MA Super Bowl of Birding 2010 - Grace Under Pressure...

Picking up from my last post on the MA Super Bowl of Birding. From Nahant, we moved on to our other locations in Gloucester. It took some maneuvering to get into the right spot to get the Peregrine Falcon whose location was well scouted by Chris. Another tick and we were on the move again, this time to a location knows for Gulls. We were hoping for White-winged Gulls and I was hoping that we could find something good to make up for the missed 5 pointers. Alas, we only picked up Ring-billed, Herring and Greater-black Backed Gulls. Chris and Corey at one point thought they had an Iceland Gull in flight, but we could not find it even after relocating to a spot that should have given us all a better look. We had to keep moving so, we headed to our next location where it was the coldest of the day; nothing like what I had already faced during the Southern Nassau and Captree Christmas Bird Count back in NY, but it reminded me of those days. Adding to the cold was a haze/shimmer that made it very difficult to make out what else might be hanging out with the Purple Sandpipers on the far rocks.

From there, we headed to Niles or Nyles Pond; this was the location that Corey and I had kept a close eye on, monitoring the reports out of MA with regards to the Slaty-backed and Thayers Gull. With the cold, we all knew it was a long shot if the pond was frozen over but we headed there anyway. As luck would have it and this is a big part of this competition, we got neither. There were a few Gulls around but nothing to add to the species list. This was a blow, but again we sucked it up and remained positive. Someone started talking about "Positive Thinking" and Oprah Winfrey was referenced.

We continued along our route picking up Wild Turkey, Black Scoter and a Cooper’s hawk that Mike and I both called as we drove right by it. A backup, forward, stop and pullover a few minutes later had us all on the bird. We continued on and made a stop near the ELK club where we looked for a King Eider that was known to be in the area. No King Eider, but we found several Black Guillemots. I counted a total of 5 in that location and for some team members the Guillemot was a lifer. A few minutes later, I picked up a flock of (11) shorebirds (9) that turned out to be Sanderlings and the other 2 were Rudy Turnstones, one stayed with the flock and we all got on it for a 4 pt. bird. At that same location Mike picked up a Murre way out despite the shimmer. Sea watching requires a lot of patience and concentration and it was an impressive feat - a very good find. The other team members all got looks and after some contemplation, it was agreed that it was a Thick-billed Murre. With the Thick-billed Murre, Corey and I had now swept the East Coast Alcids - not an easy accomplishment. At this same location were a number of Harlequin Ducks, which always get the Ooohs and Aaahs, but that day there was no time for that. It was all about focusing on finding birds and so off we went. Before we walked away, Nate called our attention to a Northern Flicker that was flying right above us – where it came from we could only speculate.

And so it was onward again; our time management had paid off, we were doing well within the time frame we had allotted ourselves to the stops. We made a quick stop at Harbor Beach and patience paid off when I stayed with a bird that I had seen flying into a shrub as we got out of the van. I lingered behind, as the group moved towards the beach and Corey who had stayed behind, got on the bird with me as it finally showed. A Yellow-rumped Warbler; we got enough of us on the bird to count it as a 3 pt bird.

Our next stop was Andrew’s Point where we learned a Dovekie was spotted. Again our patience paid off as we spent an extra few minutes looking for that bird and we got it – our first 5 pointer of the day. Unfortunately, only four of us got on it enough to make it count, but for 2 of my teammates, it was a lifer missed. To be continued...

Tags: Superbowl of Birding, Birding, Alcids

Backyard News - Accipiter Afternoon Stake Out...

Yesterday, in about an hour after the Sharp-shinned Hawk had departed from its stakeout (see the post below), another accipiter showed up in almost exactly the same spot. Same tree, just setting up shop on the branch above where the Sharp-shinned had been. Interestingly, the small birds came out and foraged - something they did not do when the Sharp-shinned was around. Again, rather than ID this hawk, I will give my readers a chance to get the species type. Enjoy the photos!

Look out below here I come!

You had better be afraid!

Ha! You guys always fall for it...I was just stretching.

See, I could do this standing on one leg too.

Tags: Backyard Birding, Accipiter

Backyard News - Accipiter Morning Stake Out...

With weather updates constantly changing on how much snow was expected, I decided to ride out the morning to see what played out. Keeping an eye out in the backyard, paid off as I noted an accipiter staking out the feeding stations. The bird took off before I could get any photos, but I was not worried as I figured it was circling around for another run as part of its hunting strategy. I guessed correctly, as I noted the bird about an hour later in the exact same spot and this time I was able to get some decent photos. I started to name the Hawk, but decided I would give readers a chance to make the ID...though I know some of you probably read my comment earlier today and may already know :) Enjoy!

Looked out this morning and saw this hawk scoping out the feeding stations.

The Cherry tree is a favorite spot for an ambush.

I have refrained from any trimming that would allow me clear shots.

Last winter, I had a juvenile accipiter that came in and watched me re-fill feeders.

Super Bowl of Birding 2010 - Game Day – Luck and Time Management…

Before I continue this report, let me say that I will do my best to mention locations, but please note that this was a fast paced competition and I was more focused on finding birds rather on taking notes. Also, there will be instances where I will deliberately omit the location names only because I am already thinking of next year’s competition.

The morning of the competition came and everyone was up on time and getting their gear together. We quickly loaded up and were on our way to our first stop. We got to our first location which was Flax Pond and immediately could make out a few species on the pond, but we could not count them as it was too early to start the count. As soon as 5:00 a.m. arrived, we piled out and began our species count, Mute Swan, Mallard, Black Duck, Hooded Merganser and the coveted (4 pt.) American Coot we all nailed within minutes. One species we looked for and did not find was the Wood Duck. It was a good start!

From there we tried for Owls, with Nate and Corey leading the way. They both gave it a good effort, but it was quiet as far as Owls responding. Chris had warned us that during his scouting expeditions, he had found the Owls to be very quiet. Even so, we were disappointed that we did not get the response we wanted. Finally, at one location we got a Screech Owl to respond and that helped ease the sting a bit. From there, it was on to another location named Nahant. Along the way we stopped at several spots birding the coastline picking up Common and Red-throated Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Surf and Black Scoters and Red-breasted Merganser to name a few. In addition, we picked up Brandt, a species that was missed by last year’s team.

As we birded along the coast, we kept working the thickets for land birds, but there was little to no activity. Moving inland, we made a couple of stops, the first one was dead and I mean dead. The habitat looked right for Sparrows, but all we pulled out of that area was a Downy Woodpecker. We quickly moved on to our next stop and immediately while parking we picked up Robins and heard Carolina Wren. Working that area, we picked up a number of species including American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, White-throated Sparrow, Mourning Dove, House Sparrow, House Finch to name a few.

We continued on and while checking the updates from other teams, we learned that we had missed two 5 point birds at locations we had visited or were near to during our travels. We took the news in stride ruing the miss, but acknowledging that stuff like that was probable on competition day. Throughout all this time we as a team kept checking in with Chris on how we were doing time and species wise compared to last year. It looked good, or so we thought. To be continued...

Tags: Superbowl of Birding, Birding, Red-necked Grebe

Wordless Wednesday...

Super Bowl of Birding 2010 - On the road to MA…

When I received the invite from Christopher of Picus Blog back in October of 2009, I was surprised, but excited that I would be considered for an invite to the Superbowl of Birding event in Massachusetts. My quick response was a tentative "yes". Things began to fall into place and in a matter of months my tentative became a confirmation and I was set to bird with a power house line-up.

From L-R Corey, Rob and John.

Very quickly, the Superbowl of Birding weekend was here. On Friday, I picked up Corey of 10000birds and after getting the rental van we picked up John of A DC birding Blog, who had taken mass transit in from NJ and we were on our way. As birders do, we had scouted potential birds we could squeeze in along the way and we settled on trying for a Yellow-headed blackbird that was showing up at the Pyrun Nature Sanctuary. Getting this bird, was going to be a long shot, since it had not established a set pattern for visiting the feeders, save for two sightings in the afternoon, but we were going to try. Despite standing around for about an hour and a half we dipped on the YHBB, but had nice looks at many others. Corey was especially happy as he was able to beef up his county (Westchester) list. I also met a friend of mine there, Rob Bates, who was also trying for the YHBB, but even with the extra pair of eyes, this bird was not seen. Note, I did not hear from Rob after we left, so I am assuming that he did not get the bird either.

After Corey had his fill of Westchester county pickups...I mean after awhile. We continued on, picking up many day list species including Red-tailed Hawks and Turkey Vultures. We arrived in MA making excellent time and headed straight to where we would be staying at the Staybridge Suites in Burlington. There, we awaited the other members of our team that included, Christopher, Nate of The Drinking Bird and Mike of The Flower and the Feather . Once they arrived we checked into our room. Coincidentally, we ended up with the same room the team had last year and we all mused whether this was a good or bad omen. Once we drew straws (more like first dibs) on who was sleeping where, we headed out for some birding.

Christopher being the good host had a Northern Saw-whet-Owl lined up for us and we had good looks and photo opportunities. Owls are always cool to look at and this was no exception. For Nate and John this was a special moment as it was a lifer for both. Once the Owl viewing was over, we headed over to another location where after some patience we were rewarded with a really neat bird. One that will have to remain secret until further notice. Then, it was onto dinner and back to the hotel to plan out the strategy for the next day. Next up, "Super Bowl Day."

Tags: Superbowl of Birding, Birding, Northern Saw-whet-Owl

Dovekie in Suffolk County...

Daring the often dreaded traffic on the Southern State Parkway on Long Island NY. I made the mad dash late this afternoon for a Dovekie (The Little Auk, or Alle alle, is a small auk, the only member of the genus Alle) that was reported to be at the Suffolk County Timber Point Park West Marina.

I made it with just minutes of light remaining thanks to my friend Shai Mitra, who helped me with directions. It was amazing watching the Dovekie swimming so close in the most unusual of places. I thought several times that someone would jump out of the phragmites with a remote yelling "gotcha"...it was so unreal. To show how bird watching can be so fascinating and unpredictable, while watching the Dovekie, I heard a Carolina Wren calling. I wonder how many people have experienced that?

If the bird stays around, I would like to return with decent light for better photos, but here is one that is recognizable even with the low light.



Tags: Suffolk County Timber Point Park, Dovekie, Birding