Nature Watch: Out of Step

Author: Steve Ellis | 09/30/25

About the author: Steve Ellis is a naturalist and Land Trust member who enjoys sharing his love of the natural world. His blog series, “Nature Watch,” will appear each month in “Habitchat,” chronicling native plants and wildlife you can expect to see during that particular time of year. We thank Steve for sharing his passion, illustrating the importance of island conservation.

Overview

Autumn can feel as though a curtain has fallen or a window to the natural world has closed. Most wildflowers have gone to seed and young birds have left their nests.

Despite this seeming finality to the fertility of Nature, there are signs of individual flora and fauna species out of step with their brethren. Some shrubs that usually bloom in spring may have a branch that suddenly blossoms. It can be a shock to find a Pacific rhododendron with a rosy pink flower glowing in the autumnal gloom.

What causes these aberrations isn’t entirely clear. Sudden warm temperature shifts in October may trigger a rhododendron to bloom

Another environmental cue can be photo period – the same length of daylight reached in fall as during the “proper” spring season – may trick a plant into blooming again.

While rhodies and salal are the most likely shrubs to blossom out of season, we’ve come across red-flowering currant and thimbleberry with feeble showings of blooms. Studies show that any branch supporting blossoms out of step like this will probably not bloom the following spring. While these flowers may attract the attention of a hummingbird or a hardy bumblebee, the chances of producing a seed are very small.

Occasionally a wildflower will bloom outside its normal time period. Last October we came across a large-leaved avens with multiple yellow flowers. Typically this species blooms in the time frame of April-June, but this particular plant soldiered on through the end of November.

Animals may be out of step too. Swans and Canada geese sometimes engage in courtship long after the breeding season is over. Usually it’s just one of a pair, with the other mate not reciprocating in the activity.

Songbirds may sing in fall, and often these songs are muted or not quite as melodic as those in the breeding season of May and June. These are often sung by young males practicing what they remember hearing from the neighborhood adult males. Different names have been applied to this activity, with “whisper songs” perhaps being the most descriptive. You may even see a bird carrying a bit of nesting material or working on a mock nest. This is the result of a hormone switching on for a short period.

Bats may rouse from hibernation and fly on a winter night. It happens when there’s a rise in temperature or if they’ve been disturbed. They may fly inside barns or other places that host a supply of insects.

I’m always on the lookout for these reminders of the bygone spring and summer. They show us Nature has surprises for us if we keep our eyes, ears and minds open to the world of plants and animals that are out of step.

White-crowned Sparrow by Craig Johnson.

Fauna: White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)

This dapper species should be familiar to most people who feed birds.

Adult White-crowned Sparrows are 7 inches in length and have a wingspan of 9.5 inches. Alternating white and black stripes are located on the head; the breast is gray and the brownish wings have two white wingbars. Immature birds have head stripes that are dark reddish-brown and light buff.

White-crowned Sparrows prefer brushy habitats with nearby open areas. Females choose the nest sites, which are usually on the ground or 1 to 5 feet high in a shrub. After the breeding season ends, the pair splits up and they winter in different locations. About two thirds of the pairs reunite in the same location the following spring.

Most local breeding White-crowneds migrate south for the winter. They are replaced by birds from farther north. Wintering individuals here tend to be grayer than local breeders.

White-crowneds feed on a variety of seeds and plant buds. Insects such as caterpillars, wasps and beetles are also part of their diet. Food is obtained by searching the ground for seed. They may employ a double-scratch motion, an action using both feet simultaneously in the manner of towhees. They also glean insects off foliage and may flycatch flying insects.

Predators of White-crowned Sparrows include Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, and I once witnessed a long-tailed weasel successfully capture an adult.

Both sexes give a metallic “chink” call. During the breeding season, the male sings a clear, four- to five-part song. Juvenile males will practice this song into September. Quite often, we can hear a muted version of this song in October and November, when these “whisper” songs are performed by females attempting to defend a bird feeder or other food source.

Flocks of White-crowned Sparrows sometimes join with Golden-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos in fall. Look and listen for them in woody areas near thickets and hedgerows.

Salal by Martha Ellis.

Flora: Salal (Gaultheria shallon)

This is a common understory shrub found in conifer forests.

Salal grows to a height of four feet or more. Densely layered branches support egg-shaped leaves that are shiny green, leathery and thick. In late spring, small urn-shaped blossoms hang individually from one side of a branch. These are pollinated by bees and occasionally by hummingbirds

Salal produces dark purple berries that last into late summer. Many species of birds and small mammals include these fruits in their diets.

The abundance of thick leaves offers protection for wrens, sparrows and towhees along with amphibians and small mammals. Rufous Hummingbirds, Pacific Wrens and Spotted Towhees often locate their nests in the shelter of these branches.

This shrub is probably the most prone to blooming out of sync with its compatriots. It’s fairly common to find a few blossoms in October through early winter. One day in late December, we watched an Anna’s Hummingbird defending a salal thicket that sported several blossoms, flying at other small birds to drive them away from this food source.

Salal grows in damp or dry conditions. It can be seen in forests and along roadsides. Many Land Trust properties contain this vital shrub.