Union Bay Natural Area, UW campus, 4/25

Early on Wednesday morning a group of us walked to UBNA to bird watch and record which birds we could hear and see. Mornings are the best for observing birds because of the little human activity (boating, cars on the road, etc.) at 6am, insects and worms are out and the temperature is cooler. The morning we were there it was cloudy and around 55 degrees. There was rain the night before and it began sprinkling around 8am.

One of the very first birds we heard was the chickadee. The call is very distinct and sounds like a 'chick-a-dee-dee-dee' noise. After circling an alpine several times we located the small bird and from the black markings on its head determined it was a Black-Capped Chickadee. This individual had a white underbelly and was bouncing around from branch to branch. After awhile several more chickadees began flying around the area, which makes sense because chickadees travel in flocks. They like woody or forested areas, especially marshes so UBNA is full of this species. Males are usually the ones that sing, in order to attract females, so the bird we were observing was in fact a male.

In a tree just down the path from the chickadee we spotted an American Gold-Finch. The bright yellow markings and black wings are unique to this bird and the colors were especially bold because it is spring which means mating season. The Gold-Finch usually can be found perching on cattails or other long grasses in marshy areas around the northwest and on other days in UNBA the other finches spotted were on cattails. Again, it is usually the male that sings but only in mid flight in order to draw attention to itself.

By one of the ponds we heard a frog like sound as we got closer but the sound was more broken up. After watching the water for a few minutes we saw a Virginia Rail was the one making all the noise because she was building her nest and sensed predators near (i.e. us). We never spotted a Virginia Rail in the afternoon.

One bird that we had trouble identifying until researching further in guide books was the Hutton's Vireo. It is a small bird about the size of a chickadee without as large of a head. It had a yellowish belly and a dirty yellow-gray back. It's call caught our attention because it was high pitched and repeated frequently. At the time we thought it might be a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet because the habitats, size and behavior are very similar.

Birds that were commonly spotted together or in the same tree were the Towhee and Chickadee. Also there were at least a dozen Song Sparrow's near the ground or on the path itself along with the House Wren.

Because UBNA is also a marshy area there were many waterfowl in the ponds and on the water edge. We spotted two pairs of mallards and a Cinnamon-teal swimming in the central pond. The Cinnamon-teal male has bold colors of orange and red that stood out compared to the mallards. Near the far end of the area two Great Blue Heron's were perched on the banks watching for food.

UNBA is considered one of the best bird-watching sites in the region and over 200 species have been spotted there since its opening in the 60's.

Species List:
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-Rumper Warbler
American Robin
Virginia Rail
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Towhee
Cinnamon-Teal (male)
American Gold-Finch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Hutton's Vireo
Ruby Crowned Kinglet
House Wren
Anna's broad winged hummingbird
Crow
Seagull

To see the photos of these birds follow this link to the University of Washington song birds project:
http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/university-of-washington-song-birds

For more information about the birds of the Union Bay Natural Area:
http://uwbirds.blogspot.com/

Posted on June 2, 2012 04:44 AM by karavanslyck