A month ago, I went to The Biggest Week in American Birding with three of my friends. We arrived in the mid-afternoon and headed right to Magee Marsh. Unfortunately, storms were rolling in and we got in only a little bit of birding before it started to rain. That did not dampen our spirits at all – we ended up finding a good bird to chase just as the rain broke. A Henslow’s Sparrow was down the road. This was a life bird for one of my friends (the rest of us saw one last year at Magee). This time, the bird was in the perfect setting and we watched it sing.
Henslow’s Sparrow near Ottawa NWR
More rain was coming, so we decided to check into our hotel, finalize registration for the event and hang out at the evening social. We heard about one of the Maumee Bay Eastern Screech-Owls hanging out in the open, so we went out to the boardwalk to check it out before dinner.
Red-phased Eastern Screech-Owl
For the next couple of days, we birded the Magee Marsh boardwalk, Metzger Marsh, Oak Openings, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and other hotspots along the way. We ran into some bird and human friends alike. This year, photography was a bit slow, but we did see tons of birds! Sometimes, I decide to just enjoy them rather than photograph them. Here are some of the songbirds that I did lift my camera for.
We also saw a few more birds that you don’t normally get to admire out in the open.
Gray-phased Eastern Screech-Owl (#2)
Gray-phased Screech-Owl (#3 – yes, I photographed 3 different Screech-Owls!)
Common Nighthawk right on the trail
Yeah – that’s “slow” for the Biggest Week – as you can see, we did see tons of birds. We also reconnected with old friends and made plenty of new ones. The evening socials were hopping with great vendors and, as always, Optics Alley was a great place to hang out.
One of the many awesome vendors at the evening socials – the birder chicks (here with my friend Renee) were one of our favorites!
Migration is starting to pick up and the Biggest Week in American Birding will be here before you know it. One reminder I always like to make before the festival is to follow @BiggestWeek on Twitter where you will be updated with information about the festival and event reminders – but most of all you will receive LIVE sightings from the Biggest Week guides in the field. And even better, you can have the tweets sent right to your phone so that you can get notified instantly. I wrote a blog two years ago on how to set this up and have been keeping it up-to-date any time Twitter changes. Click here to find out how to have the tweets sent right to your phone.
Many of the tweets will come right from the boardwalk. You may find yourself going from one end to the other when a good bird is spotted. I know we did!
Kentucky Warbler on ground just inside west entrance! – LeicaJeff
Pipe Creek was a little out of our way, so we opted to stop at Metzgar Marsh on arrival. We were rewarded with three White-faced Ibises – a lifer for my friends and I.
White-faced Ibises at Metzgar Marsh
We ended up seeing those Whistling Ducks the next day anyway…
8 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks at Pearson Metropark North unit by the gazebo overlook. – Steve Ritt / Wildside
Last December, I realized that I had a lot of vacation days that I had to take – five of which could be transferred to the first quarter of 2015. With those five leftover days, I decided to plan a trip for March to the state that I have drooled over when it comes to photographing birds – Florida. Two of my friends and I took off from work during the third week of March. The original plans were to go to the Gulf Coast, however, that seemed to be where all the spring breakers wanted to go. Since we only planned two-to-three months in advanced everything was booked, and anything left was too expensive. We looked to our friends on Facebook for some help and they recommended locations that would be spring-breaker free.
Our first location was in the vicinity of Orlando where we birded both Lake and Osceola counties. Our friend, Gallus, who is doing a Lake County big year, offered to take us around and show us some birds. I made a wishlist of birds that I would possibly like to see and Gallus weeded out everything that was not possible, let me know which ones would be givens and which we would have to work for. I am pretty sure that we saw most of the birds that were possible – we just had to save some for next time – Gallus did an amazing job!!
We were on our own for the evening that we arrived (Saturday, March 14) and got our feet wet at Brinson Park off of Lake Tohopekaliga. It gave us our first good looks at a Tricolored and Little Blue Herons, White Ibises, Anhingas, a cooperative Limpkin, Wood Stork and others. It was a nice start to what Florida has to offer.
A very cooperative Wood Stork
My first Tricolored Heron close-up!
White Ibis, photographed later in the trip at Venetian Gardens
Limpkin, photographed later in the trip at Venetian Gardens
An Anhinga pops its head up from feeding
On Sunday, Gallus picked us up and we were off for some birding. Our first stop was Clearwater Lake Recreation Area where we were greeted by a singing Yellow-throated Vireo. I am not used to hearing this bird so early in the year! Our goal was to find the nesting Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. On our way to the Woodpecker cavities, we ran into small flocks of migrants and nesters and also saw Pine Siskins flying overhead – this was a great county bird for Gallus since they can be hit or miss. Red-headed Woodpeckers and Brown-headed Nuthatches stole the show – these are birds that us northerners are not used to seeing.
The beautiful forest of Clearwater Lake Recreation Area
This Pine Warbler was part of the mixed flock
Along the trails, we heard a life bird singing – the Bachman’s Sparrow – many of them, actually. One eventually showed himself so that we could officially add him to our life list.
Bachman’s Sparrow on a nice perch
We made it to the Woodpecker spot were we found three birds who gave us great views. We hung around that spot to watch them some more.
This pair of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers were photographed later in the trip
After a successful first stop, Gallus took us to Venetian Gardens for the Purple Gallinule. We easily found these birds and also got great looks at White Ibises and Limpkins, as seen in the photos earlier in my post.
The beautiful Purple Gallinule
Our next stop was Lake Apopka with small hopes of seeing a rare bird, even for Florida, the Groove-billed Ani – I say “small” hopes because the bird had not been reported for two weeks. It was mid day and the trail offered no relief from the sun. The Ani location was almost one and a half miles in. As we were walking, a Grackle-sized black bird with a blunt bill flushed out of the grasses – the Ani!! He gave us nice looks then moved deep into the shrubs. We waited him out a little and were rewarded with even better looks, out in the open.
Groove-billed Ani
All of that walking in the hot sun was totally worth it. We also tried to get looks at King Rails, which would have been another lifer, but they would not show themselves. Our next stop was the Green Mountain Scenic Overlook where we hoped to spot a Short-tailed Hawk. Here, a platform was built over the forest. The view is beautiful!
The view from the platform at Green Mountain Scenic Overlook
Our next target bird was the Florida Scrub-Jay, with the promise of some Florida oranges from a non-private grove. I think it’s safe to say that we had both.
Florida Scrub-Jay with tangerines
We also found our first Loggerhead Shrikes along the road. We ended our day of birding with attempts to find Burrowing Owls. Unfortunately, they did not return to the area we tried. We did, however, get both Least and American Bitterns in one pond. It was my first time hearing them calling.
Just throwing in a photo of a White and Glossy Ibis to end the days trip report
The first day was a huge success. Gallus added four more birds to his big year list bringing his total to 181, as of that day (he has since added even more). To read his trip report, see his blog 2015 Lake County Big Year.
Since we found most of our target birds on the first day, we spent the next day chasing other probable lifers – the Snail and Swallow-tailed Kites, Short-tailed Hawk and Burrowing Owls. Our first stop was Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area. Here, we had even better looks at the Red-cockaded Woodpecker and got some great photos of Eastern Meadowlarks. There were a ton of Vultures, some Osprey Eagles and other Hawks, but we did not get any of our target birds.
Eastern Meadowlark singing
Black Vulture in a tree
We tried another Burrowing Owl spot with no luck. We did see a ton of Cattle Egrets Crested Caracaras, Southeastern Kestrels, more Loggerhead Shrikes, Meadowlarks and Ibises.
Cattle Egret and cattle
Sandhill Crane
Leftovers from a Loggerhead Shrike
At this point, we were on a mission to find the Kites and checked out a few more hotspots. Gallus made the joke that we will see one from a parking lot without expecting it. We arrived at Brinson park and sure enough, a Swallow-tailed Kite flew by… while we were standing in the parking lot.
Swallow-tailed Kite
Gallus was pretty sure that he had a Snail Kite in the distance, but it was just too far. We tried our very last location at Lakefront Park – as we were driving, we spotted what looked like Harriers hovering over the marsh – NOPE! – they were Snail Kites! We parked and went over to where we saw the bird. Eventually, five different kites were in the area all at once. We watched as they hunted and even saw one transporting nesting material!
Snail Kite with nesting material
Snail Kite hunting
What a great way to end the first part of our trip! I have a ton more photos to share from the second part of our trip as we headed to the east coast. This part was more birding, the next will be more photography. I am extremely happy with the photo ops I had – I will post them soon!
Earlier this month, three of my friends and I took a trip to the New Jersey coast to look for wintering waterfowl and sandpipers. Knowing that the temperatures were going to be well below-freezing, we bundled up and prepared for a windy day. Our first stop was Barnegat Light and the jetty that I have a love/hate relationship with. I hate it because you have to be careful going from rock-to-rock and it can be slippery when wet. But at the same time I love it since it always brings us good birds. The rocks were icy, but the birding turned out to be pretty good!
My friends returning from the tip of the icy jetty
On our way down the jetty, we spotted a single Dunlin on the beach-side. It didn’t seem to want to move, though it didn’t look injured. For a moment, it seemed like it was just frozen in place.
A lone Dunlin
We found one brave songbird on the jetty. It also did not seem like it wanted to move far.
Savannah Sparrow on the rocks
Last winter, we had plenty of waterfowl close in the inlet, but both time I went to Barnegat this season it was different – there were hunters in boats close to the jetty, which kept the waterfowl distant. There was a large grouping of Eiders in the bay, but harsh light and distance made for poor photo ops. They were mostly Common Eiders, but we did spot one King. Many Common Loons and some Red-throated were also present. Scoters were even more distant with a few Black Scoters coming near the jetty. A single pair of Harlequins came in close.
The only pair of Harlequin Ducks who came in close
Harlequin Duck drake flying by
We did run into the usual flock of Dunlin and Ruddy Turnstones on the jetty. They were huddled and did not care to move as we passed by. The Purple Sandpipers were on the very tip and I did not go close enough to photograph them.
The flock of Dunlin stay warm
Ruddy Turnstones with the Dunlin
Dunlin on ice
Ruddy Turnstones using a rock to break the wind
On the way out, we walked on the sand so that we could keep our eyes on the dunes for buntings, larks and longspurs – and also to keep warm since all of us seemed to lose feeling in our fingers. We ended up seeing a ton of Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Yellow-rumped Warbler on the path
Other highlights from Barnegat included a couple of close fly-bys by a juvenile Northern Gannet, a male Northern Harrier hunting the dunes and an unexpected Bonaparte’s Gull. On our way off of the island, we checked out a few marinas for more waterfowl. We got distant looks at Bufflehead, Horned Grebes, Loons, Pintails, Black Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, Gadwall, Goldeneyes, Red-breasted Mergansers and Ruddy Ducks.
After that, we chased reports of a Cackling and Ross’s Goose on the way to our next destination. The birds were not present, but there were some other friendly waterfowl. Sometimes, you just have to take a photo op, no matter how common the bird is.
The often-ignored Mallard Duck
Mute Swans are a beautiful bird, often overlooked by birders
Oddly enough, this is my first close photo of a Black Duck
Our final stop was Island Beach State Park. We wanted to show one of my friends the foxes and also see if we could get a glimpse of a Snowy Owl. The foxes did not disappoint.
Red Fox off the road at Island Beach
We brought our scopes out onto the beach to scan the water. We estimated around 15,000 Scoters – mostly Blacks with many Surf and White-winged mixed in. As we were leaving, we decided to check out a spot that a few cars were parked at. Sure enough, they were looking at a Snowy Owl. The bird was a bit distant, but she had a nice perch. It was a great way to end the day!
It is getting increasingly more difficult for me to see new life birds in my area. Many of the eastern birds that I do not have are tougher to get. Out of 67 new birds this year, 54 were seen in Oregon and Washington. Four were seen during the Biggest Week in Ohio and a few were found in Bombay Hook in Delaware. Until recently, I only had one new bird in Pennsylvania – the Worm-eating Warbler. And then I ended the year with three new birds, seen in my state during December, with a New Jersey lifer in-between.
The bird in New Jersey was a surprise lone Ross’s Goose at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.
A lone Ross’s Goose at Forsythe in November
Two of my life birds seen in Pennsylvania are rare species for the area. A Harris’s Sparrow has been hanging out at feeders on a private residence in Williams Township. We waited a few hours for the bird to show up while getting to know the host. You could tell that she loved showing people this bird – she was very accommodating and really does deserve all of the rare birds that happen to find her property (her yard list is well over 200 birds).
Harris’s Sparrow grabbing seed from a rock
Harris’s Sparrow on a platform feeder
The other is a bird that I just wrote a post about, the pair of Barnacle Geese that showed up at a lake 20 minutes away from me. For more on these birds, see my previous post.
Barnacle Goose at Weir Lake
All of these were great birds, but the best is the most recent bird I saw. Another friend-of-a-friend has been seeing a Northern Saw-whet Owl on his property. While we were out and about last Friday, my friend sent the host a message asking if we could see the bird. It turned out that he already located the owl that day and was showing it to a couple of other people; he invited us to tag along.
Northern Saw-Whet Owl at eye level
That was a pretty easy one to get! I never realized how small these owls were until I saw this one. Four local life birds in less then two months – what a great way to end the year!
Every North American birder should try to make it to the tropics at least once in their lifetime, if finances allow it. The beautiful array of birds would be worth every penny. I took my first trip in December 2011 and stayed through New Years and the first week of January 2012. I visited four different locations: the Osa Peninsula, Monteverde Cloud Forest, Arenal Volcano and San Gerardo de Dota. Even though the trip was not based on birding, I racked up 130 life birds.
The trip was suppose to be during the beginning of the dry season, however, it rained for much of the trip. This led to mostly mediocre photos – many of which I never showed anyone else since they are not up to par with my normal work. Despite this, I wanted to share the beautiful birds that I saw, even with sub-par photos. I will also mix in some of the nicer photos – though, they were few and far between!
I’m not entirely sure where to begin, so I will jump in with some of my target birds. The bird names and locations are under each photo.
Resplendent Quetzal, San Gerardo de Dota
Blue-crowned Motmot, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Keel-billed Toucan, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Scarlet Macaw, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Note that I also wrote a post about the Quetzal early last year where you can see more photos. This was on bird that I had great photo ops with! I plan on doing the same for the Motmot.
As expected in the tropics, I saw many species of Tanagers, most of them were very colorful.
Rufous-winged Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
Bay-headed Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Golden-hooded Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Flame-colored Tanager, San Gerardo de Dota
White-throated Shrike-Tanager, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Cherries Tanager with a Variable Seedeater, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager, Trogon Lodge, San Gerardo de Dota
Blue-gray Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Palm Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
These birds are also classified as Tanagers, but do not have it in their name. They are still equally as beautiful!
Green Honeycreeper, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
Bananaquit, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Yellow-faced Grassquits, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Buff-throated Saltator, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
I also saw some species of warblers that I do not get in the northeastern US.
Rufous-capped Warbler, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Buff-rumped Warbler, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Slate-throated Redstart, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Collared Redstart, San Gerardo de Dota
Tropical Parula, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Some of the birds were cool surprises.
I nearly jumped out of the car for the White-throated Magpie-Jays, Arenal Volcano
Common Potoo hiding in the brush, Sierpe River
White-whiskered Puffbird, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Slaty Flowerpiercer, San Gerardo de Dota
Black-throated Trogon, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
One of my favorite birds had a great mating display.
Montezuma Oropendola, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
I saw a nice variety of different Flycatchers throughout my trip.
Great Kiskadee, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Tropical Kingbird in the rain, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Social Flycatcher, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Yellowish Flycatcher, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Black-capped Flycatcher, San Gerardo de Dota
Possible Mountain Elaenia (still being identified), San Gerardo de Dota
Common Tody-Flycatcher, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black Phoebe, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Some of the finches were pretty unique…
Large-footed Finch, San Gerardo de Dota
Thick-billed Seed Finch, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Especially, the colorful ones in the Euphonia family.
Yellow-throated Euphonia, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Tawny-capped Euphonia, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Elegant Euphonias are hidden in this photo, Monteverde Cloud Forest
I did see some nice woodpeckers, including a couple I did not get to photograph like the Pale-billed and Lineated Woodpeckers.
Acorn Woodpecker, San Gerardo de Dota
Red-crowned Woodpecker, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
I also saw some birds from the Thrush family.
Clay-colored Thrush, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Sooty Robin, San Gerardo de Dota
Black-billed Nightengale-Thrush, San Gerardo de Dota
Black-headed Nightengale-Thrush, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Of course, I did see some parakeets too!
Orange-fronted Parakeets, between San Juan and Monteverde
Orange-chinned Parakeet, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
I did not see many raptors, but I was able to photograph some. Unfortunately, my Owl photos are not even good enough to show on this post and my lifer Crested Caracara is too terrible.
Common Black-Hawk, Cano Island
Yellow-headed Caracara, Sierpe River
Here are a few birds that I found by the water:
Magnificent Frigatebird, off of the Osa Peninsula
Sandwich Tern, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron perched over a waterfall, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Like their North American relatives, some birds were very vocal.
Great-tailed Grackle, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Brown Jay, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Some of the larger birds just chilled and let me get a nice look.
Crested Guan, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black Guan, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Gray-headed Chachalaque, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
But many of the smaller ones were hard to catch!
Band-backed Wren, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black-cowled Oriole, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black-hooded Antshrike, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Ruddy Ground-Dove, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
As you can see, this post is lacking Hummingbird photos. I will put up a post specifically about them at another time since I saw so many! For now, and to close this post, I will leave you with a photo of my target hummingbird…
Last month, I shared some photos from a private bird banding that I watched. A couple of weeks later, I went to another one on both a Sunday and Saturday morning. It’s always nice to see birds up close! More cool birds were seen, but once again, the species who was caught the most were Gray Catbirds.
Gray Catbird not having a good time
Catbirds are always fussy, but other birds just want to bite down on something.
This Northern Cardinal needed something to grab on.
We caught a couple of Lincoln’s Sparrows – it was nice to see this bird up close!
One of the target birds, a Lincoln’s Sparrow
Many of the birds were not in breeding plumage, but they are still beautiful!
Male Scarlet Tanager in non-breeding plumage.
A young male American Redstart
Indigo Bunting in non-breeding plumage
Magnolia Warbler in hand
Yellow Warbler brightened up the morning
We caught males and females of a couple of birds for comparison.
Male Eastern Towhee
Female Eastern Towhee
Male Common Yellowthroat
Female Common Yellowthroat
And accidentally caught a Hummingbird in the net. This one was not banded, so she was let go right away.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird before release
We also had a Praying Mantis hanging out with us on Saturday.
This Praying Mantis hung out with us
Sorry for not being so wordy in my post, I’d rather focus on the photo then the text!
One thing I really like about the Biggest Week in American Birding are the surprises and unique opportunities: The birds that you don’t expect, the friends who you make, people you run into and, this year for me, spending a day birding through a set of binoculars that is on a big year. Many people heard of big years for people, but what exactly does it mean for a pair of binoculars? In 2013, Leica came up with a great idea to send a pair of their Trinovids on a big year to travel all over the US to see as many birds as possible, with different birders. These binoculars even had a name – Travis – and he saw 613 species of birds. I first heard about the Traveling Trinovids during last year’s festival. I really wanted to spend a trip with Travis, but it never worked out. Now that Travis’s big year is over, Leica and BirdWatching Magazine are conducting an essay contest for young birders and their mentors – Travis is the prize for the winning young birder. How cool is that?
This year, Leica is doing it again and now Travis’s little sister, Athena the Wandering 7×42 Ultravid HDs, is on her big year. Jeff, my friend from Leica, sent me a message before this year’s Biggest Week saying that he hopes I can spend a day with Athena – of course I took him up on the offer! My friends and I had plans to go to Oak Openings the day after we arrived in Ohio – I figured that this would be a good trip for her since there are different birds to see. You can visit Oak Openings through some of the guided fields trips offered by the Biggest Week – I highly recommend it for the variety of birds that you may not see at Magee including the Summer Tanager, Lark Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Chat, Blue Grosbeak and more. Jeff went out of his way to get Athena to me during dinner on the day that we arrived (and I apologize, again, that we did not stay longer – we needed sleep).
That morning, we woke up bright [dark] and early so that we could get to Oak Openings shortly after sunrise. It was so early, that the coffee stand at the lodge was not even opened yet! I was desperate and brewed some hotel coffee instead.
The day started a bit slow and I was beginning to get discouraged that I would not be able to put my guest-binoculars to the test. We did not run into any large Warbler waves and morning light was poor.
Foggy morning at Oak Openings
Things started to pick up at around 8AM – when my friend, Chris, spotted a singing Dickcissel on the tree tops. A Dickcissel? LIFE BIRD!! Even against the overcast sky, I could see every color on this beautiful male bird – something that I never really got with my other pair of binoculars.
My lifer Dickcissel
We continued our long walk and found some of the birds that Oak Openings is famous for – Summer Tanagers, Lark and Grasshopper Sparrows, Yellow-breasted Chats, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Orchard Orioles, fifteen species of Warblers and a surprise White-eyed Vireo.
My closest looks at a Lark Sparrow
After miles of walking, we checked out one more spot and were greeted by two Yellow-breasted Chats. The male who showed off for us was so bright and beautiful with a throat that was glowing orange.
A very bright Yellow-breasted Chat
After the slow start, we ended the trip with 86 species of mostly forest and field birds. Along with my own lifer, I’m pretty sure I got Athena some as well! We ate lunch in the parking lot and said goodbye to our friend who had to leave us. The rest of us ended up chasing a tweet from a location that was on our way back to our lodge.
8 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks at Pearson Metropark North unit by the gazebo overlook. – Steve Ritt / Wildside
We missed these birds the previous day and could not pass them up again. They were in a great spot along the marsh and everyone got excellent views. I decided to give digi-binning a try and took a photo of the ducks using my iPhone through Athena’s eyes.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks digi-binned through Athena
After enjoying these extremely rare birds, we headed back to Maumee Bay to finalize our registrations for the event. A friend informed us that there were cliff swallows who have nests at one of the bridges on our way out, so we went out to look for them with success.
Cliff Swallows grabbing mud for their nests
We decided to go to Metzger Marsh afterwards with two goals in mind: Get Athena some life birds (she needed a Mute Swan and Common Tern) and locate the Least Bitterns that have been reported there, which would be a life bird for my two friends.
We parked near one of the openings and scoped the marsh. I tried very hard to turn Forster’s Terns into Common with no luck. Eventually, a mute swan flew by and rested in the open water – life bird for Athena! I decided to give digi-binning another try.
Mute Swan digi-binned through Athena
Not bad for a more distant bird, hand held. We enjoyed some Common Gallinules who foraged nearby and kept our eyes out for the bitterns. I could see some flying on the other side of the marsh, but they were too distant to get anyone else on them. Finally, birders saw one fly in nearby and waited for it to come out. The bird flew into the reeds where some of us got great looks at it, then it took off. This was my best look at a Least Bittern! I did not get photos of this guy, but his beauty was hard to forget.
Common Gallinule digi-binned through Athena
In total, we had 108 species on a day that was plagued with random poor weather and rain. It was time to give Athena back, but not before posing with her in front of one of Magee Marsh’s new entrances.
Me and Athena under one of the new boardwalk entrances
We ended the evening at a group dinner with our friends at Wildside Nature Tours – another life-long friendship made through the Biggest Week.
The next day, as I looked through my own binoculars, I realized that I was really missing out. My friends and I stopped by Optics Alley outside of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory so that we could say hello to our friends. Optics Alley is the place that you should go if you are looking into getting new optics. All of the top brands of scopes and binoculars are there just waiting to be tested.
The scope line-up at Optics Alley, photo from last year
I decided to take a look through some of the other Leica binoculars. While I liked the 7×42, deep down inside, I always wanted a 10x pair. I looked at birds behind BSBO with the array of Ultravids and ultimately decided that yes, I want the 10×42. Thanks to a full day of testing out high quality optics and being able to also test them side-by-side, I am now the proud owner of a pair of 10×42 Ultravid HD binoculars!
My brand new 10×42 Ultravid HDs
The Biggest Week is not just about the birds. It is also about the people, optics, socials, raffles and more! Each year seems to bring something different… something more. The surprises never cease to amaze me!
Last Sunday, two of my friends and I drove west to Ohio for the Biggest Week in American Birding. This was my third year going to the festival and it just keeps getting better! We tortured ourselves during the drive by following the tweets coming in from guides about the great birds they were seeing. In the prior years, we went to Magee Marsh on arrival, but a certain tweet changed our minds.
Least Bittern and White-faced Ibis currently being seen at Metzger Marsh. – Rob Ripma
We ended up heading to Metzger Marsh instead and were instantly greeted by three White-faced Ibises foraging out in the open. This was a life bird for all three of us and the scope views were amazing. What a way to begin our tip!
White-faced Ibis life birds to start our festivities!
After exploring Metzger for a bit, we headed to Magee so that we could stretch our legs some more on the boardwalk. I don’t think we got past the loop at 7a because the birds were too good to pass up. My friend, Jon, was racking up life birds like crazy – not only that, but they were great views. I had a Prothonotary Warbler within an arm’s reach; he was so close that I had trouble focusing on him at times. He even landed on the bench that I was sitting on with no mind to me or the other birders going crazy around him.
This Prothonotary Warbler was too busy eating to care about his paparazzi
It was hard to leave, but we had to pick up a few groceries, check into our hotel and eventually eat dinner (at 10PM…). I also really wanted to get my hands on Athena, Leica’s Wandering Ultravids, so that I could be one of many people honored to see birds through a pair of binoculars who is on a big year.
I will get more into what Athena is, my experience with “her” and that day’s trip in a future post. One highlight from that day that I will mention now is the extremely rare bird that we chased after lunch.
Five of eight Black-bellied Whistling Ducks who were way out of range.
These eight Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (plus two more) showed up the same day we did, but we chose to see the Ibises on our way in instead. Thankfully, they hung around and were re-found the next day in an excellent spot. You did not need a scope to appreciate the beauty of these birds! I saw one of these in Costa Rica a few years ago, but this was a much better look and my US-lifer.
The next day, we started at the Magee Marsh boardwalk and the good birds just kept on coming with more excellent views of them. Every time we tried to go somewhere else, something good kept us from leaving. We walked the boardwalk from the west end to the east end and back again.
Bay-breasted Warblers were everywhere in all plumages!
Chestnut-sided Warbler posing beautifully
I always get good views of the Cape May Warblers at Magee
I got some of my best looks at some birds that I’ve only seen briefly, very high in trees or hidden behind brush and vines.
A very cooperative Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
This Mourning Warbler was constantly foraging near the west entrance
My best looks at a Yellow-billed Cuckoo
On our way to chase another bird, we passed by a group of people who were looking at what turned out to be a life bird for me – an Olive-sided Flycatcher. What a treat!
Other birders were looking at this Olive-sided Flycatcher that we happened to walk by
Just as we were about to leave the boardwalk to chase a Black-necked Stilt, a tweet came in that turned us right around.
Henslow's Sparrow is back out and walking around on the south side of the boardwalk # 19B – Raymond/BRANTTours
A Henslow’s Sparrow in the middle of the woods? Another life bird for the three of us? We’ll take it!
A Henslow’s Sparrow way out of place in the woods
We finally left the boardwalk after 2PM and looked for the Black-necked Stilt that was reported on the Magee causeway. Other birders said that it flew off, so that is one bird that we did not have luck with. You can’t get them all, but you can certainly try to.
After visiting friends on our way out and being convinced to get some ice cream, we ended up driving through the Ottawa NWR Auto Tour – birds and ice cream? Score!! The water was high, so there was not much to see aside from some waterfowl and this very cooperative Dunlin who was right off the road.
This Dunlin in breeding plumage made the tour worth it!
The following morning, we were invited to join our friends from Leica on the east beach to see if the night’s storms blew in a Kirtland’s Warbler. We did not get the bird, however, the experience was something to be remembered. We birded with the authors of The Warbler Guide and were also joined by actress, and birder, Lili Taylor (click her name for a great article by her in the New York Times). It’s a different experience getting ID tips from guys who really know the field marks on these birds. Thanks to them, I have mastered the Blackpoll Warbler’s song – one that I get mixed up with other high pitched Warbler calls.
We went back to the boardwalk where we photographed birds from the famous boardwalk tower and wandered around in search of other cooperative subjects. Rain started to threaten the skies so we decided to hop into the car and chase another tweet to get my friends a new life bird.
Red-necked Phalarope spinning at Pearson Park Wetland complex. Look from picnic table between cabins-Lpeyton
We arrived at Pearson Metropark and parked the car to eat our lunch. We strategically parked next to the marsh where we saw a Sora two days prior. The bird was seen within seconds, but it scooted back into the reeds. We kept an eye out as we ate our sandwiches and the bird came back out for a great showing. The three of us were able to take amazing photos of this elusive bird!
A Sora out in the open
The rain let up and we got out to look for the reported Phalarope. The bird was almost at the feet of the people who were already looking at it. I got down low on the wet rocks and waited for the bird to come near me.
Red-necked Phalarope foraging very close to the path
This. Bird. Was. Close.
See the Red-necked Phalarope in the frame with me?
That evening, like every other night, we joined up with the event’s socials to meet new people and see everyone who we’ve stayed in touch with over the years. This year, I really wanted to take a photo with Kim and Kenn Kaufman because I always forget to get photos with people. As busy as they were, they stepped aside and posed with me.
Honored to take a photo with Kim and Kenn Kaufman
I also took a photo with another birding celebrity (though, he is so modest about it) – Greg Miller, you know, the guy who Jack Black plays on The Big Year (in the movie, his name is Brad). I have to say, Jack’s fun personality fits Greg perfectly.
Me with Gregg Miller
On our last day, we woke up to heavy rain and decided to go to the boardwalk anyway. We were not surprised to see a decent amount of people wearing raincoats, umbrellas and waterproof optics enjoying the birds.
A little (ok.. a lot of) rain does not stop the birders!
All-in-all, it was another great trip. We got together with friends who we only see once a year, made some new ones along the way and saw some awesome birds. I’m already looking forward to next year!
The breeders and migrants have been slowly trickling in to the Northeast. Migration seems to be somewhat late this year and, this week, is being pushed back some more with all of this bad weather. My county, Monroe, seems to be a bit under-birded and I am trying to correct that.
I found a nice spot that is not far from my house that I can monitor for migrants off of Brodhead Creek in Stroudsburg – there are a few parks with trails surrounding it. Something tells me that it is not visited much by birders, however, I was pleased to find swallow and bluebird houses spread throughout.
Tree Swallow peaking out of a house
The habitat is very nice and I can see it being a popular stop for birds, especially in the fall with all of the brush under the trees. The creek is fairly large and stocked with trout so it attracts some nice birds of prey.
Adult and juvenile Bald Eagles off of Brodhead Creek
Osprey taking off
It already has some birds in territory – Tree Swallows, Eastern Bluebirds, House Wrens, Flickers, Gnatcatchers, Brown Thrashers, Eastern Towhees, Phoebes, Chipping Sparrows, Robins and our resident birds.
One of the local House Wrens singing away
The Tree Swallows have claimed their nesting sites
I came across nice waves of Warblers that consisted mostly of Yellow-rumps – others mixed in included Palms, Pine, Black-and-white and Yellow Warblers along with Kinglets and Blue-headed Vireos.
One of many, MANY Yellow-rumped Warblers
Palm Warbler sitting pretty
Pine Warblers move slowly, but stay at the tree tops
Song and White-throated Sparrows are scattered throughout.
White-throated Sparrow posing nicely
And, unlucky for other breeders, Cowbirds are also in high numbers.
A male Brown-headed Cowbird
I visited two ponds to see what they could bring. One is Zachary’s Pond, which did not have much and was too open for birds aside from Mallards and Geese to enjoy. The other, across the woods and road, is Gregory’s Pond – this one has a much nicer habitat for water birds with plenty of cattails to hide in. This pond attracted the usual crowd – Red-winged Blackbirds, Swallows, Phoebes, Herons and possibly more. I think this one has a better chance for having bitterns, rails and marsh birds show up.
An Eastern Bluebird at Zachary’s Pond.
An Eastern Phoebe at Gregory’s Pond
Another treasure of a spot that I visited a couple of times is a more well known spot near the Delaware Water Gap NRA Headquarters – McDade Trail and Freeman Tract Road. The birds are a little more difficult to see here since the trees are so tall, but it is a great spot to bird-by-ear and, with patience, see some of them. So far, I’ve counted over 20 singing Northern Parulas. Pretty soon, other birds will join them in high numbers.
The only chance I had at getting a Northern Parula and I screwed it up!
Gnatcatchers seem to be the bird of the year for me. I don’t know if this is normal for the area or if this is an unusually high year. I see and hear them everywhere.
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers don’t stop moving!
I’ve also visited the public trails for the Tannersville Cranberry Bog. I think these will be alive with birds once migration really kicks in. I already heard two good birds there – a Barred Owl and the beautiful song of the Hermit Thrush (who I’ve only seen in other locations). I am signed up for public birding walks starting next week, so I’ll really be able to see what this gem brings.
Before the snow melted in the early spring, I also visited Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge. I’m not entirely sure of the best places to go here yet, but I hope to learn them soon. There are trails that are near a highway, which worries me that I will not be able to hear anything.
Wood Ducks with Hooded Mergansers in the background at Witmer’s Lake
I’m not sure what else to expect, but I see tons of good birds in my future within the next couple of weeks as I continue to explore my county. Keep em coming!
