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I birded the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) Wetlands
below Jordanelle Dam yesterday morning from 7:00 to 11:00 and alas, I cannot
report birds so intriguing as a Sabine's Gull or Vermillion Flycatcher. So
I'll try to relay the intrigue of the regulars I
saw.
It was c-c-c-c-c-cold! until the sun finally hit my
back at 8:25. The birds were active and noisy until sunlight reached
down into the BOR and then the noise level dropped like somebody
turned off a switch. All the species I saw qualify as residents
except for one Nashville Warbler. I also saw astonishing numbers
of American Robins, Northern Flickers, Belted Kingfishers, Song Sparrows,
Marsh Wrens, American Magpies, Cedar Waxwings, Red-winged Blackbirds and
Yellow-rumped Warblers. I saw fewer numbers of Black-capped
Chickadees, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, an American Dipper, an Osprey, several
Red-tailed Hawks, two Osprey or the same one twice, an American Kestrel,
Mallards, Great-blue Herons, American Goldfinches (audible only) and a Downy
Woodpecker.
I had a comical view of a male Northern
Flicker perched in a Red Osier Dogwood eating the white berries. The
flicker faced me squarely so that every time he tipped his head up to let a
berry roll down between his mandibles and into his gape, he exposed his gray
throat to me. His red malar stripes framed his throat on either side
like a mutton chop mustache might.
I also heard American Robins and Song Sparrows
singing as if it was spring. I'll share the words of an expert
birder friend of my mother's in way of explanation for this behavior: "In
many bird species hormonal levels are controlled by the amount of daylight (e.g.
woodcock) and since day length now is probably the equivalent of late March,
some birds (and other animals) show springlike behavior." He provided this
info to my mom several weeks ago to help explain why a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
was excavating a hole in the oak tree in her Massachusetts front yard.
Back to the BOR, I approached a curve in the trail
anticipating seeing a Gray Catbird when I rounded the bend. Much to my
surprise, the vocalist was a Song Sparrow singing a Gray Catbird-like
song. I have no enlightened explanations for why this was so. I
watched the sparrow for as long as he sang. All the Song Sparrows are
looking very jowly with a dark stripe swooping below a
creamy malar stripe--yet another bird in mutton chop
mustache-plumage! I assume the Song Sparrows are in fresh fall plumage or
their feathers just came back from the cleaners.
Along the boardwalk, I came across an olive-drab
frog that must have clambered up between boards to absorb some of those
life-giving rays of sun. I picked the frog up, and it was c-c-c-c-c-cold
as I was! It wore a beautiful pale orange wash underneath from
its throat to its tail, and never once protested my inspection by
struggling. It must have been too cold to move with the exception of an
occasional eye blink and the regular fluttering of its throat. I named it
Kermit and put it back down on the boardwalk in dappled sunlight.
The rattle of Belted Kingfishers was with me
constantly as I walked the trail from the parking lot to the dam. I'm
always happy to see one kingfisher; yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to hear
and see many. When I returned to the parking lot I watched one
female preen on a low arching branch over the pond. She turned her back to
me and ruffled and rustled her tail feathers as if they were a bustle on a
Victorian dress. I had the same impression of a Red-tailed Hawk as I
watched it preen. I never realized the Red-tailed carries
such...ahem...avoirdupois, or weight in its tail, until I watched the
bird lift and preen the feathers on its rump.
The End
Kris
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