Category Archives: Life list

What Sparked My Interest in Birding

It wasn’t until I was turning 70 that I got seriously hooked on birding.  I had dabbled in it and enjoyed watching birds in our woods but never kept lists or owned any decent binoculars until late 2009 when I was planning our first Airstream trip to the Southwest.  I discovered eBird and also joined listserves in some of the southern states to learn about what was going on.  When we launched in January of 2010, I had a life list of 38.

The spark was kindled during our first stay at Goose Island State Park.  Here’s how I wrote about it at the time:

The drive to Goose Island State Park, in Rockport, Texas was easy with lots of straight Texas roads with 70 mph limits. We started to see lots of birds as we approached Aransas Wildlife Refuge and soon were searching for a site at the park – where we had made reservations. (Texas has an interesting process in their state parks — you can reserve a slot for a date or period but not a site — so you have to decide once you are there which available site you want.)

We found a nice isolated site surrounded by oaks and thickets and right next to a little bird sanctuary and the showers. We set up on the level site and I promptly got sick for two days — pretty severe stomach bug. Lots of rest, fluids, and good care from Mary and I made a nice recovery yesterday.

I felt up to participating in Saturday’s bird walk — having missed the two earlier ones — and was astounded at the variety as well as the knowledge of the volunteer guides. We saw about 45 species including willets, gulls, pelicans, ravens, vultures, ducks, and a white ibis. I don’t know birds around the sea very well so it was very informative and just spectacular birding.  (Note: This was the Spark!)

 

The camaraderie and expertise of the birding group, and the wonderful diversity of birds (mostly new to me) got me hooked on birding. (Jan 2010)

We really like this place — it’s a wonderful area. We decided to extend for another week rather than keep traveling. Seems nice to settle for a bit and enjoy the weather and the birding. Yesterday afternoon, we drove over to a field where two whooping cranes are living. There were a half-dozen other birders there — some armed with monstrous lenses for their cameras. The birds were just regal, standing on one leg, preening themselves, ignoring their watchers. It’s hard to believe that they fly down from upper Canada and that there are still only a little over 300 of them alive.

This is a nostalgic area for us. Last night out walking the dog, I was watching the sky full of stars and remembering night flying here, decades ago. I happened to remember a night cross-country where I was returning in a F-9 trainer with an instructor high over Houston and we just went inverted and watched the lights of the streets, parking lots, ball field for a while. I did my advanced flight training here, got my Navy wings here, and our daughter was born in this area. Our son got his USMC wings here as well.

So, we’ve got more whooping cranes to see at the wildlife center, a visit up to Beeville to find our old house and the hospital and the air station, and hope to meet up with my brother Barry and his wife Mica before they head further west. But the schedule is a vacation schedule — and all plans are flexible. It’s nice. Now I need to find those black-bottomed ducks.

So, when we departed Goose Island in mid-February, I had added 55 birds to my life list in two weeks and just ahead, at Falcon State Park, I encountered my first rare birds adding a Roadside Hawk and some Groove-billed Anis to my list.  That amazing first bird walk had launched me into passionate birding at age 70.  Thanks be.

Pine Grosbeaks – finally

As I have noted before, a Canadian ornithologist, Ron Pittaway, each year issues a  Winter Finch Forecast.  He notes that there is a “widespread tree seed crop failure in the Northeast” this year.  It looks like a good year for winter birds — we’re already seeing a lot of Purple Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, and hundreds of Pine Siskins.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve seen reports of sightings of gaggles of Bohemian Waxwings and Pine Grosbeaks all over Vermont.  Friends of mine have reported berry trees laden with birds and yet, I’ve yet to come close to one of the visitors.  Until today….

Last night, before a board meeting of the North Branch Nature Center, I was whining to Chip, the ED, about all the reports of Pine Grosbeaks.  He asked, “Have you seen them up at Rumney in the fruit tree?”

A female Pine Grosbeak feeding on fruit at Rumney School, Middlesex, VT.

Rumney School is about a half-mile up the road and so this morning, after an appointment, I drove by the school and noted some birds in the tree in front.  I carefully parked out back and grabbed my camera, aware that school is in session and guys wandering around with binos and cameras may look suspicious.  I got close enough to make out the Pine Grosbeaks and took a few shots and left.  The birds were used to people and just filling their craws with the red berries.

The neat outcome was that when I entered the sighting into eBird, it marked it as a new life bird.  I had not realized that I didn’t have Pine Grosbeaks so it turned out to be not only a year bird, but my #350 life bird.  Thanks Chip.

Birding by the Dredging Containment Site

I’ve been birding in Maryland for a few days with my grandson, Dane, and seeing a nice array of mid-Atlantic birds.  Today, we drove up to the Swan Creek/Cox Creek Impoundment area outside of Baltimore to look for a Red Phalarope that had been reported yesterday — and dipped on it but had a great time.

I am part of a local FB group, the Anne Arundel Birding & Bird Club, and they kindly sent me directions and procedures to follow at the site.  This place is crazy — nestled between a chemical plant and a power plant, it has large diked areas for material dredged from Baltimore Harbor.

 It’s an active site with trucks, large backhoes, and assorted machinery working away while birders aim their scopes at the containment lagoons.  Some forward-thinking folks worked out an arrangement that keeps over a 100 acres in a conservation easement and a lot of restoration work and replanting has been done — and birds love it: over 160 species have been spotted there.  There’s a lot of debris and funky looking liquids but like many landfills and wastewater lagoons, it’s a great place to bird.

We showed up and signed in at the office and met a couple of birders who told us that no one had seen the Phalarope – that many of the “big guns” were there early with no luck.  (Early arriving construction workers reportedly flushed it.)  Still, looking at the ponds and then walking down to some reclaimed wetland, we did fine.  A Little Blue Heron flew right over us giving us good looks.  (It’s great when Dane can see stuff without fiddling with bins.)

Little Blue Herons nest on the property. 

I was on the lookout for an Orchard Oriole since I needed one for my life list and they had been reported by many birders over the last few days.  Just as a new acquaintance, Matt Grey, was giving me the details on Orchard vs Baltimore Orioles, we saw several and got some wonderful looks through the scope.  Of course, Dane comes to my chest so we have a fun time adjusting the telescope but he saw it well.

An Orchard Oriole was a life bird for me.

We saw some other good birds:  A diving Least Tern (another lifer), a couple of Snowy Egrets, a Belted Kingfisher, an Indigo Bunting, and others.  Returning to the ponds at the starting point, we scanned one last time and through the shimmer, picked out a Black Bellied Plover on the far shore.  

I left with a good feeling about the balancing act that folks have worked out between an active waste disposal site and a rich environment for birds, and birders.  It’s a place we’ll come back to again.
Site and Blue Heron photo from The Maryland Yellowthroat.
Orchard Oriole photo by Charles & Clint

Snowy Owl — finally

As all birders know, Snowy Owls by the thousands have shown up across the northern tier of the U.S.  I think I’m the only birder in Vermont who hadn’t seen one, until yesterday.  We had some show up in Vermont but I missed them before we left for Texas, and then kept reading about folks throughout New England seeing owls left and right.

Since we returned from the Southwest several weeks ago, there have been Snowy Owls reported at Plum Island.  I knew that we had a trip planned to MA for grandparenting in late April/early May and hoped that one would hang around — and it did.

I can’t take the dog on the refuge so Mary dog-sat Thursday and I made a quick run to seek out the Snowy.  Two friends from Vermont had seen it the week before and as I approached the Hellcat area, where it had been hanging out, I thought, “With my luck, it probably just headed out.”  I met two women coming out and asked and they said, “It’s right up there sitting on a post.”

And sure enough, it was.  It kept looking the other way and was pretty bedraggled from the heavy rains of the day before.  Dozens of birders watched, took photos, and admired the visitor from the north.  Here’s my low-quality photo — never could get it to turn our way.

Here’s a little recap on the irruption of Snowy Owls from Reuters:

“What we’re seeing now — it’s unbelievable,” said Denver Holt, head of the Owl Research Institute in Montana.

“This is the most significant wildlife event in decades,” added Holt, who has studied snowy owls in their Arctic tundra ecosystem for two decades.

Holt and other owl experts say the phenomenon is likely linked to lemmings, a rodent that accounts for 90 percent of the diet of snowy owls during breeding months that stretch from May into September. The largely nocturnal birds also prey on a host of other animals, from voles to geese. An especially plentiful supply of lemmings last season likely led to a population boom among owls that resulted in each breeding pair hatching as many as seven offspring. That compares to a typical clutch size of no more than two, Holt said.

Greater competition this year for food in the Far North by the booming bird population may have then driven mostly younger, male owls much farther south than normal.

 Research on the animals is scarce because of the remoteness and extreme conditions of the terrain the owls occupy, including northern Russia and Scandinavia, he said. 

 It was great to finally see a Snowy and add it to my life list.  Now, I worry about whether this guy will make it back north.  May is very late to be hanging out in Massachusetts even though the food supply is plentiful.  I’ll watch the lists and see when he’s headed out.

A Great Day in Texas

Mary and I loaded up Penny and left early for some back road birding north of Rockport. We started tallying gulls and “telephone line” birds and soon were on a Farm-to-Market road heading toward the hamlet of Bayside. These “farm roads” in Texas are usually narrow with a speed limit of 70 and lots of white pickup trucks in a hurry. Not too conducive to birding although usually there is a wide shoulder (or ditch.)

We pulled off on a little narrow road alongside Copano Bay called Egery Flat aka Mosquito Alley and were immediately confronted with a small mudflat/pond with hundreds of shorebirds. As we tried to sort through Dowitchers, Dunlins, Willets some Black-legged Stilts, and lots of sandpipers, I was wishing that I had an expert along. Just ahead, we saw and photographed a Reddish Egret – a white morph in breeding plumage – which turned out to be a new bird for each of us. It is neat to watch them fish, stirring up the water with their feet and then grabbing stuff they’ve scared.

The American Golden Plovers were in his pasture

As the road turned to dirt, we saw several birds flush out of the grass and settle. I knew right away that they were one of the species we were after – and it turned out that they were American Golden Plovers, passing through on their way north. I got out my scope and we got some good looks, an so-so photos. As I watched, a steer (seen above) watched us and started plodding our way. Time to move on.

American Golden Plover

It was a pretty spring day with no one around on this straight back road so we let the dog go and walked for a while. The temperature was about 80 with a light breeze and blue skies with sparrows and meadowlarks rising from the fields. Of course, the mosquitoes found Mary.

We passed another flock of plovers and then, just as we were nearly done with the loop, Mary spotted more birds. We pulled over, looked at them through the binos, and took some photos. About then, a deputy sherriff pulled alongside asking “Everything ok?” I guess the red Vermont truck with kayak on top looked pretty unthreatening and he was off. (I learned later that the birds were migrating Upland Sandpipers, another new one for us.

Upland Sandpiper

One of the purposes of the outing was to check out a local eating place which friends had raved about. Crofutt’s Sandwich Shop & Bakery calls itself “An Oasis in a Junk Food Desert” and it is. Plain looking and frequented by local oil and ranch workers, it has been running for 33 years. We had the Shrimp Po-Boy and they were great. I had to eat mine next to the truck since Penny had an anxiety meltdown and started pulling the rubber stripping from the door .. again. Washed down with iced tea, with a couple of decadent cookies for later, it was quite a feast.

We returned in time for a short nap and then Penny and I drove to the vet for a last checkup. Her leg is nearly there and after a quick check, the doc said goodbye giving her a few treats for the road.

While our more ardent birder acquaintances go out for all day, we found that a few hours, some fresh air, some good food, and a nap is our preference.

We have managed to see 201 different species this trip so far with about 25 new ones for me. Now to follow some them as they migrate northward.

A Great Birding Outing

Yesterday, Mary and I loaded up Penny and left early for some back road birding north of Rockport. We started tallying gulls and “telephone line” birds and soon were on a Farm-to-Market road heading toward the hamlet of Bayside. These “farm roads” in Texas are usually narrow with a speed limit of 70 and lots of white pickup trucks in a hurry. Not too conducive to birding although usually there is a wide shoulder (or ditch.)
We pulled off on a little narrow road alongside Copano Bay called Egery Flat aka Mosquito Alley and were immediately confronted with a small mudflat/pond with hundreds of shorebirds. As we tried to sort through Dowitchers, Dunlins, Willets some Black-legged Stilts, and lots of sandpipers, I was wishing that I had an expert along. Just ahead, we saw and photographed a Reddish Egret – a white morph in breeding plumage – which turned out to be a new bird for each of us. It is neat to watch them fish, stirring up the water with their feet and then grabbing stuff they’ve scared.

The American Golden Plovers were in his pasture

As the road turned to dirt, we saw several birds flush out of the grass and settle. I knew right away that they were one of the species we were after – and it turned out that they were American Golden Plovers, passing through on their way north. I got out my scope and we got some good looks, an so-so photos. As I watched, a steer (seen above) watched us and started plodding our way. Time to move on.

American Golden Plover

It was a pretty spring day with no one around on this straight back road so we let the dog go and walked for a while. The temperature was about 80 with a light breeze and blue skies with sparrows and meadowlarks rising from the fields. Of course, the mosquitoes found Mary.
We passed another flock of plovers and then, just as we were nearly done with the loop, Mary spotted more birds. We pulled over, looked at them through the binos, and took some photos. About then, a deputy sherriff pulled alongside asking “Everything ok?” I guess the red Vermont truck with kayak on top looked pretty unthreatening and he was off. (I learned later that the birds were migrating Upland Sandpipers, another new one for us.

Upland Sandpiper

One of the purposes of the outing was to check out a local eating place which friends had raved about. Crofutt’s Sandwich Shop & Bakery calls itself “An Oasis in a Junk Food Desert” and it is. Plain looking and frequented by local oil and ranch workers, it has been running for 33 years. We had the Shrimp Po-Boy and they were great. I had to eat mine next to the truck since Penny had an anxiety meltdown and started pulling the rubber stripping from the door .. again. Washed down with iced tea, with a couple of decadent cookies for later, it was quite a feast.
We returned in time for a short nap and then Penny and I drove to the vet for a last checkup. Her leg is nearly there and after a quick check, the doc said goodbye giving her a few treats for the road.
While our more ardent birder acquaintances go out for all day, we found that a few hours, some fresh air, some good food, and a nap is our preference.
We have managed to see 201 different species this trip so far with about 25 new ones for me. Now to follow some them as they migrate northward.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Life Bird #300 — Swainson’s Thrush

Swainson’s Thrush  (photo credit below)

For the last several weeks, I’ve had sort of a running joke with Chip, the director of the North Branch Nature Center, about the birds he sees while scouting and reports — that we don’t see during the next day’s bird walk.  First it was a Black-billed Cuckoo, then a Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, and then a Swainson’s Thrush.  He knows that I’m kidding but it was neat yesterday, when we saw the Swainson’s Thrush.

It’s been warm and muggy in Vermont and the mosquitos were fierce during yesterday’s walk — even after we doused ourselves with industrial-strength repellant.  There were a lot of birds around and we saw a few Lincoln’s Sparrows and Indigo Buntings to start things off.  Down by the river, there was an influx of sparrows and warblers including a Northern Parula, a Nashville, and a number of Black-throated Greens.

After an hour or so, we backtracked to the community garden where we first had seen a number of sparrows.  But leader Chip wanted to take one more look along the path and as he forged ahead, a couple of us saw a bird on a branch at eye level.  “It’s a thrush of some kind,” I said as we quietly called for Chip.  He immediately called a Swainson’s pointing out the prominent eye ring and the buffy area on the head.  I think I would have figured it was a Hermit Thrush but now, having seen one up close (it was very accomodating), I think I’d recognize the next one I encounter — if I do.  It was a great bird for the 300th on my list.

photo by defaulder