Bosque del Apache

One of the highlights of our New Mexico birding adventure is to spend some time at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Reserve. The sight has large impoundments surrounded by desert and serves as an oasis for migrating and wintering birds. Among the largest numbers of visitors for the winter are included the Snow goose and the Greater and Lesser Sandhill cranes. These birds fly great distances to come to the relative warmth and safety of the Bosque and birders and nature photographers fly from even greater distances to view the assemblage. Our first exposure to the refuge was beyond our wildest expectations. Literally thousands of cranes and geese swam and waded through the shallow pools where they were afforded ample supplies of food as well as protection from many of their natural enemies. Their shear numbers and the fact that they were surrounded by water kept many of their predators at bay. One of these, the coyote, was seen by us on several occasions, but it was only away from the reserve in a dry desert canyon that we actually witnessed a kill by this carnivore. More about that in a later posting. For now, enjoy the photos of the cranes, the Snow goose along with the smaller Ross's goose and the lone coyote who hunted in vain while we watched.

Nine life-birds

It doesn't get much better than this. We expected to find some new life-birds on our trip to southcentral New Mexico, but 9 in one day? We travelled south about 1 1/2 hours from our motel in Socorro to the Perga Dam region. Our first stop was at Animas Creek Road, a small one lane road through scrub desert and an irrigated nursery. One life bird after another made an appearance starting with the cardinal-like Pyrrhuloxia and quickly followed by the "clownfaced" Acorn woodpecker. Say's phoebe, Brewer's sparrow, the White-winged dove (new for our North American list), Brewer's blackbird all made an appearance along this species-rich stretch of blacktop. Later at the Perga and Elephant butte dam areas, we added the Western and Clark's grebes and the Lesser goldfinch. Nine in one day! Definitely worth the time and effort to get to the "Land of Enchantment".

New Mexico - Day 2

Day 2 of our New Mexico birding trip finds us in the south-central part of the state at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Snow geese, Ross's geese, and Sandhill cranes arrive here in the thousands during late September and will winter here until they return north in early spring. The numbers of geese and cranes are almost too much to comprehend as the sights and sounds of their movements throughout the refuge are a constant stimulation to our senses. We spent the morning learning about some of the behaviors of the cranes which made the morning's observations all the more impressive. Bowing, crouching, and tail wagging are all warnings to other cranes not to invade another's space. If the warning goes unheeded, then the intruder is chased off with kicks and bites from the parent cranes. Birds are not the only inhabitant of the refuge as we quickly found out. A lone coyote, apparently indifferent to our presence, trotted up and over an imbankment and passed withing 25 yards of our birding troupe. Obviously, he had something more important than us on his mind. The evening hours were no less spectacular as we watched hundreds of cranes fly into the relative safety of a shallow pond near the refuge entrance. Tomorrow, we'll head further south for new habitat and new species .

We're off on a great birding trip to south-central New Mexico. Our guides are the experienced and well respected Don Freiday and Pete Bacinski from New Jersey Audubon. Sharon and I are hoping to amass a good number of life-birds on this trip as it is our first venture into New Mexico. Day 1 found us beginning outside Albuquerque at Tres Pistoles Canyon. Almost immediately, we began checking off new species. Curve-billed thrashers, Western bluebirds, and a Townsend's solitaire were all in great view. From here, we ventured up into the Sandia Mountains and Sandia Crest, an elevation of over 10,000 feet. Our target birds were the Rosy-finches, but a crowd on the decks near the feeders spoiled our chances at these birds. A nearby flyover of a Sharp-shinned hawk and nice close views of two more life-birds, the Mountain chickadee and the Steller's Jay, were more than ample compensation for the missed finches. We plan to return to the mountain later in the trip and perhaps our luck will be able to photographed the finches at that time. We ended the day with a trip to the Rio Grande Nature Center and had great views of wood ducks, ruddies, common and hooded mergs, and more. After a successful day like this, what more could we ask for? Now it's off to Socorro and an early visit to Basque del Apache tomorrow.

Back to the Bent

I have posted reports from one of our favorite birding locales, Bent of the River in South Britain, CT, several times before. The great thing about the Bent is that there is something new every time we go. A number of feeders right outside the observation deck at the Audubon Center affords us the opportunity to get nice and close to our subjects, and as they busy themselves taking advantage of the smorgasbord provided by the kind people at Audubon, they pay us little mind. Hence, photographs rank on the readily available end of the scale. Today's treat was several Fox sparrows foraging on the ground below one of the nearby feeders. These rufous beauties were a bit difficult to get off a clear shot of at first as they were concentrating their efforts below some thick brush. Patience paid off as it usually does, however, and one of the birds moved up into the open and gave us nice looks and nice shots. Special thanks to Audubon educator Jim Drennan who helped us identify the bird and stayed on to offer more advice for quite a while. Just one more reason to make this one of our premier "photo-op stops."

The North country

We're finishing our 2 week tour of northern New York, affectionately known to we New Yorkers as the "North country". The Adirondacks experience a climate in which the onset of winter generally occurs around Thanksgiving and lasts through April. This year, we got a head start with 10 inches of snow falling over the Lake Placid area on October 29th! While inconvenient as far as travel goes, we were already at our destination in Higley Flow on the Raquette River, and the new fallen snow made for a photographers paradise. The day after the heaviest snowfall, we were blessed with crystal clear deep azure skies and brilliant sun. The perfect winter wonderland day and it was not yet Halloween! Birds which had been scarce at the feeders were suddenly more than anxious to convene for an easy meal. The landscape made for photo ops which you just couldn't fail with. By the end of the week, warmer temperatures had all but erased this spectacular canvas. But the images are recorded by the digital camera for posterity and for me to share with you.

South Carolina

It's our last day in South Carolina and we are busy packing for the trip back to NY. We had another great day of birding south of our location. Our main destination was Pawley's Island and although we were told by the local owner of an Audubon shop there that there was really no good birding on the island, we found otherwise. A pod of dolphin had driven a school of mullet into a shallow cove just west of the north causeway and we were treated to a group of 6 ospreys and a Belted kingfisher working the surface of those waters. Hopefully the dolphins fared better than the ospreys, because after repeated dives by the fish-hawks, the apparent take of fish was less than dismal. The show was certainly worth the time and effort to get to the island, however, and we enjoyed witnessing the birds' athletic agility. Plenty of great egrets, snowies, tricolors, and a fine green heron were all visible with no need for the scope. Tomorrow, its back on the road with stops planned for the East Shore of Virginia NWR, Cape May, and Brigantine. Good birding to all.

South Carolina

We've been in South Carolina for a week now and have discovered some wonderful new birding sites. The first we explored, Huntington Beach State Park, is located in Murrell's Inlet, about 30 miles south of North Myrtle Beach. The tide was heading out and we patiently awaited low tide and for the exposure of the mud flats. As the flats emerged from beneath the bay's waters, they came alive with the sounds of Clapper (see image above) and Virginia rails. Shore birds such as Willets and Yellowlegs came in to sample the buffet as close to a hundred Wood storks watched from the surrounding trees. Back at the Visitors' Center, the feeder was playing host to several pairs of Painted buntings (right above), a "year bird" for us. Later, we travelled across Route 17 to the beautiful Brookgreen Gardens. A close encounter with a Red-shouldered hawk, Brown thrashers, Yellow warblers, Pine and Palm warblers among others made our day complete. We'll head back down this week, so "stay tuned" for more new birds from the southlands.

Fall is near

A morning at the Coastal Connecticut Audubon Center in Milford, CT proved that high numbers are not always the premier requisite for a good day of birding. The old saying of "quality, not quantity" was what today was all about. We had nice close looks at the local "peeps" - Least and semipalmated sandpipers, sanderlings, and Ruddy turnstones. Further out, but in nice viewing distance for the binoculars, were 4 American oystercatchers. Just being on the cobbled beach was worth the effort this morning as fall was in the air. You could feel and smell the coming changes as these birds were making their way to warmer climes for the winter. Back at the Center, a juvenile Yellow-crowned nightheron and an Eastern willet kept us entertained as we watched the two hunters work the flats. Ospreys flew overhead and an elusive clapper rail made an all-too-brief appearance. We rounded the day off with a trip to the Greenwich Audubon Center and a stopover at the Quaker Ridge Hawk Watch. A few Sharp-shinned hawks, a red-tail and a few migrating osprey sightings made for the perfect end to a fine day in the field.

After Hannah

The day after Tropical storm Hannah passed through, we traveled south to Jamaica Bay NWR in search of any birds which may have been carried north by the storm. By the time we arrived, however, the storm had long since left and the winds were zephyrs at best. The north end of the east pond was flooded from the heavy rains and with no mudflats exposed was not suitable for the waders. The south end, while a bit muddy, was much better and produced my life red-necked phalarope. At first, the bird was quite distant, but our group inched forward and the bird actually swam closer to us as we approached. Plenty of peeps, a nice shot of a Pectoral sandpiper, a bald eagle and a peregrine rounded out the day's production. Any time there is a life-bird involved, the trip has been worth the effort.

A Westchester gem

Every so often, a new site for birding comes to our attention. This week, we are visiting family in Eastchester. I got on the web and found a site nearby called the Marshlands Conservancy. Of all the locations in Westchester, this is truly a gem. The reserve has plenty of habitat to explore.....Forest, meadow, marshland and beaches are all present and all present their own assemblage of species. As we entered the forest, we immediately bumped into (almost literally) a fawn which was vocalizing a call I've never heard before in all my years in the woods. The young deer was calling to its mother for a feeding, according to the local naturalist. We later saw an adult (the mother?) skulking though the trees. Shortly afterwords, we heard a rustling high in the canopy and looked up to see a young racoon keeping watch over us. A small stream further along the trail was providing a number of goldfinches with bathing opportunities, and a molting Common yellowthroat was joining in. Even though we were here on one of the hottest days in summer and at the peak of the day, the birds were all around us....downies, flickers, Carolina wrens, robins, jays, cardinals, and on and on. We plan to return shortly to take advantage of the meadows and the marshes. This is a site which we will add to our favorites without question....a Westchester gem.

The Meadowlands

Sharon and I ventured southwards to New Jersey and the Meadowlands today. What an unexpected but delightful surprise! We had heard of the great habitat, but we were a bit wary of a "natural" environment that close to New York City. And yet, with the city skyline in the background, here was a wonderful place for shorebirds, migratory songbirds, raptors, gulls, terns, and on and on. The day we chose to first bird this oasis, the temperatures were in the low 90's and by the time we arrived it was close to mid-day. In spite of these adverse conditions, we found what we new would become a "regular" on our places to visit. I've long been trying to get a good close-up shot of a marsh wren, but they will constantly tease you.....calling and chortling within 10 feet of you , but remaining hidden in the reeds. Finally, while working out of one of the several photo blinds provided along the boardwalk, one of the wrens flitted to the top of the reeds and began to call. What an opportunity. Along with a number of peeps (mostly Least sandpipers) we had plenty of waterfowl. We know that as Fall approaches, the numbers of migrants will increase drastically, so we plan on revisiting the site in the not-so-distant future.

Connecticut

Each time we visit out son Brian in Connecticut, we make sure we stop at one of the many wonderful birding sites located in that state. Our personal favorite is Bent of the River Audubon Center in Southbury. This time, however, we decided to visit two different sites.....one of our old haunts, Kettletown State Park, and a new one for us, the Greenwich Audubon Center. Kettletown was fairly quiet, but the birds which were there offered us some colorful looks at some of our more common birds. We found an Eastern bluebird perched upon a light post right behind the main office and when I decided to try for a close-up of this beautifully plumaged bird, he was more than happy to oblige. Next, a Baltimore in full breeding plumage made an appearance and was quickly followed by a striking Indigo bunting. Certainly a day of spectacular colors. The following day, we journeyed to the Audubon Center at Greenwich. With over 7 miles of trails and a placid pond nestled deep in the forest, this a place we certainly need to take a closer look at. While I hiked down to Lake Mead, Sharon sat on a bench at the forest edge and had wonderful close encounters with a pair of house wrens, an Eastern bluebird couple, curious Catbirds, robins, and another Baltimore oriole. Now that many of the warblers have departed, we are finding the old standbys to be the main sightings. We did round out the day at "Sharon's bench" with a deeply hued Yellow warbler. Again, this is a site we will be sure to visit again and again in the future.

Cosh Road

With spring having finally arrived, Sharon and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went looking for a bird we needed for our "Year-list". The bird is the Grasshopper sparrow, a somewhat ellusive bird with a penchant for secrecy. We found the bird as promised last year along a hilly road running through the farm country of Minisink. Naturally, we assumed the bird would be in exactly the same location this year, so off we went. Why birders believe that the birds don't move around from year to year is beyond me, but we do believe and this time, it paid to believe. Right in the same location as we found the Grasshopper sparrows last year, we relocated them for our latest addition to the year-list....now at 262 species. Along with the sparrows, we were treated to the spectacle of the beautiful Bobolinks working the field. One came right up alongside the road to grant us an unusually nice photo-op. What a great way to start off the month of June.

Warblers

May is an exceptional time of year for New York birders. We all look forward to this month in much the same way that a young child anticipates an approaching birthday or Christmas . There are multitudes of species which come through our state during the month of May, but no birds are more appreciated than the beautiful warblers. Yellows, blues, and greens are all blended into intricate patterns with each warbler species having its own signature coloration. Cerulians, Black and whites, Black-throated blues and Black-throated greens, Yellow warblers, Chestnut-sided warblers, Blue-winged and Golden-wings.....their names allude to the striking designs and hues one can expect to find in the ever-increasing coverage of green foliage during late spring. We have spent the past several weeks searching out these beauties. It is amazing how something so spectacularly adorned can manage to be so ellusive. If it weren't for their individual songs, you would be hard pressed to find them. But the song is loud and insistant and betrays the whereabouts of these birds, so finally we are rewarded for our efforts with nature's true works of art.....the warblers. Look now, for in a couple of weeks, the songs will stop and the birds will either have moved on or will be hiding with their nests and their young deep in the forest. Carpe diem!

Love is in the air.....

Sorry for the long delay in postings, but we just finally got back to New York and have all , well...most, of our ducks in a row. I'll be more punctual in the future. Travelling home from our son Brian's home in Connecticut this morning, we stopped at Bent of the River Audubon Center in Southbury CT in search of spring migrants. We were thrilled to see all the action at the feeders in spite of windy and raw conditions. A beautiful Ruby-throated hummingbird, goldfinches, Indigo buntings, and Baltimore orioles all sang and filled the air with wonderful sights and sounds. But the highlight of the day was the incessant wooing of a disinterested female Rose-breasted grosbeak by a would-be suitor. He danced, he vibrated his wings back and forth at a frantic pace and pursued his lovely target only to have her flit away as if he wasn't even there. Love is not always kind. Maybe next time.....

Heading north

We are finishing up our three month stint here in the Sunshine State and are trying to get in those last few Florida birds before we head north. Today we returned to Viera Wetlands preserve just north of Melbourne. We've had many a fine sighting here over the past three months and figured it would be worth our while to give it one more look. We were not disappointed as we made the loop of the park and spotted over 30 species. Many of these we will no doubt follow up north and will see them once again on new territory in New York. But some of these birds are not about to leave these friendly environs and we will have to wait until next year to get good looks at them. We say good-bye for now to the beautiful Crested caracaras which were flying over head today. We will miss the anhingas and their handsome chicks. The Loggerhead shrikes will no doubt be replaced by their Norther cousins as we head back home. Most of the egrets and herons will soon be found back in more northern haunts as will the warblers we now chase back home. All in all, it was a wonderful winter with 8 new life-birds being added to the list. Our next entries will be from our last stop in Florida, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm where we find hundreds of nesting birds. From there, it's northward bound. See you in the Empire State.

Wakodahatchee wetlands

Well, we're back from our jaunt to the Florida Keys. Several things to note.....the Everglades are really dry! For the past several years, we've visited the glades in hopes of new species like the Cape Sable Sea Sparrow, but lately the conditions are so dry that it's difficult to find an abundance of anything. To make this point more salient, consider the last leg of our Florida Keys trip as we stopped along the route north heading back to New Smyrna Beach. We stopped at three locations in Delray Beach. The two most productive sites by far were the Wakodahatchee wetlands and the Green Cay wetlands. Both of the preserves have been created by the waste water treatment facilities in Delray and thus have plenty of water at their disposal (poor pun). At these two facilities, we walked the boardwalks and had the best-of -the-year looks at Purple gallinules, Least terns, Black-necked stilts, Green herons, Black-bellied whistling ducks and a myriad of other birds. The added attraction at this time of year is that many of the birds are with their young and can be photographed at close proximity. The sad part of the story is that when we visited Loxahatchee National Wildlife Reserve later in the day, it was "dead". There was so little water in the impoundments that we had to really search for ibises and herons. Our thougt is that many of the birds usually found here are now comfortably nesting at the two water reclamation plants mentioned earlier. Bottom line, when in the Delray area of Florida, don't miss the two wonderful birding sites of Wakodahatchee and Green Cay.

Dry Tortugas

We spent Tuesday travelling to the Dry Tortugas via some pretty rough seas. Even though the waves were only 4-5- feet, it felt like much higher. The periodicity of the waves seems to cause each wave to arrive a bit faster than anticipated, so the waves felt much larger. The trip was well worth the effort (thousgh there were those aboard who might refute that) with several new life-birds being the spoils of the victory. The winds were heading out of the north, and as luck would hve it, those are the conditions birders hope for when spending the time and money to visit these outermost isles. Among our "lifers" for the day were the Brown noddy and the Masked booby. That makes the second booby for our Florida trip and we are thrilled to have gotten these two ellusive birds. We also were treated to some excellent photo-ops of the American avocet, the noddy, and a merlin which was taking advantage of the fact that a number of worn-out warblers were huddled at the water feeder in the campground. For the merlins and the peregrines, this was HOJO's on a Saturday morn. Just sit back and watch the buffet line grow richer and richer in "delicasies". All in all, one of the more productive days in Florida....and that's saying something.

The Keys trip

We're off and running on a trip to the Florida Keys and out to the Dry Tortugas. When you want life birds, you have to go search them out in places you've never visited before. We've been to the Keys, but not since we started birding together some 10 years ago. And so.....off we go. We travelled down to the gateway of the Keys, Florida City, today. Having several hours to bird, we went down to the Everglades. The height of the birding down here right now is the spring migration. We ran into some old friends.....the warblers on their way back north. Hearing the familiar song of the Prairie, we sat pat and waited the birds out. Sure enough, two beautiful Prairies flew right in next to us and posed as pretty as could be. They were both in beautiful breeding plumage as seen in today's photo. Tomorrow, it's off to find some new "lifers". We'll let you know how it goes.

Migration

Here in the Sunshine state of Florida, we are seeing the evolving migratory pattern of our "avian friends" moving from their familiar haunts to ports northward. The last of the ducks is always the Blue-winged teal. Several months ago, we could literally walk across the backs of the ducks from one shore to the next. Now, however, there is a completely different scenario. Bluewings, Shovelers, and an occasional Scaup are the only "northern" water fowl still hanging on. We'll head north in the next couple of week, following warblers, the other fowl, and the sparrows. But we have a feeling that the Blue-winged teals will follow us. They seem unusally content here in the warm climes of the southeast. Tomorrow, Sharon and I head south for the Keys and the Dry Tortugas in seach of those birds which are in the midst of their journey north as well as those who don't feel the compulsion or the need to come any further north than the warm (very warm) climate of southeast Florida. We'll keep you abreast of what we find down in the deepest southern realms of our beautiful country.

Persistence

Every once in a while, a report shows up on the Rare Bird Alerts about some exotic or rarely seen bird right in your own back yard. Such was the case yesterday when reports of a Purple sandpiper right here in our neighborhood in Florida were posted. A friend from New York is visiting, and he had never photographed the bird. So, off we went in search of the sandpiper as well as Piping plovers which I had seen recently in the same spot. When we arrived at Smyrna Dunes, there were several listings of recent sightings, but no report of the sandpiper. Still, with our hopes raised, we ventured out to the south jetty of Ponce Inlet. We searched the sand dunes for the plovers with no luck. Much of the activity we witnessed last week at this same location had abated. There were plenty of Brown pelicans, sanderlings, and Ruddy turnstones working the surf, but darn if we could find the plovers or the target bird.....the Purple sandpiper. We searched the jetty with our binoculars and photographed the turnstones and a lone Royal tern to while away time. I finally turned to my friend and suggested we head on back. At that point, he excitedly told me he had a "different" bird in view. Not far off at all, climbing along the boulders of the jetty was our bird. The sandpiper was indeed here as promised. He had obviously been here all along, but was elluding our sight until now. A little persistence goes a long way.

Owls

We began the day by heading out with a naturalist on a pontoon boat on the St. John’s River. We were greeted at the dock by a gorgeous Barred owl that perched in a tree out in full view just above our heads. Our target species for the day included the Purple gallinule, the Limpkin and hopefully the Burrowing owl later in the day. It didn’t take long before we came upon our first target , the Purple gallinule. We had very good looks from a distance of no more than 35 feet, and the bird obliged by staying out in full view for an extended time….something a gallinule is not known to do. We found our limpkin shortly thereafter, calling out its distinctive “screaming” song. Again, for the photographers on board, the setting and the light were almost perfect. By the trip’s end, we had tallied more than 50 species on the river. We then headed out to Eustis in search for Burrowing owls that Sharon and I have spotted before. The owls cooperated nicely and were just where we expected to find them Finding owls is always a special treat, but when you get two wonderful views on the same day of two different species, that is indeed a special day.