tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51640741350377718562023-11-16T00:00:53.419-08:00Birds and Blue Jays Big YearBirding and eBirding every day of 2016 while working and traveling with The Toronto Blue JaysRobert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-81065337605636805402017-01-01T18:34:00.002-08:002018-01-23T18:07:09.341-08:00Looking Back at a Smaller Big YearBig Years don't have to be<i> that</i> <b>BIG</b>. I know, I've never done one <b>THAT BIG</b>. Others have and I congratulate them on their amazing accomplishments in both 2016 and years past. But I write for the "every birder" those of us who just want to bird but like to have goals too. No Big Year records, but personal records and challenges. My goal back in 2012 was to see as many species as was possible given my full-time work, nearly nonexistent budget and absolutely no previous birding experience and I saw 600 species,(596 ABA).<br />
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In 2012 I birded both where the travel took me and everywhere else I had the time and money to sneak away to, including Alaska. In 2016 my goals were a little more modest. A Big Year, but with limits. I wanted to see if, with a full-time job that including long hours and endless travel, I could still manage to see a lot of birds. But not just lots of birds, to go birding every day and also contribute my birding efforts to that of eBird and submit at least one checklist every day of the year and finish in the top 100 for both the ABA Area and North America, since we spent 10 days in Panama back in January.<br />
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And I think I did all that. I submitted 483 complete checklists in the ABA Area for 483 species, good for 79th place on the ABA area eBird List. Overall I logged 665 species in North America, which includes birding in Canada, the Lower 48 US states and Panama, and ranked me in 68th position overall. I also completed all 12 eBird monthly challenges and perhaps will finally win the coveted binoculars for submitting at least 3 checklists most days in December,(update: I did not). So, goals for 2017? I'll keep it simple. LIFERS! My ABA List grew from about 30 to 596 in 2012.<br />
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In the 4 years since then, I have added 59 ABA species. This year was pretty good, as I added 13 new birds from Z to A, starting with the Code 5 Zenaida Dove in Florida last February to the, also Code 5, Amazon Kingfisher last week in Texas. In between there were the Wandering Tattler, Cassin's Finch, California Gnatcatcher and Scaly-breasted Munia in California; Mississippi Kite and Tropical Parula in Texas; Clarke's Nutcracker in Colorado; Flame-colored Tanager in Arizona; Common Ringed Plover and Smith's Longspur in, of all places, Ontario and a Seaside Sparrow in Louisiana.<br />
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And I can't forget to mention that Sue with all the Lifers she added in Panama, Florida, Texas, Louisiana and here in Ontario, soared past me on our friendly Life List Competition and now leads the race 951 to 939. Last year I just wanted to see as big a variety of birds as possible; this year I shall scale back and use my time wisely to see if I can add 10-20 new Lifers as I head toward 700 for the ABA and perhaps pass 951 on the way to my first 1000 for my World Life List. I will also endeavour to complete eBirds challenge to submit at least one checklist each day of 2017, a new contest that would have been nice in 2016 when I did exactly that... Grrrrr!!!!<br />
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With the new year beginning, I shall continue my older blog, which I abandoned to write my Birds and Blue Jays Big Year blog:<br />
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justhereforthebird.blogspot.com</h3>
Thanks to all those who, with much Bigger Big Year Blogs to follow, took the time to enjoy my limited adventures. I hope other birders are inspired to take up their own personal challenges, even if North American Big Years are, at least for now, still out of reach. Birding is amazing, adventurous, competitive, gives nerds like me an opportunity to socialize with people I can actually feel comfortable around, and above all, just plain fun.<br />
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<br />Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-37866289657968375422016-12-31T14:44:00.003-08:002017-01-05T20:41:59.244-08:00One Last New Bird for the Year? Sure, Don't Saw-whet it...Last day of the Birds and Blue Jays Big Year, a bonus day, so to speak, as was the case with my 2012 Big Year. It's day 366 and I had one final day to go birding and no better place to go than Colonel Sam Smith Park here in Toronto. I have probably birded there more than anywhere else in North America this year, seeing 132 species over more than 50 trips, beginning with a Canada Goose on January 2 and ending with species 483 for the year in the ABA Area, a Northern Saw-whet Owl. And I have spent a lot of time searching for him in the pines of the park the past six weeks or so.<br>
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We got back from Texas late in the day on December 29, after a six hour plus flight delay, and I spent yesterday visiting with my daughter in Kingston. The final bird of the Texas trip was a Rufous-crowned Sparrow, but missed seeing any other target birds,(Harris's Sparrow in particular), for the rest of our time there. Still, I was able to add 40 species to my year list during the trip, helping me get into the eBird top 100 for the ABA area.<br>
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I also record 229 species in Panama, including 115 Lifers, giving me a total for North America of 665 species, which bested my 601 in 2012 and also put me in the eBird top 100 for North America, another of my goals for 2016.<br>
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Tomorrow I shall reflect on birding and eBirding every day in 2016 while spending much of the year Birding with the Blue Jays.<br>
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Northern Saw-whet Owl, my last species of 2016:</h3>
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<br><div><img id="id_cf70_57ce_1bd7_ef7c" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkU5e8qAQH9Jn6QUo3uNMmiEyL6aj4t1ACwsPsVoMFbtuqDqmbC_lJZvVbKmnD6Pmlfj5e7SOtYw12KEP5ce-ZksOmN1LdZiiIFJkReAgVdNTqQwh_EqwehX-J53IDUnY8yUs71BUHXls//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"> <br></div>Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-79076988957989508522016-12-27T22:18:00.001-08:002017-10-29T16:58:29.480-07:00Great End to the Great Texas Birding Trail: Amazon KingfisherSince heading to the Rio Grande Valley after seeing the Whooping Cranes, and adding White-tailed Hawk and Cinnamon Teal to my Year List, we have birded in dozens of spots, seeing dozens of species each day and I have added 39 species to my year list since arriving in Texas, including two Lifers: Tropical Parula at Laguna Atascosa,(655) and today, as our trip nears its end: Amazon Kingfisher,(656). <br />
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We arrived in the RGV Thursday evening and were up and out the door early the next morning with Mary Gustafson. She took us around the Weslaco area showing us dozens of species throughout the day and she was a pleasure to bird with. She brought us to places we might have never found on our own and helped add new birds at every turn, contributing to Sue catching up and passing me on our personal Life Lists. With her help I added 13 new year birds, including Olive Sparrow and Aplomado Falcon. However the prize bird of the day was a Tropical Parula at the feeder station of Laguna Atascosa. When we arrived, specifically to search for this bird, Mary went into the office to check us in and while Sue was reading the information boards, I took a look at the feeders. Much to my amazement the parula was sitting by or inside one of the feeders and before I could even tell anyone about it, the bird flew off. We spent the rest of the morning looking but couldn't refind it.</div>
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The next morning we were off to Estero Lliano Grande State Park and a reunion with Huck Hutchins who has guided me about the Rio Grande Valley a few times since I began this crazy birding adventure 5 years ago. He conducts a morning bird walk and it was a good chance to catch up with Huck and see lots of birds. And we did. There are two specialtiy birds you have to see when visiting Estero, the Buff-bellied Hummingbird and Common Pauraque. One is easy to see and the other is kind of like playing "Where's Waldo." A highlight of the walk for Sue was the Least Grebe, and I added 7 new Year Birds along the way. Afterward we headed over to some grain silos where we were greeted by the spectical of thousands of blackbirds, and were tasked with finding a few Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Bronzed Cowbirds amongst the great flock of Red-winged Blackbirds. Using a scope, our second game of "Where's Waldo" also ended successfully with the discovery of both birds.</div>
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On our last morning in Weslaco,(sounds like Texaco, for those of you pronouncing at home), we went back to Estero and picked up Black-crested Titmouse and Altamira Oriole. We spent the night in Rio Grande City, where dozens of State Troupers provided security at the Holiday Inn Express and we saw Rogue One at a nearby movie theater. And somewhere in there it was Christmas. </div>
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The next morning we were off to Salineno and along with way picked up Green Parakeets and down by the river below the Falcon dam Sue spotted a Zone-tailed Hawk circling lazily overhead. The wildlife refuge was open for the first time since I've begun visiting the boat ramp by the Rio Grande River in Salineno, and we chatted with the refuge hosts while sitting in their lawn chairs watching birds come their many feeders. We also walked downriver where I got a good look at a White-collared Seedeater, perched on the island where in spring there are Red-billed Pigeons I've never seen. The seedeater flew right over Sue's head just as I was raising my camera for a photo. One thing I've learned about birding and photography is that if your goal is to photograph all the birds then you will often come away disappointed. I did get lots of photographs along the way this trip, but not of every bird I saw and I've come to accept that some birds just have to reside in memory. If one carries only a camera with a super-duper long lens,(as I have seen many "birders" do), or you prioritize the photo over the sighting, very likely you will see far fewer species, and that takes much of the fun out of birding.</div>
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Speaking of not getting a photograph, after leaving the boat ramp, we drove along the "dump" road, so named for all the trash we saw along the way, to Falcon State Park. We did stop here and there listening for Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and I did hear and see one, but couldn't get camera focus on it and Sue did not get much of a look at all. She did, however, spot a Black-throated Sparrow in the scrub beyond a fence appearing and vanishing amongst the legs of a trashed swimming pool ladder. It was my fifth new Year Bird for the day. We continued on to Falcon State Park hoping for Northern Bobwhite, Scaled Quail and American Roadrunner, only seeing the roadrunner, not on a road, but hoping from one branch to another in a dense thicket. We ended the day stopping two more times, once in Zapata where we heard and saw a Tropical Kingbird singing atop at tree in the park behind the library and seeing and briefly hearing Audubon's Orioles at the San Ygnacio Bird Sanctuary. This used to be called the White-collared Seedeater Sanctuary, and has now been renamed and reinvigorated with a new viewing platform and gardens thanks to generous donations from local and visiting birders.</div>
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Which brings us to this morning and the Amazon Kingfisher. This Code 5 from across the border was making only its third appearence on the ABA side of the Rio Grande River and had been reported every day since even before we headed to Texas. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time on its other two visits, so I hoped it would stick around until we could get there this morning. We were up and out at the crack of dawn and arrived a the Rio Grande River, near the railway bridge and within steps of the border crossing into Mexico, under the watchful eyes of Border Patrol Officers, just in time to see Ken from Mississippi, who had arrived just before us, spot the bird on the Mexican side of the river. We got binoculars on it right away, then scopes and camera lenses. Though not a Lifer,(Sue and I had both seen one in Costa Rica), it was ABA species 656 for me and the 13th ABA Lifer of the year, since beginning with the Zenaida Dove way back in February. </div>
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We continued birding along the river, where we had a rare 4 Kingfisher day, seeing Amazon, Green, Ringed and Belted in reverse order of rarity. We continued up to Zacate Creek along the Las Palmas Trail where we found a small flock of Verdin and a Gray Hawk soaring overhead on the way back, giving me two more Year birds for the day and 39 so far for the trip. On the World Life List front, I now have 938. Sue was a couple behind me when we arrived in Texas and now has take a 7 species lead with 945, at last count. </div>
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Today is less about birds and more about horses, as we have reserved the morning to go horseback riding. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't be birding from horseback,(as long as my back holds out), and there still are a few birds left in these here parts of Texas to add to the year list.</div>
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Amazon Kingfisher:</div>
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Aplomado Falcons:</div>
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Least Grebe:</div>
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Common Pauraque:</div>
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Buff-bellied Hummingbird:</div>
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Black-crested Titmouse:</div>
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Black-chinned Hummingbird:</div>
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Zone-tailed Hawk:</div>
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Gray Hawk:</div>
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Vermillion Flycatcher:</div>
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-91376560396825227342016-12-26T04:38:00.001-08:002016-12-29T14:58:09.465-08:00Merry Christmas from the Rio Grande Birding Trail: WhoopersWe decided to skip the traditional Christmas season in favor of birding along the Great Texas Birding Trail. From Rockport for the endangered and lovely Whooping Crane, down to the Rio Grande Valley for Black-crested Titmouse and many birds in between. Two goals prompted this trip. One, selfish, I wanted to get myself in the top 100 on both the ABA and North America eBird Lists and the other to give Sue a chance to pass on our overall World Life List. So far, just past the halfway portion of our trip, both goals have been met. Still, there are more birds to get, including the elusive White-collared Seed Eater and the very rare Amazaon King Fisher up in Laredo.<br />
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We began the trip in Houston hoping to see bats fly at the Waugh Bridge Bat Colonly on our first evening in Texas. Too cool that evening for the bats to fly so that spectical will have to wait for another time. However our main goal was to go down to Rockport and take a boat trip for the Whooping Crane. The guide and captain of the boat was fantastic and we saw 40 species along the way including at least 16 Whooping Cranes.</div>
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To be continued...</div>
Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-67820402475014594632016-12-20T11:48:00.001-08:002017-01-01T19:02:21.664-08:00Winter Rarities Back Home: Lark Sparrow and Smith's Longspur Lose Their WayComing back to Toronto I had only a few days to catch some winter birds, such as Rough-legged Hawk, Northen Shrike and pick up a missed Glaucous Gull at Sir Adam Beck Generating Station. However, when I got home the first bird I went for was a wayward Lark Sparrow, lost on migration. Their strange migration route, from the midwest, over the Great Lakes and eventually down to Florida, Texas and Mexico, allows for a lost bird to show up in Ontario every couple of years. My first Ontario Lark Sparrow was two winters ago in Fort Erie, and now one landed by the railway tracks just east of downtown Toronto and as of yesterday, seems content with a Canadian winter. It also may be too tired and weak, and possibly injured, to continue its southward migration, which made it easy to find after I parked and walked up to the path parallel to the railway tracks. Another birder was already there taking photos not ten feet from it. At times it seemed to walk up to people as if asking for food. Some birders had already left seed for it, hoping it would gain enough strength to fly south or at least be well fed and perhaps survive the winter.<br />
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The very next day a report of an even rarer Ontario bird surfaced. A Smith's Longspur was discovered down by Longpoint, a little bit north of the provincial park that bears its name. The Smith's Longspur breeds in the Canadian Arctic and Alaska and its fall migration doesn't normally bring it into Ontario, but the Longpoint area is certainly not too far out of its way. And good for us Ontario birders. For me it would be a Lifer, so off I drove early the next morning to Concession Road A. It was a two and a half hour drive with coffee and gas stops, but an easy place to find. Some local birders I knew were already there with others showing up soon after. It was cold, but not the frigid -20c I experienced on my first rare bird chase back in 2012 for a Mountain Bluebird. After about half an hour of searching, while watching hundreds of Sandhill Cranes fly by, I looked down the road from where I was searching and saw some people crouched down taking photos. They had the bird. I walked down the road and, like the Lark Sparrow, the Smith's was just hanging out at the side of the road, eating seeds in the snow. Hanging around with the Longspur was a Savannah Sparrow and a Snow Bunting. In fact, there were dozens of Snow Buntings, Horned Larks, American Crows and, of course, the overwintering Sandhill Cranes. </div>
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Smith's Longspur: 654 for the ABA List:</div>
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<img alt="" id="id_9ea5_d817_1ff7_2b3a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNqr3ZNRhMK8791eWOnVNztX_XuuZ0YtSnTitzuM3uhiCfUiHNDJIt5HEmaOvl7LqXohtPchTeYjrckUOYH1tx2js1xOlvUMjQbwIgltgmdSWU6LrZKcxdNrtZuTQD0LKfKt60qej2kE//" style="height: auto; width: 974px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br />
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Snow Buntings in winter plumage are sooooo cute:</div>
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<img alt="" id="id_39c9_e954_4002_852a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghDwAA8Gjkarn0F49kChI_Z9DReGv6j1D8v2QilOTw2jmV2Huj5rOexxlbz4eLhwIW-iXcM7EfY3sZykjn7BgfRuWRCZ9L8y1vcLhOzpFNOkZKAlIVhw0Stvn34oubbDmEGpqkPEva9dQ//" style="height: auto; width: 974px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div>
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Sandhill Cranes, a nice appetizer for the upcoming Whooping Cranes I will see in Texas on Thursday:</div>
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<img alt="" id="id_243a_881f_785b_6f1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1-hjs0ci6pzJUrJ9ZHLA3dqQZUtT4v-qGg2ajxqw40SOWhka_0HUxJnxx27ja0-SmEGezrdEPI110EtcYzr9VVU3BsJ1GXn0V86TSgy18mr4ZDdOV5WlJaoIcgTiuEyKOWamLWsrwbA//" style="height: auto; width: 974px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br />
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Horned Lark with horns showing quite well:</div>
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<img alt="" id="id_2b45_d930_47ac_5093" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxacFCwOCz-B-a9UDkuSBaPTz0ImPdxmyOIOBa_vQZGYCopQhfPPC4kS6nVwzqZDmJUtQqyXQg1EACwBeplfCBKJppFUmmwxu6tmJddi_5_wi8DbPhZie9IKLhRMgSaI16LjIX18P7es//" style="height: auto; width: 974px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div>
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The Smith's Longspur was also 937<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> for the World List, which moves me 3 ahead of Sue, but that lead will be lost soon enough, as we are headed to Texas for our winter vacation and my penuntilmate birding trip of the year. With the addition of Glaucous Gull and Rough-legged hawk yesterday,(missed the Northern Shrike again), in the Niagara area, I head to Texas with 441 species for the year, hoping to get close to the 59 I need for 500 in the ABA area. My North America e-Bird List is up to 623 putting me in 99th place for all of North America, which includes Panama, where we spent 10 days last January.</span></div>
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-65811170812386502182016-12-15T08:02:00.001-08:002018-02-08T20:00:43.375-08:00Birding, Patience and AlonenessSome people like to bird in groups with others and others prefer to bird alone. I have spent a lot of time birding alone this year. I haven't had too much choice in where to bird, but wherever work has sent me this year I have been out birding, from my home in Toronto to California and from Key West to Washington State. I have birded nearly everywhere in North America and with just over two weeks left in the year I am finishing off my last trip to where I had to be, in this case Maryland and Florida. Next week it's "birder's choice" and I have chosen the Rio Grande Valley of Texas for a number of reasons. First, even though I've been to Texas twice this year, I did not get far out from Houston or Dallas. Birding there for ten days will help me get close to 500 species for the year, a selfish goal,(I also want to be in the e-Bird top 100-another selfish goal, naturally). Second and selflessly, it gives Sue a chance to pass me on the Life List again. See, so it's not always all about me.<br />
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Anyway, back to this trip. I was working all but a few hours in the mornings in Maryland and though I hoped to get out to find, say, a Great Cormorant, that didn't work out so much, though I did enjoy birding every morning along the Patomic River within walking distance of the hotel and with the occasional view of the Washington Monument. And I did see a different variety of birds each day, so I had a good time. But I was biding my time until I could get to Florida, where a wish list of birds awaited me, including a few rare ones I had hoped would stick around.</div>
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In fact, each of the birds I was seeking was not exactly hanging around waiting to be found. These were not the ubiquitous Palm Warblers that are seen nearly everywhere in Florida in the Winter. After a succsessful search for the Brown Bobby, I was on the prowl for White-crowned Pigeon, Northern Gannet, Spot-breasted Oriole, Red-whiskered Bulbul, White-winged Parakeet, Western Spindalis, Smooth-billed Ani. I was hoping to see all or most of these species as I enjoyed the solitude of birding in south Florida. However at this time of year these birds take time and patience to find and though I exhibited lots of patience, I didn't exactly have a lot of time and I spent more time stuck in Miami traffic than I would have liked. </div>
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My first goal was to find Northern Gannets off the Atlantic Coast as I drove down to Miami. Standing alone, with my scope I patiently scanned the horizon everywhere I could stop and was rewarded with a Gannet feeding frenzy at one point.</div>
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<img alt="" id="id_4ae8_8cf0_e396_2761" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JpPwNkF4KAWjCa0Jy5KYpzP6_I2PrraNb7a6gxzQDdpKCFE29QDDMxvh0EbxGwHReCnJrfvR64WYfmgE90CH38ZMeaGYzL5L0oaqv4nv-KVhbnOM98dwhWYKmTiquuhdID6NCNARTdo//" style="height: auto; width: 974px;" title="" tooltip="" /> </div>
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My next goal was a pair of female Western Spindalis that had been reported even before I got to Florida in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Every day while I got closer and closer to arriving, the birds were reported on e-Bird. Then a storm hit and it rained all the way down the coast. I arrived on the 10th. It rained on me and there was no spindalis. Turned out I was a day and a half late for this bird. I was also late for a lovely male Western Spindalis the week before.</div>
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But there were other birds to chase. The Kendell neighborhood near Baptist hospital for Red-whiskered BulBuls was my next stop. This seems not to be my year for the bulbuls as my many trips around the neighborhood proved in both spring and fall. And yet, I didn't come away empty handed, as two birds I was expecting to find elsewhere, Spot-breasted Oriole and White-crowned Pigeon appeared to me on adjacent blocks over the next two days of searching for the bulbuls. </div>
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<img alt="" id="id_d937_f8a8_c2ba_f0a0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZxGI9cM78oUqA5oHEq2AisJYM9Cpwi23sUHR1QZOkMOOxX17gEHZ2RbCeh3ODO6HCGpyTOc96C666R0r9KVU9FCGc_e2klEl68NeXvfPkKCvbaJUpYNPfOBpT2OPwM3fahNjwqdTENo//" style="height: auto; width: 974px;" title="" tooltip="" /> </div>
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The next morning I drove around Homestead and did my annual dumpster diving trek around the backs of McDonad's and various other sites looking for a Common Myna. First time I ever laid eyes on one, I had no clue as to what crazy bird, or juvenile something or other it might be. Sue figured it out for me, at the time, and now it is an annual tradition to go looking for them. I found one right behind an Auto Zone. It would be the seventh and last bird I would add to my year list in Florida, giving me 437, three short of my goal of 440 going into Texas.</div>
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<img alt="" id="id_12d0_7b34_21dd_923d" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZ1WHb_RDDAe6ijE-EbvBwDelCjQqwzkQ3CWRuc47NOWiBhtDBYAgxImG-XTKJ_Sf98wzbR2QHiPlCitj1xdawYQhZGNd0sIg5xQEnk_qhyphenhyphen1Kub2aT5LQjybc-x3OPqn2IC887jo89uk//" style="height: auto; width: 974px;" title="" tooltip="" /> </div>
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<img alt="" id="id_fdb3_82ff_5eda_fc21" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzncdbidO2ibaht85YSZUS0ANXEuPFEmuGE8kp3566TzUaTays2KPh8Gq_mxmdSz09aGuJH7Nlh5RmwQaul9qtt2_jx4dL0hlTHtDBHwGrRkVPdIqPH198GO4hTjFDXNfILgmRxcT3g5A//" style="height: auto; width: 974px;" title="" tooltip="" /> </div>
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Had I seen the Red-whiskered Bulbull and Western Spindalis, the Smooth-billed Ani would have helped me reach my goal. But birding doesn't always go as planned and birds love to tease and frustrate me. It would be an ABA Lifer,(I've seen onen in Costa Rica in 2014). There was one reported in the spring. I couldn't find it. And now, just 30 minutes from where I was staying in Homestead and on my last evening in the Miami area one had been reported in a Brazilian Red Pepper bush on a canal between two industrial sites. I had to fight ridiculous Miami morning rush hour traffic and had trouble finding the spot, of course. And I couldn't help but think it would stay around for a day or so. Right? Both the male and Western Spindalis had been around a week before I arrived. Now I was in the perfect spot at the perfect time to drive there at first light and record the bird. Right? Of course not! A morning of walking the half mile stretch of canal proved Ani-less and and drove back to Tampa without a bird in the bush. </div>
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On the bright side, I now know what a Brazilian Pepper bush is. Never heard of it before, but both the spindalis and the ani were said to be frequenting locations with pepper plants. Not being a big fan of pepper in it's cracked form, I am now even less of a fan of the plant, as birds I seek within range never seem to be there. Meanwhile back home, naturally, rare for Ontario birds started appearing the moment I left Toronto for Maryland. With a little luck there will be lots of birds left for me to count in Texas beginning just five days from now. </div>
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At the end of the day, though, the number and count of birds wasn't as big a deal as I thought. The chasing, the wanderings, the absolute aloneness was often as wonderful a feeling as finding Brown Boobies. Birding gives you so many opportunities for solitude, for quiet contemplation as you enjoy the natural world around you and appreciate that nature isn't there for us. It exists and we have been given the chance to surround ourselves in it and enjoy everything it presents to us. That we, as birders, can travel around a city, county, state, provence or the world finding birds behind every tree, bush, and occasionally warehouse and trailer park, is what makes it special. The folks we meet along the way that break up the solitude become even more welcome when you travel and bird on your own. A golf book from a number of years ago was entitled, "A Good Walk Spoiled." Birding, if you remain patient, and sometimes embrace the solitude, will always be a good walk made better.</div>
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-39437583206420695962016-12-09T05:44:00.001-08:002018-02-08T20:01:52.635-08:00Lots of BoobiesOr is it Booby's?<br />
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I had been cooped up in a hotel in a Maryland since Sunday, with only early morning walks to do my birding and nowhere close enough to the coast to look for Gannets or Great Cormorants, but still managed to see a nice variety of species along the Potomac River. </div>
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But yesterday I arrived in Florida for a week of mostly birding,(still have to work a little), and the first place I headed to was the Courtney Campbell Causeway in search of a Brown Booby. I didn't find one there so headed over to Phillippe Park and found not one, but perhaps as many as seven on an electrical tower in the Bay. </div>
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They were nestled in with Double-crested Cormorants and Brown Pelicans and stood out from the group with their white bellies and thick beaks. There was a lone Booby sitting along the opposite end from where the others were gathered and a got a nice look at it in flight. </div>
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So, after I get my Blue Jays work done I am off to south Florida to add more species to my year list. The Brown Bobby was number 431 for the year. My goal is to add 9 more in Florida,(including a Western Spindalis), and then go to the Rio Grand Valley in Texas, where I hope to charge toward 500 as my Birds and Blue Jays Big Year draws to a close. </div>
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<img alt="" id="id_33a7_c4bb_2263_598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicMtDQLU-_2wyxMctdsVBO4BXDPuZYKh8nBdJUidA9aDaXyrGwrobX9ktNhyRix5YS7yGSGgs3Z_2ju2g-wbWPbulWHXIQKFLOkn28mmeQX2otzrnu86Uv44-mM4Yxb2tikg0MfuHEl-g//" title="" tooltip="" /> </div>
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-13016713205808945922016-11-29T06:53:00.001-08:002019-01-20T19:15:55.014-08:00Yes, Virginia, ahm-Robert, there is A Purple SandpiperWell, yes, I have felt like the proverbial Virginia, who hears tales of Santa Clause, sees pictures and even receives gifts attributed to the man, but never actually sees the real thing. Since the beginning of November I have been searching the rocky shores of Lake Ontario, from Presqu'ile Provincial Park to the Hamilton/Niagara region without success. I have biked to Pipit Point at Tommy Thompson Park and walked the rocks every day for three weeks at Colonel Sam Smith Park. I have seen photos on eBird and read reports on OntBirds and had people tell me tales of the Purple Sandpiper(s) they had seen. But for me, it was just a rumor, just a story told by others and I wanted to see a Purple Sandpiper for myself in 2016. I had gotten so obsessed with finding this bird that Sue wouldn't let me even say the name anymore, saying, to paraphrase Archie Bunker, "Don't say Purple Sandpiper no more." I had to hum, Mm-mm Mm-mm-mm, just as Edith had to say "Cling Peaches,(in Heavy Syrup)" in Sit-Com Land, long, long ago.<br />
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The rocky shoreline at Col. Sam, a perfect environment for a Purple Sandpiper to show up at,(and did briefly, but I missed it too):<br />
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<img alt="" id="id_bd92_e25a_b245_49a9" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRHCafDkX09jXr_nremJ-OOHZkeWZJT9zaJ16fRfEfA93h1Ax54lerIQ8f5p9Gu9vvG4rgNkefDmWDVtiArSju8ptumwA4RqTzslk6TJhkDM1TR6_9G_3Czezc7q6OjsC_J1A9AYTmPU//" style="height: auto; width: 974px;" title="" tooltip="" /> </div>
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I did see a nice White-winged Scoter and...</div>
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... one of the resident Minks, this one as wet as a sewer rat:</div>
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This weekend I had a plan. Check Col. Sam one last time in the morning, then head to Presqu'ile. The weather looked good and I don't mind the walk out to Gull Island and there are always other good birds in the area. One quick check of eBird before I left showed a Purple Sandpiper sighting in 50 Point Conservation Area out Hamilton way, in Grimsby. Now that was close and the rocky shore easy to get to. Lots of ducks to see out that way too, so I asked Sue if she'd go and with a bribe of lunch and birds besides Mm-mm Mmm-mm-mm's and she was on board. </div>
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We stopped first at the end of Fifty Road, where I had a spectacular view of thousands of ducks flying by as I approached the little parkette at the end of the road. As we scanned with both binoculars and scope there had to be no less than a thousand each of Long-tailed Duck and Common Goldeneye. Lots of White-winged Scoters, some Buffleheads and a lone Greater Scaup. We then headed over to Fifty Point Conservation Area, where a couple of years ago a couple of Long-eared Owls were the stars. Today, it was a Purple Sandpiper and the $10.00 fee was a small price to pay for such a lovely bird if we could find it.</div>
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There are two roads leading to the tip at Fifty Point. One leads to the left and one to the right. We chose left and ended up right across the water from where we could see people looking down at the rocks at an unseen "something." We were seeing an odd, lone Long-tailed Duck feeding up against the rocks. Much easier, I suppose than diving for food in the lake with a thousand other ducks:</div>
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<img alt="" id="id_152e_e83d_24f_d730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCiUeROq0Bof4JENREoSqAQ7Kolrni3WEwzRTpP_QGbFMfgJQxLjBmquXswpozXgUGU6qjyAPph_P8shothp7siN99TACr5Fv18bqXSMoxsx5hN4OE9JBrL2olUgAr-H4jmKWtm0nW14//" style="height: auto; width: 974px;" title="" tooltip="" /> </div>
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We then drove over to the other side of the park and after a short walk, my quest was over. There it was. A real, live Purple Sandpiper, down amongst the rocks, feeding, oblivious to our binoculars and cameras:<br />
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For Sue, it was a Lifer, bringing her within just two birds on our World Life Lists of catching me, as I still lead 936-934. And now she doesn't have to hear about Purple Sandpipers anymore this year. Of course, there are other winter birds for me to get obsessed about and in the next couple of weeks before heading to Florida and Texas, I shall seek them out.</div>
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And with that, I and species 428 for the year bid you adieu:</div>
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-54039837670947842792016-11-21T07:23:00.000-08:002016-12-29T15:03:35.386-08:00The Gray Jay: Canada's New National Bird<div>
It was bound to happen, in a year where Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, the Common Loon loses it's place as Canada's iconic National Bird to a Gray Jay. Lovely bird, yes, but a bird that looks more like a Blue Jays' grandfather, than a bird to hold up as as the national bird of a entire country. Admittedly, the bird is found in every Provence and Territory of Canada, making it more "national" than the Common Loon, but it also lives so far north that the majority of Canadians will never see one, and most Canadians have never even heared of one, outside of the birding community. Whereas you can't call yourself Canadian if you don't know the sight and sound of a Common Loon. And to top it all off, just as Trump did not win the popular vote in the US, the Gray Jay did not actually win the poplular vote for National Bird in Canada, but when it comes to birds, as is the case with the Electoral College in American Presidential elections, the Ornithologists have the final say.</div>
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Will we have to change our "loony" to a "Whisky Jack," the nickname for the Gray Jay I only learned about this week? Will the lyrical call of the loon on our nature ads for Canada and The True North be changed to the squawk of a Gray Jay? As with Trump's presidency, only time will tell and since the Gray Jay <i>is</i> our National Bird, for better or worse, we have to live with it. So, to honor our new representative bird of The True North, I ventured, this week, to Algonquin Park, the southern most place in Ontario where you can see these birds in all their gray and white and balding old man splendor. In fact, I had them eating out of my hand once I drove the 3 hours north from Toronto to find them along the Mizzy Lake Trail.</div>
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Of course we can't forget Toronto's Official Bird and the reason I am doing my Birds and Blue Jays Big Year:</div>
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I did add two species to my year list while up there,(I had already counted the Gray Jay in Montana), the Boreal Chickadee and White-winged Crossbill, as well as some way too cute Red Foxes.</div>
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Papa and mommy Red Foxes:</div>
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Other than that, not much to report over the last week or so, as birding has been limited to the Toronto area for the most part. But I have been out to Niagara, down to the Leslie Street Spit, Colonel Sam Smith Park and Humber Bay East in Toronto, and headed east to Presqu'ile Provincial Park. My main goal over the past week or so has been the relentless and unsuccessful search for a Purple Sandpiper. They had been reported both in Presqu'ile and at Tommy Thompson but naturally the days I chose to visit either/or of those locations the bloody beast was nowhere to be found. I should have just changed plans last Saturday when everybody and his baby sister were seeing the purple guy at the end of Pipit Point, on the east side of the Leslie Street Spit. We instead enjoyed a lovely afternoon at Niagara-on-the-Lake where I bought a new fedora.</div>
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Still lots of time left in the year for the Purple Sandpiper, and I also just read that they show up on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the winter, exactly where I will be in a few weeks, when we take our winter vacation in Texas to finish out my Birds and Blue Jays Big Year. </div>
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A few photos from the past week or so from the various places I have birded in and around Toronto:</div>
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Herring Gull spooked by a fish it was attempting to catch at James Gardens:</div>
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Ring-billed Gull at Col. Sam Smith Park:</div>
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Great, close view of a Peregrine Falcon at Sam Smith:</div>
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-65794129470279043242016-11-11T18:26:00.001-08:002016-11-20T15:36:09.459-08:00More From Col. Sam as the Temperatures Fall this FallNot much to report since returning from Louisiana, but Col. Sam does continue to produce quality over quantity this past week. Of note was an Eared Grebe hanging out with a couple of Horned Grebes just east of the famous Whimbrel Point. The Cattle Egret that appeared prior to my rails trip is still there and is much more comfortable with being around people, even the dog walkers, and apparently loves the camera as he has been posing on the rocks for photographers for the past week and I was able to get great shots the past few days, that make me regret showing the previous photos in my blog. <br />
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We still await the first Purple Sandpiper of the season, whether it be in Col. Sam or out Niagara way. Plans for the next few weeks prior to my December travels include Niagara Falls and Algonquin Park, and perhaps a trip out to Kingston and Ottawa, once the Gray Partridges are more reliable.</div>
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The Eared Grebe is a rare visitor in Toronto and my first for my Col. Sam Smith Park List, which now is at 169 Species. The Eared Grebe was species 424 for the year:</div>
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Mute Swan doing a great impression of a fighter jet flying below the radar:</div>
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Cattle Egret Preening for the Camera:</div>
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Where's Hermit Thrush:</div>
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My first sighting of the season of a Long-tailed Duck at Col. Sam:</div>
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Post Apocalyptic Cattle Egret Scene:</div>
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Hooded Merganser at Humber Bay East:</div>
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-43455829350853875342016-11-06T18:01:00.001-08:002016-11-08T19:42:41.901-08:00 Yellow Rails and Rice Festival 2016<b><font size="5">Rails Rails Rails!</font></b><div><b><font size="5"><br></font></b></div><div>And more rails. The Yellow Rails and Rice Festival takes place in and around Jennings, Louisiana, and the star of the show was, obviously, the Yellow Rail, but along the way we saw Sora, King, Virginia and had a failed attempt at hearing a Black Rail. There were lots of birds, field trips, fires, rides on combines and an ant attack that left me nearly drunk on Benadryl for a couple of days.</div><div><br></div><div>This was a bonus trip I had not initially planned to make this year. I had hoped the Blue Jays would go on and play all the way through the World Series, which would have ended on November 2, the first day of the festival, but with their elimination in the ALCS the dates worked out to go to the festival and Donna Dittleman, the coordinator, was nice enough to grant us the last place to be filled after registration had already closed for the year. She also granted me the same dispensation back in 2012 when I was doing my Big Year. </div><div><br></div><div><b><font size="4">Day 1:</font></b></div><div><br></div><div>Our flight arrived too late to officially register for the first field trip to Kisatchie National Forest, but did arrive early enough to go and spend the day there, and as luck would have it, hook up for a bit with the group outing,(after getting lost a couple of times while looking for the correct spot), and be just on time for their finding a Bachman's Sparrow, which is one of the highlights of the Pineywoods trip. The other reason to go is that this area of the Kisatchie National Forest is home to threatened Red-cockaded Woodpecker. There are currently only about 11,000 individuals, some either in Florida,(where we saw some in January), and most in the protected areas of Kisatchie, where early in the morning or late afternoon you can see them leaving or entering their nest holes. We were lucky enough to find four or five individuals flying around and foregoing outside their trees. Last, but not least, was the Brown-headed Nuthatch, which also enjoys the pine forests, and we found many of those in the same field as the woodpecker. For Sue the Bachman's Sparrow was a Lifer, inching her one species closer to passing my Life List again, after I passed her earlier in the year in Panama.</div><div><br></div><div>Bachman's Sparrow:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_4ec8_4d15_d520_1325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIvBRZxcrwQ-vq6mdKrbklgNNqH97K4hsl1VLvo6IRs6X3WExiP64-nZQiTc2w-e_ohiKEGpB6Sc4Qrr0Fs0x6u5-c101Di-O4FuXPO-JyLRELm4116SbIQjwcELUAKAtKJvTf6x_wuco//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"></div><div><br></div><div>Red-cockated Woodpecker:</div><div><br></div><img id="id_2ea_1d97_b3b1_729c" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkiIAaX0PlbUNj8gdikSAak71QCRr1QBoNhBM9KBPsMW_wx01PeYof44aA8621F9cI1mejTdRq_dAbbQl-xOA7PPRg6cdrrJ5Ey9678Aaj3ZF_e5734tD8pu5NHbgBzQL3p_uXfIfRYmo//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <div><br></div><div><img id="id_35b_75d_a266_b3bb" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQS4KLBc609Rpj6kPyAaSZjlb-rzO7X6WLUquYt4KzrlxL4MK7yorS6FrYsTJsCSibCa7D3yFZcBmOJUHA77S-OcEpLV7SZBnTBKQthPEDRLJpGgMQljLm0oZvQBEglUcKtXdGZnokeB4//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> </div><div><br></div><div>Brown-headed Nuthatch:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_7105_5c8b_51ed_71ae" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1EJpQM_d2FpuBbcmzCoXYoEexf_qWZSS1PMWbfru01lJXkpo1NWB7t9WmZK05Bm_g3-M5sWbusWaxI4Vqp57QuDkjx-Rk8RxhY2iu_Y-2Cf4h06wRIo9358Ulxfl7U3q2CNLLUhYUK8//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br><div> <br></div><div>That was only the start of our day, prior to even picking up our registration for the festival. After lunch at a local diner, where we had fried catfish and shrimp, we stopped at Cameron Prairie NWR, and then spent the late afternoon looking for the Black Rail spot, making a couple of wrong turns thanks to a GPS guide that didn't know one end of the road was not accessible by car. We did stop along the way for shorebirds and a Loggerhead Shrike before finding the actual Black Rail spot, only to find that some idiots had set fire to the brush and a good chunk of it was burning. I played Black Rail calls for a while but Sue, the more levelheaded of the two of us, insisted that we beat a hasty retreat before becoming trapped behind the fire line.</div><div><br></div><div>From there we went to a spot on Wakefield Rd in Cameron that seemed good for Seaside Sparrows, appropriately by the water, along the Gulf of Mexico. I have searched for this bird in vain on various occasions since we couldn't find one in Cape May back in 2012. The "Sparrow Marsh" was basically some tall grass in an industrial area, where large tractor trailers and fast driving pickup trucks were zooming by at regular intervals. We parked the car in what seemed to be a safe spot, but would turn out an hour later not to be the case, and walked up and down the road listening for the Seaside Sparrow while also enjoying looks at White and Brown Pelicans and White Ibis flying by. I could hear the Seaside Sparrow chip note, along with Marsh Wrens, but as the sun was setting it seemed impossible to actually spot one. But then, at the same time in different locations, both Sue and I spotted one. She came over to tell me about hers and I was able to have her find mine. We got good looks at it through the grass and even some photos. There was a second bird in with them and it turned out to be a Nelson's Sparrow, of which I finally got a photo, though nothing I would submit to National Geographic, or even share outside of this blog. Sue missed the Nelson's but did count, as I did, the Seaside as a Lifer, so she gained no ground on that bird.</div><div><br></div><div>Seaside Sparrow:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_3cb0_8b06_79ba_1175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEislJ80_l05DP_hNxueWidyPydnfJLpJ83GUw_GIzLVDMDnoQC1MWElUsh5m6XvsJxAYP1XWXpUi6JU_ANvkjhBKpFUn_OhZam5pIkNnlM69ob90SkJxp2SAXljfk2eWTjT9RwydJT-R0w//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>Nelson's Sparrow:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_448d_3378_278f_3b05" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNw5BpnXuGdRrfcZzba8Fo4A18V7hJ1eMXd6gVr3nf7vFbJw1Sgn5U9SIqwKHlrHcftbl2btdymH0qE97m2UnWQUPXRxIx2PkRc7ka-f4TgkwNXTrAdzlisafWwgElBG0_KpYNdvaqvKw//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>It was at that point that we went back to the car only to find that the tide was coming in and we had parked, basically on a old boat launch. Our rental car was now sitting in about a foot of water on the drivers side and maybe six inches on the passenger side. I tiptoed through the waster on the passenger side and slid in across the center console and for the second time that day beat a hasty retreat before the tide came in any further. </div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_a17a_6008_e171_403b" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FgKHbY6_rAf32tUvI_a8NjF4FOnCHuB_3kRyV-BAOMNg4QKK4T-Y5MpAOtJlWhvL-oMpP57CHqpfLXsPR_qWS4nJWoiNSUBb4dWYwBDa3hJcImkR1a2Vj-ip7Fses4AhNAp_Q2buGPk//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>From there we drive to the Hampton Inn, where we picked up our badges and loot bags full of rice,(naturally), and organic coffee,(because it's bird friendly and shade grown, I think), and then drove half an hour to the Holiday Inn Express about 30 minutes from Jennings, since I had enough points to get free lodging for the festival.</div><div><br></div><div><b><font size="4">Day 2:</font></b></div><div><b><font size="4"><br></font></b></div><div>The first official day of the festival was the only day we got to sleep in past seven in the morning, as the Welcome Reception didn't begin until 9:30am at Mike's Seafood Steakhouse. There we learned about rice production, rail spotting etiquette in the rice fields and given safety instructions so as not to be thrashed in the blades of, or run over by the combine. No one wants to be a sad footnote in the Yellow Rails and Rice newsletter next year.</div><div><br></div><div>They provided lunch for the first day in the field and we headed out to the farms where rice would be harvested, eventually, and rails would flee from the oncoming combines, some of be caught in the mist netting so local ornithologists could geotag the rails as part of their ongoing study of this secretive bird. They are far ranging, and breed in Northern US and Canada,(Carden-Alvar in Ontario), and pass through Louisianas rice fields on their way to wintering grounds in warmer coast regions such as Florida and Texas. The Geotags allow the researchers to monitor their movements and see how many remain in Louisiana and how far individuals travel over the course of their lives.</div><div><br></div><div>Compared to my trip in 2012, the rice fields were relatively dry, but the temperatures were still relatively hot. We arrived only to find that the combine that would be harvesting the rice had broken down and a second one had to be sent for. This caused a lengthy delay, but we passed the time enjoying flyovers by hundreds of Greater White-fronted Geese, White-faced Ibis and Ross's Geese, along with Red-tailed Hawks, a Black Vulture and Northern Harrier. As the morning turned to afternoon, we decided to eat our lunch and were going to head out to another location to bird, when in the distance I saw the replacement combine heading our way. </div><div><br></div><div>It was finally time for rice and rail harvesting! Now, to those of you out there that think this a cruel way to view Yellow Rails, be assured that, no rails are harmed during the harvesting, and that the rails choose to be in the rice fields and would be flushed regardless of whether birders were there to view them or not. Not only is it fun, and a great way for birders to get their Life Yellow Rail, but it provides a valuable opportunity for ongoing research and study of the birds. However we just wanted to see them, and that is best done by walking along side the combine as it harvests the rice and flushes the rails. Along with the Yellow Rails, there are also Sora, Virginia and King Rails also hang out in the rice fields. However, if a Yellow Rail is flushed the combine driver will honk his horn to alert all birders of the sighting. Then it is time to attempt photographs and look for the field marks that identify the Yellow Rail, namely white showing on the wings as it flies. We were lucky and saw our first birds within a few minutes of the harvesting. For Sue, another Lifer. That first day we also saw a few Virginia Rails and the second prize bird of the harvesting, a King Rail, another Lifer for Sue. In 2012 we did not see a single Yellow Rail on the first day, and no King Rails during the festival. Sue wanted to ride the combine, but since her ride number was 72 of 72, she would have to wait until the next day. Before heading back to the hotel for the night we stopped at Louisiana Oil and Gas Park, where a plaque and tribute to the pioneers of the oil industry in Louisiana stands, along with more Red-winged Blackbirds than I've ever heard in one spot. We did not see them all, but our guess was there was something like between 400 and 1000 of them hiding and squawking in the trees, bushes and upon the wires.</div><div><br></div><div>Yellow Rails:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_c8c3_ffdf_696f_edba" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcXRthhmZ0DFXsaWrqMFSsRtkTSYrNt3RwUoXP5IsIlSv6Br54TfvVtGnjQ-KbyLC0Bsrrgz3byUutxiwthUpNsNqK-HHe4Y5mqFNGxPFvGYILuL3JOVamg8j5GvDAfe9jY-WsMUlp78//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_18ea_d7ac_d8_6e5e" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzDY3-CTYQFtzrQjrp2YmfMPkpFB647XYJETqslHtLIHMKEopXbbi8T7Ndkb0vGkRKFfE7Pa9pvhZ8_xGfAWtCboqjloCt4XvV6qHNEVcYtPMsQjAWCstFZSVslFQ830NgplHuZLnTgo//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_73ee_c04c_f15f_a69c" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyXj5XaBEpsla9Ew7yjE3b76K8Iyqc2O4IfjpsvsxOm-arapleA6_RkAaYvKinrQ2RaSLyfSB9OJmPySX0msG4wMQQJq83OKFpB5epThIHgWuFj1gCQGzo2K0M7NUud_S6InKMoWIZgk//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>Bird Banding:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_340b_69e_31cd_47d3" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpvR5oPJkZ6D-LDk9jAXdrseNdY5P-r7lqjtWy305eZw_m9QqLYKpFzZce3n9vMCYjyDh0eCPXUP4KpC9x8SGoFoQkHgn33X7oOaMiG-NilFu1iT0eyJqKncr2uVI1e_vK7uaPEu4xy0//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>King Rail:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_325f_7368_8e0c_344c" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1y5eCbUNt8L8a2Qm0IiU17AO8hJxtCMZmSTTc_JmD3M7VhH-Ng23K43GNGyXF8gxn4oq5upqrvconIHYZiE91BVOMArS3_nOaiwZcR8-ceM72XVohMepXcZXWrFkEAUzP5tN6-y6_2o//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><b><font size="4"><br></font></b></div><div><b><font size="4">Day 3:</font></b></div><div><b><font size="4"><br></font></b></div><div>The next day's activities started early. We had to be at the Hampton at 6:45 to meet the group for our field trip group that was to take us on an outing in and around the farm lands and eventually end up at the rice fields after lunch. Stop one was familiar to me from my 2012 visit. An old runway, in Thornwell along Aguillard Road, where sometime in the past planes landed, likely for crop dusting, but where, also, sometimes, there are Sprague's Pipits. As we walked the runway, where there were no pipits, we were treated to flyovers of hundreds of White-aced and Ibis and dozens of Greater White-fronted Geese,(another Lifer for Sue), Northern Pintails and White Ibis. Our next stop was Lake Arthur. Where along Marceaux Road thousands of Greater-white Fronted Geese, hundreds of White-faced Ibis, dozens of Snow Geese and even a few Ross's Geese. We added a Gull-billed Tern,, Franklin's Gull and even an American Golden Plover to our lists.</div><div><br></div><div>The best stop of the day was a farm along Highway 14 not far from the rice fields where Barn Owls roost. Our goal was to see them, as we walked through the pine woods. And see them we did as they flew around us and over the trees. Photographing them in flight from the woods was another issue as we just couldn't find one roosting out in the open. However seeing five Barn Owls was a hoot, so to speak.</div><div><br></div><div>It really is a Barn Owl:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_c93b_cfb2_184d_7df5" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJzad3ndPar9GpOaf95VAt1ZNp42875f6_Fdg2rHd8YhaK1z5yKL9ERHz4HFwEj0bzDsYEQtNke4-7zB2lNiExxkn8wq7K8X2al2mfxAkY-jgZ_ikKjAYQ3EnyOmjYHM-DFThoGqYV8Bs//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>That afternoon Sue did get to ride the combine and was able to see Yellow, Virginia and Sora rails from her perch on the front deck. I followed along and also saw all three birds, all of which were caught in the mist netting. I went over to the banding station and was able to watch a Yellow Rail being banded and watched as they installed the radio/GPS transmitter behind its head, under the feathers with epoxy that would last long enough for the researchers to track the bird for a year. The afternoon was spent at the Lacassine NWR--pool unit where we got up close looks at a White-faced Ibis. They really should be called Pink-eyed Ibis, as that is one of the main features that distinguishes them from Glossy Ibis. </div><div><br></div><div>We also found a lone Roseate Spoonbill, but that's when everything went south. The spot I was standing on, while scoping the spoonbill was an ant mound. Not sure if they were fire ants but they were all over me. On my shoes, up my pant legs, basically swarming all over me and biting. The bites were not as painful as fire ant bites, but it was causing me great discomfort and I had to "drop trow" as the saying goes, which means pulling down your pants and shaking off and squishing as many of the ants as possible. I started to swell up in parts and a rash broke out and I was only steps away from using my Epi-Pen. I always carry Benadryl with me and popped two pills even before I was finished cleaning off the ants. Luckily my pants are convertible to shorts so Sue unzipped the legs and I shook out the shorts and eventually was able to get dressed again. That pretty much ended the birding for the day, except for one stop along the way back to our hotel where we encountered at least 1000 Brown-headed Cowbirds. It was even more of a spectacle than the hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds from the previous evening. I spent the rest of the day and night and next taking two Benadryl every 3 hours until the rash, itching and swelling abated. </div><div><br></div><div><b><font size="4">Day 4:</font></b></div><div><br></div><div>Today we had to be up even earlier, as we had to meet the group outing at 6am. We needed an early start to get to a farm by daybreak to see the Vermilion Flycatcher. We also found a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and lots of Crested Caracara. The highlight of our final full day at the festival was to be hearing a Black Rail on a group outing to the location we abandoned the first day because of the fires. Alas, after several attempts with the group and on our own, no Black Rails called back, though some said they heard a grunting that could have been a Black Rail. Even had I heard it, it wasn't conclusive enough for me to have attributed a grunt to a Black Rail, compared to the call one would expect. Our walk along the beach, though, did give us nice looks at a bevy of shorebirds, including a Snowy Plover, which is always nice to see. From there we went to another nearby beach where we saw more shorebirds, including Gull-billed Tern, Franklin's Gull and a great look at a Long-billed Curlew, another Lifer for Sue.. We split off from the group outing and headed out to lunch at a cool Cajun dinner, where Sue had Gumbo and I had fried shrimp. We finished up with a drive along the Pintail Wildlife drive, part of the Cameron Prairie NWR, where we didn't see Northern Pintails but Sue got her first look at another Lifer, Fulvous Whistling Ducks, that were indeed Whistling.</div><div><br></div><div>On our way back to our motel for the final night, I stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break and coffee. Two things were notable at this stop. Number one, it was the first place I was able to get coffee on the entire trip with real cream, from an actual cow. Nowhere in the previous four days was I able to find a place that served coffee with anything but fake creamer, most of it in powered form. I was literally laughed at one point when I asked about cream. It seamed like the thought of cream from a cow in their coffee was the craziest thing they had ever heard of, as though they'd have had to wake up early and milk the cows themselves. And forget about a Starbucks in "The Ass-end of Nowhere," as one of our fellow birding comrades so appropriately commented. Number two, was the drainage ditch behind the gas station. Sue had not got a good look at the spoonbill at the wildlife drive, as it was only viewable by scope. But as we drove away I spotted a Spoonbill up close in the ditch. I got Sue to turn around and we went back and parked and got close looks at not just the spoonbill but a Great Egret, juvenile Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron and White-faced Ibis.</div><div><br></div><div>I was able to add 14 new species for my Year List, giving me 423, including a Lifer, the Seaside Sparrow, number 653 for the ABA List. Sue was able to add a bunch Lifers to her World Life List, but sill trails me by a few. With 55 days still to go in the year, my Blue Jays and Birds Big Year shall continue. I'm not breaking any records, naturally, but that was never the goal. All I wanted to was to see how many species I could count while doing my work, go birding every day of the year and submit at least one e-Bird list every day while also fulfilling e-Bird's contest requirements for each month, and so far, I have accomplished all my goals. I still want to see if I can get close to 500 ABA species for the year, and get into the ABA top 100. As Far as North American birding is concerned, that also includes places like Panama, where we were in January. I have now surpassed 600 species and beat my 2012 count of 601, and am in the top 100 on that e-bird List. Big Years are great things when you can travel all around North America and set records, and I hope to do that one day, but small Big Years, whether confined to a state, province or county are also exciting and worth doing.</div><div><br></div><div>And so the Adventure continues. I'll spend the next few weeks traveling around Ontario and chasing any rare birds that pop up, then will head to DC for and Florida for work related trips that will also be opportunities to add birds to my year list, before finishing the year with 10 days in Texas, where with a little bit of birding luck I may be able to get close to 500 and in the e-Bird Top 100. So I bid you Adieu from the deep south, where Y'all should visit sometime, for the southern hospitality, fried catfish and of course, rails, rails rails!</div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><br>Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-20905929264953921792016-11-01T13:37:00.001-07:002016-11-05T18:08:20.884-07:00Fall Birding in Toronto: Colonel Sam Smith Park is the Place to BeEvery spring in Toronto, Colonel Sam Smith Park is the place to be for Warblers and migrating Whimbrels, who pass over the southern most tip of the park every May. But in the fall, in October, Whimbrel Point can be a great place to go birding almost every day during the season, as you never know what may turn up on the rocks. And in this case over the last couple of weeks we have had Snow Buntings, a Lapland Longspur, a Ruddy Turnstone,(which I missed), and today a Cattle Egret. All three that I saw were new for my Col. Sam Park List and the Bunting and Longspur were new for my year list.<br />
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Outside the park I added a Greater White-fronted Goose, but missed on my trek to New York State a Barnacle Goose, of which I had wanted a photo. I'll just have to hope one shows up not too far from Toronto to go chase before the end of the year. Speaking of showing up, a Pink Footed, one has shown up in the Ottawa area and I'd have been on my way right now to see it, if not for the fact that I am right now in the Air Canada Lounge awaiting our flight to Baton Rouge, from which we will drive to Jennings, Louisiana for the Yellow Rails and Rice Festival. I was there in 2012 as part of my rookie Big Year and now I have to the chance to take Sue to see the wonders of chasing Yellow Rails from the front seat of a combine in a farmer's rice field.</div>
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<a href="http://my2012bigyear.blogspot.ca/2012/10/50-shades-of-yellow-rails.html">http://my2012bigyear.blogspot.ca/2012/10/50-shades-of-yellow-rails.html</a></div>
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See above for more info on my 2012 visit.</div>
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As for now, I am up to 410 species with a good handful to add in Louisiana and more to come in Maryland, Florida and Texas, at least before the end of 2016.</div>
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Lapland Longspur:</div>
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Female Rusty Blackbird... she took a few days before she was ready to fly across the lake on migration:</div>
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Snow Buntings... Aren't they cute?</div>
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Cattle Egret passing through on the way to, perhaps Florida where I may see it again in a few weeks:</div>
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I saw at least 3 Eastern Bluebirds in Colonel Sam Smith Park today, possibly, 5... In the previous 5 years I had seen a grand total of 2:</div>
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-84268762612942146462016-10-23T07:54:00.001-07:002016-11-07T18:30:25.267-08:00The Blue Jays are Done, but the Birding Continues...Well, it was a good run. The Toronto Blue Jays, those that play baseball, once again made it as far as the American League Championship Series, but no further. I travelled with the team from Spring Training until the final out of the 2016 season at the hands of the team from Cleveland, who go onto the World Series against the Chicago Cubs. I have birded every day of the year, having submitted at least one eBird list each and every day, and will continue to do so. As of the date of this blog, I have seen 407 species,(3 non ABA exotics), in the ABA area and hope to add more on future trips before the end of the year and try to get as close to 500 as I can.<div><br></div><div>But how did I do during the actual 2016 baseball season, which began with my first trip to Spring Training on February 11 with a Carolina Chickadee and ended with a Le Conte's Sparrow near Toronto on October 17? Exactly 400. I was able to go birding in dozens of cities in 16 States and Provinces, in a little over 8 months that comprised the "baseball" season. I was able to add 9 ABA Lifers during the year, starting with a Code 5 Zenaida Dove at Long Key SP in Florida, along with a Flame-colored Tanager in Arizona and a very rare for Ontario, Common Ringed Plover. My ABA List stands now at 652 and my non-ABA Life list, with the addition of two exotics in California,(Northern Red Bishop and Pin-tailed Whydah) and one in Texas,(Red-vented Bulbul), now stands at 935. I started birding on January 1, 2012 with a Big Year in my very first year of birding and shall continue the quest.</div><div><br></div><div>Actually, I was questing just yesterday. The previous day reports out of Dunnville were that either a Curlew or Sharp-tailed Sandpiper had been seen at a wetlands where a Western Sandpiper was being seen. Either of those two rarer birds would have been Lifers so I decided to go up and check it out myself. There were also lots of Rusty Blackbirds around and I had missed them in the spring, so it was worth the 90 minute trip to Dunnville. I turned it into a 2 hour plus trip by missing a couple of highway exits, even though I had a GPS attempting to guide me. When I did get there, there were a dozen plus birders already staked out. The Rusty Blackbirds were an easy find and it wasn't long until the multitude of shorebirds settled and the Western Sandpiper was also seen. </div><div><br></div><div>No Curlew or Sharptailed Sandpipers were reported the rest of the day, but as I was scoping ponds for a Northen Pintail, I received an e-mail that a Red Phalarope was being seen in a ditch in a farmer's field nearby and I headed over quickly, only to find a dozen other birders had gotten there even faster. It didn't take long to get on the Red Phalarope and I thanked Andrew for the find, giving me #407 for the year. The Rusty Blackbird was #406.</div><div><br></div><div>Now that the Blue Jays portion of the year is over, I can expand my birding destinations outside of states where the Blue Jays played in 2016. So, with that in mind, I have decided that the Yellow Rails and Rice Festival would make a find trip, and Sue did not accompany me in 2012 when I was galavanting all over North America on my first Big Year.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking of North America, as defined by eBird, I have actually now seen 598 species this year. In January of this year, we took a trip to Panama. Panama is part of North America, not Central America as I originally thought. In 2012 I saw 601 species, all in the ABA area. Last year, with a trip to Costa Rica, and including my ABA area birds I saw 550. So, with just 4 more species this year, I will have a new personal record for a single calendar year. With upcoming trips to Louisiana, Texas, Florida and Maryland/Washinton, I am sure to surpass that total within the next few weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>Isn't birding grand? Even if you don't like "listing," I'm sure it is pretty good too.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b><font face="Copperplate">Eastern Towhee passing through Humber bay east, last week:</font></b></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_3108_19a5_87b3_77b1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ymL9nNbDBLC0eIfmuQCzoni8L1r72aYnJQJwWVODkvCPeuRwScbKdGYe_cnUOsGtkkYthGtvBHWLvwNfO-DMZLhesg8ArvTvmlL9qKBWnjTxlwBBKWoCYuezxWOl9SucRlhyRK_DW5Q//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><b><font face="Copperplate">Nice size comparison between Cackling Goose and Canada Goose at Reesor's Pond:</font></b></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_62c7_47dd_1324_bece" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lLcNcULU5VTuT2wqGKgCfxshQyCmgNX0kJJVyvCXeKp6F_AZMQdTc1yypFdHijRdjXJk0Bh2fLePW_gi-P1LPdHMZUc4RP2gRUSN7_EYjwtUZyUIHDLCip3_hOe-EK1wMI1DRj6bdD8//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_d005_b29b_cfe8_7430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cxCo1YHlqqxLQUhXiuEKZJA_VIfHcWx_ajlF9tQ1hdOE4bjxUVpRvbi-0fQ8iRbtLYOPqJffNFl-gdgh9PVzADtxV-xzrtGBP1idOn3bOwJ38vgE6HvXDQfH4SB3yZXy4BQ2qlNDRrY//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><b><font face="Copperplate">Male Rusty Blackbird up in Dunnville:</font></b></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_3667_496e_e460_bea1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9Lwe0JUdnxw41OGlrvKdhxlZpL1o4Wou-jqBzli1NThhlkVfkSVDP33sj9Pcrzo6JKdI9EM2t1rxXZoVPf2qKkAsBjKKaHYK7r_M4s0DyWl5xznnfemyZwqVS9cRjd9l18Q8vlA4QWs//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><b><font face="Copperplate">Females on the mudflats below:</font></b></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_83a2_dc7_c05_50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnak4IgsfdvdKmw5Daqim-kdbP-etYyLpECqmadcgTY0q0o0FM4_tZqahWRGb6HY3QtWrp3bVMKIoHpS2BJa3V_kmQZlOUn2lTDeLZGETcRmyI9CjBanv7imPuUhLvZrx5-dILCKlvyok//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><b><font face="Copperplate">Flock of Shorebirds heading toward their certain doom in the Cuisinart-like blades of a windmill:</font></b></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_ace_1c06_374b_dae5" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJTW9VVY6pyGptE4Qli2NAYyOSGeUinE6Yiv2A2i2wLwlnNIh9pjfM2Tu6ZxWsMJoSCmszxSqZKi266vjEZmTyj9EThPWCvik_bv8jlui3X7oSAsknVh0e614b4AAofdvBh4H0mP6awrY//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><b><font face="Copperplate">Lucky Escape!</font></b></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_8783_9137_1cde_289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Tm7wi92Ln12A1A6AdeUR6RVemIXH-oEoghX6r19aWzo1O29c7E1aaDAaw_DC_xv_Lt1MdG8lkHHoIqmdU9ITAX4GxLEZsu2cajaEtu-Sk8YmZ6QOfbe0Mzjg7aqb1LBspVNe05WwBt8//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><b><font face="Copperplate">Red Phalarope taking flight in the centre of the scene below:</font></b></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_e02a_a009_4ff0_3fd2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYz6rJN1ukV78MEBA4eykF1MX11B31hiEFArA0GR94O7pKRGQfEQ5J0lOTOYns8gjoGWOnLwoff2N78CxJaakGusDNZPEg1iLjZ2nxxlt1Z9PSIwefQxBYvHMti7UfoP2IW0zfccjs3Lw//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>A seemingly begging Blue Jay... perhaps to still be in the Post Season?</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_ab1_c675_a0a5_fffb" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-r2vQFnJ1t-OXlAhSnUI9KV3dFUuvgeAYJHWhp4Z0xNQL-LxxNbpSNhhOEBq_mASZCuVyplNOBNSeXKvk4N5hqa_ku7P9pz7XSk46jTqpsrYpp7TU9JNKHAXtkTzcFp8-MiDJCwiTrC8//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><b><font face="Copperplate">And today, after finally finding my first Rusty Blackbird for the year in Dunnville, Sue and I found a female close to home in Col. Sam Smith Park, on the rocks near the Whimbrel Watch: </font></b></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_bed2_6013_ff0c_bfd9" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-CYgA6Rwc6HRv3m1v2PkHtCRuke7geFtbFoqDktedpYd61qGMd3xxUS26qZRQrUt42EKRmSvt7-zmOH0VYoE5sUqiDLl6kocXF5sGTSH2mbf9C2sOZYmm5w1pGpety4ters4PyN2SPk//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-84022280272261941662016-10-18T12:00:00.000-07:002016-10-18T12:00:05.165-07:00Fall Migration: Part 2, Ohio and Ontario:Been a while since I actually posted Part 1. Part 2 takes place during the ALCS, or the American League Championship Series. The Jays were in Cleveland for the first two games and as such, I was birding each morning in and around Cleveland. My goal was simple: A Nelson's Sparrow at Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve just half an hour outside downtown Cleveland. As has been the case much of this year, I took an Uber to a Zip Car and drove the 30 minutes to Mentor Marsh, only to find out that the trail I wanted, the Wake Robin Trail, was off a side street in a suburban neighborhood I had to navigate a couple of times before I found the parking pad and entrance to the boardwalk.<br />
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It was gray and misty, but right off, I was rewarded with a flight of 3 American Pipits, species #400 for the ABA area this year. I could hear them as they flew up from the reeds and then descended back into the tall grasses, 4 or 5 times during the first half hour I was there. Photos that early morning were nearly impossible to make out as there was almost no contrast and everything in the sky Silhouette. The sun did eventually make a brief appearance, and I was able to make out a Bald Eagle flying overhead. </div>
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I did think I heard Nelson's Sparrows chipping to match the call on my app several times but could not see one, as they are, as usual, very stealthy. I did run out of time and have to head back to the city, but figured I could stop by early the next morning and try again. And yes, the next morning I did not have the same amount of trouble finding Wake Robin Boardwalk, and eventually did get a quick look at the Nelson's Sparrow, which had been hanging around for the past week, but once again, for the fifth year in succession, I was unable to focus my camera fast enough to get a photo of this frustratingly hard to see bird. </div>
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I still had time that morning to go to Sandy Ridge Reservation and Headlands Beach State Park in search of Rusty Blackbirds, but only got running shoes full of sand for my efforts at the beach. So I was able to add two more species to my Year List and returned to Toronto in search of Little Gulls and perhaps a distant look at a migrating fall Pacific Loon, which both pass through Barrie, Ontario, just north of Toronto on Highway 400. </div>
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After a walk in Colonel Sam Smith Park the evening before, where I added a flyover of a Peregrine Falcon to my Park List,(now 165 for the park), I awoke early and drove up to Barrie and Minet's Point to see if I could see any of the target birds. Unfortunately it was cloudy and a fine mist hung in the air as I was scoping hundreds of Common Loons across Shanty Bay, but out of the mist a Pacific Loon drifted into my scope and stayed long enough before the rain and fog really moved in to get a good identification and comparison to the larger Common Loons that created a nice backdrop behind it.</div>
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As I was scoping said bird, and OntBirds e-mail alert buzzed my Applewatch and as I glanced at the message the words, Le Conte's Sparrow" caught my eye. I stopped scoping long enough to check my phone and discover it was being seeing "right now" at Marie Curtis Park, where Sue and I had been just the week prior. It was on my way back through Toronto and I had time before heading to work. As I drove I got a call from David Pryor, who had found it that morning, and he gave me great directions as to a great parking place not far from the entrance to the part of the park that leads to the ponds where the bird had been seen. By the time I got there, others, including Luc Fazio, had arrived and within 10 minutes we refound the bird and it gave us spectacular views before once again vanishing into the thicket. I got much better photos that what I had taken five years earlier when I flushed the bird down in angle high grass at Weekiwachee Preserve in Hernando Country Florida. Ironic that I've seen more Nelson's Sparrows than Le Conte's, yet have photos on both occasions of seeing the Le Conte's and still await my own Nelson's Sparrow shot. Just another goal for next year.</div>
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Both the Le Conte's Sparrow and Pacific Loon were new for my Ontario List, giving me 305 species for the province in my first 5 years of birding. As for my Birds and Blue Jays Big Year, I have surpassed 400, with 402 ABA countable species, plus 3 exotics for a total of 405, while birding pretty much only where the Toronto Blue Jays play.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Copperplate;">Bald Eagle above Wake Robin Boardwalk:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Copperplate;">The Marsh Wren was much more photo friendly, after a bit, than the Nelson's Sparrow ever was for me:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Copperplate;">Peregrine Falcon Flying over Colonel Sam Smith Park, first spotted by Sue:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Copperplate;">Little Gulls at Minet's Point in Barrie; the Pacific Loon digiscope shots just didn't turn out due to rain and fog:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Copperplate;">The elusive Le Conte's Sparrow loves the camera:</span></b></div>
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-36806349883138264432016-10-11T20:28:00.001-07:002016-10-11T20:28:38.821-07:00Migrating Blue JaysBoth the Toronto Blue Jays and the actual Blue Jays are on the move. The Toronto Blue have made it to the ALCS and are migrating to Cleveland and in my travels both in Texas last week and here in Toronto, Blue Jays are on the move in large numbers. Alas, I have not had a chance to add any new species to my year list. My time and movement was much restricted when we were in Texas last week, and I was only able to bird close to our hotel in Irving. No Zip Cars anywhere to be found and I had only limited time on the first two mornings and it rained on the third. <div><br></div><div>I did see a good lot of Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Eastern Bluebirds and Blue Jays, but not much else. Back in Toronto there have been a few late song-bird migrants passing through Humber Bay East, Colonel Sam Smith and Marie Curtis Parks, and in Hamilton at Windermere Basin and Van Wagner's Ponds, where Sue and I visited for the first time, looking for both a Nelson's Sparrow and Northern Pintail. Neither were available for viewing that day, and I will hope to find in Ohio or later in the season back home in Ontario. </div><div><br></div><div>My Birds and Blue Jays Big Year count has stalled, but for all the right reasons. But there is still time to add species and many trips left to make this year.</div><div><br></div><div>A few photos from the week that was:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_313e_504d_10a1_938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_W2aGBFbdbuybWFwc8Xc5V5ziqRGJUSsNVD5VF7zJCYVvFD7p5mQzguZV-v4JS8f2jqSWECBqJVuZdUp5YMc54RkB5Gqjyh5O8BvAFq5zHOh22lQ6i0at1J4F5vpT0PQHBvZaMLIxSw//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_7de9_e6f3_3301_66c5" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQoer7Ac4XVhbKYA1Sgciyg3v3OghKirYBW7NGu1WLkAfRR1r_YyLsoiMn-cMEXmBYAsA5uQG80zbT7h9mJXrNVX93CKFIs1yt8D3fe7TCGWBt49kkOpJvM6TFoCrp1kOopg0bsDCce0k//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>Long-billed Dowitchers at Nonquan Lagoons, my first for Ontario:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_b43a_87e7_8785_2c23" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhR-QwWAeDCU1eLxfM0gRMXOft1vX6qerpCyuPEZFIgyHCbnnjiDvOwZkIwDWLtCLVqlGsdTqbeZRlKOdtBup09nUVqcHS4azgV9wRGnULV30LH-OedGfeLeKfmH6bzIhWfwd7zO2tlg//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_6588_da25_a05a_1a0d" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5Z44bdU33jgolb5cug8ZxxiQ3vbAYrhj6PohSQlkUWizPvdcT7gBMHwbr3P92gKw6gi5scghpRJqVOPYQE_0Cr3RNPDdQL0Xf13-2tZrifKy-O0wxjok2-RUjVdJwl6ZtIRJqxRZ4v8//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_fa8f_377f_a5e9_560f" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdauWfnLxEoh0ct9DOsOekl-zBi5MKOZPyK2eLVZed8fLC6V8RfYzD4SPZC9N9zAHBQv9oUdd_KVHqYV1Rvh0wRzUD4nELtDLsE5YwpioESyTq1Kee4ifvaMdiWOLv1U3iIJYrXU7vgI//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_7415_e2db_5777_1668" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91mGr_7SexS3ti_LAVxTAl3oBQ5rRfSZnXtBkKk_TmYNSNa-Yrx49EsuHp5rjSgVJKlB_Kzyp7AAs4w1R-VrJUwXLHMijxROsPaEqYWpKCqcbB2_7tO30lYmu4YBzpvDp2Hg-2dXNNBM//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_7a4e_128_b7b7_bb71" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCqos2eyM8g9szB9PrmwNI38KUHHsrp74IsCG2kTnH8ZzfxWABSqshkeW3S5gp4Cl6kPGy2daBcAM-HL5xPCCxkelw1wPGxqXlVPUpPx02QWu9j-p6fnHj04ApcQ2bN80cBFCduXDG1I//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>Finally, an odd hybrid duck, who's parentage confounds me:</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_a519_1077_50a9_93f6" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkk44Lu5euBH9T0FojBxDtZe132r9U7qIVqnWE5q6ITvnij1utMy6KcFd_F0DgI1mwhiStAAWC-1MbT4He44N2WX3T45pUTXGxohgzqeRU4CjJ12yj3wgwkTeHhAIEesF_Hkf2mFOMOd8//" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 974px; height: auto;"> <br></div>Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-78680198933305201512016-10-02T17:15:00.001-07:002016-10-02T20:29:28.557-07:00Blue Jays in Boston were great; Birding, not so much!This trip to Boston for the Blue Jays was Big. The baseball Blue Jays. They needed a couple of wins and help from other teams to secure a home field advantage for the Wild Card Game and with a dramatic win on Sunday's regular season finale made it to the Playoffs for the second straight year. <div><br></div><div>The excitement of the baseball team was tempered only slightly by the nearly nonstop rain which limited my free time birding to the Boston Public and Victory Gardens with no new species added to the list and the only warbler a common Yellowthroat. However, if the Blue Jays baseball team wins on Tuesday, there will be at least one return trip to Houston, Texas and that is never a bad thing from a birding perspective. </div><div><br></div><div>So I am still stuck at 399 with 3 months of birding still ahead, including a planned week long trip to end the year in the Rio Grande Valley to end the year. </div><div><br> <br></div>Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-52800199276033777952016-09-28T15:44:00.001-07:002018-02-21T14:54:34.488-08:00Fall Birding in the GTA<div>
I've been home for the past week as the baseball season heads into the stretch run, and as the Blue Jays close in on the Post Season, I'm closing in on 400 species for the ABA area as I bird where the Blue Jays play.</div>
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I've added 3 species this week, starting with a Brant at Bayfront Park in Hamilton. Bayfront was one of my first birding destinations back during my 2012 Rookie Big Year and I had missed a Brant there back in January of that year. One showed up on the lawn this week and I had time to go find it. Later in the week Sue and I went to Humber Bay East where I added birds missed back in the spring, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Bay-Breasted Warbler. </div>
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<img alt="" id="id_5989_6dc_70aa_19d7" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMdyQBiHBJRg5vlgtEn9p52YT-xE4OjJU4c01lETN0xpP_8O0pCE_dwSS0bZ3facBs6BPkgP4dtzkmnBHLEIFS546EeScfr322fv6PKDyUfWZVAQKUVrCwavmM1C4wPNkdRLmfqFb2-Q//" title="" tooltip="" /> </div>
Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-88131013476320614032016-09-19T06:39:00.002-07:002019-01-20T19:24:24.792-08:00The Los Angeles Exotic Birds of AnaheimWhile in California to play the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, it was an opportunity to see some species I've so-far missed this year on the California Coast; some ABA, some just for the Life List, but also a handful of exotics I didn't even know I was looking for, one of which was actually on the ABA List.<br />
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My first objective was the California Gnatcatcher. I've been to California enough times, you'd think I would have this on my ABA list. But I've just not spent enough time in the Los Angels area to figure out where these guys hang out. This time, with a full morning free to look, I headed out to the Upper Newport Bay at the foot of San Joaquin Hills Road, with hopes that e-Bird wouldn't steer me wrong.<br />
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It's a beautiful spot to go birding, and the California Gnatcatchers didn't disappoint. I heard one before seeing one and within 15 minutes of arriving I had another ABA Lifer for 2016. In 2015 I added 10 ABA Lifers, down from 15 the previous year, so I know it's getting harder to add Lifers each year without some very targeted travel, including Alaska.<br />
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651 for the ABA List, and 383 for the 2016 ABA List</h4>
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After spending much of the morning exploring the Newport Backbay, I had a little time to scope out a destination for the next day and headed up to the San Juan Wildlife Sanctuary. I didn't have much time to explore, but I did hear that there were a couple of exotic birds being seen there: Scaly-breasted Munia and Northern Red Bishop, and it as it turned out, the munia is on the ABA List, so I had a destination for the following morning.<br />
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I was up early the next morning. I had to take an Uber to a university parking lot where I picked up my zip car, except this morning my zip car was missing from its parking spot. I had reserved a Ford Focus, as that's the car I drive at home, but it was not there. There was a VW Golf, but that was not what I reserved. I had to put in a call to Zip Car Central where they were sure I was missing something and they even honked the horn of the Focus and had a hard time believing I couldn't hear it. Eventually they set me up with the Golf and gave me a half hour discount and I was on my way to San Juan Wildlife Sanctuary. Before I even arrived I was treated to a flyover by not one, but six Elegant Terns. Wow. I was at a red light but didn't have time to get the camera out. I hoped perhaps they would land at the sanctuary, but no such luck.<br />
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When I did arrive, I didn't know exactly where the munia was, so I began my walk along the various trails and was treated to birds at every turn, including Forster's Terns, along with a great selection of sandpipers, American Avocets, Clark's and Western Grebes, a White-faced Ibis and the call of a Wrentit, the later two new for the year. I also saw a couple of coyotes but, alas, no American Roadrunner.<br />
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It wasn't until I was on the last leg of my walk that I encountered the exotics. As I was walking by an overgrown grassy field I saw something reddish-orange pop up and vanish just as quickly. It was the Northern Red Bishop. Good for the Life List, but not ABA countable. Next, I encountered a photographer who pointed out the ABA countable Scaly-breasted Munias. Lots of them, at least 30 by my rough count. I spent an hour watching and eventually photographing both the bishop and the munias before heading over to Mile Square Regional Park, at the suggestion of another birder.<br />
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Female Scaly-breasted Munia</h4>
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Male Scaly-breasted Munia,(652 for the ABA List):</h4>
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Northern Red Bishop</h4>
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After circling the park and the nearby ball field area, I finally found an entrance and it truly is a mile square and lots of places to walk but not the birding bonanza I was lead to believe it was. Though I didn't find the Bullock's Oriole I went for, I did find Vaux's and White-throated Swifts, and Egyptian Geese, to keep the exotic theme going. I knew there are some purists, who don't like counting exotic birds, but if the ABA likes them, then that's good enough for me.<br />
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My final full morning of birding was spent at La Mirada Creek Park. Get there early and you're treated to another non ABA exotic, the Pin-tailed Whydah. There is a male in the park, though I was unable to find it; however I did find the half-dozen or so females from his harem, along with around 20 Scaly-breasted Munia, who seem to have a thriving population. I also added a Black-throated Gray Warbler and Pacific-slope Flycatcher.<br />
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Female Pin-tailed Whydah</h4>
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I would say, given the usual limited time I have for birding on these trips, this was a successful few days of birding the LA area of California. I was able to add 8 species to the 2016 ABA list, and 2 ABA Lifers, the California Gnatcatcher and Scaly-breasted Munia, giving me 390 ABA + 3 exotics for the year and a ABA Life List total of 652 in less than five years of birding.<br />
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Now to see what seabirds I can add in Seattle the next couple of mornings.<br />
<br />Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-40790453535929865942016-09-07T21:20:00.002-07:002019-07-08T08:17:00.581-07:00A Connecticut Warbler in a Pilgram's CourtWhile staying in Manhattan, Central Park is my best bet for birding. It was nice in the spring, way too hot and humid in August, but September brings cool breezes and fall warblers. It was with this in mind that I set out this morning looking for what the wind might have blown in. In particular, I hoped for a best case scenario of a Connecticut Warbler, as my previous two sightings were in the fall, the first one being in Cape May, NJ during my first Big Year nearly 4 years ago to the day, on Sept 8, 2012 at Higbee Beach.<br />
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I started off early Tuesday morning, checking out Strawberry Fields, before heading to the Ramble. Mostly it was Common Yellowthroats and American Redstarts, but I eventually encountered a group that was looking at a female Hooded Warbler. I spent some time with them and after moving on ran into a young birder who I've seen a couple of previous times in the park and we exchange sightings. I told him about the female Hooded Warbler and he told me about the Connecticut Warbler he had seen on his way into the park at Pilgrim Hill. He gave me directions and I headed over there.<br />
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Two other birders were already looking for the bird in the bushes below the Pilgrim statue. The Connecticut Warbler is normally a pretty skulky bird and in this regard it did not disappoint. However, it was occasionally, not just flying above the bushes, but alighting upon some bare branches of nearby trees at eye level. This gave the three of us a few good opportunities to see and identify it. However a photo was a bit harder to come by.<br />
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Eventually, at least a dozen other birders from around the park, most of them with one guided bird group, showed up and we all surrounded the bushes and as the bird moved around, most got to see it. It took a while, but at one point the Connecticut, along with a Common Yellowthroat, came out into the open and took turns landing on the same branch. I snapped lots of photos and did get a good shot of the target bird.<br />
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-73873628020976485952016-09-03T11:03:00.000-07:002018-02-08T20:07:14.550-08:00Birding By GPS: The Good, the Bad and the, sadly, Ugly<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Baltimore, Day One: The Bad and the Ugly<br />
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There are not many birds viewable right now in the Baltimore area that I have yet to see this year. As much as I love birding, I love finding new birds better. So I'm only going for birds new to the year list and at this point. eBird is my best bet for choosing and finding those missing species. At times eBird has taken me to amazing locations I'd have never just found on my own, and at other times it has taken me places I'd rather have not found. <br />
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In the case of my search for a Buff-breasted Sandpiper in the Baltimore area, I chose the closest spot to my starting point in downtown Baltimore, a place called Swan Creek Wetlands. Seemed easy enough. GPS directed me to a road that looked promising until I got to signs that said do not enter on penalty of prosecution, etc. I looked at the map and decided that maybe I was meant to enter on the other side of the "wetland." There was a road. There was a little parking area. There was a "trailhead" strewn with garbage leading into tall grass about a mile from the "wetlands." I passed. Only to find out the next day that had I driven into the "Do Not Enter" area I'd have been able go into a building and sign a waver allowing me to view the shorebirds of the Swan Creek Wetlands. More on that later.<br />
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So I had to come up with an alternate plan and had very little time left in my morning bird outing to find somewhere. I settled on Fort Armistead Park, as it was close by, and found a few fishing piers, also strewn with garbage that, sadly, was likely mostly left by the folks who fish there. There was also a path through the woods that lead to the roof of some odd abandoned buildings covered in graffiti and I had to beat a hasty retreat, having only seen a Spotted Sandpiper in my morning shorebird quest. The rest of the morning was no more productive and it was one of the less satisfying days of birding I've had this year.<br />
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Baltimore, Day Two: The Good<br />
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So on my second day in Baltimore I was determined to find somewhere to see the "buffy," as one birder I ran into called it. This time I headed for the nearest sighting close to any sod farm. Back home in Ontario sod farms are always the goto place in the fall for them. Here in Maryland the Central Sod Farms on John Brown Rd seemed to be the place to go. And hard to get lost with GPS directions to a sod farm on a road.<br />
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I arrived in good time, had great views of the many sod farms in the distance and as I was setting up my scope for a first glance, with my new MeFoto tripod, a driver pulled over and said, in a charming Australian accent, that he had seen two "buffies" just up the road past the next house,. I headed up that way and started scanning, but was only seeing Horned Larks and Killdeer. Another driver, a guy named Joe, pulled up and started looking with me. We found an Upland Sandpiper, but any other birds that seemed to be Buff-breasted kept landing behind a ridge way off in the distance. Joe offered to head a bit further on and check another field while I kept looking and he returned shortly with news of a Buff-breasted just up the road. I followed him and within minutes we were both scoping a lovely Buff-brested Sandpiper, saving me a trip back to Swan Creek, to which, Joe explained how to gain entrance.<br />
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Moral of the story is, I guess, just keep the adventure going. Sure, sometimes eBird and the GPS devices will send you off to places you can never "unsee," but for the most part, to paraphrase Douglas Adams from Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, you don't always get where you were going, but often end up where you need to be. Words I have lived by since I read that book oh so long ago, and which very much apply to most of the birding adventures I've had over the past the 5 years.<br />
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<br />Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-23754622405108069122016-08-23T15:29:00.001-07:002016-11-20T16:02:40.597-08:00Common Ringed Plover: Big Addition to a Big Year!On Saturday morning I read an e-mail and watched a video of what was called a "possible Common Ringed Plover." Similar to a Semipalmated Plover but with a larger and darker ring around the neck and if you look close enough, no webbing between the toes. Also has a different call, as was evident on Paul Prior's video. This is a bird who seems to have got lost after summering in Baffin Island. First Ontario record as well. <br />
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The kind of Big Year I'm doing does not, at least during the baseball season, involve chasing rarities around the country or going to Baffin Island to see Common Ringed Plovers. I have to see birds pretty much where I see baseball games. There have been a few rare birds that have shown up in the greater Toronto area over the summer but I have been on road trips each and every time. Now a hugely rare bird had shown up in Toronto. Would it be a one day wonder, while I was in Cleveland this weekend? Well, it was there Sunday as well and I had a flight home that should have had me in Toronto by 7:00pm and at Tommy Thompson park by 7:30 with just enough light to get the bird.<br />
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As often happens to me, a flight delay, this time because of high winds, resulted in arrival after dark on Sunday eve. During the week the park is not open until 4:00pm and Sue and I were going horseback riding Monday during they day, for her birthday, so the timing worked out and we could only hope the plover was still there on Monday afternoon. <br />
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After a nice 90 minute ride on Thor, where I also e-Birded 10 species from horseback, we headed to Windermere Basin, where a Red Knot and Marbled Godwit had been seen on the weekend. With the help of a couple of birders who were already looking, we were able to see the godwit, which was species number 301 for my Ontario Life List. Luc Fazio was just arriving as we were leaving and he gave us the location of the Red-necked Phalaropes that had also been reported on the weekend, so we headed over to the Tollgate Ponds, along Eastport Drive. Luc decided to drive over and help us find them and yes, we were able to count the three phalaropes, which was also a new year bird for me.<br />
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Finally it was time to return to Toronto and add a huge lifer for both of us. Yes, one day I plan to be in the Aleutian Islands in the spring or take a trip to Baffin Island in the summer, but for the time being this was my best shot at a Common Ringed Plover. And although it is a Code 5 in Ontario, it is only an ABA Code 2 bird, so doesn't even show up on the e-Bird's ABA rarities report.<br />
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We took our bikes, as it's a 20-25 minute walk in. We passed other birders walking out who had seen it and when we arrived at Cell 2 there were lots of birders to help point it out to us, including Paul Prior, who discovered the bird, and narrated a video that seemed straight out of National Geographic.<br />
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We got the rare plover but also got to see an American Golden Plover, not a Lifer, but 376 for the ABA Year List. Great day for shorebirds, including three new Year Bids, that was for sure.<br />
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Long View of the Red-Necked Phalarope:</h4>
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Close views of the Common Ringed Plover, Toronto's Celebrity bird:</h4>
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ABA: 650 World Life List: 930:</h4>
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A Fine Looking American Golden Plover:</h4>
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Species 377 for 2016,(ABA 376):</h4>
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<br />Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-56921985072525812272016-08-21T09:46:00.002-07:002016-08-21T09:51:07.520-07:00Fall Migration Part 1: New York and Ohio<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">And so the baseball season moves into the final six weeks, as baseball portion of my MLB Big Year heads into fall migration. Not much was going on migration wise in Ontario, though we did get out to Stradford and the West Perth Wetlands, which is a fancy name for a converted Sewage Lagoon. Lots of sandpipers but nothing to add to the year list.</span></div></div>
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I thought Central Park in New York would be pretty good as migration begins. First, there were almost no birds and the only warbler was a Black-and-white. Second and even worse, it was not just hot but the humidity outdid Texas. Word of advice. Do not go birding in Manhattan in August. Unless a Code 5 is present, you're only going to, to paraphrase David Letterman, "make your own gravy," you'll be sweating so much. I'll be back in September and perhaps it will be cooler and less humid with more birds to see.<br>
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Next stop, Cleveland and an off day to get a Zip Car and head north to Ottawa NWR and retrace my spring migration route from May of 2015. First stop was McGee Marsh. Let me tell you, what a difference a few months makes. In May the boardwalk is crowded with birders and birds. In August, if not for the crew repairing the boardwalk, I'd have been the only human on the sight. The lack of humidity was also quite welcome. Of course, the warbler activity was also lower than the humidity, but I only had one bird in mind, a Prothonotory Warbler. I had missed them in the spring for the first time in 5 years, and e-Bird reports from McGee Marsh indicated that they were there. Of course, they were there, as Sue reminded me that they nest in McGee Marsh. In 2015 we had even seen one building a nest. I found a handful of them, including a cute pair showing off on the railing of the boardwalk.<br>
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I spent the rest of the day just cruising around the McGee Marsh Migratory Bird Center, the Ottawa NWR Walking Trail Woodland and had intended to take a drive on the Wildlife Drive, but it's closed weekdays in the summer and only opens the 3rd weekend of each month. I walked the parts of the trail that are open to hikers and was rewarded with a Western Kingbird. I finished off at one of the many "Metroparks" in Ohio, this one the East Sandusky Bay Metropark, looking for a Red-headed Woodpecker. I didn't specifically find one with a red head, but did find a black and gray juvenile. I'd have to wait for the next day for a full fledged red-headed adult.<br>
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That I found in Forest Hills Park, in east Cleveland, which is not a Metro Park, but a small park with ball fields and a small lake. As often happens when following GPS directions from e-Bird, I was directed to the wrong side of the park and an entrance that seems like it had been unused for years, if not decades. I drove up the drive and discovered crumbling asphalt that threatened to flatten all four of my ZipCar tires. I quickly made hasty retreat and drove around trying to decide if I was just in a bad part of town or completely lost. As it turned out I had tried to enter on the wrong side of the park and when I did find the proper entrance, it turned out to be a lovely park full of nice people either walking themselves or their dogs. And it didn't take me long to start hearing the Red-headed Woodpeckers calling and then to find one in a tree not too far from the parking lot.<br>
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My final morning in the Cleveland area saw me heading to Edison Woods MetroPark, about an hour north of Cleveland, hoping to find a Ring-necked Pheasant. No luck with that, and in fact I saw very few birds indeed. Nice walk, but a bit of a dissapointment. Spring in Edison Woods, according to the notice boards is the time to be there. <br>
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Back home tonight and, has been the case all baseball season long, another rare bird has been reported in Toronto, while I am out of town. In this case, a Common Ringed Plover at Tommy Thompson Park, a bird that in North America is usually found in Greenland, Baffin Island and as a spring migrant in the Aleutian Islands. Hopefully it will hang around long enough for me to get back and see it!<br>
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<br>Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-19789638180546081612016-08-07T16:59:00.001-07:002016-08-07T17:09:15.379-07:00Birding In and Around Houston in the Heat of AugustI'd love to say that birding the neighborhood parks around Houston was a bonanza of new bird sightings for the year, but alas that was not the case. In four mornings of profuse sweating I was only able to add five species to the year list. To be fair, birding in August is pretty slow anyway, and there were not even 20 species seen within an hour's drive of Houston in the past week that I had not yet counted this year. <br>
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All that being said, and despite the heat and the oppressive humidity each morning I birded from abut 7:30am to noon-ish, I did see a lot of nice birds and and even added an unexpected Lifer,(though not ABA, yet), a Red-vented Bulbul.</div>
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The first morning in, though, I was after a Least Grebe. I headed to El Franco Lee Park, about a half hour Uber ride from my hotel in Houston,(there were no Zip Cars available nearby that morning). As soon as I stepped out into the humid morning air, I was dripping with sweat and both my binocular and camera lenses were completely fogged up. I walked out to the boardwalk and gazebo, where the e-bird reports said the grebes had been seen, and I thought I had seen the grebes but lost them in the fog of my lenses. I always have my microfiber lens cloth with me, as it is litterally built into my SCOTTeVEST birding vest I wear whenever I'm out in the field. By the time I got my lenses cleared I had forgotten where I had thought I had seen the Least Grebes and it wasn't until another birder dropped by, on her way to work, to look at the grebes herself, that I was pointed in the right direction, which is exactly where I had been looking when I first arrived. Great looks at the adults and one of the juveniles with its cute striped head.<br>
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The next morning I was able to get a Zip Car, but had to take an Uber to get to it, as the closest one was nearly three miles away. I headed to Tanner Marsh hoping to find Cave Swallows, but once again found no swallows, but a large contingent of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks instead. Couldn't even get Fulvous Whistling Ducks.<br>
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I next headed over to both Woodland Park and White Oak Park, again a location where perhaps Cave Swallows might be, and made an unusual discovery, certainly one I never expected. In both parks I found a black bird with a little red under the tail feathers. The first one I didn't get a good look at and the photo wasn't much to look at so I figured I'd look it up later. I thought it was likely just a grackle in odd morning light. WhenI got to White Oak Park, I birded near the bridge looking for Cave but only found, again, Barn Swallows. I did, however, add Neotropic Cormorant to the year list.<br>
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As time was running out and I had to head to the ball park, I was looking at a couple of Kingbirds, listening to their call, hoping to hear Tropical Kingbird, but it was a Western. However, on the tree right to it, was this big black bird with the red under the tail. There were no birds in my iBird App that matched in a a Texas search. Sue suggested that it looked like a vented-"something" so I looked up "vented" birds, and it was a perfect match for a Red-vented Bulbul. A Hawaiian bird. <br>
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However after doing some research and sharing the photo with Susan Billetdeaux from TX RBA, she confirmed that Red-vented Bulbuls are countable in the Houston area as an Established Exotic, just as the Red-whiskered Bulbul is countable in south Florida, say. But whereas the Red-whiskered Bulbul is on the ABA List, the Red-vented Bulbul has yet to be added. So a Life bird,(929) and Year bird, but not an addition to my ABA List.<br>
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Day three in the Houston area saw me head to David Estates Road Estuary. A lovely body of water directly across from a garbage dump. Somewhere near by there were, you guessed it, Cave Swallows reported on e-Bird. But first, the estuary. When I got out of the car and saw the water and all the wading birds stretched out before me, on a perfect morning, it made me remember why I love birding. The view is why I bird. The places I end up, after driving into the middle of nowhere, trusting e-Bird and GPS directions. It was as close to a Zen moment as I ever get to. Just me and the birds and, well the cows and cow pies. And a cat. Oddly, no bunnies.<br>
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I did avoid walking in enough cow pies to spot some Fulvous Whistling Ducks to add to the year list, and then headed back to the bridge where, once again, it was all Cliff Swallows. I was bound and determined to get Cave Swallows this trip, the final day in the Houston area saw me head out of town to Galveston, in search of both Cave Swallows and a Gull-billed Tern.<br>
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This time I got my zip car closer to the ballpark so I could just walk to work after dropping it off. The drive to Galveston was pretty nice and on the road to Galveston there is a series of parallel bridges along Red Bluff Rd in Pasadena, and there, at Big Island Slough, I finally found my Cave Swallows. About a dozen of them flying back and forth across the 2 lane divided highway and under the bridges. Took a while to confirm they actually were Cave Swallows for a change and even longer to actually get photos.<br>
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From there I headed into Galveston and to 8 Mile Rad, which I didn't measure to confirm the distance, in search of a Gull-billed Tern. Lots of shore birds, herons, one flying and diving tern I had to get a photograph of to identify. I had hoped I had my Gull-billed Tern, but it turned out to be a Least Tern. I was running out of time so drove round the different waterways hoping to find my target tern. No luck but I did find Common Nighthawks lined up on the wires like so many pigeons. But no Gull-billed Tern.<br>
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After that it was off to Kansas City with very limited time to go birding. I did bird around the river along Ward Parkway downtown, and the Gorman Discovery Center where they have lots of natural gardens and feeders to attract a nice variety of birds. The only park I had time to get to on Saturday morning was Legacy park about half an hour from downtown Kansas City, but alas I was unable to add any new year birds. <br>
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So I head home to Toronto for the next 7 days, with 371 for the year and a trip to the West Perth Wetlands,(really a sewage lagoon), planned for next Thursday, which is my only day off this coming homestead. West Perth Wetlands is where I saw my first Hudsonian Godwit during my 2012 Big Year. <br>
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Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-6864740306253865852016-08-04T16:56:00.000-07:002016-08-05T07:02:47.030-07:00The Dog Days of Birding in TorontoThis week in Big Year Birding:<br />
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In August of 2012, in the heat of summer and with nowhere enough water, in Orlando, I set out on a 4 miles hike to find a Fork-tailed Flycatcher. Not only was I limited to very small sips of water, but my old hiking shoes were giving me severe blisters. I barely made it out of there on two feet. You can read about it here:<br />
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http://my2012bigyear.blogspot.ca/2012/07/let-me-tell-you-story.html<br />
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Back to the present:<br />
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Late summer birding in Toronto is, well, not that exciting. There are, to be fair, lots of cute baby birds around, including young Black-crowned Night Heron at James Gardens and the cutest little baby Cedar Waxing I found at Col. Sam Smith Park. <br />
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This time of year in Toronto your best bet is to check out areas where migrating shore birds tend to show up. One of those spots is Ratray Marsh in Mississauga. I had, for some reason, not seen a Lesser Yellowlegs this year, so off I went and it was the first bird I saw there.<br />
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There we're a few other shorebirds present...<br />
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Sue came along on my second visit and found this Semipalmated Plover:<br />
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and as fall migration heats up, even more shorebirds will follow, such as Buff-breasted Sandpipers, Red-necked Phalaropes, Pectoral Sandpipers and maybe even a Hudsonian Godwit.<br />
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<br />Robert Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12427373234806034381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5164074135037771856.post-16480874114688325892016-07-21T19:47:00.001-07:002016-07-25T16:16:29.600-07:00Mountain Birding Part II: The Sierras<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Starting in California with the High Sierras and moving on to Sierra Vista in Arizona this has been one of the trips I've been looking forward to all year. And with Thursday in California and Monday in Arizona official Off Days I was able to rent cars and explore further afield. <br />
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So, starting on Monday morning I headed out from San Francisco up highway 80 toward Bassett and Bassetts Station, a combination hotel, restaurant, gernaral store and Hummingbird Feeding Station. Why not? I was after a Calliope Hummingbirds, and, naturally, the first bird I saw was an American Robin. I found the feeders and about a dozen Rufous and Anna's Hummingbirds were coming to the feeders but no Calliope. Since it sometimes takes about 20 minutes between feedings, I decided to hike up the hillside extending from the station and, more robins. But then on my way down to the feeders, something scuttled in the brush. Then it called, then I saw a flash and it flew into a tree. I didn't see it again until it flew back across the river, but about 5 minutes later I found a Mountain Quail.<br />
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I headed back down to the feeders and within a few minutes a Calliope showed up, particularity easy to pick out next to the "regular" sized hummingbirds. 3 new species for the year and I was off to the SFSU Sierra Nevada Field Campus, in hopes of finding an American Dipper and Cassin's Finch,(a lifer). There is a little bridge at the campus and there I should have found the dipper. However, though it had been seen in the morning, I was not to find it. However, over the 90 plus minutes I was there I did find the Cassin's Finch, ABA 648 for me. I talked to some interesting people there who are spending the summer studying butterflies and insects, but, interestingly, not birds. Though I missed the dipper I did add a Golden Eagle, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Hermit Warbler, and Evening Grosbeak to the year list.<br />
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I had a lot of places I could have stopped at along the loop up 80 to 49 and across to to 89 and back down to 80, and had I spent limited time at each stop, I might have had a chance to visit all of them. Trouble was, I was enjoying each spot so much I lost track of time, and by the time I got to the Yuba Pass it was getting late in the day. The drive was spectacular too, with stunning views that threatened to have me drive off the road. Luckily, unlike some of California's mountain roads, there were not shear drop offs to scare the wits out of me as I drove.<br />
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Up at the campgrounds of the Yuba Pass I added a Dusky Flycatcher to the year list, but nothing more as I made my way back down the mountains to San Francisco. The next morning I was up bright and early to go for a half day of birding with Eddie and Noreen of NatureTrip. We started at Fort Mason and found several female and young Hooded Warblers and a visiting Summer Tanager, who was hanging out near a Western Tanager, likely the same one we saw earlier in the year. Our next stop took us to Cliff House where I added a Western Grebe. I wanted to find a Tricolored Blackbird, so Eddie drove us to Lake Merced, where we found one amongst the dozens of Red-winged Blackbirds, and I was able to get a nice photo. We finished at Edgewood Park with an lots of Oak Titmouse. Titmice? Titmouses?<br />
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The next evening I went to the Hayward Regional Shoreline, where in the fall thousands of shorebirds show up and this past week a Red-necked Stint was on show. I went on the off chance it would still be there, as it hadn't been reported in a couple of days, and I found even more birders looking for it than the 20 or so American Avocets that were also there. Along the way I counted a Black-necked Stilt and Long-billed Curlew for the year list, but when I left just before dusk, no stint had been seen.<br />
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The next day I flew to Phoenix, Arizona and drove down to Sierra Vista, where the next morning I met Matt Brown for a full day of birding around Cochise County. We started at Pinery Canyon, which is up a winding canyon road with not so many severe dropoffs, where there were I was able to add 11 Year birds, including Red-faced and Grace's Warbler, a Dusky-capped Flycatcher and a Magnificent Hummingbird that litterally looked me in the eye. If you've seen the movie The Big Year, there is a scene that looks too good to be true when a Xantu's Hummingbird hovers about 2 feet in front of Steve Martin's nose. I can tell you now that I have now had a hummingbird hover 2 feet in front of my nose. So there!<br />
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We next took a drive out to Ramsey Canyon where the hope was to see one or both of a Flame-colored Tanager and Tufted Flycatcher. But to get to them, a two mile hike was required. Sounds easy enough, and the first quarter mile seems easy enough. It's the next half mile that really does you in. It's not that far in terms of linear distance but it rises 1000 feet above sea level over that half mile and you're already at altitude. And it was hot, and forget about what they say about dry heat, it was humid too. I had to stop every couple of hundred yards to catch my breath. Still we made it to the peak in just over an hour and when I got to the top and saw the few I was embarrassed about how much I complained that I wasn't going to make it and was on the verge of death.<br />
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We spent an hour or so in vain down in the valley looking for the flycatcher but did hear Spotted Owl, saw and heard lots of Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers and were heading back down by 4:15 to try to get to the parking lot before 5pm so that we didn't get locked in when they closed the gate, as we wanted to get to Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast by dusk for the Lucifer Hummingbird. Just be we headed down from the peak, Matt's phone rang and he took the call. Since it was gettting late I continued on down, so I could at least get to the car on time. But as I went, it seemed Matt was taking a long time on that call. I began to wonder so, I turned back, but Matt was right behind me saying, breathklessly, "I just got the best view of the Flame-colored Tanager. I thought he was joking, but no, he really had. So he took the car keys and headed down the mountain as I turned back. It was just as hard going back up as the first time, except I was already exhausted. But I wasn't going to let the fear of a heart attack in the mountains stop me from getting that bird. <br />
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As I closed in on the overlook, I heard a bird. I listed to the Flame-colored Tanager call on phone and knew I was hearing it. I found it atop a tree just as it flew off. I found it again and got my photos. New year bird and ABA Lifer 649!<br />
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We finished the day at Mary-joe's Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast where we pulled up chairs with about 20 other birders and within 10 minutes got great looks at the Lucifer Hummingbird, along with 3 other year birds for my list. On my way back to Phoenix I was able to add 3 more including a Swanson's Hawk. As Matt was driving us to Ramsey Canyon I was taking a nap and missed a couple the previous day.<br />
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And no trip to Phoenix is complete without a visit to Encanto Park, where the Rosy-faced Lovebirds hang out. On my last morning in Arizona I took an Uber to the park and it didn't take long to spot these cute little love birds. I spent a hate Yearlf hour enjoying them along with adding a Gila Woodpecker to the Year List to give me 365 species in the first six and a half months of the year, only birding where I travel with the Blue Jays. <br />
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Next stop: Houston, Texas!<br />
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Calliope Hummingbird, the little one in front:<br />
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Cassie's Finch:</div>
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Tricolored Blackbird:</div>
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Long-billed Curlew:<br />
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Flame-colored Tanager:</div>
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Lucifer Hummingbird:</div>
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Swansen's Hawk:</div>
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Cassin's Sparrow:</div>
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Rosy-faced Lovebirds:</div>
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