Birding in the North Columbia Country

CONTENTS:

Our Summer Visitors
by Connie Smith

Attracting and Feeding Area Hummingbirds
by Chris Loggers

Spring Birding
by Connie Smith

Our Summer Visitors
by Connie Smith

Right now is the time to go out and see a variety of birds around the area. Most of the waterfowl (ducks and geese) have moved through, but the other birds have settled in. Many birds in our area that we see in the summer are migrants - they avoid the cold in the winter, and then return in the spring. Like good campers they come back early and scout out the best places which are usually along streams. Cottonwoods, aspen, alder, and shrubs such as huckleberry, serviceberry, wild cherry, and wild rose provide food and shelter for the birds.

Although not absolutely required, some simple birding equipment will help you enjoy your summer birding all the more. It's best to have a pair of binoculars because the birds are so small and will not allow you to come up close enough to see all of their markings. A good bird identification guide will help you name what you see, and discover where this bird is normally found. Some good books are National Geographic's, Petersons, or the Golden Guide. Also check out the photographic guides like Audubon's. Finally, there are a couple of good software programs available like Peterson's or Audubon's.

When identifying birds, look for markings around the head and wings, as well as overall size of the bird. Compare to something you know, like a robin. The best time to see birds is in the early morning. Many birds will be singing during the breeding period which lasts until about the middle of July.

Some birds to watch for in the lowlands and open fields are lazuli bunting, western bluebird, western meadowlark, northern harrier, American kestrel, killdeer, eastern kingbird, magpies, and yellow-breasted chat. In the mountainous or wooded areas look for mountain bluebird, violet-green swallow, rufous-sided towhees, pine siskins, evening grosbeaks, northern flicker, and Clark's nutcracker. And along streams look for American goldfinch, yellow warblers, Swainson's thrush, Townsend's solitaire, and the elusive veery.

It would be a shame if all that were left in the world were starlings and crows, those birds well-adapted to living alongside humans and able to scavenge and survive in our habitats of roads, buildings, and fields. When you go birding, listen for the different sounds of bird calls, from sharp shrill notes, to trebles and warbles, and trills that climb beyond our highest threshold of hearing. There is such a symphony of calls and songs to listen to, take time to enjoy them.

There are several places to go bird watching in the Colville National Forest and the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge. Check out walks and drives along Lake Roosevelt, the Pend Oreille River, Kettle River and Curlew Lake. Look for osprey nests above in the trees and look for birds along the shorelines. Explore the Salmo-Priest Wilderness, Sherman Peak trail, the Kettle Crest trail or hike to Calispell peak--you may see raptors such as sharp-shinned hawks, and red tail hawks here. Trout Lake, Pierre Lake, and Canyon Creek Campgrounds with their lakesides and streams offer some good areas for birding also.

This time of year you may see baby birds being fed or learning to fly as they leave the nest. Be sure not to disturb any nests or birds that you see struggling on the ground--their parents may be nearby, waiting for you to leave.

Happy birding!

Attracting and Feeding Area Hummingbirds
by Chris Loggers

The best way to attract hummingbirds to your yard and garden is to provide lots of red or orange tubular flowers. The birds will feed on both the nectar and the insects that they find in the flowers, and you don't have to clean a feeder.

You might see them better, though, if you set out a feeder filled with sugar and water. Sugar solutions are not a complete diet for hummingbirds, and care must be taken to keep hummingbird feeders clean. To avoid fungus in them, clean the feeders every few days (less frequently in cool weather) under hot tap water, and scrub the insides with a bottlebrush.

Mixtures of water and white sugar are the best supplemental food. Do not use honey and water, because the honey ferments quickly, and the molds that then grow can kill the hummingbirds. Make your mixture 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, or more dilute. Measure carefully, because more concentrated solutions can harm hummingbirds by enlarging their livers. To prepare the solution, mix a 1:1 sugar:water solution. Boil this to retard fermentation and to dissolve all the sugar, then add the other 2 parts of cold water. You can store the unused solution in the freezer.

After the hummingbirds have found your feeder, reduce the proportion of sugar:water to 1:6 to minimize liver damage and encourage the birds to also rely on natural foods. You can make your feeder more attractive by wrapping it in red plastic or by adding a red flower to the feeding tube. Some people add red food color, but this colorant might also harm the hummingbirds. When in doubt, leave it out!

Three species of hummingbirds frequent the northeast part of the state: the big rufous hummingbird usually arrives first in spring, followed within a week or so by the black-chinned hummingbird, and finally the tiny calliope hummingbird, the smallest bird in North America. Look for them in mid-April in the valleys. Here, they congregate around feeders, waiting for snow to melt from the mountains. During summer, look for the calliope along your wildflower walks in the high country. Wear red clothing, and one might find you!

Spring Birding
by Connie Smith

March, April and May are the time for visiting bird travel routes to observe spring migrations. While snow is still on the ground and there is little open water, the waterfowl have already begun moving through to their summer locations. You can see various waterfowl huddling in the open water, feeding and resting this time of year. When the spring is particularly wet like last year, and many fields are flooded in the valley, tundra swans can be seen. Before fishing season opens is a good time to spy out shy ducks at local ponds, because once the human traffic begins, the birds will have moved on. If you can approach without being seen, or sit in your car with your binoculars, you will see many ducks on open ponds. Their eyesight is so keen, that you cannot approach unnoticed. Mergansers, goldeneyes, mallards, and pintails are a few of the more common ducks around this season. If you have access to a spotting scope, you can really get your birdwatching skills into action and identify many birds in the flooded valley bottoms.

Around the house, swallows are one of the first signs of spring. The violet green swallow is fairly common here, as well as the tree swallow. The swallow has been described as a bird wearing a tuxedo, because of the sharp contrast between its white breast and extended dark wings. Swallows will use nest boxes, and will drive out bluebirds from some boxes. Swallows also like to try and nest in your garage if you leave the door open, because they like the overhanging structure. Swallows migrate long distances to get here, from southern California or Mexico in the winter, to as far as the Arctic in the summer: they are the true snowbirds.

Several other birds are showing up now. Robins, bluebirds, white crowned sparrows, calliope and rufous hummingbirds, and ruby crowned kinglets are a few identified in the spring. As May comes in many of the migrants will arrive at their summer breeding grounds. It is also a good time to take a trip to nearby areas, such as the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge near Cheney to see waterfowl on the pothole ponds. Our local Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge also is another good birding location. The rednecked grebe, osprey, and many songbirds can be seen and heard around the lakes on the refuge. This is the time of year to break out your binoculars, bird books, and bird song tapes. The new wildlife and bird checklist for the Colville National Forest and Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge is available at those offices and on the internet at http://www.fs.fed.us/cvnf/wildlife.htm. Don't be discouraged by the blustery weather -- at times when it is windy and cold, you can see the most birds as they gather up in sheltered areas.

Happy birding!

North Columbia Recreation
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PO Box 541, Colville, WA 99114
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