Longer days excite birds and frogs

George Walter

Photo by Jill Severn

Earlier this week my smartphone provided a photograph and story about cold weather this winter so extreme that Lake Erie has been almost totally frozen for the first time in many years.

Later that same evening, I stopped by a wetland near my home and listened to a chorus of frogs announcing the coming of spring.

There could not have been a greater contrast between the end of February here in Western Washington and that found in most of the rest of the country.

The Pacific Chorus Frog, also called by its former name Pacific Treefrog, is very common here in Thurston County. During late winter they journey en masse to ponds and wetlands throughout the county for mating, with the males loudly announcing their presence and virility. In several native languages of the Pacific Northwest this frog is called, “The Announcer,” for its reliable declaration of the coming of spring.

This YouTube video from Southern Oregon provides an indication of what this evening chorus sounds like, as well as a close look at these diminutive frogs   

Some of our local birds also make such loud announcements. While you’re at that wetland and possibly hearing frogs (they often croak throughout the day), you likely will come upon Red-winged Blackbirds.

As the days grow longer toward the end of February, the males of this species start up their interesting song. From reeds, cattails and tree branches, these birds sing a throaty “papa geeee’ no.”

These males, all black with red and yellow wing patches, aren’t so much competing for breeding territories — the marsh has an abundance of suitable habitat.

Rather, they are simply making their case for their fitness for successful breeding. The females, brown and heavily streaked, are nearby listening and, by the end of March, choosing partners, building nests in the marsh plants, and laying their first eggs.

Another early season singer will be heard in the woods. The Pacific Wren, formerly called Winter Wren, is common near the ground in coniferous forests and edges. This is a small, plump bird with an upturned tail.

Both sexes look alike, but it is the male that does the singing, and what a song it is — a series of sweet tumbling and trilling notes, lasting 5-10 seconds. If not singing, they also very frequently call their presence with a distinctive sequence of two sharp tics or clicks.

They are starting to sing now, again in response to the lengthening daylight, and will continue throughout the spring. These are not particularly shy birds; they often pop up to look at you when you pass by.

The end of February also brings a returning migrant, the, male Rufous Hummingbird.  It will only be the males for the next month or so, as they migrate separately from females and will soon be competing for territories.

People with hummingbird feeders may notice these small hummers with bright orangish throats stopping by, sometimes only for a brief refueling stop during their migration elsewhere.

As I have been getting in my walks between rain showers, I have noted a vocal bird pattern and I wonder if you have, too. Just before the rain starts, or just after it ends, the birds sing.

I’ve particularly noticed song sparrows and robins doing this. It seems that they are practicing for the brighter days ahead when territorial competition will commence in earnest.

Also, as perhaps you have noticed, the American Robins seem to be gathering in larger and larger flocks. I suspect these are birds that have been spending the winter in the balmy clime of Western Washington and are now flocking together and getting ready to return to their Cascade foothill and mountain breeding territories. If they leave this week, they will be in for a surprise as I understand we still have a substantial snowpack in the uplands.

And there is one final bird that is worthy of a mention. The Varied Thrush males have started singing, usually very early in the morning. Their song is a single pitch flute-like note, lasting about two seconds. It is often followed by another, sometimes at a different pitch. They too are driven by the lengthening daylight to provide us with another announcement of the coming of spring.

All these seasonal changes are a reminder that it might be time to sharpen up our birding ear by listening closely to our local birds and learning who’s singing.

The Cornell Lab’s identification site is helpful if you’re online. And the Merlin app for your smartphone can identify who’s singing in seconds. It’s free, easy to use and great fun.

George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 45+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com

Photos for this column are provided by Liam Hutcheson, a 17-year-old Olympia area birder and avid photographer.