Pelagic Birding

I've been on a boat before, I've seen birds before, I've even seen birds on a boat before.  However most of those boat trips have been trips to see something specific, eagles, swallows, whales, and other such things.  This weekend, the wife and I packed up and headed out to Cape Cod to take part in an 8 hour Pelagic Trip.  The Trip had the potential, for me, to bring a lot of life birds as I rarely get out into the open ocean like this.  But it also gave me the chance to see an even rarer breed... The SEABIRDERS!  They were gung ho about everything we saw and we saw some impressive stuff.  Grey Seals, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales and lots of birds!  We saw 2 Humpbacks make a bubble net rise to feast on their catch and then saw gulls and kittewakes going crazy and even darting into the whales' mouths to eat!  all while being no more than 100 ft from this!  I had to admit that while I am a frequent victim of motion sickness, I managed to sit on the front of the boat of most of the ride and had a ball seeing all the birds.  Kittewakes, Shearwaters, Jaegers and all sorts of auks make me very ready to go out again

The main thing that impressed me, after the spectacular show nature gave us, was the energy of the sea birders.  They were thrilled at every bit of nature that we could get our bins on.  Seals, Whales, didn't matter!  I think I've posted before about the encounter with 2 birders who disregarded the harbor seals sunbathing.  I was upset by their lack of interested in non-avian nature.  This time I was pleased to be surrounded by a good group of nature enthusiasts!  I've included a couple of pictures of the trip below.

 Great Shearwater

 Pomarine Jaeger

 Northern Gannet and Grey Seals

2012 Life List Update

240!

A Hurricane and New Feeder

While I may have dipped on the birds that Hurricane Sandy brought in, I did get a new feeder.  It was a squirrel proof Peanut Feeder.  Before Sandy Struck, Birds were going crazy getting food and getting ready to hunker down before the storm.  We were lucky as the storm had only knocked out our power.  The storm, as the news has broadcasted, has caused massive devastation in the neighboring states.  The storm brought in a wide array of birds and walking through my favorite parks made it easy to see the damage the storm did.  I managed to find a couple of Kestrel, A Leucistic Wren and a Laughing Gull.  But the real success lately has been my new feeder.  Its bringing in a great collection of birds.  I've had a Red-Breasted Nuthatch come to my feeder for a few days in a row and I snapped a few pictures of him below.  I've also had Tufted Titmouse, BC Chickadees and all sorts of sparrows and finches.  My suet feeder is getting, starlings and woodpeckers and I hope that I can keep getting good birds.

Reports are that the Tundra had a bad season so lots of winter birds will be hitting areas more southern than usual...  Gonna be a fun winter!

Life List:
224
Fox Sparrow!

Sparrows, Sparrows and More Sparrows!

This past weekend, I took a Sparrow Class offered by the Connecticut Ornithological Association.  So in the Early Morning, I headed out to Allen's Meadow to try and find some sparrows.  With about 30 other eager birders, we started to walk around the park.  At first it seemed like we'd find everything but sparrows.  We found Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Winter Wrens, Butterbutts, Cardinals and even some loud and active Pileated Woodpeckers.  We even found some Pine Siskens before we found some sparrows.
Eventually, we started to find some sparrows.  The first few sparrows we saw were White-Throateds and Savannahs.  They were later joined by Juvenile White-Crowned.  We heard of some Vesper Sparrows, but by the time we got over there, a dog had scared away the Vespers.  But we waited patiently and then they returned!  The eye ring is one of the key marks of the Vesper.  As I was looking at a Vesper, there's a call that someone found a Clay-Colored Sparrow!  (picture below)  The Buff Coloring near the eye and the rich coloration on the back help id this bird.  Its also a useful indicator to know where to look.  Both Vespers and Clay-Colored, Like many sparrows, enjoy open grassfields as  places to eat and fly about.  They'll be moving through to their wintering grounds these weeks so I will be on the lookout for more birds to see!

(c) goingslo on Flickr

2012 Life List
223!

Fall Migration!

A visit to Hammonasset was supposed to yield rare and random seabirds.  No seabirds minus the Double Crested Cormorants that are prepping for their migration.  While the seabirds were disappointing, the rest of the day was incredible.  Birds were literally dripping from the sky... or bouncing around on the ground.  The Life Birds I got were: Orange-Crowned Warbler, Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Blue-Headed Vireo, Black-Throated Blue Warbler and the Elusive Marsh Wren!  It was a great to be outside and birding!

On another note, it had been a while since I had such a good time meeting and encountering other birders.  Not that other birders are rude, most follow the rules of etiquette and some will just ignore you.  But everyone I encountered was great, friendly and helpful.  It reminded me why I love to bird.  The nature is fantastic but I always enjoy seeing people appreciating it as well.  Next week, I am taking a class on Winter Sparrows and many more exciting Birding events are coming up!

Get Outside!


The Blue-Headed Vireo (c) Cornell Lab of Ornithology

2012 Life List Total:
223 Birds

Tree Swallows.... LOTS OF TREE SWALLOWS

This week I took a Tree Swallow Cruise along the CT River.  In the late summer, tree swallows start to gather in epic numbers along the river and at dusk.  They descend en masse into reed covered islands along the Connecticut River.  My lovely wife surprised with the announcement that some extra cruises had been added to schedule and so off we went.  Peterson has describe the sight as one of the most spectacular within the avian world and boy was he right.  Swallows engulf the sky and almost darken it.  Then the descend in a most grand fashion into the islands.  They do this in the form of a tornado!  They crash land into the reed islands at over 60 mph looking for a place to sleep.  It is an incredible site to behold and I've attached our photos!





2012 Life List:
217 (Broad-Winged Hawk)

Fall Birds and Birding!

I finally broke the cycle of sleeping in and did some early morning birding.  It was fantastic!  Woodpeckers, Phoebes, Warblers galore.  I loved walking around the park and I even managed to find some black bear scat.  No worries though, I did not run into the bear, its a good sign that the park is supporting a diverse array of life!  Back to birds, I saw a Brown Thrasher which was my second in CT and first in this park!  Cardinals and Black-Capped Chickadees were also bouncing around the park and the air.  No hawks that I could see from the air, but I did see both Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers and a noisy Red-Bellied that was chasing away all the birds it could.  A few Blue Jays and White Breasted Nuthatches were also around.  While I missed out on the American Redstarts, I did manage to find a couple of Chipping Sparrows and some very active Common Yellow Throats.  The Highlight of Park was finding a bunch of Bay-Breasted Warblers that were eating away and getting ready for the migration.  At my second site, I got a Blackpoll Warbler, a first for my Connecticut List and a Saltmarsh Sparrow.  2 Life birds in one day.  I also managed to find some Black-Bellied Plovers, Juvenile Yellow-Crown Night-Herons and a Laughing Gull.  All and all, a good day of birding!

Life list Total:
216!

Links to the Birds:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bay-breasted_Warbler/lifehistory
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Saltmarsh_Sparrow/id

(Copyright is not Mine, Photo from Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

A Break too Long

So I've taken a long, long, LONG break.  Well the good news is that I've done some awesome birding in the meantime.  All summer I was making trips and saw some stellar birds throughout my trip.  I'll run through some of the highlights and then the list with some pictures!

Summer 2012 Highlights:

Georgia in June 2012

While I was hunting down a Summer Tanager, I saw my first Ruby-Throated Hummingbird of the Year!  I also found a Dickcissel in a farm in Rutledge, GA.  I never found the Summer Tanager but I did find a Prothontary Warbler!  I was a great time!  I also got married and found a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher at the reception, a life bird for my new wife!

Shenandoah National Park, Early July

The only new bird we got here was a Chestnut-sided Warbler.   However, the birding here was incredible!  Indigo Buntings and Eastern Towhees were ubiquitous!  Ravens and Vultures as well.  While I missed out on finding a Canada Warbler, we did manage to find a flock of Cedar Waxwings, rare for the area, another Dickcissel!  The Find of the Trip though was a Barn Owl, right outside the dining restaurant!  We also found deer, black bears and founda  timber rattlesnake.  A great trip and a great park!

British Columbia and Western Washington, Late July to Early August

A quick list of the birds we saw: Anna's Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Chestnut-Backed Chickadee, Bewick's Wren, Black-Throated-Gray Warbler, Bushtits, California Gull, California Quail, Common Murre, Oregon-Backed Junco, Glaucous-Winged Gull, Heermann's Gull, Marbled Murrelet, Northwestern Crow, Pacific-Slope Flycatcher, Pigeon Guillemot, Rhinoceros Auklet, Sharp-Shinned Hawk, Spotted Towhee, Western Gull, Western Tanager, Western Wood-Pewee and a Wilson's Warbler!  A lot of birds but I am still thinking about the birds we chased but couldn't find!  I was really hoping to find a Varied Thrush and Black Oyster Catcher, but alas, I missed out on both of them.  I did enjoy this amazing environment.  We didn't see any bears, but we did see a Salmon fish Ladder, Harbor Seals (pic below) and a wild Mink1  I definitely want to go back to the Pacific Northwest and bird some more!

Great Blue Heron

 Harbor Seals

Life List Total:
214!  (14 past my goal!)