I Krammed in Pipit, Western Tanager, and Hamina Hamina Hammonds!

For the past several years the tradition has been thanksgiving at my cousin’s place in Maryland, followed by ‘the second night’ with my brother’s wife’s family on that Friday. I mention this because on my way to Maryland, I got the painful birder news no one wants to get when they cannot do anything about it.

The call was from Earic Miller, who having found a Western Tanager some days previously, was calling to ask where I was. “I’m on the road, on my way to Maryland” I responded. “Oh” he said, Peter Reef-heron just relocated the Tanager. Doh!  Another attempt, and I had already made a few, would have to wait.

The holiday dinner was a blast as usual, oysters, turkey, and beer. A perfect recipe! After breakfast Friday with family and the ritual family photos, I set off headed back home. En route I was informed of an Ash-throated Flycatcher on Satan Island, and they having just seen the Western Tanager, fellow birders Liz Ardcuckoo, Steve Tanager, and John Gaggle-o-geese were on their way there. I thought how tactically opportune, as I had to pass through Satan Island anyway.

I eventually caught up with them, but they had no luck before nor after my arrival. Not surprised either, as Satan Island only produces about 50% of the time, while other locations have a much better batting average. We all gave up especially me, who had another dinner engagement.

But enticing birds call to me and I made a hail-Mary pass at APEC for the Western Tanager. I met Dunlin Schulman there coincidentally, and we tried as best we could. After 30 minutes of disappointment, I departed as the Tanager did not cooperate, probably eating its own holiday leftovers.

The evenings meal was a noisier but no less enjoyable get together. I was again stuffed, and refrained from partaking in my usual libation so that I could be able to partake in the QCBC field trip scheduled for early the next morning.

Mike Zino’s Petrel did a great job with a large group eager to find what we could at Jones Beach. The weather was exceptionally nice, as was the variety. We had 44 species +/-, and the highlight (for me anyway) was the Pipit found by Steve and John. They called us to get the rest of the group on the bird, and ended a feud I had with another heretofore ‘easy’ bird that I had been having trouble finding this year. Yay! #329 for the year in NYS.

After a short while of additional birding, and a modicum of discussion, I informed Mike and the others that with reports of the Tanager at APEC, I was going to head there. Most of the others did as well. I mean, Western Tanager. Duh.

Upon arrival, I made haste from the parking lot to the bird’s reported location and came upon a group of birders looking at the bird in the scope! Of course putting my eye to the glass as the bird dropped to the ground was ~intended~, but in short order it flew back up to the branches in front of us, and then across the path and into a tree above us and well lit in the sunshine! Yes! #330!!

Of course having mentioned too often my quest for year birds, I precipitated this zeal for birding within Liz and she unceremoniously dragged me off so that we could chase a Ross’s Goose and a Eurasian Wigeon out east a ways.

We dipped on the goose, but the quackster was an easy get at Mill Pond in Sayville. she was pleased to have been the one to spot it, and one would think that this would be enough conquests for one long weekend...

Nope. Liz implored me to join her and Dave LaSagra on a quest upstate for Golden Eagles. Dave needed them for a state bird, while it would be a lifer for Liz. Who knew that her inquiry into where I told her I had seen them easily would require me to accompany them?

As it turns out, for whatever reason, the previously reliable location in Dutchess County had no recent hits as far as eburd was concerned. Liz and Dave colluded to suggest the Franklin Mtn Hawk-watch, and in a moment of weakness I agreed.

Despite snow flurries on the way, and snow on the mountaintop, it proved to be a lovely day.  Winding back country roads are a favorite of mine, and the route did not disappoint. What did disappoint was a text message on the way that Dave received from Pete Moorhen, asking him to convey to me the favorable wind conditions at Robert Moses STPK... Pete had already seen two Kittiwakes! Doh! This inability to be in more than one place at the same time is really cramping my style...

We arrived on site, and I drove up to the hawk watch. Of course, the puzzled look on the folks stationed there indicated that we probably should have parked below and walked the rest of the way. No worries they said, and as we unpacked first one Golden Eagle flew by, then another that flew right over our heads, maybe 100-150 feet above. WOW. Best view ever! 

I parked the car below, and we enjoyed more birds with the friendly group present. They were a bit surprised we had visited all the way from Long Island. And that we did not stay all that long, as Dave had family to return to, as well as the prospect of getting other stuff on the way back if we didn’t dawdle.

While picturesque, the environment did not necessarily lend itself to overflowing birding opportunities. I suggested specific locations such as the Adirondacks versus this bucolic terrain. Liz and I relayed the birds we had seen on our respective trips; Liz having to add that she had seen Boreal Chickadee, because it had been a miss for me. I told of yet another unsuccessful Spruce Grouse attempt this year, and in response to Dave’s inquiry about them, told Dave that Ruffed Grouse, a potential lifer for him, was very easy up there as a probably bird to cross paths with.

That intel did not quell the ironic pain that befell Dave as we drove a short way away. I spied what appeared to be a road-killed hawk on the side of the road. I circled back for a better look and we discovered it was a Ruffed Grouse! What is more, upon inspection Liz and Dave found the bird was still warm to the touch, meaning we might have seen it alive had we been there moments sooner! Dave told us he had been in this region many times in the past and never saw one, and finally he sees one, but dead. Dems da breaks Dave. At least he had seen the Corncrake before it befell the same fate.

We continued on towards Roscoe where we planned to lunch and to savor a celebratory beer at the Roscoe Beer Brewery. As we got close, Dunlin sent me a text advising of a very interesting Empid ( an oxymoron, no? ) having been found in Central Park. More enticing, was the location was virtually the same as where a Pacific-slope Flycatcher had been found in 2015. Was it another PSFL?

Liz communicated with her on our behalf, and without skipping our requisite beverage and sustenance stop, we plotted our venture.  While imbibing, I noticed that I had also missed a call from Bob Prothonotary. He was wondering if I was on my way there already. No, not yet!

The beer was quite good, but time and good sense only permitted enjoying one. I was dismayed to see the GPS telling me the trip would take 2 hours, but we had to head that way anyway, so why not?

Traffic was delightfully non irritating. We arrived on the upper west side, with Liz giving me directions to a parking lot. She had made a reservation with ‘Spot Hero’ and insisted that I not waste time trying to find a spot on the street. Unfortunately when we arrived at said lot, we were waved away with notice that they were full, and that they ‘have no connection to the app’. Great. More like “Spotty and not so Heroic”.

I gave Liz an appropriate glare and then went looking for a spot by the park. On the second block I tried I found one straight away, much as I said I would. Then I gave her another glare. She probably deserves far more looks of disdain.

The intertubes had been disquietingly quiet until about our time of arrival, when we learned that Menachem Goldfinch had relocated the Empid. Yes! Now to navigate our way through the park to the scene of the crime.

We were guided to the correct place by Dave who is unexpectedly very familiar with the park. Works for me! We met Dunlin, and got news that since the recent relocation, no further sightings had been made.

There was a notable collection of birders present, but the group of birders were engaged in what I have unfortunately seen too often: yakking. Multiple birders inevitably degenerate into a group of yakers and stop looking for birds. Hey, this is a rare bird: possibly the third sighting for NY state.

Reasoning that with all the birders standing there, it was best to look elsewhere as they would have been looking instead of talking if the bird was present. Reminds me of 2015 when a Connecticut Warbler showed up downtown at Trinity Church. There was a slew of birders milling about in the rear of the cemetery, but the bird was not there. I decided to go to the other end reasoning that if the bird was present it would have been seen. It took me but a few moments to find it, obviously if it wasn’t where it was being looked for, it was elsewhere. Duh.

I made my way towards ‘the oven’ and was looking for movement. There was lots of it, but comprised of many Juncos and White-throated Sparrows. After a short while Dave walked up and joined me, and very shortly thereafter he yelled out: “There it is!” We got on the bird several times as it flitted from branch to branch to get very short but nice looks. We yelled out to the others and they joined us; many more folks getting a view. Liz got blurry shots, and I didn’t bother bringing my camera, but the accumulated pictures have confirmed what our eyes saw: wing-flicking, short bill, long primary projection, big eye-ring. Hammond’s! 

On FB, someone opined: “ I don't see how there can be any disagreement over the ID. This is a textbook Hammond's. Long primaries, short tail rule out Dusky and Gray. It's not nearly green/yellow enough for Pacific-slope/Cordilleran. So with all the Western species ruled out, let's move on to the Eastern ones. Least can be ruled out immediately due to the long primaries. Yellow-bellied is eliminated by the clean white throat. Bold eye-ring gets rid of Willow/Alder. Cute impression, lack of white in the lores and short tail rule out Acadian.” Also here on eburd is a list with a recording  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40767831

I love it when a difficult ID becomes neat and tidy. And lest I forget, this is #419 for my New York State Life list and 331 for the NYS year list!

What an amazing fall! Common Greenshank and Corncrake lifers, and now yet another NYS bird. Yes!

Release the Crake-ing!

Tuesday I was doing needed household chores all morning. Liz ArdCuckoo called me and asked if I wanted to go with her to find the Hudwits that had been seen in number at Heckscher State Park. As I had mostly finished up, I acquiesced and she came by to pick me up.

As a condition, I had to make some necessary stops, and thereafter she decided that we needed to stop for lunch. We sat down and ordered, and the waiter brought me a beer. It was an excellent Smuttynose Seasonal, which I had all of one sip before Liz blurted out: “There is a Corn Crake at Cedar Beach!”

Normally this sort of news would make me convulse violently. Coming from Liz though, who is a notorious tormentor that delights in making up stuff like this to irritate me, I did not immediately react. She read the message from Sue & Ken Kestrel which said: “A Corn Crake (this is no joke) is currently feeding on the north shoulder of the Ocean Parkway east of the Cedar Beach marina...” Imagine: Craking a joke!. ...Ahem. Then the phone began to ring from one after another fellow birders passing along the word of this incredible discovery.

Our food had not come, and I explained that this was very much a MEGA rarity. So without missing a beat Liz ran over to the waiter and informed him of our situation. They were happy to pack the food to go, but were a bit curious as to why a bird could do this to us. My dilemma was my beer. I am no guzzler, I much prefer to enjoy a beer rather than have it pass ineffectually over my tongue. They accommodated me by placing the rest of it in a soup container! Liz ever so delightfully remarked that it looked like a urine sample.

Food secured and bill paid, we beat a hasty retreat. More calls were fielded, while Waze navigated us through unfamiliar streets to hasten our getting to the bird’s location. Of clear benefit, it told of police locations, or more importantly, ~lack~ of police locations, allowing the car to move along more rapidly than customarily permitted.

It seems that Ken spotted the bird while driving by, and almost wrote it off as a snipe or such, and went back for a better look after considering ignoring it and just continuing on. A graduate of the Evelyn Wood Speed Birding course no doubt, and we’re glad he gave it a second look!

The exact location may not have been known, but the line of cars on the median sure helped! At the front of the line scopes were trained on the bird and one after another birder was delighted by a bird that so many remarked things such as: ‘I never thought I’d see this bird here’, or ‘ I had written this bird off as a possibility’. Remarkable to me was the number of world birders present for whom this was a lifer. Holy cow!

Corn Crake

The Crake was very wary, and loud cars or close approach by birders made it retreat into the brush along side the grass it was feeding in. Sometimes it would disappear for a while but thankfully it stayed close to its adopted feeding area. Eventually I was able to move closer and get a few photos from behind the median’s trees.

With declining populations in its typical habitat, and the last sighting in New York having been in the sixties, this was more than a surprise.  As of now the bird has graced us with a second day of its presence, much to the delight of birders who are coming from all over. Hopefully the site can be successfully managed for birders, traffic, and the constabulary.

Of note, this is for me a lifer like so many others present. NYS 418. ABA 718. And to think I arrived with a prescient draft celebratory beer in hand!

Patagonia? Nah, The Orchard Beach Puddle Effect

I have often said that sightings beget sightings. Of course one can then follow the reports of where people are birding as they follow those reports.So when goodies started showing up in Pelham Bay Park, birders went a looking, and in doing so, found even more goodies.

Back on October 28th, some of those goodies drew Jeff Bittern and Peter Reed Warbler, in search of Nelson's Sparrow in Turtle Cove. Peter and Jeff found the Nelson's and a Le Conte's Sparrow too! The phone rang and alerted a bunch of us; thing is it was while I was leading a QCBC trip in Prospect Park. Grrrr!

As it turns out the weather was absolutely smashing, and the birding was the epitome of disappointing. So with several "prompts" from anxious participants, a vote was taken and rather than continuing on to Greenwood as planned, Earic Miller, Liz Ardcuckoo, Lisa Shrimpke, Chuck Wills Bielman,  Avian Resnick and I reconvened in Da Bronx. Avian Resnick and I were amused, in so far as the location was part of our territory for the Bronx CBC. Avian also inquired if this was now an established modus operandi; that is, chasing a rarity in another NYC county as the finale of Prospect Park trips. Yes. That's ~exactly~ how I planned it....

A number of other birders were on location when we arrived. The bird had shown briefly a few times since its discovery, but as expected this bird lived up to its notorious skulkatorial repute. Matthieu Ben-Wandering Albatross clued us in to where the bird had been spotted. Karlo and Alison Murre also showed up due to Peter's report, and Alison was able to locate the bird a few times and make all of us waiting for a glimpse, very happy.

Flash forward a few days and Earic Miller calls me with a report that he and Jeff Bittern had found a Black-legged Kittiwake at Orchard Beach. It seems they wanted  a better look at the Black-headed Gull and got a bonus! Agenda cast aside, I prepped and tried to assemble a posse. Avian Resnick was up for it, and together we went to Da Bronx having discarded what we were supposed to be doing.

On the way though, I learned that the bird had flown from its resting place and was in the process of trying to be relocated. We arrived and found a number of other birders looking, but it was not looking good. We decided to enjoy the Black-headed Gull loafing in the lot, which was in gorgeous plumage.

Black-headed Gull     2nd from left

We scanned the gulls and did not find what we were looking for. Undeterred, I mentioned a report the previous day of about 35 Pipets, a bird that has so far eluded me this year. But as we were going to look in some of the more likely spots, Avian called my attention to a small bird that landed on the pavement some 40 feet in front of us; white flashes in the tail catching his eye.

It was not a Pipet, and though size and general jizz would suggest a sparrow, it was not one of those either. With nice profile looks and a distinctive chestnut mark on the wings we had spotted a Lapland Longspur! I alerted nearby birders and called Matthieu who spread the word farther, and several delighted birders descended upon the hapless bird in the unlikely middle of a parking lot.

Lapland Longspur

"Effect" birds: ... Le Conte's Sparrow, Black-legged Kittiwake, Lapland Longspur...?   ...!