May I still Share May with You?

I think that indeed I must share May with you, even if June is nearly over now. My April newsletter marked a full year of monthly posts, with the first nine being exclusive to my email subscribers. I didn’t want to skip May, but it was a whirlwind of a month and I just couldn’t find the time to post. I did manage a few good photo shoots though. Since May is my favorite month, and because this May was my last living in beautiful Washington state I feel the need to get it on record.

After this post I will veer away from the monthly-recap format, in terms of both frequency and content. This month has provided several months worth of posts, so I will be sharing highlights from my drive across the country before deep diving into the flora and fauna of Vermont. But for now let’s look at a bunch of birds, a few plants, a mammal, and a mountain in the lovely Snoqualmie Valley of western Washington!

Bigleaf Maple’s fruits mature in May. The double samara is the calling card of all maples. This image would be great in a field guide, if I do say so myself. Are any publishers reading this?

Black-headed Grosbeak in a Beaked Hazelnut. One of the most heard birds during spring in the Duvall area, where I lived, is also one of the most striking. I must admit that until a few years ago I mistook the “drunken robin” calls of these birds for, well, drunken robins.

The exquisite leaves of Western Redcedar. The bright green tips are the spring’s new growth.

Speaking of Western Redcedar, here’s a gorgeous Band-tailed Pigeon sitting in one.

Since this Band-tailed Pigeon was such a good model I can also show you her lovely wings and back. Speaking of field guides….

Fringecup Flowers rising through young Thimbleberry leaves and Giant Horsetail. As seen in some other white flowers those of Fringecup turn magenta as they age.

A major highlight of my spring, and indeed that of many western Washington birders, was the presence of Evening Grosbeaks. These denizens of mountain conifer forests are known to grace the feeders of bird lovers in the lowlands during the winter. Apparently this species had a great mating season last year and/or their spring food supplies in the mountains were lacking because May saw them greedily gobbling black sunflower seeds as we gratefully gawked through our windows. Too much alliteration? Sorry, not sorry.

Like other finches Evening Grosbeaks are sexually dimorphic. Pictured here is the female. Unlike some other grosbeaks (Black-headed, Rose-breasted, and Blue) Evening Grosbeaks are finches. The giant bills that join them in name are the result of convergent evolution, not a recent common ancestor. One other North American finch has this trait and resulting name: the Pine Grosbeak. Since I mentioned evolution by natural selection while discussing finches I am reminded of an excellent book: ‘The Beak of the Finch’ by Jonathan Weiner, explores Peter and Rosemary Grants’ fantastic long-term research on Darwin’s Finches in the Galapagos Islands. It’s extraordinary how rapidly evolution by natural selection can initiate speciation under the right circumstances.

Moving back to quick, simple captions, here we see a male Evening Grosbeak in a tree you should now be able to identify.

Not my best Steller’s Jay photo, but it may be my last, for a while at least. I’ve gone from being nostalgic about Bluejays, who I now enjoy daily again, to getting sentimental about Steller’s Jays, who graced my days for the last twenty-six years.

A young elk bull of the much celebrated herd in North Bend. I don’t suppose he’ll be winning any harems this year, but perhaps after another trip around the sun. Speaking of elk, I must confess some misgivings about the June photo in my 2024 calendar. I’ve been in two households this month where my calendar was displayed. This makes me happy of course, but I’m not sure that that photo should have made the cut. It’s certainly not bad, but the composition just isn’t up to calendar snuff. Anyway, I hope the handful of people that have my calendar have enjoyed it, but I’m glad they’ll be turning the page shortly.

One last look at Mt Si, and it was a spectacular one from the North Bank of the Snoqualmie River. The tall trees in the foreground are Black Cottonwood. The northeast is graced by many Populus species (cottonwoods, poplars, and aspens), but none attain the awesome stature of the Black Cottonwoods (Populus trichocarpa) growing by the rivers and lakes of the Pacific Northwest.

A pair of Barn Swallows enjoy a moment of rest together under a pier at Deception Pass. Their nest, and many others, were also under the pier.

A pair of Pileated Woodpecker nestlings eagerly await a food delivery. By the look of them they were close to fledging. Finding this nest fulfilled a long-time wish of mine, a birthday-week present from the universe.

My friend and I waited for about an hour for a parent to come feed the nestlings. It was so worth it when Mom showed up and the kids went crazy. "Feed me!" "No, feed ME!" Etcetera, on and on. Of course she had plenty of regurgitated ants and other insects for both of them. It was a joy to witness this.

And the first feeding goes to…. the chick on the top! The other chick is still yelling for food the entire time.

“Hang on. Let me regurgitate some more bugs.” Chicks yelling… Note the chick on the bottom shifting to the left.

And now the other chick gets their portion. Seemed pretty equitable, and judging by the look of these two I would say it generally was. By now they’ve been out in the world for weeks. Their parents taught them how to catch their own damn food, and now insist that they do so. I wish them all the best and am grateful for this little peek into their lives.

Alright, had enough? I sure hope so, because that’s all, folks! I do hope you enjoyed the photos and learned a thing or two. If you would like to support my work please consider visiting my store at https://www.geraldlisi.net/store-1 . If you would like prints of any of the images in this post please email me at woodsling@geraldlisi.net. Or, if you are so inclined you can make a donation on Venmo where I am @Gerald-Lisi or PayPal where I am Gerald Lisi Photography. I thank you sincerely for reading this newsletter. I’ll have another one for you soon. Until then, please take care of yourselves, of each other, and of the land you live on.