The first day of winter 2009

Today, at 12:47 Eastern Standard Time, the sun reached its lowest point on the southern horizon marking the Winter Solstice….the first day of winter. Sharon and I had reports of a Barnacle goose being sighted during the Rockland County Christmas Count at Piermont, NY and headed south in search of this NY rarity. The first day of winter was well represented by near freezing temps and cold winds out of the north. This is of course augmented when you are standing out on a pier well into the Hudson River with little or no cover from the icy blast. The goose failed to appear, perhaps due to the weather which even a goose found unwelcoming. The only geese we did find were in a protected area further inland, and the Barnacle was not among them.
The river was dotted with small rafts of ducks, however….. Buffleheads, Canvasbacks, the omnipresent Mallards, and a nice collection of Ruddy ducks. Ruddies are noted for “laying back and chillin’ out” with their heads tucked down into the mantle of down. Our representatives of the Ruddy world were perfect examples of this behavior as seen in today’s chosen photograph. It seemed on the last day of Autumn and the first day of Winter that these birds said it all….get ready for a cold few months.

Another rarity

This is out of order chronologically, but I'll get back to Ireland reports as time allows. My birding friend Joe and I headed south to New York City and Queens to check out reports of a NY rarity, the Ash-throated flycatcher. The field guides show these birds to be found only in the south western US during the summer and only in the deep south along the coast in winter. Well, here he is....lost or otherwise hanging out in a not-so-luxurious vacant corner lot in Queens. After a two hour battle with traffic, we finally arrived on site and soon afterwards had our first distant but clear look at the bird. We waited for another hour or so, trying to get decent photos. We were joined by another local birder who had seen the bird previously, but likewise wanted to capture a better image than he had earlier. Two more birders joined us and showed us a second nearby site where they had spotted the flycatcher. We waited patiently for another half hour or so before the first birder came to us to say he had spotted the target back in the lot where we had started our quest. We quickly returned to that location and again waited patiently while nothing appeared . Finally, I suggested we call it a day and head back to the car. As we departed, there, on the fence line where the later two birders had suggest we look, was the bird....right out in the open in perfect light. The bird posed for us for an extended period of time as we shot numerous frames. The results are posted above....another life-bird sighted and photographed!

Ireland - Day 3

We leave our hotel for the day to travel to Carlingford Lough en route to the ruins of Newgrange. Carlingford lies between Slieve Foy Mountain, Carlingford Lough and the Mourne mountains. Carlingford is a medieval city with much of the buildings dating back to that time. We spent some time wandering through the small city. Being a Sunday morning, all was very quiet with little but a pair of European greenfinches to notice our presence. The shoreline of Carlingford Lough was equally placid with little in the way of avian life to draw our attention.

Around the ruins of the 5000 year old tomb at Newgrange were numerous Pied wagtails. These wagtails are simply a British/Irish race of the White wagtail which is found in the rest of Europe. The Pied wagtails are darker above (almost black in summer) and a sooty gray below.As we headed down the road from Newgrange bound for the little town of Keady, we were treated to a spectacular rainbow through the coach window. We could only imagine the leprechaun guarding the pot-o-gold at the rainbow’s end.
We reached our day’s end destination at Tossie’s Cottage for a traditional Irish “session ”. Musicians from the countryside gather together at this farmhouse to mix, mingle and most of all play and sing. The farmhouse is on the property of the Makem family, perhaps the most famous musical family in all of Ireland. We were hosted by Tommy Makem’s brother John. We were treated to some of the most wonderful Irish folk music you could ever hope for as well as plenty of Guinness and Jamesons. We were all sorry to leave this magical place and the magical gathering that took place. Truly a piece of Ireland we will never forget.

Ireland - Days 1 & 2

After our first day of travel and sight-seeing, we now head north to Lough Neagh and Belfast. The weather is somewhat gloomy and chilly, but our enthusiasm has not waned and we are after new birds. The wait is not long as we soon come upon wintering birds foraging through the berry-laden bushes and trees. Lough Neagh is the largest lake in the British Isles, and its waters and surrounding woodlands are a haven for wildlife. The European robin is one of the most evident birds as we enter the woodlands, especially around the edges. He looks little like our robin, but is most attractive in his own right. Great looks at a number of birds which were lifers for Sharon and me were to be found at the Lough. The Pied wagtail is a variant of the White wagtail which we have seen in Germany and in the US on one occasion. The Great tit won the prize for most colorful bird and was more than willing to come in close when a local bird photographer had sprinkled bird seed on a platform and invited me in close to take a few shots. That may be cheating a little, but hey, when in Rome……(or Ireland)….

After partaking of lunch at the Oxford Island preserve cafeteria (where by the way, we had Winter wrens perched right outside our window), we boarded the coach with Peter at the helm and headed north for Belfast. Belfast has had a turbulent past, and the last time we visited the Emerald Isle, we were not permitted to venture into the northern part of Ireland in fear of the violence that was commonplace at that time. The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 brought about an uneasy peace which has been more and more the way of life for the people of Northern Ireland. Even so, there is a steel gate to this day which separates the northern and southern parts of Belfast and is locked shut each night to prevent violence between the people of the two communities. After a visit to the city, we head over to Belfast Harbor near the airport.

The site is yet another haven for wintering and migrating birds as we soon found out. The Harbor area itself and more specifically the “Nature Conservation Area” located between the airport and Belfast Lough are literally teeming with avian life on the mudflats at low tide. A large glass-fronted blind (here they are called “Hides”) allows visitors to get close up views of Black- and Bar-tailed godwits, Redshanks, Eurasian Oystercatchers, Snipe, Reed buntings, Lapwings, Curlews and on and on. Finally, it’s back to Newry and the Canal Court Hotel. It has been another long day, and we are only two days into the trip. We head back to our rooms around 10:30 and get ready to hit the sack knowing there is a 6:15 wake-up call coming our way tomorrow morning.

Ireland - Preface

Day 0 – Dublin
We arrived in Dublin about 9:30 this morning after an overnight flight. We’ll be joining 22 other birders on a tour run by Field Guides called “The Birds, the Music and the Pubs of Ireland.” All went smoothly as we were pushed along by the jet-stream giving us a flight time of around 5 ½ hours. The trip does not officially begin until tomorrow morning, but we wanted to get in ahead of schedule and get ourselves acclimated to the change in time. After getting our shuttle over to our hotel for the evening (Holiday Inn Express – doesn’t sound too Irish, eh?), we decided upon a short nap before heading out to get some fresh air. When we left the Inn, we were thrilled to see that immediately across the access road into the hotel grounds, there was a beautiful city park complete with a large pond, stream, wooded areas and a large field area. The place was downright birdy and we took advantage of the opportunity to bag our first three life-birds of the trip…all before the tour had actually begun! Eurasian coot, Little grebe, and the Tufted duck were our lifers which we spotted among some more familiar European birds including the Common magpie, Hooded crow, Black-headed gulls and Gray heron. If the rest of the trip proves to be as productive as this, we’ll be a couple of happy American birders!

South Carolina 09

This is our second year of traveling down the coast to bird South Carolina in the Myrtle Beach area. We have found two spots which are productive and are purported to be the top birding spots in the state. Murrell's Inlet serves as our home base for the first several days as it is located very close to our favorite locale...Huntington Beach State Park. The causeway by which you enter the park is most productive at low tide, but you can never tell what the area might hold regardless of the water level. This year, the Wood storks adorned the trees along the causeway entrance much the same as they had last year. This season, however, the storks were joined by a compliment of Roseate spoonbills. The spoonbills were still in their deep pink plumage and stood out from the storks without the need of the bins. The causeway naturally still produced Great blue and Tri-color herons, Great and Snowy egrets, and Dunlin and Least sandpipers as well as Willets. The other two areas of the park we concentrate on are the boardwalk adjacent to the Nature Center and the Observation tower on Sandpiper Pond. The Center has several feeders, and we managed to catch several of the last Painted buntings of the year. On the boardwalk, we found "Old reliable", the Clapper rail. Every time we have visited the site, we've found the rails calling loudly and usually poking out into the open to pose for the camera. Today was no different as the above photo shows. At the tower, we found the usual assemblage of Moorhens and Pied-billed grebes joined today by a fine Sharp-shinned hawk. Other sites to explore should you ever be in this area include Myrtle Beach State Park where this Green heron was photographed and Cherry Grove Beach's Heritage Shores Refuge which is locate just north of North Myrtle Beach. Both provide great habitat for rails, sparrows, towhees, and the usual waders and should not be passed by.

A visitor from the west

Based on the reports from Rich Guthrie via the NY list-serve, Sharon and I drove north to Thruway Exit 21B (NOT Exit 21 as we quickly found out) yesterday morning in search of a new life-bird for both of us, the Swainson's hawk. Forecasts were for high winds and those forecasts were right on the money. After a 1 3/4 hour drive north, we arrived at our destination. Rich was present at the site and put us on the hawk within the first five minutes of our visit. The hawk gave little heed to the blustery conditions and gave us fine looks for well over an hour. The young bird spent most of his(her?) time flying around the trees directly opposite our vantage point and was often perched on the road signs directly across from the exit ramp. What a cooperative subject! The Swainson's hawk is common in the prairies and intermontane plains of western US. Almost all of these birds head south to Argentina in the fall, and for whatever reason, this young bird decided to go via New York. Although it is not unheard of the get these birds passing through, it is indeed a rare treat. It was indeed a great opportunity to see a great bird thanks to Mr. Guthrie!

Early fall birding

Sorry for the long delay in posting, but we've been constantly on the road this summer and early fall and time just seems to slip away. We've had nice moderately successful trips to Monhegan Island in Maine and a more successful trip to the Jersey Shore over the past several weeks. Jersey was by far the "birdier" of the two locations as the wind patterns over Monhegan were not conducive to the migrants which so often do show up there. Using some recommendations from birder friends Della and Alan Wells regarding Scarborough Marsh (also in Maine), we did spend two days there on our way to Monhegan with much better results. Many shore birds were using the marsh as well as the elusive Saltmarsh and Nelson's sparrows. Re Jersey, we spent several days working our way down the coast with stops at Barnegut Light, Brigantine, the SeaWatch at Avalon, and eventually Cape May. Our leader for the Cape May portion of the trip was Warren Cairo, and he did a great job in putting us on many of the migrants found in the area at this time of year. Images above include Monhegan Island, and a Forster's tern and Clapper rail from Brigantine. All-in-all, the month of September was busy and productive....what a great time of year to be out in the field!

Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Sharon and I travel down to Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge with our birding friend Joe in search of migrating shore birds. Generally a slow day, but there is always something to offer. We watched as a herring gull methodically worked at gaining a meal from within the hard shell of a clam. Repeatedly dropping the clam onto a hard rock slab which from the signs of the detritus had been used for this purpose before, the gull finally managed to get a small crack in the shell. From that point on, it was only a matter of time and the bird had won a fine lunch at the clam's expense. Earlier during the day, Joe and I found a nicely plumaged Green heron at "Big John's Pond". From behind a blind, we were able to get some nice shots of this bird as well as an immature Black-crowned night heron. Nice shots of both Yellowlegs and Semi-palmated sandpipers we found at the south end of East Pond rounded out the day. The surprise bird of the day, however, was a "Black swan" we spotted on the far side of the pond. We were to read later that the one spot we neglected to bird this day, the north end of the pond, had proved to be much more productive. Well, we'll start at that point on our next visit to the refuge.

Adirondack birding

We had the opportunity to visit good old friends up in the "Dacks" several weeks ago and spent several days out in the field with them. While the weather was warm and the flies had not quite all gotten the word that it was time for them to leave the mountains, we did enjoy visiting several new sites as noted in the new publication "Adirondack Birding" by Peterson and Lee. If you are heading to the northern part of NY and have any plans to bird this pristine area, you absolutely MUST have this guide. We visited Bloomingdale Bog and Bigelow Road as our first two sites. While the time of year and day were not the best, we did enjoy finding several species we had hoped for, namely the red-breasted nuthatch and the best of the day, the Lincoln's sparrow. We had hoped for Gray Jays, Black-backed woodpeckers, and Boreal chickadees, but these species eluded us. Folks we met along the way confirmed that these birds are indeed seen with some regularity at these sites, so we simply have to get back up there in the fall and try again. Closer to home, as we drove out of hosts driveway, we did get a great look at a Ruffed grouse which had perched atop a sand pile (for what reason, we can only speculate). The bird sat quietly and allowed me to get several photos from the car before heading back into the woods. All in all, any trip to the north country is worth the time and effort and we cannot wait to return in the near future.

Mississippi kite in New York

Summer months are generally quiet birding months as mentioned in the previous post. So, when a report of a rare bird surfaces on the web, it draws a lot of attention....especially in July. This bird, the first record of a Mississippi kite in New York State, has been getting more than its fair share. Folks from all over the Northeast have been travelling hours and hundreds of miles to catch a glimpse of this raptor and believe me, it's worth the effort. Sharon and I had been visiting friends in Vermont and doing minimal birding in search for higher elevation warblers. At the end of our stay, we decided that rather than make a bee-line for home in the Hudson Highlands, we would simply go straight across the border into New York and continue west to the town of Root. Root is one of those towns that if you miss the sign (I'm thinking...was there a sign?), you may not even know that you have passed through it. I live in a village of 4000 people, and compared to Root, you'd think you were in NYC. Ames and Root are gorgeous places, however, with rolling agricultural countryside...a perfect place for birds like upland sandpipers, Grasshopper sparrows, and hopefully the Mississippi kite. As we pulled into Ames, we stopped at the local fire house where two of the Lady's auxilliary were present. The two ladies were so helpful and not only directed us to the intersection in Root where the birds had been seen, but even gave me the phone number of a friend who lived nearby to call if we got lost! One thing about birding, you meet a lot of awfully nice people out there. We got to the site and found a lone birder, Ken Harper, who was more than willing to help us find the bird. We sat along the roadside, waiting patiently for some time with little results. Along came two more lovely ladies, two birders, who informed us that the bird(s) had been spotted a quarter of a mile down the road and several hundred yards up Donata Road. Off we went, and after 5 minutes we had another life bird, the Mississippi kite. Our first sighting was brief, but about an hour later, the bird reappeared and gave us a great extended look. So, this is what obsessed birders do, and we do it with relish. Often the hunt is nearly as good as the prize.

Summer warblers

While this time of year rarely brings about the same amount of avian chatter we experience in May, there is still action in certain habitats. One such habitat is the bog along Cooley Road in Parksville, Sullivan County NY. We had ventured out to this beautiful spot in search of a reported Yellow-bellied flycatcher. While the flycatcher eluded us, we did score with some wonderful views of Blackburnian, Black-throated green, and Magnolia warblers. Also in the cast were Yellow-bellied sapsuckers, Ruby-throated hummingbirds, Cedar waxwings, Red-tailed hawks and the usual Blue jays and Red-winged blackbirds. This is leisure birding at its best as one has only to pull out the folding chair and sit along the roadside. These birds generally come to you. And best of all, they are still singing their melodious songs! Pictured above are the Magnolia (left) and Blackburnian warblers.

Nesting

Now that May has passed and we are well into June, the nature of things has changed considerably regarding bird behavior. Singing has subsided, and the birds are not as visible as they were a month ago. In May, the birds were singing for mates, singing for territory, and sometimes singing for the sake of singing. Now, however, many birds have found those mates and established their territory. No longer is there a need to sing. In fact, singing can attract predators and other unwanted intruders. So the birds, now on the nest, remain quiet. Their activity now is focused on tending to their newborn young. Birders now look for signs of nesting, and this seems to have been a fine year for rearing young. We look now for nests and for other signs of nesting. When we see a bird with food in its bill, we know it's heading back to the nest to feed their young, and it is a sign of another successful spring. The little ones now calling to their parents for food will be the ones we see and hear next May calling out for a new mate. Today's shots include the Worm-eating warbler and Eastern phoebe with food for their young and a nest filled with baby Barn swallows. There is always something happening out there.

Birds in flight

One of the greatest challenges in photographing birds is to catch them in mid-flight. Stopping the action is only part of the equation. With birds generally flying against a bright sky, exposure becomes the critical element. If you use an auto setting, the camera is going to base its reading on the bright sky, and 90% of the time, the actual target (the bird) will be underexposed and turn out as a dark silhouette. I've found that if I take a light meter reading of mid-tone vegetation in the same general direction as I hope to shoot the bird in flight and then set my camera manually to those settings, I have a pretty good chance of getting the shot without underexposing the bird. We spent a couple of days in New Jersey this week in hopes of snagging an Upland sandpiper and any other cooperative bird in flight with fairly successful results. The thing about photography of birds is that there is always something new to try and always room for improvement. The images shown are (from left to right) the Upland sandpiper, a Common tern, and a Black skimmer.

Spring in New York 2

We're heading towards the end of the migration period in the SE part of New York and soon the songs will cease and the forest will be much quieter. But for now, we still have enough birdsong to keep up our interest and to let us know where to look for our warblers and others. While the symphony of song is the highlight of May, June brings in the reason for all this singing. Territories have been staked out and mates have been found. The nesting season is upon us and we can delight in watching the whole process.....if we are lucky enough to find the birds. They are quiet now, not wanting to draw attention to their whereabouts to would be predators. The nests are rarely out in the open for the same reason. And so, when we are lucky enough to see any signs of the process, we seize the moment. These moments usually manifest themselves in the forms of birds with either food or nesting material in their bills. So it was this past Friday....a chilly and rainy day. The rain worked in my favor today, however, as the puddles forming supplies the local Cliff swallows with the mud they need for their nests on the side of Stillwell Dam. I was able to watch and photograph from my truck as a number of swallows visited the mud source and flew away with dollops of mud in their bills. Spring has sprung.

Listers

There are many sub-groups in the general category of birders. There are "bird-watchers", "Backyard birders", Twitchers (who chase birds all over the world), non-listers and "Listers". Listers are somewhat obsessed with counting each and every species that they have ever seen and are driven to add to the mounting LIST of their sightings. Among listers are those who will only count County, State, National, Continental, or World birds or have separate lists for each category. And then are those like me who not only count species we've seen, but also count the birds that we have photographed. To be counted, the photo must be of a suitable quality so as to leave no doubt as to the identification of the bird. The rules are self-imposed and the judgment as to what constitutes a "qualifying" photo is strictly up to me, the photographer. To date, I have photographed over 500 species world-wide. But the list that really counts in my own mind is the ABA, or North American list. I am gradually closing in on 400 North American species and each new species captured by the camera brings a certain sense of accomplishment or even elation. The most recent was a bird I have been trying to photograph for several years. We've seen the bird, but either it was too distant, or the bird was heard and not seen, or the quality of the image was not acceptable. And so, when I got the images I was looking for at a local county airport, I was more than satisfied. The quarry was the elusive Upland sandpiper. For whatever reason, I finally found the birds at close range, in low grass, and with nice light. You can't find the right conditions all coming together like this all that often, and that is one of the things that makes "photo-birding" such a challenge and at the same time so rewarding. Well, we've successfully captured this species, and so now it's on to the next.

Spring in New York

I had just a short time to take a quick look down Ironwood Road in Sterling Forest yesterday afternoon and found what I was looking for. Perched high in a dogwood tree along with a beautiful Indigo bunting was my FOY Golden-winged warbler. In the brief period I had to scan the vegetation along the powerline cut, I had nice looks at towhees, Prairie warbler, and several Yellow warblers. On the way out, I stopped by the paper company pond and had a Spotted sandpiper working the shoreline along with a Great blue heron. The shot I took of the Indigo bunting seated among the blooms of the dogwood simply states what this season is all about.

Costa Rica - Tortuguero National Park

Depart Tilajari for the Tortuguero National Park. En route, we stop to visit the EARTH Institute, a college where stuudents from throughout Central and South America learn husbandry, agriculture, and environmental sciences.The university is dedicated to developing sustainable development in the humid tropics. We pass through some of the more isolated communities of Costa Rica before boarding our launch for the 45 minutre ride up the Rio Tortuguero to the National Park. Our bus ride begins to reveal some of the new avifauna we will encounter during this leg of the trip, namely the Crested Caracara, the Tiger Heron and more and more monkeys and slothes.
Tortuguero National Park - We spend most of the day on the waters of Tortuguero National Park. The early morning is spent exploring the canals of Tortuguero and its wonderful wildlife. Although technically not a birding trip, the guides here are all very knowledgable and when they find that several of us including Sharon and myself are avid birders, they are more than willing and excited to share their obvious extensive familiarity with the birds of the Park. Even the water-taxi driver displays a depth of identification skills we are indeed impressed with. He explains through our guide Stuart that most Costa Ricans grow up with the birds and therefore have a natural afinity and understanding the avifauna of the land. We add a number of lifers on the trip today and it is by far the best day of the already wonderful trip.

Costa Rica - Tilajari

We travelled to the Arenal volcano/hotsprings area and on to the Tilajari Resort. We enjoyed the hot springs of the Ecotermales Fortuna Hidalgo and birded along the San Carlos River where the resort is located. The dining area turned out to be a real hot spot for birds visiting the feeders and consumed a fair amount of our time as we photographed and tried to id the many species which appeared. Also had some great views of the howler monkeys in route to the resort. We raft our way down the enas Blancas River in search of iguanas, monkeys, birds and whatever other wildlife comes our way. Between the sightings along the river and the sightings at the Tilajari Resort, we amass a nice day list of about 25 species many of which are new life birds.

Costa Rica - Monteverde

Day 3 - A long drive along rutted dirt roads brings us up to Monteverde Lodge in the Cloud forest. After a homestyle lunch, we drive over to the Selvatura suspended bridges for a hike through the canopy. Our guides are Carlos and Andreas and although the birds are hard to find in the thick foliage, they make their presence known through their calls and songs.
Day 4-Our second day at the Monteverde Resort gives us great sightings of the Emerald toucanet, the Yellow-throated euphonia, and the mammal of the day, a white-nosed-coati all on the grounds of the hotel. We travel to the butterfly garden and meet Zack, an American who is pursuing his doctorate in entomology. After lunch at Sofia Nuevo Latino restaurant, we move onto the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and visit a hummingbird site for some great photo ops of specialities like the Violet sabrewing. Tomorrw morning, its off to Lake Arenal.

Costa Rica - Part I

We had the good fortune to be able to spend a week in Costa Rica with good friends from CT. Our tour included travelling the rough dirt roads through the Cloud Forest of Monteverde and finally down into the jungles of Tortuguero National Park.
Day 1 Arrive at San Jose and get used to our new surroundings at Hotel Real-Intercontinental. Nice to see our new avian friends including Inca dove, Rufous-collared sparrow, and Great kiskadee. The rest of the tour group will arrive tomorrow, but in the meantime, we will take advantage of our extra day to get accustomed to our new surroundings. Day 2 - Continues at San Jose as we await the arrival of our fellow travellers. Take a stroll through part of San Jose and visit the local Supermarket for supplies before we head out for the Cloud forest. New birds include the Melodious blackbird.

Having read Scott's report on birding the Sunshine State, we figured we'd add our account of yesterday's birding adventure down here. Friends from upstate New York joined us for a tour of the Viera Wetlands south of Titusville. In spite of a late arrival at the site due to construction on I-95, we managed to record 57 species. We had set our goat at a modest 45 which we easily surpassed and had aimed at two specific target species. The first was the Crested Caracara and the second the secretive Least bittern. The first was a piece of cake as the bird flew right into the drainage ditch adjacent to our parked car for a meal of mudpuppy. A most cooperative bird, the usually elusive caracara paid us little heed and went about his dining while we were afforded a number of quite nice shooting opportunities. The bittern was not quite so cooperative. After almost 4 hours on the reserve, we finally got a quick glimpse of the Least and finally patience paid off. Sitting quietly in wait, we were rewarded for our efforts by several brief but clear views of this fine specimen. As we watched and photographed the bittern, an unexpected gem, a Marsh wren, flew right into view for us to study at close range. Just another day in paradise.