Category Archives: Rare birds

5 Most Viewed Birds in BirdsEye: November 2013

From BirdsEye Newsletter #11: December 2013

1.    Black-bellied Whistling-Duck: a famous wanderer and local rarity in many parts of the country, but could it be that it was the most-viewed species in part because it is first on the list when sorted in taxonomic order?  We’ll keep an eye on it over the next few months to find out!

2.    Snow Goose: these guys were just arriving in numbers in November in much of their wintering range.  They are also locally rare in many areas, so they are of interest to many state and county listers.

3.    Pin-tailed Whydah: What!? How did Pin-tailed Whydah beat out Nutmeg Mannikin?  This exotic is fairly well-established in Southern California and is apparently starting to get some attention!

4.    Snowy Owl: big invasion year, as shown in this BirdsEye screen shot!

5.    Amazon Kingfisher: 2nd ABA record in Texas! A good bird by just about any measure!  No wonder so many people wanted to find it.

The Rare Roadside Hawk (from the archives)

As part of my preparation for our SW trip, I joined birder email groups in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas. One of the big deals for the last ten days has been the roadside hawk, a rare species from Mexico, that showed up at Falcon State Park.

I’m not that serious a birder, but getting more serious, and that sort of locked in our next destination from Goose Island State Park. This place is right on the Mexico border, next to a big international reservoir, and full of birds and birders. People drive here just to try to see the hawk.

Yesterday was our first day here (it’s a nicely laid-out park filled with Canadians and folks from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and elsewhere north. Very few New Englanders.

I was out walking Penny just after dawn (which comes here late so far west in the Central time zone) when a car stopped and asked me if I knew where the roadside hawk was. I passed on some news I’d heard about possible locations and returned for breakfast. Later that morning, they drove slowly by again — still no hawk.

A little later, I was talking with our Oklahoma neighbors (who have been coming here for 23 years) when the same car stopped, rolled down the window and reported, “He’s down by the recreation area in the top of a tree.”

I grabbed my binoculars and walked down in that direction. Passing the recreation hall, a young man asked me if I had heard of any hawk sightings and soon he and his parents were walking with me down the road, where up ahead, we saw a small group of birders set up. (It turns out that my companions had driven over from Louisiana just to get to see the bird — every day a bunch more show up.) Sure enough, the young hawk was sitting in full view in a big bare tree, easily visible by binoculars. I could make out the striping and coloration but when I had a chance to look through a spotting scope, it was even more remarkable. He posed for ten minutes or so and then flew off, not to be seen the rest of the day.

We are seeing some amazing birds — most of whom never get up our way. Green jays are spectacular as is the vermillion flycatcher. Today we saw all three orioles resident here: altimira oriole, Audobon oriole, and the hooded oriole. Visiting a sanctuary filled with golden-fronted woodpeckers, Great Kiskadoos, and orioles reminded me of the first time I snorkeled in tropical water. It was sensory overload.

So, Mary and I have given up snow for Lent. But we are reveling in the wonders of this part of our country. Originally published – 2/18/10

Roadside hawk photo by Wagner Machado Carlos Lemes
Green jay photo by JunCTio

Salineño – Get it on your birder bucket list

I fell in love with birding about four years ago and one of the reasons was a trip we made to Salineño, Texas.  Driving there, we were stopped by a pleasant Border Patrol officer who was exiting the rutty dirt road that goes down to the site. A Vermont couple with a dog did not interest him — we essentially just exchanged greetings.  It was our first encounter with the sensitivity of the area where you can essentially wade the Rio Grande.  (And people have for decades, and still do.)

Salineño is just north of Roma on Route 83.

Salineño is just north of Roma on Route 83.

Entering a tract, which has been a famous birding spot since the 1970’s, we encountered a small group of birders sitting in lawn chairs watching the many bird feeding stations.  And what an array of great birds Mary and I saw: Green Jays everywhere, Great Kiskadees, and all three orioles (Altimira, Hooded, and Audubon’s.)  It was an immersion into a new world of color and activity, just amazing.  The Hooded Oriole was the first of ten life birds I’ve gotten there during a half-dozen visits.

Screen Shot 2013-08-09 at 3.17.50 PM

Salineño is a must-stop on any birding tour of the area.  The parking lot, right on the river, is a great spot for all sorts of birds.  We were there in 2012, arriving just as a large tour group came out of the woods, excited about some of their observations.  They had seen Red-billed Pigeons in the trees far up the river.  As they were just about to stow their gear and head to their next destination, their leader yelled, “Ducks – Muscovy’s” as a flight of four came right over us.  It was a lifer for me and I’m sure, many of the group members.  They piled happily into their cars to hit their next destination.

A predominantly Mexican bird, the Audubon's Oriole reaches the United States only in southern Texas.

A predominantly Mexican bird, the Audubon’s Oriole reaches the United States only in southern Texas.

For many years, the little tract of wooded land were we visited the feeders was owned and maintained by Pat and Gail DeWind who then sold it to the Valley Land Fund, a non-profit that protects over 10,000 acres of land up and down the Rio Grande Valley.  Volunteers, led by Cheryl Longton of Massachusetts, have maintained the feeders each winter, relying on donations from birders and others.  Last winter, the site was closed and the feeders moved just north to Fish and Wildlife land but it is expected that the original site will re-open this winter.

Merle and Lois, two of the long-time volunteers, fill a feeding station.

Merle and Lois, two of the long-time volunteers, fill a feeding station.

The Altamira Oriole is a bird of Mexico and Central America whose range just reaches into southern Texas. They are often seen at Salineño.

The Altamira Oriole is a bird of Mexico and Central America whose range just reaches into southern Texas. They are often seen at Salineño.

The woodland along the River at Salineño is an excellent spot for finding Valley birds such as Audubon’s Oriole, White-tipped Dove, Groove-billed Ani (summer is best), Long-billed Thrasher, Green Jay, and (now infrequently) Brown Jay. The parking lot is a great gathering spot for birders and a favorite spot to wait for fly-by kingfishers (all three species), Muscovy, or Hook-billed Kite. While standing at the River, you may see such waterbirds as Least or Caspian tern, Black Skimmer, various large waders, and Ring-billed Gull. During spring, Bank Swallows, Indigo Buntings, and Dickcissels stream across the River from Mexico. In winter, the River may be filled with both dabbling and diving ducks. Mergansers and (rarely) scoters occur as well. Check the boulders in winter for Black Phoebe and Spotted Sandpiper.

One of the target birds on our last trip was the Brown Jay.  One had been seen fairly reliably before we got into the area but on several tries at Salineño (you just missed it!) and up the river at another spot, we finally waited it out at the feeders and watched as a juvenile ate his heart out.  Birders from all over the country and Canada were snapping pictures.  As was I.

Brown Jays are resident of a short stretch of Rio Grande corridor from about Salineño to the woodlands below Falcon Dam

Brown Jays are resident of a short stretch of Rio Grande corridor from about Salineño to the woodlands below Falcon Dam

So, make Salineño a stop on a trip to the area.   Many birders also hit Chapeno, Falcon Dam, Falcon State Park, and work their way up to Zapata.  A list of potential birds is mouth-watering:  White-collared Seedeaters,  Pyrrhuloxia, Harris’ Hawk, Verdin, Scaled Quail, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Cactus Wren, Black-throated Sparrow, Long-billed and Curve-billed Thrasher, and Chihuahuan Raven.   Good Birding, indeed!

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A Review of Birding Ethics

Several items in the last week — the baiting of the Great Gray Owl in Wisconsin and the possible harassment of the gyrfalcon in Hadley, MA, have again raised the issue of ethics of photographers and birders.  Our friends at MassBirds posted this thoughtful article on the need for all of us to remind ourselves and others of ethics and practice what we preach.

If you aren’t aware of it, or haven’t read it recently, please read the American Birding Association Code of Ethics
www.aba.org/about/ethics.html   (About ABA tab, Code of Ethics).

Our local clubs also have code of ethics that can be found on their websites and in their publications.  For example, the Brookline Bird Club Code of Ethics can be reached from a link from www.brooklinebirdclub.org (Code of Ethics).

Here’s what I ask.  To the leadership of local clubs, next time you meet, point out your organization’s code of ethics and discuss it, if only for a minute or two.  To trip leaders, talk about birding ethics briefly at the beginning of your walk.  To every birder, when you go birding with a novice, model good ethical behavior and let that novice know good behavior is expected and required.

Make no mistake about it, when birders or photographers behave unethically by disturbing birds or habitat, those actions make it much more likely that others will not see that bird or disclose that location.  By behaving unethically, you make it much more likely that rarities, sensitive habitats and sensitive situations will not be disclosed.  Not only do you cause disturbance and damage the current situation, you damage future opportunities for yourself and others.

Unfortunately, we don’t often discuss good birding behavior unless there’s a problem.  Let’s make a commitment to bird ethically, and to inform and educate those joining our ranks about why good birding ethics are the foundation of good birding.

Great Gray Owl in Hanover, NH

I noted recently that Great Gray Owls have shown up in the Montreal area and how several of my friends went up and found one.  Now, one of the regal birds has been seen just across the NH border in woods north of Hanover, NH.    I understand that a birder, Steve Mirick, contacted a photographer/birder, Jim Block, who took the first wonderful set of photos.

Yesterday, a hardy core of birders went to the area. One, Len Medlock, saw the bird about 9:00 AM and took this photograph. (Note: he has all rights reserved so I did not use the photo here.)   Then, he and others, braved cold and stiff winds until 5:00 PM to watch the swampy area where it was seen – with no further spottings.  A southern Vermont birder, looking elsewhere, got a quick look just after 5:00.  I expect that dozens of folks will look today and in the days ahead.

To get there:  Take Exit 18 off I-89 and head north, then take the Etna Road to Trescott. Trescott Road runs from Hanover to Etna for 3-4 miles. The owl, according the Jim Block, was first seen about half way along the road near the Water Company Land.  It was a 10 yards off the road when first seen.  Then it was seen in the marsh area.  Jason Lambert and Len Medlock left yellow ribbons at the parking lot entrance to the Appalachian trail (the parking area is across from a 35 mph speed sign on Trescott Rd.)  The trail leads to the area where the owl was seen.  It’s about a 3/4 mile along the trail to a marsh area – they left yellow tape along the way to guide you.  Here is a map the Len posted:

A trail map to the marsh by Len Medlock

A trail map to the marsh by Len Medlock

The best way to keep up with this fast-evolving search is to join the Google Groups “NHBirds” group.  It is easy to join and the fastest way to get updates on the success, or lack of it, from the many birders looking for this great owl.  Good luck.

Chouette lapone trouvé!

Three Mad Birders from central Vermont — Ali Wagner, Louanne Nielsen, and Scott Sainsbury — spent last Sunday looking for Great Gray Owls in Quebec.  Here is a guest post by Scott describing their successful outing.

We made our way across the border today — having heard that one or more Great Gray owls had dropped down from the sub-polar region, and was being seen occasionally in a swanky sub-rural part of Montreal, near the Arboretum. These birds only come this far south every few years. So the chance to see one is a special treat. None of the three of us had ever had the pleasure.

We got close to the part of town we were targeting. Then, we took a wrong turn and ended up on a road that was one of the lesser of our “target areas”. We decided we’d drive along it for a ways, just to work our way get back to the prime territory.

No sooner did we comment on how annoying it was that people sometimes ogle at mansions in neighborhoods like this (exactly what some of us were doing) rather than watching for birds, than Louanne said, “What’s that on that fence post by the road? Is it a bird … Is it a big bird … Is it an owl?” To which Ali added, “Oh My God, it’s a Great Gray!”

We abruptly dropped anchor in the middle of said mansion-draped winding little suburban street and stared. The owl was about 100 feet into a field on our right. We watched from the car expecting it to spook and fly away at any moment, and then slowly climbed out, grabbed a scope, cameras, etc. and tiptoed to a better spot (Mercedes birdmobile left in the street with trunk open). We got a few looks at the owl. Then, it flew. We gasped. It landed…. Closer than before! Phew.

The Great Gray just sat on a post about 75 feet away, and kept hunting. It pounced on a mouse and swallowed it whole. photo by lizjones112

The Great Gray just sat on a post about 75 feet away, and kept hunting. It pounced on a mouse and swallowed it whole. photo by lizjones112

Clearly, it couldn’t care less about us. It just sat on a post about 75 feet away, and kept hunting. Then it moved to a post even closer. Louanne proclaimed it owlgasmic! The deep eye circles and bright yellow eyes were astoundingly expressive — with a super-owly “I’m above all that that beholds me” attitude.

It pounced again. Seemed to miss that time. Remounted its pole. Sat for another 10 minutes, and then flew off to the top of a tree a couple hundred yards away. I snapped some shots, and when I got home, sure enough, it had another mouse in its beak as it flew off.

Louanne’s on-line sources said that the Great Gray is North America’s largest owl — stands 3′ tall with a 5 foot wingspan. The birds weigh less than two pounds, but is so formidable that it will drive bears away from its nest. In its homelands, the Great Gray is known as the “Phantom of the North”, and the “Specter Owl”. It was an awesome life bird for three of us!

Thinking About Vagrant Birds

Recently, I was given an old birding book by a friend who was culling her library.  I have a soft spot for bird books so while my overall collection of books is shrinking, my birding books seem to be breeding.

So I have been reading A Year on the Wing by Tim Dee, a Brit with a poetic flair who writes a month-by-month chronicle of birding experiences.  Some of the stories are more interesting than others but the one story that caught my attention and spurred this post had to do with a vagrant yellow-browed warbler.  Dee writes:

Along a fence at the cliff edge at Klinger’s Geo, dancing before my eyes, was a yellow-browed warbler…Yellow-browed warblers breed no nearer than the Siberian taiga. The bird in front of me, almost certainly only a few weeks out of the nest, should have flown in the opposite direction to winter in the open deciduous forests anywhere from Nepal to the Malay Peninsula….

The yellow-browed warbler I saw …  had made a mistake, and it is probable that no amount of nurture on Fair Isle (**where Dee was observing) could truly rescue it.  Vagrancy is a death sentence. Almost all of the rarities that arrive on the island (and almost all vagrants anywhere) will have the same fate.  They are wonderful treasures from far away that we cannot keep and cannot save.  There is very little evidence that vagrant birds reorient themselves and correct their journeys.  It seems likely that the yellow-browed warbler, having gone southwest where it should have gone southeast, would continue this aberrant direction and fly on west out over an ocean that has no refuges, no green skirts, for thousands of miles.  That would be the end of it.  It would soon be homeless.  I was watching a lost child at death’s door.

Vagrants are wonderful treasures from far away that we cannot keep and cannot save. photo of yellow-browed warbler by sussexbirder

Vagrants are wonderful treasures from far away that we cannot keep and cannot save. photo of yellow-browed warbler by sussexbirder

I thought about this yesterday as I traveled to New York state to look (and not find) the rare Common Pochard that was first seen on New Year’s Day on Lake Champlain.  It might be wild, it might be an escapee, but in any case, it’s a long ways from safety.  The other vagrant, which I’ve not chased but tracked by reports, was the Northern Lapwing in Massachusetts.  The finder wrote this post on January 2nd and expresses the mixed emotions of many birders who see rarities:

Despite a four hour vigil in Bridgewater, the Northern Lapwing was NOT seen.  Hopefully it found a warm spot or decided to fly to a more hospitable environment. This would have been the bird’s 53rd day since I found it on November 12th.  It brought many hundreds of people joy in its presence, from as far away as Canada, California, Hawaii.  I know of people from at least a dozen states and I’m sure there were more than that. Anyway, I’m sure we all hope the bird made it to a safe place and who knows, it may turn up again!!

This joy of discovery balanced by the reality of the bird’s situation was aptly described, with humor, by Jim Mead, an active Vermont birder who found a rare Ruby-crowned Kinglet last week:

This tiny bird has already survived 2 nor’easters, many cold days and nights including the night before last with temperatures between -10 to -20 below(F degrees). It was busily feeding while flashing its ruby colored crest the entire time… as I drove off I had a few thoughts.

This bird deserves an all expense paid, First Class, one way ticket to the south! It should be served all of the fresh water that it can drink and bathe in.   An employee of the airline should write a frenetic small bird menu so he can have his choice of desirable cuisine during the flight. I mean, with words like- Ruby, Crown and King in his name, shouldn’t he be treated like Royalty?

 

Two pelicans taken care of by the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island hang out in a camping tent before being flown to Florida. photo by Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island

Two pelicans taken care of by the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island hang out in a camping tent before being flown to Florida. photo by Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island

Many of us saw the news reports on the two Brown Pelicans blown north by Hurricane Sandy privately flown to Florida in November.  I think, even though it is impossible to do very often, that’s the way we’d like to help the rare birds many birders chase.  Let folks see them and then FedEx them to their true destination.

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Common Pochard — Yes!

On New Year’s Day, a very rare duck – a Common Pochard — was identified by Vermont birders with help from others.  It was seen on the second and not seen for two days,  until today, January 5th.

Common Pochard taken Jan. 2 by Larry Master

Common Pochard taken Jan. 2 by Larry Master

Here is the alert issued on VTBIRD by Jim Mead.

Leave it to Ted Murin(one of Vermont’s Top Birders) to have the perseverance to try and relocate the Common Pochard for others to get a chance to see it. He called me about 25 minutes ago to tell me that he has in fact seen the Common Pochard this morning at 10:05 a.m. !!! I was close to my house when he called and raced home to get the word out to all of you ASAP. He was on the NY side of the Champlain Bridge when he found it and he just called me again to tell me that he is trying it from the VT side. It is very windy- about 15-20 mph from the NW. The ice edge is closer to the bridge now and the best place to see the duck at this time would be from the bridge. The Pochard is with a large mixed flock of ducks approx. 1/4 to 1/2 mile from shore and approx. 3/4 of a mile from the bridge. When he saw it, it was close to the ice edge. He said that the viewing is good aside from the wind. He also mentioned that there are 16 Bald Eagles there and that they are putting an attack on the ducks and it is quite a show.

I hope that many more of you get a chance to see this rare beauty.

Good luck to all and thank you very much Ted- nice job. Jim Mead