From the Contact Station September 2019

Change is Coming

This is the time of year I usually write about migration. It is so exciting to see new birds as we roll into September. We’ve already had Red-shouldered Hawks show up. They seem a couple of weeks early this year. Humm, interesting. We haven’t had a sighting of the Yellow-headed Blackbird for a few weeks. They have probably flocked up and moved out together. The Purple Martins, at least the ones using the gourds near the contact station, have not been heard in the last two weeks. We lament the leaving of favorites but eagerly await the arrival of the winter birds.

I spent some time recently going through Refuge reported birds for September via e-bird, the Cornell Laboratory listing site. Always a great site for information on what has been seen, or not. In the last five years, there have been some interesting migration sightings including Common Loon, Lewis’ Woodpecker, Eared Grebe and White-faced Ibis. Habitat conditions can make a difference whether some of these odd birds might show up. Pond levels and muddy edges would be more inviting to the loon, grebe and shorebirds. You just never know, and it is exciting to see what might be here for this year.

One species I like to look for is the Vaux Swift, Chaetura vauxi. They are famous for night roosting in chimneys as they migrate south. Rumor has it there is an attractive chimney somewhere in Ridgefield. Of course, the famous place in the area is the Chapman Elementary School in NW Portland. September is the month to watch them descend at dusk. But you don’t have to go to the school to see these aerial specialists. A couple have been spotted already flying over the refuge. They are often described as cigars with wings. They are rather dark with a slightly paler throat and blunt tapered at front and back. The wings are each longer than the body itself. Their wing beat is stiff and quick. To me, compared to swallows, they seem more ridged as they move through the air.

Here on the refuge, watch for them feeding on insects over water. They eat, capturing insect on the wing. Also, listen for their high-pitched, rapid chipping and buzzy insect-like twitter given in flight. Sometimes that is the easiest way to find them. Migrating swifts start to gather at a roost up to an hour before dusk and circle in large flocks in the vicinity of the tree or chimney. As dusk approaches, the numbers of swifts increase, and the birds fly in smaller circles in a horizontal plane above the roost. Just prior to entering the roost, swifts start circling the roost in a vertical plane and feign entries into the tree, as though practicing their approach. When the swifts finally enter, they literally fall from the sky and enter in large groups. It is quite a spectacle.

Keep an eye out for these aerial specialists as they move south to Central America for the winter. They are just one of the species coming through this month. Of course, we will be waiting for ducks, swans and cranes to make their way to the refuge for the winter and in time for BirdFest. Come join us for the party to celebrate our 20^th BirdFest this year on October 4th and enjoy all the activities on Saturday, October 5^th on the refuge and in town. Details are elsewhere in this newsletter.

-Susan Setterberg, Board Past President & Contact Station Volunteer

Photo: Lyn Topinka