Birding Q&A

Q. We were in Walla Walla a couple weeks ago and spotted a hawk wheeling high above us. It was between us and the sun and was, in total, the most amazing bright yellow color with black wing-tips. Studying a couple of bird books makes me think it was a light morph or a Marsh hawk (I can’t remember to call them Northern Harriers yet). I’m wondering if this morph would have been indiginous to Walla Walla for quite some time as there is a Yellow Hawk Creek (and a winery named after it.) If, in your opinion, it wasn’t a Northern Harrier, what would you venture a guess as to its identity?

Thank you for your answer and for writing your monthly column — I cut it out and send it to my dad in Kennewick.

Annie Shiffer

A. Thank you for writing. The female Northern Harrier is indeed a yellowish shade of brown so it is quite likely that is the bird you saw. I used to live in Walla Walla, but I do not know the source of the Yellow Hawk name.

Bird names were not so formalized in the past, so it may indeed have been a harrier that inspired the name.

Thanks again, and thank you for the kind words about the articles!

Q. Nice job, I really enjoyed the (April) article.

However, I couldn’t help reminisce on the death numbers of male and female violet/green tree swallows and chickadees I have had to witness trying to nest in my bird boxes. All because of the onslaught population increase of house sparrows in my area.

God could not have created the house sparrow, as its social actions within the bird world reveal it is truly a serial killer without reason, and more likely make it a candidate as “the Bird from Hell.” From my experiences, if the house sparrow would ever evolve to the size of an eagle, mankind would be in deep trouble.

Having lived in my northwest Spokane home for more than 20 years, I would love to list the variety of birds that have visited, or nested in my back yard, but it would be too long. My current list is more like 95 percent house sparrows, starlings (another non-native bird), robins, California quail, and occasionally house finches. Last summer, the only remaining box bird successful in fledging young were my perennial pygmy nuthatches, and only because the box hole is too small for the house sparrows to get in.

I would love to see someone do an article attempting to educate the bird-loving suburbanites, on the damage being caused by carelessly allowing the house sparrow sanctuary, or worse yet, nesting rights on their properties.

You did such a nice job in the subject article, I thought you might take on the challenge.

You probably don’t need educating on the subject, but I still invite you to read several online articles, redundant yes, and several by the same author.

www.rickswoodshopcreations. com/Projects/Completed/Bird_ House/House_Sparrows.htm

www.nabluebirdsociety.org/ sparrow.htm

http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox /ban/hsbyse.htm

http://members.tripod.com/ ~herper/housesparrow.html

Lyle Workman

Spokane

A. Thanks for the information. house sparrows and European starlings have indeed been bad for a large number of native species. Perhaps an article on these species will come out later.

Thanks again.

Q. I live in Spokane and worked near Liberty Lake from June through November last year and since February this year and saw two redtailed hawks every day I was there. They seemed fairly used to human activity as there was housing construction occurring. They never leave the area and are constantly hunting and flying overhead. My question is about mitigation for this species by the housing developers. Do they have to find the nest and protect it?

If you know anyone in the area who is interested in their behavior, my home phone is (509) 448-3430.

Thanks.

Kevin Brown

A. If you have concerns about a specific hawk nest, I’d suggest you contact Washington Fish and Game. They are responsible for taking care of nongame species, too.

Thanks for the information.

Q. I read your article about swallows. I, too, have heard tales about large fish with small birds in their gullets. It’s a good question. Could a bass jump to take a swallow on the wing? What I have wondered is how often swallows flying low over open water might misjudge, hit the water and be unable to get airborne again. Such a swallow, struggling on the surface, would no doubt attract a large bass. But I’ve never seen a swallow hit the water. Have you?

I think I have an early appearance of violet-green swallows. On April 7, I observed a male and female on the telephone wire back of my house near NorthTown. They seemed to be investigating a knot hole in one of the garages where a pair nested last year. I had never seen violet/green swallows in Spokane before May 10. But maybe these birds are also changing their behavior, as you say.

I thought your article on jays was very interesting. I have never seen a Steller’s jay on this side of the Cascades, but they are one of the birds, like white-throated swifts, that would not surprise me if I saw them here. Blue jays are another matter. Tom Rogers said they sporadically got blue jays in Columbia Falls, Mont., when he lived there back in the 50s. It’s a little creepy that they seem to be cross breeding, but I think it’s creepier that we have had such an increase in crows and magpies. These birds were actually rare in Spokane when I was a kid.

I am still concerned about the health of western meadowlarks in this area. I’ve only seen two this spring and I had to go way out near the state line.

Thanks.

PK

Spokane

A. Thanks for writing again.

I have never seen a swallow crash in the water, but I have often seen ripples from wing tips of swallows that have dipped a bit too low. You pose an interesting question.

Earliest arrival dates vary a great deal with swallows, depending a lot on the weather. But how do they know when it’s safe to return?

The meadowlark population in North Idaho is very healthy — we even see some in winter. Urbanization, however, cannot be good for them. Thanks again for your good questions and interesting observations and insights.