to say that many of moved in from elsewhere. They will be here in significant numbers through the herring spawn which should occur in the next couple of weeks, then they’ll start to thin out again. I have not noticed an increase in waterfowl, but there has seemed to be a decrease in some of the things that wintered here. Most obviously, the swans out at Starrigavan seem to have moved on.

Recently my kids have been interested in trying to figure out what a bird is from pictures I’ve taken. Although both have shown some interest in birds over he the past few years, my son Connor has spent much more time paying attention to birds and trying to figure out what they are, so in many cases something that is a challenge for Rowan, he knows immediately. The picture above was one such example, so I had Rowan do this one on her own with a couple of bird books and some prompting questions from me.

In what follows, I will explain the process she went through and follow up with a second picture, so if you don’t already recognize the bird and want to try figuring it out on your own, you can check your answer below.

The first two things Rowan keyed on were the size and the obvious red-colored under-wings, and the red mustache (malar). With some questions from me, she also noticed the spotted breast/belly and white rump. She did not really have an idea of what group this bird might belong to (though she was clear on some that it did not belong to, such as waterfowl and raptors).

She thumbed through the bird book and noticed a dove or two that had reddish looking under-wings, but I asked her about other features, they didn’t match. On a second go through the book, she stopped on Gilded Flicker, but the range did not include our area, and pictures of related flickers were not the best for comparison with the picture she had to identify, so she was about ready to move on when I suggested she use a different bird book, since sometimes they’ll have alternate views which are helpful. With the other book, she was able to conclude this bird was a Northern Flicker. When we discussed whether it was Red-shafted or Yellow-shafted (the range of each showing possible presence in Southeast Alaska), the most obvious call is Red-shafted due to the red shafts on its wing feathers. However, looking at the picture below, the bird had a red nape crescent, which is supposed to be a characteristic of Yellow-shafted birds. I explained that the two types can interbreed and have mixed up characters, and that has pretty much been the case with every flicker I’ve seen so far around Sitka.

Black Oystercatchers

Black Turnstones (with accompanying calls from other birds in the area)

Red form of Fox Sparrow observed on Hillcrest Drive.

This winter there were several Fox Sparrows hanging around the neighborhood. Most winters Fox Sparrows are Rare at best, so it was unusual to see as many as 8, despite the cooler and snowier conditions that prevailed this year as compared to other years. Of particular interest to me was a red form (Taiga form in Sibley’s Guide) individual that I saw several times. Although the size, shape, and pattern of coloration is basically the same, the red form is not nearly as dark brown as the birds we typically see here. For comparison, I’ve included a picture of a more typical looking bird below.

Fox Sparrow

Yesterday I saw 3 Northern Pintails, 6 smaller dabblers (I thought Green-winged Teal at the time, though they may have been Northern Shovelers), at least 4 Caspian Terns (including a hatch-year bird), many Thayer’s Gulls, Mew Gulls, a handful of Herring Gulls, Glaucous-winged Gulls, and a couple of Black-legged Kittiwakes. 5 or so White-winged Scoters did a fly by and there were at least 40 phalaropes out on Crescent Bay in two or three flocks that I saw. Shorebirds included Least Sandpipers, Black Turnstones, a Ruddy Turnstone, and what I intially thought might be a Wandering Tattler, but now wonder if it might have been a Spotted Sandpiper.

Last night I heard the terns flying over the neighborhood.

Today there were 8 Northern Shovelers, 10 or so Black Turnstones, a Ruddy Turnstone, at least 5 Least Sandpipers, a Western Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, many gulls; I noted Mew, Herring, Glaucous-winged, and Thayer’s. Ravens and Bald Eagles, and a couple of warblers in the alders along the beach. The warblers were very yellow and the one I got a good look at had a hint of streaking on the breast, so I’m thinking Yellow Warblers.

Yesterday the skies were clear, and it never got fully dark in the north. By 2:30 or so the sky was showing the first signs of increasing light. Hermit Thrushes started with a single note whistle (that’s fairly easy to imitate) as they woke up. By 3am they were singing their full song. I could hear several of them both near and far. Shortly afterward Robins woke up and started singing, joined also by a few Swainson’s Thrushes. (The latter are one of the last species to arrive in the spring, and they’re just now getting started setting up for a summer of nesting.) Over the next half an hour, these species were joined by the relatively late rising Varied Thrush, and finally I also heard Winter Wrens, Townsend’s Warblers, Chestnut-backed Chickadees with an occasional Wilson’s Warbler.

This morning it was overcast, and the night was a bit darker. During the night I heard a Western Screech Owl calling a couple of different times, something I did not hear the night before. As 3am approached the sky was getting lighter, and once again I heard the chirps of Hermit Thrushes. However, unlike yesterday, they didn’t really seem to start singing this morning. Finally, well after I had heard the first Hermit Thrush call notes, a nearby Robin woke up with an alarm and then started into its song. Soon it was joined by many others. I did hear a few Hermit Thrush songs in the midst, but nothing like the previous morning. Once again, the Varied Thrushes joined in later, followed by the Winter Wrens and Townsend’s Warblers. I did not notice chickadees this morning, but I did hear Ruby-crowned Kinglets later in the morning.

I’m a little curious about the differences, in particular the singing activity of the thrushes. I wonder if the overcast skies had something to do with it. If I can muster the motivation/discipline, I’ll try to listen a few more mornings and take some more careful notes about what I’m hearing and when.

Mid-February seems to bring the arrival of mystery gull season. I’m not sure if it’s just an impression, or actually true in practice, but it seems like around this time more large gulls show up around town where they are easy to observe. For them, it’s the lean time of year, and the food available around town certainly plays a role in the gathering. Once the herring really move in during late March or early April, they are very abundant, though not always as easy to observe closely, and gradually numbers thin out a bit as spring heads into summer.

I recently took pictures of three different gulls which are giving me a little identification trouble. I also realized that I have some photos of gulls from last year around this time that I have yet to get conclusively identified. Rather than cram them all into one post, I think I’ll let this be the start of a series of mystery gull posts.

The pale feathering on this Dark-eyed Junco is unusual. Observed 24 November 2007.

A few days after Connor started spreading some bird food around the yard a couple of weeks ago, the Dark-eyed Juncos discovered it and have since been frequent visitors. Among them is an individual (shown above) with unusual pale feather coloring on its wings and tail. The pattern of coloring is quite similar to a bird that visited our yard frequently three years ago, the last time we had feeders out (shown below). So much so, that I’m pretty sure it must be the same bird.

It’s unusual for me to be able to keep track of an individual bird for a few minutes while watching even a small group of birds. It’s pretty much unprecendented that I recognize an individual I have not seen for three years. In some way it’s like the return of an old friend. I’m happy about the return of this bird, and find that I wonder what it’s been up to over the last couple of years. Where does it go for the summer breeding season? Has it been in the neighborhood the last two winters? It seems likely, but I don’t remember ever seeing it.

The return of this individual also makes me wonder how many of the juncos that I see each winter around the neighborhood are here every winter. I’m sure mortality is pretty high from year to year. In some respects it’s pretty amazing that this bird with plumage that is not necessarily optimal for hiding, has managed to survive when I’m sure many of his peers didn’t. According to the Birds of North America on-line, Dark-eyed Juncos have been observed to live at least 11 years in the wild (found via bird banding work). Although it seems unlikely that we will live in this neighborhood for more than a year or two into the future, I think it would be neat to see this bird again each winter.

This Dark-eyed Junco visited our feeders through the winter of 2004. Its unusually pale feathers were quite distinctive.

Pied-billed Grebe photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

Yesterday when I stopped by Swan Lake, I did not see the Pied-billed Grebe I had first observed two days ago. As my photos from the first time I saw it were not exceptional, I thought it might be nice to look for the grebe again today and possibly try for some better photos.

When I first arrived, I scanned the lake a couple of times, with and without binoculars, but did not see the grebe anywhere. It was a cool, but pleasant afternoon, so I sat down on one of the benches to wait and see. As I periodically glanced around, I happened to catch the ripples created by a diving bird right in front of the vegetation off the end of the peninsula. Since I had not seen the grebe, I assumed a scaup had come in close, as I had seen them do this before. However, when the bird popped back up again, I saw it was the grebe. I was a little puzzled, as I had not seen the grebe, despite looking for it, and I could not figure out how it could have moved in from far off without me seeing it.

Pied-billed Grebe photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

Pied-billed Grebe photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

I’ll briefly interrupt the narrative here for a demonstration of just how effectively this Pied-billed Grebe is at disappearing. Click on the thumbnails below to test your ability to find the grebe.

Relatively easy

Pied-billed Grebe photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

Not so easy.

Pied-billed Grebe photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

Pied-billed Grebe photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

Those photos were comparable to what it was like looking without binoculars. With binoculars it was quite a bit easier to find the bird (at least when I knew where it was to start with). Here are crops of the last two photos above.

Pied-billed Grebe photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

Pied-billed Grebe photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

Note the main difference is in the field of focus. Part of the problem with finding the grebe is the eye tends to focus on the vegetation rather than behind it.

Pied-billed Grebe and American Coot photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

As the grebe made its final approach toward the moose, an American Coot followed right on its tailfeathers. The coots like the same hangout, and apparently this one was not thrilled with the interloping grebe. They had some words which, in the common language of these two species, seemed to consist of swimming around each other like wary fighters and making an occasional lunge with the bill to nip at ones opponent. Although it is not a particularly large bird, the coot had a distinct size advantage over the grebe. The grebe seemed to realize this, so it backed down and let the coot take its position. At least that’s what I thought at first. Moments after the coot had relaxed and turned away from the grebe, the grebe struck back with a pretty good nip at the flanks of the coot. This got the coot moving, and as the birds seemed to be getting worked up again, the second coot came in, since apparently these coots have each others backs.

American Coots photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

The grebe did not stand much chance in a direct confrontation with both coots, each of which was a larger bird. Surely this time the grebe would accept that the coots ruled this roost. Pied-billed Grebes don’t think like I do, however. At least this one doesn’t. It only took a few seconds and the grebe saw its opening. The coots had let their guard down, and the grebe struck with a pretty fierce goosing of the nearest coot. As the stricken coot went scurrying across the water, the grebe turned and went after the second coot with no less aggression. This sneak attack was too much for the coots and they decided to retreat, swimming out toward the open water and leaving the moose hideout to the grebe.

Pied-billed Grebe and American Coot photographed on Swan Lake 25 October 2007.

I actually had to laugh at the grebe’s aggressive, and sometimes unprovoked, actions toward the other birds. The Birds of North American on-line account of Pied-billed Grebe behavior suggests that these birds are very territorial, especially toward other grebes, but they also have been known to attack many other waterbird species including Canada Goose(!?) and American Coot. The account suggests that paired birds, especially males, are aggressive even during winter, though not as much as during breeding season. As far as I have seen, there is only one grebe on Swan Lake, and I would think whatever territory it might have is a long way from here. In any case, this seems to be one ornery bird.

Observed with 2 Golden-crowned Sparrows 19 October 2007 at Moller Park track. All were actively foraging on the gravel track.

Today’s American Tree Sparrow was a new Sitka area bird for me. I probably would not have seen it, except I stopped to watch two Golden-crowned Sparrows feeding along Moller Track. They went up into the trees at the edge of the track and as I waited, they appeared again with a third bird, the American Tree Sparrow.

For more photos and additional information about American Tree Sparrows in Sitka, see, Sitka Birds: American Tree Sparrow.