longfellow creek

Creature Feature

Two Bird Songs

by Gary Winans

Have you ever been frozen in your tracks - had to stop what your are doing because you had heard some fascinating sound from nature? A birds clear trill, an insect playing seductive songs along the roadside? I would like to share with you two songs, both by birds, which I think are unusual, and have stopped me in my tracks.

The first you may have heard along Longfellow Creek watershed at night. Yes, that's right: at night. You are putting away garden tools or your backyard toys, and you hear this call ki-dee, ki-dee, ki-dee that starts in one part of your neighborhood and moves across to another, perhaps passing over head, but you don't see anything.

This may be a killdeer, a shoreline bird retiring from its day at the beach or riverbank to its night time roost. Cool song. Just when you think you are alone at dusk, nothing between you and the stars, this phantom bird swoops past.Bird Photo - Killdeer
We've seen killdeer during the day on baseball fields. They are about 10 inches tall with two distinctive dark bars on the lower throat or chest. They dart across the ground, stop suddenly, then run some more.

Another unusual bird I bet you've heard but not yet identified is the northern flicker. From tip of bill to tip of tail, it is about 12 inches, making it one of the largest, most common woodpeckers around here. Its call is amazing. Wik wik wik in a long sequence, I would guess maybe 15 to 20 loud and rapid wiks. This exotic call is as fascinating as any bird from a foreign land they might feature on a television show, but what is neat: this bird is in your backyard.Bird photo - Northern Flicker
You can also hear flickers pounding on tree trunks foraging for insects with their sharp beaks, and sometimes you may see them sitting on the ground pecking about for food. Their spotted belly and black bib are obvious when they fly. Oh, and the males have a red mustache stripe.

So no matter what time of day, you are likely to hear some cool bird songs that may freeze you in your footsteps here in your natural neighborhood of West Seattle.