Saturdays Are For House Work... Yeah, Right.

2-8-14

Things to do at home... But a call from Earic and the suggestion of catching a few misses at Kissena Park made me make haste and complete them. By the time I could meet up with him, he had conferred with Shrimpkee, and we all met at Kissena Park.

Shrimpkee was joined by Pam from Virginia, in town to visit a niece, but catching up on some good birds as well. She had contacted me, Avian, and some others but Shrimpkee was the one who stepped up to the plate and offered to take her around to find some owls.

They started by meeting at Floyd Bennett Field where they had the Snowy Owl, followed by the Screech Owl at Massapequa. Kissena was supposed to provide us with the Great Horned Owl and the Red-headed Woodpecker, but neither came to pass.

We decided to try Alley Pond Park, and see if we could find them there. In the snow covered park, sparrows and other small birds were making use of the very few areas where the snow had been scraped off the grass. Besides the expected Juncos and White-throats, we had three Fox Sparrows, always a pleasure to see. This year they have been around in good numbers.

Song Sparrow [L]   Fox Sparrow [R]

We walked the Mel Kaplan Trail, and Earic heard a Blue Jay complain. Looking up in that direction we found one then another Great Horned Owl. Earic then asked us to all thank Mr. Blue Jay for finding the Owls. We were happy to do so. YB1 for me.

Great Horned Owl

From here we went to Oakland Lake where a controversial 'Northern Pintail' was being seen. A young bird, and looks correct, but its drastically small size, smaller than the Mallards, has everyone scratching their heads.

Northern Pintail ???

We also tried the rear of Oakland Lake by the ravine, hoping for some Rusty Blackbirds. There were  lot of Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds, but if there were Rusties we could not pick them out. A suitable compensation was a Winter Wren however, hoping from clump to clump and inspecting the labyrinth for what it could find. YB2

Winter Wren

Earic packed it in, but Shrimpkee, Pam, and I wanted more Owls. First we tried Jamaica Bay for the Barn Owls, but if they were home they were hunkered down and trying to keep warm. Undaunted, we set off for the Rockaways and one final chance.

The Edgemere dump has been drastically improved and made into a park. No more sneaking in. In the past it was never certain what would be the result of a visit. Would the gate be closed? Would we be chased out? Would we be chased by a pack of wild dogs?

We drove to the base of the landfill, Shrimpkee disappointed that there was  a car present where she usually parks. She had seen the Short-eared Owl from right there, but it was obvious that would not work this time. Being later in the day, and not having gotten any warmer, I volunteered to walk up the road to see if I could find the Owl.

A short way up, I ran into the occupants of the car, a banker from overseas, and his military escort.  They confirmed the owl's presence, and shortly thereafter it appeared flying over the far edge of the dump. YB3. I waved at Shrimpkee and Pam, and they joined us. It was a distant though nice view of this bird and a few Harriers.

With light fading, we brought Pam back to her car at Floyd Bennett field. We tried one last time for a possible additional look at the Snowy Owl, but we could not find it. A nice day, and a great job by Shrimpkee showing an out of towner an incredible four species of owl!

If Its Thursday I Must Be Birding #18

2-6-14

If I had to sum up birding so far this year in one word, it would have to be 'elusive'. On the other hand, it appears that my targets while elusive, and frustratingly so, are persisting so that hopefully I might actually see them.

Today I returned to Shinnecock for another attempt at the Black-headed Gull, now two of them, for double the pleasure, or torture as the case may be. Earic and I arrived at Road I, but it had not been cleared of snow and ice so we continued to the inlet. The same players were present as before, but now the Eider flock had grown to an impressive number, several hundred.

The Gulls were present in  good numbers too, as it is evident that the clam kills are still going on. In one big group Earic pulled out an imm. Iceland Gull, while I found a lone Bonaparte's Gull. Other than lots of expected 3 common species, nothing else. Dang.

Iceland Gull

On the jetty we found Turnstones, but no Sandpurples. With not much else we tried down Dune Road. The same species as on previous visits were present; GB Heron, BCN Heron, several Swamp Sparrows, and a new year bird: Savannah Sparrow. YB1. We tried to peruse the shore from the various roads but all were un-attended to, and I did not want to risk getting my car stuck.

Eventually we stopped at Quogue Beach, whose lot was well cleared. There were about a dozen Robins, and I checked each of them hoping for something better secreted amongst them. No dice, so we walked the beach to check out the large number of gulls. Nothing out of the ordinary again, but the remains of the clam kill was impressive, with spider, lady, and blue claw crabs and even a horse-shoe crab in the surf debris.

We went back to the inlet for another desperate attempt, and once again disappointment. Heading out, Earic spied an imm. Bald Eagle soaring by the bridge, and we watched as two Great Black-backed Gulls harassed it. YB2. Further along the road by the coast guard station we spotted a Peregrine Falcon, and then it landed in the radio tower giving us a great look.

Peregrine Falcon

Our next stop was the Buffalo farm. Things were looking up as there were a lot of birds in general, and blackbirds in particular. Scanning through them we found a lot of Horned Larks, 3 Pipits, and one Snow Bunting. The White-crowned Sparrows were still present, and we were able to spot an adult and an imm. Gambel's race amongst them. There were a few Savannahs, White-throated, and Earic picked out a Vesper Sparrow. Yb3!

But no YH Blackbird. Double Dang.

It's Not Supposed to Work Like This

Feb 2, 2014

Another day to catch up on misses, that began with heavy fog most inauspicious. I mulled over bailing, but decided that the fog would lift, and set out for Shinnecock and hopefully at least one of the two Black-headed Gulls that have been there. Instead of getting better, by the shore it was actually a lot worse.

I found the imm. Glaucous Gull and the Eiders together with the Kings persisting, but visibility through the fog was limited to 100 feet. I spent time at the inlet, then Road I, and back and forth, depending on where Bonaparte's Gulls were. By noon it had cleared up, but all the small gulls were Bonys and the only thing easing the monotony was conversing with Dick Berlanger, who was seeking the same bird.

And then an email came in that a large flock of geese had been located up in Riverhead, not with a Pink-footed as desired by most, but with Cackling as desired by me. I made haste and arrive to find the McBriens looking at the geese, the younger Mike getting me on a Cackling right away. yb1.  In his post afterwards, he noted that he had ben searching for them for some time, an now they were abundant! Having scanned the flock thoroughly, they departed shorthly, while I continued looking through the flock to see if I could locate the other Cackling Geese. They were so far off in the field, that the 400mm was inadequate, so I attempted a digiscoped shot.

Cackling Goose [2nd from right]

By the way, there is a rumor [ that I am starting here ] that the 'Mc' in McBrien is actually short for "MagiC", as the younger McBrien is one very very talented young birder. He is also blessed to have one heck of a set of parents; both his mother and father indulge and encourage him in his birding passion.

After a short spell, I got a call from Mike that he and his father had located another elusive bird, the Yellow-headed Blackbird at the Buffalo Farm! I threw my scope in the car and drove over there as fast as I could and arrived to watch a huge flock of birds take off and land in the trees across the street. Dang! They had it on the grassy roads edge right in front of them; at least this means that the bird is still there. Sob. Mike shared that he too had been there many times looking for this bird, and perseverance [ or luck ] finally paid off. 

We scanned the birds in the trees and then tried to follow them as they flew off south to the back, inaccessible fields of the Buffalo Farm, but no luck. Mike found more Cackling Geese, in other flocks, and I headed off to a small pond that last year had Snow Geese mixed in with the domestic stuff. Success! YB2.

I spent more time checking other fields and various places, to see what I could find. Then at 4:30 another email came in, this time that the Black-headed Gull had been found back at Road I. Doing my best to get there as quickly as possible, I was further away than I would have liked. I arrived to witness a beautiful sunset, if not my sought after gull. Double dang.

Sunset from Shinnecock

It's not supposed to work this way!

Back in August when I was in Arizona, we had just departed the Huachucas seeking lunch, and back where cell reception was available a post came in that a Plain-capped Starthroat Hummingbird had made an appearance at a local feeder. I put the address in my GPS, and the lot of us headed over there and got a lifer, met a very nice fellow birder and butterfly photographer, and cleared him out of the last copies of his spectacular book.

A few days later, though a few of the party had already departed for home, I got another email this time stating that a Beryline Hummingbird was coming to a feeder in Madera Canyon. That solidified the decision as to where to go that day! We got there and got spectacular views.

That's the way its supposed to work. None of this 'too late stuff'. Or I need a faster car!

A 'Hot' Day of Birding

Feb 1, 2014

Winter birding can be uncomfortable, and the recent episodes of the polar vortex was brutal. That's why today was so unexpectedly pleasant! I met Avian at the Jones Beach west end Coast Guard station for part one of an ambitious agenda.

The goal for this area was Northern Shrike and Lapland Longspur. We beagan by scanning the water behind the lot which was very calm though not very birdy. Oldsquaw, Common Loon, Brant, Red-breasted Merganser, and the three usual gulls. We walked down past the gazebo, but no small birds were there at all, not like last week where Horned Larks were plentiful.

 On the way to the west end, we met Cesar Castillo and we exchanged contact info as we were all in search of the same targets. Then Avian and I headed to the west end to look for the Shrike. I was overly hopeful that we would find it queued up in a tree, but not succeeding at that we walked the dune trail to the jetty. The mild weather was such a pleasure but the sand makes walking that much more challenging. At the shore we discovered a pair of Semipalmated Plovers, quite unexpected, and  year bird 1.

Next we scanned the inlet and found some Red-throated Loons, and both remarked that  they seemed to be around in much lower numbers this year. I also scanned the far side hoping to find the Harlequin Ducks that have eluded me on several occasions, much like the Shrike. There were Horned Grebes a plenty, none of which I could turn into an Eared Grebe. Despite this I found a nice Red-necked Grebe! And after I had missed one the previous weeks so closely! yb2.

And then the call came from Cesar. He had located the 'elusive' Shrike! Avian and I beat as hasty a retreat as possible, our expedited way impeded by the soft sand. Eventually we reached the lot and the car, and sped over to join Cesar. There in the median he had the bird queued up in a tree, and though not the easiest item to find, I got nice looks. yb3 Sadly, Avian was never able to lock in on the bird and when it flew it could not be relocated. This bird has the habit of perching prominently as shrikes are want to do, but then disappearing into the underbrush for protracted periods making locating it so difficult.

We moved on, deciding on the fly to try field 6, known to be a good gull roost. Again the atmosphere was idyllic, no wind at all making the ocean ever so calm. In the surf we found a nice flock of Bonaparte's Gulls, curiously not present in the inlet where they are more expected. No Black-headed Gulls were amongst them however. On the beach a nice surprise was a huge flock of Dunlin, with some Sanderlings and Black-bellied Plovers, the latter yb4.

The return to WE2 to retrieve Avian's car got us good close up looks at a Pipit, but alas, no longspur. Continuing on to Point Lookout we stopped for lunch and then on to the waters edge. We dipped on the reported Orange-crowned Warbler, a bird I could not locate at all last year. On the other hand, I spotted a Red Knot and some Ruddy Turnstones on the rocks for yb5 & 6.

Bob Pronowich [sp?] was present, trying to locate the Red-necked Grebe I had reported earlier. Eventually, I was able to find it for him, returning the favor of his having spotted the Black Guillemot present in Sea Cliff last year. I was scanning the far jetty in Sea Cliff when he arrived, asking me if it was present. He then said: "isn't that the bird right there?" Doh! I was scanning the areas that Garous had told me he had seen the bird most often, but it was in far closer, and I had looked right past it. This was my last bird for 2013, #300.


Part two was Kissena Park, where Red-headed Woodpecker, Rusty Blackbird, and Great Horned Owl are present. Late in the day, and with the park very populated due to the weekend and mild temperature, the park was quiet bird wise. One small mixed flock had a Brown Thrasher, and a Brown Creeper flew in to investigate us for yb7. But no owls and no woodpecker despite trying very hard.

The best part of Kissena was when a Red-tailed Hawk flew up into a tree with a squirrel that it had dispatched. 

Never saying quit, we tried Oakland Lake for Rusty Blackbird that we missed at Kissena. We walked down the stairs at the Springfield entrance, and had a single bird in short order. yb7. On the open water were Shovelers, Pied Billed Grebe, and Coot. A nice end to the day, with7 year birds for 121.

If Its Thursday I Must Be Birding #17

With such cold and brutal weather lately, today's relative moderation was such a pleasure to be out chasing the goodies out east. The day began with retrieving my car from the mechanic's before Earic joined me. We made our way to the west end  of Dune Road, and birded our way east.

Various expected species were along the way, and we got our first more desired species at the Quogue nature trail. Tree Sparrows called which Earic heard, but I was able to see one queued up nicely in a phragmite on the way in. We had three Flickers, and on the way out we stopped on the section over the marsh cut. Earic tried to spish out the Tree Sparrows to no avail, then I squeaked to perhaps attract a marsh sparrow. To our delight the squeaking caught the attention of a Clapper Rail.

Clapper Rail

We continued east down Dune Road, stopping periodically where the water was open and found a Killdeer and a Black-crowned Night-heron, and then a Seaside Sparrow darted out from under the cover of the drooping marsh grass. We got a few looks in as it flew from one hiding spot to another.

Black-crowned Night-heron

 We also searched and searched, but try as we might we could not locate a Bittern, even though this area is probably one of the most reliable places to find them at this time of year.

Our next stop was near Triton Lane. Earic spished and I spotted a short tailed sparrow flit from one clump of brush to another. We tracked down the bird and found that there were three of them, and learned from others that they have been in this area for at least a few weeks now. Nelson's Sparrow!

Nelson's Sparrow

We also learned that we had missed a Black-headed Gull that had been at the inlet earlier in the day, but flew off as has been its M.O. The inlet also had the usual suspects as well as the Eiders, but nothing much else of note.

At this point we headed north to the Riverhead area to look for geese. We criss-crossed the area hoping to find flocks on the numerous fields, but it was remarkably devoid of geese. Merrits Pond was also empty. So we stopped at the Buffalo Farm, and while there was no blackbirds to be found, we had great close up looks at a dozen or so White-crowned Sparrows right along the fence.

White-crowned Sparrows

More fields were passed on the way to Northville , and again no geese. But we stopped at Church lane and there on the roof of the house on the north side of the road were several Turkey Vultures, and one Black Vulture.

Black Vulture [left ] Turkey Vultures [ center, right]

We did more exploring, hoping to find the elusive geese, but never did. Instead we found an enormous mostly Common Grackle flock, with some Red-winged Blackbirds mixed in. No one else had reported this flock, and a flock like this was where a Yellow-headed Blackbird had been found last year. Sadly, the flock was west of us ie with the sun in our eyes, and constantly swirling around, both of which making scanning through them difficult if not impossible.

We ended the day at Gruman, where we easily saw Meadowlarks, but could not find a Short-eared Owl as hoped. All in all a pretty darn good day. 8 year birds for 113 so far, and 2 Suffolk County birds.

Making The Rounds on Sunday 1-26-14

When a lot of good stuff is around it is quite exciting. Yesterday, a Barnacle Goose had been located on Randall's Island, adding much excitement to the recently [re] located Mew gull in Brooklyn. I had seen the latter a few years back when it was frequenting a location just a short way down the shore. What is more, a Barnacle Goose had briefly been at Belmont Lake, though very few, but not me, got to see it before it departed.

Avian, Dunlin, and I met in the morning to go to the Bronx to catch up on some goodies and see what else we could find. The birding gods cooperated splendidly; it was far more birdy than anticipated, especially with the harsh weather recently. In fact the birds were in a manner uncharacteristically confiding. White-throated Sparrows would hop up but only go 3-4 feet away, and even fly towards  locations by us.

The Towhees, Titmice, and Fox Sparrows were very welcome, and kept us company on the way to locating a Long-eared Owl. We also looked for Barred Owl that we could not find, but had great looks at Brown Thrasher enjoying the sunshine as much as we did.

Next we tried for Great Horned Owls which we found in numbers and so easily before the new year. At the head of the trail, Avian casually remarked that this was usually a good spot for American Tree Sparrow, and lo and behold, a few minutes later there was one 2 feet away munching on weed seeds. We were so close and the bird did not seem to care! Of course, I wanted to travel light and did not bring my camera, informing Avian and Dunlin that this of course meant that they would be capturing some fine shots. Sadly though, Dunlin's camera was left on an improper setting, and what should have been great were less than so. Oh well, the eye candy was nice either way.

We had a spectacular walk, that turned into quite a strenuous effort thanks to the snow. But it was not without goodies as in addition to the care-free Tree Sparrow, a Red-shouldered Hawk flew by, and we had nice close looks at an Eurasian Wigeon.

After finally returning to the car famished, we set off for lunch while learning that the Barnacle Goose was still present on Randall's. We scarfed, then set off on our wild goose chase! Arriving on site we were surprised that there were not any birders visible. But then we spotted 3 birders heading off, and they confirmed that the bird was present. I ran off to find it while Avian and Dunlin layered up.

The large flock of Canada Geese was on the field and easily and closely viewed from under the Hell Gate railroad bridge. As I scanned from a prudent distance, Dunlin walked right up to the fence near the geese and they didn't spook and fly off. As a result she also found the Barnacle Goose which was up close and just behind the concrete stanchion. Was it the phase of the moon or alignment of the planets? No matter, I was enjoying closer than usual views of all the birds today.

Barnacle Goose on Randall's Island

I got a few pix with my phone, and satisfied, we decided to go for the Mew Gull that had just been reported as having arrived at its favored roost. We were happy that the goose was present on the field instead of further away in the water, but irony is a wicked mistress, and as we entered the bridge on-ramp to Queens, I received a post that a Red-necked Grebe had been located in the water where the geese had originally been located. Doh! But too late to do anything about it.

So we made our way to Brooklyn, battling traffic for the ten mile trip that seemed much further as a result. And wouldn't you know it, a report came in that the bird had flushed and flown down the shore about 15 minutes prior to our arrival. We scanned and looked for some time anyway, hopeful of its return, but it never came back. Oh well. A great day out birding nevertheless. Year birds at 105.

Back In The Saddle Again For 2014

Birding got derailed in the midst of last year when I had to relocate my office. Getting everything settled took a bit longer, and blogging was lowest on the priority list.

But remarkably, all the good stuff that shows up at the end of December / beginning of January around here is like the siren's call. As of today I am up to 91 species, having seen and photographed American Pipits; a bird I missed many times last year! Yes, I have been sucked into 'the game' again.

Last year was not too shabby all things considered. I ended up with 300 species for New York State. A few out of state trips were good too, with a nice score of lifers, but I'll get to those at another time.

What really got my juices flowing was a day out east in Riverhead looking for a number of goodies previously reported. It began with a stop at a Buffalo farm, where a Yellow-headed Blackbird was hanging out with the Brown-headed {buffalobirds?} Cowbirds. Not home. The Sharp-shinned Hawk in the tree and the Merlin swooping through the field probably was responsible.

Satisfied we would not be successful, Earic, Garouse and I explored other places without turning up anything unusual. Then we decided to head up to Iron Pier Beach where an Iceland Gull had reportedly returned for another visit. On the way, we passed farm fields on Roanoke Avenue, and I spied a big white bird in with a large flock of Canada Geese. I told Garouse to stop, thinking it was probably a Snow Goose. It turned out to be a Tundra Swan, unusual as I have seen this species many times before, though always on water.

The large flock of geese begged a going over, and I was hopeful to find a Cackling Goose. As I scanned through my scope, a different bird came into view and I blurted out Pink-footed Goose! Earic grimaced while he made a remark reflecting a modicum of doubt but I implored him to look in my scope and any doubt evaporated. Garouse then got a look while I made a hasty post to the list with all pertinent info about the sighting.

A few days earlier, I had run into D Ro at Belmont Lake. I was departing as he showed up, both of us seeking the Barnacle Goose. Amongst other things, perhaps prophetically, we mentioned Pink-footed Goose. So it was no surprise that shortly after my post I heard from him and he was on his way to join us and try to get a view of this bird.

We went on to Iron Pier while D Ro did his best to get there in a hurry. We dipped on the Gull, and went back to find D Ro had arrived and was busy digiscoping the goose.

The only thing better than finding a good bird is getting others on it.  I was happy that the rapid post got a few people on the bird that very day despite the late hour, and eventually quite a few more over the successive days.

I made a repeat trip out there a few days later with Earic, Jeff Critter and Lisa Shrimpkee, but we could not find the YH Blackbird, nor the goose, but at least we found the Iceland Gull. We Also stopped at Gruman and scored Meadowlark, and diverted to a pond for heroic try at a reported Lesser Black-backed Gull that we did not find.

We ended the day with a Screech Owl that Shrimpkee brought us to in Massapequa Preserve. This was another bird I missed last year! Can I do better this year? Time will tell...