2013: Week 4 – Florida specialties

       We arrived down in New Smyrna Beach on Sunday night and wasted no time in getting out into the field in search of those birds we always expect to find in Florida.  Our first day at Merritt Island was everything we hoped for with the exception of one miss…..a Cinnamon teal reported to be on one of the ponds.  We and many others (including Greg Miller of The Big Year fame!) searched for that bird in vain.  (On a sad note, the Cinnamon teal did appear later in the week....at the waterfowl hunters check out station!)  We did manage to find a huge flock of American wigeons with a pair of adult male Eurasians mixed in, so that was not a bad consolation prize.

       Early on our first loop around, we found a small pond which must have had some concentration of bait fish as the birds were jammed in shoulder to shoulder to take advantage of the feast.  Truly, it was a great sight to see the Great egret, snowies, tri-colors, little blues and white ibises all together within the frame of the camera.  With such close quarters, there was bound to be a bit of irritability displayed among the individuals of the gathering and this Snowy and Tri-color did get into it a bit until they both decided to go on about their business and enjoy the banquet.  Gotta love the sunshine state.

       Later, over at the Visitor’s Center, we found the Painted bunting we had been hoping for on the feeders.  In truth, we had really hoped for the male, but it was only the female, also a beautiful bird, that made an appearance…..one more check off the 2013 Year list.

        For whatever reason, it seemed to both of us that we don’t get to see the Reddish egret until later in the season.  But, here they were.  Good numbers of them and just as entertaining as ever.  You certainly hope that the bird gets a good bite to eat on each hunting maneuver because few birds work as hard as the reddish to nail that one fish.  Dancing, bouncing, hooding, and finally striking all make for a lot of effort, but who knows?  Maybe the bird really enjoys this sport!

       Another of the Florida specialties we found with little effort was the Florida scrub jay.  These birds as always reliable and if you know where to look, you can be sure to find them.  One of our favorite locations is by the Ranger station at the southern entrance to Canaveral National Seashore.  As promised, here they were.  Four of the family members showed up and proudly posed for us as we walked around the property.  Florida birding at its best….and easiest.

       This was the week of the Space Coast Birding Festival and we found it took a bit of work on the part of my Enrichment Activities Planner (aka Sharon) to get in all the birding we wished to do on our own along with the planned workshops and trips of the festival.  Thursday, we had a day off until the keynote speaker of the evening, so we journeyed south to Viera Wetlands in the hopes of getting our first of the year limpkins and Caracaras among others.

        (Later that week....) Well, we did get those Caracaras, but not until we were exiting the park!  We had all but given up hope of finding these “handsome” birds, but as we drove out the gate, a beautiful specimen flew right in front of the RAV and landed in plain sight on top of a pine.  Posing for the ideal shot in ideal lighting made for the perfect end to a wonderful day. 

       Previously that same day, we got our Barred owl (see video below), actually a pair of them, perched out in broad daylight at a location where two of our birding buddies had previously found them earlier this week.  It is not all that rare to find these birds out in the middle of the day in Florida.  Everything is just so much more relaxed down here….for us and for the birds!  We followed these owls up with a Great horned at Lake Apopka on Saturday. 

       The trip to Apopka also yielded several nice finds for year birds in the form of a Say’s phoebe, Western kingbird, and Ash-throated flycatcher.   All-in-all, it’s been a great start to 2013 with 150 birds on the Year list with three days and a pelagic trip yet to go.  I’ll report on the pelagic on the Week 5 blog.  Till then…..

       

2013: Week 3 – Heading South

       Our winter journey south began this week as we drove down through the Delmarva Peninsula on our way to visit friends in South Carolina.  As we drove down Rte 113 in a light rain, we first noted a massive field of pulsating white far off in the distance.  What else could it be but a flock of Snow geese?  Still, we’d have to assume that was what they were from that distance. 

     

         As we continued down the peninsula, we began to spot more and more of the corn fields playing host to thousands and thousands of the geese.  At 55 mph and behind the wheel, it does not often behoove one to try and snap a few photos of these fantastic assemblages.  So, I checked on the Garmin and noted that it appeared that there was a small road up ahead which would wrap around one of the fields in question and might afford me a much more advantageous vantage point from which to record a few images.  Sure enough, before long we were able to pull off to the side of the farm road and get nice close shots through the light drizzle. 

       As we observed the geese, it became more and more obvious that there were a considerable number of blue morphs in the flock.  With more friendly conditions, I’m sure we could have picked up a few Rosses in the mix, but the rain was beginning to fall more intensely and I was forced back into the vehicle.

       Later in the week, we had the opportunity to cruise up and down the Trent River, a tributary of the Neuss River in New Bern, North Carolina.  The weather had finally taken a turn for the better and we had bright sunny skies with cool low 60s temperatures (not so cool when compared to the 19 degrees we left in New York earlier this week!)  Along the banks of the Trent, we were greeted by a handsome mature Bald eagle keeping watch over the shallows of the waterway. 

       Later on or journey down the river, we heard the repetitive cries of the Red-shouldered hawk.  While in New York, the default hawk tends to be the Red-tailed, that position is relinquished to the Red-shouldered here in the south.  The red-shoulders of North Carolina will tend to be a shade or two darker than their counterparts down in Florida, and indeed, this was a very dark individual.  As we neared the perched bird, he took flight and flew across the river across our path as we idled by.

       The final bird of the day and our first of the year was a Great blue heron.  The bird was skulking along in the shallow edges of the river in search of some unsuspecting bait fish.  As I captured the bird’s image, he slowly crept back into the reeds and finally disappeared into the higher vegetation. 

      Next week, we will finally be in our wintering grounds of East-central Florida where we expect to encounter many of the birds which have led the procession down the coast before us.  We’ll have a full report on our first week in Florida next weekend.

2013: Week 2 – Owls

       

       It was a good week for owls as we traveled north and east to see if we could add a few owl species to the year list.  Our first venture took us to the town of Shawangunk and the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge.  Long known as a productive site for finding wintering Short-eared owls, we hoped to find mid-afternoon birds in order to get some decent photos.  Sure enough, as if on cue, when we arrived around 3:00 PM, the owls began flying.  We first spotted two Rough-legged hawks perched in distant trees, but very soon thereafter, two short-ears came flying in and perched in a nearby tree.  Several harriers including one male joined in the afternoon hunt and we soon had birds flying “all over” the refuge. 

By the time we had to leave, we had at least 4 owls hunting over the grasslands….a beautiful sight.

       Later in the week, we scouted out Croton Point Park where in the past years we have found Short-ears, Long-ears, and Great horned owls.  None of those on this trip, but we did come across a fine looking Barred owl tucked away deep in the cover of a pine.  He was resting comfortably, nestled in amongst the cover of the pine boughs, but through a window in the branches we were able to observe him as he occasionally woke long enough to preen a bit and then close his eyes and rest once again.  A beautiful bird and another nice addition to the list of owls for 2013.

       Next week, we will visit friends in North Carolina and see what interesting new birds for 2013 we can conjure up there.  See you next weekend.

2013: Week 1- Hudson Valley

       It’s been a really good start to the new year as we’ve been able to tone down the birding schedule (just a tad) and yet have come up with a nice beginning to the 2013 Year List.  We began with a New Year’s Day trip over to Westchester County and laid down a base of 33 birds.  The best of the new birds was the Fox sparrows we observed at the Marshlands Conservancy.  The were in exceptional plumage with a deep rusty hue….beautiful birds.

       We have also managed to score with the first Common redpolls we have ever had at our home feeders.  We’ve been feeding the birds for over 20 years and this was the first redpolls we’ve ever recorded.  We only had two, but other birding folks throughout the county have been reporting excellent numbers at their feeders as well, so we will keep our eyes peeled for more of the same.

       Today, we headed over to Washingtonville and the Orrs Mills Road area near the Moodna Trestle where there has been an active eagle’s nest in the past.  Sharon spotted a nice mature perched in a snag and we turned the RAV around to get a better angle.  Nice lighting provided some nice views even though the bird was several hundred yards off. 

       Suddenly a second mature bird flew onto the scene and chased the first one off its perch.  Hopefully, this is another resident pair that will bolster the numbers of breeding eagles here in the valley.

       Finally, we responded to reports of Glaucous and Iceland gulls which had been seen for the past several days on the Newburgh waterfront.  I had made several trips this winter to Newburgh and over to Beacon in search of these birds, but both had eluded me…..until today.  One out of two ain’t bad, and the Iceland which showed up for about 10 of the Mearns Club members who had assembled hoping for a look was well received.  No Glaucous, but the Iceland for a year bird this early in the season is great.

       After a year of pretty intense birding, we are taking it a little slower and easier pace this year, but already we have more than 40 year birds including several we don’t get every year.  So, we’ll take it and are thrilled to be out and about whenever the spirit moves.  Check back each weekend and hopefully, you’ll find more news about our birding adventures for 2013.