Signs of Spring - Birds

From a fair-weather point of view we haven't had much to celebrate in recent weeks. On the couple of occasions when the sun has shone I headed straight to Halibut Point State Park. Songbirds reassured me that the natural world was carrying on despite the chilly gloomy days. From overhead came a light rapid trilling, soon tracked to the topmost branch of a white fir tree where a speck of animated life surveyed the horizons of a meadow.

Chipping sparrow

A lofty and conspicuous perch suits the male Chipping sparrow in establishing his breeding domain. You might imagine yourself in his position, chest puffed out, voicing sexual allurement or territorial warning. Boisterous motives characterize even the pint-sized world of procreation.

Golden-crowned kinglet

The zippiest feathered creature now moving through the landscape on its way north gets its name from the crowning blaze atop the head of the "little king." Its tiny size and rapid metabolism require the Golden-crowned kinglet to forage constantly to meet its energy needs. It hardly ever pauses in daytime hours.

Palm warbler

The first warbler sightings officially confirm the advent of temperate times. The warming weather initiates a chain of events that makes insect food available for the influx of migratory species. Palm warblers are at the vanguard of this dazzling group.

Yellow-rumped warbler

The release of tender buds from their wintering cases sustains insect larvae, which in turn provide forage for the birds. Other nutritious morsels can be found plentifully flying, crawling, and wriggling about.

Brown thrasher

The premier chorister of early spring takes to the highest branches. I think of it as the 'oak tree bird,' partial to the tallest alpha-ranking perches. Ordinarily a shy skulker of thickets, the male brown thrasher makes its courtship and boundary claims with extroverted prominence. It probably has the largest song repertoire of any North American bird, at least 1,100 different documented vocalizations. Many of these imitate other avians. Unlike fellow mimics the catbird and mockingbird, the thrasher strings together long series of doubled phrases with no definite beginning or end.

The thrasher is also distinctive for the quality of its voice. Each pitch has a pure clarity that carries great distances. From across the quarry I hear something that sounds like a robin on steroids. I circle around the quarry to the far end of a diameter line, toward the spot where the melody seemed to have originated. As I get close the sound gets louder but seems to scatter as though a ventriloquist is throwing his voice deceptively. I'm no longer sure where it's coming from. I've entered a saturated sonic environment.

 

I scan the treetops. The bird flies to another promontory where I can see it clearly. The air is drained of sound. I stand in a remarkable silence. Then the thrasher bursts into a string of chrrps, clucks, and whistles. The concert master resumes his catalogue of notes and inventions.