Immature Black Back Gull and More

Summer’s  end has been quiet, with the same birds at the feeder that have been there since I put them up last winter: Finches, Sparrows, Titmice, Blue Jays, Chickadees, and Doves. Then I went on a photography workshop on an island off the New Hampshire coast. And although I didn’t see a wide variety of birds there, the large gull population provided interesting photo opportunities, such as this immature Great Black Back Gull pleading to be fed.

And this one shouting above the wind.

A Herring Gull posing on a tombstone.

There were a few other species. This little peep found food in a sheltered pond.

The best recent sightings were at a wildlife refuge after I returned home. The American Bitern pic was very difficult to get because he blended so well with the grasses.

Luckily, this Clapper Rail liked to pose.

 The fall migration is just beginning. Soon there should be many interesting sightings to report. I'm looking forward to seeing a wide variety of hawks in Cape May.

From Green Head Flies To Peregrine Falcons

Prepared with our bins and cameras, a friend and I recently set off for a birding adventure through a New Jersey marsh on a steamy hot day. I’m driving, thought I, no bugs will get into the Jeep, so I left my insect repellent at home. But I had over looked the need to open windows to shoot pictures. When we stopped to get a closer look at sandpipers, interspersed with other small shore birds, I soon realized our mistake.

My friend got out with her camera to take a closer look, while I waited in the Jeep. Immediately, I felt something biting my feet and legs: feasting green heads. To make matters worse, I was wearing shorts. I swung open my door and shooed out the vicious beasts.

Then, instead of focusing on scratching, I turned off the engine and got out. While swatting flies, I managed a few pictures of Dowitchers (I’m not sure whether they were long or short bill), Sandpipers, and Killdeer. A White Pelican made a graceful descent into the pond, but was too far away for a clear picture.

 

As we continued on in the Jeep, the flies were our ever-present companions, both inside and out, clinging to the Jeep ceiling and darting at the windows. In spite of their biting presence, they did not ruin the afternoon. 

Other birds of interest were a Peregrine Falcon and fresh juvenile Forster Terns.

                                                                Top bird is a Killdeer.

                                                                Peregrine Falcon

                                                             Fresh Juvenile Forster's Tern

Butterflies

On a recent visit to a butterfly sanctuary, being with other group members was the best part of the trip. Although we were able to get a few good pictures, there were only a few species to view.

Goatsuckers

A few nights ago, ten members of the local birding club, well equipped with bug spray, set off to listen for Whip-poor-wills and observe Common Nighthawks, commonly referred to as goatsuckers. The birds received this erroneous label many years ago when farmers believed they came at night and sucked goats’ milk. Since these birds eat flying insects, it seems likely they were attracted to insects around the goats.

We met at 6:30 p.m. to drive over 40 miles to an area the Nighthawks are known to frequent in Wharton State Forest. While waiting to sight them, we enjoyed an unusual sunset, with the lowering sun shining through a large cloud, presenting a wide range of colors. We were at a spot so seldom traveled that other than two passing vehicles, our only other company there were two deer.  

Our first sign of a Nighthawk came at dusk when we heard one’s distinctive call. Soon there were calls coming from various directions. Then someone spotted a Nighthawk in the sky. After circling high above the forest, a Nighthawk would suddenly dive straight down, the air in his wings creating a sound that to me sometimes resembled an organ note, sometimes a distant train whistle, other times it was more like a boom, and once it was as if the diving bird farted. They always reversed the dive shortly before reaching the ground. 

Only the trees and the deer know whether the sounds the birds’ wings made or the people oohing, aahing and chuckling over them was funnier. 

In spite of not hearing any Whip-poor-wills, the trip was well worth the ride to get there.

The next trip is to a butterfly farm.

Feeder Warning

I went out to my backyard this morning and found a little chickadee fluttering around inside a feeder. It was a long cylindrical feeder with holes and perches around the bottom half. The food level was just below the top hole, which allowed the little bird to enter. Too late, I now know not to let the food level drop that low. .

I immediately dumped the bird, and all the feed, onto the yard and ran inside for a shoebox and rubber gloves. I was back out within a very few minutes, but it was already dead. Nevertheless, I put grass in the box and placed the chickadee on the grass. I also dripped a few drops of water onto its open bill. After all, perhaps it was only in a coma. But I am quite sure now that it is dead. I'll give it a nice burial later this afternoon when the blazing sun sinks behind the trees. In the meantime, the box is in the shade.

Birds and Butterflies

After days in the upper 90s and severe lightning storms, I welcomed the surprisingly low temperature Tuesday morning. I found my Audubon sweatshirt, grabbed my backpack with bins packed inside, and started off to meet my fellow adventurers for our trip to a horse farm in central New Jersey. I congratulated myself on being so well prepared that I’d arrive at the meeting place a good ten minutes early. Then a half mile from home, I realized I’d forgotten my camera. A quick u-turn to retrieve it, and I made it to the parking area on the dot.

For this trip, someone else was driving. I relaxed in the back seat and watched the scenery change as we entered the Pine Barrens. This time of year the road was dotted with blueberry stands, and I hoped to buy some on our return trip. 

Soon we entered the farm country of the Garden State. I had envisioned that we'd be birding on a small farm, but once we turned onto the property, I was astounded at how far we drove before parking at a back field.  Although we saw various sparrow, finches, red-winged blackbirds, and a lone Cedar Waxwing in that field, the butterflies were  most interesting, at least until we saw a Red-tail Hawk circling a different field, making lots of noise. Eventually a swarm of starlings chased him away. 

The Painted Lady (see picture) posed long enough for us to snap good pictures, as did a Pearl Crescent. A Black Wood Nymph wasn't as cooperative, at least not for me.

 In spite of the lack of bird activity, it was a fun day. And I did get the blueberries on the way home.

Eagle Encounter

An Eagle Encounter – The Highlights

Bags packed into the back of my Jeep, I set off on Friday to pick up two fellow members of my birding group and drive to the Delaware Water Gap for the weekend. Our goal: view elusive warblers.  We drove north through lush green farmland, which gradually rose to hills as we neared the Pocono Mountains.

Saturday morning we ate breakfast in our hosts’ house in PA before meeting up with two members at the first I- 80 rest area on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. Then the eight of us headed up Old Mine Road, which snakes up along the Delaware. It was like driving on an obstacle course as I avoided numerous potholes on this very narrow road. 

Wild flowers dotted the fields and edges of the road, which was over hung by enormous trees, now in full leaf. Since it rained Friday night, water gushed down the many brooks to our right as they made their way to the river. As the driver, I caught only glimpses of them as we drove past. But at one of our stops, we were able to explore one while looking for a Louisiana Waterthrush. After much searching, only a few of us saw that bird. Perhaps if the roaring and splashing waterfalls hadn’t drowned out the bird’s calls, it would have been easier to find.

One of the highlights for me was seeing a Red-Eyed Vireo peeking out of a nest. While at Worthington Office and Campground, we saw a Bald Eagle soaring overhead, The most exciting bird experience that day was our close encounter with another Bald Eagle. I was driving slowly as we watched  for our next stopping place when a very large bird swooped down out of the low hanging trees, right at the windshield. For a split second, I thought it was a Turkey Vulture looking for carrion along the road, but immediately realized it was a Bald Eagle. For one frightening moment, he was coming straight at us. I came to a full stop at the same time he veered to the side and landed next to a dead squirrel, not something Bald Eagles usually go after.

He  flew up and landed on a wire crossing the road. I parked off to the side. Everyone got out and ran back to get a good look and take pictures. But a car full of teenagers had the same idea, and three motorcyclists roared past. With all the commotion, who could blame the eagle for flying away, which of course he did. I had no chance to get his picture, but others in the group managed to take some.

We had a picnic lunch at a restored village, stopped at Peters Valley and browsed in the crafts store, and returned to our hosts’ house in PA by way of the Dingmans Ferry Bridge.

Sunday some of us set out again. But the birds stayed better hidden. After a short time on Old Mine Road, we drove up to High Point where we saw a Raven, Towhee, and Great Crested Flycatcher. Since we had the long drive ahead of us and rain was imminent, we then headed home.

                                                              High Point Monument

Following is a partial list of other birds sighted: Northern Rough-winged Swallow, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Redstart, Veery, Chimney Swift, Hooded Warbler, Northern Parula, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, and a Phoebe. The birds I haven’t listed are, for the most part, more common. The ones on this list are new to me. An advantage of being a newbie is that I’m always adding birds to my life list – with the help of the seasoned birders. One of my passengers is the group’s president. She’s not only expert at identifying birds, but she also is a professional nature photographer. While I’m trying to focus on a bird, she’s already snapped its picture.

We’re already planning our next over-night trip. By then, I’m hoping to be more accomplished at photographing birds. It’ll help if I can learn how to use my camera better.

Cape May Adventure

Cape May Adventure

An expert birder and I went to Cape May last Thursday. BTW, joining a group where you can meet advanced birders who are nice enough to put up with you tagging along with them, is a must if you are going to advance in your birding expertise. Our first stop was The Point to use the facilities. While there, we admired the Purple Martins and EB took time to tutor me in how to better use my digital camera.

Then on to Higbee Beach, or more accurately, the woods and fields that border it. It’s hard to imagine such a verdant area so near the ocean. Its trails and raised observation platforms provide numerous opportunities for bird sightings. But alas, ours were limited, probably because we didn’t arrive until after 10AM.  EB identified some calls, but most of the birds remained among the leaves. We did see a Cedar Waxwing sitting out on a branch, but my only picture of him is just a shadow. 

We drove the short distance down to Higbee Beach, but saw little of interest there until we were leaving. Then we spotted an Indigo Bunting, a bright blue bird. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a clear picture of him. 

It was now nearing lunch time, but we weren’t ready to go inside on such a perfect weather day. So we drove back to The Point. There wasn’t much visible from the observation deck by the parking lot, so we walked to the first pond. There EB spotted some Least Terns as well as a few Gadwalls, Mute Swans, and a Short-Billed Dowitcher.. It took a long time, much scrutinizing through our binoculars, and taking zoom digital pictures to better study the detail before EB ascertained that this long-billed bird was actually the Short-Billed Dowitcher, after conferring with a man at Audubon’s Northwood Center. I still have my doubts. 

After lunch at an ocean side restaurant, we visited a few shops on the mall before deciding whether to return to The Point or drive north to Cook’s Beach on the Delaware Bay where we’d been told thousands of Red Knots were gathering. We opted for the latter. Twenty minutes later we were bumping along a dirt road, navigating around numerous potholes. What we found at the end of it was worth the drive. We made our way around a huge mound of sand, we guessed put there lest a hapless driver end up in the Bay. Thousands of sea birds could be seen along the shore, some rushing around gathering food, others just sitting there: a few gulls, many Semi Palmated Sandpipers, Red Knots, a few Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, and terns flying overhead.

Before heading home two hours later, we glimpsed a Marsh Wren and Seaside Sparrows flitting up out of the marsh. A Great Egret flew past, croaking and Glossy Ibises flew into the marsh as we stood waiting for a Clapper Rail to appear. When one finally did, we decided to call it a day.

The accompanying picture is of a Lesser Yellowlegs, which we also saw on Thursday.

Becoming a newbie & first adventure

May 17, 2012 – How I became a newbie birder.

The picture of the egret in the previous entry was taken by me in Florida in February, 2012.

Although I’d enjoyed watching birds in my yard, the thought of becoming an active birder had never crossed my mind. But then my closest friend, the one who enjoyed beach walks and other outdoor adventures with me, said she was moving to be near her sister in another state. Rather than sit around wondering how I would manage without her, I scoured the local paper for an organization with an environmental component and found a listing for a birding group. Never imagining birding could be so much fun, I decided to attend the next meeting.

My friend decided to join the group with me. It was nice not to be the only one with limited bird identification skills. At best at that time I could identify about ten species. Now a year and a half later, I can identify over fifty by sight, at least if I see them close up. I attribute this growth to the numerous birding fieldtrips the group organizes and the patient help and encouragement of the members.

Our first adventure was the annual Christmas Bird Count. Now, you might wonder how two inexperienced birders could contribute anything to that. Well, as far as making identifications, we couldn’t. But we could point and yell, “Bird” so the person we were with could identify the species. And we could count how many we were seeing. One of the biggest things we learned from that experience was the need to buy hand-warmers to put in our gloves.

Each fieldtrip takes us to a different part of New Jersey, to beautiful parks I never knew existed. You might imagine that these trips are pretty routine: meandering through woods, looking up into trees at birds. But the thing is, it’s not always easy to find the birds, especially when leaves provide them with cover. Many of our trips turn into adventures, like when wi temperatures barely  above single digits a member got separated from the group. And another time we crossed a swinging bridge, one person at a time. On the other side, we came to a river with no bridge and had to backtrack over the swinging bridge again, and then ended up getting lost. Obviously, we survived, none the worse for it.

Read future entries for more detailed accounts of birding adventures and additional pictures.

Bird Brain's first post

Image photographed by Bird Brain 2012

Unable to identify birds from sightings, this newbie birder bought a camera with good zoom capability. Now I can take pictures home and sit with my field guides to make identifications.