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Birds of Fall at the West Hylebos Wetlands
Thais Bock's article about the birds found at West Hylebos Wetlands Park during the fall
By the time of the fall equinox in mid-September, resident fledglings in the park, including wrens, jays, woodpeckers, thrushes, etc., are now independent after honing survival skills during the warm summer months.
The neo-tropical birds, usually migrating on clear nights with favorable tail winds, will be heading southward by mid-September into early October. A few species, including barn swallows (Hirundo rustica), often can be observed as late as November (historically, the northwest's heaviest precipitation month) and Steller's jays (cyanocitta stelleri) continue hoarding food to see them through the colder winter months.
The summer Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)) will be replaced by the hardier Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna). Although food is usually plentiful at this time of year, the greatest danger for unwary young birds comes from predators including raccoons, foxes, hawks, owls - and cats.
Many of us have watched a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), showing its prominent redtail, soaring effortlessly high overhead in great circles. Taking advantage of updrafts produced when wind blows over hills or high ridges, hawks make use of rising columns of warm air called thermals.
Two other local species, Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) and Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), inhabit dense woods or forests and are known as accipters, meaning "short-winged hawks". The term is descriptive as these two species are extremely agile, streaking through dense coniferous or deciduous wood with amazing speed and skill to catch an unwary bird or small mammal. Bird feeders placed around homes are a drawing card for a quick catch by one of these accipters, but the immature hawks, not as adept as their elders, often miss the target. The mortality rate among young hawks is extremely high during the crucial early years of developing specialized skills needed to locate and catch prey by surprise.
As the fall season progresses with shorter daylight hours, all birds must spend more hours hunting for food to sustain them through the longer, colder, and often rainy nights.
Midway through the season, the first returning waterfowl wearing bright, fresh plumage, will sweep into Marlake and Brooklake. Some of the ducks will linger only a few days while others will settle in for a longer stay if food is plentiful. Marlake and Brooklake hosts both "divers" and "dabblers" and the Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) – a diver - is among the early arrivals followed by American Wigeon (Anas americana) – a dabbler.
Other waterbirds include the Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), Bufflehead (bucephala albeola) and Hooded Merganser (lophodytes cucullatus), the latter a successful nester on the lake during the past summer.
Spring Birding at Local Parks