Superbowl of Birding 2010

On Saturday (1/30), Hope, Scott, Greg, and I participated in the World Series of Birding, a 12-hour birding event in NE Massachusetts and SE New Hampshire. We, the NYSYBC Ninja Nighthawks, decided to only bird Essex County, MA. I wish I could give a detailed description of everything we saw and every place we went, but during a Big Day everything kind of blurs together…so here are the highlights.

Planning the route

We woke up at 3 am on Saturday morning, got ready, and left for our owling spots (~1 hour away) at around 3:45. Boy, was it cold. 5 degrees on the car thermometer, and, according to weather.com, -14 F with wind chill factored in.

Whether it was the cold, the wind, the full moon, or just our bad luck, we didn’t find any owls before sunrise. Our first birds in the low dawn light were Mallards, Black Ducks, Crows, Robins, Hooded Mergansers, and an American Coot that we had been tipped off on. It was a four-point bird (during the superbowl, each species has a point value depending on how rare it is — the higher the better, with the max being five points), and we felt better after finally seeing some actual birds.

Check out the temperature all the way on the left, and the time on the right...

Next was a stop along the water, where we found Bufflehead, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye, and Song Sparrow. In some nearby thickets there were American Tree Sparrows, Northern Mockingbird, American Goldfinch, and other common songbirds. After some brief stops, we headed to the Gloucester/Cape Ann area.

A stop at a fishing pier got us Peregrine Falcon, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Eiders, and Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. A drive along the coast, stopping at different areas, yielded many more species, such as Gray Catbird, Wild Turkey, Gadwall and all three Scotors. We stopped at the Elk Club, where a King Eider had been reported, but we could not find it. We did, however, see a Black Guillemot, a lifer for me. Unfortunately it was just a brief look.

A Bald Eagle, probably close to a third-year bird.

Continuing on our way, we picked up Purple Sandpiper and Harlequin Duck. We stopped at Andrew’s Point on Cape Ann, which was dubbed “HELL” by Hope and Greg, who scouted there the day before in brutal gusting winds. It was surprisingly pleasant, though, and we commenced scanning the waters. After a couple minutes, Greg said he had found an alcid (a group of much sought-after seabirds that are normally far out at sea). My first impression was that the bird was lying down on the water — it had basically no neck. The bird had a dark cap, a white throat, a grayish back, and a light patch behind the eye. We decided that Dovekie was the only possible choice. All of us were very excited — it was not on the Superbowl checklist, meaning it was a five-point bird, and we could get an extra three points if we were the first team to call it in. While Greg called the bird in to Joppa Flats (the organization running the Superbowl) HQ, other birders arrived. The Dovekie picked that time to disappear, and we frustratingly couldn’t get anyone else on the bird. Time was ticking, and we left the group. Later we would find out that another team had seen the Dovekie from the same spot.

My field sketch of the Dovekie. Not very good at drawing birds...and sorry about the bad handwriting -- it was done while we were in the car.

The Dovekie was somewhere out there...

If I remember correctly, our next stop was a Wastewater Treatment Plant in Newburyport. We finally saw an Iceland Gull there, the first adult of that species I had ever seen. Next was Plum Island. Driving south and then back north got us many new birds, most notably two owl species, Snowy Owl and Short-eared Owl. It was kind of ironic that we saw two owl species after 2 pm, and none at night…

The adult Iceland Gull. Notice the black-less wingtips.

At Plum Island we also saw several Northern Harriers and a Long-tailed Duck, Our last birds at Plum Island were two Red-necked Grebes, another life bird for me. There were a couple seals on the beach, which was cool. It was getting late, so we decided to head for a blackbird roost in Newburyport we had been told about to try and catch them as the came in for the night. On the way there, we lucked into a flock of Horned Larks by a small airport, our 60th bird species of the day! At the blackbird roost we saw several Red-winged Blackbirds descend onto a tree. Success! With a mere 15 minutes to spare before the 5 pm cutoff time, we drove around town, hoping to see a House Finch, which was the only 1-point bird we missed. We didn’t see one.

The Snowy Owl is on that area of snow between the two bushes in the middle. No clue how the guy found it, but luckily he was there and pointed it out to us.

At the compilation there was great pizza, and 3 out of the 4 members of our team (everyone but me) won door prizes in a raffle. We won the Newbies Award, given to the team with at least 2 members under 18 that scored the the most points. We all got $25 gift certificates to the Joppa Flats store. I guess now I’ll have to come back soon in order to use it…

A Harbor Seal (I think) on a Plum Island beach

Yellow-headed Blackbird

I have midterm exams all this week, which means I get out of school early (11 am). There’s been a Yellow-headed Blackbird, normally found west of the Great Lakes, hanging around Saw Mill River Audubon’s Pruyn Sanctuary, and I was able to see it today on my second attempt (the first had been Tuesday). Here are some pictures I was able to get, though none are very good:

For more on this particular bird, visit the Saw Mill River Audubon website.

A weekend up north

Gorgeous.

In the middle of January, right smack in the dead of winter, most people, when asked where they’d rather be, reply with wishes of lower latitudes and warm, tropical beaches. To me, that sounds great too, but this weekend my dad and I decided to do the opposite – head up to the Adirondacks with a group from Saw Mill River Audubon for a nice weekend of birding. We left for the “north country” soon after school ended on Friday, and made it up to Long Lake, NY, in the heart of Adirondack Park around 9 pm (with a half-hour dinner stop along the way).

Saturday, January 16

We started the day out early, waking up at 6:45 and heading to the local Long Lake Diner at 7:30 am for breakfast. Departing at 9 (we were the first ones to the diner and had to wait for the others), we made the 1 hr 20 min drive to the famous Bloomingdale Bog, which was my first taste of classic boreal habitat.

At the start of Bloomingdale Bog trail.

As we walked in, we ran into a man being led by a beagle with a rifle slung over his shoulder (encounters of this sort would become a common theme). He informed the group that there had been, in his words, “Canadian” Jays hanging out down the trail. So we set off down the bog trail, a relatively wide, flat road with hard packed snow — perfect for the many snowmobiles that passed us. About a quarter-mile in, we found the area the man had referred to, but no birds. I played my almost magical screech-owl/chickadee recording, hoping they would respond. At first, it seemed like nothing had happened. But several seconds later Gray Jays came swooping toward us through the trees, and all five landed within 10 feet of the group. Great looks were enjoyed by everyone there, and one jay even ate a few oyster crackers that someone happened to have. Our spirits rejuvenated, we continued on the path. After a few hundred more feet, we ran into a band of Black-capped Chickadees; but, as hard as I looked, none morphed into a Boreal Chickadee. We walked about a mile further, the only new birds being Red-breasted Nuthatches and many more chickadees (no boreals). It was 11 am, and we only had a bit more than an hour to get to our snowshoeing reservation at Paul Smiths VIC (Visitors Interpretive Center).

One member of a very inquisitive family of Gray Jays.

We left for Bigalow Rd, just 15 minutes away, a trail that parallels the Bloomingdale Bog trail. As we arrived, several hunters with multiple beagles were returning from a trek. I could hear birds calling from the start of the trail, so I played the recording. Within seconds scores of Chickadees (no boreals), nuthatches, and — wait — that’s not a chickadee… I had only a half-second look at the large finch perched on top of a spruce, but it was enough to take in the field marks of a Red Crossbill, a bird I only half-expected to see this weekend. Time was ticking as we walked down the trail (the same type of hard packed snow as our previous stop), and after only a few minutes most of the group felt they needed to turn back because of time constraints. However, I and a couple others decided to give it another shot. After walking a bit further I turned on the recording. Some chickadees. Lots of nuthatches. Ooh – a male Purple Finch. Some more chickadees. Even a Blue Jay. One of those chickadees sounded weird, but I couldn’t be certain over the noise of the playback. Then someone called out “I’ve got a Boreal! Wait, let me make sure — could’ve been something else…No, there it is!” I couldn’t find the bird in question — there were dozens moving around, all riled up because of the playback. Finally, the bird called again and I was able to locate it. We had so-so looks at the Boreal Chickadee, which unfortunately never emerged from the confines of the trees long enough for me to snap a picture. Still, a successful stop! And that is why you take your time while birding.

Walking Bigalow Rd, my favorite spot on the trip.

We tried some stops near Paul Smiths suggested to me — a feeder and some dead trees — but neither provided the birds I was hoping to see (Evening Grosbeak and Black-backed Woodpecker, respectively) in the few minutes we had to stop by (we did see a Wild Turkey perched in a tree, however). The snowshoe walk was fun and the area was gorgeous (as were the bogs), but mostly devoid of birds. After a great dinner at a restaurant in Long Lake and some unfortunately unproductive owling behind the motel, we called it a night.

Sunday, January 17

Determined to fit more birding into today than we were able to yesterday, we left the hotel at 7 am and, after picking up some breakfast, were on the road at 7:30. Our major stop for the morning was to be Sabattis Circle and the Whitney Wilderness Area, along Little Tupper Lake. After arriving, we decided to try Sabattis Circle Rd first, and started driving, looking for birds. The habitat wasn’t really pure boreal (lots of deciduous mixed in), and all we could find were some chickadees and nuthatches (well, White-breasted Nuthatch was a new bird for the trip). It wasn’t looking too productive, so we decided to head towards the main road. When Anne tried to turn her car around, however, it became stuck in the deceivingly soft snow bordering the hard packed road. We tried pushing the car backwards and forwards, tying a rope to the front and pulling with another car (the rope broke), and some more pushing. Finally we were able to get the car free, and were treated to an intense smell of burnt rubber. What a way to start!

The other spots planned didn’t turn out to be as good as we had hoped (in a couple places there were zero birds), and by 10 am some were getting frustrated. The group split up – a few (me included) decided to drive back to Bigalow Rd, the previous day’s best spot, while the others went to The Wild Center for some events we had scheduled. After driving over an hour to the Bloomingdale area, we approached the entrance to Bigalow Rd, and as we neared the turnoff an adult Ruffed Grouse materialized feet from the car, right on the shoulder of the road! Recognizing its mistake after a moment or two of contemplation (great looks), it fled back into the forest, flashing the ruffs on its neck as it went.

The view from Bloomingdale Bog. Wow.

The parking area was filled with bird activity — dozens of the common songbirds, as well as two Boreal Chickadees, one which spent some time on the ground right in front of me (only a few seconds, and my camera was in the car…). We continued up the trail, passed by the occasional snowmobile (which filled the air with the stench of gasoline for several seconds after), hoping for some more good luck. I heard Pine Siskins calling a few times from the treetops, and a Purple Finch called once or twice, but I wasn’t able to locate either species. We also saw a few Golden-crowned Kinglets, Common Ravens, more Boreal Chickadees and a flyover Gray Jay.

The best picture I got of a Boreal Chickadee. Bigalow Rd.

Bloomingdale Bog was our next stop (maybe, we reasoned, it would have more birds than the day before), but all that greeted us there were birds we had already seen, and not in large numbers either. A special treat after we finally arrived at the Wild Center was a Barred Owl perched on top of a large shrub in the middle of a field, at 4 pm!

In the middle of a field...

Today wasn’t as good as I had hoped, but the species we missed will give me an excuse to come back to such a beautiful area.

Monday, January 18

The last day of the trip, we had a few good birding spots lined up to hopefully get us many new species for the weekend. I woke up a bit before 7, and before departing to pick up breakfast Larry and I decided to take a short walk behind the hotel to where he had seen a grouse the first day. We neared the spot and were about to turn around, when the sound of explosive flapping came from the trees. I looked up just in time to see the tail end of a Ruffed Grouse disappear into the treetops. Oh well. Then another one took off from a nearby treetop (they were eating berries), and then Larry spotted a third sitting quietly straight ahead, munching away on treetop berries.

Breakfast was good (bacon, egg and cheese on a roll), and I stepped out of the cafe to listen for a bit. Many Goldfinches were eating from a feeder nearby, and their characteristic call filled the air. Then I heard something else — soft (but distinctive) dry, atonal calls. I looked up and saw about five small finches fly over the parking lot, fairly high, and realized that they could only be one thing — Common Redpolls! Unfortunately I was the only one outside to hear them.

Me, taking pictures...

Soon after, the group hit the road. Our major birding stop on the way back to Westchester was to be the Ft. Edward grasslands, but there was one thing we had to do first. Evening Grosbeaks had been sporadically reported from the Newcomb VIC, and though the building was closed on Sundays and Mondays, we hoped that there would still be birds at the feeders. We pulled into the parking lot and walked down the path. Not 20 feet in I looked up, and WOW — Evening Grosbeaks filled the trees, calling loudly and feasting on ash seeds. We estimated there to be about four dozen grosbeaks altogether. I hoped that they would come down from the treetops so my pictures wouldn’t be backlit, but that never happened in the half-hour we watched them for.

Evening Grosbeaks!!

A female Evening Grosbeak. The lowest any of them got (if only it was a male).

It was about two hours to Fort Edward, and immediately upon arrival our leader for the area from Southern Adirondacks Audubon pointed out a dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk perched on twigs at the very top of a tree. It took off and flew around a bit, flashing its brilliantly white primaries contrasted with an all-black body, a very cool sight. We also flushed a Short-eared Owl which had been hiding out of sight not 20 feet away, and it ultimately landed on a telephone pole for everyone to enjoy looking at. We then drove around the area a bit, finding more hawks (mostly Red-tails), many common passerines, and (somewhat surprisingly) many Common Goldeneye and a couple of Common Mergansers. By that time it was 1:30 pm and we were all ready to head home after a great weekend of birding.

Short-eared Owl.

Stratford and a Saw-whet

Great Meadows Marsh, an IBA (Important Bird Area).

This morning, lured by the prospect of two possible nemesis lifers, Lapland Longspur and Northern Saw-whet Owl, I joined Eamon, Ryan, and some others on a trip to Stratford, CT lead by Brian O’Toole. The high was predicted to be in the mid-20s with winds less than 15 mph, which was quite a contrast from last week’s bad weather birding. We left the Audubon Center in Greenwich a bit after 9 am, and arrived at our first stop, Great Meadows Marsh, at 10.

We walked across railroad tracks and into the park, reaching the first boardwalk overlook in a couple minutes. This looked out over a section of marsh and appeared pretty barren. Soon, however, two Northern Harriers were spotted flying low over the tall grasses. One was a male, termed a “gray ghost” because of its light gray coloration (compared to the rust-colored female and juvenile). We soon found two Red-tailed Hawks watching the action from a tree, as well as another hawk of the same genus (buteo). Because of the habitat and time of year it was at first called a Rough-legged, an irruptive grassland hawk that breeds much farther north in the continent, but we soon realized it was actually an immature Red-shouldered Hawk, more uncommon in winter. Continuing down the trail, we ran into a group of American Tree Sparrows and another Harrier, as well as some Hooded Mergansers. A Snowy Owl had been reported not too many days before, but we were not lucky enough to run into it. On to the next spot!

A female Northern Harrier making a beeline for the other side of the marsh.

After stopping at a spot that had produced many birds the last time I was there (Jan ‘09), but was lacking this time around, we headed to Long Beach, the other main attraction of Stratford birding. This was were I was hoping to find Lapland Longspur, a bird that had eluded me for several winters. Back at the marsh we ran into a man who said he had seen them earlier in the morning, further raising my hopes. After we parked in the parking lot, a quick scan of the Sound revealed not much more than a few Common Goldeneye and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers. Brian led us down the path toward a pair of cedars where that same man had apparently seen an Orange-crowned Warbler. As we walked, the wind picked up and got to a point that was almost comparable to that of last Sunday. The longspur had been seen around the parking lot, so it wasn’t looking too good for…

“What’s that?”

A few small birds appeared to our right, rummaging through the leaf litter on the beach.

“Longspur!” said Brian.

Not one, but three Lapland Longspurs hopped around feet from us. They were joined by an “Ipswich” Sparrow, a pale subspecies of Savannah Sparrow. This particular one was so pale it almost shone. One of the longspurs was unusually pale as well, with almost no hint of color. Before we could study it further, the group flew off down the beach. Luckily I was able to snap a few pictures of the longspur in question, but after review it seems to be just an aberrant Lapland.

A regularly-plumaged Lapland Longspur.

The pale one, with no rufous on the greater coverts (about halfway down the wing).

We continued down to the cedars, and when no warbler showed up, we went just a bit farther, to a tangle of shrubs. American Tree Sparrows hopped around in the sand, but no warbler. This was explained when a couple coming from the opposite direction told us that the warbler was actually hanging around some cottages at the other end of the beach (and they hadn’t seen it). The effort was abandoned.

"Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow. So pale!

It was noon and I was hungry, so I quickly polished off a roast beef sandwich as we drove to our next stop, a sizable pond in the middle of town. On it were many Canvasback (how did I miss that bird last year??), and on the way back Brian spotted an adult Bald Eagle sitting on the ice, which promptly took off. The final stop in the Stratford area was a boat launch. We saw American Coot, Pied-billed Grebe, Fish Crow, Killdeer, a tired Black-crowned Night-heron, a flyby American Pipit, and a rattling Belted Kingfisher there. Most of those were new birds for the year.

A sleeping juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron.

The final scheduled birding stop was Sherwood Island State Park, on the way back to Greenwich. We were looking for a Saw-whet Owl, a tiny owl that migrates into the northeast during the winter. I had tried explicitly for this bird several times before, only to have to settle for some “whitewash” coating the branches under where the owl used to be. When all we found was some dried whitewash and a small owl pellet (which was cool to see), it looked as though this attempt would end just like the others. But, luckily, Ryan found one! A Northern Saw-whet Owl perched high up in a conifer, the very same tree, as it turned out, where he saw his life saw-whet. The only other birds of note were a few Red-breasted Nuthatches. Highly satisfied (2 for 2!), I spent the car ride back to Audubon picking through all the photos I had taken of the owl to find the best one. Here it is…

In my opinion, North America's cutest owl.

Birding in a BLIZZARD

Perfect weather for a Sunday birding jaunt...

(Ok, not really a blizzard, but it sure felt like it at times.)

Today, Stella, Vinny, Brendan, and I set out on a (coined by Stella) TBB, or Targeted Birding Blitz. We had planned to see many of the notable species recently spotted on Long Island, among them Black Guillemot, Snowy Owl, Eurasian Wigeon, Barrow’s Goldeneye, and Greater White-fronted Goose. Everything was all planned out; all birds had been seen in the past two days. How could we not get them all (or at least three of five)? Well, the problem was we didn’t really account for the weather… The forecast called for a high in the low 20s, 60% chance of snow all day, and WNW winds at 30-40 mph with 50+ mph gusts.

Rarely do I say this, but today the forecasters were SPOT ON, as you will soon find out.

Early in the morning, about 7:30, Stella and I set out to try for the Barrow’s Goldeneye spotted off the north shore of Centre Island in Bayville. The best spot, apparently, to see this bird is right in front of a police building (with officers inside) surrounded by signs saying “NO STOPPING OR STANDING AT ANY TIME.” This wouldn’t have been so bad had it not been necessary to stay in the car while looking for the bird: As we opened the car doors, we began to be consistently pounded by gale-force winds, head-on, so much so that they impaired our ability to walk straight. After struggling to get across the street, I attempted to lift my binoculars to my face. It was futile. My face was already numb, the surf was extremely choppy, and — another thing we hadn’t accounted for — it was low tide. We accepted defeat, partly because we knew that we could come back and have another go in the afternoon. While retreating to the car both Stella and I had to run because of the force of the wind at our backs. Targets: 0 for 1. Total time out of car: 25 seconds.

With plenty of time to kill before Brendan was set to arrive at 8:30, Stella showed me some of the local waterfowl hotspots, hoping they’d be at least partly unfrozen. Our first stop was Mill Pond in Oyster Bay. I was initially afraid of opening the door, but then I realized there was almost no wind in that area. It was positively balmy in comparison to the previous stop. Although about 45% frozen, the pond did hold one new year bird, Northern Pintail. Another local body of water was Saint Johns Pond. The wind was a bit stronger here, but manageable. I was excited to find over 40 Canvasback, a bird I had somehow missed in 2009, along with several Redhead. Content with these unexpected species, we left to meet up with Brendan.

After picking up Brendan (and Vinny, who texted me just as we were leaving), the four of us left for Belmont Lake State Park in North Babylon. The wind was strong (still no match for Centre Island), and I wondered aloud how long frostbite took to set in with such a low wind chill… Luckily, we spotted a Greater White-fronted Goose in the first few minutes after arrival, as well as Common and Hooded Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, and a Cooper’s Hawk. Targets: 1 for 2. Time spent out of car: 15 minutes.

Fighting the snow and wind.

Now it was on the road again for a long(er) drive to Sebonac Inlet, where our instructions said the Black Guillemot was “super easy”. I’m sure you’re thinking, “A blizzard? Pshh, there wasn’t even any snow.” Well, as we crossed over to the eastern part of the Island, we ran into some snow. Not much at first, but enough to be annoying and slow down driving. After an hour of driving we arrived at the inlet, only to find in dismay that it was almost completely iced over. This ice extended for dozens of feet into the bay. Foolishly we figured we’d get out of the car and just scan the water with scopes until we spotted the bird. Nope! The wind was almost as bad as in Bayville, plus with the addition of snow blown from both the ground and sky, it felt like we were getting hosed by an industrial strength sandblaster. We withdrew to the relative safety of the car, and even though I scoped from the passenger seat for a half hour, we could not find the guillemot. Consolation birds included some Long-tailed Ducks and Common Goldeneye. Targets: 1 for 3. Time spent out of car: 50 seconds (to talk to Tom Burke).

Oh no the bay is frozen!

As it was nearing noon, we realized we needed to pick up the pace. There were a few stops remaining and only 3 hours before Brendan needed to be back. Luckily, Shinnecock Inlet was only 25 minutes away. As we crossed the bridge leading to the barrier beach, we realized that there would be no way to find an owl. The driving snow was horizontal now, and heavier; visibility was reduced to maybe half a mile. (You see, the Snowy Owl had been spotted on the east side of the inlet, while only the west was accessible to a 2-wheel drive car.) At a bathroom stop we did find a flock of Snow Buntings and a Northern Harrier fighting the wind, and at the end of the inlet groups of Common Eiders flew by. No Owl. Targets: 1 for 4. Time spent out of car: 2 minutes.

A Northern Harrier battling the wind.

With only 2 hours remaining before our 3 o’clock deadline, it was going to be close; it would take 1 hour to get to our Eurasian Wigeon spot and another 45 minutes to get back to Stella’s, leaving only 15 to find the bird. Furthermore, driving speed was reduced because of the increased snow/sleet accumulation. Approaching the harbor, it appeared to be frozen, but luckily that was only a small section. Within a minute or two of driving the perimeter we found large groups of American Wigeon. Sure enough, one male Eurasian Wigeon was nestled among them in a cove. Reportedly there was a female, too, but we couldn’t afford to expend any more time scrutinizing the subtleties of wigeon head coloration. Targets: 2 for 5. Time spent out of car: 2 minutes (to take pictures).

The Eurasian Wigeon (bot right) with American Black Duck (bot left), American Wigeon, and Mute Swan.

We left the wigeon at exactly 2:15. Perfect timing. After Brendan left, Vinny, Stella, and I once again headed for the Barrow’s spot. This time the tide was in, but the wind was no better (ok maybe a tiny bit). New ducks present were Greater Scaup and Common Goldeneye, but the goldeneye were so far out and it was so windy that a positive ID was near impossible, especially since we were under constant pressure to avoid being ticketed by police. We left around sundown. Despite the wind, snow, cold, ice, and lack of birds, it was a fun day birding with friends. Plus, I did get one life bird, Greater White-fronted Goose, bringing my lifelist to 434, and my 2010 list to 55. Who knows, I may go back for the Barrow’s next week…

A perfect snowflake that landed on Vinny's glove.