After the Rain

Wednesday afternoon Kay and I took a walk through the misty landscape. Vignettes appeared as never before.

Virginia creeper on the barn

Viper bugloss on a stone wall

Big-toothed aspen

Quarry pulley

Black cherry leaves

Black cherry bark

Yellow-rumped Warblers, poison ivy berries

Quarry scene

Blue catbrier berries, blueberry leaves

Privet berries

White oak

Ties that Bind

 

Green Heron, at home

Green Herons come here regularly from the South for their breeding season. Although I can't be sure it's the same individuals returning year after year, Halibut Point's wetlands generally satisfy the necessities of food, habitat, and potential mates to fulfill the migration. I think of these fulfillments as the ties that bind. They make up the nature of the place.

As near as I can tell the herons arrive here singly, quite possibly at night. Seen from above as it flies across a quarry pond with slow wing beats a Green Heron looks black, like a tailless crow.

A Green Heron roosting

Its first criterion must be finding a place with good prospects for shelter, food, and protected nesting.

Stalking prey

The birds work the water's edge for all types of aquatic prey. Often they strike from a motionless pose.

Swallowing a tadpole

They're ready to snatch tadpoles surfacing to breathe, or unwary frogs. I've seen one spear a dragonfly perched in the shrubbery.

Taking a meal to the nestlings

The ecology in and around Halibut Point State Park makes fine breeding habitat for Green Herons.

A heron fishing promontory

Their fishing exploits make them a popular sight for summer visitors.

Solitary heron, 2022

This year only a single Green Heron took up residence. It announced its satisfaction with nesting prospects in a woody fringe and called plaintively for a mate. All during the spring we heard the soft skeow sounds from within the canopy.

Heron's vigil

Our heron abandoned Halibut Point in mid-June, presumably in search of a mate, that powerful binding tie where our ample geographic attractions failed it this season.

On the Quiet Side

Last week's posting "Extravagance" discovered intricacies in the Lilliputian insect world at Halibut Point while the summer landscape rested quietly, debilitated by drought. With the advent of fall bird activity has stirred again. Migrants are passing through or stopping in our area for the winter season. 

You have two choices in watching for birds: go find them, or let them come to you. I'm going to relate to you a case where the low-key approach worked perfectly, in a quiet corner of the Park beside the route to its spectacular scenery.

The venue

All the photographs you're about to see were taken this week right by the Park entrance. This alcove between the wildflower garden and the 'managed meadow' offers varied habitat and food sources. 

Field Sparrow

I was standing in the open. Maintaining stillness eventually allowed glimpses of songbirds moving through.

White-throated Sparrow

Flocks of grey and white Juncos fluttered conspicuously on either side of the stone wall. A variety of warm-hued sparrows often accompanied them singly or in small numbers.

Swamp Sparrow

The sparrows were modestly patterned with subtle plumage distinctions. Making their definitive acquaintance was both challenging and endearing without excessive hardship, a nice blend of devotions for this point in life.

A slight movement in the treeline caught my attention

Some of the shier sparrow species declined to come into the open for favorable portraiture.

The photo enlargement revealed a Fox Sparrow

A Fox Sparrow might have seemed extravagantly marked in a full sunlit view, but its jazzy rufous stripes camouflaged it effectively in the dappled canopy.

Lincoln's Sparrow

A Lincoln's Sparrows nearly avoided notice by blending its leafy markings into the shrubby border.

Song Sparrow

The "weedy" area along the stone wall retained remnants of the colorful wildflowers featured in my August 12 posting, A Choice of Blues.

Savannah Sparrow

Park Supervisor John Ratti had decided to leave their tall stalks uncut to see how they might support wildlife, or subside with a spare late-season beauty of their own.

Savannah Sparrow

This island of diverse habitat provided an observation point for distinguishing among the patterns of various sparrows at close range.

A juvenile White-crowned Sparrow

The grasses, wildflowers, and shrubs nourished a variety of seed-seeking passerines.

Chipping Sparrow

The sparrows generally foraged on the ground within, or close to, the cover of tall plants.

Clay-colored Sparrow

Sometimes they found what they were looking for in the upper branches of the wildflowers, or just came up to look around.

A mysterious non-sparrow

Occasionally warblers, phoebes, and other small birds of muted fall plumage passed through the glade. The identity of one of these proved perplexing until it perched and showed its hefty seed-cracking bill.

A female Indigo Bunting

Most sightings of Indigo Buntings hereabouts come in the spring when the males are extravagantly attired in blue. This female appeared during the quiet side of the cycle.

An uncommon Lark Sparrow with harlequin head pattern is one of the few members of the family I have yet to find at Halibut Point. Encountering it would add a holiday touch to the earthy tones and quiet repose of my vigil.

* * *

Special thanks to Chris Leahy for verification of bird identities.

Extravagance

Though the characteristics of insects have everything to do with their purposes and little to do with our admiration, our sense of beauty delights in their variations. The goldenrod currently in bloom at Halibut Point are theatrically populated for observation.

A fly - Sphaerophoria, Hover Fly

It would seem that a spare and efficient anatomy would serve these creatures best in a hazardous world. However, many of them have developed spectacular shapes, patterns, and colors.

A bee - Augochlorini, Green-gold Sweat Bee

One approach to survival would seem take the low road of avoiding attention.

A bug - Chinavia hilaris, Green Stink Bug nymph

On the other hand, some species ward off danger by unmistakably advertising their toxicity to predators, or by gaining notice to avoid inadvertent harm.

A beetle - Megacyllene robiniae, Locust Borer

That high road of visibility alerts human sensibilities both pleasurably and ominously. A charming sight on the goldenrod is not as welcome crawling on your skin.

A moth - Atteva aurea, Ailanthus Webworm Moth

The unending insect variations tease both our orderly and our playful selves into pondering, Why?

A butterfly - Parrhasius m-album, White M Hairstreak

The White M Hairstreak bears a Disney-like name in reference to the "monogram" beside the orange dot on its hind wing. This photograph shows a hint of its sapphire upper wing surfaces visible only in flight. Opening them onto goldenrod flowers might assert an extravagance of color usually assigned by nature to the tempering greenness of lush tropical settings.

Danaus plexippus, Monarch

When it comes to finery the Monarch displays crowning elegance. It is large and languid enough to be admired by children as well as connoisseurs. If the smaller and speedier insects could be seen closely enough their own exquisite compositions might be similarly appreciated.