Cape M...Well Almost May, April 30

I've gone to Cape May many times over the past couple of decades and it's always proved to be a great place to bird. I led a trip there on April 30 and it was superbulous!

Last year when we were setting up the upcoming bird trip calendar I suggested a couple of changes. One of them was a ~day~ trip to Cape May. Now some of you may think that's an awful lot of trip to fit into one day for a group. You are correct. Nevertheless our group consisting of Ian Resnick, Phil Uruburu, Lou and Nancy Tognan, and Jeff Ritter made our way down there to see what goodies awaited us. We were not disappointed!

When we arrived at our first destination Higbee Beach, it was unseasonably cold and very  cloudy. As we began our walk another group was just finishing up theirs, and they told us that the birding was kind of quiet. Undeterred we headed down the path. We heard birds left and right but most were White-eyed Vireo and Carolina Wrens. Along with the expected Red-tailed Hawks and Turkey Vultures we spotted Black Vulture as well as an adult Bald Eagle. The latter was one of three we had throughout the day. Bald Eagle = ‘trash bird’ nowadays... YAY!

One of the benefits of having gone this early in the season as Jeff pointed out was that the trees had not fully leafed out so it was much easier to see birds. Even so it was good to have Jeff and Ian available because we still relied upon hearing to find most of the birds that we saw. Even I heard a few things by setting my hearing aids to stun.

Titmice played with us making really weird noises and the Blue Jays did this as well, alerting us to the presence of a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Later on we saw a pair of Cooper's Hawks circling and frolicking with one another.

One of the birds we heard calling all around were Field Sparrows. Ironically they were not calling from within the field but instead at the tops of trees. So why aren’t they called Tree Sparrows? Because Tree Sparrows sing in fields! At least the sparrows were kind enough to give us great looks at them while they sat there and sang for us.

Field Sparrow

And then we heard a Cuckoo. We all agreed it was a Cuckoo but it was a bit amusing that we all couldn't remember or decide whether it was a Yellow-billed or a Black-billed Cuckoo. We were all excited and walked towards the sound in order to see if we could track down the bird. Eventually we were able to figure out from where the bird was singing and Ian was the first to spot the bird sitting in vines behind a cedar. Although it was a bit obscured all of us got good looks and a few pictures. 

Black-billed Cuckoo

Continuing on I was surprised to spot a Green Heron fly by which only a few of us saw but a nice sighting nevertheless, while Phil deftly pulled a Purple Martin out of the air. The end of the field did not give up many warblers besides omnipresent Yellow-rumped, so we headed back. We added Indigo Bunting and Brown Thrasher and then heard another Cuckoo. This time it was a Yellow-billed! It was not as forthcoming as the Black-billed and I flippantly said it would show up back at the parking lot. It did! Not only that, it queued up in a tree and afforded great shots! 

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Cuckoos by the way, are responsible for parasitizing a species completely out of existence. They were known to be “cuckoo for it”.  No longer with us is Puffinis cocoa, or Nestle’s Auklet.

Our next stop was 'the Beanery'. Still overcast and late in the morning it was not as good as hoped but we added House Wren and Barn Swallow.

Our next stop was the lighthouse. Here we had more Martins and a full compliment of expected Gulls, Rough-winged Swallow, and Gannet. By now stomachs were grumbling and cannibalism was an imminent threat to me so we went off to procure victuals. With my demise averted and their attention focused upon their food I re-checked the local reports. 

The previously reported Curlew Sandpiper and Ruff had been seen that morning so when we finished we headed to Heislerville WMA. Upon arrival we saw a line of birders focusing their attention out into the impoundment so we pulled into the parking lot. Encouraged by all the eyeballs pressed to the scopes I made haste to join them. Unfortunately I soon learned that the Ruff had not been seen recently and that they had not spotted the Curlew Sandpiper either.

Undeterred we all set up Scopes and begin scanning. There were many birders present and one of them offered to show me a photo of the Curlew Sandpiper so I would have a better idea of what plumage it was in. We had not been scanning for too long when a Peregrine Falcon put all the birds up. Oh joy. But hey, a Peregrine Falcon!

Shorebirds flying around. { ignore the bystanders' talking }

There were hundreds of Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitchers,  Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and a handful of other peeps out in the impoundment, now swirling about in the air. For a while it seems like they might not ever settle down again. But they did and eventually we began scanning the ever-growing mass of birds. 

There were a lot of birds to pick through but despite the high numbers I saw a bird that was neither a Dunlin or a Dowitcher. It was the Curlew! I called everyone’s attention to it and Jersey birder Doug chimed in that he had just found it too. The Curlew Sandpiper cooperated for quite a while as folks lined up to get a look through my scope. It was one of those circumstances where the distance made explaining where the bird was for others to get on it exceedingly difficult. The bird however cooperated, and everyone present was able to get a view. Distance and lighting precluded a photo for me, but one was posted of this individual the next day >here< that is quite nice.

We continued to scan for some time, and checked other vantage points for the main pool hoping to find the Ruff. Unfortunately, we never were able to locate it, so with daylight burning we continued on to our next location.

The Belleplain Forest is a great place to bird. Here too, the trees were not leafed out yet so viewing was easier. We drove slowly and listened, and stopped here and there before getting to the first ‘stop’.

At the triangle, we got out and listened, and although it had been several years since I had been there I recognized the exact spot where I had seen Yellow-throated Warblers in the past, and that is where we heard singing and spotted one right away! Here we bumped into Doug and his co-conspirator Carole from the Heislerville location and the warblers kept coming! Black-and-white, Worm-eating, and Hooded! Great views of them all!

We didn’t scare up a Protho here, so we moved on to another location. There as before the birds were quite amenable and we soon got killer close up looks at the Prothonotary. Honestly, that bird is so gorgeous, I believe it ~wants~ us to look at it!

Prothonotary Warbler

We scored a bunch of glamour warblers. We were very happy. But daylight was burning and having done so well we moved on to our next stop, Brigantine NWR. We added a few day birds we missed elsewhere, like Great Blue Heron, Green-winged Teal, and Willet; birds we should have seen earlier but nice to score; better late in the day than never. We heard Clapper Rail, and had a singing Seaside Sparrow.

The drive was closed before the first turn, so we doubled back and headed to the other location. On route I spied Caspian Tern { the friendly Tern } and at the end of the road we scored Marsh Wren and Common-throat. Although only a few of us saw it, we got a glimpse of a Snipe as it flew from the nearby cattail stumps into the denser vegetation. Not bad!

We capped off the day with dinner at our traditional location,  ‘The Office’ in Tom’s River, where celebratory beer was consumed with much rejoicing of a days birding par excellence.

We ended with a total of 96 species for the day. Nice! A map of the locations mentioned is located >here<.

Species List:
Brant                               
Wood Duck                           
American Black Duck                 
Mallard                             
Green-winged Teal                   
Great Blue Heron                    
Snowy Egret                         
Glossy Ibis                         
Clapper Rail                        
American Coot                       
American Oystercatcher              
Black-bellied Plover                
Semipalmated Plover                 
Killdeer                            
Willet                              
Least Sandpiper                     
Wilson's Snipe                      
Caspian Tern                        
Tree Swallow                        
Marsh Wren                          
Seaside Sparrow                     
House Finch                         
Canada Goose                        
Mute Swan                           
Gadwall                             
Northern Gannet                     
Double-crested Cormorant            
Laughing Gull                       
Ring-billed Gull                    
Herring Gull                        
Great Black-backed Gull             
Northern Rough-winged Swallow       
Barn Swallow                        
American Crow                       
Carolina Chickadee                  
House Wren                          
Gray Catbird                        
Blue-winged Warbler                 
Yellow-rumped Warbler               
Green Heron                         
Black Vulture                       
Turkey Vulture                      
Osprey                              
Sharp-shinned Hawk                  
Cooper's Hawk                       
Bald Eagle                          
Red-tailed Hawk                     
Rock Pigeon                         
Mourning Dove                       
Yellow-billed Cuckoo                
Black-billed Cuckoo                 
Chimney Swift                       
Ruby-throated Hummingbird           
Red-bellied Woodpecker              
Downy Woodpecker                    
White-eyed Vireo                    
Blue Jay                            
Fish Crow                           
Purple Martin                       
Tufted Titmouse                     
Carolina Wren                       
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher               
American Robin                      
Brown Thrasher                      
Northern Mockingbird                
European Starling                   
Eastern Towhee                      
Field Sparrow                       
Song Sparrow                        
Northern Cardinal                   
Indigo Bunting                      
Red-winged Blackbird                
Common Grackle                      
Brown-headed Cowbird                
American Goldfinch                  
House Sparrow                       
Wild Turkey                         
Great Egret                         
Black-crowned Night-Heron           
Greater Yellowlegs                  
Lesser Yellowlegs                   
Curlew Sandpiper                    
Dunlin                              
Short-billed Dowitcher              
Forster's Tern                      
Peregrine Falcon                    
Yellow Warbler                      
Ovenbird                            
Worm-eating Warbler                 
Black-and-white Warbler             
Prothonotary Warbler                
Common Yellowthroat                 
Hooded Warbler                      
Pine Warbler                        
Yellow-throated Warbler             
Prairie Warbler                     

If Its Thursday I Must Be Birding, Again

Seriously, no matter how hard I try, the birds just keep sucking me back in. Take this past Tuesday for example. Phil Jabiru found a Ruff at Timber Point. I misunderstood the message he had sent me with blurry attached photos, so I did not stop what I was doing and waited over an hour before getting additional info that it was quite a good find by Phil.

So I headed over there, only to be told en route that the bird had flown. I continued on anyway, hoping the bird would double back. It didn’t. On site I found Phil and Snowy Mitra. Both projected a thumbs down regarding the bird; and I heard a rumor that a “hyper-aggressively competitive lister had seen the bird and flushed it to thwart others”, but I could not confirm that rumor even though I did my best to spread it around.

More birders congregated, and though seeing both Yellowlegs and some Least Sandpipers in the pannes, it hardly compensated for the bird we missed.

Flash forward to Thursday and I was coerced into venturing out agin. The great reports that were fast and furious the day before were quite influential. Phil and I met Nancy Trogan at Hempstead lake state park, and despite optimism the day was not like the day before. We did see a very nice Blue-winged Warbler, and an exceptionally confrontational Blak-and-white Warbler that flew straight at me while I was looking at it. We missed an Orchard Oriole that other birders had that day, but all the Chimney Swifts made up for it, sort of...

We decided to try Valley Stream State park next. Here we scored a few Vireo species, and met up with Bob Prothonotary. He came bearing news of a Solitary Sandpiper, but we found a Spotted Sandpiper instead. Most interesting was the Blue-grey Gnatcatchers attending to their nest building right over the path. 

Gnatcatcher on Nest

Then Bob told us about a Swainson's Warbler in Manhattan. Ugh, Manhattan. None of us were enthused about negotiating the inevitable logistical challenges. Not even Phil for whom it would be a lifer. As we approached our cars though, I began to be worn down to the notion. And rationalizing I could stop in to have a part installed at my mechanic on the way, I succumbed to my own weakness and we headed into the city.

The subway system posed modest difficulties, what with new line designations, but we got there soon enough. And the bird’s favored location was practically right at the train stop. We walked into the park and the reports of 200 or so birders in the morning had us get fooled by the crowd of tourists by the ‘Imagine’ circle in Strawberry Fields. I’m impressed by its continued ability to attract visitors. On the benches were folks selling souvenir photos, playing guitar, and even one guy with a sign offering to write a joke for $1.00. I asked Phil if that guy was kidding us ;)

The crowd of birders was more modest, but I spotted Jean LeConte Sparrow who beckoned us on and we got the bird in short order. We saw it as it hopped in the Barberry. Phil got a lifer! We hung out a bit hoping for better views. A fellow named Cappy was a wiz at locating and relocating this bird again and again, much to the delight of the constant stream of birders that came a looking.

While we were there the best and longest looks were had by lying on the ground and looking under the Barberry shrubs. Not the worst thing I’ve done to get a look at a bird, and at least neither of us were in dress clothes as were many who stopped by for a look and had to get prostrate for their look.

We also ventured to the Ramble, where we were treated to great looks at a Worm-eating Warbler, and a FOS BT Blue. Not too bad for a less than enthusiastic twitch. We returned to pick up my car and I delighted in having killed two birds with one stone. ...Oh wait, as a birder can I say that?

Upland Birding

Upland bird
She's been living in a grassland world
I bet she misses having a Long Island guy
I bet her momma never told her why

Not trying to compete in the ‘big year running around’ this year is quite a relief. I was more than pleased with my results last year and am grateful for the help from fellow birders. So rather than continuing to go crazy, I simply had a relaxed and pleasant day out birding with Pelican, catching up on some nice birds. In fact as of this writing I'm only at a paltry 121 for the year.

First stop was Connetquot State Park where the Yellow-throated Warblers have returned for the third year. They have become a welcome early spring migrant being found in 4 out of 5 NYC boroughs AFAIK. Those Bronx folks may be a bit more tight lipped. 
 
Connetquot for the uninformed, is an Native American word that means 'too mant ticks'.  Chipping Sparrows, Barn, Tree, and Rough-winged Swallows were evident as well as Phoebes, and the resident feeder birds. It took us a while to find one, but it gave us the opportunity to walk around this wonderful park and make the ticks salivate. We stayed on the paths however. 

On one of the go-rounds we crossed paths with new birder Bill Cliff Swallow with whom we traded notes. We spied him looking at a Pine Warbler, but by the time we caught up to him it had moved on.

We made our way back to the feeders, and eventually the YTWA graced us with its presence. { sorry, no picture } While waiting for this bird to show, Pelican spotted two Bald Eagles in a distant tall pine tree. They have been moving in to Long Island! Speaking of pine trees, they may all but disappear from this park and Long Island due to the pine beetle. It was very sad to see so many trees that had succumbed or had been cut down. 

Having satisfied our lust for this beautiful bird and helping Bill get a view, we moved on to places elsewhere. Our next stop was Heckscher state park. Nothing much to write home, er, here about, save a Oldsquaw sitting on a dock, which we presumed meant that he was not a happy [ or healthy ] camper, so we moved on again. 

Oldsquaw? Or Old and Tired Squaw?

We tried Captree Island, but dipped on the recently reported goodies. Oh well. We next went on to relocate the remarkably amenable Uppie { Uplandius sandpiperus }.  This bird was originally found by Bob Prothonotary, much to the delight of MANY birders, several of whom got a lifer. 

Upland Sandpiper

Remarkably, this is not a terribly difficult bird to get in NYS, but the knowledge of where and when to find them is apparently still not well disseminated. I thought that everybody knew that they breed at Blue Chip Farms in Wallkill, NY. This Horse farm business has been very friendly to the birding community for many many years. So if you see workers, please get out of their way. The roads are small here, please do not block traffic. And what ever you do, do NOT trespass on the farm property!! { Some fool hopped the fence a short time ago. If he had been trampled by a horse, would have served him right. }

Uppies also {used to?} breed on Long Island, but that location is now off limits and I don’t know of anyone who knows if they are still there. I last saw them there in 2003.  In 2010 one was found at Robert Moses State Park, but that one was not quite as long a visitor, nor as cooperative.

Sated, we headed further west. A stop at the Cedar Beach Marina gave us a surprise immature Glaucous Gull. I think of this as a winter bird, definitely not a spring bird, but hey - I’ll take it!  

Immature Glaucous Gull

By now we had spent more time out birding than originally planned, but it was a nice day to be out. We refueled at Abe’s Pitaria, then explored Jones Beach . A rather large flock of Dunlin were at field 10. At the West End I was surprised to see the Black Scoter was still there, as well as several Common Loons, some of which were in breeding plumage.

At the swale, we found some Horned Larks. I think they have become resident. They have been there in every month I have visited. And Brant are appearing to linger longer than into the season than I can recall. One thing is for certain: once you think you know the rules Mother Nature goes and changes them!

On a Redwing and a Prayer

For a long time I have been jonesing for a Redwing. Some of you might think I am referring to a Red-winged Blackbird, often referred to in a more simple form as ‘Red-winged’ or ‘Redwing’ but you would be mistaken. A Redwing is a Thrush, while a Red-winged is a Blackbird. Just to confuse you even more, in Europe the bird they call 'Blackbird' is a Thrush. Sheesh... er, no Thrush.

The Redwing: Turdus iliacus or the “Hippy Thrush” is a European bird, in the same family as our Robins. It is a very rare visitor to our continent, as evinced by its ABA code 4 level. Some describe it as the miscegenistic product of a Robin and a Waterthrush, but they have been roundly criticized for this. Others refer to this and other vagrants in the thrush family as “Euro Turds”, when looking for them in the far more likely location of Newfoundland. As enticing as the reports may be, it’s a wee too far away for a day trip.   

With recent reports albeit not very local, I was nevertheless getting more hopeful. I have been scanning the seemingly ever larger flocks of Robins for the past few years, hopeful that I would find one of these birds. In a way, they are overdue. This prolonged checking either irritates or amuses my co-conspirators, but if one wants to find a bird like this, scanning the flocks of Robins is the best way to do so. From a previous exchange on the intertubes: “(Q) How many Scaup must one look through to find a Tufted Duck? (A) All of them”

When a Redwing was found recently in New Hampshire I was both piqued and a bit frustrated. To quote another post on the intertubes: “Why do the good birds have to be found on Sundays?”

It was found by birder Chris McPherson on March 13. For better or worse I first found out via Farcebook, as using the listserves is no longer preferred method of disseminating sighting info. To be fair, I am not in the habit of checking the New Hampshgire list; though a bird of this magnitude usually is cross posted. Ah, too many lists... eburd... farcebook. Too many sources of information can be just as bad as not enough...

It should come as no surprise that I checked for updates on that following Monday. I was not however holding my breath, because this bird is a notorious one-day-wonder. I unsuccessfully went for one in Reading PA and for another in Rhode Island. Verily, a nemesis bird for me and many other birders.

But this bird reappeared! Its always a great sign when a bird exhibits site fidelity. With that in mind I made inquiries for co-conspirators. A plan was hatched and despite the weather forecast which deterred one potential participant, Earic Miller, Capt’n Bob and I made our way up to the  quintessentially New England town of Hollis NH in search of this good bird.

The day began dark dreary and damp. But the traffic gods were with us and we made our way effortlessly to the prescribed parking location. The fields that the enormous flocks of Robins were frequenting were adjacent to a school, so good judgement was needed in order not to alarm the school officials and ruin it for other birders. We went to and parked on Jeff Smith Way as instructed in the NH list posts. Other cars were present, so that was a good sign, but no birders were in evidence.

We checked the field in front of us, but as far as we could tell they were all Robins. We then walked over to Love Lane where there was more fields, but no parking.  Off in the distance we spotted a couple who appeared to be intently looking at something, and they being Carla and Sam, birders from Acton MA, were on the bird! I ran back to the car as did Earic, because we hadn’t wanted to bring our scopes out in the misty rain. 

Redwing

With the bird foraging near the fence, and roughly halfway between where we were and where Carla and Sam were stationed we got on it rather quickly much to our delight. I got my scope on it, shared the view with other birders present, and there was much rejoicing. MUCH rejoicing. And then Bob said: “Great, lets get something to eat.” 

Redwing. Zoomed in on crappy photo :(

The bird was a distance away. I was content with scope views, and did not venture closer lest the bird be spooked. As a result and partially due to the lighting conditions, my attempts at photographing the bird were much less than good. Add to that camera settings that had been altered perhaps by leaving the camera on and it being jostled in the car. I managed just a few shots before the bird disappeared. While chimping, I discovered that they were over exposed. Groan.

Not wanting to stay standing out in the misty rain, Bob sought shelter in his car while Earic and I tried to relocate the bird after it had flown off. I was hoping for an opportunity for better photos and we did our best, but there was a lot of area to check, lots of Robins, and the mist seemed to have the uncanny ability to fall sideways and ~into~ our optics making the view blurry. Repeated drying of the lenses helped only temporarily.

Eventually with the writing on the wall and stomachs growling, we gave up searching and called it quits. We had an uneventful trip back with minimal traffic; this time thankfully Earic’s presence ( yes I blame him ) did not result in damage to the vehicle.

The birds M.O. can be found here as well as a map of the location

A Powerbirder's Vindication

With word of a Bullocks Oriole upstate, not surprisingly, many inquiries were fielded on the presumption I would be going. Such a reputation... A posse formed, consisting of myself, Earic, Lisa Shrimpke and Cap’t Bob. Seeing as we would be in the area, we were to try for the Golden Eagles at Storm King, as well as Saw-whet Owls reported in nearby Black Rock Forest.

Bob graciously volunteered to drive, while we left logistics up to Lisa. My only requirement was that we had to be back in Queens by 4pm so that I could attend to appointments later that evening.

A bird coming to a feeder. I thought it would be a dam slunk. It turned out to be a damp slog. We arrived at the home of David Baxter, a most gracious fellow who welcomed birders to view the bird from his driveway or back yard. It was cold and windy and raining, despite the forecast for clear skies and only slight chance for a sprinkle.

Once there, we met a nice couple who had driven down from the Adirondacks that morning, as well as a group of 3 women who were also standing vigil. All we got was wet. Nevertheless, as is my custom when visiting someone’s home for a bird, I brought a bag of seed. I feel giving money is icky and uncomfortably mercenary. It also might in the worst case scenario foster a climate where people charge to see their backyard birds. I have heard that this happened in a few cases, and it is disappointing. IMHO the only thing better than seeing a good bird is getting others on it as well. David came out of his home to retrieve the seed as we were leaving and said: “ This was unnecessary.” I replied: “ I believe the birds would disagree, and thank you for the hospitality.”

Our next stop was Storm King where the frigid breeze { tamale?} was not conducive to standing outside scanning with a scope. Of course one can only access the pull-out safely from one direction on 9W, so time was wasted finding a place to turn around. We scanned the favored roosting areas on the side of the mountain, but it was not there nor could we find it soaring nearby. Dip 2.

Finally we went to the Black Rock Forest. We drove up to the visitor’s center, where they graciously permitted us to park in their upper lot, even though we were really supposed to park in the lower lot. They also gave us their best guess as to where the owls might have been, and that was a significant walk up the road, and then some exploring. Oh well, we passed: no time. Dip 3

We made our way back home, with Lisa wanting to stop yet again. We did not, Bob reminding her that we had a predetermined time for return that we had to keep to. The moral of the story is the better you plan, the better your chances for success; at least eliminating back tracking or stopping at places where a lot of time was needed to be allotted.

Flash forward a few days and I learned that Bob Prothonotary had planned an attempt with some of his co-conspirators. This was a good thing as an attempt to iron out a plan with Lisa proved overly cumbersome due to her need to do more responsible things, (sheesh!) and was ultimately dropped.

After conferring with who was and was not going, space was available for me to join Ed Thrasher, Bob Prothonotary, and Doug Fulvetta. 

I was a bit surprised that Ed was driving, as he had told me he was not enamored of long trips, and besides they make his back and legs uncomfortable. I was also surprised that maneuvering off of the island was nowhere near as familiar to any of the three them as it is to me; frequent trips and experience there from having its benefit. So I became the defacto navigator.

On the way, Ed and I listened while Doug and Bob recounted tales of wonderful birds seen in places Ed and I had never been. Ed steadfastly drove, while I alerted him to impending turns. Both of us sighed repeatedly at all the bird names we did not recognize. Ed and I both though Bob and Doug were making the names up!

Nearing our destination, we made our way past what I referred to as ‘bucolic’ scenery, Doug commented on my choice of words. But windy country roads with open fields and sparsely placed homes is a pleasant diversion from the congested urban and suburban sprawl I am far too accustomed to.

Finally we arrived, and as we pulled up behind the one other car present I pondered two things: gee, shouldn’t more folks be here? and: They are looking at something!  We were adjacent to a pond next to the home where the Bullock’s had been, and then we saw it!!! The best part was that we didn’t even have to get out of the car!

Who was it that had clued us into the bird’s location?  Friends Andy, Jennifer, Bill and their friend (whose name always escapes me) from New Jersey.  They travel in a pack and I frequently find at the site of good birds. I gave Jennifer the requisite hug of ‘hello’ and ‘we just got another good bird’. 

For Bob, Doug and myself, this was but a year bird. A ~good~ year bird, but a year bird nonetheless. We three had seen the previous one in 2007 that was also in Ulster county. Ed however, scored a lifer! Ed I have learned, is a man of few words, but his smile spoke volumes. I managed a few crappy shots, but pleasing binocular looks nonetheless. 

And then hoards of birders arrived. We stayed a while longer hoping to get better looks but the bird was reclusive.
 
 

Bullock's Oriole

We then plotted our next location. Doug suggested Shawangunk NWR for Rough-legged Hawk and Short Eared Owl. A bit of route discussion ensued, so I offered that I had it saved in one of my many maps. We let my “Loretta” do the talking though Doug had his own GPS and a DeLorme Atlas, perhaps not as comfortable with the new technology as he would like.

When we got to Shawangunk, we met up with the ‘Jersey Crew’ again who were just leaving, having seen both Rough-legged and Short Eared. They also informed us of a Cackling and Greater White-fronted Goose on nearby Bates Lane. We had very distant views of a Short Eared and several Harriers as well as a vocal Bluebird and a male Kestrel, but no Rough-legged.

On Bates lane we quickly located the flock of Canada’s in question, and Bob found both target geese straight away. He then produced lunch for us all in the form of raps with veggies and horse  radish hummus. This was great: a good division of labor. I navigated, Ed drove, Bob brought the comestibles, and Doug... Doug... er Doug postulated that this had evolved into an excellent day of birding, though the point could be made that there was intelligent design in play too.
 
 

"The Rules"

We were not ready to give up yet, so I suggested the Black Dirt Region where I had 4 Rough-legged Hawks on a trip I led there recently. It didn’t hurt that there had been a recent report of a Gyrfalcon there as well.  Loretta guided us there flawlessly, and we had at least two on Indiana Road. With talk of White-crowned Sparrows at Walkill on my previous trip as well, interest was expressed. No sooner had we gotten out of the car than I asked Bob if he still wanted to see a White-crowned Sparrow. Two were right where I said they would be; in the ditch by the entry to the lot. A year bird for him.

We walked the Liberty trail towards Merritt Island, but could not find a Gyr, though we did find a Bald Eagle. Later that Eagle was probably what put up a massive amount of waterfowl in the Jersey section of the loop trail, but the sun was in our eyes so we could not ID the spooked birds very well.

All in all an excellent day of birding and compared to my last attempt at the Bullocks et al, this was a pleasant vindication of my bird finding prowess.

Lord I Was Born a Brambling Man

Lord I was born a Brambling man

Trying to make a living while birding as much as I can

And when its time for a road-trip, I hope you’ll understand

That I was born a Brambling man.

I am quickly moving up the ladder to more and more difficulty getting lifers here in the US. Some travel is almost always involved, but clearly some forms of travel are “normal” while others are less so.

Take road trips for example. I am blessed to enjoy the journey part of travel. Sometimes a trip to nowhere on a scenic road is all I need to vicariously amuse myself; be it by bicycle, motorcycle, or car. Others though, cannot fathom the idea, and with time constraints flying is certainly more expedient. Or is it?

I look back fondly to the days of yore when I could simply show up at the airport, wait for the shuttle, and pay on the plane en route. No more. Now it’s a lot of wasted time trying to find a flight that doesn’t break the bank, and can bring you there and back without wasting a lot of time on the travel part. Add in the getting there before the flight part and waiting for luggage and then getting the car yada yada and a road-trip is not nearly as bad as some describe.

My choices were spend a lot on flights and car rental, or look at a map, figure out travel times and logistics, and get a willing co-conspirator. Earic Miller took another more expeditious approach. He simply coerced me into going by playing upon my weakness.

Among the ABA code 3 birds I have lusted after, the Brambling is right up there. The problem has always been that they had tended to show up west of here and usually way west. Earic claimed that someone had boasted about how he had ventured from Maryland to Ohio and back in one day.  Sounded impossible to me, but nevertheless it was in fact closer than from here.

But the damage had been done. I started to look at maps and plan and ruminate. Could it be done...? And then to make things worse he threw in that there was a Kelp Gull there as well. I have already seen a Kelp Gull, but another opportunity at a rare bird when in the vicinity would be a waste. A look at the maps some more and they were separated by a mere 30 miles... Hmmmm. 

The window of opportunity was coming up fast and a decision had to be made. The best plan of attack would be to leave after work on Wednesday, and return Thursday. Eminently doable, but what about the weather?

There is so much information available to us nowadays, yet some things remain not as refined as we would like sometimes. For example, wouldn’t it be great if we could get the weather forecast along a route? Well as reported they were predicting more than 50% likelihood of precipitation yet only 0.2" accumulation. Seemed to be not insurmountable...

Despite some understandable trepidation and questioning as to whether I had completely lost my mind, { some say yes, and long ago...} I made the decision to go ahead with our plans. After all, I have met several other birders over the years who have done far longer {worse?} as well as read the accounts of the others who also did this sort of trip. So why not?

Why 'yes' some of you may ask as well. Opportunity for seeing a great bird, of course. But not to be ignored, an important factor is gasoline prices are at remarkably low levels that just ~beg~ you to road-trip. For those who would decry carbon emissions; sorry, a flight would still burn far more fuel. What was the lowest price we saw? $1.25!!! That just SCREAMS road-trip. Screams I tells ya.

I picked Earic up and we departed by 8pm. We stopped for fuel and food after a couple of hours. So good so far.

By 3am we stopped for more gas, and a snack, and to stretch the legs some more. But now thar be snow. 

The 'check-in' thing caused some minor confusion and / or guessing on FB. This was mildly amusing.

It has been a long time since I traveled this far west on I-80. I forgot that there are no street lamps, and worse yet - no roadside reflectors. I still have pretty good night vision, but at times the snow became quite dense and hard to see through. Following trucks and heeding their speed ‘suggestions’ seemed prudent, and helpful in telling where the road was located much further away than could be seen otherwise. 

By 5 we got to Ravenna Ohio where a rest-stop provided welcome warmth and a bathroom break before catching some z’s in the car. We were essentially mostly there, and this was a good place to rest. My bones are a lot older than from the time when I might have chosen to snooze in the car, but I am pleased to say that as far as discomfort levels go, it truly was not that bad. A down vest on me and a thick parka as a blanket and I was toasty warm despite the temperatures in the teens.

A good power nap of an hour and a half or so, and we awoke to continue to our first target: Kelp Gull. By this time there was a good 3" of snow on the ground; a significant underestimation by the meteorological community. What a great profession! Be wrong most of the time and never get fired! Though concerning to me, the snow was dry and not a significant hindrance to travel. Removal by plows was now beginning.
 
Arriving at the Springfield rink, the daylight was just making its presence known. We looked out onto the lake and could not see any gulls, but noises made us look up to see hundreds circling above. Oh no! Were they departing for the day already?

They had been spooked by ? but eventually most settled down onto the lake and we found a good vantage and began scanning with scopes. Among the many Herring and Ring-billed Gulls we finally found a black backed gull, but it was just a Great Black-backed, not a Kelp. We kept looking, and a few at a time other birders joined us. A few more candidates appeared, but clearly none was a Kelp Gull.

A short time later, someone announced that they had begun to plow the lot where we had parked, and we made tracks to go move our vehicles. I got a look at an adult bald eagle that was flying by and that had just flushed the resting gulls again. Then I arrived at my car to see the tail light, bumper and hatch smashed. The plow driver got out of his truck and apologized, saying of all things that he had not seen my car! Sure a gold station wagon completely devoid of snow in a pure white lot, and he somehow overlooked it. 

My car,er was a parked while looking for a Kelp Gull
When it wound up being wronged by a pick-up truck
He plowed the snow and into me and hey, what the f...
dings dents and dipping on the bird sure sucks

He did give me his insurance info and even suggested calling the police for a report so one can say he was careless, but at least he did not act like a jerk. Keeping fingers crossed re the ins co. though...

My visit to Ohio had a real impact

I was in a sleep deprived haze so if I should have had a more angry response I could not muster one. Wow, two strikes. One figurative: we never did see the Kelp Gull. The second unpleasantly literal. And here I thought with the snow and all the time spent on the highway an incident would be more risky, but while the car was parked in the center of a lot? At least the damage did not hinder our safe return.

With police report filed and a final fruitless last look for the gull, we set off for our second quarry.  It was a wee bit solemn: Earic having dipped on a lifer, I having been dinged and dented. But far worse things could have happened. 

By this time much of the roads had been cleared and driving was less stressful for the 30 miles or so to the next location. We arrived and found a sign that said Allerdale Park and entered, only to find it was the wrong parking lot. The bathroom gods were smiling upon us though, as this was the lot with a restroom, so the wrong turn was fortuitous and as I told Earic, ‘intentional’. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

We drove a short way further and stopped in front of the house hosting the feeders. With the teen temperatures and the snow that had started to fall again, I was hoping we might have found a place to squeeze into and be lazy from the road. No luck. The road was way too narrow, too busy, and there was no place to pull off. For a country road it had more than its share of traffic, so as planned we bundled up and walked back from the lot. 

We set up scopes and hoped for the best. I told Earic, who was complaining of the cold, that some folks said the bird was seen within a few minutes while some reported having to wait a few hours for it to show up. He was confident that with the current conditions the bird would be by shortly, and hopeful. He was wearing rubber boots for the snow, but not so good for the frigid temperature. His feet were freezing.

While we waited we enjoyed a nice variety of 20 or so visitors to the feeders. Finally, and off to the side easily obscured from view by the tree in the front yard, I spotted the bird! It was a Brambling in fine display! ABA #707 for me even if I suffered a fender bender to get the lifer.

Brambling

A very nice bird, and I was glad I was encouraged to go see it. With a distance as large as this, the intel from the Ohio lists was helpful because this species { same bird? } was in the relatively same vicinity in the recent past, was site faithful, and lingered to about April. So yeah it was a ways to go but I felt confident that we would be able to score this beauty and score we did. 

Earic not wasting time returning to the car for warmth

Having enjoyed the bird and cognizant of the return trip that awaited us, we set off home. Thankfully the roads had been cleared and the snow had abated making for travel at a more relaxed and accelerated pace. Earic drove while I snoozed. We were back by 7pm. Another successful epic journey. 

Boy, You Really Are Gullible.

Having achieved my goal of doing a big NYS year last year and coming in with what I consider a respectable outcome, I have put birding on the back burner for now so that I can resume so many other pursuits that had fallen by the wayside.

Or so I thought. Yesterday I got a call from Earic Miller, who is hellbent on thwarting my plan to be more responsible. “Have you seen the Massachusetts reports?” No I replied.  “There is a Yellow-legged Gull up in Turners Falls, wouldn’t that be a lifer for you?” Hold on and I’ll check Avisys... Why yes, it ~would~ be a lifer... but its kinda late in the morning already. “Well the bird shows at the end of the day when it comes in to roost.”

Fiendish fellow that he is, here is the report Earic mentioned.

Date: Thu, 4 Feb 2016 01:24:12 +0000 (UTC)
From: "James P. Smith"
To: MASSBIRD , massbird world

Subject: [MASSBIRD] Gill/Turner's Falls - Yellow-legged Gull

Greetings birders,

First let me preface this by saying that the identification of this bird is still a W.I.P and will obviously require final ratification from MARC.

However, a large gull in full breeding plumage has been seen at Unity Park, Turner's Falls for the last three evenings (Feb 1st-3rd). It has very close resemblance to a Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis). Feedback from the North American Gulls Facebook page and the European Gulls Facebook page along with renowned gull experts including Bruce Mactavish have pointed overwhelmingly to this bird being a genuine Yellow-legged Gull. Moreover, an expert from Europe has even indicated that it may from the michahellis group from the Atlantic coast of Iberia. However, this is still early days and key for us has been trying to eliminate a much more expected Lesser
Black-backed x Herring Gull hybrid. I've already seen two of these in past winters at Turner's Falls and was treating this as a potential hybrid when first discovered on Monday evening.

Images of this striking looking bird can be seen here; http://pioneerbirding.blogspot...

The bird has strongly favored Unity Park, Turner's Falls for the last three evenings. This evening, in horrible conditions, it was already present at Unity Park with a handful of RBGulls when I arrived at 3:25pm, though frequent flushes from Bald Eagles spoiled the viewing after that time though I last saw it at 4:45pm. However, in better conditions it has been arriving after 4pm and last night came in quite late, though still well before sunset.

In addition, I also saw the bird in rural Gill this morning at about 08:25am. Remarkably, it was a lone large gull flying south with a flock of about 150 Canada Geese (!!!) low over Munns Ferry Road. I only pulled over to check it because I never, ever see large gulls of any kind in the fields around Gill - I could hardly believe that that lone bird was the Yellow-legged Gull! After dropping my son at school I returned to that site but failed to find any geese or the gull. However, this might just suggest that the Yellow-legged Gull has different feeding habits to the other large gulls roosting at Turner's Falls - just a thought.

For anyone interested in looking for this bird, by far the best option is Unity Park in Turner's Falls after 4pm. There are three public parking spots there - one at the Fishladder, one at the recreation area/skateboarding park and one at the Canalside bike trailhead. All of these spots will offer access to the gull flocks coming into the cove to roost. The gulls can also be viewed from Riverview Drive in Gill and as the ice recedes, this will most likely be the favored roosting spot for large gulls. However, the area is residential and parking may be limited. In addition, there has been some tension between home owners and birders in past years especially when a decent rarity shows up such as the Slaty-backed Gull back in 2009. I've already informed some residents to expect more birder traffic in the forthcoming days.
I cannot rule out a day time visit from this bird, either at Barton Cove or the Turner's Falls power canal. However, based on recent patterns this seems pretty unlikely. I didn't see any large gulls at 9am this morning for example.

I wouldn't regard the identification of this bird as being totally sealed but it's getting very close to that stage and it now seems very unlikely that it will be dismissed as a hybrid.


Good birding,

James
James P. Smith Gill, MA

So a quick check of mapping logistics and other concerns we met up an hour or so later for the trip. It was a balmy 50 degrees, nice spring weather. The roads were as they should always be, not congested and with traffic moving freely. Yay!

It took no where near as long as estimated, which is always a good thing, and a pleasant surprise. Upon arrival in Turners Falls, we stopped in to refuel, and get our bearings. The GPS was confused and could not orient itself, but we made our way down to the water’s edge and began scanning.

There were plenty of birds on the river, but near the dam was an ice flow that the larger gulls were loafing upon. We set up vigil here, and picked through the birds. Unfortunately the bird was not present.

As time passed, more people showed up; both here and on the other side of the river. More were on the other side though, as that is where the light was better. Rows of telescopes and cameras lined the shore there, while a much smaller group was where we were, perhaps because of much more limited parking.

4pm came and went. The bird had been coming in top roost at that time over the past three days, but so far nada. We were anxious, and so were the Canada Geese who began squawking. Eventually small groups of them took off from the ice for parts unknown.

While they were getting antsy as it was after 4:30, we noticed high up above that gulls were coming in and making their way slowly down onto the ice raft. Many eyes were trained on the birds, but it was Earic with his antiquated and dark field of view Spacemaster scope that was the first person to locate the bird! The rest of us got on it quickly, and one person present called fellow birders on the other side to make sure they knew the bird had arrived as well.

The other side of the river had far more birders, but as far as I was concerned, we had much better views and a much better vantage point. Looking at the bird we were able to see and especially compare the field marks against the Herring Gulls. Darker grey mantle, not a trick of the light, not as dark as Lesser Black-backed: check. Smaller spots on the primaries: check. Small white mirror on p10 and tiny white mirror on p9: check. Large red spot on the bill: check. Clean white head devoid of grey streaking: check. Distinctly yellow legs: check. Red orbital ring: check.  The only field mark missing was one mentioned in neither European guide, but mentioned in National Geographic. The latter stated that the head should be more square-headed, but we did not see that feature presenting itself. 

Yellow-legged Gull ...?

Yellow-legged Gull ...?

And that was crucial because despite my being satisfied the ugly specter of hybrid is always lurking waiting for the opportunity to take the wind out of one’s sails. OTOH it would appear to me ( as well as others more experienced with this bird ) that there were several consistent features that suggest YLGU and hopefully dismissed LBBG/HEGU hybrid. We’ll have to wait and see.

I was also able to get some shots, but the angle of the ambient light was not optimal. Actually it was horrible: being nearly from right in front of us with the sky overcast, and the sun was setting. Sheesh. But what the conditions ruined for great shots of this bird, it made up for in spades with a spectacular sunset. 
 
A probable lifer putting me at 706 ABA birds.  Hooda Thunkit. Thanks Earic.

But wait, there's more!

Upon hearing of our success, Arlene Rails wanted to give it a try as well on the weekend.  She cleverly enticed me to go back up there by locating a highly rated brew-pub / restaurant called The People’s Pint,  conveniently a stones throw away from the target’s location. How easily I am coerced by the promise of good beer, my achilles heel. Such is my burden to bear.

Based upon the bird’s M.O. of only being sighted reliably when it comes to roost at sunset, we were in no rush to depart. This gave Arlene and I time to put in a walk around Belmont Lake before departure. Beautiful day and conditions for a walk, and the park was pleasantly underpopulated. Of course the snow meant they had not unlocked the upper gate, and we, ahem, chose to hop over it. Unfortunately in the process she lost one of her bracelets. The next day she asked to revisit the gate and see if it was where she thought it had dropped, and it was! Phew.

With news that we were definitely going others who could not make it on the first attempt signed on but at the last minute one had to pull out to attend to a storm repair, so it was Arlene, Pelican, and I that went.

The weather and traffic gods were on our side, and we made excellent time there. Of more pleasing news, a conveniently situated Dunkin Donuts for caffeination and commensurate micturition followed by the ever so pleasing refueling of the car at $1.75/gal! How can one avoid road-trips with this gas price situation? I’m taking advantage of it while I can because we all know its going to go back up, and sooner than we want it to. 

Continuing the short distance to the birding site, initially we stopped on the south side of the river. We conversed with the assembled crowd and confirmed several things. It had not been seen yet, and the view was significantly more distant so it was decided to continue on to the north side.

Gill, MA

We encountered several cars in the limited pull-outs. We squeezed in and set up scopes. The goils set up next to two fellows looking at the resting gulls and struck up a conversation. One possessed of a British accent put us on a Lesser Black-backed Gull in with the other gulls.

After a bit more conversation electrical impulses started flowing between my brain cells and I postulated about the identity of this fellow, who it turns out was the original discoverer of the bird. I inquired: “Mr. Smith?” he replied in the affirmative.

This led to more in depth discussion of the gull’s possible genetic provenance. It seems that the head shape discrepancy Earic and I discussed as well as wing length and leg length was an issue and of concern to records committee members, as well as those who had been burned by a previous ‘good looking’ candidate that finally revealed itself to be of mixed parentage.

In the birding world miscegenation is frowned upon. Personally I don’t necessarily think less of this bird. Okay so I can’t count it on ‘official’ lists, but truly that is ONLY so that we can compare apples to apples with regards to list size. If you are not a rabid lister, this doesn’t really matter. So I will count it on my life list with an attribute of ‘pending acceptance by the records committee’ until accepted or if determined otherwise, as ‘hybrid’. But the bird won’t go POOF in a puff of smoke and disappear if it is determined to be a hybrid, only it’s countability, and that is not by far the only criteria by which I enjoy birds. Along with life birds and year birds I rather enjoy sightings of birds performing all sorts of behaviors that can be far more interesting than just ticking them onto a list.

So I may not have a lifer after all, but then who amongst us hasn’t lost one here and there due to lumps, or gained an ‘armchair’ tick by splits. Its just how it goes. One mustn’t cry over spilled milk. I mean who cares about milk anyway? Now spilled beer on the other hand - horrors! ...Ahem.

Well it was looking like the bird wasn’t going to show. It was getting later and later and darker and darker. Slowly, more and more folks packed it in and left. I offered that the other day I noticed that the gulls first appeared high above, and then made their way down to the river. And shortly after saying so, they did. Of course in the fading light trying to pick out one rarity from amongst all the others while they were in flight was attempted, though without success.

While many gulls came in, as they had the other day, they all took flight. Something spooks them but what we don’t know. After they settled in again and in very faded light, the three of us as well as James Smith and another local birder were the only ones left.

I had moved off to the left to better view some birds obscured by the trees in front of us, and then I spotted a bird with a clean head and darker back. I called to the others and they all took a look through my scope. YES! I had spotted the bird at the 11th hour and gotten it for Arlene and Pelican. The view was not the best given the lighting and the yellow legs being obscured, but after Pelican’s "protestation" James confirmed that it was in fact the bird we were hoping to see. I offered that it was a BVD bird {meaning ‘better view desired’ } while he offered that it was a LSS bird {meaning ‘ leader says so’ <g>} This got Arlene and Pelican to more readily accept the sighting and thus my reputation was preserved. Thanks James. Of note too, Earic, had been the first to spot it on our last visit. What can I say? Us New Yorkers are none too shabby birders.

Congratulations and farewells concluded, we headed off to see if ‘The People’s Pint’ lived up to its reputation. Even James recommended it. Well we were not disappointed! The beverages were excellent and very creative!! Arlene ordered a “Slippery Slope” A combination of Pine Hill Orchards cider (Colrain, MA), honey, malted barley and fresh ginger, this is one beer that goes down easy but packs a punch. Flavor profile is light bodied with a subtle ginger character and a smooth finish. Expect notes of hard cider, ginger, honey and some citrus. (ABV: 9.5%•OG: 1.071•IBUs: 7)

I ordered an Oatmeal Stout, followed by a ‘beer flight’ which was a sampler of several other beers. It is a painful pleasure when it is hard to choose what you want next, but I had to have the “Ghost Farmer Imperial Brown Ale” A collaboration between The People’s Pint and Stoneman Brewing from Colrain, MA (www.growbeer.com). We combine recipes for an Imperial version of our Farmer Brown with Stoneman Brewing’s “Ghost Hog” Imperial Brown Ale and the result became “Ghost Farmer.” We aged this big beer in Berkshire Mountain Distilling whiskey barrels for 2 months. Rich notes of caramel, toffee, cocoa, vanilla, and whiskey with a smooth and warming finish. (ABV: 10%•OG: 1.086•IBUs: 75)

Pelican ordered wine. Groan. Oh well, you can lead a Pelican to a brew-pub, but you apparently can’t make her drink beer.  Nevertheless, we all enjoyed the place very much. The atmosphere, the food, the drink. What a great way to conclude a wonderful and successful road-trip.