The Black Dirt Farms in Winter

  
     Orange County in New York is known for its "Black Dirt Farms".  Rich soils deposited during the last ice age have resulted in some of the finest fields for onion and sod farms in the country.  These broad expanses are a birder's paradise in the cold months of winter.  Visiting migrants such as Lapland longspurs, Snow buntings, Pipits and Horned larks are common, but you have to scan the fields carefully to see them.  They prefer to forage in the deep furrows which have been plowed by the farmers.  Easier to see and so enjoyable to watch are the larger players on these fields.  With the cold temperatures come Northern harriers, Short-earred owls and Rough-legged hawks.  Today, we only had Snow buntings in the smaller bird viewing.
     But the harriers were out in large numbers.  We sat in the warmth of our vehicle and watched as the harriers hunted the fields at some distance. Occasionally, one would pay no heed to our RAV4 and would hunt within a decent photographic range.  The agility of these wonderful hawks is incredible and the photo at the bottom of the page shows how one harrier stooped down, hit the brakes, twisted in mid-air and pounced upon its unsuspecting prey.  Incredible shows for these incredible aerialists.

A long way from home

     Our friend Joe T, Sharon and I braved the wind and the cold today to travel down to Sunken Meadow State Park on Long Island in search of a reported Hermit warbler. This bird is supposed to be out on the west coast anywhere from northern California up to Washington state. This distance travelled makes the distance we talked about in my last post seem paltry.  Well, not only did we brave the elements, but this little guy did likewise. After a ride of just under 2 hours, we arrived at the site and found the bird within the first 15 minutes. Once we found him, it was non-stop observing and photographing the bird. We stayed for about 45 minutes and finally gave into the elements. The bird and about a half dozen birders were still on site when we departed. Great look at a great bird.  

     We first found the bird on the first base line of the softball field! (Maybe he's finally trying to get ""Home"!) He then moved over to a field where there are signs saying no pets allowed ( guess he can read as well as fly!) .  He's seemed to be feeding on insects as warblers do, but we have to be concerned as the weather has been getting colder and colder.  We can only hope that he moves to warmer climes before the snows begin to fall.

A Rare Visitor from the South

     

      Following up on a lead posted by one of our birding club members, I, along with three other Mearns members, took the relatively short drive to Cove Island Park in Stamford, CT to find the very rare Fork-tailed flycatcher. This bird breeds and usually lives in South America, but will on rare occasions find its way up along the east coast of North America.  When we arrived, a departing birder said, "Still here! Just follow the trail down to where all the cameras and scopes are." Sure enough. It just doesn't get much easier than this. 

     This handsome bird was perched right out in the open, and although he took to the air

on numerous occasions, he always returned to the treetop where he was easily
visible for over an hour. When we departed, the flycatcher had moved to a new
perch, but was still easily seen by all. He certainly seemed quite content
where he was and chances are pretty good that he will still be on site for some time to come.  We consider ourselves fortunate to have been able to see this lost traveller.

Golden eagles over Bear Mountain

     While manning our post up on the Bear Mountain Hawkwatch today, we were thrilled to have a banner day with 4 Golden eagles making an appearance. The first was spotted by one of our number and then followed and positively identified as a Golden. By the time I got my camera on the bird, it was low and behind the trees making a decent shot impossible. I was "bummed" as you can imagine, but within 30 seconds a second Golden made its appearance flying in from the direction of "Anthony's Nose" (that's a mountain across the river from Bear Mt......not one of our spotters!) 

     This was a young bird with a lot of white showing beneath the wings. This bird was in good light and close enough to afford good photos. While we were all excited about two Golden eagles on the same day, a third and then a fourth appeared within the next 5 minutes. These eagles came from the same general area and were making a strong flight south. It was only a matter of minutes before one would disappear far to the south when the next appeared at some distance to the north. Four separate Golden eagles....no doubt about it! I've posted several shots of many that I was able to get....the first photos I've ever been able to shoot of this magnificent bird. In the Peterson Field Guide, it uses the term "majestic" to describe the bird and there is no better way to describe it!

Autumn in New York

                                                        Red-tailed hawk

      We are are back in the Empire State and are enjoying the sights, the aromas, and the sounds of our prettiest season.  Fall has arrived in full force and the mountains are ablaze with the oranges, yellows and reds of Autumn.  Along with the changing colors comes a changing cast of characters in the avian play as warblers and other migrants depart and move through the Hudson Highlands.  We spent yesterday at Croton Point Park along the banks of the Hudson.  Birders around these parts seem to agree that the migration is a little later this year and indeed we had a good number of warblers passing through yesterday.  (See Yellow-rumped warbler image below)  Of course, along with the song birds, we get a decent passage of raptors.  We had Red-tails, Harriers, Kestrels, and Cooper's hawks in the area looking for a quick meal.

                                             Yellow-rumped warbler

                                             Cooper's hawk

     The days continue to grow shorter and the nights longer and cooler as we work our way deeper into fall and closer to winter.  In the meantime, we will enjoy the splendors of Autumn in New York and witness the evolution of summer into winter.

                                                    Brown creeper

Another Day in South Carolina

  

     Well, we are winding up our trip to SC and spent Tuesday of this week at two of our favorite birding havens.....Huntington Beach State Park in Murrell's Inlet and Myrtle Beach State Park.  Huntington Beach is great at this time of year for finding birds which are getting ready to make the trip south to Florida.  The most prominent "specialties" in October are the Wood storks, Roseate spoonbills,  and Avocets.  We arrived at the Park early this morning and were blessed with a dead low tide.  The flats were abuzz with activity as shore birds, herons, egrets, and the storks took advantage of the bounty offered by the mud flats. Wood storks were all around us....on the flats, in the trees, and lined up along the impoundments as if taking part in a morning "coffee clutch".  We could have spent the entire morning just observing the feeding frenzy taking place, but we wanted to get over to Myrtle Beach SP while it was still early.

     AT Myrtle Beach SP, we found our favorite song bird site....a grove of trees adjacent to the Ranger Station.....to be as productive as normal.  Black-throated blue, Common yellowthroat, Magnolia, and Nashville warblers were all busily feeding in the tall live oaks as a Brown thrasher and a Catbird flitted in and out of a thicket of Pokeberry bushes.  Further along the entrance road, we ran into a number of Northern mockingbirds which were interacting noisily as they chased one another around the thick overgrowth.  Why there was so much ado among these mockers kept us guessing, but for whatever reason, the show was most entertaining.  We'll be heading back to NY the day after tomorrow, so we'll try to squeeze in one more afternoon of birding at the vast marshlands around Shallotte, NC where we have heard both Virginia and King rails.  Wish us luck!!!

After the deluge - South Carolina

       We enjoyed a great weekend with trip leader Warren C and fellow members of the Mearns Bird Clb from NY at Cape May and have now continued south to the Carolinas. We didn't get much birding in the past several days as we were flooded in our friends' home in New Bern, NC.

       Over a period of three days, we had 27" of rain! We finally did get a break in the weather, however, and today we visited Huntington Beach State Park below Myrtle Beach, SC. Had a number of nice birds in spite of excessively high water. Sightings included Wood storks, Avocets (image below), several different sandpipers (see Spotted sandpiper below), Clapper rails, many Great and Snowy egrets, Kingfishers, Great blue and Tricolor herons, and White ibises. Looking forward to getting more species as the flood waters abate and the temperatures moderate.   

Fall hawk migration

The summer doldrums are over and the crisp fall air has returned......OK, so it was in the high 80's on the summit of Bear Mountain today, but you can tell that fall is in the air.  Our intrepid group has begun its yearly monitoring project under the watchful eye of Joe S.  Sharon and I are part-time at best, but we always enjoy getting up to the hawkwatch and joining the rest of the crew.  Mid-September is the peak for Broadwing hawks and they have not let us down.  Last Thursday (when the Bakers were off to a wedding at Montauk Point) the crew had 675 Broadwings for the day.  While today was no match for last week, we were at least present to view and photograph the 50+ hawks that flew along the ridgeline.

While most were the broadwings we expected including a couple of small kettles (see photos above), we also had some nice Sharp-shinned hawks (below, a number of ospreys, several bald eagles, and a couple of Red-tails joining in.  As time goes on, the cast of characters will change, but each day brings new and interesting sightings.  The Bear Mountain Hawkwatch will continue until Thanksgiving, so if you are in SE New York, look us up!  Extra eyes are always appreciated.

Pelagics

  

 Atlantic puffin   

       During our birding trip with "Road Scholar" (formerly known as Elderhostel), we were treated to two wonderful pelagic birding excursions on board the Elsie Menota and Day's Catch which far exceded out expectations regarding both whale and pelagic bird sightings.  Along with Right, Minke, Fin and Humpback whales, we had too many shearwaters to count (both sooty and Great), puffins galore, both Wilson's and Leach's Storm-petrels, common murres, Northern gannets, a great close-up view of a Northern fulmar, and many more.  It was difficult to make the decision to train the camera on a breeching humpback or a flyby by a trio of Atlantic puffins.

Northern fulmar

  Oh, if all our decisions could be so trying!  By the end of the trip, we had a total of 105 birds which included 9 new "lifers" for Sharon and me.  If you ever have the time and the inclination, by all means visit Grand Manan Island off the coast of New Brunswick.  We strongly recommend a stay at the Marathon Inn.  The Inn is over 100 years old, so expect rustic.  But, it is clean, comfortable, and the food was outstanding!  Innkeeper Jim Leslie is also a great birder and historian and can help you in your birding endeavors.  If possible, ask him to hook you up with our birding guide Roger Burroughs, author of many field guides for the northeast.

    Great shearwater

      As if this trip wasn't enough, we did manage a stop at Stratford, CT on the way home where a White-tailed kite has been repeated seen lately.  We had tried to find the bird unsuccessfully prior to leaving for Canada, but with the help of the folks at Coastal Connecticut Audubon Center and some local birders, this time we struck paydirt and landed our 10th lifer for the trip.....a bird which has not been seen in Connecticut in over 100 years!  All-in-all, it just doesn't get any better than this.

White-tailed kite

"Sharp-tailed sparrows"

       Sharon and I are off and running again, this time to Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick, Canada. On the way to our destination, we stopped at Scarborough Marsh in Maine to revisit the sites first detailed to us last year by Alan and Della Wells. We had a wonderful albeit abbreviated visit with the top birds being the Marbled godwit with a Whimbrel in the same field of view in the scope, a nice look at a Virginia rail, and a wonderful view of several Saltmarsh (sharp-tailed) sparrows.  (See photo above).  Although we know that the term "sharp-tailed" has officially been dropped from this group of sparrows, some old habits are hard to break, and we keep referring to the birds in the older terms.

     We are now on our first full day of our trip on Grand Manan and have managed to get decent photos of the second of the "sharp-tailed" sparrows, the Nelson's. (Photo below)  We've also had a number of fine sea birds including Greater and Sooty shearwaters, Black guillemots, and Razorbills. All of these sightings have been from shore. We will be out at sea at least two and hopefully three days this week in an attempt to get even more pelagics and get decent shots of some of these birds. We'll keep you posted!    

Back to the Brig

    

     We've been spending the week with my son's family in Long Beach Island.  While most of our time has been devoted to the beach and fishing with grandson Riley,  Sharon and I decided to make our way to Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge this morning.  The day promised heat and green flies and we were not shortchanged on either account.  Nonetheless, we managed to be on site by 8:00 AM and were well rewarded for our efforts.  We were pleased to be able to introduce "the Brig" to a new birder, Eugene, whom we met at a birding outing yesterday at Holgate refuge on the south end of LBI.  As we entered the refuge, we immediately came upon three new "lifers" for our friend....the White-eyed vireo, a fine Clapper rail, and great looks at the normally elusive Marsh wren.

     Shortly after our initial walk down the Eco-trail with little interference from our green-headed nemeses,  we faced the harsh reality of the Brig in summer and found ourselves confined to our vehicle with the windows tightly closed and the AC pumping out at full blast.

    
      I fortunately had taken several shots with my Nikon at ambient temperature  (including the chance meeting of a Snowy egret and an immature Little blue heron seen above), for after riding around in the comfort of the air conditioned car, I found that the lens of my camera quickly fogged up each time I stuck it out into the hot humid outside air.  All the same, we had a great day with a tally of 45 birds and a chance encounter with one of our Birding Club members along the way.  It just would not be right to be in south Jersey and not visit Brigantine.

Indiana Road Revisited

     Drove out to Indiana Road  in Goshen, NY early this morning to beat the heat. I arrived at 8:15 and it was already 85 degrees. The trip was worth the time and effort, however, as I got real nice views of the reported Orchard orioles along the tree line near the site where we had the Dickcissel earlier this year. First sighting was of a female in the trees closest to the Dickcissel location (see image above). I parked here and walked further down the road and found another female (or perhaps the same bird), along with a beautiful juvenile. 
     Shortly thereafter, a male with food in its bill flew into the same tree. I later found a male Blue grosbeak in another short ailanthus tree along Indiana. The bird was content to stay deep in the foliage affording me only fleeting but definitive glimpses.  Many Savannah sparrows were also present.  All in all, it was a short trip in dreadful heat which turned out to be most productive.

Pine Island's Dickcissel

      

     Once again, the Internet has served us well as we follow the reports of an Orange County rarity, the Dickcissel.  Normally, this bird is found in western NY if at all, it's range normally confined to the mid-western United States.  In the 1800's, the Dickcissel was a common breeder along the Atlantic coast, but basically disappeared in the east until the 1920's.  Since that time, it has reappeared on rare occasions to breed in the east, but only only in very small numbers.  Well, so far, it appears to be one lone male, but the bird is very loyal to its site in the Black Dirt farms of middle Orange County.  Many birders have had the opportunity to see this specialty since it was first reported last week, and the bird shows no sign of leaving this site in the near future.

      As a special bonus feature, the bird is accompanied with a number of not-so-common Grasshopper sparrows, Indigo buntings, and a pair of Common grosbeaks (also rare in the county).  And so, once again, our network of birders throughout the state has proven invaluable in our avocation.  Let's hear it for technology!

California hummers

  

      While attending the wedding of the son of an old college buddy in the LA area, Sharon and I managed to get in a little west coast birding.  The local city parks as well as a wonderful reserve 15 minutes walking distance from our motel provided us with some nice new year birds as well as a study in the local hummingbirds.  We had three species to study....the Allen's, the the everpresent Anna's and the Rufous.  One of the most memorable sightings will certainly be the mating J-flight of the Anna's male.  While at Madrona Marsh Reserve in Torrence, a fascinating oasis in the heart of urban California, our docent for the morning Bruce pointed out an Anna's at fairly high altitude.  The bird hovered at this height for a while and suddenly ascended up to a high altitude, barely in sight.  Suddenly, the Anna's plunged at death defying speed towards the ground and then pulled up short to create a beautiful J-shaped pattern.  At the nadir of the J-shaped dive, the bird emitted a loud chip note which I later discovered through Google is actually produced by the tail feathers acting as a reed, much the same as a reed of a clarinet!  The sound is apparently louder than the bird is capable of volcalizing and saves considerable energy on the part of the wooing male.  We observed his repeated display over and over for about 5 minutes until a female flew into the scene and the two flew off together.....a victory for the hard working male no doubt.  (to be continued....we have two more days here in the Golden State.  Stay tuned....)

Magee Marsh

May 8 - 12, 2010

     Among the list of "50 Places to Go Birding Before You Die" by Chris Santella, is the shore of Lake Erie in May.  We were fortunate to have two friends who are excellent birders who actually made the journey last year and came back with great locales, great stories, and great photos of the masses of warblers which descend upon the lake shore each spring as they move from their South American wintering grounds north to their nesting grounds.  As they migrate north, they come up upon this massive body of water which will have to be crossed non-stop.  They know enough to wait for the winds and weather to be favorable and use their time to "top off the tank" with their fuel reserves of insects and insect larva.  One of the most popular staging areas for these warblers is Magee Marsh near Port Clinton.

  With our friends the Wells as our guides, we were introduced to some of the most incredible birding grounds either of us have ever had the opportunity to visit.  On the first day alone, we spotted at close range more than 20 species of warblers and thrushes.  Species not often easily viewed such as Magnolias, Prothonotary, Bay-breasted, Mourning, Black throated greens, Black-throated blues, and on and on, were all visible and well within good photographic distance.  The only downer of the whole trip was the weather.  Out of the four days we were at the marsh, we had rain on three.  That didn't necessarily deter the thousands of birds nor the thousands of birders and photographers which all converged upon this birding mecca.  If you enjoy birding at its best, then make sure that Magee Marsh in Ohio is on your birding bucket list.  A place not to be missed.......

A Walk on the Beach

    
     Took a little stroll on the beach this afternoon after noticing the large number of shore birds scurrying along the water's edge.  As I surveyed the birds present, it soon becamer apparent it was more of the same....but very different!  Spring has sprung and we are now seeing some remarkable changes in the three species most commonly found in front of our condo.....Willets, Sanderlings, and Ruddy turnstones.  Let's start with the Willets.  For one thing these willets are quite a bit smaller,,,,I mean noticeably smaller....than the Willets that were here last month.  The reason is plain and simple.  These are NOT the same Willets that spent the winter with us.  During the winter months, our Willets are the western population which have migrated over to pay us a visit.  The western species is bigger and is a duller color than the eastern variety which have returned to take the place of the departing western birds.  And so, the first of our "same" threesome is not the same after all.

      
      Second on the list are the Sanderlings.  Well, these are in fact for the most part the same birds we've had all winter.  But as spring has arrived, these little sandpipers are getting "suited up" for the breeding season.  During the winter, they were almost the color of the sand.  They were very easy to distinguish from other small shore birds because their light hues set them apart.  Now, however, they are developing their new bright rusty mantle of feathers.  Same bird, but with a very different look.
      Finally, the prize for best dressed goes to the turnstones.  They like the sanderlings have been here all year, but they have begun to really get spruced up as the black feathers around the face and back are replacing what had been quite dull and mundane.  Now these birds are striking.  Just check out the image of the breeding plumaged birds we saw yesterday here in Florida and you'll see why they come away with
best in show honors.

Spring songs

     It's that time of year once again when the birds have decided it's time to sing.  Whether it's to attract a mate, establish territory, or perhaps simply for the joy of singing, the warblers, vireos, thrushes, and others are all beginning to exercise their voices with a myriad of chip notes, whistles, calls and songs.  The beauty of it is, as a birder, you get to become acquainted with the different repertoires of the different birds, and spotting and identification become a little easier and at the same time a little more enjoyable.  The past several days, we have explored a new venue for Sharon and me, Princess Place Preserve.  This gem is tucked away about an hour's drive from us near the town of Palm Coast.  A mixture of Pine flatwoods, fresh water marsh and oak hammock, it is one of the most beautiful and productive birding arenas we have found.  The stars of the show the past few days have been the first wave of warblers we've found (specifically the Pine, Yellow-throated (see pix above), Northern parula, Prairie and Palm), our first Scarlet tanager of the year, Marsh wrens, a beautiful Summer tanager,  and a life photograph of a King rail (see these two below).   Our only regret is that we discovered Princess Place at the end of our three month stay.  But rest assured, we will make it one of our most visited sites when we return next year.  For now, let the music continue as we finish up here in Florida and join the warblers in their journey north.

Hontoon Island

    
     Just west of DeLand, FL is yet another gem in the marvelous park system of Florida.  Hontoon Island is a State Park which is accessible only by an electronically driven ferry.  The ferry ride takes all of 3 minutes and is provided free of charge by the state.  Once you arrive at the small island, there are picnic tables, trails, a fine nature museum (don't miss the great video!) and best of all fine birding opportunities.  Waders, raptors, and seasonal song birds make up the donimant species with spring being the optimal time for migrating warblers.  As we arrived at the dock, our Captain wished us luck in capturing images of the local birds and directed us to a nest of Great egrets with a couple of chicks.  As we started to hike over to the prescribed site, the captain came running after us and said that he had heard the sounds of a frog being attacked by a snake....a sound he had obviously heard before.  We followed the sad "moans" of the little green frog and found it firmly in the grasp of a Florida Southern water snake.  We watched and photographed as the frog struggled to free itself.  As we watched, we noted that the snake had grabbed the frog in such a way that one of its legs was outside the mouth of the snake, a seemingly impossible challenge for the snake planning on getting the frog down whole. An hour later, when the time for our departure from the island was upon us, the frog and snake were still in a stalemate.  The frog had tried to drag the snake back into the water, but the snake managed to get it back on shore and there they remained for God knows how  long.  We found ourselves rooting for the green amphibian even though we knew that the snake was just doing what snakes do.....hunt for food.

    
     When we returned to the mainland, we heard a solitary call of a "first of the year" bird, a Yellow-throated vireo.  With some serious searching through the tree branches (as Sharon became engrossed in chasing down a fine Pileated woodpecker) I finally managed to get off a single shot and as luck would have it, it turned out to be a respectable image.  The day was competed with the acquistion of the day's target bird....our first Ruby-throated hummingbird of the year.  All in all, yet another special day here in the sunshine state.  Our days here are numbered as we prepare to head back north with the warblers, but these last few days are certainly turning out to be special.

Caribbean cruise - Day 7

Day 7



February 27 – Costa Rica

     We arrived into Puerto Limon and shortly thereafter disembark for our ride out to the countryside. an adventure in itself as after several miles the remainder of the trip is over rutted dirt roads made all Our destination today is the Veragua Rain Forest Research Park. The ride out to the center is quite the more interesting by the everyday rainfall. Once in the rainforest, however, we manage to dodge the rain drops which greet us and head into the forest via aerial tram. We are greeted by several Collared aracari, a member of the toucan family. Though not visable, the howler monkeys made their presence known with their guttural calls. Upon our return to the top of the tram, we found one of our favorite Costa Rican birds, the Montezuma’s oropendola. Sounding more like a tropical instrument than a bird, the gurgling call seems to typify the essence of the Rain Forest. It was about this time when the forest started liviinto ng up to its name…..the deluge struck with torrential rains falling on an already saturated landscape. Fortunately for us, we were able to retreat several of the museum buildings which housed the collection of native reptiles and amphibians. We were introduced to several of Costa Rica’s brilliantly colored poisonous frogs. Later as we walked the trails, we found a number of these finger-nail sized amphibians along the path. Their bright red color served as a warning to all would-be predators, “Don’t mess with me!” I asked about the best chance to find and photograph native parrots and was told to be patient. “Wait until you return to the ship, and then look into the trees around the docks”. Sure enough, after looking for less than 10 minutes , a flock of 5 – 6 Crimson-fronted parakeets flew into the trees, loudly announcing their arrival. Before long, it was time to reboard the vessel, however. Our Caribbean adventure would be climaxed by a two day sail back to Ft. Lauderdale. We’ve been thrilled to find so many great birds and chances to photograph them on a “non-birding” cruise. We’ll look forward to visiting these tropical birding hot-spots in the future.