A few birds from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
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American Pipit:American Pipit Pesaq This is another of those birds whose Yup’ik names are all imitative of either its song or call. Pesaq is the name I was given in Scammon Bay, but this little guy has at least two others: Pec’aqaq and Pespessaayaaq. When spoken, its common name “Pipit” also sounds like one of its calls. When I lived and taught in Scammon Bay in the 1980’s I used to find these small sparrow-sized birds every time I climbed into the Askinuk Mountains during the summer and fall. Once while camped on top for a night with my dog Sam, we were visited by a family of 7 of them that lined up on a large boulder in front of my tent and watched us for the longest time. They came so close and were so curious that I think they had never seen anyone up there since beginning to nest in late spring. They had come a long way to get there, since they had spent all winter in the southern United States and Mexico. Quickly and surely, though, they arrived in the mountain tundra regions of Alaska to begin their short nesting period when they would raise future generations of pipits that would do the same as their parents into the distant future. They are often detected first flying high overhead giving their sharp pes-pes-pes-pes calls. When they are on the ground they can be differentiated from most other songbirds because they walk or strut (similar to wagtails), constantly bobbing or wagging their tails as they go. As soon as they get back to their summer home they begin their courtship routine. They don’t have any time to waste even in the slightly longer summers caused by climate change. To defend his nesting territory and attract a mate, the male performs a spectacular song-flight display that begins on the ground with singing; then he flies straight up into the air sometimes to as high as 200 feet, floating downward with his wings open, legs extended, tail held upward at a sharp angle, and singing excitedly all the way back to earth again. It’s a lovely sight and reminds me a little of the courtship flight of the Lapland longspur, although much more dramatic. Once the female has chosen her mate, she alone builds a cup-shaped nest of grasses, sedges and feathers in a sheltered spot on the alpine tundra. She lays up to seven pale-buff colored eggs covered with brown splotches. Most of the nests I’ve found have had five or six of these eggs, with the final egg perched on top for easier brooding. A friend described this egg as a “sacrificial egg,” since it would be the first egg to be snatched by a jaeger or other predator invading the nest. The incubation period is a little over two weeks and is the mother bird’s duty alone, although her mate brings food for her during this time. He doesn’t feed her on the nest, however. To protect the location of the eggs, she sneaks away a fair distance, swallows the food, then sneaks back to the nest. When the eggs hatch, mom broods the downy nestlings for a few days while dad hunts for food for everyone, including his mate. For the remainder of the two weeks it takes for the young to fledge, both parents feed the young. They continue to feed them for another two weeks after the young leave the nest. Their daily menu is the same as their parents’: mostly insects, spiders, mites and a few seeds. However, during their migration south along the coast they eat tiny crustaceans and marine worms. Several years ago, I came across a large flock of them in Valdez doing just that. When they reach their wintering grounds, seeds become much more important in their diet. Recently their scientific name was changed to Anthus rubescens. Genetic studies included all three of what were once regarded as subspecies as a single species, thereby also resulting in a common name change from Water pipit to American pipit, to differentiate it from the other 30 pipit species of the world. Here’s a “cool” fact. In an alpine population in the Beartooth Mountains of Wyoming, a snowstorm buried 17 American pipit nests for 24 hours. All of the nestlings that were 11 days or older survived, proving this is one tough bird!  |
