Western Screech Owl

I found this western screech owl the other evening thanks to the help of a friend. I saw a robin on the path foraging on all of the small, green caterpillars that have been repelling from the trees this week. As it was darting back and forth across the trail, it was giving its vocalization that signals possible danger or disturbance. It makes a series of calls that sound like tuk tuk tuk tuk. After a couple of minutes it flew up to a tree branch and made a few more alarm calls and flew away. As I stood there surveying the landscape for about 5 minutes the robin returned. Again, it began to forage, but still vocalizing its agitation. I began to wonder if the demands of parenting had started to frazzle my friend and/or maybe she wanted me to move on. Once again, she flew up to a tree branch nearby, alarmed and flew off down the path. A few minutes later as I looked around I was gifted the beauty of seeing this magnificent little creature sitting at the entrance of a tree cavity. Its coloration and feather pattern resemble the bark of trees which allows it to blend in excellently with its surroundings.

Western Screech-Owls are carnivores that mostly eat small mammals. Their diet also includes birds, fish, amphibians, and invertebrates. They are nocturnal and usually leave their roost to forage around sunset and return a little before sunrise.

Western Screech Owl (Megascops kennicottii)

Click the link below to All About Birds to hear their vocalizations:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Screech-Owl/sounds

Black-headed Grosbeak

The song of the black-headed grosbeaks started flowing through the air as they arrived on the scene in the last week or so. The Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America describes their voice: “Song consists of rising and falling passages; resembles American Robin’s song, but more fluent and mellow. Call a flat ik or eek.”

Along with their robust song, you will also see them darting through the canopy as they began to establish their territory and find a mate.

As I was watching a pair fly around in an Oregon ash, I witnessed their brief copulation. In most birds, the male and female have a cloaca. During mating the cloacal openings of both male and female birds swell and protrude slightly outside of their bodies. The male will usually get on top of the female. She will move her tail feathers to the side so they can rub their cloacas together. At that moment, the male will quickly transfer his sperm to the female to fertilize her egg.

Life is amazing!

Male Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)

Cedar Waxwing Courtship

I read the following excerpt yesterday about cedar waxwings on The Cornell Lab’s All About Birds website.

“During courtship, males and females hop towards each other, alternating back and forth and sometimes touching their bills together. Males often pass a small item like a fruit, insect, or flower petal, to the female. After taking the fruit, the female usually hops away and then returns giving back the item to the male. They repeat this a few times until, typically, the female eats the gift.”

This morning I watched the male pluck an Indian Plum berry and fly over to a nearby limb where the female joined him. They gently passed the berry back and forth four or five times before it was eaten. This is a tender, sweet way to form a bond and become a pair.

Cedar Waxwings

In an old copy of How to Know Birds by Roger Tory Peterson he describes cedar waxwings: “Dressed in tans and grays, the sleek Waxwings are the most ‘tailored’ birds. They are called Waxwings because of shiny red droplets that look like sealing wax, at the tips of the secondary wing-feathers. But you must be very close to the bird to see this feature. The best field marks are a pointed crest and a yellow band at the end of the tail.”

Cedar waxwings are social birds and they can be seen and heard foraging in flocks. I see them every afternoon along the river trail moving through the trees and their vocalizations are a high, thin lisp or zeee that is slightly trilled. They are gleaning insects and caterpillars off of the foliage. You can also see them catching insects on the wing along the river too. They will perch on a branch and swoop out over the river like a flycatcher. Or they will weave back and forth zig-zagging over the water as they catch insects.

Cedar waxwings feed mainly on fruits throughout the year. Their name is derived from cedar berries they consume in winter. Soon the Indian plum berries will begin to ripen, and they will start gobbling them down well before I think they are ready to eat.

In What It’s Like To Be A Bird, David Allen Sibley writes: “The diet of waxwings is mainly fruit for much of the year, and they have several adaptations related to this. They have a relatively small bill, but it opens into an unusually wide mouth, allowing them to swallow large fruit whole. Their tongue has inward-facing barbs to help pull fruit into their throat.”

Happy Birdwatching!

Blacktail Deer

I briefly watched this deer the other day browsing on the new leaves of an Oregon Ash. In reading about blacktail deer, I found that they have a varied diet that can include hundreds of different kinds of plants, fruits, nuts, etc. Naturally their food sources of forbs, grasses and browse can evolve throughout the year as the seasons change.

In Cascade Olympic Natural History, Daniel Mathews writes, “They strip the old-man’s-beard lichen from tree limbs; it contains few nutrients, but enhances the deer’s utilization of plant nutrients in the winter diet of twigs, evergreen needles and leaves. Like other cudchewers, they are able to live on this high-roughage diet thanks to cellulose-digesting bacteria in their first (precudchewing) stomach. They have to browse for the nutritional demands of these bacteria; inadequate protein can kill the bacteria, leaving the browser literally starving to death with its belly full.”

For me, this really underscores the importance for the preserving the diversity of life. Animals have evolved in complex ecosystems that need to be taken care of and protected. It is crucial for our health and wellness.

Definitions:
Forbs (sometimes referred to as herbs) are herbaceous (not woody), broadleaf plants that are not grass-like.

Browse is the leaf and twig growth of shrubs, woody vines, trees, cacti, and other non-herbaceous vegetation available for animal consumption.

Blacktail Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus)

Cow Parsnip

Cow-parsnip is a native perennial. Its Latin name is Heracleum lanatum. It comes from Greek - Heracleum is from the Greek hero Hercules, and lanatum means wooly. The plant’s growth is certainly robust, and the stem is especially fuzzy. It can grow up to 10 feet tall, and the leaves can be 16 inches wide.

It is starting to bloom. The umbels are breaking out of their satchels and unfolding into white umbrella-like bouquets. I’ll be watching to see what insects it attracts.

So far, I have only seen one animal eating this plant, the camas pocket gopher. A couple of weeks ago I watched one pull half of cow parsnip down its hole. The plant was younger and a bit smaller than the one pictured here. You can see the plant sticking out of the hole in the last photo below.

A word of caution:
I read in a number of places that the sap from this plant can cause skin damage (blisters or hyperpigmentation), especially to light-sensitive people.

Cow-parsnip (Heracleum lanatum)

Golden-crowned Sparrows

Small flocks of golden-crowned sparrows have been using the arboretum as their winter home. I see them at the entrance, the wildflower garden, along the quarry road and the road out to the south meadow. They are never too far from the cover of a small thicket of shrubs that they can use for safety from predators. That said, they seem to be a friendly bird that will allow you to get close to them if you are quiet and move slowly.

This spring I noticed them eating lots of leaves of new plant shoots. I didn’t realize birds would include so much plant vegetation in their diet. I also see them foraging on new tender, grass seeds.

They are often palling around in a mixed flock with white-crowned sparrows. I captured a photo of them together that you can see below.

The golden-crowned sparrow breeds in shrubby tundra habitats near the coast or in the mountains in Alaska and northwestern Canada. I imagine that they will be migrating soon. Good luck on your journey. See you in the fall.

Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)

Sawflies & Bracken Ferns

There is a small wetland area out at the arboretum known as The Seeps. I was out there the other day, and I came across all of these small creatures dancing around in the sunlight that was breaking through the clouds. They were in this patch of bracken ferns that were sprouting up and beginning to unfurl. Periodically they would land and deposit eggs. I don’t know if they were laying the eggs on the fronds or piercing part of the plant and laying them inside. Trying to capture a photo was a little challenging. They are sensitive to movement, and they are small. After awhile I managed to take a couple of photos. A knowledgeable friend of mine identified them as sawflies. I found a photo of the species Strongylogaster distans Norton, and it seemed like a good match.

Observing these small creatures reminded me that there is an entire world occurring mostly unnoticed. Reading on the website of the Smithsonian, it says that there are some 900,000 different kinds of living insects known in the world (approx. 91,000 in the United States). It is estimated that there are somewhere between 2 - 30 million yet to be discovered. Additionally, insects probably have the largest biomass of the terrestrial animals. Apparently it has been calculated that “at any time, it is estimated that there are some 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) individual insects alive.” This is blowing my mind.

Read this brief article published on the Smithsonian’s website. It’s awesome.
https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/bugnos

Moth - Ctenucha Rubroscapus

The seeps are a small wetland habitat along the road out to the old quarry. Recently out there, I found a few of these caterpillars grazing on green, round vegetation that I think might be a type of sedge. They were all out at the tip, moving down the stalk as they ate. I am always delighted to find the larva stage of a moth or butterfly, because I feel that they can be tricky to locate. In my readings, I found that many species have specific host plants and habitats. So hopefully this knowledge can help guide me in my future searches for moths and butterflies.

Moths at rest do not press their wings together vertically above their bodies. Rather, they hold their wings flat over their abdomens in a near horizontal position. Most are active at night and are well camouflaged to avoid predation during the day.

Adult (Ctenucha Rubroscapus): Wingspan 4.5 centimeters. Wings black, edged with white distally. Thorax black, laterally with two red longitudinal lines, prothorax with a red apical patch. Head red and black. Abdomen iridescent blue.

Ctenucha Rubroscapus

I found this resource online to identify the species of caterpillar:
https://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/technology/pdfs/FHTET_03_11.pdf

Lepidoptera of the Pacific Northwest: Caterpillars and Adults
Jeffrey C. Miller
Department of Rangeland Resources, Oregon State University
Paul C. Hammond
Department of Zoology, Oregon State University

Goldenrod Spider

I noticed that small samaras were starting to emerge out of the flowers of the bigleaf maple, and I went over to have a closer look. I saw a dead bee in the flower cluster, and I realized that a spider was holding on to the end of it.

The goldenrod spider doesn’t spin a web to catch its prey, it uses the tactic of camouflage. It patiently waits on a flower to ambush an unsuspecting insect, such as a bee foraging for nectar. It has a unique ability to change colors depending on which flower it is hiding on. It can either be white like the petals of a daisy or it can turn yellow to blend in with the flowers of a goldenrod. The process of changing colors isn’t instantaneous, it takes days to accomplish.

It is also known as goldenrod crab spider because it holds its legs out to the side like a crab as it waits on a flower.

Goldenrod Spider (Misumena vatia)

Red-legged Frog

I was slowly walking along the zig-zag trail the other evening. I heard a slight rustling and saw a garter snake gently flowing through the green carpet of plants along the path. A moment later, this little frog popped out in front of me. It turned and started hopping away. I’m sure it sensed the snake’s presence. I took a couple of photos as it made its escape. Not wanting to add any stress to a tense situation, I moved on hoping it made it to a safer location.

Amphibian is a Greek word. Amphi means “of both kinds" and bios means "life." An amphibian’s life cycle usually starts off in an aquatic environment and moves to a terrestrial one upon maturity. Frogs began their life in water as tadpoles and move onto land as an adult. That said, frogs usually don’t venture to far from water because their skin needs to stay moist. Most amphibians breathe through their lungs and their skin. So their skin needs to stay moist in order to absorb oxygen. Fascinating!

Since the health of a frog’s skin is crucial to its survival, it is very sensitive to its environment. For this reason, frogs are considered indicator species — their presence or absence can tell us about the health of an ecosystem. Unfortunately, we have seen the decline or extinction of frog species throughout the world. It’s a warning that we need to be better caretakers of nature!

I hope you read more about frogs. Their lives are an absorbing topic.

Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora)

Sedges

“I would like to go into perfectly new and wild country. I wish to lose myself amid reeds and sedges and wild grasses that have not been touched.”
—Henry David Thoreau

Out in the wetlands along the pond lily trail, this magical creature was swaying in the breeze. As it danced in the dappled sunlight, its white, fuzzy hairs were illuminated and dust clouds billowed forth from a golden, shaggy mane. Its leaves were long, green blades that were sturdy with a nice edge. Some plants had already matured and developed husky seed clusters.

Reading about sedges instantly sent me spiraling into a whole new realm of plant identification, ecology, etc. I quickly realized how little I knew about them.

I found this book while poking around online that would be a cool read: Field Guide to the Sedges of the Pacific Northwest. It is an illustrated guide to all 169 species, subspecies, and varieties in the genus Carex that grow in the wild in Oregon and Washington.

Check this plant out!

Larkspur in Full Bloom

As soon as you start down the river bank trail, you will encounter Larkspur at the bridge. If you continue your walk out to the wetlands, you will be treated to a dazzling display.

Flowers are a deep blue to violet. There are 5 sepals that are petal-like. The upper one with a long nectar-bearing spur behind that creates a shape that resembles the hat of a wizard.

I feel this plant casts a humid aroma into the air that awakens my awareness and conjures up feelings of an ancient past, one of untamed beauty.

Larkspur (Delphinium menziesii)

Bushtits Building Nest

Over the past week or two, I have been watching a pair of bushtits building their nest. The process of building the nest can go on for a month or more. I have often thought that they abandoned a nest site because I hadn’t observed them there for days, and the nest hadn’t taken on much of a form. They take their time and build a sturdy nest. One winter I found a nest on the ground that had fallen during a storm. I tried to open it up to look at the nest inside and found it tricky to tear with my hands. I had to use my pocket knife.

The nest is an intricately woven nest of moss, lichen, spider webs, spider cocoons, etc. The completed nest is a well-camouflaged, enclosed sock that has a small hole on the side at the top. The nest is at the bottom of the sock.

Bushtits are social birds that pal around together in little flocks. I’ve counted up to around 40 in one. “Within these flocks, several pairs may nest simultaneously, and additional Bushtits beyond the mated pair often attend the nest and help raise the young. These helpers are usually adult males, a pattern that is rare in cooperatively nesting birds (Website: All About Birds - The Cornell Lab).”

Pacific Tree Frog

In the lower part of the parking lot you will find water seeping out of the hillside and filling a small ditch. As I approached this small furrow, I saw tadpoles swimming around. When I sat down to watch them, a tree frog sitting nearby hopped down to the water. After observing for only a few minutes, I realized that this puddle was a micro, wetland habitat full of life. In addition to tadpoles, there were water striders, mosquito larvae, snails, worms, a red creature that resembled a mite and other aquatic plant and animal life.

The small wetland in the parking lot used to be bigger, but it shrank over the years as the lot has become more developed. On a micro level it is an example of how wetlands are disappearing through development. One of the biggest threats to life and its diversity is habitat loss. I feel we have to start setting aside more areas on the land and the ocean for the survival of the amazing diversity of life on the planet.

The Pacific tree frog is also known as the Pacific chorus frog.

Pacific Tree Frog (Hyla regalia)

Pacific Hound's Tongue

This plant shot out of the ground this spring with arrow-shaped leaves. Soon after its leaves unfolded, it sent up a flower stalk and revealed these dainty blossoms. The petals are a watercolor wash of blues, violets and pinks. In the center is a circle of white hearts that resemble miniature lockets. What magical keepsakes are held inside? The flower sepals are covered in white hairs that resembles the stubble of an old man’s unshaven face. The underside of the leaves are also quite fuzzy.

Curious as to why so many plants are hairy, I decided to investigate. These hair-like outgrowths from the epidermis are called trichomes, and they serve various functions. They protect against harsh weather conditions, such as frost. They help reduce moisture loss. They can protect against animals by emitting unpleasant aromas or causing skin irritation like stinging nettles. This is a fascinating part of a plant’s biology.

If you take a walk along the path that follows the river, you will surely encounter this plant on your journey.

White-breasted Nuthatches Nesting

A pair of white-breasted nuthatches have paired up and have selected a natural cavity in an Oregon ash. I read that females build the nest, but I watched both male and female collecting nesting material. So I guess he is allowed to bring in material, but she puts it together. I have observed them collecting tufts of moss and small pieces of bark to line the nest cavity. She will then build a small nest cup of fine grass, feathers, bark fibers, hair, etc. She will lay 5-9 eggs. The eggs are white to pinkish-white, speckled with reddish brown, gray, or purple. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find part of a discarded shell on the ground somewhere. The incubation period is around two weeks and the male will feed her while she is on the nest. Both parents will feed the young when they are born. The nesting period is around 26 days. Good luck and happy parenting.

Wood Ducks Look For Nest Cavity

On Sunday evening there were two pairs of wood ducks flying around through the trees looking for possible cavities for nesting. I could hear the flapping of their wings and calls as I approached. I stood back a little ways and watched them. They were flying up to holes in the trees and looking in to investigate. The ducks were notably adept at maneuvering among the branches and landing at the entrances of the cavities.

They usually chose natural cavities where a tree limb has broken off and a small hollow space has been created where the tree’s heartwood has rotted out. They will also use woodpecker cavities. I saw them investigating both types.

All seemed to be going well until one of the ravens nesting nearby suddenly swooped in, apparently trying to capture one of the wood ducks. The wood ducks successfully avoided the raven and to my surprise, stayed in the area.

Coincidentally, as the raven was watching the wood ducks, a hawk was watching the raven. The hawk flew in and narrowly missed taking out the raven. This sent the raven and its mate into frenzy of trying to chase off the hawk. For now, the ravens decided to leave the wood ducks alone and did not return to the scene. I decided to move on too. I wished the wood ducks a peaceful evening and good luck on their journey of a successful nesting season.

Here’s a link to Audubon to hear the wood duck’s calls:
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/wood-duck

Pacific Bleeding Heart

Bleeding hearts spread through rhizomes and form small patches as they become established. The leaves are compound and have leaf margins that appear irregularly and sharply indented (incised). The flowers are a pink hue shaped like an elongate heart made of two fused petals, hiding a smaller pair of fused petals inside. I read that hummingbirds are attracted to them. I have been checking on small patches of bleeding heart to see if I can watch hummingbirds getting the nectar.

Bleeding heart like to live in moist forests or along river banks. Look for them out in the wetlands area at the arboretum.

Dicentra means two-spurred which refers to the two small spurs on the outer two petals. Formosa means beautiful.

Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa)

Beetle

I saw this beetle yesterday and thought of this poem by Pablo Neruda.

Beetle

I went to the beetle
with my question about life:
the rites of his autumn,
his linear armor.

I hunted him down in the lost lakes
of the black south of my country.
I found him in the volcano’s
malevolent ash,
or followed the fall of his roots
into innermost darkness.

How did you work those hard things?
Your zinc eyes and your necktie?
Your cast-iron trousers?
Your contradictory scissors?
Your gold ridges, the tongs of your claws?
What resins could ripen
the incandescence of your kind?

For myself I ask only
a scarab’s heart
to push past the densities
and sign my name’s secret
in the death of the wood.
(Who knows? My name might take on
new life, turn to the light
new channels in midnight,
come out at the opposite end of the tunnel
with the other wings waiting their turn?)

What is prettier than you,
beetle, inscrutably mute,
priest of the roots,
rhinoceros of dew,
I said. He said nothing.

I asked. He said nothing.

There’s a beetle for you.

— Pablo Neruda

(Translated by Ben Belitt)