Bird Life
Birds:
Bald Eagle | Osprey | Great Blue Heron | Cormorant | Tufted Puffin |
Bald Eagle
(Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
The Bald Eagle is a large bird of prey
with wingspans over seven feet and weighing up to 15 pounds. The females are typically about 20
percent larger than the males. They are opportunistic feeders eating anything from carrion to live
fish. This eagle has eyesight that surpasses human capabilities by as much as eight times. They use
this ability to track fish and small mammals from the air. They capture their prey in three inch
talons that they can open and close at will. These talons have a lifting power of up to four
pounds. It is not uncommon to see a Bald Eagle capture a fish too large for it to lift. Instead of
choosing to let the meal go, the eagle gets pulled into the water after the fish. In such cases,
they are able to swim using their wings — but, if the distance is too far, they may die of
hypothermia before reaching the shore.
Adult Bald Eagles are dark brown with striking white heads and tails. They do not gain the white feathers until they are between three to five years old. Juveniles are brown, mottled with white in the chest and the undersides of their wings. Bald Eagles mate for life and return to the same nesting site each year. The San Juans boast one of the largest nesting sites in the lower 48 states. To spot these birds, look for what appears to be a golf ball hanging in a tree. This will most likely materialize into the white head of an adult Bald Eagle. They may also be found on beaches, eating dead salmon salmon that are too heavy for them to lift.
Osprey
(Pandion haliaetus)
These raptors live around both fresh
and salt water, eating almost exclusively fish. They can sometimes be confused with Bald Eagles but
are smaller, with a wingspan of five feet and weighing only three pounds. Adults are dark brown
with white on the crest of their heads and a prominent dark eye stripe. These birds build bulky
nests in trees, on sheds, poles, docks and on special platforms built for them by environmental
groups. Like the Bald Eagle, the Osprey was endangered by habitat destruction and pesticides that
prevented or damaged reproduction. Due to conservation programs and the elimination of these
pesticides in recent years, both species seem to be recovering. It is easiest to spot this bird
while it is in flight. Note how their narrow wings bend back at the wrist like a gulls. They can
also be observed hovering over the water before diving and snatching their prey feet first.
Great Blue Heron
(Ardea herodias)
This is arguably the most
distinct and recognizable bird in the Pacific Northwest. They are four feet tall, gray birds with a
black stripe extending over their eyes. Their white fore neck is streaked with black. The Great
Blue Heron is a year round resident to the bays, salt marshes and rocky coasts of this region. They
stalk through the shallow water on slender legs while plunging their long, sharp bills under the
surface to capture fish, frogs and other small aquatic animals. Herons nest high in the treetops
close to water. They have a six foot wingspan and are the only heron-like birds to fold their necks
back into an “S” shape during flight. To spot a Great Blue Heron, look for them wading near rocky
beaches, through kelp beds and along the beach during low tides. To spot them in flight, look for
their “S” shaped necks. Deception Pass is a favorite heron hangout.
Cormorant
(Phalocrocorax sp)
Three different species of
cormorants occur in the region. The most common are the Pelagic and the Brandt’s Cormorant.
Cormorants are dark in color with colorful, bare facial skin, set back legs and long hooked bills.
Though not closely related to pelicans, these birds also have a small throat pouch used for feeding
and breeding purposes. Unlike most water birds, cormorants do not have waterproof feathers. This
allows them to dive to depths of 200 feet or more to capture herring and other small fish. When
they surface, they cannot fly immediately and must dry their wings by spreading them away from
their bodies and flapping them. The best way to spot cormorants is to look for them drying their
wings on rocky outcroppings and on top of buoys. You may also see them swimming submerged to their
necks but they are wary and usually dive out of sight when approached.
Tufted Puffin
(Fratercula cirrhata)
These birds are alcid, meaning
they spend most of their lives out at sea, except during breeding season. Puffins are known for
their colorful bills, though the colorful part of the bill falls off at the end of the breeding
season. The Tufted Puffin also has two tufts of feathers above the eyes that look like bushy
eyebrows. These, too, fall off at the end of the breeding season. Sailors have called puffins “sea
parrots” because of their stout bodies, short wings and their webbed feet, which sit far back on
their bodies. To spot this colorful bird, look for them floating on the water or nesting in
protected tunnels and coves. Puffins cannot instinctively tell the sex of another puffin. To
overcome this obstacle, males will offer fish to other puffins. When a fish is accepted, the male
knows that he has found a female.
Learn more about:
Marine Life
Onboard Naturalists
