Birds According to Peterson

Joe Meche is president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and also serves the chapter as newsletter editor and birding programs coordinator. He has been watching birds for more than 50 years and photographing birds and landscapes for more than 30 years. He has written more than 100 articles for Whatcom Watch.

In Roger Tory Peterson’s visual categories of birds, he separates the long-legged waders from the smaller species that exhibit some of the same general characteristics and behavior, but on a lesser scale. For the sake of expediency we’re going to look as these two groups as one, and refer to them simply as the Waders. These are the birds that bridge the gap between the swimmers we saw in Part I and the more terrestrial birds that will arrive later in this series. Waders venture to depths as governed by the length of their legs. They are totally at home living on the edge, whether it’s a stormy shoreline or a quiet embayment surrounded by mudflats. The waders are not afraid to get their feet wet.

In this bird-rich corner of the Pacific Northwest, we are blessed with a wealth of perfect habitat for viewing a variety of waders. Some are with us only during migration while others are here throughout the year. Our location on the Pacific Flyway is ideal for birds that require protected bays and inlets for resting and feeding as they make their seasonal journeys to and from their breeding grounds. The overall numbers of certain species during migration can be mind boggling, to say the least.

With the ideal location for numerous waders, it comes as no surprise that they are well represented locally. In the world of the waders, sizes range from the common great blue heron to the diminutive and aptly named least sandpiper. Across this range of sizes and shapes, these birds come with many of the same basic tools for their chosen habitat. They are all quite adept at making a living wherever they are.

The great blue heron is one of the most recognizable bird species and is found across North America. In recent years, Whatcom County has seen a number of great blue nesting colonies, also known as rookeries or heronries. These colonies are often in a state of fluctuation from year to year, given the pressures of natural predators like bald eagles and unnatural colony disturbances by other species, like humans.

The closest local colony is just to the south of the city’s wastewater treatment plant on Bellingham’s south side. The city has done a marvelous job at the site to protect the colony. They have erected fences and posted signs to remind people that due consideration should be paid to these magnificent birds during the breeding seasons of spring and summer. Of course, there’s not a whole lot that we can do about a bald eagle’s appetite.

Lesser known and much more secretive than the great blue are other larger waders such as black-crowned night herons, green herons, and American bitterns. Green herons are known to nest on Padden Creek and at Tennant Lake. Spring evenings at the lake are often filled with a chorus of American bitterns, a bird with a unique call that must be heard to be fully appreciated.

The smaller waders in our area fall under the broad umbrella of shorebirds. Shorebirds are entertaining and well-adapted waders with the right tools for negotiating terrain and feeding in a variety of conditions. Some shorebirds can also be found in fields and grassy areas, especially during migration. Most are equipped with long bills, which are effective for probing soft mud flats and sandy beaches for invertebrates. Most have long legs in relation to body size and the lack of webbing on their toes enables then to move freely through shallow water.

Many of the less common species can be found in accessible locations in the north county. Marbled godwits and whimbrels are often on the local birding radar in the spring, usually at a time when these larger waders are migrating through the area. In mid-April, the birding hotlines are often alive with reports of numerous godwits and whimbrels stopping to rest and feed on area mudflats. Notable among these areas are the mudflats on both sides of the Blaine marina and boat launch area. On occasion, long-billed curlews might make an appearance, along with the uncommon-to-rare Hudsonian and bar-tailed godwits.

Black oystercatchers are always a joy to observe. They’re often seen on patrol along the cobble beaches at Semiahmoo. Their low altitude flights along shorelines and open water are often accompanied by what Peterson referred to as a “piercing, sharply repeated, whistled wheep or kleep.” Similar in one respect to the sound of bitterns − once you hear the calls of black oystercatchers, you’ll never mistake them for anything else. There is at least one confirmed nesting pair on the breakwater at the Blaine marina.

Greater and lesser yellowlegs, like long- and short-billed dowitchers, are often problematic when it comes to field identification. To the trained eye and ear, however, these migratory species are easy enough to separate by their vocalizations and preferred habitat. Dowitchers are especially noted for the sewing machine-like action they employ while probing for food.

Dunlin are the most numerous of the larger family of shorebirds or sandpipers that we see locally. Sightings are always impressive when the total number of individual birds is often in the thousands. One of the true thrills of bird watching is to observe a large flock of dunlin taking evasive action when being pursued by peregrine falcons or other swift birds of prey. The synchronized movements of the flock are geared toward confusing the pursuer with mixed views of twisting and turning, light and gray bodies moving up and down as they literally run for their lives.

Western sandpipers and black-bellied plovers often crowd local beaches during migration, with large flocks spending time in the Semiahmoo Bay/Drayton Harbor area. Black turnstones and sanderlings often prowl the cobble beaches in the same area throughout the winter months. Many people know about sanderlings since they’re most often seen as the birds that race up and down beaches, dodging the incoming waves and generally entertaining observers with their scrambling.

One of the favorite birds from my youth, the killdeer, is the most numerous member of the plover family in North America. They are here throughout the year and their distinctive calls are one of the easiest to learn for field identification. The distraction display of killdeer during the nesting season is a joy to observe. The idea of this behavior is to draw potential predators away from eggs or chicks by feigning an injury like a broken wing, thus appearing to be an easier catch. Like most of the smaller waders, their nests are simple scrapes on the ground or in loose gravel.

Large and small waders, shorebirds, sandpipers — they come with a variety of names, shapes, and sizes and are one of the more entertaining groups of birds to watch. From loners and solitary birds like the bitterns and night herons to the often immense flocks of dunlin, you will never tire of watching the waders. The sheer energy and freedom of movement exhibited by migrating shorebirds is unforgettable, to say the least.