Birds of the Northwest

I'm leaving next week to Orcas Island, Washington, to be an environmental educator at an outdoor camp. In preparation, I compiled a list of common flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest and figured I might as well share it with my billions of readers out there. It seemed best to start with the kingdom of birds, because Emily Dickinson would have wanted it that way: "I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven." 


Most of this information is copied word-for-word from various county websites in the Northwest. 

Great Blue Heron (blue crane, gray crane, big cranky): common sight near many wetlands, forests and estuaries in Washington. In flight the great blue heron slowly beats its 7-foot wingspan, head folded back on shoulders, long legs trailing in the behind. If startled it will emit a low-pitched squawk. It feeds by day or night but is most active before dawn and dusk. The great blue heron is an opportunistic predator who eats small fish, shellfish, insects, reptiles and amphibians and even small mammals and birds.

Common Loons: Common loons once were described as a fairly prevalent breeding species both east and west of the Cascade crest but likely declined between the late 1800’s and early 1900’s throughout the Pacific Northwest. A number of lakes in the Pacific Northwest appear to have offered ideal conditions for loon nesting in the past. Although it currently is a common migrant and wintering species within the area, it rarely breeds here. For several years common loons have either attempted to nest or nested in some protected watersheds in the Pacific Northwest. 

Burrowing Owls:

Burrowing owls are a charismatic species favored among many wildlife watchers. They can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open dry area with low vegetation. Unlike most owls, Burrowing Owls are often active during the day, although they tend to avoid the midday heat. Burrowing Owls mainly eat large insects and small rodents. Before European colonization, Burrowing Owls probably inhabited every suitable area of the New World, but in North America they have experienced some restrictions in distribution since.

Osprey: Body color is dark brown above and white below. Head is white except for a brown stripe from the eye to the back of the head. The tail has medium-sized, dark brown and white bands. The female Osprey has a ring of brown spots around her neck. The Osprey in flight can be misidentified as a large gull or even a Bald Eagle. The Osprey's wings are broader and the wing tips are not as pointed as a gull's. The Bald Eagle has broader wings and a larger wingspan. While in flight, large dark patches at the birds' "wrist" and crooked wings help distinguish this bird from other species.

The Osprey is one of the world's most widespread birds, occurring on all continents except Antarctica and many islands. Originally, it nested widely across North America, but contamination with the pesticide DDT led to population decrease and range reduction. The Osprey is rarely seen far from water, except during migration. It eats primarily fish but on occasion has been known to eat snakes, amphibians, and smaller vertebrates. It generally soars over the water searching for prey. When the prey is located, it dives and strikes it with its talons. Instances are known of Ospreys diving on fish too large for them, getting their talons stuck in the fish's flesh, and being dragged under the water and drowned.

Vaux’s Swift:

Vaux's swift is the smallest of the four species of swifts in North America.  Vaux’s swifts are approximately 5 inches long and are most closely related to hummingbirds.

Vaux’s swifts spend the majority of their day in the air feeding on flying insects.  A single swift may consume as many as 20,000 insects in a single day.  Unlike most birds Vaux’s swifts do not have a back talon, so they cannot perch on tree limbs and are most effective at clinging to the rough interior surfaces of hollow trees or rough brick-lined chimneys in urban areas for shelter.  Within these hollow spaces, referred to as roosts, a few thousand to several thousand swifts can concentrate as they make their spring or fall migrations.  Their roosting sites and movements constitute one of the great migration wonders of the natural world.

Bald eagle: When mature, bald eagles develop their recognized coloring of a brownish-black body, white head and tail, and yellow bill. Immature eagles have a dusky brown head and tail, a brownish bill, and blotches of white and cream on the body. As with most birds of prey, females are larger than males. Females are larger than males, and can reach a length of 43 inches and have a wingspan of 92 inches. The bald eagle is only present on the North American continent.

Bald eagles are both hunters and scavengers. They hunt fish, waterfowl and mammals, and scavenge from elk, deer and whale carcasses and roadkill. Bald eagles are great hunters for several reasons: they have excellent eyesight, they can perceive depth very well, and their ability to see details at a distance is 3 to 4 times greater than humans. Their razor sharp talons immediately contract upon contact with prey, and little spikes on the bottom of their feet make it easier to pick up slippery fish. Eagles’ bones weigh less than half the total weight of their 7,000 feathers, which makes it easier to gain altitude and glide as they search for prey. Food supply is the major dictator of bald eagle migration patterns. Pairs will migrate north in the early fall to get food in northern British Columbia and southeast Alaska. In the late fall, bald eagles from all over western North America migrate to Washington for the milder weather and food supply. When breeding season begins, bald eagles will return to their same breeding area and often the same nest each year.

Eagles display a variety of behaviors, mostly used as a form of communication between each other. During the winter, hundreds of bald eagles will often roost together in the night. The communal roosts occur in sheltered areas, helping the eagles conserve energy. These roosts may also serve a role in pair bond formation and communication about foraging sites. Bald eagles are estimated to live at least 28 years in the wild; deaths at a younger age are usually directly attributable to humans or human activities.

Bald eagles in Washington have made a comeback from a low of 105 nesting pairs in 1980 to 605 pairs in 2001. During the winter months when bald eagles from all over western North America migrate to Washington, the population increases to about 4,500. When Lewis and Clark visited Washington 200 years ago, the estimated bald eagle population was 6,000 to 10,000. Yet the Bald eagle is still listed as a "threatened" species.

Scoters:  Scoters are particularly abundant on Washington seas during winter months when the velvet black males and dark-chocolate brown females are often seen swimming offshore in large groups, or “rafts”. Scoters build nests on the ground at the edges of lakes, rivers and wetlands with each species having slightly different preference of nesting habitat. Scoters form pair bonds in winter areas or during spring migration, which are maintained and defended by males until incubation of eggs begins, at which point males fly off. 

Often seen swimming along the surf, scoters dive for blue mussels, crabs, clams and other invertebrates. 

Washington's scoter population is estimated to have declined by 50% in the last two decades. A large scale die-off in the 1990's occurred in Southeast Alaska and although the cause is unknown, contaminants are suspected. Reasons for decline in Washington are not known, but possibilities include:

• Vulnerability to oil spills: Scoter populations concentrate in nearshore areas where spills typically occur. Birds caught in oil nearly always die due to hypothermia or poisoning.
• Susceptibility to toxins accumulating in their foods: Cadmium, lead and PCP's are filtered by shellfish, then eaten by the diving duck, accumulating in the fatty tissue.
• The decline of spawning forage fish means less roe available to migrating scoters