Sightings of Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens) are rare on the Olympic Peninsula, particularly in the coastal areas west of Port Angeles. Yet on November 9, I noticed a single goose that I didn’t recognize wandering on my land. It was a beautiful gray and white bird lacking the characteristic white chin strap of the Canada Goose, which is both common and plentiful in our area this time of year.
Category: Birds
Orange-crowned Warbler
In spring, the Orange-crowned Warblers (Oreothlypis celata) are frequently seen flitting around in bushes and small trees looking for insects. They can be spotted crossing open meadows as they move from one woodland area to another where willow, alder, and maple are plentiful. The males arrive each year before the females to establish territory, which they…
The Golden-crowned Kinglet. North America’s smallest songbird.
At a mere 4 by 7 inches, the Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) is the smallest songbird in North America. On the Olympic Peninsula, it is a year-round resident. Though widely seen and active high up in dense woodland habitats, one has to listen carefully to hear their high-pitched tsee-tsee-tsee call. Kinglets are small but hardy….
A bird’s eye view of a bald eagle nest
One evening in March 2017, I glanced out the living room window and noticed a bald eagle flying over a tall stand of trees. It was carrying a long stick in its talons. There had once been an active nest in a neighboring fir. During a winter storm in 2006, the top third of that tree broke off and tumbled into the sea. For several days following the event, I observed the eagle pair flying erratically near the fractured tree and screeching. A year later, they began to build the new nest and, as far as I knew, never spent any time there. Now, it seemed, things were changing.
The Rufous Hummingbird
The Rufous gets its name from the color of the males—with reddish upperparts and brown crowns. The females have mostly green upperparts and white bellies. The females are seen more frequently at feeders and are less territorial than the males who will not tolerate other males of their species or other species of birds entirely.
The Belted Kingfisher
Belted kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) make a prominent appearance along local shorelines with their loud, cackling calls and determined flight patterns. They are largely aquatic feeders with skilled diving techniques, using their long straight bills to catch their prey in the water. The birds are short, stocky, and bluish-gray, with a rock-star-quality crest on the head…
If it’s fall, it must be Turkey Vultures
Every year, from late September to early October, I look forward to the southbound Turkey Vulture migration from Vancouver Island to the Olympic Peninsula, when hundreds of birds make the 12-mile flight across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.