Union Bay Natural Area Part 1

April 23rd, 4PM-6 30PM

The first of the probably few sequences of journal entries on Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA), which is the second largest natural habitat around the Union Bay. UBNA is under habitat restoration by the University of Washington. I have posptponed publishing this entry since I wanted the UBNA entries to have a back to back linear progression on the website. This entry is from April 23rd, a beautiful spring afternoon with aqua blue sky and some fluff of clouds. During the hours of my natural world experience, which happened to be the warmest time of the day, the real feel of temperature was somewhere around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Under the sun and without breeze, a thin layer of long sleeve t-shirt and jeans is a suitable attire.

In the wake of spring, the UBNA is gaining enthusiasm from creatures awakening from a long winter break. The most energetic are the birds, which makes sense because these species never truly hibernate and therefore have gotten a jump start at enjoying the beautiful spring weather. If I were to stand still and close my eyes, I could have heard three or four different bird calls at one moment. The combination of bird calls create a harmony of spring theme melody that for some reason makes me feel at home, but at the same time it gives a novice naturalist like me a hard time to distinguish who has what voice and where it is calling from. Clearly the loudest call was from the red-winged blackbird though, and entrusting my ears I was able to encounter multiple of these species. It was not so much about the noise level of their calls but more about the unique, almost machine-like call that made them so distinct from the rest of the calls. Their calls have a special accent to it that if all the birds at UBNA were to formulate an orchestra the red-winged blackbirds would be playing the trumpet, or if it the birds decide to do a band instead the blackbirds would assume a role of a main vocalist. The red-winged blackbirds have a high pitched voice that sounds like "kur-eeeee" with the "eeee" giving the impression of a phlegm tangled in a throat (but not displeasing to hear). It sounds so mechanical that initially I thought it was some machine making the calls and I wondered what machine would be so necessary in UBNA to be so numerous. The most interesting discovery was that red-winged blackbirds are able to chirp as well, which I believe to be their alarming calls to caution their fellow members. Their chirping is quite short with constant intervals like a staccato G quarter note (is what I think, I do not have the musical talent to really assess what note is closest to red-winged blackbirds' chirps). I believe they have a certain radius of invisible territory that they pay extra attention to - whenever I sneaked up close to a certain distance to one of the red-winged blackbirds he started to do the cautioning chirps, even though the bird was sitting on a treetop beyond my reach. At one point I almost figured out where the territorial boundaries are by taking half a step back and forth to see whether he chirped or not, until the bird found me as a surprisingly strange human being so he began chirping no matter what.

Focusing my attention besides the red-winged blackbirds, I find that some trees are yet to foliage, leaving the last glimpse of winter in the area. For example, the tree that the red-winged blackbird is resting (photo synced to this journal entry) is still working its way to full foliage. But trees are not dominant, in fact the ecosystem at UBNA is quite interesting and variety-rich. I would assume that in one word UBNA would qualify as a lowland marsh, but it is amusing to find landscapes change quite significantly by just a turn of a head. Looking straight from the trail where many runners use as their running course, I would see the Union Bay. Turn my head right and there is a marsh; turn my head left and there are tall trees that could be a lowland forest. Between the trail and the trees are turfs that have grown quite long and shrubs with some colorful flowers. It is like a gradient from an absolutely flat marsh to grass to shrubs to tall standing trees. However, it seems like birds enjoy the water of the marsh, as I also saw an american crow bath in the water, scaring some smaller birds away with the sound of splash.

Species List

Agelaius phoeniceus- Red-winged blackbird

Posted on May 22, 2012 07:11 AM by bluehoneysugar