Along the coast of Washington, just after the summer solstice, thousands of Western Sandpipers settle in to feed along the tidal edge. Crows are ferocious and fearless parents.
Yes, the large clutches may include eggs from more than one female. Look high into the top branches of a Douglas fir tree, and you may see a Bald Eagle, our national symbol. Look farther out, and you might see Pigeon Guillemots. Only a few weeks after young Bald Eagles fledge from their nests, the parents leave the area as well. Is that big black bird a crow or a raven?
Listen for the rattling call of a Belted Kingfisher as it flies out over the water, looking for a fish.
This is the only North American raptor to feed exclusively on fish.
They occasionally crowd into suburban bird feeders, nudging out smaller birds. This bird inhabits remote areas near tree-line in the western mountains, where it lives in symbiosis with whitebark pines.
Because cell towers stretch high above surrounding trees and buildings, they sometimes offer perfect nesting sites for Ospreys, large brown and white birds of prey. Listen for the rattling call of a Belted Kingfisher as it flies out over the water, looking for a fish.
Also, study the tail as the bird flies overhead.
This bird inhabits remote areas near tree-line in the western mountains, where it lives in symbiosis with whitebark pines.
Only the Glaucous-winged Gull nests in the Pacific Northwest, so for months, gull-watching has been pretty tame. Only the Glaucous-winged Gull nests in the Pacific Northwest, so for months, gull-watching has been pretty tame.
To compensate, these birds move their heads. Have you ever wondered how some migrating birds return to the same location, year after year?
Its skillful hunting is enhanced by exceptional sight and acute hearing. Chickadees and nuthatches swirl in small chattering flocks in the first light, to drink dew from the cups of leaves. October brings well over a dozen species of wintering ducks and seabirds to our waters.
When returning rains improved breeding habitat, duck abundance rebounded. Also, study the tail as the bird flies overhead.
The jewel-like male Rufous Hummingbirds are fewer in number these days. Should it go down headfirst or tailfirst? Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Osprey nests are protected, even on cell towers.