For the Birds: Fall is Here

Fox Sparrow enjoying liquid water during freezing time

Story and photos by Christine Southwick

Fall is here. Gone are the summer birds. Not until spring will we delight in the songs of the migrating Yellow-rumped Warblers, nor catch the passing notes of the Pacific Slope Flycatchers.

Snow geese are just starting to arrive from Wrangel Island off the Siberian coast and will stay in Washington until sometime in April. The Skagit and Frazer deltas with their farmed fields and the native bulrushes support the largest flocks on the West Coast.

Shorebirds like the Black Turnstone should be showing up soon to winter here until they leave in April for their Alaskan breeding grounds.

Hairy Woodpecker
note her bill is as long as the width of its head

Fox Sparrows and Varied Thrushes could start being seen. My heart quickens to hear the first hauntingly beautiful notes of the wintering Varied Thrush. 

Homeowners with enough native plants and trees generally have these lovely birds until early May. It may surprise you that both species can often be found in Himalayan Blackberry with its sheltering habitat, leftover fruits and bug meals.

One of the many delights of living in an area with large trees is that we have five species of woodpeckers here:

Pileated—the largest, most vocal, and impressive with its dramatic red crest;

Hairy—reasonably common, medium sized with a bill the same length as the width of its head

Downy—diminutive, not much larger than Black-capped Chickadees, with a short bill.

Downy Woodpecker
note how small he is and how short his bill

Northern Flicker—smaller than the Pileated, also vocal, especial during breeding season, unusual in that it not black, but has a pleasantly varied-colored plumage.

Red-breasted Sapsucker—not very common. It prefers cottonwoods for nesting with its softer wood. 

These are the woodpeckers that leave a series of small shallow holes in the bark of trees. 

They like the energy content of the sap, and other birds, including Anna’s Hummingbirds, will partake in this quick often buggy treat.

Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees are year-round residents. 

Anna Hummingbirds have become year-round residents, and some Townsend’s Warblers now stay through the winters.

Red-breasted Sapsucker
note the shallow sap holes it has drilled

Keep liquid water all year long—birdbath heaters that come on when it's cold are available and will provide much need liquid during freezing temperatures.

Suet will provide quick needed energy. I keep my feeders dry by having baffles over them, and I watch for spoiled seed which I promptly throw away.

Previous For the Birds articles here