MID AUGUST BIRDING IN WASHINGTON

Dennis Paulson, Chair, Field Trip Committee. With its great diversity of habitats, Washington state supports a great diversity of breeding bird species. A transect from the lowlands of western Washington across the Cascades and down into the Columbia Basin takes one through a series of life zones and habitat types, each of which has its own characteristic species. Thus Pigeon Guillemot, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Varied Thrush, Clark's Nutcracker, Blue Grouse, Western Bluebird, Bullock's Oriole, Swainson's Hawk, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Black-necked Stilt, and Sage Thrasher all could be seen on a one-day trip.

Yellow-headed Blackbird

By this time of year, breeding is over for the most part, and most individuals of migrant species have moved away from their breeding territories. Some late breeders are still around, as are the immature birds of most species. In addition, migration from the north has begun, so most of the Washington breeding species are still present in the state, some albeit in reduced numbers, and many additional species are pouring into the state. And of course there are many resident birds - woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, finches, raptors, waterfowl - that are much in evidence in early fall.

This is a time of interest to students of bird plumages, as most adults are in molt, and many immatures are to be seen, in juvenal or first-basic plumages or molting between them. Species that breed in rich habitats tend to undergo molt before they migrate, while those in drier, less productive habitats where food resources have dwindled greatly may migrate quickly and then molt after they arrive in more productive habitats farther south. Habitat type exerts a strong selective pressure on molt, and different species of the same genus may have different molt strategies.


FRESHWATER BIRDS. Freshwater birds are not especially diverse in western Washington, where natural water bodies were historically not very productive of aquatic life. However, east of the Cascades, in the Columbia Basin, there are extensive freshwater wetlands, and many bird species inhabit them. Breeding is over at this time of year, and many marsh breeders (e.g., Yellow-headed and Red-winged blackbirds) have left the marshes to form flocks feeding in nearby farmlands. But there is still a lot of activity around fresh water, with migrant shorebirds, gulls and terns, flocks of ducks still in eclipse plumage, and an abundance of life in comparison with the rather sere sagebrush and grassland habitats nearby.


Marbled Murrelet
 SHOREBIRDS. Mid August through early September are the most interesting times for shorebirds in this part of the world. Almost all migratory species are present in the state, and rare species such as Buff-breasted Sandpipers and Bar-tailed Godwits are most likely to be seen now. Adults of some migratory species have already passed through the state, but juveniles are abundant, as are adults of those species that will winter in the Northwest. Most shorebirds are in marine habitats, but much smaller numbers of species and individuals occur on fresh water as well, and a few species are restricted to it. The only Washington shorebirds that have not arrived yet for the fall/winter are Rock Sandpipers and Dunlins.
SEABIRDS. Although most of our wintering seabirds have not yet arrived in Washington waters, this is still a fine time for many types of oceanic birds. Pelagic species, including 5 species of shearwaters, all 4 North Pacific skuas, Sabine's Gulls and Arctic Terns, are at their greatest diversity and abundance in mid August and September. Coastal waters are full of Sooty Shearwaters, Brown Pelicans, Heermann's Gulls, and Common Murres that have moved up from the south. Tufted Puffins, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Pigeon Guillemots may still be found near their breeding colonies. In addition, summering immature individuals of a variety of wintering seabirds are present, including loons, Brants, and scoters.

Black-footed Albatross and Sooty Shearwaters

Northern Pygmy-Owl
 RAPTORS. The Pacific Northwest is rich in raptor species, and all the breeding and resident ones should be present at this time of year (migrant and wintering species come later). Red-tailed Hawks are common everywhere and make up the vast majority of the big hawks seen perched on roadside trees and utility poles. In open country east of the Cascades, Swainson's Hawks and American Kestrels are similarly common. Bald Eagles and Ospreys breed widely on the coast and large freshwater bodies, and Peregrine Falcons, although local, are increasing steadily. Owls are especially diverse in Washington, although, as everywhere, they are not easy to find. In mountain forests, diurnal Northern Pygmy-Owls are often responsive to imitations of their calls, and those calls (single whistled toots every few seconds) given in pygmy-owl habitats often attract passerines and woodpeckers. Whether on organized field trips or out on your own, you should have no trouble finding many birds of interest anywhere in the region.