Pass the Fork-Tailed Flycatcher

The Fork-Tailed Flycatcher is an amazing bird.  The Greys, Blacks, and Whites of this bird make its an amazing specimen.  Now add on to the fact that this bird is quite rare in North America.  By rare, I mean, when you look it up in Sibley's, Peterson's, or Crossley's, and you see the range map, there are a lot of marks for rare and very rare.

The bird is extremely beautiful.  The colors are amazing and a wonderful study in the power of contrast.  We were lucky to see this bird so close to home.  Seeing this bird, you can't help but be hit by the unicorn effect.  Plus the joy of sharing the moment with so many birders only adds to the excitement.  Of course, I would love to go see the bird on its home turf.  Oh, the possibilities and wonder!

Just like with the BCHU earlier, I was stuck wondering what brought this bird here.  How did it travel from its typical grounds in Central America and South America?  What made the bird come here to Hadlyme, Connecticut? The Journey is long and dangerous and while I am happy to see such a bird,

Want to see this lovely bird?  Look for the CT Birding Email List.  That will have all recent sightings and updates

Why not, Red Knot?

There are few birds that capture the imagination like a Red Knot.  They travel awesome distances, gather in spectacular fashion, and embody a plight of all nature, dwindling numbers.  Many people will tell you that the Red Knot's story is dwarfed by others who also face the same struggle.  For me though, the Red Knot was one of the first birds to really understand their plight and their migration.  The Story of B95 is one that is widely well known and shows the great story of the Red Knot and other Shorebirds.

Shorebirds are amazing birds.  I don't think I need to sell many people on how amazing they are but its a good reminder and exercise to do so.  Red Knots were one of those amazing migrations that I had always wanted to see and witness.  It was a definite moment when I was hit with the unicorn effect when I found this Juvenile Red Knot.  I can't wait to see more of migration and hopefully more Red Knots.  I can't wait for the opportunity to try and chase some Red Knots in breeding plumage to round out my experience of them.  Until then..

Juv. Red Knot

Snowy Egret Hiding in the rocks

Northern Waterthrush at Jamaica Bay

A Cicada

2013 Year Birds: 261

Coming Up:  More Fall Migration!  Hawk Watch!

A Day in a Saltmarsh

Salt marshes are amazing habitats.  I am lucky to live in state with some great Salt Marshes.  Salt marshes are among the most diverse and unique ecosystems on the planet.  In fact, in terms of biodiversity, they are second only to rain forests.  I often visit some of my local salt marshes to get a good perspective on the life that exists there and the limited geographic space they inhabit.  Seeing a Salt Marsh is a wonderful ecosystem to see.  Obviously there are countless books on the subject and there are some very serious concerns for this ecosystem.  Over 70% of Earth's population lives near the coast, this puts a tremendous amount of pressure on our shorelines and we need to be conscious of this as these are some of the most productive and valuable ecosystems our planet has.

The other day I took a hike through a salt marsh and while I found many birds, I was most excited by the Saltmarsh Sparrows and Seaside Sparrows that I found.  They live in these environments among the reeds.  Birding in these environments is such a joy to behold and witness as thousands of different niches are being filled and exploited by thousands of different animals and species.  Besides the Saltmarsh Sparrow, the other highlight was seeing a young Willet, Willetlet(?), bouncing around the marsh.  I hope to go back soon and check in on these birds and their habitat.  Meanwhile, there are lots of salt marshes to check out and I insist you go out and see some!

A Willet

A Juvenile Willet

Osprey

Saltmarsh Sparrow

2013 Year List: 231
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
Boat-Tailed Grackle

Barnacle Goose - Found!!

With Saturday free and my dog relaxed and in bed sleeping, I decided to spend the day out chasing rarities and even ventured to New Jersey to chase a couple of very rare birds.  As the readers of this blog will know, the Barnacle Goose has been a bird that I've spent many hours looking for the Barnacle Goose.  I am now happy to say that after days of staring at hordes of Canada Geese, I can now say that I've finally seen my first Barnacle Goose!  I showed up at a dam pond in New Rochelle, NY where there were rumors of one.  By rumors I mean eBird reports.  The Park where I found the Barnacle Goose was full of birds, 2 Pileated Woodpeckers, Red-Bellied WPs, Gulls, Chickadees, and Cardinals.  When I finally got to the pond, I was confronted by a Great Black Backed Gull eating the remains of a Canada Goose, a couple of Hooded Mergansers, and

The other rarity I chased was a Northern Lapwing in New Jersey.  While the Birders were out in force, finding the Lapwings was no easy task.  Before we found them, we found Blue Jays, Sandhill Cranes, and some aggressive Turkey Vultures.  It was the aggressive Turkey Vultures that rustled up the Lapwings.  There were about 3 of them far in the back of the field hanging out with some killdeer.  It was a great day to be out and about and to catch all those rarities was quite a treat!  Anyway, go outside and see some birds!

A Great Black Back Gull eating the leftovers of a Canada Goose (C) Me

A Pileated Woodpecker (C) Me

The Found Barnacle Goose (C) Me

2013 List: 73 (127 to go!)

Notable Additions:

Northern Lapwing (Lifer)

Barnacle Goose (Lifer)

Bonaparte's Gull
Merlin
Sandhill Crane

Life List: 258 (42 to go!)

The Role of Failure

Dipping must be my middle name.  This weekend's theme is failure.  I've been trying for some time now to see a Northern Saw-Whet Owl.  I keep track of the emails and ebird postings (which are often hard to find to protect this bird and rightfully so) and I even read up on the biology, habits and tendencies of this bird.  Still nothing.  I've been whacked by so many cedar branches and fallen pine cones, that I ask my self what I am doing looking for one little owl when there are plenty of other birds to see, behold, and enjoy.

This brings me to next topic.  Failure.  What role does failure play in birding?  How does the "dip" as they call it push us to move on or stifle our efforts?  How can we, as birders, naturalists, whatever you want to call it, ensure that we have the ability, capacity and tenacity to continue birding failure after failure?  Well, there are couple of things to keep in mind.  The first that without failure, there would be no success.  The joys of finding the bird you are looking come from, in part, the effort you put in to find it.  Failure isn't an end but rather, a step to being successful.  While I have yet to see a Northern Saw-Whet Owl, I do know what a cedar, pine and hemlock tree look like without a Saw-Whet Owl in them.  Along the way, I've seen Barred Owls, Juvenile Sharpies, Merlins, and all sorts of birds and raptors.  While I've enjoyed the pursuits, I do have a goal to find the Saw-whet and I have to keep that in mind.

Here's my future Target and I will keep trying!

Northern Saw-Whet Owl (c) brendan.lally of flickr
original link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11585318@N03/2256534488

2012 Life List:
248 (Eurasian Wigeon)

More Wild Goose Chases

Some stores follow the idea that someone goes looking for X and instead finds Y and Y turns out to be the best thing ever.  When X is a Barnacle Goose, whatever Y is just doesn't cut it.  I've seen all sorts of Geese and Warblers during my search for the goose.  But in some ways, I still wish I could find that darn goose.  I've gotten lucky and seen a Audubon's Warbler and Prairie Warbler along with 4 different kinds of Geese, but I can't stop thinking about that Barnacle Goose.  Here's an picture of my Winter Target and I'll let you know how it goes....

The Barnacle Goose

2012 Life List:

247

Recently Added:

Snow Goose, Greater White-Fronted Goose, Prairie Warbler

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!)

Two Crazy Goose Chases

This past weekend, I went on 2 wild goose chases.  Literal Goose chases of course, I was trying to find a Barnacle Goose that has been hanging around Northern Connecticut.  This of course meant lots of driving around an area and then, lots of looking in a area that I am not all that familiar with.  It was actually a ton of fun.  There was a great excited to going someplace new and seeing new things.  Sadly, I did not see the goose.  Both times the goose evaded me.  I did see a ton of Canada Geese though.  Not that that was anything new for me, but I hadn't seen that before, but I did enjoy seeing such a big flock of them.  The rest of the birding I did that weekend was another trip to a local state park.  Beaches in the winter are great.  Tons of Sunlight, lots of nature and few people.  During the summer only one of those statements is true.  Although you can easily find the nature by taking the trail away from the beach and looking into the marsh.  In any case, my weekend jaunt to the beach only yielded one new bird for my list, but it really gave me a chance to see and enjoy the park without many people around.
Anyone out there aver bird with their dog?