Category Archives: Life list

The Right Place at the Right Time

If you read my last post about searching for the Great Grey Owl, here’s “the rest of the story.”

I had a nice trip across mostly prairie – I did not realize Minnesota had such terrain, and crossing through Grand Forks, North Dakota, an interesting city in its own right, I came to Turtle River State Park, located on the river of the same name.

I had literally just turned off Route 2 and saw some white on the river and thought they were American White Pelicans, some of which I’d seen earlier I the day. There was a convenient pull off on the access road and I spotted three swans. The weren’t Mute Swans, which we see in the East, they were Trumpeter Swans. A life bird just floating, grooming, and feeding there. Here are some shots I took:

The swans were gone the following morning, likely heading northward. Nice payback for the wild owl chase but just proves that timing and luck can be as important as birding skills.

Now, just because I thought she was really pretty, I ending with a picture of a doe that watched me drive by Saturday morning on a camp road. Just a nice way to start the day and she stayed out and returned to feeding as I drove off. I hope your weekend is going well.

Dipping On The Great Grey

When I began thinking about this trip, I noticed that I was heading up to Minnesota and as I often do, I jumped on a state birding listserve for a while. I kept running into references to the Sax-Zim bog which I had known about as a hotspot in the winter for Great Gray Owls. I got on their Facebook page and found that they were seeing a few this summer. So, I put a little jog in my route and Wednesday morning were heading through Duluth for some big tract of land. Google maps was very confidant but they put me, after miles of dirt roads, in someone’s front yard. There was no one there, no 4g signal, and two guys in pickups I asked had no idea what I was looking for. I had plenty of fuel, plenty of afternoon, and water and food onboard.

Retracing my route to the main highway, I tried to call up a post that named two roads where he had seen Great Greys last week. I found it just as I found one of the roads so off we trucked, scanning trees and driving. Right away, there was a large bird in the road – sort of ![title]()grackle-looking. I stopped, got the binoculars on it and bingo: a Black-billed Magpie. I tried to get a shot through the bug-splattered windshield and then maneuvered the van so I could shoot out the window but it flew. I took this long-distance shot for the record. It was a lifer for me. That was easy!

Soon, a car approached from behind moving right along so I pulled way over and as he passed, a passenger gave a wave. “Looks like a birder,” I thought and tailed them from a distance on the dirt road. They pulled off in a grassy parking spot and were unloading when I came by and asked what’s up. In a nutshell, it was a guide from Duluth with two clients from Georgia who were after Black-backed Woodpeckers. Once I explained my ignorance of the area, he gave me his map, guidance on what roads to take, and to do it in the morning. I was so impressed with this guy, apologized to the Georgians for taking a bit of his time, and I was cautiously optimistic.

I drove the hour and fifteen minutes to the campground which is on the upper reaches of the Mississippi River. Here’s the lovely backwater for the dam.

As you can tell from the title, I drove back early Thursday morning and drove roads back and forth. I may have driven by one, who knows. It was a lovely day in some pretty special country – it reminds me of the Tug Hill Plateau in upper New York State. There were lots of birds out and I wasn’t really disappointed – how could you be on such a lovely day.

Meanwhile, flotillas of Canada Geese were on the river when I returned. Here is one gaggle. Off to North Dakota next.

“f/8 and be there”

Sometimes you just have to be present with a camera and neat things can happen. That was my experience with getting a Painted Bunting for life bird #440. (I realize that the total is not that impressive but I’ve only been at this for about seven years.)

The last two winters we were in Texas, there was a very reliable Painted Bunting at the Falfurrias Rest Stop on Highway 281 north of Edinburg, Texas. Day after day I’d see it reported on eBird but the one day that Mary and I went up to look for it, we scoured the place with no luck. Of course, someone saw it that day afterward.

This winter, a Painted Bunting was frequenting a feeder in mid-state Vermont and most of my birder friends got to see it. My time was tied up completely with Mary’s treatment and care and I never even thought about leaving to look for it.

When I got to the Skidway Island State Park in Georgia last week, I asked the ranger as I was checking in about whether they had any birders on their staff. He introduced a young woman who gave me a quick briefing and said, “You can probably see the Painted Bunting at the feeder in the morning. They are a little skittish but the love the millet seeds.”

I had picked the park since it was highly recommended by by brother and sister-in-law and was the right distance for the daily drive I was planning. I birded that evening and picked up a few new year birds for me, including a noisy but handsome Great Crested Flycatcher.

Up before dawn, I exercised the dog, grabbed a coffee, and went over to the nature center and picked one of the empty chairs. No one was around but Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, and a couple of cowbirds came and went. Only about fifteen minutes had gone by when suddenly from the underbrush, a Painted Bunting fly to the feeder. My camera was in my lap and I was so close that I didn’t want to spook him – but just then a noisy compressor from the building’s air conditioning system kicked in and off he flew. Well, I certainly saw him.

I adjusted the camera so that I could shoot when he came back but time went by, and I knew I had to pack up and do a rather long drive. Then, he was at the cage feeder and I took some photos, more for documentation than anything.

The cage screwed up the autofocus but there are plenty of good shots on the web.

The cage screwed up the autofocus but there are plenty of good shots on the web.

But not these two.

But not these two.

When he left, I did as well, very happy to get this pretty bird – and that success made the trip go well, to the point that I cancelled a reservation and drove nearly 12 hours to Pennsylvania, going from tropical temperatures and brightly colored birds to drizzle and a few damp Robins. It was a long but good day.

Florida Birds

I often tell folks that I don’t chase birds and generally that is correct. However, when I planned the 1500 mile trip to Florida to trade my truck in on an Airstream Interstate RV, I started to put a short target list together. I have never birded Florida so I wanted to grab a few of the common birds in the short time I would be there — I put a list of Limpkin, Wood Stork, and Florida Scrub Jay on a scrap of paper.

Well, the first early evening there, before the purchase was settled, I heard some sharp calling just outside the motel and got a new life bird of Nanday Parakeet. These are a lot like the Green Parakeets we see in Texas – the first time you see and hear them it is exciting, then it gets old pretty fast.

I had decided that if the transaction went ok, I’d stay in the area for a day or so. After a long Monday morning, I took possession of the new rig and drove about an hour over to Myakka River State Park and within an hour, was walking with the dog and finding two new life birds, Wood Storks and Limpkins.

 

Dozens of Limpkins and their young live in the park and are easy to spot as they forage.

Dozens of Limpkins and their young live in the park and are easy to spot as they forage.

There are many trails where in addition to birds, you might see opossum, alligators, raccoons, and plenty of squirrels. 

There are many trails where in addition to birds, you might see opossum, alligators, raccoons, and plenty of squirrels.

The next morning, we got up early and walked down to a fishing access area which was teeming with birds. Hundreds of Black Vultures (wait for a later post) were interesting to Penny but I found a new life bird foraging. I have seen many Common Gallinules but have never seen a Purple Gallinule. It was neat to see them on the same morning and note the very apparent difference.

Purple Gallinules are pretty striking looking birds.

Purple Gallinules are pretty striking looking birds.

 

This White Ibis was pretty showy in the early morning light.

This White Ibis was pretty showy in the early morning light.

So we packed up and headed out about 8 AM with four new life birds, in less than a day. Then, as the day’s fortune continued, I saw another life bird, a Swallow-tail Kite, right overhead as I drove up I-75. About a half hour later, I saw another one low over the road. They are tough to miss — lovely birds — and a nice bookend to a short Florida birding stop.

Del Mar Neighborhood Birds

We are in California for a few days seeing our son Robb and his family. What a nice change from the barren “stick season” of Vermont; we awoke early the first morning due to the time change to birdsong and rose bushes in bloom. I have taken some morning walks and while I think it is unusual to have a guy walking around the neighborhood with binoculars and a camera, only one person stopped to ask what I was looking at.

Del Mar is a bedroom community north of San Diego with tropical plantings and lots of birds.

Del Mar is a bedroom community north of San Diego with tropical plantings and lots of birds.

There are hundreds of hummingbirds flitting around — I think most are Anna’s but I did see an Allen’s bronzed back the other morning.

This young Anna's (I think) flew in a perched in the shade of a picture. I was only ten feet away.

This young Anna’s (I think) flew in a perched in the shade of a picture. I was only ten feet away.

Two days ago, I came across a kingbird doing its flycatcher routine, returning to a nearby wire. I took a few shots with little success but thought I had a Western Kingbird. In reviewing eBird reports and my photos, I realized that it was a Cassin’s Kingbird — fairly common here but a life bird for me.

The lighting on this photo is poor but the field marks are clear in some others.

The lighting on this photo is poor but the field marks are clear in some others.

I had a bit of trouble identifying one of the common birds here this time of year: Black Phoebe. I’ve seen a few before but they were always on low branches, doing their bug-catching routine. Here, they perch at the top of conifers, come down to the swimming pool for lunch, and work from rooftops and chimneys.

BPhoebeW

Western Scrub-Jays are noisy and I suspect, pests at time. Here’s one I saw yesterday morning working up in a palm tree, oblivious to my presence (or just ignoring it.)Scrub-jayW

Some of the other birds I’ve seen in this built-up area are: American Kestrel, all sorts of warblers including a Townsend’s Warbler (Life Bird), and dozens of House Finches. This White-crowned Sparrow posed nicely for me on yesterday’s walk.WCSparrowW

I’m not doing a lot of serious birding here, spending more time with the grandkids and just enjoying summer-like temperatures. I have seen some nice ducks and waterfowl and will put together another post in the next day or two. Then back to New England and the reality of November.

 

The Kindness of Birders

A “boreal grand slam” in Vermont, and perhaps elsewhere, is to see the four boreal species (Boreal Chickadee, Gray Jay, Spruce Grouse, and Black-backed Woodpecker) on one birding outing. Or for others like me, it’s to get them as life birds, period.

I had seen, quite some time ago, Gray Jays and a cooperative Spruce Grouse but had never seen the other two species. Monday, I hoped to remedy that with a trip to the Northeast Kingdom with my faithful hound.

It is about a 1 plus 45 trip to the Victory Wildlife Management Area but it was a beautiful drive – trees showing red buds, some patches of snow, warm temperatures. The dirt road into Victory was in great shape with no traffic and I could hear Winter Wrens, Blue-headed Vireos, and Black-capped Chickadees as we cruised in with the windows down. Did I say that it is too early for bugs — which are treacherous in later spring.

Our destination was a pipeline crossing which had recently been described by a local birder, Tom Berriman of Lyndonville, as one of the good spots for Black-backed Woodpeckers. He wrote on the list serve that they had paired up and building nests and included a digiscoped video of one at work.

I had never met Tom but “know” him through postings, Facebook, and his great photos on the NEK Audubon page. When I got to the crossing, sure enough, his truck was there. Penny and I trekked in for about a half mile when way up ahead, returning, was this guy with a telescope slung over his shoulder. I watched a young Red-tailed Hawk thermal as I waited for him. I knew it was him and he recognized me, from having Penny on a leash, as we shook hands and talked for a bit. It had been a quiet morning for him as well.

When I mentioned that I was looking for a Black-backed Woodpecker he immediately said, “Do you want me to take you to where I saw the two yesterday?” I thought that he was going to give me good directions but as we walked back to our trucks, it became evident that he wanted to take me there.

So, after shedding some layers (it was getting warm), we walked in on an adjacent gated jeep trail quietly talking about all sort of topics and listening for drumming. He has better hearing than I do, or recognizes the light tapping of the Black-backed, and he heard a couple that were off a ways. Soon, we got to the spot where he had seen them.

After a short wait, he motioned and we moved into the woods a bit, through tangles and dead trees (I had Penny on a leash which got tangled here and there) he pointed and climbing a spruce tree was a female Black-backed Woodpecker. I got a great look but no photo with the trees and dog to deal with. She flew shortly and that was it.

Female Black-backed Woodpecker. Photo credit to sfitzgerald86

Female Black-backed Woodpecker. Photo credit to sfitzgerald86.

As we waited a bit, I asked Tom how he knew she was there. “I heard some light tapping,” he said. I would have likely walked right by the bird.

He’d been tramping for four hours or so but still went out of his way to walk another half mile or so to guide me to this life bird. It is an example of his hospitality – he’s well-known and respected for taking birders to his favorite spots – but also of the kindness that I have found in the birding community here and in other states. It is a wonderful aspect and one more reason why birding can be so rewarding. Thank you Tom for life bird #428.

Home Sweet Home

After a week of traveling, with one day off to let some bad weather pass, we arrived home Monday afternoon after ten hours in the truck. The trip was plagued by idiot drivers, some of them returning from Spring Break in Florida and others just afflicted with the "weaving through traffic" disease and so added to the heavy traffic and often-lousy pothole situation, it was not fun. Once we got off the Natchez Trace it was brutal until we got north of Albany, New York. We stayed at KOA’s in Tennessee and Virginia which are fairly predictable: cramped, weak electric systems, useless wifi and 50 cable channels of nothingness – no PBS etc. They are better than Walmart and like I said, predictable.

The last night on the road, we stay in a nice La Quinta hotel in Harrisburg. They are dog-friendly, clean and quiet, and a nice rest before the long last drive. We launched at 7:00 AM and fought trucks until we got to I-88 in Binghampton. Knowing the roads and getting closer and closer gave me time to worry about our driveway and what awaited us at home. I had talked to our friend Terry who has watched things for us and knew that the warm weather in Vermont was helping but we have a muddy dirt road, tough driveway turn, and monster ledge awaiting. (Every time I think about a newer, slightly longer rig I need to remember our driveway.)

As we always do, we rolled down the windows, tooted and yelled as we crossed into Vermont in Fair Haven and while the frost heaves from Killington to Bethel jounced the trailer, soon we were sliding through Montpelier, up Elm Street and on to Shady Rill Road. What challenges lie ahead?

Shifting into four-wheel drive, I climbed Wood Road and noted that the bad muck hole had smoothed out some but then there was a pile of ice and rocks at the driveway that I had to miss as I turned and climbed. It was a leap of faith. As we topped off I could see the ridges of frozen snowbanks that blocked the garage and the turnaround but I got stopped, spent some time with Mary’s help backing and trying to stay out of the soft ditches, finally getting the rig out of the way for the time being. We cut grooves in the soft gravel/dirt with the truck and the trailer tires but I chocked it, unhitched and we could relax and check the house (which was in good shape.)

The trailer is sitting in the mud, waiting for the snow to melt and for things to dry out.

So, some homecoming thoughts:

  • It feels so good to be back in the land of recycling and local food. It pains us to think of all the plastic we tossed away – most of the country thinks they are doing great when they collect beer and soda cans.
  • After three months with essentially no wifi (State parks and many commercial parks have dog-slow systems where it’s much faster, and costlier, to use 4G), it is great to be able to download software or magazines without having to drive ten miles to the library.
  • It is good to be back in the land of NESN, at least so far.
  • We know the warblers are following us, we saw them in Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
  • And while we avoid political stuff while traveling, it is wonderful to be back in a blue state, where the mud thrown comes from snow tires, not pompous politicians.

It was a good trip all in all. Sixteen new life birds for the trip and a number that are still waiting for me. Good birding to you all.

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A Rest Stop Surprise

We spent a nice day cruising up the Natchez Trace Parkway after spending the night at Natchez State Park. You drive the Trace at 50 mph which in itself is calming and the lack of trucks (or traffic) with everything green, flowering trees, windows down, 80 degree temperatures made it a lovely morning cruise. There are many pulloffs fro natural and historic sites, like this one.

The dogwood trees were more and more prevalent as we moved north on the Trace. There were pink blossoms like a wild plum and periodic swaths of bright yellow canola fields. (Here is one that I did not photograph but which we passed in Alabama.)

Mary posed beneath a flowering dogwood along the Trace.

We stopped for a lunch break at a picnic site along the creek and as we pulled in, I saw a VW camper with NY plates and asked Mary if we knew them. As we stopped, a guy came over and said, "Richard Mansfield, fancy meeting you here." I blanked on his name at first but it turned out to be some Oregon friends we met at Goose Island with their two English friends. I had thought they were headed to Florida but it turns out they are meandering. It was a great coincidence when you figure all the stopping places along the 200 mile segment we were on. Richard and Kris got to meet Mary and their dog Bella and our Penny continued the fued they started in Texas. It turned out that the Englsh folks loved the Vermont honey I had given the Oregonians.

As Mary prepared a sandwich, I took the dog for a stroll. There were warblers moving through the foliage and I saw a Black & White and a couple of Yellow-rumps but kept hearing this call I didn’t recognize. I looked and looked as we moved through the brush when I spotted it, a handsome male Prothonotary Warbler – life bird #426. He has a female with him and I watched them foraging, wondering why I lrft the camera in the truck. (I went back to get it, returned and heard him again and got these documentation photos.)

It was a wonderful stop: seeing our friends and getting a bird I missed in Texas. The rest of the trip up to Tupelo was fun – I couldn’t stop thinking of the surprise of having such a yellow gem pop into my binoculars. Likely the last life bird of this trip – and a great one.

Thanks, Larry, for the life bird

On Saturday morning, I joined a dozen other birders for a "woods" bird walk led by Judy and Larry Geiger from Wyoming. I have known these folks for years – Larry is a "pokey" who birds very slowly and really prefers to sit and let birds come to him. Every morning as I walk Penny past their campsite (which is adorned with feeders, water sprays, brush piles..) I’ll see Larry sitting in camo clothing in his chair, binoculars and camera at the ready, armed with his coffee and a hand-rolled cigarette, waiting. He sees a lot of stuff before most of us are up and about.

Judy, on the other hand, is a walker, and birds at a pretty good pace, usually instructing as she does. They are a great team who let birders identify sightings by field marks rather than shouting out, "There’s an Indigo Bunting."

Saturday’s walk was rather routine until we visited the park feeding station. Nothing was moving in except the usual suspects and some of us were getting antsy to move on but the leaders dawdled, waiting. Then someone spotted something with yellow, always a good omen, and we were on to a Black-throated Green warbler – and then someone said, there are two birds – and sure enough, a gorgeous Yellow-throated Warbler was also flitting about. Most of us got good looks and then, as warbler do, they were gone. After a wait, we moved on psyched to have such a neat start.

We had ambled only a hundred yards, still chatting about the warblers, when Larry said, "I’ve got a great bird here. Hopefuly, he’ll sing, he’s way back in the understory." As we scrambled, he was talKing about "rain crow" and some other stuff and I had no idea what we were looking for. Suddenly, others spotted it, telling which way it was moving …I still couldn’t see anything. Then the Yellow-billed Cuckoo moved a little more into the clear and then we spent the next fifteen minutes watching it actively feed on caterpillars in the dense foliage. Photos were tough to get – this was the best I could get.

We asked Larry how he ever spotted the bird which was so well hidden and he said that he had spotted the tail, knew that only cuckoos had tails like that, etc. I could have walked down that park road hundreds of times and unless the bird was calling, would have missed it. It was nice to find out later that it was life bird #422 for me. Thanks, Larry.

Birds Can Brighten a Damp Misty Day

While my Vermont friends are waiting for the “konk-a-ree” of the Red-winged Blackbird as a sign of spring, we are overwhelmed by them. We’ve been feeding birds on our site and if you put out a suet feeder, there’s a dollar a day fix for them. Same with peanut butter, oranges, and seeds. We get 50 or more, as well as their buddies the Brown-headed Cowbirds, as soon as feeders are loaded and we think, “Isn’t it time you folks shoved off?”

One thing you do in Texas is to scan blackbird flocks for the stray Yellow-headed Blackbird. I’ve been doing that for years with no luck, until yesterday.

The previous night a birder friend asked me whether I had seen the Yellow-headed that she and several others had spotted that day. So, armed with seed and goodies, I loaded up our feeders early yesterday morning. Soon, a hundred blackbirds, with a few brave doves and quail, were at it – all flying off when something spooked them, and returning en masse. Nothing but black and brown as I watched from the Airstream window.

After an hour, I decided to double-down and throw even more seeds on the ground since the early crowd had cleaned things up. As I put the feed back in the truck, I noticed about 50 blackbirds on the power lines across from our unit. I scanned them with the binos- black, black, black, etc. Half flew off and another group arrived. I looked them over and right on top of the pole, Bingo. I got a good look and snuck back into the trailer for my camera, capturing a long-range shot in the mist, before the bird departed. Life bird #419!

We went off for a few groceries and computer time with wifi and bought a bag of oranges from a roadside stand. I cut up one of the oranges and put it on the tree since the blackbirds seem to leave the citrus alone. The GreenJays, Orange-crowned Warblers, and Golden-fronted Woodpeckers feast on them. We grabbed a quick post-lunch nap as the weather continued to be cool and misty.

Mary woke me up to “Dick, there’s a bird on the tree I don’t recognize.” I grabbed my binoculars, saw an oriole, grabbed my camera and squeezed off a few shots through the trailer window.

It flew off and as I tried to look at the images, it returned and I hurriedly took a few more. Then it departed and we got out the bird book. We eliminated the big three (Altimira, Hooded, & Audobon’s) but when we came to Bullock’s, we had it nailed. Dark lores, dark eyeline, white patch on wing – check, check, check. In reviewing the images, I noted a band on this guy’s right leg – it would be interesting to know when and where that took place.

The Bullock’s Oriole is rather unusual here but we got it – a good team effort. Life bird #420. A drizzly Texas day turned into a two life bird day- you just never know. Hasta luego, mi amigos.