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!
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!
Today, two friends and I drove around the east shore of Cayuga lake in search of waterfowl – in particular an Eared Grebe and Tufted Duck. We had an exact location for the Grebe thanks to a local birder but we knew the Tufted Duck would be a challenge since it is mixed somewhere within the rafts of Aythya species around the lake.
We started at Allan H. Treman State Marine Park where the Grebe has been seen and were greated by a large raft of Redheads and other Aythya species. They were flushed up by the geese, but ended up landing right back where they came from, minus the skittish geese. We could not locate a Tufted Duck in this fairly close flock. (eBird Checklist)
Raft of Redheads and other Aythya sp.
Aythya flock
As soon as we set up our scopes, maybe ten yards in from the shore, we were surprised with beautiful looks at the very active Eared Grebe.
Eared Grebe
… who tried really hard to fit in with the Ruddy Ducks.
Eared Grebe with Ruddy Ducks
After spending over an hour with icicles for hands and feet, we headed farther north and saw more of the same types of rafts along with the usual Gulls. Our next real gem of a spot was on the northern end of the lake in Mud Lock. We had better looks at some of the duck species that we saw all along the lake. (eBird Checklist)
Gadwall
Ring-necked Duck
A nice surprise at this spot was having all three species of Swans – and being able to compare Trumpeter vs Tundra in one scope view.
Mute Swan
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swans
We started off with a bang (and a life bird for me) but never did locate the Tufted Duck. Maybe next time…
