April on Sunriver’s Waterways: A Fond Farewell to Three Winter Duck Species

Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Barrows Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

By Sevilla Rhoads

As we say goodbye to winter’s snow and ice, we bid farewell to three duck species whose calls and beauty cheered the chilly gray months. In April, we get so excited about migratory arrivals we might forget to appreciate Sunriver’s winter ducks. Around this time of year, some of our common winter species head north to breed. If you look at eBird’s illustrated checklists for Sunriver, they show how some birds, like Common Goldeneyes, Barrow’s Goldeneyes, and Buffleheads, go from being regularly seen all winter to rarely reported between April and October. 

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We will miss our Goldeneyes this summer. They warmed the winter waterscapes with their bright eyes and soft fuzzy helmet-heads. To use a fancy term, Goldeneyes have ‘plumage dimorphism’ because the males are more colorful and ornamented. Males have black and white patterning on their bodies with iridescent (usually) greenish heads sporting a roundish white splotch between the eye and beak. Females have brown heads and mostly gray bodies with slight white barring.

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Significant gender appearance differences are common in birds, but often it is the female who is larger or more ornate, like in raptors and Spotted Sandpipers (which should arrive in Sunriver in April). Some assume the reasons behind these sex differences relate solely to mating, but the actual causes are the subject of scientific study and debate.    

While looking for Common Goldeneyes, you could spot the less common but equally beautiful Barrow’s Goldeneye. Male Barrow’s often, but not always, have a more purple-sheened head with a white tear-like patch reaching up before the eye. Their wings have a window pattern with less white than the Common Goldeneye. The female Barrow’s is very similar to a female Common Goldeneye.  

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It is super hard to tell female Goldeneyes apart, but if you feel like challenging yourself, here is a helpful guide by I.D. guru David Sibley: https://www.sibleyguides.com/2010/01/distinguishing-female-barrows-and-common-goldeneyes/. Other issues for identifying female Goldeneyes around Sunriver are how they mingle with males of the other Goldeneye species, and their bill colors vary. On rare occasions, the two Goldeneye species get together and have hybrid offspring. https://www.sibleyguides.com/2010/01/identification-of-hybrid-female-goldeneyes/. 

In Sunriver, we often see Goldeneyes on monochrome winter days, so we cannot rely on the colors shown in guidebooks. In low light, even the easier to differentiate males seem black and white with head shapes depending on whether they are fluffed up or just emerged from a dive. So, try looking at the white patterning to tell these guys apart. 

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Goldeneyes are an excellent example of how hard it can be to rely on general bird guides with only one or two illustrations. Beginner birders and kids quickly become frustrated and confused with a simple guide in hand. Our family takes a few photos and glances at the general guides and apps to find possible matches. Then, we let go of trying to I.D. and focus on enjoying the bird. Later, we go online to eBird and search by species name using the Deschutes County filter feature. While browsing the local photos, having an image of what you saw is helpful, even if it is a smartphone snapshot. Especially after walking on a cold day, it can be fun to browse for I.D. ideas while warming your hands with a cup of tea or hot cocoa.

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As the Goldeneyes lift off and fly away, listen carefully, and you will understand their hunters’ nickname, “Whistlers.” Spring migration is a good time of year to pause, close your eyes, and open your ears to the sounds of birds flying around Sunriver. Notice the variety of winged harmonies. We tend to focus on calls and miss feather-movement music. Charles Darwin wrote about ‘wing songs’ because many birds’ feathers evolved to create sound as well as serve other functions like flying.  

Those paying close attention to Goldeneyes may note that a few lack the signature ‘golden’ eye color. Like many other bird species, Goldeneyes go through startling eye color changes as they age, plus mature males and females have different colored eyes. Goldeneyes are born with brown or gray eyes but then change several times to purple, green, and even turquoise before developing their breeding age shades of yellow. Ornithologists are not sure how or why this happens. 

Slowing down to watch Sunriver ducks and notice their details, like eye, bill, and feather colors, we are reminded the natural world still holds many mysteries yet to be understood. It is exciting to know there is so much more to discover, even right here in our ponds and rivers.

For more information on Goldeneyes, see: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Goldeneye and https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barrows_Goldeneye.

Around the end of April, it is hard not to feel sad when you watch the last Buffleheads disappear into the northern horizon. Even on the coldest gray days, these adorable fluff balls brought smiles to our freezing faces as they faithfully appeared to bob and dive between the ice flows on the river. From their scientific names, you may notice that Buffleheads and Goldeneyes are both in the genus Bucephala. This ancient Greek word meant ‘bull head’ to describe the bulbous shape. The prefix ‘Buffle’ may be related to the form of a Buffalo’s head.

The male Bufflehead’s shape is most apparent when he fans out his white hood bordered by iridescent green and purple. His back is black, and his chest and flanks are bright white. Another plumage dimorphic species, the female Bufflehead, is a more brownish-grey with a small white dot on her face. Buffleheads are often the smallest duck on Sunriver’s winter waterways. Some scientists think they evolved to this size to fit in Northern Flicker nesting holes.

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For more identification information about Buffleheads, see https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bufflehead

Buffleheads, affectionally known as Buffies, are so adored on Vancouver Island, B.C., that they appear on one town’s official emblem. On October 15th, British Columbia celebrates All Bufflehead Day because, according to at least twenty-three years of records, this is the exact date Buffleheads annually arrive in a nature preserve near Sidney, B.C. The Canadian government has a public service announcement asking people to leash dogs near waterways and respect the survival needs of wintering Buffleheads. 

April is a particularly fun time to look for the last Goldeneyes and Buffleheads because they start rehearsing their courtship shows. There are few sights more entertaining than diving ducks engaged in a dance ‘battle.’ The Common Goldeneye has at least fourteen moves for which ornithologists have names like the “masthead,” “bowsprit,” and the “head throw kick.” For those of you who watched Seinfeld, try to suppress a grin as the latter move evokes Elaine’s signature groove! For more modern readers, like some of our kids, no need for YouTube tutorials on Hip-hop ‘body waves’ and ‘body rolls’ when Goldeneyes and Buffleheads provide free professional demonstrations on your local waterways. However, if seeking to impress on the dance floor, perhaps leave out the braying and oinking, which likely only entices female ducks, not humans…

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As if the multi-colored eyes and courtship spectacles were not enough to make Goldeneyes and Buffleheads fascinating, what happens in the first day of a Bucephalas’s life is even more riveting. Like Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers, Bucephalas nest in tree cavities, usually made by woodpeckers. Many of these nests are high above the ground, around four or five stories (fifty feet or so) up. Within about a day after the (extremely cute) chicks hatch, mother duck flies off to the nearest waterway (which could be up to a mile away). She then calls to the chicks to follow her! Yes, those tiny and rather floppy babies are expected to first climb up the steep inside wall of the nest, then hurl themselves to the distant ground below, get up quickly, run to the water (over all obstacles), fling themselves into the water and finally swim for their lives regardless of waves (which often are much bigger than the duckling). Showing kids a video about day-old Goldeneye chicks is a great way to quell complaints about having to get out of bed for school! My kids enjoy watching (again and again) Per-Finn Nielsen’s “Duckling Jump”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLE7kxe3bnO9gi5kOsj8A7Q/videos

If you wonder how ducklings climb up vertical nest walls, check out the PBS Nature video about Hooded Merganser chicks, which explains how some ducklings have special hooks on their feet. https://www.pbs.org/video/nature-its-raining-ducks/.  

So, for those of you enjoying the warmer Sunriver spring days at the Lodge’s outdoor grill or perhaps when golfing, biking and strolling alongside the ponds and river, take a moment to thank our Buffies and Goldeneyes for being part of our winter wonderland and wish them well for their northern travel and adventures.

One of Our Coolest Common Finches

Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)

By Sevilla Rhoads

While I watch and photograph Red Crossbills in Sunriver, people passing by often stop to ask, “What is wrong with those birds? Are they deformed?” I love these questions because they provide an excuse to share my excitement about one of our coolest common finches.

With their groovy tie-dye plumages, Red Crossbills all have bizarre-looking crossed beaks that are specially adapted for the types of pine cones they eat. These crossed bills are excellent utensils for prying out delicious pine seeds.   

Look at the base of any Sunriver pine, and you see the remains of cones, often resembling tossed apple cores, torn apart by squirrels. Crossbills have perfectly adapted beaks allowing them to far more gracefully pluck out the cleverly protected seeds from between the cone scales.  

The crossed bills vary in size and direction – some cross to the right and some to the left. You can tell which direction the beak crosses from a distance by watching how the bird turns its head when feeding.

One reason to never tire of Crossbill-watching is their wide range of fashion and calls. Most guidebook illustrations cannot do justice for Crossbill looks where they only show two or three plumages. In Sunriver, Crossbills seem to have mastered every variation of the rainbow colors above the blue line!

Crossbills also have many different calls and songs, which are best learned by pausing to listen when you see the birds. Audio references may not have local variations or include all the different song types, so do not rule out a Crossbill identification just because it does not exactly match the sample on your bird call App.  

If you notice such a distinct difference between some of the Crossbills that you wonder how they could be the same species, you are not alone in your musings. Ornithologists actively debate whether Red Crossbills should be divided into different species. Currently, most experts separate Red Crossbills into nine types. 

If Charles Darwin had lived in Sunriver, I suspect he would have developed his evolution theory from studying Crossbills. Somewhat like Galapagos Tortoises, Crossbills have adapted their bills to the different types of cones in the places they feed. 

If you are interested in cutting-edge evolutionary science, Crossbills might be your thing because researchers, even citizen scientists, are actively discovering new types and species. As recently as 2017, Idaho’s Cassia Crossbill (Loxia sinesciurus) was declared a new species. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cassia_Crossbill/overview. The Cassia has a specialized beak for the extremely tough Lodgepole Pine cones in Southern Idaho. Other Red Crossbill types cannot open these particular cones, and the Cassia’s bill is now ill-suited to any other kind of pine tree. The word sinesciurus means ‘without squirrels’ because even those crafty rodents cannot tear apart the Cassia’s preferred cones. 

The Cassia is a great example of a creature evolving to take advantage of a unique food source in an ecological niche. Sadly, some climate change scientists think Southern Idaho will lose all its unique Lodgepole Pines, forcing the Cassia into extinction.

Watching the Red Crossbills of Sunriver, we notice they eat a broader diet than pine cones. We recently found one creatively using its unique bill shape to pry insects out the Sunriver Library wall, and we often see them feeding on the buds of birches. Maybe someone will discover a Crossbill species specially adapted to life on the Upper Deschutes one day?

Many Red Crossbill types are nomadic – they are not residents in any one place but rather travel great distances in search of food. It is not clear if Sunriver has any resident Red Crossbill types or whether the ones we see are nomads passing through. The Crossbills we see may have visited places as far away as New England. Red Crossbill types 2 (Ponderosa loving) and 5 (Lodgepole loving) are often reported in Oregon but have also been seen across the country as far east as New Hampshire.  

If you see a Crossbill with white wing bars, it could be the rare White-winged Crossbill infrequently seen in Central Oregon during the winter at higher elevations. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-winged_Crossbill/id.

If you love our Crossbills, you may be pleased to know there is an informal name for Crossbill fans: loxiafiles! As a loxiafile, you could get seriously bird-geeky by identifying the different types by their calls and habitats.

However, most of us can’t tell one Crossbill type or species from another – and we enjoy them just as much as the serious loxiafiles. You don’t have to be a scientist to marvel at how their beaks evolved so precisely to fit specific types of cones. You certainly don’t have to become an official loxiafile to delight at a flock of multi-colored, chatty Crossbills tilting their heads sideways to scoop up grit in the Nature Center parking lot.   

Another benefit to having Crossbills around Sunriver is the chance to see cute fledglings, even on a snowy winter day. In this area, young Crossbills can emerge even sooner than owlets. It is hard not to admire those hardy Crossbill parents who kept their eggs and chicks warm during our freezing storms and now are trying to feed their growing fledglings during adverse weather and forest-fuel reduction season. If you miss the spring crop of fluffed-up juveniles, you will get another chance to spot them in late summer because Crossbills can have another brood to coincide with cones that ripen in the early autumn.     

Identification Tips

Red Crossbills are a somewhat stocky bird, sized between a sparrow and a Robin. They come in many colors ranging from bright reds (mature males), oranges, yellows, greens, and grays with differing mottled versions of all those colors. Look closely at the bill, which is always crossed regardless of age or color variation.  

In Sunriver, you might find this species at any time of year. They are often in flocks or pairs flying around the tops of pine trees. However, they do come down for salt, grit, and water in puddles or at the edges of waterways. They also feed on the spring buds of birches and other trees and can be found foraging for insects on walls, fences, or any surface with crevices and cracks.  

They tend to call a lot when flying together, so learning their local sounds helps you locate Crossbills.  

 

 

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

By Sevilla Rhoads

Even people who tend not to notice birds turn their heads to stare when this species swoops across Sunriver with its talons outstretched, causing fearful birds and animals to scatter and hide. While walking along the river or beside our lakes, you may hear panicked squawking and frantic splashing, then turn to find a hulking dark shadow lifting away an unlucky duckling or a flailing fish. More often, the angry and desperate calls are bird versions of “Stop thief!” as this brawny plunderer takes off with someone else’s catch or young. The Bald Eagle reigns over the waterways of Central Oregon.

One historical meaning for the word ‘bald’ is white, and the ancient Greek word leucocephalus means white-headed—no wonder most visitors expect all Sunriver’s Bald Eagles to have white heads. So often, people stop Sunriver birders, then point to a brown-headed eagle and ask if it is a Golden. It is a great question! Almost always, the bird is an immature Bald Eagle. Bald Eagles usually take around four or five years to reach their true white-headed plumage. During their first four years or so, Bald Eagles sport a wide array of mottled brown styles with various white patches. It is hard to tell these immature Baldies from Goldens, but there are many guides to the differences online, for example https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2019/03/11/differences-between-bald-golden-eagles/

If you want to see a Golden Eagle in Sunriver, your best bet is to visit Aquila, the Nature Center’s captive Golden, whose fortieth birthday is this March (likely making her the oldest captive eagle in the country). While nothing rivals seeing birds out in the wild, it is incredible to get so close to a formidable bird of prey like Aquila. You instinctively take a breath and step back when you see the size of a Golden’s talons, which can be three inches long. If you or your kids enjoy dragons in books and movies, stand within ten feet of Aquila and imagine this seven-foot wing spanned bird diving at a hundred and fifty miles an hour to take down a coyote or deer. Goldens are one of North America’s fastest, most agile, and largest raptors: certainly a match for Disney’s dragons!

Golden Eagle

While Bald Eagles breed in and around Sunriver, Central Oregons’ Golden Eagles tend to prefer habitats that are more open and slightly less forested, especially where there are canyons for nesting. Golden Eagle sightings in Sunriver are extremely rare. 

However, almost daily, you see Bald Eagles here. Bald Eagles like to nest on piles of sticks high on trees and platforms near water. If you look up and around you as you walk and boat in the Sunriver area, you are likely to spot a Bald Eagle’s nest with one or more mature adults in the vicinity. Immature Baldies also frequent the neighborhood. It is not uncommon to see a fight or two between the generations as the older ones not-so-gently persuade the younger ones to find their territories. 

Bald Eagles can catch their prey, but they excel at muscling their way into a pre-caught meal. If they shopped in a grocery store, you would find them elbowing smaller customers out of the way at the prepared seafood and meat bar! It is not uncommon at Sunriver to come across a Bald Eagle snatching fish from Ospreys or bullying Red-tailed Hawks to drop a tasty rodent. 

While our eagles mostly steal and scavenge for a living, their burly good looks have inspired symbols of power throughout history. Eagles are often associated with military and imperial strength in Western Europe, such as Roman, Napoleonic, and certain German emblems. In 1782, the U.S. Congress approved a Bald Eagle design for the new country’s federal seal. However, this choice was controversial: https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2007/Americas-First-Bird-Controversy

Like the Numu (known by many as the Northern Paiute), some nations focused less on the eagles’ aggressive tendencies and more on their ability to fly high and see exceptionally well. For example, when you read some Hunipuitoka band stories, an eagle helps people by flying high over Mount Bachelor to look for food on the other side of the mountains. An eagle appears in the Numu creation story as the first to look out into the world, then lead others from caves to life in the daylight of (what is now called) Eastern and Central Oregon. https://onda.org/2019/01/creation-story/. As we watch Sunriver’s Bald Eagles lifting high into the sky until they are just dots circling towards the sun, we can connect through time by imagining the people who stood in the same place, long before settlers, watching (perhaps with similar admiration) the same species. 

Native American history is rich with references to eagles, and some use eagle feathers and parts for traditional rituals, medicine, and other purposes. Eagles are so important to many tribes that the Law Enforcement division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department has an eagle repository. https://www.fws.gov/program/national-eagle-repository State and federal employees are supposed to send all eagle remains and feathers to this unique facility. It is illegal to possess eagle feathers and parts unless you have a special permit. Any adult member of a federally recognized tribe can apply for eagle parts from the repository.  

Bald Eagle

As you observe the eagles around us, you may notice they tend to perch up high or circle above while looking down. Eagles have incredible vision that allows them to see details at great distances. With vision at least three times more powerful than humans, they can see something the size of a rabbit from around three miles away (which equates to a person atop a ten-story building seeing an ant on a sidewalk.) While an eagle’s eyes are fixed in place, so they have to move their heads to move their eyes, each eye has two focal points allowing them to see ahead and to the side simultaneously. Additionally, unlike our binocular vision, each eagle eye can focus independently. Like many birds, they also see more colors than we do because they can see UV light. This ability allows them to better see animals’ urine trails, fur, and feathers in the landscape below.

Eagles may have some of the strongest eyes in the animal world, but this asset comes with a price.  The extraordinary visual acuity comes from the high number and density of cones or nerves in the back of the eagle’s eye.  This makes eagles’ more sensitive to direct sunlight.  Like Flickers, eagles have a see-through eyelid which slides out from the side of the eye like automatic safety sunglasses.  They also can blink by bringing up a heavy lower eyelid as needed.  In addition, eagles have heavy set eyebrows which, in addition to contributing to their good looks, block out light from above.  

Approaching a wind turbine, the blind spot caused by the overhanging eyebrow is fatal when eagles are hit by blades coming down.  Some wind power companies hire eagle watchers who can shut down the blades when an eagle approaches, but humans do not have ‘eagle eyes’ so many birds are missed and die.  More advanced wind factories have birding robots which are four to five times more effective in spotting eagles in time to turn off the blades.      

Bald Eagles are unique to North America, living in Canada, the continental U.S., and Mexico. Many of Sunriver’s Bald Eagles stay year-round, but some migrate, and immature eagles can travel vast distances looking for new territories. 

Female Bald Eagles are larger than males. Bald Eagle pairs often mate for life. Baldies have a famous courtship ritual that makes modern human trust and team-building exercises seem rather tame. From a great height with talons clasped together, they spiral downwards, only letting go of each other at the very last moment to avoid crashing into the ground.   

The entwined talon spin is even more astonishing when you consider the impressive size and strength of eagle talons.  To grip and kill large prey, eagle talons have a tendon adaption which acts like a ratchet.  When the eagle closes around the prey, tendon ridges interlock into sheaths to lock the grip in place.  With tendons locked in place, the eagle can relax its muscles enough to hold the high pressure grasp for long periods of time without getting tired.   

Enjoying the splendor of our local eagles, we are thankful for the conservation efforts which saved the species from extinction. When Congress approved the Bald Eagle symbol, there were over a hundred thousand. However, as the U.S. grew in population, Bald Eagle numbers plummeted. The primary causes of decline were hunting, pesticides, and habitat loss. In 1963, only 417 breeding pairs remained. 

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland described the nationwide effort to bring the Bald Eagle back from the brink of extinction as “a historic conservation success story.” Together, governments, both U.S. and Native American, and countless individuals and organizations saved the species. Currently, there are over seventy-thousand breeding pairs of Bald Eagles. The once-controversial Bald Eagle emblem could now represent how miracles can happen when Americans unify toward a common goal.

Sadly, eagles again face a grave threat. On February 17, 2022, Science published the results of an extensive peer-reviewed study which estimated almost half of the country’s Bald and Golden Eagles have chronic toxic levels of lead poisoning. The eagles ingest lead from hunting ammunition and fishing sinkers. For more information about lead poisoning and related symptoms in eagles, see: https://www.thinkwildco.org/lead-poisoned-golden-eagle-to-be-released-back-to-the-wild/

If you see a Bald Eagle flapping about in a Sunriver lake or river, you might think it is sick, but pause before calling for help because Bald Eagles can and do swim. At first, the eagle’s ‘butterfly’ stroke looks rather lumbering and somewhat alarming, especially when it bobs its head in and out of the water. However, they usually get themselves to shore safely, sometimes even with a large fish or a duck in tow. Haliaeetus means sea eagle because Bald Eagles’ primary habitat is around water. Reduced open and healthy waterways caused by droughts and human development in Central Oregon pose additional challenges for our eagles.  Particularly when scavenging may not provide enough food for growing chicks, Bald Eagles rely on the extra meals provided by fishing and hunting waterfowl.  

Aquila’s fortieth birthday reminds us that eagles can live for many years, sometimes reaching fifty even in the wild. So, if we keep working together to conserve these incredible birds, kids staring in wonder today at Sunriver’s Bald Eagles may well see the very same birds with their kids in the future. And hopefully, eagles will grace our skies for many more generations to come.

Identification Tips

Central Oregon’s eagles are large birds of prey with wide long wings that end in separated feathers.  They have chunky hooked bills and heavy eyebrows. Their legs are yellow-orange with long dark talons.  They often soar or perch up high.  

Vultures are darker overall with bald reddish heads and are not usually present in Sunriver during the winter.  Local hawks tend to be smaller than eagles and their wingspans are closer to or shorter than the length of their bodies as compared to eagles’ wingspans being clearly longer than their bodies.  

In the Sunriver area, Golden Eagles are rare.  Goldens do not have white heads or tails, but usually are more solid brown overall unlike the often heavily mottled Bald Eagles.  Sometimes you can make out the lighter brown nape on mature Goldens.  When flying, immature Bald Eagles, unlike Goldens, often have some white just below the neck and shoulders where the wings meet the body.  It can be hard to tell an immature Bald from a Golden when perched, but note the bill and head size and color then consult a guide.

Mature Bald Eagles have bold white heads and tails with brown bodies.  Baldies younger than five years old appear just as large (sometimes larger) than adults, but lack the clear white head and tail.  Immature eagles have widely differing plumages of mottled brown and white patches.  Fledglings are mostly brown. 

Mature Bald Eagles have vivid or pale yellowish bills, but younger eagles can have darker bills appearing almost black on the tip.

For more information about identifying juvenile and sub-adult Bald Eagles, see:
https://avianreport.com/age-and-identify-a-juvenile-and-sub-adult-bald-eagle/

 

(Sturnus vulgaris)

By Sevilla Rhoads

 The most fervently despised species in the U.S. descended from eighty birds brought to this country from England because they are mentioned in Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Named for its plumage, which evokes a sense of stars shining in a night sky, this bird’s luminous shimmer hints of the aurora borealis in its startling beauty. So intelligent, cute, and musical that Mozart kept one as a beloved pet, Sunriver is cursed and blessed by our resident European Starlings.  

Mozart cared so deeply for his Starling that, even though he did not attend his own father’s memorial, he gave his Starling a formal funeral and wrote it a touching elegy. Mozart found his Starling in 1794 when he heard a bird singing a variation of the motif for his Concerto No. 17 in G major. He followed the sound into a pet store where he came upon and promptly bought the young Starling singing his music. In his expense book, under the entry for the amount he paid for the bird, he wrote out the Starling’s version of the motif alongside his composition, stating (in German) about the Starling’s interpretation: “That was wonderful!”  

Since this Starling then lived with Mozart for at least three years while Mozart composed three symphonies, eight piano concertos, and The Marriage of Figaro, it is fun to imagine a Starling working to help Mozart’ improve’ his music! There is an unsolved mystery regarding Mozart’s Starling because the motif it sang from the pet store was top secret at the time. Mozart, paranoid about someone stealing his ideas, had confidentially sent only one copy of the score to this father for review. If you are curious to learn more, I recommend Lyanda Haupt’s book: Mozart’s Starling.

Just this tiny bit of Starling trivia causes me to look twice at Sunriver’s Starlings, which I admit I used to ignore. Partly I ignored them because they are brushed off as ugly and nasty pests by almost all Americans, including conservationists, city folk, country folk, farmers, and well, just about anyone in the U.S. However, to be honest, I also tried not to think about Starlings because they bring up such complicated and challenging questions and issues. Stealing from Disney’s Encanto, the birders’ version of the Bruno song could easily be: “Don’t talk about Starlings!”

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The European Starling was brought here through no fault of its own and has done its best to survive the constant attempts by governments and private citizens alike to eradicate it. In the face of systemic persecution, the Starling, a champion of survival, has managed to thrive and spread across the entire country with a current population of around two hundred million. Sadly, while a model of evolutionary success, the Starling lifestyle comes at a high cost to the U.S.  

Among the list of problems caused by Starlings are an estimated eight hundred million dollars worth of annual agricultural damage, deadly plane crashes (killing over sixty people in one), pollution from masses of their droppings, and they compete with native birds for food and nesting cavities. Studies debate whether there is sufficient evidence that Starlings ultimately harm native population numbers. Still, there is no doubt they take food and shelter which would otherwise be available for struggling native species.  

Genetic tests indicate all the Starlings in the U.S. came from the eighty birds released in Central Park in 1890 by a deputy in an Acclimatization Society. This deputy, allegedly to help people feel less homesick for Europe, decided he would bring every bird mentioned by Shakespeare to America. A large sum was paid to have the Starlings carefully transported from England and released in Central Park.   

Why did Shakespeare include a Starling in Henry VI? Starlings, rivaled only by parrots in this skill set among bird species, can talk (or at least imitate talking very well). Starlings are intelligent life-long learners of language and sound patterns, both their own and anyone or anything else in their environment. So when a Shakespearean character was furious, the King forbid him to say the name Mortimer, his plan for revenge was to teach a Starling “to speak Nothing but ‘Mortimer'” and then give it to the King “To keep his anger still in motion.”  

Starling vocalization abilities are so sophisticated that a 2006 study caused an uproar in academic linguist circles because many thought only humans could engage in such high-level language pattern recognition. So, consider listening a little more closely to Sunriver’s Starlings’ astonishing array of sounds. It is fun to figure out what the Starlings are imitating and what they might be saying.  

Sunriver has a relatively small Starling population, but the numbers could increase as this area becomes more developed. Starlings thrive in human-created habitats like towns with more buildings than trees. They love grass lawns where they forage by sticking their bills in the ground. They also really enjoy human-created fields and barns.  

Starlings will eat almost anything, but you see few if any, Starlings in the wild forests and high desert sage and native grasslands. Some researchers, searching for new ways to reduce Starling populations (because killing them has not worked), think planting trees, getting rid of lawns, and creating more wild habitats may be the best form of Starling control. Studies also show the second-best way to control Starlings may be taking care of the native birds of prey that eat Starlings. After artificial culling methods failed to sufficiently reduce Starling threats to aviation safety, one air force base has now paid several hundred thousand to falconers who are more effectively addressing the problem.

While having a few Sunriver Starlings is a good thing, we miss out on a Starling phenomenon called a murmuration. A murmuration occurs when a Starling flock, usually thousands of birds thick, moves in mysterious unison to form otherworldly patterns across the sky. Throughout history, people have marveled at how so many birds, flying and changing direction so fast, do not hit each other. Some think murmurations are examples of morphic resonance, but others believe the birds synchronize by watching and following the nearest seven birds. However they do it, it feels magical to watch thousands and sometimes over a million Starlings weave their poetic forms. The Romans thought murmurations foretold the will of the gods. The word auspicious derives from the Latin auspicium meaning “divination by observing the flight of birds.” 

While Starlings are hated for their success in North America, they are a native species in places like much of North Africa and Europe, where some populations have dramatically declined. If you are interested in seeing which Sunriver birds are also being watched by people in other parts of the world, you can search Cornell’s eBird for different regions by species name. For example, this is a link to the illustrated checklist for Ukraine showing the European Starling: https://ebird.org/region/UA/media?yr=all&m=#eursta. 

Identification Tips

At first glance, Starlings often seem generally dark, even black in color, but a closer look in the light reveals a variety of iridescent sheens ranging through violet, purple, green, and copper tones.  This bird is around eight inches long with a wingspan around twelve inches, so it is larger than most sparrows and smaller than an American Robin.  The tail does not stick out much from the ends of the wings and the wings are often held slightly away from the body in perched positions.  In the winter, Starlings usually have white tipped feathers giving them a speckled look which often fades by summer. Sometimes the white edges are so pronounced it looks like the bird is covered with heart shaped frost crystals and white stripes. Changing color throughout the year, their bills range from bright white and yellow to stripes of dull browns, orange, and black.  The neck feathers often stick out in a ruffed look.  Their feet can be orange-red to bright pink, but appear paler when worn.  These birds are rarely seen far from human development.

For more information:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/id

 

(Buteo jamaicensis)

By Sevilla Rhoads

Almost every time you walk the trails around the airport and stables, you can see one or more Red-tailed Hawks.  Perhaps you spot them perched on the fence posts or trees.  Or, more likely, they are soaring above you.  A growing body of research finds human minds and bodies benefit from experiencing awe. Fortunately, no matter how many times we see them cut masterfully through our skies, the Red-tailed Hawk’s aerial strength and grace is a constant source of awe and wonder.  Especially with Sunriver’s background of snowy volcanic peaks, a Red-tailed Hawk effortlessly riding the invisible winds can remind us of Olympic figure skaters.  

Although Red-tailed Hawks are one of the country’s largest birds, even the biggest ones rarely weigh more than three pounds.  Being so light is one reason these hawks excel in the air. They are one of the few species that can kite into the wind.  Kiting is when a bird uses air currents to stay in place while barely moving its wings.  When you see a hawk kiting on a strong wind, you might think your eyes are deceiving you because the bird appears to defy gravity by hanging motionless in the sky.  

As you marvel at a Red-tailed’s aerial performance or admire one regally perched on the edge of a meadow, you might notice some of them do not have red tails.  In fact, the more you notice the markings on these hawks, you realize some look quite different than others. The Red-tailed may be one of the most commonly observed and widespread U.S. birds of prey, but it comes in so many variations that you could never say that if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.  Scroll through photographs of the different ways Red-tailed Hawks can present in this area and it is hard to believe they are all the same species.  While the broad range of appearances can frustrate when trying to accurately identify the species, the wide variety of looks makes Red-tailed watching more fun and interesting.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red-tailed Hawks are skilled hunters with around ninety-percent of their diet consisting of rodents.  Sunriver’s hawks and owls devour countless rats, mice, ground-squirrels, and voles making them one of our best lines of defense for rodent control.  With these birds as allies in your own attempts to control rodents, check your pest control methods are bird safe.  In a study published in 2020, the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine found a hundred percent of Red-tailed Hawks autopsied at their clinic had rat poison in their systems.

You recognize the call of a Red-tailed Hawk because it is featured in so many movies. Their haunting cry also frequently features in commercials.  To the frustration of many birders, almost every time a bird of prey, regardless of the species, appears in a movie or advertisement, a Red-tailed Hawk call is dubbed over the actual sound. Apparently the media industry finds Bald Eagle calls too wimpy to match their image, so, more often than not, the eagle on the screen opens its bill and out comes the more glamorous voice of the Red-tailed Hawk.  There is an amusing Bird Note on this topic:  https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/stephen-colberts-bald-eagle.  We often have both Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks calling over Sunriver, so be sure you consult an actual bird guide rather than rely on general media to distinguish the calls from each other.

On quite a few occasions while walking in Sunriver, we thought we heard a Red-tailed Hawk, but, despite carefully searching, we could not locate it.  Then, a bright blue Stellar’s Jay appears, opens its bill, and screams just like a hawk! Stellar Jays often imitate other birds and there are many accounts and some studies regarding their impersonation of hawks and eagles.  Some say the jays use predator calls to warn off intruders, but many think there may be more reasons for this behavior not yet understood by science.

Throughout human history are stories of connections between Red-tailed Hawks and humans. Some oral traditions of the Nuwä (Kawaiisu or Southern Paiute) feature the Red-tailed Hawk (called Kwanazi in their language).  Some Native American tribes have legal rights to collect the hawk’s red tail feathers for ceremony and traditional dress.  

American falconers, past and present, have hunted with Red-tailed Hawks.  Many falconers train and hunt with juvenile Red-tailed Hawks then release them back into the wild when they are fully mature.  The mortality rate for Red-tailed Hawks in their first two years is around eighty percent, so these falconers feel they are giving their birds a better chance to survive.  Falconers like Rodney Stotts share their Red-tailed and other hawk experiences with others to help inspire and support communities with less access to nature.  For more about Stotts’ community work with Red-tailed Hawks, see https://rodneysraptors.webs.com/about

As you watch for Red-tailed Hawks around Sunriver, you will discover there are a number of other bird of prey species here, including our winter residents, the Rough-legged Hawks.  We also have Red-shouldered Hawks which, especially when juvenile, can look a lot like a small Red-tailed.  You may also spot a Cooper’s, Northern Harrier, or Sharp-shinned Hawk or even some other less frequently seen hawks for our area.  Plus, we have falcons like the Prairie, Merlin, and Peregrine and other birds of prey like Ospreys which hunt and breed here in the summer.  It can be hard to tell all these birds of prey apart, but it is a nice problem to have so many raptors from which to choose as you scour your bird guide!  

Identification Tips

A large bird of prey with broad rounded wings and a short tail which appears wide in flight.  There are many plumage variations based on age, season, location, and other reasons including sub-species.  Often seen gliding on thermals or perched on the edge of open spaces.  Adults are usually brown above with a reddish tail, but pale below with a band of brown on the belly, dark wing tips and brown ‘shoulders’ stretching about a quarter to half the way along the wing from the neck.  On many, the head appears mostly brown with a paler chin.  Juveniles can have striped brown tails and more brown flecks on the chest.  

For more information see: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/

 

(Corvus corax)

By Sevilla Rhoads

Who is that striking dark figure watching you with keen black eyes?  The subject of legends across cultures and time, Sunriver is a place the world’s largest and most intelligent songbird calls home. This glossy black bird, appearing to magically absorb sunlight, was revered by the ancient Celts and Nordic peoples, then deeply feared in medieval Europe. Native American tribes almost all feature this mystical creature in their legends as do many other traditions across the globe.  Yes, this famous bird is the uncommonly fascinating Common Raven.

If you feel that Raven watching you is plotting something, you are probably right.  Some scientists consider the Raven capable of abstract thought and most agree it is one of the most intelligent animals.  Previously, researchers thought only Chimpanzees might share with humans the ability to plan and imagine.  However, Ravens can plan ahead, solve multi-step problems, and even use and fashion simple tools.  From Roman mosaics and Aesop’s fables depicting Ravens (sometimes crows) dropping rocks in containers to raise the water to a drinking level, throughout history humans have admired, and feared the Raven’s thinking skills.

Identification Tips

The Common Raven is a large dark bird, appearing to be all black, with a thick bill and often fluffy neck.  They stand around two feet high and can have a four-foot wingspan.  In flight, unlike the smaller crow, their tails end in a wedge shape.  Crows are rarely sighted in Sunriver, so if you think you see a crow rather than a Raven, look very carefully at the size and shape.  Ravens have various calls (up to thirty variations) including a croaky caw and toc-toc noises and can imitate sounds.  Find them all year round perched and flying at varying heights or hopping on the ground.

For more information about the Raven see:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/id

 

A flock of Ravens can be referred to as a ‘conspiracy’ or “unkindness,” but Ravens are one of the kinder species.  They are fiercely loyal to their life mates, they are devoted parents, and are known to care for each other in times of sickness and danger.  Researchers have observed Ravens coming to the aid of other members of the flock in distress.  Perhaps this behavior is part of why a Raven was chosen to save Elijah by bringing him food in the King James Version of the Bible.  

As you prepare for Valentine’s Day, pause to watch the romantic Ravens for inspiration.  Ravens have sweet and beautiful courting rituals.  For example, they preen each other’s necks while cooing gently and they dance together in the sky.  Even when a couple has been together for many years, they are observed lovingly re-courting each other every breeding season. So, if you are walking Sunriver with your Valentine in February, look around and you may well find a Raven couple sharing the mood.  The following words by John James Audubon could well be a Valentine’s card inscription:

There, through the clear and rarefied atmosphere, the Raven spreads his glossy wings and tail, and, as he onward sails, rises higher and higher each bold sweep that he makes, as if conscious that the nearer he approaches the sun, the more splendent will become the tints of his plumage. Intent on convincing his mate of the fervour and constancy of his love, he now gently glides beneath her, floats in the buoyant air, or sails by her side. Would that I could describe to you, reader, the many musical inflections by means of which they hold converse during these amatory excursions! These sounds doubtless express their pure conjugal feelings, confirmed and rendered more intense by long years of happiness in each other’s society. In this manner they may recall the pleasing remembrance of their youthful days, recount the events of their life, and express the pleasure they enjoy. 

Particularly in medieval Europe, Ravens were negatively associated with death and bad omens.  During that period of Plague, battles, and other sad violent events, bodies were not always buried.  Ravens are omnivores.  They eat a wide range of food, including carrion.  So, Ravens likely did gather around the dead and, being so smart, they likely hung out where there were soon-to-be bodies.  Unfortunately, instead of thanking Ravens for their free clean-up services, people often killed them in a superstitious bid to ward off evil.  

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Even Audubon, who shot plenty of birds himself, noted about the Raven, “His usefulness is forgotten, his faults are remembered and multiplied by imagination; and whenever he presents himself he is shot at, because from time immemorial ignorance, prejudice, and destructiveness have operated on the mind of man to his detriment. … Some say they destroy the Raven because he is black; others, because his croaking is unpleasant and ominous!” Audubon then describes how farmers applying scientific observations and reason understood Ravens actually benefitted their farms in many ways, but he concludes:  “Yes, good reader, the farmer knows all this well, but he also knows his power, and, interfere as you may, with tale of pity or of truth, the bird is a Raven, and, as LAFONTAINE has aptly and most truly said, “La loi du plus fort est toujours la meilleure!”  Blaming Ravens for human-caused problems continues to this day where they are shot, trapped, and poisoned for reasons some scientists dispute as lacking factual support. 

With one of the largest ranges for a songbird, the Raven lives in almost every temperate area of the world but are concentrated in the northern hemisphere. Likely due to their intelligence, Ravens adapt to many habitats.  For example, they have figured out where humans have created easy food sources such as landfills.  Perhaps needing space and suitable nesting sites, unlike crows, Ravens rarely live in cities.  Wherever they live, Ravens have interesting relationships with the other animals around them.  Preferring to scavenge for food, Ravens figure out where other species create carrion sources.  They patrol the roads around Sunriver, so they are usually the first responders to clean up roadkill.  

One particularly close inter-species relationship reported and studied throughout history is between ravens and wolves.  In some places, people call ravens ‘wolf birds.’  Scientists in places like Yellowstone believe ravens and wolves communicate with each other about food.  Ravens have been observed playing stick games with wolf pups, some of whom they can develop a special bond.  Wolves were once common in Central Oregon, so perhaps Sunriver once had wolf Raven friendships.

Ravens have clever ways of stealing food from predators.  A favorite trick is pulling on the predator’s tail!  There is an entire Twitter site devoted to photos and videos of Ravens tugging tails to distract predators, including the tails of otters, a Polar Bear, a big cat, geese and even flying birds of prey.  Looking over the Sunriver golf courses and meadows, you well might see a Raven chasing a bird of prey either to grab its catch or shoo it away.  Ravens also attack drones.

So much more could be said about the Raven, but a final note for birders in Sunriver is to pay attention to Raven calls and behavior if you are looking for owls and other birds of prey.  Ravens (and jays) often protest loudly when a bird of prey is hiding nearby.  

To read more of Audubon’s notes on the Raven and other birds see:  https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america

(Ardea herodias)

By Sevilla Rhoads

Often described using words like majestic and stately, Great Blue Herons pose year-round on Sunriver’s waterways, meadows, and lakes. These long-legged, sharp-billed birds are often motionless, watching for prey like graceful sculptures. Sometimes their subtle gray and blue plumage melds perfectly with their surroundings, so you do not see them until suddenly either they plunge their bill downward with lightning speed to seize prey or, if disturbed, their over six-foot wingspan opens up as they lift off with a hoarse Jurassic-like call.

This pterodactyl-sounding call is particularly alarming if encountered at night. Not many people realize that Great Blue Herons can and do hunt at night as well as during the day. They have excellent night vision.  

You may wonder how a heron, with such a long neck, can so quickly grab prey.  They evolved unique neck bones that are like a powerful spring. These special vertebrae also allow the heron to fold its neck in some astonishing ways. If you come across one of these birds on a chilly winter day, you will likely see how they can tuck their necks so tightly into their chests that it seems like a magic trick when they unfurl. Their flexibility is most pronounced when you see them fly with zig-zag-shaped neck bends. 

Notice those long, ragged-looking feathers hanging off the lower part of the neck? These plumage patches are another interesting evolutionary trait called ‘powder down’ feathers. Using a specially adapted frayed middle claw, herons crumble these feathers into a powder-like substance which they spread on their bellies to make it easier to clean off all the slime and oil from wading around in mucky places like wetlands. They can also wash their catch with this powder to remove unwanted muck, oil, or dirt. So, if you see a heron seeming to engage in a particularly complicated yoga pose with its foot in its neck feathers, now you know it is likely just making its own cleaning powder.     

In addition to seeing well at night, Great Blue Herons have binocular vision with antiglare and precise depth perception features. A heron’s vision is about three times as detailed as ours, and they can zoom almost instantaneously between telescope and close-up mode. Many of us wish our bird photography cameras were half as good as herons’ eyes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Often thought of as wading birds, herons actually enjoy a diet far beyond fish. Look around the Sunriver meadows and fields, and you well might see a heron stalking small mammals and snakes. They will even snack on a bird if it foolishly gets too close.

Sadly, almost seventy percent of fledged young herons die of malnutrition during their first winters because of how hard it is to learn effective heron hunting skills. If you notice a heron struggling to catch and eat prey, it may be a youngster, so give it some space to increase its chances of success. Juveniles have grayer heads and lack the white stripe of adults. 

Herons can choke when trying to eat prey too large for their throats.  Particularly around the Sunriver airport where sometimes four or more herons are out stalking voles, observe while they position a vole in their bills to swallow it whole safely.  Also, while the heron is eating, notice around you in the trees and sky because you are likely not alone – eagles and other scavengers frequently take advantage of the heron’s swallowing challenges by stealing the prey before the heron can get it fully in its mouth.  Mealtimes for herons can be quite an ordeal! 

Even if learning to feed is hard, young herons are lucky to fledge at all because typically, one in three do not make it out of the nest. Great Blue Herons nest anywhere large enough to hold them but usually choose remote treetops. Some herons nest together in varying-sized colonies called heronries, and those chicks tend to have a better survival rate.

You may have noticed Sunriver has a number of Bald Eagles. Ornithologists think these eagles are the main heron chick predator, but ravens, owls, raccoons, and others also take chicks. This high nest attack rate is why Great Blue Herons rarely leave nests unattended during incubation. The males typically stay on the nests during the day, then they trade shifts with the female, who spends the night protecting the eggs. During the nesting season, look up around dusk to watch the heron commute because you are likely to see herons flying overhead for their shift change.

Some of the herons you see might be over fifteen years old. The oldest recorded heron, determined by a band, was twenty-four and a half. Interestingly, these large birds usually only weigh five pounds even when fully mature. Their bones are hollow, so they are much lighter than you would expect.

Great Blue Herons are native to most of North America,  with some migrating to warmer areas in cold winters. There is a white heron in Florida about which there is debate as to whether it is a color variation or a separate species. If you see a white heron-sized bird around Sunriver, you are most likely fortunate enough to have spotted the less common egret. If you see a much larger heron-like bird in Sunriver, you were extra lucky because it could be a crane. If you see a crane, consider calling in a report to the Nature Center because so few are seen here.  

While Great Blue Herons are common, we never take them for granted because they were one of the species threatened by the plume trade in America between 1840 and World War I.  During that period, the demand for heron and egret feathers for women’s hats caused the killing of millions of herons. The Great Blue Heron’s breeding plume was particularly sought after by hunters. At the height of this fashion trend, heron plumes were worth three times more than gold. While the plume trade bird slaughter is a tragic period in American history, the story of the conservation effort that ended that trade is truly inspiring. For example, see https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/07/15/422860307/hats-off-to-women-who-saved-the-birds. 

How to identify a Great Blue Heron

Standing up to four and a half feet high, the Great Blue Heron sports a wingspan of up to six and a half feet.  The coloring is blue and gray overall, tinged a mauve-brown on the back, legs, neck and belly.  It has a large pointed bill which often appears gray on top and orange-yellow or gray underneath.  The head is usually white on the cheek, the chin, and around the eyes with black above the white.  Sometimes there are chestnut-colored patches on the shoulders and the outer edges of the wings.  However, sometimes only black patches are visible in those areas.

Usually, the chest shows some, often ragged-looking, long plumes hanging off the front of the bird.  The eye is yellow but can appear more reddish in the breeding season.  In adults, there can be a white streak on the top of the head and breeding males have a plume coming off the back of the head.  The legs are more reddish-brown in breeding adults.

For more information see: https://ebird.org/species/grbher3/US-OR-017

 

(Colaptes auratus)

By Sevilla Rhoads

Even though we see and hear this woodpecker almost every day in Sunriver, we remain constantly awed by the dashingly handsome and flamboyant Northern Flicker. Loud in every way, with its calls and colors, the Flicker lights up even the grayest winter days around the Nature Center. 

Found all across North America (although the colors vary in different sub-species) in almost every natural habitat with trees and enough clearings for foraging, the Northern Flicker is a versatile species. Whereas most woodpeckers stay primarily on trees, you often find Flickers foraging on the ground. 

Flickers’ sticky and barbed tongues can extend over two inches beyond the end of their bills, so they can reach into holes and crevices, including ant nests, and lap up insects. Their salvia neutralizes the acid of insects they eat. Flickers also eat seeds and fruit and love suet. 

Not only do they eat ants, but you might see Flickers lying on the ground near an ant nest, letting ants swarm all over their feathers. The ants secrete formic acid, which repels parasites, so the Flickers are essentially getting a lice shampoo service!

When you see one, look carefully at the Flicker’s markings. There are at least eleven subspecies. If you see yellow instead of red markings, you may have spotted a rare variation for this area. If you are from the East Coast, you are used to yellow markings, but the red-shafted ones are rare for your home. You may also notice more tan on the head of some birds and perhaps even some red on the back of the head, which could indicate the bird is a hybrid of the red and yellow-shafted subspecies. A fun challenge while you walk around Sunriver is to look for the rarer markings on the Flickers you pass.

If you enjoy the beauty of the Flicker or want to familiarize yourself with the way local birds appear, consider searching by species name on the eBird app by searching for Flicker in the Deschutes County region. If you then hit “view all” photographs, you can enjoy all the local submitted photographs. Studying pictures of locally seen birds can help with identification. General bird guides often show birds from other areas, which can be confusing, especially when traveling from places with different plumages. Also, the one or two guide examples often do not cover all the variations you might see.

Watching a Flicker hammering or sticking its head in crevices, you may wonder how it does not damage its eyes, and then you might realize the Flicker’s eyes appear to have turned from black to gray. That gray sheen is the bird’s safety googles – an extra translucent eyelid, called a nictitating membrane (cool term, huh!), that slides out from the side of the eyes when needed. They also use their third eyelid for protection when feeding their eager sharp billed young!

Many Native American tribes have stories that include Flicker characters where often the Flicker represents fire and renewal somewhat like a Phoenix. Also, Flicker feathers were used in some tribe’s ceremonies and headdresses. 

Some of you reading this are frowning because you heard Flickers are pests. However, this perception is a misunderstanding about Flicker behavior because if you understand their activities, Flickers actually help reduce pest issues. Flickers drum on and sometimes make holes in human structures. The drumming should not cause structural damage because it is a courting or territorial display not designed to make holes. 

If you put up a Flicker nest box near the structure, the birds should nest in the box rather than make holes. The Flickers in the box near your home will then defend the area from other Flickers and sometimes squirrels or other creatures competing for the same food. 

You are lucky if you have Flickers regularly checking your buildings. If Flickers start excavating for food on your structure, that means you have an infestation of something like Carpenter Ants (one of their favorite foods). The danger to the building is the insect problem, not the bird that alerted you to the issue while reducing the insect numbers.

On rare occasions, if there is not an effective alternative nesting site for a Flicker, they might try to excavate a nest cavity in a building. There are many safe ways to intervene before the nest is complete, but the law requires you leave the nest alone if they get as far as laying eggs. You have to wait until the chicks fledge, and then you can set up deterrents and nest boxes to avoid nest holes next season.

According to the 2016 Partners in Flight data, the Northern Flicker is a “common bird in steep decline” which could disappear in the next twenty to thirty years. In the last forty or so years, we have lost about fifty-two percent of the Flicker population.  

Thanks to Chuck Gates for reviewing!

How to identify a Northern Flicker

Large woodpecker (11-14’’ in height with up to 21” wingspan) with white rump seen in flight. Orange-red underwings and inner tail. A large black collar on the upper buff-colored chest with black spots below on buff. Black bars down the brown back with black stripes on the upper tail and end of the tail is black. Males have a red mustache under the beak. The head is gray with a tan area above the eye.

by Sevilla Rhoads, SNCO Volunteer

Almost every day at the nature center, you can find one of the cutest of our local little birds: the Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli). It is hard not to smile while watching these little soft, and spirited birds busy themselves around the center. Even on the coldest Sunriver days when Lake Aspen freezes, you usually can find Mountain Chickadees ferrying seed from the feeders to the shelter of the pines. If you find the feeders deserted and the garden either silent or full of Chickadee alarm calls, that usually means a hawk or an owl is hunting close by. Northern Pygmy Owls and hawks, like the Sharp-shinned, are this bird’s main predators. 

You may be tempted to brush off a Mountain Chickadee sighting as nothing special. After all, they are one of the most common birds around Sunriver, and they are small with relatively dull coloring. Compared with the large raptors of the area, they don’t tend to hold people’s attention and interest for long. However, Chickadees are one of our more fun birds to watch, especially for children, because they are acrobatic, talkative, and less shy than most other species. 

Pause to marvel at how these Chickadees hang like monkeys on the pine cones, leaves, and feeders. Not only do they eat seeds, but they are also hunting insects. Mountain Chickadees are one of our best free pest control services. In one Arizona study, a Mountain Chickadee was found with over 275 tree pest larva in its stomach! These tiny birds help our beautiful conifers stay healthy.

This species likes to hang out on the Western side of the country. They tend to breed and live near evergreen forests, and many live in the mountains. Depending on the weather, some of these birds visit lower elevations to find more find food and warmth in the winter.

Mountain Chickadees can die during a cold night if they do not eat enough calories each day. Unlike many other small birds in this area, such as Pygmy Nuthatches which snuggle up together for warmth, this Chickadee usually braves the winter nights alone in a hole or under a loose piece of bark. The need for fat at the end of the day is the reason you might notice more Chickadees on the feeders in the late afternoons. If you find a dead Chickadee on a chilly morning, it probably could not eat enough the day before to survive. So, if you have feeders, think about checking if there is enough left for the Chickadees in the afternoon. They enjoy both suet and seeds.

Mountain Chickadees can live up to ten years and often stay in the same area most of their lives. Frequently, they form life-long pair bonds, and both parents help raise the young. They usually nest in preexisting holes (it is hard to peck a deep hole in a tree with a little bill unless the wood is soft). They line the cavities with soft materials like fur and even make fur plugs or ‘doors’ to cover the entrance when they are out. You may have seen coyotes hunting rodents around the Sunriver airport. Coyote fur is a favorite for Mountain Chickadee bedding. However, these birds also can pull off fur (and maybe ticks and lice) from live animals like raccoons and dogs. A couple of years ago, a Mountain Chickadee nested near the Nature Center’s Golden Eagle aviary. The Eagle cast pellets every day after it ate its rodent meal. The intelligent Chickadee would fly into the aviary several hours later and pull out the rat fur for its nest lining!

One ‘note’ about this bird we should not overlook, is their astonishing variety of songs and calls. One local birder explained their calls have over a dozen variations. Some calls warn of predators, some are social ranking and territory proclamations, some are for courting, and, we are convinced, some are just for fun! It is amusing to imagine what they are saying if you listen as you watch. If you spend time learning all their local dialects, research suggests you will discover Chickadees even have special calls which identify different predator types. Specific call patterns may alert the flock how an attack is likely to occur so they can mount the best defensive tactics. 

By the way, the ‘gambeli’ in this bird’s scientific name honors the naturalist William Gambel who had an interesting, but ultimately tragic life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gambel

According to Cornell’s All About Birds, while listed as a species of “Least Concern,” from 1966 through 2014, the Mountain Chickadee population declined around 1.5 percent a year which is about a fifty-three percent loss of these birds.

Photos: Sevilla Rhoads

How to identify a Mountain Chickadee

Small (5-6’’) and mostly gray with black triangle shaped bib, white cheek, and white eyebrow through a black cap. Little dark bill and dark eye in the lower black head stripe. Can be buff colored on sides and chest is usually pale as compared to darker gray back. Gray tail usually appears shorter than the wing from shoulder to tip when not flying. It is often hard to see the key distinguishing white line on the head, so look carefully before deciding it could be a Black-capped Chickadee (which are very rare in the Sunriver area.)
More information

Each year between December 14 and January 5, birders set out to census birds for the nation’s longest-running community science bird project. The Christmas Bird Count is administered by the National Audubon Society and has been occurring yearly since 1900. Today the count occurs in over 20 countries in the western hemisphere and dozens of counts take place in Oregon.

On Saturday, December 18, Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory volunteer Sevilla Rhoads, conducted her own bird census in and around SNCO, in the spirit of the Christmas Bird Count. With partly cloudy skies, snow covering the ground, and temperatures in the mid-30s, Sevilla set out armed with binoculars, a camera, and her e-Bird checklist.

Over the course of 1.5 hours and covering just over half a mile, Sevilla and one other birder documented 149 individual birds comprising 14 different species. (See below for the full list.) Pine Siskin and Canada Goose made up the majority of sightings. Bird activity was found throughout Lake Aspen which was partially frozen. A Pied-billed Grebe was observed actively diving for food. A very active American Coot was found diving for food but also chasing the Grebe for food. At one point, Sevilla observe the Coot actually peck at the Grebe! Last but not least, a statuesque Great Blue Heron maintained a one-legged stance on the ice. Up in the canopy, Dark-eyed Juncos, Mountain Chickadees, dozens of Pine Siskins, and a Northern Flicker were observed.

Although the SNCO count was outside of the official areas for this year’s Christmas Bird Count, we are planning to participate in Audubon’s 2022 count. If you are interested in assisting with a Christmas Bird Count effort or would like to get more involved with birding in Sunriver, email us at programs@snco.org.

SNCO Christmas Bird Count Results

Canada Goose (45)
Pied-billed Grebe (1)
Mourning Dove (1)
American Coot (1)
Great Blue Heron (1)
Northern Flicker (1)
California Scrub-Jay (1)
Common Raven (2)
Mountain Chickadee (7)
European Starling (1)
House Finch (2)
Pine Siskin (75)
Dark-eyed Junco (9)
Song Sparrow (1)

Photos: Sevilla Rhoads