Shorebirder

CT "pelagic" trip

2012-02-04T20:27:00.003-05:00

This morning 42 birders boarded Project Oceanology's 65-foot boat out of Groton, CT to explore the Connecticut waters of eastern Long Island Sound (thanks to Phil Rusch organizing a trip sponsored by the Connecticut Ornithological Association).

An organized CT boat trip has not been run in many years. Why the special occasion? From late-December through mid-January, an unprecedented incursion of winter pelagic birds was noted in the middle of eastern LI Sound along the CT/NY border by birders who rode the ferry from CT to Long Island. During this period birders recorded several Black-legged Kittiwakes and Common Murres and at least two Thick-billed Murres. In addition to the rarities were impressive numbers of Northern Gannets, Razorbills, and both loons. Even Minke Whales were reported from the area!! Clearly there was an abundant food source to be consumed.

Phil's brilliant plan was to charter a boat and spend a few hours working this stretch of Long Island Sound. He found a great boat at a fair price (came to $40 per person for 4+ hours on the water). The original date was actually 2 weeks ago but was unfortunately canceled due to snow. We rescheduled for today and headed out under sunny skies and a 10mph WNW breeze.

When we reached the target area, we were incredibly disappointed to find no life whatsoever. Couldn't even scratch up a gannet or Herring Gull. Unbelievable! Apparently the food source had moved out, and so had the birds. We were a couple weeks late.

Halfway through the trip we decided to cut our losses and head inshore to Fisher's Island Sound where there had at least been very recent Razorbill sightings. We were relieved to run into a few RAZO, which included some nice looks at an adult-immature pair feeding off Ram Island.

Razorbills

We also had an uptick in general birdlife. Multiple adult Northern Gannets flew by, and we were able to observe Common Eider and Surf & White-winged Scoter as well.

Northern Gannet

Not exactly what we had hoped for, but it was a great day to be on the water with a few dozen really great birding friends.

- Nick

Jan 8 - good January birds

2012-01-10T20:10:00.003-05:00

Doug Gochfeld and I birded some southern CT location on Sunday morning from 0730 to 1230. We started off in Wallingford searching for geese around MacKenzie Reservoir. We had the continuing adult Greenland GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE and two "Richardson's" CACKLING GEESE. Other waterfowl on the res included a pair of LESSER SCAUP.

Greater White-fronted Goose

From there we moved toward the coast in search of lingering or rare passerines. Our first stop was at Ora Ave/Proto Dr in East Haven. The place was birdy but nothing too unusual around. Highlights included both kinglets, Gray Catbird, and Savannah Sparrow.

We finished at East Shore Park in New Haven, locally famous for lingering warblers and swallows. Sure enough we found the following lingerers: 3 (!) NASHVILLE WARBLERS, 4 Yellow-rumped Warblers, a "Western" Palm Warbler, and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. On our walk back from the western border of the park, a NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW flew in and began to feed over the sewage plant. This is the second latest record of this species in CT. Four birds lingered into mid-Jan at the same location in 2008.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Yellow-breasted Chat

Nashville Warbler (one of three)

Overall quite a few nice January birds.

- NB

Jan 7 - interesting Herring Gull at the landfill

2012-01-10T18:31:00.009-05:00

On Saturday afternoon a group of us visited the Windsor-Bloomfield Landfill. We had three really nice-looking "Kumlien's" Iceland Gulls (first cycle, second cycle, adult), but I found the gull photo'd below the most interesting of the day.

It's a first cycle "Herring" Gull. But it shows some features more in line with Old World taxa (perhaps European Herring Gull) than with your typical smithsonianus American Herring Gull.

The bird stuck out among the American HERGs of various ages by its frosty upperparts with thinly barred first-winter scapulars and checkered greater coverts. A closer look revealed pointy blackish primaries and a mostly black bill, and a blackish tail band of unknown width. Tertials were strongly notched laterally and had broad white tips distally. Undertail coverts barred dark and white, with white bars averaging wider than the dark ones.

In flight, we see an obvious pale inner primary window. The inner primaries are strikingly patterned: dark distal anchors with whitish subterminal spots on either side of the dark feather shaft. Secondary bar is blackish and contrasts sharply with pale wing coverts. The only decent view we have of the tail is from underneath, which appears to show the presence of a tail band set of by paler/marbled bases to the outer rectrices.

Unfortunately, we're missing the crucial uppertail shots to assess thickness of tail band and pattern on uppertail coverts.

There are certainly some things at odds with typical European Herring Gull. These include rather uniformly colored underparts and presence of some dark coloration on the inner webs of the innermost primaries.

Yep, another unidentified first cycle gull. Interesting though. I wonder where this bird was hatched. Maybe someday we'll be able to put a name to these things. For now, we file them away into a growing folder, to be opened at a later date when I feel like giving myself another headache.

As always, comments are very welcome.

- Nick

Book Review: "The Birds of New Jersey: Status and Distribution"

2012-01-03T11:17:00.008-05:00

[Disclosure: A free copy of this book was provided by Princeton University Press for unbiased review.]

Status and distribution. Those two words probably excite me more than I should admit. If you don’t feel the same way, you might wonder why I would be eager to review this book. I don’t live in New Jersey. I rarely bird in New Jersey. And let’s face it, New Jersey simply leaves a lot to be desired. Just ask former NY Governor Paterson.

But if you are like me (you poor, poor bastard), you live for this stuff.

“The Birds of New Jersey: Status and Distribution” (paperback, 308 pages) by William J. Boyle, Jr. is a comprehensive look at the documented S&D of New Jersey’s avifauna. This type of book has been done before for many states – every state really should have a work like this at its disposal.

The book starts with an introduction, proceeds to the annotated species list, and concludes with a few appendices.

The intro is straightforward and to-the-point. We are given a summary of NJ’s geography with accompanying map, a brief history on previous bird S&D works dedicated to NJ, and a description of the purpose and responsibilities of the New Jersey Bird Records Committee (NJBRC). Then we have a few pages of what amounts to “how to use this book,” which is rather self-explanatory. The section ends with a brief discussion on New Jersey’s pelagic boundaries and explanation that these lines are far from “official.”

The meat and potatoes of the book is the Annotated List of Species, which is in taxonomic order and devotes a paragraph to each species. The text provides detail about that particular species’ - you guessed it – status and distribution in New Jersey. EVERY SINGLE species ever documented in New Jersey’s rich ornithological history is treated here. For regularly occurring species Boyle touches on preferred habitat, arrival and departure times, as well as peak migration periods and unseasonal sightings. If there is a particular population trend, it is noted. Identifiable subspecies are also treated. For rarities, exact dates and locations are given, and a significant number of color photographs are provided. For instance, the first species treated, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, includes a great shot of 4 birds from Cape May in May of 2009.

Of note, pages 139-152 (smack in the middle of the book, among the species accounts) are entirely devoted to glossy color photos with informative captions.

I particularly enjoy the rarity photos. I just think it’s cool to open the book and see a photo of the only Buller’s Shearwater ever documented in the North Atlantic. That's just one example of many.

Appendix A lists and provides information on seven species of “Exotics and Species of Uncertain Provenance or Status.”
Appendix B, entitled “Not Accepted Species,” are birds cited in other sources as being reported in the state but have not been accepted by the NJBRC.
Appendix C is the NJBRC’s Review List.
Appendix D, written by Kevin Karlson, provides identification information for five photos. Treated here are Ross’s vs. Snow Goose, Common and King Eiders, Pacific Golden-Plover, Lesser Nighthawk, and Archilochus hummingbirds. In these paragraphs, Karlson uses photos from the species accounts to illustrate the differences between similar species. Not only is it a nice little bonus to learn some ID tips here, but it also goes to show how important photo documentation has become when trying to positively identify a rarity.

Overall this is a very well-done status and distribution guide. Not just for NJ residents, this would make a worthwhile purchase for any serious eastern US birder, particularly those who reside on records committees.

- Nick

That time of year again...

2011-12-12T21:31:00.004-05:00

**NOTE: The Xtranormal server is back up, so the video at the link below is again accessible.**

This gull post was quite popular last year. If you've ever spent any time at a landfill, check it out.

Hope to pick up the blogging pace a bit as the holidays approach! I've fallen a bit behind lately.

- Nick

juv THAYER'S GULL, Windsor Landfill

2011-12-05T19:14:00.008-05:00

My first landfill visit of the season was highlighted by a crisp juvenile THAYER'S GULL among 1000+ LWHGs working the trash piles. Interestingly it was the only uncommon gull present...not a single Iceland, Glauc or LBBG. It's a small landfill that can be very hit or miss, but has a track record in recent years of pulling in some nice birds (two Slaty-backs and a few Thayer's). Let's hope this is the start of a productive season.

For anyone looking for the bird, some ID features to note are:

- more delicate head/bill structure than HEGU, heavier-bodied than most Kumlien's Gulls
- all black bill with just the slightest hint of paling at the base of lower mandible
- faint mask through the auriculars, more visible at some angles than others
- apparently all juvenile scapulars
- dark-centered tertials with marbled edging
- dark brown primaries (but not blackish) with thin pale fringes as seen on the folded wing
- short pinkish legs

In flight:
- dark outer webs of outer primaries contrast with pale inner webs ("Venetian blind" appearance)
- contrasting dark secondary bar
- dark tail band with marbling at bases of rectrices
- brown underwing linings contrast with whitish underside of flight feathers, with thin dark tips to outer primaries

juv Thayer's Gull

- NB

East Shore Park - November Warblers

2011-11-13T20:25:00.005-05:00

East Shore Park in New Haven, CT has developed a reputation as one of the best late fall birding spots in the state. The park lies immediately south of a sewage treatment plant that keeps flying insects alive well into the autumn season thanks to, well, the treated sewage pools. These insects have concentrated lingering warblers, a phenomenon that has brought more birders to the park, which has in turn led to more interesting sightings.

Satellite view of the north end of East Shore Park adjacent to the treatment plant

The other specialty of the park happens to be Cave Swallows, which during invasions can often be seen hawking insects over the treatment plant, particularly on colder days. A few Northern Rough-winged Swallows attempted to winter here a few years ago.

This month 10 different warbler species have been recorded at the park so far...not bad for November in New England. Today I had single TENNESSEE and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS plus a late BLACKPOLL.

This place is now OVERdue for a western vagrant (unless you want to count the Cave Swallows). With all the lingering late-fall insectivores, you'd expect a sighting of a western warbler (the state's first Townsend's, perhaps?) or flycatcher by now. Should only be a matter of time...

Here are some photos of a few of this month's birds.

Tennessee Warbler (Nov 13)

Orange-crowned Warbler (Nov 13)

Blackpoll Warbler (Nov 4)

"Western" Palm Warbler (Nov 4)

Hermit Thrush (Nov 13)

immature Black-crowned Night-heron (Nov 4)

- Nick

Overdue western vagrants in Connecticut

2011-11-11T18:12:00.005-05:00

Political borders are a funny thing in birding. Whether town, county, state, or continent...most of our listing areas are determined by these boundaries. For those of us who keep a Connecticut state list or reside on the Avian Records Committee of Connecticut, we frequently scrutinize bird status and distribution on a relatively small scale. The sample size for a state like Connecticut pales in comparison to the northeastern US region as a whole, for example. So we have perhaps more "quirks" in our avifauna's history than a larger state might have.

For instance, Connecticut has ZERO records of Townsend's Warbler (widely considered our #1 biggest miss), but New York has about 20. If CT and NY were formed as one state, Connectiyork would have about 20 records and most birders living in what is now Connecticut would have it on their Connectiyork lists and would hardly consider it a statewide "blocker."

Given that we're entering the heart of the western vagrant season here in the east, I got to thinking about birds we're due for in CT...whether already on the state list or not.

First, those birds NOT yet recorded in Connecticut that have been on my mind, in no particular order:

Townsend's Warbler - duh
Black-chinned Hummingbird - this is the year, this is the year, this is the year...
California Gull - would love to find this one myself
Allen's Hummingbird - they've been around us...why not here
Hammond's Flycatcher - probably our most likely "new" empid
Vermillion Flycatcher - I read somewhere that this has been a decent fall for them east of their typical range, though I have not looked into that myself
Sage Thrasher - I'm predicting Hammonasset Beach State Park for this one
Cassin's Sparrow - big drought-related spring movement northeast may result in a couple autumn sightings??
Violet-green Swallow - I just have an affinity for swallows. A stealth vagrant to the east.

And birds that HAVE been recorded in CT, but are simply overdue to return, some more than others...:

Say's Phoebe - ONLY state record from December of 1916 (specimen)! Yes, you read that right.
Ash-throated Flycatcher - For one of the more regular regional vagrants, we get very few of these. I was lucky enough to see one found by Patrick Dugan on private property in Dec 2006 (photo below), but the last chaseable one occurred in Nov-Dec 1996. Many early birds so far this fall...maybe we get another.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Franklin's Gull - most recent was Oct-Nov 1999
Gray Kingbird - Nov 1992
any "yellow-bellied" Kingbird that ISN'T a Western - We had one Tropical Kingbird in Nov 1990, but zero Couch's or Cassin's so far
"Audubon's" Warbler - Oct 1996
Green-tailed Towhee - April 1991
Brewer's Blackbird - Nov 2002, possibly overlooked?

There are more, but I've been thinking of those in particular. Now I'd just like to have more time to get in the field to look for them.

- Nick

Texas express?

2011-11-05T23:04:00.005-04:00

UPDATE Nov 9th: It now looks as if Friday is the best-looking day for Cave Swallows along the CT coast in the short-term, as it will be the only day with NW wind here (potentially quite potent, which is good). The overall setup has continued to be unimpressive, but since we're entering that peak time for these birds, it may be enough to produce a few along the coast.

Tim Spahr of MA pointed out to me that next week may be more promising...indeed it looks like we'll see a more prolonged period of SW flow, more in line with classic Cave Swallow invasions of recent years. If followed by NW winds, it could be very interesting. But that's well down the road. Plenty of time for things to change.

ORIGINAL POST:

While at Lighthouse Point on Friday, Paul Roberts mentioned that we would be seeing some SW winds this week. During the month of November us birders in the northeast look for weather patterns like this one - a straight-line SSW flow from Texas to the Great Lakes. It is this pattern that ushers Cave Swallows and other reverse migrants from the southwest to the northeast. In short, these winds carry swallows (and others, hopefully) into the Great Lakes region. Then, the NW winds that often follow the passage of a cold front push the same birds to concentrate along the east coast.

That would be the ideal scenario, anyway. But this is not a terribly impressive forecast. These SSW winds are moderate but not very strong, and they will apparently be even weaker by the time the front moves eastward. Still, we have an OK setup here with a local mid-week warmup, then late-week cold front. I've seen several more promising setups than this, but the way Cave Swallows are trending up in recent years, it should be enough to deliver at least a few to southern New England.

Let's say they arrive here next weekend behind the cold front.

- Nick

Nov 2 - western Long Island Sound

2011-11-03T19:29:00.006-04:00

Yesterday morning I took advantage of relatively calm waters and took the boat out for some fishing. Over on the Long Island side of the sound (NY waters) the fish and birds were well concentrated in the Eatons Neck area, a location typically full of fish at this time of year. The fish were easily located thanks to a feeding frenzy of Laughing Gulls. Mixed in the flock were a single ROYAL TERN, several FORSTER'S TERNS, and a few first-winter BONAPARTE'S GULLS.

Back on the CT side of the sound were a few more FORSTER'S TERNS and a late immature COMMON TERN. A three-tern day in November...not bad!

first-winter Forster's Tern (CT waters)

three more Forster's Terns (NY waters)

- NB

"Interior" Nelson's Sparrow - alterus or nelsoni?

2011-11-01T19:54:00.012-04:00

UPDATE 11/3 - Julian has made a blog posting with his photos and thoughts on this bird, so check it out. Included are thoughts from Fletcher Smith, author of the recent NAB article on the sharp-tailed sparrows, who agrees this bird fits alterus best.

ORIGINAL POST: Yesterday at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT Julian Hough and I observed this bright Nelson's Sparrow, clearly representing one of the interior races. It is quite unlike the drab, gray-toned Acadian subvirgatus subspecies that breeds not far up the Atlantic coast to our north. All photos are untouched - only cropped.

Nelson's Sparrow, likely alterus

Separating alterus from nelsoni during migration is a difficult task. A recent article in North American Birds states that approximately 30% of interior birds banded in Virginia during the nonbreeding season could not be assigned to subspecies given current knowledge. If they're tough in the hand, they're tougher in the field.

Here are some notes:
- high-contrast facial pattern with bright orange triangle and gray auricular
- clean orange supercilium without internal markings
- broad, clean gray central crown stripe, generally lacking internal markings
- white braces down the back bordered by brown (not black)
- wing coverts edged with warm brown that look rufous-toned in some shots
- yellow-ochre flanks and breast band filled with bold brown streaking...weakest at the central breast, boldest and brownest down the flanks
- contrasting white belly
- whitish throat that has a hint of pale yellow-ochre color to it

I am not sure that this bird, from these photographs, can be certainly assigned to either interior subspecies. But, some plumage features seem to indicate alterus over nelsoni (namely the back pattern and broad, unmarked central crown stripe). Based on geography, alterus is more likely to occur here than nelsoni. The bird's plumage seems to fall within the range of what alterus is capable of, perhaps even flank streaking so bold. The latest photo spread in NAB illustrates a few alterus every bit as bright as this one. If anyone has differing thoughts, please let me know!

- Nick

Northern Goshawk

2011-10-30T19:48:00.002-04:00

This morning Phil Rusch and I made a last-minute decision to take the ferry from New London, CT to Orient Point, NY in hopes of running into a storm-blown pelagic bird. Though the winds were not ideal, our decision was based largely on yesterday's report from Angus Wilson of 300+ Great Shearwaters seen from nearby Montauk Point. With a pool of birds out there, we hoped that one would stray into the sound. But as is typical in the sound, the birds were few and far between. We only tallied a handful of Northern Gannets and just a few scoters and loons. Oh well.

From there we headed to Lighthouse Point in New Haven where a nice late-season hawk flight was underway. The highlight while we were there was an immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK that made a pass through the park before continuing west over the harbor, plus an apparent hutchinsii CACKLING GOOSE (tiny white-cheeked goose with slightly paler breast and upperparts) with a flock of migrating Canadas.

Here's a crummy photo I managed:

immature Northern Goshawk

- NB

Incredible Early Snow Event

2011-10-29T14:59:00.003-04:00

29 Oct 2011, Norwalk, CT

An unusually cold and intense nor'easter has arrived in New England. Autumn nor'easters are not rare, but those delivering measurable snowfall in October sure are! Here are some quick thoughts on how it may affect the local birding world.

- The strong NE winds may result in a few birds being blown into Long Island Sound. Expect a pulse of Northern Gannets, probably a scoter/loon movement, plus a shot at something rare (an alcid or jaeger perhaps? Parasitic is the default jaeger in CT waters, but we're entering into the time of year when Pomarine Jaeger should be looked for.)

- Check inland bodies of water, especially during Saturday's inclement weather. Waterfowl should be migrating on the northerly winds and will be knocked down when they run into the precip approaching from the SW. Could be a fallout at the reservoirs on Saturday or first-thing Sunday.

- Sunday should produce a nice diurnal migration as birds move south to vacate the cold and snowy inland areas. Hawks will be on the move (if it's quite windy, coastal spots like Lighthouse should be best...if lighter winds, Boothe Park and Quaker Ridge might rule). Geese could/should be flying if there's enough snow to cover their favorite feeding fields to the north. Check those flocks for rarer species like Cackling, Barnacle, Pink-footed, Snow, Ross's, Greater White-fronted and Graylag.

- Lingering passerines will be cold. Check sheltered and sunny locations. Insectivores normally found in the canopy may be found on/near the ground searching for insects. Check sewage treatment plants for birds drawn to the abundant insects. Scour swallow flocks for Cave Swallow or better. (Note: this is far from the classic Cave Swallow pattern, but we're at that time of year when the first one or two are sometimes reported). The swallows will be lower to the ground and more concentrated in this weather.

- Fill your hummingbird feeders, even if you've taken them in for the season. There are certainly a few lingering hummers still around, and they will be drawn to any food source. Consider rare species as well.

The above photo was taken this morning in Norwalk Harbor. The forecast had called for rain all day on the coast, mixing and changing to snow around dusk, with snow continuing through the night. Well, as you can see from that photo, so much for that! The snow is piling up on every surface and the roads are a mess. It looks like we're in for more than the few inches that had been forecast, which, by the way, would have been rather amazing anyway.

- Nick

25 Oct 2011 - Brown Pelican in New Haven Harbor (AKA Irene Update #6)

2011-10-29T14:36:00.005-04:00

An immature Brown Pelican (well, at least one) continues to be seen up and down the Connecticut coast. It has recently settled into New Haven harbor and been seen by many birders. I happened across the bird on the 25th while I was birding East Shore Park for lingering passerines. It's amazing to think that we're still seeing the effects of Hurricane Irene, but a few pelicans arrived with the storm and at least this one has persisted in Long Island Sound. Below are a few series of dives as it was actively feeding in the rip.

Brown Pelican in New Haven Harbor on Oct 25, 2011. Here gliding above the horizon with the West Haven VA Hospital in the background.

- NB

Go birding this weekend

2011-10-21T18:01:00.004-04:00

If you live in the northeastern US and were considering birding this weekend, go ahead and get out there. We've had two recent bouts of strong SW winds around here (good for western vagrants), and we're now finally going to get some good migration weather which should concentrate birds along the coast (particularly at our east-west coastline here in Connecticut). There may be a few rarities mixed in there.

Besides, it's going to be beautiful outside...clear and cool with light winds.

I'll be working, but hopefully somebody finds something good enough to make me jealous that I can't be out there.

- NB

"The Big Year" review

2011-10-21T18:01:00.001-04:00

Not bad at all.

- Nick

Bear Mountain hike

2011-10-15T21:03:00.003-04:00

Today I took a solo hike up Bear Mountain, a 6.7-mile loop from the Undermountain Trail at Route 41 in Salisbury, CT. Bear Mountain is CT's tallest peak at 2,316 feet. Interestingly, CT's highest elevation point (2,380 ft) is on a mountain whose peak actually lies in Massachusetts (Mount Frissel).

The hike up was not very birdy, as expected. The woods in October can be very quiet, and today's high winds did not help things. Highlights included a single Common Raven and two Hermit Thrushes.

View from the summit of Bear Mountain, just before a brief downpour began.

Two Black Vultures were soaring over downtown Salisbury on my way home.

- NB

6 Oct - Upland Sandpiper in Cape May

2011-10-15T19:52:00.010-04:00

A week and a half ago I spent a fun 48 hours in Cape May, a visit that was long overdue. I had some time off from work that coincided with a couple days of NW winds. I did a fine job of missing two nice rarities...I arrived about 2 hours after a Swainson's Hawk was seen at the hawkwatch on the 4th, and while I was on the dike for the morning flight on the 5th an apparent Gray Kingbird flew past the hawkwatch. 0 for 2! Overall it was a good time though, with many quality birds to be seen. And the morning flight, while not outstanding by Cape May standards, was still fun (and incredibly humbling) to observe.

The clear highlight of my visit came while walking the 3rd field at Higbee Beach mid-morning on the 6th. I heard a rustle in the 3-ft tall ragweed to my left. Got a quick flash in the shadows of
a walking brown-backed bird with paler markings. Hmm...that description in a tall weedy field in New Jersey in October...Yellow Rail?? Nope. While I stood perfectly still a stupidly tame juvie Upland Sandpiper walked out of the weeds, onto the path, and just stared at me for a while. The bird was too close to focus on so I backed up a few steps to get full-frame photos. I carefully texted Tom Johnson who came over from the dike. Unfortunately the light was not good. We approached the bird from another direction while trying to get on the sun at our backs as best we could. We sat on the trail and the bird only came closer. After it disappeared back into the weeds I stood up to relocate it, realizing it was still only 10 feet from us. Rather than being startled by the 5-foot-11 human standing over it, the Uppie simply glanced up at me and walked closer. It proceeded to walk through my shadow and directly between me and Tom, who was still lying in the middle of the trail. Tom watched naked-eye (no need for optics, much too close for long lenses) as it crossed the path a foot or two in front of him. I just stood there in disbelief. Finally, after several minutes of keeping us company, the Uppie scampered back into the ragweed in pursuit of a cricket.

Yes, one of those birding moments that doesn't come along very often.

Tom Johnson, in his own words, channeling that photo in The Shorebird Guide...you know the one

juv Upland Sandpiper

about to walk into my shadow

bonus bird on the trip...continuing adult BROWN BOOBY in Cape May

- NB

Red-necked Grebe (10/7) & LBBG (10/8)

2011-10-08T22:16:00.005-04:00

Oct 7 - juvenile Red-necked Grebe in Norwalk Harbor, Norwalk, CT

Oct 8 - juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull at Sandy Point in West Haven, CT

- NB

A brief interlude

2011-09-21T18:29:00.002-04:00

Just back from a last-minute birding trip to CA. In the near future I'll have a trip report for that, plus three book reviews I'm working on: "Multimedia Identification Guide to North Atlantic Seabirds: Storm-petrels & Bulwer's Petrel," "The Birds of New Jersey," and "Antarctic Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide." So stay tuned for those.

In the meantime I have an article on Hurricane Irene to co-author with Scott Kruitbosch for the October issue of COA's "The Connecticut Warbler," a very busy stretch at work, and some personal stuff to tend to...so don't expect much here for at least another week or so.

- NB

ALASKA, June 2012

2011-09-07T18:37:00.003-04:00

To anyone who has wanted to bird (or just see!) Alaska but hasn't gotten around to it yet, I will be co-leading a tour next June with John Puschock for Connecticut Audubon Society. It promises to be a stellar tour, including a St. Paul extension! Click to enlarge each page of the brochure below to view the details.

- Nick

Sept 3 - 27(!) shorebird species in CT

2011-09-06T18:49:00.004-04:00

[Note: Click to enlarge photos, as usual. Blogger is undergoing a formatting change and there are clearly issues to work out. Thumbnails of photos are showing as very soft, for whatever reason.]

On Saturday I set out to challenge my personal best record of 21 shorebird species seen in one day in Connecticut (set twice; once with both Willet forms, so potential for 22 someday) . With a couple lingering rarities at Milford Pt coinciding with the typical peak of diversity in the state, I thought there was a decent chance to beat it. I try to do this once or twice per summer - once in late July when diversity is lower but rarity potential (i.e. stints) is high, and once in late Aug/early Sept when diversity is at its peak. My previous 21-species days were Aug 30, 2008 and Aug 21, 2009.

Phil Rusch joined me for most of the day. We started just after sunrise at Griswold Pt in Old Lyme where the tide was middle falling. Plenty of birds were around, actively feeding along the shoreline as the tide dropped. They would disperse further and further as the tide went out. As we walked out the point we stumbled across our first Spotted Sandpipers and both yellowlegs. A Clapper Rail made a brief appearance along the marsh's edge, and a few FORSTER'S TERNS worked just offshore. Our first "quality" shorebirds of the day were two PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, a late adult and a fresh juvenile. It's not a terribly uncommon species by any means, but it's far from a guarantee.

We continued our walk out and spotted a molting adult AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER feeding in the wrack line. Further down the beach the wrack expanded in the form of a large amount of washed up seaweed - probably enhanced by the recently passed Hurricane Irene. Insects were swarming over the wrack which in turn was attracting shorebirds. Soon after the AGPL we picked up on a juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, also in the wrack. As we advanced further, we kept refinding the Baird's (there could have been more than one) which relocated on a newly exposed peat-like spongy mudflat along with two WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS. While going through the peep, Phil put his bins down, looked right in front of us, and noticed a juvenile BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER walking towards us, seemingly oblivious to our presence. I pulled out the camera and took some photos before it began to notice our presence and keep more of a distance. All in that small stretch of beach we did great with the uncommon 'grasspipers' plus a couple other good shorebirds, all giving fantastic and prolonged looks. The day was off to a great start.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Baird's Sandpiper

After leaving the Gris we grabbed breakfast and headed for Hammonasset Beach State Park. The east end of the park yielded very little...not even a single Killdeer on the Nature Center lawns. Here we met up with Bill Asteriades who had arrived before us but also found the birding slow. Before we left we went to check the west end, but it was closed to vehicles due to storm damage. We parked and walked in far enough to give us a view of some of the lawns. No obvious rain puddles and no shorebirds...still no Killdeer. Bill headed to Barn Island to search for the continuing White Ibis he needed for his state Big Year (which is looking to be on pace to become the new Connecticut record).

Our next stop was Sandy Point in West Haven on the low rising tide. Sandy Pt is a hit-or-miss site when it comes to migrant shorebirds. On some days the place is teeming, but on other days it's quiet. This was one of the quieter days, but we did have a very nice count of 11 juvenile RED KNOT and our first American Oystercatchers of the day. At this point we did some math and found that we were already at 18 species of shorebird before even getting to some of the best shorebird habitat of the day in Milford & Stratford at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Things were looking good!

Red Knot

We arrived at Milford Point at mid-tide and first checked the marsh side, where the Black-necked Stilt and American Avocet had been spending most of their time. From the top level of the observation tower a couple were already on the AVOCET, which was roosting distantly in the marsh. When the water got high enough the bird flew out to the tip of the point itself. No sign of the stilt. A few juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-herons were scattered throughout the marsh.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

We left the marsh side and went out to the beach, where the main high tide shorebird roost is located. First notable birds seen were actually a group of 5 juvenile BLACK SKIMMERS and a few more FORSTER'S TERNS foraging.

Forster's Terns

Knowing that the Avocet was out there and the stilt was also likely nearby, we decided to walk out to the end of the point before dead high tide. Thanks to Mardi Dickinson's help we stumbled across the BLACK-NECKED STILT (20th shorebird of the day) as we accidentally flushed it from the marsh side of the point. The bird ended up trying to find a roosting spot, but had difficulty with the rising tide covering its preferred spots. Out at the end of the point the Avocet continued and allowed for fantastic scope views. We were getting lucky with killer views of most of the day's good birds.

Black-necked Stilt

American Avocet

As the tide was nearing high stage, we headed back to the main beach and its shorebird roosts. And there were many shorebirds, divided into several flocks. Our attention was first drawn to a flock of 1000+ peep and Semipalmated Plovers, which we started scouring for less common species. Our WHITE-RUMP count was six, all adults as expected at this point in the season (in contrast, the adult-juv ratio of Semipalmated Sandpiper was about 50:50). After some time we found our first of three juvenile WESTERN SANDPIPERS to complete our "peep sweep" on the day. Phil picked out another AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER in the wrack line, not far from a flock of Black-bellied Plovers and another juv "Eastern" Willet.

juv Western Sandpipers

American Golden-Plover

At this point Phil had to get started home, so I continued on my own. I wouldn't turn up anything new by myself, but a fantastic count of 40 juvenile RED KNOTS was my personal high count for the state.

Red Knots with Black-bellied Plover

Next stop was a few Stratford hotspots on the other side of the river. First was the Stratford Marina in hopes of relocating the adult Long-billed Dowitcher that had been reported and Bill had seen the day before. A quick scan of the decrepit pilings upon arrival revealed that LONG-BILLED DOW roosting on a floating piece of wood. The flotsam was being pushed closer and closer by the wind and ended up quiet close, allowing for photography. That made for 22 shorebirds and a new personal single-day record in the state.

Long-billed Dowitcher

Further searching of this roost site produced two surprises: a MARBLED GODWIT and a late adult STILT SANDPIPER in mostly basic plumage. Nice! That's 24.

adult Stilt Sandpiper on its belly

roosting Marbled Godwit

I drove past the Access Road pools which were predictably full of water, so no mudflats for shorebirds. Then onto Sikorsky Airport for a search of the lawns and my last gimmie shorebird...a KILLDEER called as I got out of the car. Phew! Killdeer at 5:00pm! How did that happen? 25 species.

At this point my coastal options were limited. I still needed gettable species like Whimbrel and Piping Plover. I didn't have any great spots in mind for Whimbrel, other than going back to Milford Pt or Sandy Pt and hoping for a new arrival there. The pipers have generally cleared out and I knew it would be a tough bird to get on this day. I had already visited the best locations for them and didn't come up with any. I knew of reports of Solitary Sandpiper and Wilson's Snipe inland, so I decided to chase those birds.

I arrived at Strong Road in South Windsor and the first bird I saw in the farm fields was the CATTLE EGRET found earlier by Jamie Meyers, a very nice bird in CT. I had to work to find the shorebirds but soon found the SOLITARY SANDPIPER. This was a nice collection of shorebirds for an inland location; there were 3 more adult AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS and 4 adult WHITE-RUMPS. After some scouring I turned up the WILSON'S SNIPE - shorebird #27.

Cattle Egret

Wilson's Snipe

With some light left I decided to run down to Cabela's in East Hartford to check the pond and lawns for a lingering Upland Sandpiper - no luck. The only shorebirds were a few Killdeer and a Spotted Sandpiper.

That marked the end of my silly little day with a grand total of 27 shorebird species. It was a heck of a day. I still had some misses with the most likely probably being Whimbrel, followed by Piping Plover and Upland Sandpiper, plus some rarities such as Hudsonian Godwit, Ruff, and the phalaropes, and the difficult-to-see American Woodcock. I also did not come across a "Western" Willet, which would have put one in the bank if they're split in the future.

Phil stopped at a couple inland sites on his way home after splitting off from me, and he ended up with 24 species on the day.

It was a really nice day, with many rare or uncommon species included, and some really nice looks to boot.

- Nick

Last-minute: Fantasy Football

2011-09-05T17:31:00.003-04:00

If you're a birder, and you want to play fantasy football this year...

Let me know ASAP. We're putting together a fantasy football league last-minute. Our draft is TOMORROW, Tuesday 9/6 @ 5:45pm Eastern time.

The baseball league has been a lot of fun. A very active league. We just started playoffs today and I"ll post the results at the end of the season, for all three of you who care.

- NB

Irene update #5

2011-09-01T19:12:00.000-04:00

I must admit, I thought I was pretty much done with the Irene updates. But her effects continue to be felt in CT and surroundings. This evening brought a great combo of birds from Milford Pt, located at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Gull-billed Tern, Brown Pelican, American Avocet, and the continuing Black-necked Stilt were all enjoyed by many birders, I'm told.

Of special note, a Magnificent Frigatebird was reported this afternoon from the Connecticut River in Hanover, New Hampshire. If that bird follows the river southward, that would of course bring it through the state of Connecticut. Fingers crossed!

Otherwise, the past couple days have been highlighted by a couple moribund White-tailed Tropicbirds from the interior northeast and several Brown Pelicans kicking around the southern New England and Long Island coasts. Terns continue to linger, notably Royal, Sandwich, and Gull-billed.

Perhaps increased birder coverage this weekend will yield even more storm-related rarities.

- NB

Pre-, During, and Post-Irene photos/video

2011-08-30T15:30:00.016-04:00

Here's a collection of a few random images from the peri-Irene period in Connecticut. Sorry, no particularly exciting or mega rare species included here. I kept my brand new camera setup safe and dry during the storm itself. Not all birds here are necessarily storm-related.

Pre-Irene:

adult Pectoral Sandpiper

Forster's Terns

Laughing Gulls

juv Stilt Sandpiper

juv Black Skimmer

adult Little Blue Heron

adult (left) and juv (right) Red Knots with two Sanderlings between

juv Black Tern

During:

plastic bag keeping the dash mostly dry...

watching from the car with Julian Hough

and Post:

Royal Tern (banded)

record shot of Black-necked Stilt

Black Tern

- NB

Irene Update #4

2011-08-29T17:56:00.006-04:00

Woke up today to clear skies and light west winds, making it difficult to believe a strong Tropical Storm had made landfall less than 24 hours earlier.

I started at dawn today with a low tide visit to Milford Pt at the mouth of the Housatonic River, which was quickly rewarded with a BLACK-NECKED STILT and a single Royal Tern. I watched the mouth of the Housatonic River for a brief time, without seeing anything interesting, before deciding that taking the boat out might be a great idea. Our boat, located in Norwalk, survived the storm without any damage. I headed out around 8am and had very little in a brief tour of the islands. I went back to the dock to pick up a few birders: Greg Hanisek, Tina Green, and John Oshlick.

Long Island Sound was back to its normal, quiet state. We didn't have anything interesting out there despite a few hours total spent near the middle of the sound. On our way back in we swung by Cockenoe Island in Westport for a second look and had a few goodies: Royal Tern, 4 Black Terns, and a Whimbrel among other more common stuff.

So that was about it. In stark contrast to yesterday, which was very exciting, today started out with a very nice bird (the stilt) but was overall quite slow. We were spoiled, I know.

Elsewhere there was a slow trickle of lingering pelagic rarities. Patrick Dugan had a juv Sooty Tern from Milford Pt in the afternoon, where 3 Hudsonian Godwits were also seen. Glenn Williams and Hank Golet had a BROWN PELICAN at Griswold Pt at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Scott Kruitbosch watched 2 juv Parasitic Jaegers move down the Housatonic River this afternoon as well.

Surrounding states had similar results, with a few pelagics seen here and there by a lucky few. I hear that First Encounter Beach on Cape Cod was productive today, as expected.

It's apparent that most of the fun is over at this point, but there should still be some exciting birds to come, NOT limited to pelagic birds. Keep your eyes and mind wide open.

- Nick

Irene Update #3

2011-08-28T20:33:00.003-04:00

Irene arrived this morning, with birds in tow.

What a hectic day, with great birds seen from Cape May to inland Massachusetts and probably beyond. The jackpot birds were the several (!) White-tailed Tropicbirds seen between NJ, NY, and MA. Connecticut had a ton of goodies as well despite no tropicbird reports.

Here are my highlights, seen along the coast between Stratford and West Haven with various other birders at times:

2 Wilson's Storm-Petrel
1 LEACH'S STORM-PETREL
1 BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL (first state record if accepted)
3 Red-necked Phalaropes
1 phalarope sp. (almost certainly Red-necked)
10 SOOTY TERNS (all adults)
1 LONG-TAILED JAEGER (light-intermediate juv)
1 jaeger sp. (likely Parasitic)

What a &$%#ing day. Probably the best all-around pelagic birding day in CT's history.

It may not be over yet. There are still displaced birds to be found, albeit not in the concentrations they were found today. Good luck!

- NB

Irene update #2

2011-08-27T21:56:00.002-04:00

The early returns from the Carolinas and Virginia are in, which took the brunt of it today. Sooty and Bridled Terns were the main component. I'm sure not all reports have made it to the Internet yet. Not overwhelming sightings but at least we know that tropical terns have been entrained.

I spent most of the day along the eastern CT coast between Stonington Pt and Hammonasset. No storm rarities noted, as expected that far ahead of the storm. Black and Forster's Terns were around. There was an American Golden Plover at Hammo.

We should wake up to tropical storm force winds with a landfall on what looks like maybe the CT/NY line around midday? We shall see. Will be birding as the weather allows. Many coastal areas evacuated or blocked off, which will make things tougher than they should be for us.

Nick

Sent from my iPhone

Irene Update #1

2011-08-27T07:00:00.003-04:00

Since my initial post on the storm, Irene has picked up some speed and should arrive sooner than we had thought. Rather than a Sunday into early Monday event, this looks like late Saturday through Sunday. We should see the first rain bands, but minimal winds, this afternoon. Things will really get cranking overnight and it seems certain that we'll be waking up to tropical storm-like conditions on Sunday morning. The center of circulation should reach our latitude around midday on Sunday, perhaps still a Cat 1 hurricane. This is not good timing for potential storm surge, as high tide is during the late morning in western Long Island Sound. During the worst of it, coastal birding does NOT look like an option at this point. Low-lying areas in particular should be 100% avoided as these will be the most deadly locations.

Exact track is still unknown, with CT remaining in the crosshairs. Since we're right in the projected path, the slightest shift in position would make a big impact on where I decide to look for birds. As long as landfall isn't east of CT, I know I'll spend my time at or east of the center of circulation.

There's a chance that the storm could be clearing out of here before dark on Sunday. If this is so, Sunday afternoon-evening (which also happens to be around low tide) may provide a window of opportunity to get out and look for birds that the brunt of the storm has dropped off. Look for such birds at inland bodies of water and, if a safe option, river mouths (Connecticut and Housatonic in particular). Or even clearing out of Long Island Sound, heading back east with a tailwind at that point.

As always, safety comes first.

- NB

Birding Hurricane Irene

2011-08-25T17:26:00.006-04:00

[Note: This is geared toward birding in CT, though some of it may apply to neighboring states]

Before I go into detail about birding this storm, a little perspective about these things. Hurricanes are serious storms, so I am told. In my adult life I’ve never sat through anything more than a tropical depression. For us here in southern New England, Hurricanes Bob (1991) and Gloria (1985) are probably distant memories for most people. I vaguely recall sitting on our enclosed porch in Bridgeport as a child, waiting out the wind and rain of Bob. We’ve seen via the media that poor preparation coupled with bad luck can cause disaster, so let’s all be as safe and smart as possible.

Switching gears to the birds, many displaced seabirds do presumably perish, especially those found on lakes hundreds of miles inland. Also, many migrant passerines and shorebirds are negatively affected by these systems. It is very unfortunate, but it is nature at work.

But as birders, we can’t help but let our attention shift partially to the silver-lining of tropical cyclones. Here are some quotes from folks who have summed up the situation quite well in recent years:

“…but then I reminded myself that no one has control over the weather, and that birders are simply taking meteorological lemons and making lemonade.” – Scott Weidensaul

“…there is no more radical or rapid change in bird status and distribution than during and after a tropical cyclone that makes landfall. We regularly scramble to locate birds after most other meteorological phenomena, whether warm front, cold front, fogbank, or snowstorm, so surely we would not ignore tropical weather systems, despite their awful costs. We are students of the here and now, after all.” – Edward S. Brinkley

Now, onto that silver lining.

If Hurricane Irene does indeed make landfall at or near Connecticut, this would be the first such local event of the internet, cell phone, and digital camera eras. Bob and Gloria passed through (or near) before we were all connected via smartphones, before the days of posting to listservs from the field, or even making phone calls from the field. Rarities could not be documented with photographs with ease like they are today. And I believe that back then, only 20-30 years ago, birders were not fully aware of the best storm-birding strategies. Those who have been birding locally for decades will probably attest to this.

After barreling through the heart of the Bahamas, Hurricane Irene will emerge into Gulf Stream waters. From here she is forecast to move NNE, possibly making landfill in eastern North Carolina before moving up the coast. The storm could hit west of us, east of us, or pass right overhead. With so much uncertainty left in the track, it is impossible to try to predict the best areas to go birding during (if safe enough) and after the storm.

The storm’s sheer size and track (originating in the Cape Verde region, organizing just east of the Caribbean, skirting the northeast Caribbean islands, then through the Bahamas and the Gulf Stream) certainly gives us potential for a variety of seabirds, shorebirds, and terns we would otherwise have little or no chance of seeing in Long Island Sound or inland. The track hasn’t gone over much deep ocean, with most of the recent track being over waters on the Continental Shelf, which may hurt us bird-wise. However this is a large storm, and its “right” side will have spent some time off the edge of the shelf.

It would appear, from reading accounts of recent storm passages, that there are no guarantees with these things. But, generally speaking, the “birdiest” quadrant is usually the ‘right-front’ quadrant, which not surprisingly is also usually the strongest part of the storm. So, if the storm was heading due north, the northeastern quadrant would be the ‘right-front’ quadrant. In general, the birdiest scenario would occur if the storm passes directly over us or just to our west (which would put us on the east side of the storm and give us some of that right-front quadrant). The sample size isn’t large enough to tell us exactly how significant this is, but one could argue that for greatest birdlife we would rather it hit 150 miles to our west than just 50 miles to our east, accepting more time over land and weakening in order for us to be on the east side of it. FYI those mileages are arbitrary numbers, just thrown in there to make a point.

Birders will no doubt be scattered throughout the state, probably both Sunday during the storm and early Monday after its passage. The key for us will be to KEEP IN TOUCH. Bring your cell phones (for safety if for nothing else). If you find a rarity or something you think might be rare, call someone on your typical rare bird phone tree to get word out. If you have a smartphone, post to CTBirds along with making phone calls. Storm-blown waifs sometimes do linger for hours on inland bodies of water. Coastal flybys are less likely to linger, but it is still worth getting word out with a direction of the bird’s flight. Remember the American White Pelicans from a couple autumns ago? We tracked those birds over dozens of miles in one day’s flight. A jaeger moving east from Stamford could very well pass Stratford Point later on, so a heads-up is always a good idea.

Also, if you can, take a photo. Distant seabirds can be very difficult to identify, especially if you’re not an experienced seabirder or if viewing conditions are poor. Snapping off a few photos for later analysis could be the difference between certain identification and frustration. Also, the ARCC would love as much documentation as possible for the official record. With a concentrated effort, we have the opportunity to add to the growing data regarding tropical cyclones and their redistribution of entrained birds. We have much to learn.

We will be faced with the decision of whether to hit the coast or check larger inland bodies of water. Which bodies? Rivers or lakes? If the coast, east or west? Point of land or river mouth? It really is a crapshoot in the end, though the exact storm track will help us. As the track becomes more certain, we’ll know more about important things such as duration, intensity, and direction of the winds including approximate times the winds will shift direction.

What birds can we expect? Again, there are no guarantees, but if landfall occurs in CT, some species are more likely than others.

The tropical terns first come to mind, Sooty and Bridled. Most storms record greater numbers of Sooty Tern than Bridled, though this isn’t always the case. Other terns, such as Royal, Sandwich, and Gull-billed are possible. Good numbers of Black Tern are likely, and Black Skimmer numbers may increase as well. Really any tern that occurs in our region is possible, whether truly moved by the storm or just knocked down by the inclement weather locally, including Roseate and Caspian too.

Tubenoses, always rare in CT waters except for maybe Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, may be represented by any of the following: Black-capped Petrel or rarer Pterodromas are possible, any of five shearwater species, and we’ll say 4 species of storm-petrel (I’ll include White-faced because CT’s 1976 record of this species came thanks to Hurricane Belle. It occurred at the mouth of the Housatonic River, exactly where the center of circulation made landfall).

If you’re exceedingly lucky, a tropicbird or frigatebird isn’t out of the question. And while boobies are usually not associated with these storms, the recent presence of three Brown Boobies between New Jersey and Maine raises this possibility.

More likely are jaegers…any of the three species are possible with Parasitic being the most likely by a wide margin. Normally I would say Pomarine is next in line, but given that we’re in the heart of Long-tailed migration and early for most migrant Poms, Long-tailed may be our second most likely jaeger. Either skua, while highly unlikely, is still possible.

As for gulls, we’re pretty much guaranteed (there, I said it!) an uptick in Laughing Gull numbers. More exciting would be a Sabine’s Gull, which, since they migrate overland in very small numbers, might be just as likely to be knocked down as genuinely displaced (This also goes for jaegers, phalaropes, and some terns.). A few Lesser Black-backed Gulls may be seen as well.

Then there’s the shorebirds. Good ol’ reliable shorebirds. If this storm largely misses us and only provides a breezy rain, we’ll still have more shorebirds downed by the weather. More of the common species, plus increased chances of Hudsonian Godwits, American Golden-Plovers, and Red & Red-necked Phalaropes (Red-necked more likely than Red).

And we may as well think outside the box. How about a rare swift, swallow, or martin from the Caribbean? Doug Gochfeld mentioned White-cheeked Pintail to me the other day…and why not? Keep an open mind, and try to document anything strange.

Any of these are possible, but even a direct hit would likely deliver only some of them.

As of right now, the timeline seems to indicate worsening conditions throughout Sunday with the worst weather during Sunday PM. There appears a decent chance that the nasty weather continues after dark on Sunday. If this is the case, Monday morning AFTER the storm may well yield the best birding. Birds dropped in CT during the storm and overnight will likely try to reorient toward the ocean, meaning they could be seen leaving LI Sound or exiting the major rivers. They could also awake to find only inland lakes or flooded parking lots below them. Which inland bodies of water? Again, if there’s landfall in CT, follow the track of the eye. If not, try to head wherever that right-front quadrant passed through. Alternatively, if the eye passes east of CT, I’d think that getting as far east as possible would be the way to go.

Well, now that I’ve gone through all that, I guess it pretty much means the storm will be a miss. You’re welcome :)

Be safe,

Nick

References

Armistead, G. L & Sullivan B. L. 2004. Birding Hurricane Isabel. Birding 36: 6, pages 616-624

Brinkley, E. S. 2011. The Changing Seasons: Bedfellows. North American Birds 65: 1, pages 17-20.

Zeranski, J. D. & Baptist T. R. 1990. Connecticut Birds, page 41.

Bluff Point morning flight

2011-08-23T20:12:00.005-04:00

This morning I joined Glenn Williams and Jerry Connolly at Bluff Point in Groton, CT, well-known locally for its morning flight of nocturnal migrants. As expected we had a nice flight today, dominated by American Redstarts. We tallied 13 species of warbler and counted about 400 individual warblers. Here are some numbers (mostly morning flight augmented with a walk on the trails):

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 12
Eastern Wood-Pewee 4
Least Flycatcher 1
Empidonax sp. 4
Eastern Phoebe 2
Eastern Kingbird 7
Warbling Vireo 3
Red-eyed Vireo 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 50
Veery 1
Worm-eating Warbler 1
Blue-winged Warbler 3
Black-and-white Warbler 35
Common Yellowthroat 4
American Redstart 220
Northern Parula 2
Magnolia Warbler 12
Yellow Warbler 10
Chestnut-sided Warbler 4
Prairie Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Canada Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler 1
warbler sp. 100
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Dickcissel 1
Bobolink 5
Baltimore Oriole 3

American Redstarts

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

underside of a Prairie Warbler

- NB

Aug 19-20 - Block Canyon Pelagic (and boobies after dark)

2011-08-23T18:01:00.015-04:00

Last Friday night, just after 9pm, a full boat departed Point Judith for an overnight travel to Block Canyon in Rhode Island waters (waters also claimed by NY state for those of you keeping score at home).

We arrived at the tip of the canyon at dawn and were greeted by a slow but steady trickle of Wilson's Storm-Petrels and Great Shearwaters along with Finback Whales and Risso's Dolphins. Little did we know this was the most life we would see until we returned to the same area later in the day!

The plan was to steam out to deep water (5-6000 ft) where we had success last year in the form of Black-capped Petrel, Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, and Long-tailed Jaeger. This year, however, we had nothing but a verrry slow trickle of WISP and GRSH. We ran east to the Massachusetts line at this depth, headed back north into 2500-3000 ft and ran back west to the canyon...again with slim pickings despite setting up a couple chum slicks.

Great Shearwaters

Wilson's Storm-Petrels

WISP with interesting symmetrical plumage abnormality

Upon arrival back at the canyon the birdlife picked up again and we had our two best birds of the day. First was an adult BRIDLED TERN that only a handful of people saw (poorly), but Doug Gochfeld was able to grab a few record shots to confirm the ID.

Just before we started our journey back to land we had a very cooperative AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER give us nice looks for a while.

Audubon's Shearwater

Here is the trip list as distributed by the trip organizer/leader:
WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS - 420
GREAT SHEARWATER- 64
CORY'S SHEARWATER- 1 (only one bird, seen at the canyon in the morning)
AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER- 1
LEACH'S STORM-PETREL- 1 (seen by a few)
BRIDLED TERN - 1
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER- 1
DICKCISSEL- 1 (heard by a few folks in the morning)

Other sea life included Fin Whales, Minke Whale, Risso's Dolphins, Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, a possible Scalloped Hammerhead Shark (identified as probable Tiger Shark in the field but this may be incorrect), and Loggerhead Sea Turtle.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle

possible Scalloped Hammerhead Shark

It's always fun to be out there, but we had a really slow day. We made the best of it, working hard for what we did get. The water wasn't terribly warm, and there were no sharp temperature breaks to be found. We had nice blue water, but only scattered tiny bits of sargassum weed. Here's a sea surface temperature map from the 19th:

our approximate area of focus at Block Canyon and east to the NY or RI pelagic boundary with MA

sunset over Block Island

We were back at the dock around 10pm, about to begin the drive home when...

John Oshlick called to let us know that the immature Brown Booby was back at Corporation Beach in Dennis, MA that afternoon after a couple days' absence. Bummer, only 2 hours away but we had things to do back home on Sunday. As we were packing up the car I joked that we could probably see the bird in the car's high beams, recalling that the bird's favorite jetty was right in front of the parking lot. Joking turned into "Can we really pull this off?" conversation once we realized it would be a life bird for three of the car's passengers (Glenn, Phil, and Charlie). I called John back to confirm that it might be possible to spotlight the bird, as he was just there a few days ago to see it so the layout of the place would be fresh in his mind. He also thought it was possible. We decided to go.

We arrived at Corporation Beach at 12:30am, now August 21st. Sure enough the jetty was well-lit by our headlights. But...no bird. Delirious at this point, we shook our heads after a few thorough scans of the jetty without success. Before we left I checked the Massbird listserv one last time and noted a post from our friend from CT, Alex Burdo, who saw the bird that evening. He noted that the booby was on a large rock behind the jetty in question, rather than on the jetty itself.

So we climbed around the jetty with 200-lumen flashlight in hand, located a group of large rocks, and there it was, Brown Booby sleeping soundly on a rock at 1:00am. Check!

After the others enjoyed their spotlit life Brown Booby, we left for the long drive home. Somehow Phil was able to get us back into CT without falling asleep at the wheel (though there was some lane-wandering at times) and we were all in bed well before dawn.

Definitely a chase we won't soon, or ever, forget.

- Nick

Upcoming pelagics & general birding

2011-08-17T21:23:00.004-04:00

I'm looking forward to the last two weeks of the month. Once I finish a tough stretch at work this week, I'll have two deep-water pelagics and some good shorebirding ahead of me. This weekend is a 24-hr trip out of Rhode Island to Block Canyon. Last year's trip, postponed to early September due to weather, had a state-first Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, a Black-capped Petrel, and a juv Long-tailed Jaeger.

The following weekend is a 36-hour trip out of Cape Cod to the more easterly canyons such as Hydrographer and Welker, or maybe even further east. Last year's trip, which I had to miss due to work obligations, recorded an unprecedented 22 White-faced Storm-Petrels. Hopefully neither trip is weathered-out.

A look at the recent sea surface temperature maps has consistently shown a sharp temperature break at those eastern canyons between very warm and very cool water. If that pattern holds, it could make for a very interesting trip out of the Cape.

I plan on birding South Beach, MA at least once during that stretch, plus a fair amount of CT shorebirding and perhaps a boat ride or two in Long Island Sound to hope for *any* pelagic birds of any kind. I'm also feeling up for another good chase, so if someone turns up, say, a Lesser Sand-Plover somewhere in the northeast, I'll make the trip.

Will post reports here.

- Nick

A few photos

2011-08-17T21:17:00.005-04:00

Here are some shots from last week with a friend's fixed 400mm f5.6 on my 7D.

juv Short-billed Dowitcher

adult Short-billed Dowitcher

juv Lesser Yellowlegs

Purple Martins

juv Least Sandpiper

- NB

The 400 prime

2011-08-17T20:16:00.003-04:00

After playing with both the Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 IS and the Canon 400mm f5.6, I've decided to go with the fixed 400.

It was not an easy decision. Both lenses are very nice and in the same price range. They each have their pros and cons, which are well-discussed on internet forums. Here are some of the major points:

Pro zoom:
- versatility from 100mm to 400mm
- Image Stabilization
- close focus to 6 feet (versus 11.5 feet of the prime)
- better low-light performance thanks to the IS

Pro fixed:
- lighter and less bulky
- sharper at 400mm (though some on internet forums dispute this...my field tests showed the prime sharper, as expected)
- great image quality when shot "wide open" at f5.6
- fast autofocus (key for birds in flight)
- better built-in hood
- fewer moving parts, so fewer issues with dust, moisture, and breakdown
- better performance with a teleconverter than the zoom

Defenders of both lenses make convincing arguments:

Zoom - "The zoom is just about as sharp as the prime, so why not go with the flexibility of the zoom and the image stabilization option. It's a no-brainer."

Prime - "You're going to do 99% of your bird shooting at 400mm, and the prime is sharper at 400mm, so the prime is the way to go. It's a no-brainer."

I know I'm going to miss some shots because a bird is either too close for focus (rarely, but it will happen eventually), too close to get the whole bird in the frame, or too difficult to track in flight while at 400mm (though this will come with practice). But I went with the lens that felt great in my hands, was simply sharper, and faster-focusing! If money was not an issue, I'd probably get both!

- Nick

RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD in Maine - 23 July

2011-07-31T17:07:00.011-04:00

Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus); Seal Island NWR, Maine; 23 Jul 2011

Five CT birders (Bill Asteriades, Patrick Dugan, Frank Gallo, Phil Rusch, Glenn Williams) joined me last weekend on a trip to Maine for the Red-billed Tropicbird that has been summering there for the past seven years. We chartered "Fluke," John Drury's vessel out of Vinalhaven, ME on the afternoon of Saturday, July 23rd.

John is the go-to guy to see the tropicbird, which has spent the past couple summers around Seal Island NWR. Seeing the bird is far from guaranteed, but John knows its habits as well as anybody. His plan for a PM attempt is based on his knowledge that the bird often swings by the island for a mid-afternoon visit.

I had received my Canon 7D that week and went out of my way to rent the Canon 100-400mm IS lens on Friday evening, just in time for the weekend. On this page are my first photos taken with the camera (or any SLR, for that matter), so keep in mind I had little/no idea what I was doing. Frank and Patrick gave me a few tips as we went along. I had fun with it, and got some nice photos thanks to modern technology, but it was readily apparent that this is going to take a while to get good at.

We left the dock at 1pm and headed toward Seal Island, stopping briefly to check out a Great Cormorant colony and a few Harbor Seals on the way. Wilson's Storm-Petrels and Black Guillemots were scattered about. Northern Gannets were fairly common, many of which were obviously heading down the coast to the south/southwest.

Northern Gannets

Black Guillemot

Double-crested Cormorant (left) and Great Cormorant (right)

Upon arrival to Seal Island John spotted two distant jaegers harassing terns. With no tropicbird in sight at the moment, we diverted our route to check them out, both being Parasitics (one light, one dark). On our way back to the island we had a great side-by-side comparison of Razorbill and Common Murre on the water.

Razorbill (left) with two Common Murres

Common Murre

Back at the island, no tropicbird yet. John slowly took us around the island once, showing us its various landmarks including the tropicbird's preferred nighttime roost spot (empty, as expected). We anchored in one of the sheltered coves to wait and hope for a tropicbird appearance.

Arctic and Common Terns zipped back and forth past us, many returning with fish, presumably for hungry chicks. A single adult Black Tern joined the colony briefly. Dozens of Atlantic Puffins surrounded the boat and provided great looks.

Arctic Terns

Just after 4pm Bill announced that he had spotted the Tropicbird at quite a distance to the east. We all got on it...a flickering white bird with a long, thin white tail (it was wayyy off). The good news was that it was approaching the island. Over the next half-hour the T-bird put on quite a show, even making a few close passes by and eventually over the boat. On a few occasions it strafed the terns roosting on the island itself while calling aggressively! At one point it landed on the water with streaming tail cocked up behind itself.

Red-billed Tropicbird, missing one tail streamer, here about to strafe some terns on the island

This totally exceeded our expectations. As I write this one week later it still brings a huge smile to my face. All of us were thrilled.

The boat ride back to Vinalhaven was full of laughs and smiles. We added another nice bird to the list when 4 Manx Shearwaters passed by heading southeast. Several Bald Eagles were loitering on the small, rocky islets just offshore from Vinalhaven.

Seal Island NWR

Four of the six of us, with John Drury at the helm

Bald Eagle

the harbor, thick with lobster pots

Vinalhaven

After that incredibly successful trip, we enjoyed dinner and celebratory drinks on Vinalhaven, where we would spend the night.

- Nick

GRAY-HOODED GULL - Coney Island, NY

2011-07-30T18:01:00.010-04:00

Gray-hooded Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus); Coney Island, NY; 30 July 2011

Going to get these up quickly before I head out for food & drink...

This morning five eager (and tired) birders set out to an unlikely location for a twitch...Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY. I packed four more birders into my trusty Accord (Alex Burdo, Roy Harvey, Julian Hough, Dori Sosensky) and we headed out pre-dawn. We arrived on the scene to few birds and birders. Several hours of pacing the long boardwalk turned up nothing until about 5 minutes before we were going to leave when another birder spotted the GRAY-HOODED GULL apparently flying in from the east with a few Laughing Gulls. The bird proceeded to put on a show in the harsh midday light. As Julian put it, the scene was a bit surreal as we were watching and photographing the bird among dozens of sunbathers along a crowded boardwalk with some bass-heavy music blaring right next to us. All this within yards of the Coney Island amusement part and Nathan's famous hot dog stand. Gotta love it, gulling in July (seven species for the morning, actually). Hey, it beats the local landfill's freezing temps and howling winter winds!

Here are some images of the bird, handheld digiscoped with my Canon A590. It would have been a great bird to photo with my new 7D, but I'm still in the lens-testing phase and did not have a lens at my disposal today...so the flight shots leave a lot to be desired.

This was a life tick for me and I have to say I haven't studied the differences between the South American and African subspecies yet, so I'll be doing some homework this week to see if this bird can be assigned to one or the other. Comments welcome, as always.

Laughing Gull at top, Gray-hooded Gull below

amusement park rides in the background...

on the yellow post with buildings in background

One of a few cargo ships going to/from the Hudson River this morning. This site is no more than 10 miles from the Hooded Crow that was at Staten Island last month, on the other side of the river mouth.

- Nick

Canon 7D

2011-07-25T20:06:00.004-04:00

Well, I finally took the plunge. I've just recently purchased a lightly used Canon 7D.

Lots can be found on the internet about the 7D's specs, particularly in regard to bird photography. A while back I had decided on a Canon DSLR system, but it took me a while to decide which body to purchase. I narrowed things down to a used 40D, a new 60D, or a used 7D.

I had ruled out a used 50D because reviews from birders seem to find little upgrade from 40D, and they are going for $200+ more than used 40Ds. I also ruled out a new 7D because, with the camera already being over 18 months old, it will be due for a successor sometime in the next 18 months. I thought the 'lightly used' option would be the way to go if I wanted to upgrade to the eventual successor, because I won't end up losing as much in depreciation over a short period of time.

The more I read about the 7D and spoke to other birders about it, the more I wanted it. Its reportedly very good high ISO performance and great autofocus system were major draws, not to mention the HD video capability (available in the 60D but not the much older 40D).

So then it became a matter of trying to find a good deal on a lightly used 7D body. If that couldn't happen, I was going to pick up a used 40D (an incredibly popular body among birders).

I shopped around for a few weeks, monitoring various places for used 7Ds and getting a feel for what they were going for. I picked up a 7D in great condition for a decent price. Just the body, no lenses or extras.

Now the question is...which lens? I've narrowed it down to two popular choices: the 100-400mm IS zoom and the 400mm f/5.6 prime lens. Both lenses have their pros and cons and both of them deliver fine results, as evidenced by the many folks who post their photos online.

I have just rented the 100-400mm zoom for the week, and actually took it to Maine for the weekend. Sometime next week I hope to borrow the 400 prime from a friend for a few sessions as a comparison. I will share my impressions of both lenses later. Bottom line is that I'm going to go with whichever one feels better and makes me enjoy photography more. I have no idea which that will be, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Now I just have to figure out how to use this damn thing...

- Nick

18 July - Royal Tern, shorebirds etc

2011-07-19T10:46:00.005-04:00

Spent most of the day yesterday birding the CT coast (and one inland pond) in search of shorebirds, terns, waders etc. Shorebird numbers were decent but not great. Notable observations were many Lesser Yellowlegs at multiple spots, and building numbers of Semipalmated Sandpipers. The only rarity/scarcity of the day was a ROYAL TERN at Griswold Pt in Old Lyme, my second of the year and continuing a nice little run of southern terns along the CT coast.

very distant Royal Tern digiscoped from Griswold Pt

Least Tern and chick

Piping Plover

the first Sanderling of the summer always makes my heart skip a beat...

adult Common Tern that has lost pretty much all of the black from its bill, as they're prone to do at this time of year

adult Bald Eagle was a surprise at Hanover Pond in Meriden

- Nick

16 Jul - BBC 'Extreme' Pelagic; WHALE SHARK, LT Jaegers+

2011-07-17T12:55:00.008-04:00

Yesterday the Brookline Bird Club ran their first of two deep-water (i.e. canyons) pelagics of the summer. This trip was a one-day event (4am-9pm), while next month's is an overnighter.

Expectations were quite high for this one due to a multitude of Herald Petrel and White-tailed Tropicbird reports up and down the Gulf Stream over the past few weeks. Unfortunately we did not connect with one of these megas (or anything else significant bird-wise). These one-day trips are a real crapshoot since you really only get about 6 hours of birding at the edge of the continental shelf (over 90 miles offshore). In mid-July, when there's not much in the way of migration going on, you're highly dependent on rarities. In July of 2009 we were all thrilled by a Black-capped Petrel on this one-day trip. You can't win 'em all.

But while the birds were generally lacking, the other marine life was just amazing.

We started at 4am under beautiful clear skies and a light breeze, conditions that persisted throughout the day. The plan was to head as close as we could to a warm-water eddy that was positioned largely over Block Canyon (RI waters). There was not any truly warm water in the canyons to the east that we usually visit on these trips, so we would have to go further west.

sunrise

As we passed just east of Martha's Vineyard on our way out we began to see a trickle of Wilson's Storm-petrels and the first shearwaters of the day: Great and Cory's. An immature Pomarine Jaeger made a quick pass overhead.

passing the Vineyard

Great Shearwater

After that initial pulse of tubenoses, we entered the usual 'dead zone' of water north of the shelf edge. Upon arrival to the deeper, warmer water we saw an uptick in Wilson's Storm-Petrels. Our chum slick provided little in the way of birds.

Nice looks at a cooperative BASKING SHARK was a treat. This was the first time I was able to get a good look at the body of one of these...usually just the dorsal fin is seen well.

Basking Shark

A little while later we spotted another dorsal fin and approached it, expecting another Basking Shark. When we got close enough to see the white spots on the dorsal fin, commentator Steve Mirick yelled "WHALE SHARK!" and we all realized what we were looking at. This beast, the largest fish species in the world, was grazing at the water's surface. Excitement mounted even more when the shark turned toward the boat and began to approach. This curious animal actually nudged the boat with its snout, gave a little splash, and then finally turned away! In the screaming words of Steve Mirick, "Holy f%$#&*ng sh*t!"

Whale Shark

The whale shark encounter was incredible and more than made up for the slow trickle of birds. At the end of the trip we were all still a bit in shock over it. Certainly something that will sick with us forever.

Further along the shelf edge we set up another chum slick and watched as dozens of Wilson's Storm-petrels surrounded the boat. Keith Mueller, world class wood carver, had some fun by tossing out two hand-carved decoys attached to a rope: one a Great Shearwater with a fish in its bill, and the other an adult Great Skua. Both decoys were brilliantly done.

decoys in the slick among feeding Wilson's Storm-petrels

All was quiet until a few moments later when a TIGER SHARK was spotted feeding on the chum behind the boat. The shark disappeared for a few moments before re-appearing much closer to the decoys. By this point Keith was pulling in that rope as fast as he could! Lucky for him he got the decoys aboard before the shark made a pass at them. Tiger Sharks are known to be very aggressive and we were all wondering what would transpire if Keith had left those carvings out there.

Tiger Shark

A Loggerhead Sea Turtle was spotted by our astute team of leaders, and this creature also cooperated for a while before diving below surface.

Loggerhead Sea Turle

We pulled up to one of the several Portuguese Man o' Wars we had on the trip.

Portuguese Man o' War

Just before we began our journey back we finally got into good numbers of shearwaters, solely Great with the exception of a single Manx. But before we knew it, it was time to head back north toward Cape Cod.

On the way back we had our two best birds of the day, single first-summer LONG-TAILED JAEGERS that were several miles apart. Captain Joe did his usual great job of tracking these birds, allowing everyone to get fine views (and photos, for those equipped).

Overall, another success for the BBC 'Extreme' Pelagic series, highlighted by marine life rather than rare birds this time. It seems that we always see something worth remembering on these trips, even on the slower ones like yesterday.

sunset

I'm all geared up and ready for the August overnight trip, which I missed last year. That trip tallied 22 (!) White-faced Storm-petrels. By then I should have a DSLR setup so I'll be able to get some photos of flying birds for once!

ADDENDUM:
I somehow forgot to emphasize the fantastic looks we had at many Leach's Storm-Petrels, which was the #2 bird highlight behind the LT Jaegers.

- Nick

Summer pelagics

2011-07-15T20:36:00.002-04:00

As the summer pelagic season off the eastern US coast kicks into full gear, the early returns from NOAA research vessels are promising. This seems to be a good year for tropicbirds and Herald (Trindade) Petrels thus far. While most reports have come from the more expected southern portions of the Gulf Stream (i.e. off the Carolinas and Virginia), species seen as far north as New York/New Jersey have included White-tailed Tropicbirds, Herald (Trindade) Petrels, Black-capped Petrel, Fea's Petrel, and White-faced Storm-petrel.

Early tomorrow morning the first of two deep-water pelagics by the Brookline Bird Club departs from Hyannis, MA. Tomorrow's trip is one-day only, while their August trip is an overnighter.

I was a last-minute signup for tomorrow's trip, encouraged by the reports noted above. The key for me will be to avoid seasickness. I am rarely, if ever, seasick...but sleep deprivation is generally considered the #1 risk factor for sea sickness...even for those who, like me, are usually fine on the seas. I may have to sneak in a nap or two while onboard, which is fine as long as I don't miss a fast-flying pterodroma!

I'll post the highlights here, probably with few, if any, photos. I'm about to pull the trigger on a DLSR but haven't taken the plunge quite yet, so I have to rely on digibinning for birds in flight.

- NB

"Hawks at a Distance" by Jerry Liguori - REVIEW

2011-07-10T21:12:00.002-04:00

[Disclosure: Princeton University Press provided a free copy of this book for review.]

Jerry Liguori follows-up his successful “Hawks from Every Angle” with “Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors.” Someone unfamiliar with raptor migration may wonder why anyone would want to make a book full of only far-away photos rather than nice close-up shots. But any birder who has spent time at a hawk watch would immediately appreciate the effort Jerry Liguori puts forth in this specialty field guide.

Only a small fraction of migrant hawks are seen from close range. Most birds are hundreds of feet in the air or wayyy out over the horizon. Some are so high that they seemingly vanish into a bright blue sky. There’s a reason why so many hawk-watchers prefer 10x binoculars (and often spotting scopes) over 7-8x bins. Ever been to a hawkwatch where the official counter is identifying hawks that literally look like dots that are miles away? That is what makes the objective of this book so appropriate.

The book begins with a nice Foreword by Pete Dunne, co-author of one of my all-time favorite guides to bird ID: “Hawks in Flight” which was published in 1987. Over a few pages Dunne goes through the history of the field guide and how they have progressed over the years, up to and beyond his “Hawks in Flight.” (By the way, pick that one up if you can find a copy and you love hawk-watching…it’s a great book to add to the library. I've read it many times.)

The Introduction describes a few key concepts to hawk-watching, particularly how structure and flight style are more useful to distant hawk ID than color and plumage. He reiterates that this book deals with identification of distant birds, and states why that is important. This is followed by a glossary of hawk-watching terminology and two labeled photos demonstrating surface anatomy. The basics of hawk-watching are explained (where, when, how, and specifics such as ideal optics, scanning techniques, and photography tips). The Intro concludes with a timetable of raptor migration, represented by a bar graph with all species represented.

The Species Accounts are where it’s at. First, each group of closely-related or similar-appearing species receive a page of text. Since the first step of distant raptor ID is narrowing your choices to a group or genus (i.e. Accipiter vs. Buteo), Liguori explains the features unique to each group. He also briefly touches on each species that makes up the group/genus. He puts the real take-home points in BOLD, which makes for easy scanning of key points (a format borrowed from the aforementioned “Hawks in Flight.”)

Each species account starts with ~1-2 pages of text that describes structure and flight style followed by plumage descriptions by age and sex. This is short and to-the-point; he packs quite a bit of information into a short space.

Then we get to the plates. There are generally 6 photos on each plate with a few lines of caption at the bottom. I am really impressed with the quality of the images; obviously these were carefully selected from a huge library of photos. Most photos were taken during fall migration, but spring photos are noted where they occur.

The photos show you how you really see the birds in the field: some are backlit, others in direct light, some against blue sky, others against clouds. All angles and common behaviors are depicted for each species. The distance of these photos really forces you to focus on structure first and general color pattern second, rather than on some of the impossible-to-see plumage details that would only be visible at point-blank range.

After the Species Accounts Liguori includes a section entitled ‘Shapes,’ which consists of a page of silhouette-like photos for each species. He includes pretty much every conceivable posture and angle. Each silhouette photo is quite small…about 40-50 of them fit onto one page! This ‘Shapes’ section includes the more common ABA-area migrants, so it excludes the rare and local species like Hook-billed Kite (still, it should be noted that the rare and local species ARE included in the Species Accounts section, in case you were wondering).

In summary, this is THE way to learn to identify migrant hawks. I highly recommend picking up this book to study before (and during!) your next hawk-watch. My old favorite "Hawks in Flight" would make a nice companion as well. The fall migration is coming up sooner than you think!

- Nick

Stratford/Milford SANDWICH TERN

2011-07-08T19:29:00.006-04:00

The tern show at the mouth of the Housatonic River continues. For the past couple weeks, a flock of Common Terns has been congregating here thanks to an abundance of Sand Lance (AKA Sand Eels). Recent rarities here have included Royal and Caspian Tern in addition to a handful of Roseates, a few Leasts, and a couple of Forster's.

Today an adult SANDWICH TERN was present, first on the Stratford side of the river mouth, later moving with the bulk of the flock to the Milford side as the tide rose. I was on the phone with Mark Szantyr talking about rarities when it first flew by (yes, he still needs it for the state :). Mark was not pleased.

The bird is an adult beginning to transition to basic plumage, with a fair amount of white speckling coming into the forehead. Easily picked out at a distance by larger size (compared to Commons), pale upperparts (like Roseate), rather slim-bodied (compared to, say, Royal) and long-winged with long black legs. The small yellow tip to the black bill vanishes into the background at a great distance, but was visible when it approached on fly-by and perched against a dark background. The bird's crest was visible most of the time even at a distance, especially so when it turned away from the oncoming breeze.

Sandwich Tern; 8 Jul 2011, Stratford/Milford, CT

This is the fifth state record, if accepted by the ARCC. The first four are as follows:

August 24, 1991 following Hurricane Bob (unsure of finder, initials are TAM)
September 12, 1998 (Bruce Finnan)
July 31-August 1, 2007 (Charles Barnard, Jr.)
July 9-10, 2008 (found by me)

Four of the five records are from the mouth of the Housatonic River.

In addition to the Sandwich Tern, there were several hundred Common Terns, at least 4 Roseate Terns, 4 Least Terns, and 1-2 Forster's Terns.

Later in the afternoon, before the rain started, many of the terns had moved much closer to land by roosting on the sandbars at Milford Pt. In our scanning we tallied 18 first-summer and 3 second-summer Common Terns...which at least doubles my personal record for subadult COTE at one time in the state. A single fresh juvenile Common Tern was noted as well. The Forster's Tern I got a good look at was a first-summer bird.

Here's hoping the abundant sand lance continue at this location, which should keep the good terns coming through the rest of the summer.

- Nick

Western Long Island Sound, ROYAL TERN+

2011-07-03T13:31:00.003-04:00

A few friends and I did some birding by boat this morning out of Norwalk, CT into Long Island Sound. The weather was great early on, with calm seas and MC skies providing a soft light over the water.

At first, there were more balloons on the water than birds. Throughout the morning we collected well over a dozen of these, which were scattered throughout the sound.

Bird activity was very low in the middle of the sound, with few feeding or even commuting birds out there. The notable exception was a single basic-plumaged adult ROYAL TERN seen flying solo from offshore Westport then crossing over to the NY side of the sound and continuing in a westward direction. The tern was flying steadily and directly without any feeding, but we were able to follow it with the boat for a few minutes, topping out over 40mph at times to catch up with the bird between stops. Nice looks!

I had borrowed my parents' Nikon D5000 with 200mm zoom lens for the morning, but unfortunately I was too busy driving the boat to snap photos. Kind of a bummer, because we did have a few photo ops!

We threw down some Menhaden oil in hopes of attracting a storm-petrel or two, but no dice. Thanks to the great viewing conditions, if there were storm-petrels in that part of the sound we would have seen them.

Heading inshore, around the islands, things were much more active. Cockenoe Island (Westport) in particular was hopping. The small Common Tern colony continues to be tightly packed with birds, my estimate being 250 in & around the colony. One first-summer COTE was noted. There were no Least Terns. The terns all seemed to be feeding right around the island itself, coming up with many sand lance; they did not have to go far to find food. A single adult LITTLE BLUE HERON was seen flying from the island toward the mainland. Nine summering LONG-TAILED DUCKS and two COMMON LOONS were in the shallows around the island. Only a few Laughing Gulls around.

approaching Cockenoe Island from the middle of the sound

part of the island's heron rookery

Common Tern colony

Common Tern

We also had one Diamondback Terrapin in the water on the south side of the island. A great morning to be on the water!

- NB

A Panoply of Song

2011-07-02T22:34:00.005-04:00

My apologies for a random post, perhaps a bit lame, and out of line from what this blog is usually about, but...

I had a bit of a moment the other day. I crashed at my parents' house, in my old room, and had trouble sleeping. The 'whit, whit' of an excited Wood Thrush woke me up, soon followed by a scolding Carolina Wren right outside the window.

While this was going on my alarm kicked on and fired up the following beauty by the Decemberists:

Waking up to a song describing exactly what I was hearing was unexpected. Honestly it was one of those moments that can't really be described in words...and can't really be appreciated via blog.

"The thrushes' bleating battle with the wrens/
Disrupts my reverie again"

- Nick

Maine (Baxter) Trip Report: June 16-19, 2011

2011-06-30T19:39:00.012-04:00

June 16:
A couple weeks ago I led a small group of Connecticut Audubon Society members on a birding trip to Baxter State Park. We departed Connecticut on the morning of the 16th and headed north. To break up the drive we stopped at Kennebunk Plains for some grassland birding. Despite our arrival during the heat of the early afternoon, there were still birds to be seen. VESPER SPARROWS were conspicuous, some carrying food. BOBOLINKS and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS were actively singing. After hearing a few GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, we finally spotted a singing bird that teed-up nicely for us. A flyby UPLAND SANDPIPER was gratifying. We did not see or hear any sign of the few Clay-colored Sparrows that had been reported here, but the time of day was likely to blame more than anything.

one of many Vesper Sparrows

Night at Big Moose Inn.

June 17:
We started this day with our first try for Spruce Grouse. The park does not open until 6am (they open at 5am beginning in late June), so we arrived at the gate for opening and headed straight for the thickest boreal habitat along the Tote Road. It's about a 20-mile drive on a narrow, dirt road to the best boreal birding, so we didn't arrive until around 7am.

It didn't take us more than 15 minutes of driving slowly through the appropriate habitat to spot a male SPRUCE GROUSE a few yards off the road (nice spotting Marie!). The group enjoyed some really nice views of this bird as it walked slowly through the dark shadows of the thick spruce-fir forest. What a cool bird. Too easy!

male Spruce Grouse

With the toughie out of the way, we park the van and spent the next couple hours walking and birding along the same stretch of road in search of other boreal residents and breeders. BAY-BREASTED WARBLERS were fairly common and the males were quite vocal this morning. They played hard-to-get for a while but we eventually secured scope views (!) of one cooperative singing male.

A small flock of GRAY JAYS passed through to our delight. After a few more minutes we heard a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER calling from off the road, but it just did not want to show itself. No worries though, as it wasn't the last time we would have a shot at this bird. A little while later we were taunted by another (or the same) calling BBWO, still not in view. We then had a couple birds calling excitedly, one of which briefly perched high in a tree right along the road! Morris Finkelstein was able to grab a few photos, which I have posted below. Thanks to Morris for allowing me to post a few of his photos in this report.

Black-backed Woodpecker

Gray Jay

The boreal birds kept on coming. We had multiple YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, FOX SPARROWS, WINTER WRENS, both KINGLETS, BLACKPOLL WARBLERS, SWAINSON'S THRUSHES and a singing LINCOLN'S SPARROW. More common warblers included MAGNOLIA, NASHVILLE, and CANADA.

We were about ready to leave the area when a vocal BOREAL CHICKADEE appeared seemingly out of nowhere right next to the van. We had great looks at this bird that was very responsive to 'pishing.'

Boreal Chickadee

This stretch of boreal forest is just spectacular and worth the visit to the park by itself. If you're looking for Spruce Grouse, this is the place to go.

We headed south a bit to the Nesowadnehunk Campground for a look around. The best bird was a singing TENNESSEE WARBLER, but we weren't able to get a look. The warbler list continued to climb as we added NORTHERN PARULA and BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. Nice looks at a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER and ALDER FLYCATCHER were new for the day.

After a picnic lunch we continued to bird our way south along the Tote Road, heading back in the direction of the southern entrance gate. Miscellaneous stops at ponds and streams yielded RING-NECKED DUCKS, COMMON GOLDENEYE, and HOODED MERGANSER.

the group

After reaching the entrance gate we turned to the northeast and headed toward our destination for the afternoon: Sandy Stream Pond. Known for its moose sightings, we were hoping for a sighting of this unique ungulate.

En route we had two RUFFED GROUSE cross the road at different spots, providing great opportunities to compare them to the SPRUCE GROUSE that was still fresh in our minds.

We took the short hike to Sandy Stream Pond where two MOOSE were waiting for us, a young bull and an older cow, chomping away on aquatic vegetation. They seemed largely oblivious to our presence, allowing confiding views.

Moose!

On our walk back to the parking lot we had our most cooperative BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER of the day.

It was back to Big Moose Inn for a fine dinner, drinks, and a good night's rest. On the way back, this curious RED FOX was intrigued by the big gray van from Connecticut.

Red Fox

June 18:
We awoke to overcast skies and a fine mist in the air. Determined to make the most of it, we headed back into the park and toward the Roaring Brook Campground parking lot, the park's best location for breeding Philadelphia Vireo. Unfortunately we arrived to a rain and were unable to get any decent views of the singing vireos.

We pressed on, returning to Sandy Stream Pond to check for more Moose. No Moose this morning, but a hen COMMON GOLDENEYE and her six very small chicks entertained us. The weather seemed to be improving and I suggested we continue on a 2.5 mile loop trail. Bad call, Nick! Over a mile into the trail all was going well when the skies opened up. This steady pouring rain was not brief...it lasted for quite some time. The walkable trail quickly turned muddy, and the ample rocks and tree roots were as slippery as could be. We were already halfway around the loop and decided to press onward. How bad could it get??

Well, it got worse. More rain, more slippery rocks, and...a rushing stream that could only be crossed by wading up to your knees! Hey, that wasn't part of the trail description! I admit my heart was in my throat a few times, hoping that we would get through this without a major orthopedic injury! Luckily the group persevered, kept their chins up, and forded the stream successfully. We were all relieved when we arrived back at the parking lot after our little adventure.

Still happy and smiling. This was a great group!

As for birds along that whole stretch? It was tough to hear anything over the sound of steadily falling rain.

At this point we were cold, wet, and tired. We drove back to the Inn for lunch. En route, as if my blood pressure wasn't high enough already, a moose decided to cross the road right in front of the van. A narrow miss!

they're awkward runners

After hot showers and a relaxing lunch, the skies began to clear mid-afternoon (as Tom predicted, nearly to the minute!) . We were eager to get back outdoors, so we targeted some birding along the Golden Road that runs outside the southern end of the park. There are some great pockets of habitat along this road, and good birds to boot. Here we enjoyed nice looks at PINE WARBLERS and deciduous breeders like AMERICAN REDSTART and OVENBIRD. We watched an EASTERN KINGBIRD building a nest in the stump of an old dead tree. The trip's only PALM WARBLER was singing here, and one shrubby marsh held two singing WILSON'S WARBLERS that finally showed themselves after a good deal of patience.

Tonight we headed into Millinocket for dinner, after which a few of us decided to head back to the Golden Road for some birding after dark. We were hoping for owls, but they were silent tonight. On this still evening we enjoyed calling WHIP-POOR-WILLS and yodeling COMMON LOONS, which were just barely audible over the raucous amphibians.

Night at Big Moose Inn.

June 19:
Today was our last day in Maine, as we would be back in CT before dark. Not without some birding, though.

I had trouble sleeping and decided to head out for some sunrise scouting along the Golden Road. I located a cooperative pair of OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS and got on another BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER, this one a male. Yet another MOOSE was feeding at a roadside lake.

male Black-backed Woodpecker

After breakfast with the group, we headed back out to see the OS Fly's I had found earlier. The pair did not disappoint, and everyone enjoyed killer scope views. Another family of GRAY JAYS passed through.

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Further up the road we stopped at one of the many lakes and ponds, this one with a fair amount of open marshy habitat. We were treated to a pumping AMERICAN BITTERN which we eventually spotted sky-pointing between rounds of gulping air. Yet further up the road we were treated to a trio of flybys: a pair of adult BALD EAGLES, a particularly aggressive PILEATED WOODPECKER, and several CLIFF SWALLOWS going to and from their nests under a bridge.

American Bittern

Eventually we pulled ourselves away from the birding and began our trip back home. The skies cleared further and the wind really picked up. We made a short vigil for Cape May Warbler at a reliable location, but it was nearly noon by the time we arrived and the breeze was really keeping the passerines quiet.

Finally, before we left the state of Maine we made a detour to Messalonskee Lake to view the BLACK TERN colony there. Our high count was five birds in view at one time from the southern boat ramp.

From here it was back to Connecticut, after tallying 105 bird species as a group over those few days.

I hope to lead this trip again in the future, possibly as soon as next summer. If I had to make changes to the itinerary, I would add another full day of birding the Baxter area, as we were still finding plenty of new birds up until the second we left. Alternatively, we could make this a week-long trip that includes a couple days in the Bar Harbor area to enjoy the coastal birding scene, including a bird and whale-watching trip offshore for marine mammals and puffins. Either way, I can't wait to get back up there!

Oh, did I neglect to mention black flies? Yeah, there were a few of those...

- Nick

Coastal birds today: Roseate Terns, Black Skimmer and more

2011-06-28T19:58:00.007-04:00

June is typically a slow month for birding in CT as few true migrants are around, particularly in the second half of the month. The odd mega-rarity aside (see Anhinga and Eurasian Collared-Dove), this can be a very quiet time.

I spent a few hours along the west-central coast today, hitting my two favorite hotspots: the mouth of the Housatonic River and Sandy Point.

First, a quick stop behind the warehouses in Stratford yielded one very vocal COMMON RAVEN calling from the communications towers on Pleasure Beach.

Common Raven, an increasingly regular coastal bird

I was very pleased to find the mouth of the river about as birdy as it could be at this time of year. As the Connecticut Audubon Society blog notes, there has been a concentration of small baitfish here recently, and this was evident at low tide this afternoon. In addition to dozens of Great and Snowy Egrets, there were about 300 Common Terns feeding and roosting in the area. Also many Laughing Gulls and Double-crested Cormorants getting in on the action.

Among the Common Tern flock were at least six adult ROSEATE TERNS. Most of the Commons were adults, but two begging juvenile birds were noted along with a few first-summer birds. Only one Least Tern was noted. A solitary BLACK SKIMMER appeared out of nowhere on a distant bar.

four of the six Roseate Terns are in this photo

Black Skimmer

These birds were quite distant, not exactly allowing for feather-by-feather study. Still, it was great to see so many terns locally at this time of year. Let's hope the baitfish numbers remain high...in which case it could be another exciting summer here!

A walk out Sandy Point in the early evening revealed the tern colony there to be thriving. The Least and Common Terns were as numerous and raucous as I can remember, which is even more meaningful following two very subpar years for this colony.

The shorebirds are also apparently doing well here. One pair of Willets had two growing young, while two proud Oystercatcher parents were tending to three chicks. A few adult Spotted Sandpipers and Piping Plovers were kicking around as well. The Pipers have young this year, but I'm not sure about the Spotties.

large Willet chick

American Oystercatcher chick

One could make the argument for the single adult SEMIPALMATED PLOVER being the season's first southbound migrant here, but I'll err on the side of caution and say this may be a summering bird.

Semipalmated Plover

All in all, a VERY birdy late June afternoon along the shore.

- NB

Hooded Crow....uh oh!

2011-06-25T13:45:00.005-04:00

Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix); Staten Island, NY, USA; 25 June 2011

A Hooded Crow was found at Great Kills Park on Staten Island, NY on June 20th. According to local joggers, the bird had been around for a couple weeks. This first-year bird shows no overt signs of captivity (no unusual wear, strange molt, nor any leg bands etc). There were 88 accepted records in Iceland as of 2006, with a significant number of those being spring records. I have also been told by a couple folks that there are two records from Greenland. The park is situated at a location that screams "ship-assisted," at the entrance to a major port area. The most likely scenario, IMO and in the opinion of many folks, is that this bird found itself aboard a ship in the Atlantic that carried it to NYC. Who knows how far it got by itself, but it seems quite unlikely that it reached Staten Island entirely on its own power.

There's sure to be plenty of debate on this one, regarding both its origin and its 'countability.' Either way, it was worth seeing. You know what they say...see the bird now and do the research later!

This morning (25 June 2011) I headed down to Staten Island with Phil Rusch and Roy Harvey to check it out. We observed the bird for a few minutes on the beach before it was flushed by a beachcombing vehicle. The light wasn't fantastic, but scope views were enjoyed by all.

Hooded Crow

- NB

193 in Mass, 187 in Maine

2011-06-23T16:13:00.002-04:00

This has certainly been a great year for Big Days in New England! Not long after we set the CT record of 192, a team in Massachusetts hit 193 (highest number for any New England state; J. Trimble, P. Trimble, V. Laux) and a team in Maine hit 187 (L. Brinker, D. Ladd, R. Lambert, B. Sheehan).

Most folks, including myself, assume that once the dust settles and each state "maxes out" their totals, a team from Massachusetts should end up with the highest total out of the six New England states. Rhode Island seems too small, Vermont too landlocked, and New Hampshire perhaps with too little coastline. But what about CT and Maine?

Compared to MA and ME, Connecticut lacks an open ocean, has more homogeneous habitat types, lacks many northern breeders found just to the north (Mourning Warbler, YB Fly, OS Fly, etc) and lacks some southern breeders/overshoots that are regular on Cape Cod (Blue Grosbeak, Chuck-wills-widow etc). To partially make up for that, a few southern breeders are more common in CT (Worm-eating Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Acadian Fly) or simply absent elsewhere (Boat-tailed Grackle, and now maybe Eurasian Collared-Dove). There is also less driving to be done here.

I admit I had never given Maine a shot to reach the 190's and beyond, but this year's 187 effort can likely be improved upon (pure assumption on my part). Maine is a large state (by northeastern standards, anyway!), which on one hand means a great variety of habitat and breeding species, but on the other hand means that there's a lot of driving involved between said habitats! When you think about it, Maine has a bunch of great breeding birds of the boreal forest (Spruce Grouse, Boreal Chickadee, Gray Jay, Black-backed WP, 3-toed WP, Bay-breasted Warbler, Cape May Warbler and others) plus most of the typical deciduous breeders of the region, not to mention an extensive coastline. I would think that the precise route-planning in Maine is even more crucial than it is in the smaller states of MA and CT.

So, which team/state will reach 200 first? The smart money is probably on Massachusetts, but we hope to give it another shot here in CT next year, as long as our schedules allow. I don't think we would go without our full team of 5.

- Nick

THANK YOU eBird!!!

2011-06-21T11:15:00.003-04:00

Recently back from my CAS trip to Baxter State Park in Maine. I've just entered the results using eBird's NEW and IMPROVED data entry. Wow, is it fast!

The old entry method was, IMO, painfully cumbersome. Being used to Birder's Diary, which is very quick and easy as far as data entry goes, the former eBird method made me want to pull my hair out.

Now I can enter my sightings without having to block out part of my day! It really is a drastic improvement, one the eBird folks should be commended for. The pages load instantly...there is much less clicking...it's much easier to scan a single column than it is to scan several...navigating the entry forms are super intuitive. Some of the improvements seem small at first but really improve the process.

So, if you haven't gotten into the habit of using eBird yet, this is a great time to try!

- NB

PS - A full Maine trip report will follow here.

ANHINGA in Hamden, CT

2011-06-11T13:10:00.006-04:00

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) 11 June 2011, Hamden, CT

I was happily woken up by a phone call from Roy Harvey this morning, which I figured was regarding a good bird. He was calling to report that Flo McBride and others had found a male ANHINGA at Lake Whitney in Hamden, CT.

threatening an approaching DCCO

The bird appeared a bit worn, and certainly not in high breeding colors. Subadult or basic-plumaged male? Research needed on my part, and comments welcome.

Previously accepted records from CT are from September 1987 (Mantlik), September 1996 (Burke et al), August 1999 (Wood), and September 2006 (Bielfelt et al). All four accepted records are sight records of birds in flight. There have been several other reports of fly-bys that were not accepted by the ARCC because the committee felt that DCCO could not fully be ruled out. This is a more difficult ID than one would think, particularly when a lone DCCO is seen soaring high overhead with tail spread...a behavior common for Anhingas also performed by DCCO. Anhinga had not been photographically documented in CT until now.

Thanks again Flo!

- Nick

EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES nesting (!?!) in Stratford, CT

2011-06-11T12:49:00.004-04:00

On the afternoon of June 7th, Frank Mantlik found two EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES at Sikorsky Airport in Stratford, CT. On the following day the birds were observed collecting nesting material and were seen copulating on the 9th. Keep in mind that this is ONLY the THIRD record of this species in CT, so a breeding pair has certainly caught everyone here off-guard, especially that they are not yet breeding within several hundred miles of the state.

Given the species' incredible spread through the southern and western US, we've considered it a matter of time before breeding occurs in New England. But I don't think anyone was expecting quite this soon. This is, as far as I know, their first breeding attempt in New England.

one of two Eurasian Collared-Doves

pair just after copulation on June 9th

Quite an amazing turn of events. The question is, just how excited should we be? I admit that the initial report of EUCD did not have me running to Stratford, but the breeding attempt is fascinating. I was sure to get down there on the 9th to see them myself. Despite the doves having spread throughout much of the south and west, there does not appear to be much hard data about their impacts on Mourning Doves or other native species.

If anyone is aware of any studies out there, please let me know.

- Nick

Review: The Crossley ID Guide

2011-06-02T16:38:00.002-04:00

[Disclosure: Princeton University Press provided a free copy of this book for review.]

Richard Crossley’s “The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds” is the most extensive and ambitious photograph-based North American guide to bird identification on the market today. This is not your typical guide to bird ID, nor is it meant to be. For this reason it has caused a stir among the birding community. With the hugely successful “The Shorebird Guide” by O’Brien, Crossley, and Karlson fresh in everyone’s minds, the anticipation was high leading up to the book’s release.

GISS (General Impression, Size, and Shape):

Since one of Crossley’s ambitious goals for this guide is to teach the GISS for each species, we may as well turn the tables and apply GISS to his book! While you may find this book in the ‘field guide’ section of your favorite book or nature store, this is no field guide based on size alone. Not unless you carry a backpack with you at all times. This book is large, measuring 10in x 7.7in x 1.8in and weighing in at 3lbs 12oz (according to my trusty fish scale).

Intro:

Upon opening the book and proceeding past the Table of Contents, you first see several pages that contain a single representative photo of nearly every species presented in the guide, with each page being drawn to scale to make for useful size comparisons. Under each species’ photograph is its 4-letter alpha code and the page on which you can find its full plate and text.

Then we have the Introduction, in which Crossley displays a very informal writing style, as if speaking directly to you. This style of text remains true throughout the book, written in his own words. This is Crossley’s book and he wants you to know it. Over 99% of the photos in the guide are his own.

In his Introduction, Crossley attempts to answer the “why” behind his book’s unique style. For instance, the plates are not arranged in strict taxonomic order. Rather, they are grouped by like appearance, though the general order of families is fairly close to taxonomic order (he starts with geese and ends with passerines). For this he states multiple reasons, such as the usefulness to a field birder of grouping similar species and the always-changing order of taxonomy.

He also throws in a section entitled “How to Be a Better Birder.” Here Crossley taps into his decades of experience to relay tips on learning birdsong, the basics of molt, and understanding factors such as lighting and wear on the appearance of a bird. He places a heavy emphasis on note-taking and paying attention to structure, and rightly so. Lots of wisdom in these few paragraphs.

Next up are a series of Bird Topography (AKA surface anatomy) plates. These are very well done and thorough, including such features as primary projection and gonydeal angle. The following groups are represented in this section: songbird, raptor, duck, gull, shorebird, and hummingbird. Each photo is well-labeled.

Species Accounts:

Now onto the good stuff: the Species Accounts. The birds are categorized into the following groups: swimming waterbirds, flying waterbirds, walking waterbirds, upland gamebirds, raptors, miscellaneous larger landbirds, aerial landbirds, and songbirds. Each section begins with an overall description of the group. This description points out the unique qualities of that group and other useful tidbits such as general molt and migration strategies. For example, in the goose part of the “Swimming Waterbirds” section, Crossley states that large goose flocks can act as “carriers” for vagrant individuals. The text is ripe with useful information like that.

To describe age Crossley uses the life-year system (first-year, second-year, etc). Back in the Intro he gives a nice rundown of the pros and cons of the most popular aging systems, and he explains the details behind the life-year system.

Each species account consists of a large photographic montage that takes up most of the page. At the bottom of the page is the following: species common name, Latin name, alpha code, length in inches (**only body length, NO wingspan), range map, and text. Many species get an entire page, while others get one-half or one-quarter page. More space is devoted to more widespread or variable species, while less space is reserved for the vagrants (of which there are many included here).

Let’s break down the plates themselves. You get one large photo of the species’ preferred habitat in the background with several bird photos superimposed on it. There’s a lot going on in each plate. The habitat photos are rich and colorful, sometimes striking enough to take the focus off the bird. Sometimes there are literally dozens of birds on the plate and you just don’t know where to look first. It can be a bit overwhelming. Here in Connecticut I’m just not used to seeing so many birds at once! (kidding…sort of)

Why so many photos? Crossley’s goal, in his own words, is for you to “get a feel for” the species you’re studying. This includes seeing the bird in different plumages, at different angles, at different distances. If you’re expecting a nice profile example of each plumage, prepare to be disappointed. He wants you to learn to identify each bird by practicing seeing it in the same way you might see it in the field. You’re more likely to see a flock of scoter at a quarter of a mile instead of point-blank range, so he includes photos of rafts on the water and flocks in flight.

Not all individuals are labeled to age/sex. It is up to the reader to age/sex some of the birds in the photos. This bothers me a bit, because there are many cases in which there’s enough space to insert a tiny little label. But I recall Crossley’s repetitive use of the word “interactive” in his Introduction. He wants to make you work, to critically think. He will label one or two juveniles on the plate and will describe what a juvenile looks like in the text, but it’s up to you to pick out the third, fourth, and fifth examples of juveniles on the plate. This guide really aims to teach.

One of my favorite features in this book is the use of many flight shots for so many species. It’s funny how quality flight illustrations can be so difficult to come by in many field guides. Many of Crossley’s songbird flight shots would be useful while learning to ID passerines during ‘morning flight.’ I’m sure many of the photos were taken by Richard himself from the dyke at Higbee’s in Cape May! Don’t get me wrong…many these aren’t razor-sharp images, but even the poorer ones are generally useful for understanding structure and color pattern.

The text descriptions are written in that same informal manner as earlier in the book. The general format for the text is: behavioral/misc notes, then voice description, then field marks and comparisons to similar species. Many species-specific tidbits are included. For Mute Swan, Crossley states, “Young are protected zealously; an adult, standing its ground, has hissed fear into many a human.” I can almost see the swan doing this in my mind…can you? For Spruce Grouse, he notes “Famously tame allowing close approach – a real experience!” It’s this type of information that sets Crossley’s text apart from your standard field guides. Lucky for us, he manages to pack a vast amount of knowledge into a rather small amount of text. Even facts about range expansion and vagrancy likelihood are included. Well done, and very refreshing to see information presented that is often left out of field guides.

Interestingly there is no consistency in how he refers to subspecies, as far as using Latin names versus regions. Sibley uses regions, while Nat Geo uses Latin names. Crossley mixes it up…sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both! The type-A part of me would have liked more order here, but it works.

The range maps are your standard color-coded fare, but it’s worth noting that the scale of the map depends on the bird’s range. For instance, the map for Kirtland’s Warbler is zoomed into the Great Lakes region with Michigan at center, so one can better appreciate the limits of the bird’s range. Also, for migratory species, the species’ entire North American range is shown (including all the way to the west coast), rather than just the eastern part of it. That’s another small but significant feature I’m a big fan of.

I went through each plate and noted a few things I liked and a few things I thought were lacking. Here’s some of what jumped out at me.

Positives:

- It’s pretty cool that the Barnacle and Pink-footed Goose plates include photos of a single bird among a flock of Canadas, the way they’re generally found in the eastern US.

- I really like the Arctic Tern plate. For just a half-page plate you really get a feel for the structural and plumage differences from Common Tern, better than I think Sibley or Nat Geo portray.

- There are many shorebird plates to love. The AMGP versus BBPL plates are very nice, the Avocet plate is visually stunning, and the Baird’s versus White-rump differences are well-illustrated.

- The Harrier plate is beautiful, and the Ferruginous Hawk photos really do show how big, bulky, and pale this bird is.

- The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker plate is a fine example of what I would like to see more of in this guide. Photos evenly spaced out, a light background making the bird easy to see, multiple full-body shots, and very useful and high-quality flight shots. Definitely one of the best plates in this book.

- The Cave Swallow plate is very appropriate for an eastern guide. We have a coastal setting, with a lighthouse in the background and birds huddling under an overhang of some sort as if to roost on a November evening.

- For a fine example of the usefulness of this style, check the Eastern & Mountain Bluebird plates. Crossley’s photos really capture the Mountain Bluebird’s long, thin shape and often alert posture as compared to EABL.

Negatives:

- Lacking photos of breeding plumaged Dovekie, except for the distant flight shots.

- Fea’s and Bermuda Petrel plates do not compare in quality to illustrations in other field guides…this is not a big surprise given how difficult it can be to see, let along photograph, rare seabirds. This is an example of a shortcoming of photographic guides, especially a guide that depends on photos from a single birder. Nobody has great, instructive photos of every species. A similar example is the flight shot of “Scopoli’s” Shearwater, which very poorly shows the bird’s underwing. And the underwing is something you want to see when looking for Scopoli’s.

- Another seabird example: the photo of juv White-tailed Tropicbird is just awful! Almost no view of the bird’s upperparts and a dark shadow on the underparts! Adults are easy to ID but young birds can cause confusion. This is disappointing. If Sibley provided an equivalent illustration of a young WTTR he would be ripped for it!

- No adult breeding Little Gull except one little speck of a photo??

- I wouldn’t use this book to confidently separate a Common Gull (canus) from a Mew Gull (brachyrhynchus) – something that should be done for all reported “Mew” Gulls in the east.

- Some gull flight shots do not do a great job of depicting the birds’ primary patterns

- The Ruddy Turnstone plate is just too cluttered. There are large photos slightly overlapping one another. Just remove or shrink one of them and show me the whole bird! Sometimes less is more.

- Some photos are intentionally very dark or camouflaged. I see what he’s trying to do here, but a few plates, such as the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Woodcock, and Eastern Whip-poor-will actually suffer from it, I think.

- The only Black Rail photo is of a bird with its wings spread. The photo is quite nice, but not all that instructive as structure is concerned. Am I nitpicking here?

- No photo of lekking/displaying Greater Sage-Grouse. When a male is displaying, it looks like a completely different beast.

- There are no photos of a young light phase Short-tailed Hawk, which, in its range is probably the plumage most likely to be confused with other buteos.

- When I look at the Rock Pigeon plate I feel like I’m being attacked.

- Tropical Kingbird, common in its range and easy to photograph, has one of two photos with a large shadow across it

Summary & Recommendation:

I don’t want that list of negatives to cancel out all the good things I’ve already said. But this guide does have its flaws and I wanted to point them out. Ideally, each species account would be spread over a few pages as they are so perfectly done in “The Shorebird Guide.” That way the author could avoid clutter, not overwhelm the reader, and specifically caption every photo with teaching points for each plumage. But this is not possible when you’re dealing with so many species. Because of this, I think Crossley’s approach is probably better suited to the ‘specialty’ ID guides. In “The Crossley ID Guide” you really do get a feel for most of the presented birds, but when it comes down to apples-to-apples comparison between two similar species or the ability to display field marks in a consistent manner, it is difficult for a photographic guide to compare to true artwork. If I had to pick just one eastern bird ID guide to use as a reference, it wouldn’t be this one. However, it would be in my Top 3!

Once I came to terms with the fact that this is not your typical illustrated identification guide, I was less annoyed by what it lacked and began to really enjoy each species account. There is a lot to be learned thanks to Crossley’s style. The brief text is so rich with information that this alone might be worth the price of purchase. Add to that a quality collection of images and you have a resource very much worth owning. I think I’m really going to enjoy this one; I’ve been through the entire book once in detail yet I feel there’s still so much more to explore and find. I highly recommend “The Crossley ID Guide” to birders, both beginners and experienced alike.

- Nick

The Pantanal (Brazil) in Sept-Oct!

2011-05-31T15:20:00.003-04:00

One last plug for my trip to Brazil's Pantanal with Connecticut Audubon Society later this year! This is a repeat of last year's incredibly successful trip. As of right now we still have several spaces left! The birding is just incredible but the mammals are equally impressive. Last year's trip recorded FIVE Jaguars.

Here's part of the brochure (click each image to enlarge):

- Nick

Summer stuff

2011-05-26T21:17:00.002-04:00

Now that the Big Day madness is over, it's time to look ahead to the summer. I have a few bird-related plans to get my mind off what promises to be a hectic summer at work (being short-staffed in the orthopedic department during the trauma season should be interesting).

Over the next few weeks I'll be participating in two bird surveys. One is the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, for which I'll be tackling the "Westbrook" route. The other is the Tyler Mills (private property) section of Wallingford for the Greater New Haven Breeding Bird Atlas. This will be the first time I've participated in either a BBS or BBA, so I'm really looking forward to contributing. I'll post my results here.

On June 16-19th I'll be leading a CAS trip to Baxter State Park in Maine. It promises to be spectacular for breeding birds. I'm pretty sure there's still room left, and the more the merrier, so check it out if you're interested. You can also click on the Maine label in the right-hand column of this blog to find my trip report from last year's Maine adventure, which included almost two days at Baxter.

Looking way ahead to August, I've signed up for the Brookline Bird Club's overnight pelagic to the Continental shelf edge scheduled for the 27th-28th. I have done the single-day version of this trip several times but missed out on last year's overnight version, during which they recorded 22 (!) White-faced Storm-Petrels among an amazing variety of other Atlantic seabirds and cetaceans.

Otherwise I hope to enjoy the end of the spring shorebird migration, which ends just a couple weeks before the "fall" migration begins around the 4th of July!

- NB

CT Big Day - May 20, 2011 - 192 SPECIES

2011-05-21T14:42:00.014-04:00

Our team of Patrick Dugan, Frank Gallo, Dave Tripp, Fran Zygmont and myself (collectively the "Raven Luna-ticks") ran our 2011 CT Big Day on Friday, May 20. Our total of 192 species broke the long-standing Connecticut record (186) and, as a nice little bonus, the record among New England states (Massachusetts, 191).

So how did we get to 192?

History: This was our third year as a Big Day team, previously recording 177 species on 5/24/09 and 185 species on 5/23/10. Read those brief summaries for details on our prior two efforts. Each of us had a fair amount of big day experience before we came together as a team. I had done some variation of a CT big day or birdathon for the five or so years before we formed our team. The other four guys had actually been teammates for some very successful World Series of Birding efforts.

Scheduling and Weather: We blocked-off a predetermined window of 5 days so that we could choose the exact date last-minute based on the weather and state of migration. We were a bit worried in late April when migration was ridiculously ahead of schedule...it had us wondering if we had chosen a window too late in the month. But the first two weeks of May consisted of remarkably consistent seasonal temperatures with a fair amount of unfavorable wind conditions. As a result the migration schedule had largely returned to normal by the middle of the month. Then, on or around May 14th a large low-pressure system sat itself over much of the eastern third of the country, resulting in several consecutive days of rain and an easterly wind flow for southern New England. This further slowed passerine migration to the point where we actually fell just a bit behind schedule. It was clear that, with so many singing males of the 'earlier' warblers still around (i.e. Yellow-rumped, Nashville, Parula), birds were being slowed down.

There were other notable consequences of the poor weather. First, while passerine migration had been seriously slowed down, the shorebird migration was less hindered. Shorebirds are incredibly strong fliers that are very capable of pushing through weather that is less than ideal. This was significant because the migration of singing male warblers peaks earlier in the month than shorebirds do. Since the warblers had been slowed down but the shorebirds arrived despite the weather, it allowed for the possibility of having the best of both worlds on the same day. (It wouldn't work out quite as hoped for, as you'll read below that we ended up with few migrant warblers on our day, but the timing of the migration was very convenient).

The other benefit of the rough weather and east winds was the appearance of more lingering waterfowl and unusual gulls throughout the state, both along the coast and inland. Late waterfowl can make or break a May big day effort, and as you'll read below they played a huge role in this year's efforts.

Scouting: This year we were determined to spend more time scouting the coast than in previous years. That would be left to me, Gallo, and Dugan. But scouting the coast can generally be left until the week before the Day itself because the important species there are generally migrants. Any early scouting should be focused on inland breeders, so that's what we did.

I was off from work during the first week of the month and used that to begin the inland scouting. My plan was to simply collect as much information as I could and pass that info along to our two inland team members, Dave and Fran, so they could better plan the inland portion of the route. Over the course of the week I was able to pin down some scarce breeders in Hartford and Litchfield counties. I also noted the absence of some species at traditional locations, which is just as useful as positive information.

As we approached the week before our proposed window, Frank and I started the coastal scouting while Fran and Dave continued the inland stuff. Along the coast, Frank and I welcomed the rain and onshore flow, as lingering waterfowl was abundant, shorebirds were collecting at the typical hotspots, and gulls such as Lesser Black-backed, Bonaparte's, and Laughing were all noted in multiples. While useless for our Big Day, a small flock of three Red-necked Phalaropes in New Haven Harbor was a nice surprise.

The inland guys struggled with the weather. The combo of rainy, breezy, and cool conditions made for awful passerine scouting. Breeding birds were singing minimally or not at all during the day, and their crucial nocturnal scouting was almost completely rained-out.

We really worked hard the few days before the Day. Frank, Dave, and I took time from work while Patrick and Fran spent time before/after workdays to scout. We were determined to fight through the weather as best we could. On May 15th and 16th, before the heavy rain set in, I spent a sleepless 36-hour period scouting the state (dawn on the 15th til dark on the 16th). I had a fair amount of passerine and nocturnal work to do and decided that a marathon effort was needed if the rainy/windy forecast was going to be correct (and it was). This paid off nicely as a warm, humid, and windless night resulted in nailing down some key species.

In an interesting last-minute twist, Dave made a major route change less than 48 hours before our day. He and Fran abandoned part of last year's route because it had not been producing as well as in years past. Dave spent one morning checking out a 'new' area further to the north that he thought looked good for a variety of breeding species based on habitat. His results here were good enough for him to pull a risky but aggressive last-minute switch. The downside of this switch was that none of us knew this area well at all, so we had to work with two mornings of scouting by Dave and nothing else.

Picking the date: As we entered our five day window, we could easily rule out the 18th and 19th due to continued rain and wind. Some inclement weather can actually be helpful, but a steady soaking rain is no good. We found ourselves in an interesting conundrum. Frank, Patrick and I had scouted several species of lingering waterfowl along the coast, many of which were likely weather-related. On the other hand, some late migrants were just arriving, and in an ideal world Dave and Fran wanted the 20th to scout to make up for time lost to rain. Would we be robbing Peter to pay Paul by going as soon as the rain eased up a bit?

We decided that we had more to lose by waiting, so we took the first day on which the weather seemed decent, which was Friday the 20th.

The Big Day: We met at 11pm at our usual Dunkin' Donuts in Cromwell, loaded into one vehicle, and drove to our first stop. The first part of our night was based in the center of the state where we picked up goodies like Sora, Upland Sandpiper, Grasshopper Sparrow, Whip-poor-will, and two owl species. Before first light we headed to Litchfield County where we unfortunately dipped on Northern Saw-whet Owl.

Dawn in the NW corner yielded tons of birdsong and we really started to amass a list. Highlights included breeding Dark-eyed Junco and Golden-crowned Kinglets. White-throated Sparrow managed to elude us...ouch. But a surprise Rusty Blackbird that appeared briefly for Dugan and Zygmont before plunging toward the wooded stream made up for that miss. A migrant Nashville Warbler, often a tough bird on big days, sang for us. Acadian Flycatcher was a nice surprise at a location that seemed atypical for breeding, so this was likely a migrant. Our only cuckoo of the day, a Yellow-billed, called from the same location.

Moving to a different area we added a pumping American Bittern to the list and continued to tally the nesting passerines. The quality birds continued as we were birding a perennially productive stretch of road in West Cornwall, when we heard the call of "QUICK, THREE BEERS" behind us. This Olive-sided Flycatcher came as a surprise and would be a strong candidate for 'Bird of the Day' honors.

We eventually worked our way to the Kent area for Cerulean and Hooded Warblers. Still missing Purple Finch and a couple other inland birds we decided to swing through White Memorial in Litchfield. No PUFI to show for it, but we did turn up a White-crowned Sparrow at the feeders.

We then departed the Northwest at precisely 11:33am with 131 species. Despite a few big inland misses, a quick check of the scouting materials revealed that the record was still within reach. The skies had turned unexpectedly sunny in the NW part of the state, so we were just hoping that our scouted birds along the coast had not left when the weather cleared!

En route to the coast via Route 8 we made a few convenient stops to add some species to the list. We hit the coast as high tide approached so we headed straight to Milford Point. Here we ticked the usual shorebirds plus a single White-rumped Sandpiper and a late Great Cormorant (a big surprise, as this was not a scouted bird). Three Laughing Gulls in the marsh were a nice tick, and a male Harrier coursed over the marsh (could they be breeding locally?).

From Milford we went to Stratford for more shorebirding and otherwise. Waterfowl included Greater Scaup, White-winged Scoter, and Red-breasted Merganser. Frank picked out a Red Knot among the roosting shorbs.

At this point we faced a major decision. Should we head west to Westport for a reliable lingering Northern Pintail? Keep in mind that this was around 3pm on a Friday afternoon, meaning that the traffic on the way back from Westport would be miserable. We estimated at least 40 minutes for just this one bird, likely longer, but could not pass up the urge to tick the pintail. We got the bird with minimal time wasted (thanks to Tripp's spotting) and picked up nesting Peregrine Falcon as well. That put our total at 177 species. As expected, the traffic heading back east was brutal, turning the jaunt into a full hour. At this point we were wondering if we had just cost ourselves a shot at the record. It was clear that we would have to be incredibly efficient from this point onward, and our intense coastal scouting would have to pay off.

Thanks to rough traffic and a couple unproductive stops, we were stuck at 177 for two hours! We got off the Hammonasset exit, headed to an active nearby Raven nest, and FINALLY added another bird to the list. Then it was into Hammonasset for a great run of new birds in what would be one of the best hours I've ever had on a Big Day...and what perfect timing. Here at Hammo we added expected species such as Glossy Ibis and Little Blue Heron. We stepped atop Meigs Point and began scoping. First, Purple Sandpiper. Then, Northern Gannet (thank you east winds!). A Red-throated Loon was clutch because our previously monitored RT Loons had vanished the day before. A couple other more expected species brought the list to 185...our total from last year and just ONE away from tying the record! Coming off Meigs Point we spotted a small duck in the marshy pool next to the parking lot...Blue-winged Teal! 186!

And here was the best part about tying the record at that point: we knew for a fact that the record would soon be ours alone. Why so sure? Because we still had one gimmie left: Seaside Sparrow. A quick check of the marsh near Willard's Island revealed a teed-up Seaside waiting for us. We took a few seconds to exchange high-fives, handshakes, and fist-bumps to acknowledge the accomplishment.

It was right back to business as we discussed if/how we could reach 191. We still had a few possible species in the bank, so it was a matter of being smart, efficient, and lucky. This may sound ridiculous but at about 20 hours into a big day, one becomes very capable of making stupid decisions.

Next up was a Horned Grebe that Frank had found the day before...we were very pleased to find it was still there. 188. A raft of 100+ scoter offshore were close enough to scope. A single drake Black Scoter was among this group of Surfs. We had previously seen dozens of scoter along the coast, some sitting and some moving, but had not yet found a Black. 189. Then an unsuccessful search for Long-tailed Ducks a bit further west, where we had them a couple days earlier. Our final daytime stop was in East Haven at dusk, where two pair of Common Eider continued that I had found several days earlier. Sweet. 190.

At this point we had a few nighttime possibilities scattered all across the state from Stamford to Canaan to the CT River Valley to Lyme, but we only had a few hours til midnight. We did the math and came up with a route that gave us the most potential species, scouted or not, in hopes that we would get lucky. We drove (quickly!) east to Lyme where I had scouted two White-eyed Vireos. They can sometimes be coaxed to call at night, so we decided to give it a shot. Absolutely nothing. The fog in Lyme was dense, the air was cool, and nothing was talking. A jaunt down Ely's Ferry Road to the silent marshes at the end of the road confirmed that the birds were quiet in the lower CT River valley tonight.

We got out of Dodge and made a B-line to one of our favorite marshes further north up the river where we would spend the rest of the night. Here the fog had not set in and the air temp was considerably warmer. We were hopeful for a surprise or two. After dipping on two scouted Least Bitterns, we hoped we would get one here like we did in 2010. Sure enough a Least Bittern cooperated and brought us to 191, tied with the Massachusetts number set in 2009 for the high count by a New England state, which was fun since the MA guys that hold their record (Garvey, Iliff, P. & J. Trimble) are friends of ours.

At this point we were closing in on midnight while waiting and listening. Hey, there are Black and King Rail records for this marsh, so who knows? What did happen next was not expected, however. With just a few minutes to spare a Barn Owl screamed at us, simultaneously sending chills down our spines and smiles to our faces. 192. Could the day have ended any better?

Upon arriving back at the car we lit up some cheap victory cigars I brought along in anticipation of a record-breaking day (confident, not cocky...). After 24+ hours without sleep already on top of deprivation, we figured cigars were a bit safer than beer! We relaxed (for once) and shared our favorite moments of the day before departing for a well-earned night's sleep.

Analysis: One word: Successful :-) We improved on last year's number mainly thanks to date flexibility and improved coastal scouting. Dave's route change, despite being further north, saved us some time by getting us several tough species in the same general area. We were able to pick a day that ended up being rain-free but not so hot and sunny that birds stopped singing early or heat shimmer was a major issue. Got lucky with a few birds but not so lucky with other species we knew were there but did not cooperate. We only tallied 24 species of warbler, which for a Big Day in CT is not a great number...for instance I've tallied 27 warbler species on two prior big days. Waterfowl was key, thanks in part to the recent crummy weather and east winds.

We put together an impressive total yet still left some birds on the table that we should have gotten and several we could have gotten. But it's not a Big Day without misses. You just can't get every bird. Still, there is room for improvement here. 200 species in a day in CT used to sound impossible, but maybe it's not so outlandish after all.

Misses (likely birds or ones that we had scouted til the 19th or so): Tricolored Heron, Long-tailed Duck, Black-billed Cuckoo, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Winter Wren, White-eyed Vireo, Wilson's Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Purple Finch...plus many "possible" species.

Biggest Miss: Purple Finch

Bird of the Day: Blue-winged Teal...because it tied the CT record and was a total shocker at the time. It also capped an incredible run of birds seen from Meigs Point that really pushed us to the record. The other team members may well pick a different bird. Other candidates for this honor are Olive-sided Flycatcher and Barn Owl.

HUGE Thank You's to the friends who took the time to provide tips on particular birds, and to the CTBirds readers and contributors who reported their sightings and contacted us directly. Despite doing a ton of scouting ourselves this year, we still recorded two species that we learned of solely via friends or CTBirds reports (Pintail in Westport, and Red Knot at Stratford marshes that saved us a trip to Sandy Pt where I had one the day before). Without so much scouting that number would have definitely been higher. We had backup spots for many, many species via friends and CTBirds just in case our scouted individuals did not cooperate. Having backup spots for all possible species is crucial. Thank you all!

Photos courtesy of Frank Gallo:

Zygmont, Dugan and I north of Kent, CT

don't think we were ready for that one...

mostly dry and entirely thrilled!
Left to right: Dave Tripp, Fran Zygmont, Frank Gallo, Patrick Dugan, me

me

Dugan reveling in success

- Nick

Big Bummer

2011-05-15T08:53:00.002-04:00

As the window for our statewide CT Big Day approaches, a stubborn low pressure system has set itself up to our west and will park itself there for the next week. Potentially unbelievable bad luck for our Big Day. It will certainly hamper our scouting, which was supposed to happen this week. I had done some inland scouting earlier this month but just for early breeders as many birds had not yet arrived on territory.

What remains to be seen is whether we can find a day without rain. While inclement weather, in the right situation, can be beneficial for birding, just a couple hours of steady rain on a Big Day can spell disaster. Picking a day will be a difficult decision for us.

But we're staying positive. There's still a chance that we hit a day with South winds and just enough showery weather to knock down migrants. Or, when (if??) this weather breaks, perhaps the state will be inundated with delayed migrants.

However, the current forecast of seven days of rain and east winds is not particularly appealing!

- NB

Colorado: Day 8 (Apr 9) - Boulder to Denver

2011-05-04T20:41:00.003-04:00

Our final day in Colorado was going to be split into two halves: morning try for Dusky Grouse with Christian Nunes and afternoon for Northern Pygmy-Owl with Scott Rashid.

We met Christian in Boulder and headed up in elevation to some open space inhabited by Dusky Grouse. The four of us hiked, often off-trail, for several hours in search of the bird. We found plenty of scat but no grouse were seen. We did hear the sound of a grouse taking flight at one point, but none of us ever got a visual. This would be our one real miss of the trip, being placed in the 'heard only' category. Despite dipping on the grouse we were treated to many singing TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES, all three nuthatches, Golden Eagles, and another male Williamson's Sapsucker. It was a very enjoyable morning spent hiking in the crisp mountain air with great company. We had a superb time with Christian, a Rhode Island native.

Christian came with us to Estes Park to meet Scott Rashid. Scott first took us to his most reliable pygmy-owl spot in the early afternoon in hopes that one of the pair may be active at that time. They remained elusive, so we decided to bird in Rocky Mountain National Park for a while and return for the owls at dusk. At nearby Cow Creek in RMNP the avian highlight was a male THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. Scott entertained us with his stories of mountain lions and otherwise.

We returned in the evening for the NORTHERN PYGMY-OWLS, and they did not disappoint. As the light fell the pair began calling, and the male in particular became quite active, flying from perch to perch. This was a long-awaited lifer for me, and it was a perfect way to cap such a successful trip. We again exchanged handshakes and high-fives before dropping Christian back in Boulder on our way to Denver.

Northern Pygmy-Owl (digibinned at dusk)

The next morning we flew out of Denver at first light. Just in time too...a winter storm was bearing down on the region and snow had already begun to fall while we the plane was being de-iced on the runway. But we got off without a hitch and had an uneventful flight home.

- Nick

Colorado: Day 7 (Apr 8) - Denver to Boulder

2011-05-04T19:52:00.006-04:00

We started the day with a stop at Red Rocks Park just outside Denver in hopes of catching up with the Harris's Sparrow that spent the winter at the feeders. Unfortunately we arrived to empty feeders, and we did not have any seed ourselves to throw down. We hung out for a while but the feeding station was predictably quiet. We did see four forms of Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored, Oregon, Pink-sided, and Gray-headed). Canyon Wrens sang from the cliffs and White-throated Swifts zipped overhead.

Spotted Towhee at Red Rocks Park

Our next target bird of the day was American Three-toed Woodpecker, which had been reliable at a conifer die-off west of Sedalia. After some searching Phil spotted a female 3-TOED feeding quietly just a foot off the ground. We enjoyed fantastic scope views (were able to count the bird's toes!) for quite some time until she slowly crept around the back side of the trunk. This was a life subspecies for me (P. t. fasciatus), which is noticably whiter-backed than the eastern taiga P. t. bacatus, which I had seen for the first time last summer in Maine.

American Three-toed Woodpecker (female), subspecies fasciatus

On our way out we had a drumming male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER along the road.

Williamson's Sapsucker

We were about to head back north through Denver but decided to stop first at Cherry Creek State Park in search of gulls. Before we found the gull flock we observed a Marbled Godwit, some White-faced Ibis, and a bunch more waterfowl including all three teal species.

We located the gull roost near the marina and started picking through them. We got on an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL first. LBBG is not a very notable species in Colorado anymore, and any dedicated winter gulling session can be expected to turn up one or more of them. I was a bit surprised to realize this while researching before the trip. To think that this European species has progressed that far west is simply amazing. It may be easier to find this species in Colorado in mid-winter than it is to find in Connecticut!

While sorting through some gulls near the marina I noticed a small immature cormorant, suspecting Neotropic based on size alone. The three of us studied the bird and confirmed the ID as NEOTROPIC CORMORANT. Bill phoned in the report and within minutes local birder Glenn Walbek was on the scene, followed by others. You can see more photos and read about the ID in my previous post.

Neotropic Cormorant (left)

While watching the NECO we also stumbled across a nice first cycle THAYER'S GULL. Our stay at Cherry Creek was longer than expected thanks to the NECO, but we left with plenty of time to try for CLARK'S NUTCRACKER at Rist Canyon. We drove to the location as described on the listserv, and it only took a minute or two of looking before we heard and then saw our first. A total of three Nutcrackers teed-up for us.

Clark's Nutcracker

We headed back south towards Boulder, where we would be spending the night. Before dark we stopped at Boulder Reservoir to see a lingering ROSS'S GOOSE, a life bird for Bill. In addition to the goose, we had a spectacular display of FRANKLIN'S GULLS as they hawked insects over the reservoir and adjacent fields. Beautiful and graceful birds, them. I'll take Franklin's over Laughing Gulls any day.

- Nick

Colorado: Day 6 (Apr 7) - Craig to Grand Mesa to Denver

2011-04-30T19:29:00.011-04:00

This morning's big target bird was the last of the lekking chickens and last of our 8 big target species: Sharp-tailed Grouse. We felt pretty good about this one having scouted the location the day before, plus awaking to dry weather this morning. We sat in the car and waited until a few SHARP-TAILED GROUSE flew into their lek site on a grassy knoll. It took them a while to warm up and start displaying, but eventually they got going. Our max count was 7 birds. Of the five lekking grouse, this dance is the most bizarre.

the grouse lek on one of the grassy knolls on the left (west) side of the road

At this point we all exchanged handshakes and high-fives at the completion of our quest for the lekking chickens and rosy-finches. We thought we might need all week to do it, but we still had nearly three full days left to bird Colorado. Time to focus more on secondary targets.

We drove further west to Oxbow State Trust Wildlife Area to see SAGE SPARROWS. We weren't sure if we'd be too early in the season or not, but there were a couple territorial sparrows singing away. Also on site were many more SAGE THRASHERS and stunning MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS.

Sage Sparrow

Mountain Bluebird

sage habitat at Oxbow

From here the plan was to head SW toward the Grand Junction area for at least one full day's worth of birding. Our first stop was Coal Canyon primarily for a try at Chukar (introduced). No sign of Chukar there, but we did find some more PINYON JAYS plus ROCK WRENS and a BLACK-THROATED SPARROW.

Coal Canyon

Next we headed for another drastic change in scenery: from the southwest-like Coal Canyon up to elevation at Grand Mesa. Here the wind really started to pick up, making the birding very difficult. Grand Mesa was incredibly unbirdy. We had designs on staying until dark and trying for Boreal Owl, but it was apparent that wasn't going to be an option with the wind. We were able to pull out a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER on territory in the aspens at the Powderhorn Ski Area. Otherwise all we had were some more PINE GROSBEAKS and CASSIN'S FINCHES (not that we were complaining about them).

Grand Mesa - skies not looking very friendly!

At this point we had a big decision to make. Should we stay in the Grand Junction area as planned, or actually head back to Denver a couple days early? Since we had just gotten Pinyon Jay for everyone we didn't have a reason to stay in the area. We laid out a plan for two full days of birding in the Front Range area, then drove back to just outside Denver for the night.

- NB

Colorado: Day 5 (Apr 6) - Walden to Craig

2011-04-30T18:17:00.004-04:00

We awoke to snow showers (but zero wind) and started the 20-minute drive back to the Greater Sage-Grouse lek we had visited the night before. We took a wrong turn that set us over 15 miles in the wrong direction (chalking it up to sleep deprivation at this point), but we had started early enough to get to the lek site before it got too late. Still, not the way you want to start your day when you're worried you might actually miss this species! Even though we were admittedly nervous, we were comforted by the fact that we were ahead of schedule at this point thanks to getting all our big targets quite easily thus far. We could theoretically spend 2 or 3 days trying for Greater Sage-Grouse if we had to.

But I digress. We arrived at the Coalmont lek to a steadily falling snow. We got out of the car to walk up the muddy road (which was now mostly frozen and solid at the surface). We slowly advanced up the road, well short of the lek site, peering over the snow banks. Bill spotted two GREATER SAGE-GROUSE just over the crest of the hill, with only the top half of their bodies showing. We all got scope views between the snowflakes and took a big collective sigh of relief! We advanced a bit further up the road where we eventually saw 10 birds hanging out at the lek site. The males were not full-on displaying...in fact they appeared to be doing more feeding than anything. At this point we were all covered in snow, our optics were wet and fogging up, but we were all smiles. Everything on the trip had come too easy before this moment! It was nice to have to work for a bird for once. The setting of these large grouse feeding in the steady snow just seemed appropriate...this is what I had in mind when I pictured Colorado in early April. I wish I had been able to get a shot of the snow accumulating on their backs.

Phil and Bill search for GRSG as the snow piles up on them

We watched the grouse until our optics were too wet to see through. Instead of dawdling around the area we thought it best to continue west up-and-over Rabbit Ears Pass before the roads became really dangerous. As we headed up the pass the roads got a bit slippery; we passed a few disabled vehicles along the way, and the truckers were putting their chains on. We made it over without issue, into Steamboat Springs for breakfast, and then down to Hayden.

snowy Rabbit Ears Pass

There are two grouse sites in the Hayden area: one for lekking Sharp-tailed Grouse, and one for displaying Dusky Grouse. We scouted both locations that morning so we wouldn't get lost later that night or the following morning in the dark. Then, with some mixed snow and rain falling and no target birds to see in the middle of the day, we actually decided to check into our motel and relax for a few hours. We reconvened in the evening and headed to the Dusky Grouse spot, which was a rather unimpressive scrub-oak hilltop. Bill and Phil took one side of the hill while I stood watch on the other side. None of us ever saw any DUGR. Bill and Phil heard one bird calling but it wasn't audible from where I was standing. A great surprise was a flock of 30 noisy PINYON JAYS that touched down in the oaks briefly before moving on. I was the only one to see them as they were on my side of the hill. We stayed until it was nearly dark before throwing in the towel on the Dusky Grouse. This wasn't one of our eight 'Tier 1' target species but we would spend some time looking for it later in the trip.

scrub-oak at 80-mile Road in the falling snow

Night in Craig (no motel vacancies in Hayden itself).

- NB