Persistence Pays Off!

I'm glad I talked myself out of bed this morning considering my first class didn't start until noon. And I only had to hit the snooze button once. Then it was off to my new favorite birding spot around the Cities; the Old Cedar Ave Bridge trails. I've been getting out every spare minute I have desperately trying to find a Philadelphia Vireo. It seems everyone in the area has been seeing them except me. They won't be around too much longer, either.

I walked the trails, enjoying the few remaining fall warblers that are trickling through. However, when it came time to head back I had only seen Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireos. On the way back, I ran into a good group of chickadees with a few scattered migrants flitting in the tree tops. I worked the flock and got a brief view of a Philadelphia Vireo! Too fast for pictures. I waited and waited with no additional sightings. Finally, I heard it call and tracked it down. I overexposed the picture, almost beyond recognition... almost.

Philadelphia Vireo

Some bright eastern Warbling Vireos can look similar to Philadelphia Vireos, but this bird shows a bright yellow throat (a great field mark for Philadelphia), a dark contrasting hood, and, possibly most importantly, dark lores.

I was extremely happy to see and photograph one of these before they are all gone. Check back soon, I'll be birding hard this weekend!

The Last of the Geese

My last get-able goose of the year (if I don't go to the east coast this winter) came in the form of a Ross's Goose. Two had been reported the past two days from Hugo, MN, just outside the Twin Cities. This morning, before class, I made a quick trip over to see if they would continue.

Upon arrival, the two small white geese were mixed in with some Canadas. I inspected them both closely as hybrids or intermediate birds are not uncommon. One bird looked great for a pure Ross's, while the other one left me with some uncertainty.

First, we have the good-looking adult Ross's Goose.

Ross's Goose

Notice the short, thick neck, round head, small triangular bill that is straight at the base, and no noticeable "grin patch".

The second bird however, has a few intermediate traits.

Small, white goose

At times, this looked great for a Ross's, but depending on posture, other times it did not. In this photo, it looks more Ross's-like. In the field, it appeared to have a slightly longer, thinner neck and less-round head. It also has a small "grin patch". The base of the bill is mostly straight. Interesting...

Ross's Goose is my 539th bird photographed this year. This photographic big year is an effort to raise awareness and funds for the American Bird Conservancy's work with endangered Hawaiian birds. To see how you can help, click here.

Still waiting to see a Philadelphia Vireo. I better hurry, the window is closing...

Nothing New

Saturday morning I went to Felton Prairie in Minnesota to look for Greater Prairie-Chickens and Chestnut-collared Longspurs. It was very windy, cool and shortly after arriving the storms came through. I had a flyover longspur give a rattle call, but only heard it once and never got a visual, hence no pics. I also didn't have much luck with the Chickens, until a helicopter flew over and flushed at least 12 birds! I followed them, but they never came out into the open. I had to try to get id-able pictures in flight, but I failed miserably.

 I did, however, have fun with sparrows. There were a ton of Savannah Sparrows, a handful of Vesper Sparrows, a few Lincoln's Sparrows, and a Grasshopper Sparrow.

Grasshopper Sparrow (above) and Savannah Sparrow (below)

So, it looks like the Chestnut-collared Longspurs have taken off already. Guess I'll have to take another trip up there for the Chickens.

Tomorrow morning I'll go look for the reported Ross's Geese just outside town, before I go to class. Wish me luck... the way things have been going lately, I'm going to need it!

Plover

I haven't been getting much birding in lately. With grad school and a surprise visit by some non-birding friends, my birding has been minimal. However, after watching the Lions win their home opener, I thought I would see if I could go score a new photo bird. An American Golden-Plover or two have been seen at Purgatory Creek Wetland near Eden Prairie west of Minneapolis. I took the drive and quickly came up with a few shorebirds, including the Plover. It was somewhat distant, far enough that digiscoping was necessary.

American Golden-Plover

This was my last easy shorebird for the year. If I get really lucky, I could get a Red Phalarope yet, but I am not counting on it.

Now if I could just turn up a Philadelphia Vireo. Everyone else seems to be seeing them...

The Terning Point

It is quickly becoming obvious I am going to have to change the way I have been birding, especially now that it is fall migration and breeding birds are no longer singing or on territory. All summer I've been spoiled. I was able to simply go to an area where a target bird was nesting and, more often than not, I could find them. Now, that strategy isn't working.

With that in mind, I have been birding a lot the past few days. I had four targets that would have been nice, two of which I thought I had a decent shot at. The targets were Common Tern, Philadelphia Vireo, Connecticut Warbler and Black-billed Cuckoo. The first two on the list were birds I thought I could turn up. My hope was that with the violent storm that came in from the west, mixed with a cold front dropping temps nearly 20 degrees, Wisconsin Point might be dripping with migrants.

So, on 8/31 I left St. Paul very early. First stop was Mille Lacs Lake, one of four places in the state that Common Terns nest. After scouring every possible vantage point of the lake on the east side, I finally got on some Common Terns. They were pretty distant so I resorted to digiscoping.

Common Tern

After slaying my first target, I moved to Wisconsin Point. Because I had already enjoyed the Jaeger show that continues there (5+ Parasitics), I decided to look for passerines. It was really hot but I was able to find a few scattered migrant flocks that held 14 species of warblers. I then moved to Park Point where I picked up another two species of warbler, but not much else. I did some lakewatching in the evening and saw at least two distant Jaegers... and then the storm rolled in!

My friend Skye and I then caught up, got some dinner, and hung out with Erik Bruhnke.

Today, we birded Wisconsin Point bright and early. We started lakewatching and had a Franklin's Gull come in close. Hearing the warbler call notes from the woods behind us, I couldn't help it and had to go passerine birding again. Were there Connecticut Warblers and Philadelphia Vireos to be had?

The woods weren't as birdy as I had hoped. There was certainly no fallout. I kept bumping into small migrant flocks when an interesting warbler popped up. I got a good look, and some pictures, and finally concluded it is a Mourning Warbler with a pretty bold (but still broken) eye ring.

Not a Connecticut Warbler

I have one more day before I start fall classes. Tomorrow, I'll spend the morning birding just outside the cities. There has to be a Philadelphia Vireo around here somewhere!

Minnesota Birding

Having settled in to my apartment (kind of) in Minneapolis/St. Paul, I decided I needed to get out and explore the area. I saw a post of some Buff-breasted Sandpipers at the A&L Sod Farms just north of Minneapolis on 8/24, so today (8/25) I ventured north. It didn't take long to find the Buff-breasted Sandpipers, three in all. Unfortunately, they were distant. Amazingly, my 400mm lens did a better job than my digiscoping setup, but not by much.

Buff-breasted Sandpipers

Back to cleaning/setting up my apartment for the rest of the day. I'm considering a drive to Duluth tomorrow morning for Common Tern and some lakewatching. Maybe venture to Sax-Zim Bog. Check back soon!

Pt. Mouillee Triple Play

On 8/21, my last day in Michigan, I went to Pt. Mouillee in SE Michigan with a friend. Word on the street was that there was great shorebirding to be had and I wanted to clean up a few species before heading to Minnesota. Mouillee did not disappoint.

When we arrived at Cell 3 the shorebirds were constantly being harassed by a Peregrine Falcon. It kept kicking shorebirds out of the cell. The numbers seemed way down from what people were reporting in the previous days. However, it didn't take long to pick out a Baird's Sandpiper.

Baird's Sandpiper

Stilt Sandpipers were also easy to pick out as they towered over the small peeps on the mud flats. They were in pretty bad light and somewhat distant, so I gave my digiscoping camera a try. I only got mediocre pictures of this adult Stilt Sandpiper.

Stilt Sandpiper

Two of my main targets down, but I was starting to get worried since my third (and "most wanted") target, the White-rumped Sandpiper, had yet to show. No worries, we had plenty of time to sit at Cell 3.

As the Peregrine activity slowed down, the birds settled in, giving us a chance to pick through the peeps more carefully. I finally got on the White-rumped Sandpiper foraging out right in front of us, although a bit distant.

White-rumped Sandpiper

This couldn't have went any better! We also had American Avocet, Willet and Black-bellied Plover. Only a few remaining shorebirds left in the east to find as they head south.

Ruby Mountain Ferruginous Hawk

During my last full day in the Ruby Mountains, I photographed a very large hawk that I identified as a Ferruginous Hawk. However, I started to second guess myself so I sent some pictures around to some friends who also agree with Ferruginous Hawk. Why I second guessed myself, I do not know. Enough about that, here are the pictures.

Ferruginous Hawk

Ferruginous Hawk

Ferruginous Hawk

Ferruginous Hawk

Obviously, the pictures are horrible, but it is probably the one and only Ferruginous Hawk I will see this year, so I'll have to use them.

Tomorrow (8/21), I'll be going shorebirding with a few friends in Michigan. If all goes well I should be able to see/photograph Stilt, Baird's and White-rumped Sandpiper. And Thursday I'll be in Minnesota!

Ruby Mountains- Last Few Days in the West

I spent the last 3 days climbing up and down the Ruby Mountains in Nevada. Whenever the Ruby Mountains and birding are mentioned, one bird comes to mind; Himalayan Snowcock. Introduced 50 years ago, they inhabit the steepest, highest, rockiest terrain imaginable. This make locating them tough. One spot, in particular, is a good bet, but it requires a 2-mile, one way steep hike above Island Lake. I spent 7 hours the first day looking for them with no success.

Therefore, I was forced to make the 4am hike again the next day. I got to the spot before sunrise and with food to last me the entire day. I had mentally prepared to sit and wait all day. But when 5:55am rolled around, I heard some foreign sound I knew would be the Himalayan Snowcocks. I found them in flight and watched where they landed but they disappeared. Finally, after another 25 minutes of trying to locate them in my scope, I found them foraging in some greenery. Success! The digiscoped pictures I took would do them no justice, so I started to climb the scree hoping to get better photos.

Himalayan Snowcock

As I climbed, the birds moved further ahead and did not allow close approach. I got the photos I wanted, though, and was ready to climb down when I heard Black Rosy-Finches even higher up the cliff. I knew they wouldn't come down low, so up higher I went. This was an intense climb! Once I reached the area the Rosy-Finches were, they couldn't have been more cooperative. At least 11 birds, mostly young and curious, were actively feeding and being fed. Being surrounded by Black Rosy-Finches was wonderful! And all this before 7am.

Black Rosy-Finch

Relieved that I didn't have to make the climb again the following day, I worked my way down toward the parking lot.

Later that day, I looked for Cordilleran Flycatcher with no success. But as I was walking back to the car, two Dusky Grouse were feeding right off the main path. They couldn't have cared less about my presence. This was a bird I had figured would be easily missed and was not counting on seeing this year. It helps to be lucky!

Dusky Grouse

One last bird I had hoped for in, or around, the Ruby Mountains was Ferruginous Hawk. I drove Ruby Valley twice, seeing just about every other bird of prey imaginable, but dipping on Ferruginous Hawk. However, I just may have some photos of one from a different location, but more on that later.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was going to try to get the other half of the newly split Sagebrush Sparrow. I have photos of Bell's, and now I have photos of Sagebrush as well. I stopped off highway 80 in some appropriate habitat and it wasn't long before I found one skulking along the ground. As I approached, it perched perfectly for me.

Sagebrush Sparrow

This is how I spent my last few days in the west. I go back to Michigan on Friday and will waste no time cleaning up some missing shorebirds among other things. I only have a few days home before moving to Minneapolis. It is going to be a crazy, fun next two weeks!

Sage Sparrow Split

While I was near Monterey for the pelagic trip last weekend, I took the time to find the Bell's Sparrow, recently split from the now Sagebrush Sparrow. If you have been keeping up with the blog, you'll know I photographed Sage Sparrows near Mono Lake, CA. However, the subspecies I photographed appears to be canescens, which got lumped with Bell's Sparrow. Therefore, the pictures of Bell's Sparrows I got near Hollister, CA don't count as a new species. This was my first time seeing the coastal Bell's, and they are stunning birds!

Bell's Sparrow

I was also able to get much better photos of Lawrence's Goldfinch than I previously had.

Lawrence's Goldfinch

I only have 6 days left before returning to Michigan. Tomorrow (8/11) is my last day of butterfly surveys. I will then spend 3 days in the Ruby Mountains trying to track down some Himalayan Snowcock, Black Rosy-Finches, and Dusky Grouse, among others. On the way there, I plan to look for Sagebrush Sparrows. Wish me luck!