Birding Big Day and Breeders

This past Saturday, April 13th, Andy Bankert, Craig Bateman, Matt Gould and I ran a big day in Florida. We ended the day with 195 species (196 if you count feral Mallard), which breaks the previous big day record by a full 10 species. We had some silly misses like Western Sandpiper and Northern Flicker, but also some nice surprises like White-faced Ibis and Cerulean Warbler.

I left my camera in the car for most of the route. However, while at St. Marks, we drove by the White-faced Ibis that Andy had staked out earlier in the week. I snapped a few pics to document the bird. It appears to be a juvenile with a blood-red eye.

White-faced Ibis

 Of course, we missed Yellow-breasted Chat since they weren't on territory yet. Then, today, we had multiple birds at Tall Timbers singing. I guess that is the way it goes.

There will be a much bigger, detailed write-up of the big day coming soon. It was my first big-day and everyone had a great time doing it! I'm actually pretty sad it is over.

Speaking of Tall Timbers, we still have some great wintering sparrows around that really helped our big day. Lincoln's have taken a liking to the feeding station we set up behind our bunk house. Our high count is 4 Lincoln's at the same time.

Yesterday, another visitor dropped in. This Clay-colored Sparrow is pretty snazzy looking, and a nice change from the still wintering Chipping Sparrows. It was still present today.

Clay-colored Sparrow

Almost all of the local breeders are back on territory now, except Acadian Flycatcher. I caught up with a few of them today.

Blue Grosbeak

Summer Tanager

I had mentioned Yellow-billed Cuckoos in an earlier post. They have been very vocal lately. This one posed nicely in the canopy.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Another bird that just showed up at Tall Timbers today was this Kentucky Warbler, first seen by Matt on his plot. It was singing away, making it somewhat easy to locate. This is truly a striking bird! I only wish the picture did him a little more justice.

Kentucky Warbler

I still have a few local breeders to catch up with including Chimney Swift, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Louisiana Waterthrush and Orchard Oriole to name a few. If the weather looks good, I may zip down to St. George Island this weekend to see what migrants have dropped in. There are still so many birds to photograph in Florida before I leave in a few short weeks!

Dowitcher Identification

Dowitcher identification has always been a headache for me. A notoriously hard identification in general, the two prove quite variable, adding to the complexity. If you are familiar with their calls, you can identify the birds readily, unless they don't call.

I recently found an article by Cin-Ty Lee and Andrew Birch titled "New advances in the field identification of dowitchers". They have figured out a few details that can really help nail down a silent dowitcher, or at least get you most of the way there. How I missed this article before is beyond me (don't judge).

The identification tip I liked most was the pattern of the greater and median coverts in alternate plumage; squared off white in Long-billed Dowitcher while the white extends up the side of the feather in Short-billed. Sure wish I knew about this feature a long time ago!

Just so happens that some of the Dowitchers here in Florida are molting. On 3/31 I photographed this Short-billed Dowitcher at Bald Point State Park. It was part of a flock, and the birds were calling. I didn't get the call recorded, but luckily the covert pattern tells all.

Molting Short-billed Dowitcher

Have a closer look at the covert pattern:

Short-billed Dowitcher covert pattern with white extending up the sides of the coverts (not squared at the tip like in Long-billed Dowitcher).

And that makes 270 photographed on the year with plenty of birds left in Florida. Keep checking back. My friend Andy Bankert just got into town and we, along with a couple other friends, have BIG plans for Saturday.

St. Marks Migrants

This past Sunday I birded St. Marks and found a healthy amount of activity at Tower Pond. Around 18 species of shorebirds were fun to pick through, and resting with them were terns. Once in a while, the terns would pick up and fly right by. I was able to snag pictures of Caspian and Gull-billed, both new for the year.

Caspian Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Along the main road were hoards of swallows. While most were Tree and Barn, I also saw Cliff and Bank. The Cliff was too far out to photograph, and I just barely managed to get a picture of the Bank. I finally got around to photographing a Barn Swallow too.

Barn Swallow

Bank Swallow

Great Crested Flycatchers are back in full force, and have been for a while. I caught this one calling along the tower trail from atop a post.

Great Crested Flycatcher

I didn't go prepared to spend all day as I was pretty beat from the long day on Saturday. It was great seeing more migrants making their way back.

At Tall Timbers, most of the breeders are back on territory. Yellow-billed Cuckoos are calling (and I even got a picture of one with a stick in its bill), Summer Tanagers are around, I heard my first Blue Grosbeak today (although Matt has had one for a few days), and Eastern Wood-Pewee are also back in small numbers. I'll get around to posting a Cuckoo picture when I get it off my camera.

Also, my good friend Andy Bankert is coming to visit for a while, starting tomorrow. We have some BIG plans for this weekend, so check back soon!

Riding the Wave

It seems the first big push of neotropical migrants has hit Florida and is moving north. I took advantage of the weekend and did some scouting/birding/photographing. Like last weekend, I had high hopes of seeing a Swainson's Warbler.

On Saturday I departed Tallahassee at 3:30am for Fort  De Soto. But first, I stopped at Sawgrass Lake Park in St. Petersburg where Short-tailed Hawks are nesting. I hung around for two hours with no luck. If I've ever had a nemesis bird, it is Short-tailed Hawk in Florida. I've seen them twice in SE Arizona, but can't find one in Florida! I've been in the glades in the winter, to their breeding grounds in spring and summer, and along their spring migration path with no luck.One of these days...

So I went to Fort De Soto where plenty of migrants are being reported. I stopped at the East Beach Turnaround where I saw a Piping Plover mixed in with the Semipalmated Plovers, and my first-of-year Least Terns were resting on the beach.

Least Tern

 I then went to North Beach where, in the roped off area, a Long-billed Curlew has been seen. It didn't take long to spot it.

Long-billed Curlew

So I made my way into the woods. The Arrowhead Trail hosted at least 2 Swainson's Warblers on Friday. I was hopeful at least one would still be around. Ran into a few other birders right at the beginning and there was quite a bit of bird activity. Blue-headed Vireo, Hooded Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler and Blue-winged Warbler all moved through the area.

Blue-winged Warbler

Worm-eating Warbler with a stick through the picture

 It is going to be tough getting acceptable pictures of some of these forest loving birds. Light is usually very low. Even shooting at ISO 1600, I was only managing 1/250 shutter-speed at best. A monopod is sounding pretty good right now...

A little further down the trail was where the Swainson's Warbler was being seen. I passed a few people who said they just had it. Needless to say, I got a bit excited. Swainson's Warblers are notoriously hard birds to see on their breeding grounds. They aren't too hard to hear if you are in the right area, but seeing them can be tough. I've only seen one previously, and it was in a dark forest and looks weren't great. If you can find them while they are migrating, however, they can be quite confiding. I was very pleased to find the bird right where it had been reported. Of course, it was skulking and flipping leaves in the dark, shady understory. By fidgeting with my camera settings, I was able to get this shot. This was one of my major targets while in Florida, and a bird I've been dreaming of getting better looks at. This, alone, was worth the drive!

Swainson's Warbler

Hooded Warblers seemed to be everywhere. At the east beach picnic area, there were at least 4-5 birds hopping around the grass much to the delight of the many birders here.

Hooded Warbler

After enjoying the park, I made my way back to Sawgrass to see if a Short-tailed Hawk might be flying. Nope.

These, and a few more pictures of varying quality (the pictures, not the birds) can be found on the Flickr page. 

Today (Sunday) I went to St. Marks, but more on that later.

Fundraising

A few people have mentioned it would be a good idea to update the blog every once in a while with how the fundraising portion of this project is going. I'm happy to say there has been quite a bit of support and plenty of time left.

At this point, 23 pledges have been made ranging from $0.05 to $1.00/ species! The 23 pledges have added up to $4.90/bird photographed, and one flat $50 donation. If I reach my goal of 500 species photographed, that equates to $2,500 raised for Hawaiian bird conservation.

I'm extremely grateful to everyone who has supported this project. I am really having a lot of fun, and it is for a good cause. I hope you are all enjoying as well!

Here is a breakdown of what to expect in the coming months. I finish my job in Florida at the beginning of May. Before that, I plan to get to the Dry Tortugas and expect to hit the rest of the S. Florida specialties once they arrive.

In May I'll track down some birds in Michigan. It also looks like a trip to Alaska is in the works. At the end of May, I'll be going on a road-trip to Nevada but may leave Michigan early and spend a few days in SE Arizona. 

The next two months are going to be very busy, but very enjoyable as well. Good Birding to all!

Easter Birding

The chance of rain didn't scare me away from trying to find a few migrants on this Easter Day. I would have rather spent it with family, but they are all in Michigan and I'm here in Florida.

My first stop was St. George Island. St. George is one of the panhandles best migrant traps (or so I hear), so I thought a few of the earlier warblers might be kicking around. I was secretly hoping for a Swainson's Warbler, but that didn't pan out. In fact, there were relatively few migrants on the island. If I had to pick a best bird... the Prairie Warblers or the Yellow-throated Warbler I guess. Still, it was nice to get acquainted with the place where I fully expect to see some serious migration in the coming weeks.

On my way off the island, I was ready to head east, but I quickly remembered about the Sprague's Pipits at Apalachicola Airport. Last report I know of was of 8 birds on Feb 16 via eBird. I've seen Sprague's Pipit a few times over the past couple years, always in winter in SE Arizona, so I know how tricky they can be to find. Going on a solo mission, I didn't have high hopes of seeing one and knew it would take a bit of luck to get a photograph. Nevertheless, I signed in at the office and started walking the recently mowed and very, very short runway edges. Not 5 minutes later, a Sprague's flushed only a short distance. It was easy to follow it through the sparse, short cover.

The most cooperative Sprague's Pipit I've ever seen

I moved east to Alligator Point where I was hoping for some seabirds close to shore given the strong south winds. It wasn't to be, but Black and Surf Scoters were mixed in with the scaup. As I was leaving, a pair of Swallow-tailed Kites were flying along the road. I sure do love these birds!

Swallow-tailed Kite

Bald Point was my next stop where I hoped to pick up some more migrants and shorebirds. Migrants were actually pretty active at the northern end of Bald Point Road. Northern Parulas were abundant. This is where I picked up my FOY Red-eyed Vireo.

Red-eyed Vireo

On the beach at Bald Point were a couple hundred shorebirds. Sanderling, Willet and Ruddy Turnstone were everywhere. Marbled Godwits also seemed to be congregated in this small area of beach and seemed accustomed to people. I watched as the Godwits probed the sand, flicking up bits of debris every time they withdrew their bill. The Turnstones caught on and took advantage of the free meal.

Marbled Godwit

While birding St. George in the morning, I ran into Barbara Mann from Ontario. We chatted while birding and she told stories of Prothonotary Warblers. The place is Otter Lake. This was my next stop. I went behind the bathrooms, just like she said, and wouldn't you know it, a singing Prothonotary Warbler (Thanks, Barb!). The bright yellow and blues of this warbler are spectacular! This would have been a nice picture, too, if that tree hadn't got in the way (just kidding, trees are good).

Prothonotary Warbler

The winds were getting out of control, my radio listening was interrupted with news of severe weather, and I was getting hungry so I drove back to Tall Timbers. Quite a nice day to be out, saw some great birds, and had a great time.

If you are considering pledging, you may care to know that your pledge will be TAX-DEDUCTIBLE! See the donate page for more info.

Happy Easter!

Past the Half-Way Mark!

After going at this project for nearly three months, I have photographed 251 species of birds this year, which is barely more than half-way to my goal of 500. Yesterday (2/28), I was able to photograph one of the remaining Lincoln's Sparrows present at Tall Timbers which is just north of Tallahassee, FL. There are still a few kicking around, but it is pretty obvious the sparrow flocks are thinning out.

Lincoln's Sparrow

Today, in one of the recently burned areas (the entire property is burned each year to maximize Bachman's Sparrow habitat) a Northern Bobwhite was foraging out in the open, a rare sight here. The are a huge number of Northern Bobwhite on the property, and I see or hear them every day. They are usually flushing away from me. It was nice to see one out in the open, and made for a nice target. He scampered away shortly after.

Northern Bobwhite

Another bird that has shown up in increasing numbers is the Eastern Kingbird. They like hawking over the ponds. Today, a pair was close enough to the edge to get an acceptable picture. I always enjoy the return of this kingbird in the spring!

Eastern Kingbird

The last couple of weeks were pretty slow, so it was nice to get a few new species. Tomorrow I will be helping on a local butterfly count. Sunday will be my day of birding, and I'm going to make the most of it. I plan to go to St. George Island (on the gulf coast) to search for some of the earlier arrivals. I'll likely work my way east along the coast, making stops at the major hotspots. Last time that route turned up a Great Shearwater and 3 Razorbills. What will it be this time?

Improvement

One of my goals for the flickr page (that contains every species photographed during this big year) is to update the poor-quality photos with better-quality photos if I happen to take any. Today I was able to take some much improved photos of Purple Martin and Pine Warbler, better than the ones I took earlier in the year. See for yourself. You can click on the picture to enlarge, and click on it again for an even bigger, higher resolution photo.

Pine Warbler

Purple Martin

As you might imagine, I'm getting pretty anxious for the major passerine migration. Reports of Hooded, Worm-eating, and Prothonotary Warblers are being passed along. The weather looks great for this coming weekend. I'm likely to do a local butterfly survey one of the days and spend the other around St. George Island and surrounding areas looking for migrants.

I should be able to photograph a couple new species around the property in the coming days as well. There is a Swallow-tailed Kite hanging around my plot. Barn Swallows are coming through, and Eastern Kingbirds are around as well.

Rainy Days

It was not a good weekend to be birding around Tallahassee. Copious amounts of rain and severe thunderstorms prevented me from doing any serious birding and resulted in no new birds photographed. Luckily, the weather has turned and looks good for the coming week. We should be seeing some new migrants soon, so sit tight.

Although I didn't score any new photos this weekend, here is a video of a male Brown-headed Nuthatch excavating a cavity to be used as a nest right outside the bunkhouse I'm staying at. This was taken with a Canon S90 attached to my Kowa 883 scope. Enjoy!

Just a Fish Crow?

In this photographic big year game, every bird counts the same. Fish Crow counts just as much as a Sprague's Pipit. Each new species is one closer to the goal of 500. Even the lowly Fish Crow.

Back in January, while birding Florida with my dad, I took the time to photograph a Fish Crow. This is an example of a bird that can not be identified by range since it overlaps with American Crow. Pictures can't be conclusive since they look extremely similar to American Crows. Therefore, on top of the photograph, I also took a video of the same Fish Crow calling. There are a few birds calling in the video, and all the calling crows are Fish.

Fish Crow

I don't have any new pictures as my camera is out of order. Don't worry, this won't affect the big year in the slightest. The problem is being taken care of.