Black-Necked Stilt in Maine, June 2013

Black-Necked Stilt is quite a rarity for New England even though this species is prone to vagrancy.  So a mid-June sighting at Plum Island in MA was very notable – though I didn’t need Stilt for my MA list.  As most vagrant Stilts will do, this bird stayed at Plum Island for a number of days before moving on.  Then a couple days later came a post of a Stilt seen in Scarborough Marsh in Maine, undoubtedly the same bird.  Now that’s one I need for my state list.  I couldn’t break away to try for it for a few days, so I hoped it would stay at Scarborough Marsh for a while as well.  It was seen there for 3 days, and I planned to try for it on day #4.  But before I started my trip north that day I received early morning negative reports from Scarborough, and then amazingly it was reported that morning from nearby Stratton Island off-shore.  The island is not readily accessible, so it sounded like I had missed yet another possible New England statebird this year.  But then came the next chapter of this bird’s trek through New England – 2 days later it was refound in Scarborough Marsh in its original location.  So I was off to Scarborough!

I arrived at the Eastern Road parking area in early afternoon and started my walk along the trail.  The bird had been reported from various pans to the south of the trail, though it was not always visible.  The tide was very high, meaning it would be more difficult for it to hide in tidal channels, so I was pretty optimistic.  But the marsh is very large and there are many places that even a large showy shorebird like a Stilt could hide.  As I closed in on the right location I met a birder walking back from the spot – the bird was seen an hour earlier though she did not see it.  Hmm - I wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad news.  There were no other birders there when I arrived, so I started to scan through the pans.  No Stilt to be seen – just a couple Willets, and various waders (several distant dark Ibis, Great and Snowy Egrets, and an adult Little Blue).  [I called them “dark” Ibis because a White-faced was seen in the area earlier.]  I started to think about how long I could wait for the bird to hopefully appear – I gave myself 2 hours.

Then just 5 minutes later while scanning the marsh with my binoculars I spotted the Stilt flying low across the marsh.  I first saw it maybe ½ mile away, and continued to watch it as it flew closer and closer, eventually landing in a pan just about 100 yards away.  I got these marginal phone-scoped pictures of the bird as it fed and then slept in this nearby pan. 

Only 25 minutes later the Stilt took off and I watched it fly about a 100 yards, and drop into the marsh out of sight.  Boy was I lucky!

During this time I heard numerous Nelson’s Sparrows singing their buzzy songs, and a handful of Saltmarsh Sparrows giving their barely audible songs.  This marsh is an excellent location to study both of these sparrows, and even see hybrids.  I also likely heard a singing Seaside Sparrow that day, but it only sang twice, and since I was focusing on the Stilt at the time, I couldn’t be sure. 

The Black-Necked Stilt was number 326 for me in Maine.  I’ve now seen it throughout most of its expanding breeding range and also as a vagrant in ME, MA, MD, and WI.  Wonder if this bird will next show up in the NH marshes somewhere…

Clay-Colored Sparrow in Vermont, June 2013

Early in June there were several posts about a pair of singing Clay-colored Sparrows in Charlotte, Vermont in the northwestern part of the state.  I’ve tried for Clay-coloreds two other times in northwestern VT over the years with no luck.  And just like when I chase so many of my other Vermont targets, each of these trips requires a long 3 ½ hour one-way ride to this remote “corner” of New England.  So it took a report of a Western Kingbird in western VT to give me the incentive to make the long ride.  My birding buddy Denny Abbott needed the Kingbird for his VT list as well, so we organized a VT trip together on what we hoped would be the third day of the kingbird’s stay.

We arrived mid-morning at the kingbird spot only to find that no one had seen the bird that morning despite lots of searching.  Numerous Eastern Kingbirds were in the area, along with singing Bobolinks and Savannah Sparrows in the meadows, but no Western Kingbird.  Looks like we were 1 day too late.

Our next stop was the Clay-Colored Sparrow spot.  The location had some excellent early succession habitat with shrubs and small trees, and some open grassy areas.  Soon after we arrived I heard a Clay-Colored singing in the distance.  We walked down the road a bit to get closer to this bird, and although it continued to sing a short distance away, we never got any looks at it.  And then a second bird started to sing close to our original location.  We walked back to that spot and got some very nice views of this second bird as it perched in a nearby shrub.  As they say - the third time was the charm!

On a whim, we next went to a nearby location where Sedge Wrens nested in 2012 – there were no sightings this year but still worth a try since we were in the area.  We struck out on the wrens, but interestingly had Swamp Sparrows instantly come into taped Sedge Wren calls in two different locations.

This was my 255^th bird for VT.  And I now have Clay-Colored Sparrow in each New England state – my 218^th species in each of these six states.  Like these VT birds, the bird I saw in Maine was also nesting, though that bird was paired with a Field Sparrow.  The Clay-Coloreds in the other states were wintering rarities.  In my statebird map below, I’ve also seen this species in MD and CA as a vagrant, along with a number of central states in its normal migration and breeding ranges.

Midwest Statebirding Trip, May 2013, Part 4 of 4 - Indiana

This is the fourth part of my blog for my Midwest statebirding trip – Indiana and one last stop in Michigan.  The first three parts summarized the Ohio, Ontario, and Michigan parts of my trip.

Day 5 – Bloomington Woodlands

It was now early afternoon and time to make the long trek to southern IN to start working on that statelist.  Most of my IN targets were birds typical of southern IN, with very few likely in the northern part of the state.  So If I was going to get a significant number of new birds for my IN list, I needed to head far south.  I had spent quite a bit of time coordinating with Lee Sterrenburg who is an expert on the birds of this part of the state, and especially Goose Pond FWA.  Lee agreed to join me for my evening birding on Day 5 and at Goose Pond on Day 6.

The evening of Day 5 was spent just southeast of Bloomington in some excellent hardwood forests, with deep wooded ravines and riparian areas lined with majestic sycamores.  There was very little song despite the nice habitat, so we felt lucky to hear a singing Yellow-throated Warbler after some effort (new IN statebird #1).  IN was one of my last gaps in my coverage of this species.

And soon thereafter we heard a singing Worm-eating Warbler in a very steep ravine (#2).  En route to the next stop I noticed some vultures perched on a cell tower.  We finally got turned around and stepped out of the car just as one Black Vulture left the tower (#3).  Ten seconds later and we would have missed it.  My Black Vulture map is pretty closely matches this species’ range (but I still need it as a rarity in NH and ME!). 

It was now sunset and we arrived at Lee’s favorite spot for Woodcocks.  And with a bit of tape, 1 responded on cue (#4) – a great start to the IN leg of the trip. 

Day 6 – Goose Pond FWA, and Beehunter Marsh, IN

Weather – Overcast, Afternoon Showers, Highs in the 70s with temps dropping in the afternoon

Lee and I arrived at Goose Pond soon after dawn, and started a day-long effort methodically birding nearly every one of the impoundments at Goose Pond and Beehunter Marsh.  These areas are well-known for having both bitterns, small numbers of all the rare southeastern waders, and are good for shorebirds in season (a Redshank was at Goose Pond this spring).  Some of the first birds we saw were the first of many nesting Black-necked Stilts (#5) – by far the easiest of my new IN statebirds for the day.  Two early morning walks into wet vegetation and cattails yielded the first of 2 Least Bitterns (#6), and one late Sora (#7).  I’m now only missing Sora in 5 mainland states.

That meant I met my objective of finding 7 new birds in IN, but I had a lot more birding time ahead of me.  On that second walk we found a flock of Black-crowned Night Herons, a couple of which were carrying sticks as if in courtship.  And speaking of waders, we found a number of Great Egrets in several impoundments throughout the day, though could not find any of the other white waders or other rare waders despite lots of effort.  At another impoundment we ran into a few late shorebirds – Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Semi Plover, and of course Killdeer.  And in several locations we heard or saw American Bitterns.

Midday we took a side trip to the nearby small town of Newberry to look for the resident small colony of Eurasian Collared Doves.  However a 10-minute ride through town where we drove virtually every road in town did not reveal any ECDs.  Lee had received a report of ECDs on the south side of town, but directions were a bit cryptic.  We got to the likely spot, but didn’t initially find the birds.  But a couple minutes later we heard an ECD calling from a corral and we were able to see 3 Doves there (#8) – in a much more natural setting than on town streets.  IN is now my 36th state for Collared Dove.

It had now turned rainy and chilly, so after lunch we took a side trip for Osprey based on a local tip.  And we quickly found one Osprey sitting on the nest (#9) – just like in MI.  On the way back we found a rare Olive-Sided Flycatcher – not new for me but a really good bird for the area.  As we returned to Goose Pond we made a second stop at a favorite field for Turkeys, and sure enough we found three at the edge of the field (#10) – likely they had only come out into the open because of the cool rainy weather.  We made several other stops at Goose Pond finding more of the same, though one field with several calling Henslow’s Sparrows was nice.  As dusk approached it was getting windier and rainier, and as a result we dipped on Chuck-will’s-widow despite being at a known location for them.

In a full day of birding we had a respectable 77 species, despite very limited landbirding, and got 6 new IN statebirds. 

Day 7 – Southern IN

Weather – Highs in the 60s, intermittent rain (though a forecast of partly cloudy skies)

This was my day to pursue a small number of IN statebirds that have very limited distribution in southern IN – Fish Crow, Loggerhead Shrike, and Least Tern.  I started at dawn at a spot in Vanderburgh County where Fish Crow had been reported frequently, and was likely nesting.  When I arrived there were no crows present or calling.  But just a couple minutes later I saw what looked to be a small but silent crow in the road.  It stayed there for a couple minutes, and then flew off, never saying a thing.  Could that have been a Fish Crow?  A little later I had 2 other crows but both were giving Common Crow calls.  After an hour and not feeling very satisfied about the possible Fish Crow sighting, I headed out to another recommended spot, but again just found Common Crows.  This spot was a wooded swamp and lake with presumably great Fish Crow habitat, and had some classic southern woodland birds like Kentucky and Prothonotary Warbler, and my only White-eyed Vireos of the trip.  Plus it yielded a late migrant Wilson’s Warbler .  I hit yet another recommended wooded swamp, but again with no luck.  A flock of 8 Mute Swans was a bit of a surprise here in this southern IN location.

It was time to move on with just a questionable possible Fish Crow sighting, and headed to a location where a single Loggerhead Shrike had been reported albeit infrequently.  I spent a fair amount of time there without finding the shrike.  But at one point I found 3 small crows in a fallow farm field – Fish Crows maybe?  This was a dry farming area, so they had to be Commons, right?  But a few minutes later two calling Fish Crows flew overhead – not the habitat I was expecting them in, but I’ll take it (#11 in IN).  Many of states where I’ve now seen Fish Crow have been at the edge of a state near the limit of this species’ range, like OK, KS, IL, and now IN.

Next it was off to try for Least Terns at Cane Ridge WMA.  En route, I had a long look at a cuckoo fly over the road – no rufous in the wings and mostly dark tail as it flew almost directly overhead.  A Black-billed Cuckoo (#12).

After a bit of a drive I arrived at the area where Least Terns are nesting – as many as 60 had been reported that morning.  The problem is most are nesting on a dike in a power plant lake that is inaccessible and not visible from the outside.  Instead, in order to see the terns you have to go to the adjacent Cane Ridge WMA which is a man-made pond with 2 islands specifically managed for breeding terns.  The problem is they really prefer in the inaccessible dike, so you have to get lucky to find them at Cane Ridge.  When I arrived it was between rain showers, so I went to the observation platform with my scope to see if I could be lucky.  The only birds on the islands were Killdeer and Canada Geese, but I noticed some diving ducks on the lake – 2 Lesser Scaup and 3 Ruddy Ducks (#13) – certainly not on my target list of possible new statebirds.  A bit later I thought I heard a Least Tern but never saw it.  Then about 5 minutes later I heard one again.  This time I saw 2 birds fly into the area, circle overhead a couple times, and land on the island next to each other (#14).  They were both moving some stones around as if to make a scrape for their nest, but 2 minutes later they flew off back into the lake.  A short sighting but very successful with just a 15 minute wait.  I’ve now seen Least Tern in a number of inland states, as well as throughout its coastal ranges.

I was starting the next day on the Lake Michigan lakefront so spent much of the rest of the day driving north.  One brief stop in the rain was at Willow Slough in Newton County to try for Sandhill Cranes.  Although I didn’t have any cranes, I did find a pair of Eurasian Collared Doves – that is quite far north for them in IN.  That was a nice end to the day, featuring 4 new statebirds even though I started the day with just 3 possible targets.

Day 8 – Northern Tier of IN and One Last MI Stop

Weather – Highs in the 50s, constant rain (though forecast was for just showers)

I had an evening flight out of Detroit that day, so the plan was to start at Lake Michigan migrant traps, then make my way east through the northern tier of IN counties and southern MI to get back to the Detroit airport.  I arrived pre-dawn at the Hammond Sanctuary in a light rain.  After paying my $10 entrance fee (wow!), I entered the small park and began my slow walk through the woods.  I’ve birded here a couple times before, and have had some pretty good birds at this migrant trap.  But this time I only spent maybe 90 minutes there, with constant drizzle or light rain, and strong easterly winds.  I only had 6 species of warblers, though I did get a singing Blackburnian (#15).  I now have pretty good coverage of Blackburnian throughout the east – though still missing it in a couple states.

And the lake wasn’t much better - there were a quite a number of gulls moving east on the lake, and a few Caspian Terns, but little else.  I then headed to nearby Forsythe Park and Wolfe Lake, not for migrants, but instead to look for a continuing Snowy Egret that was seen as recently as the day before.  But no luck with the Egret, and more cold rain making it quite challenging.

In hopes of driving out of the rain, instead of making more lakefront stops I headed east to Pigeon River FWA to try for Cranes that are nesting there.  Unfortunately the rain was moving East with me, so it was still raining when I arrived.  Before I got to the marsh where they were nesting I lucked on a pair walking in a fallow farm field (#16).  I was able to get this photo holding my iPhone up to my binocs. 

I was way away of schedule, and I was tempted to try to get an earlier flight out, but instead decided to make one last stop in MI where there had been recent reports of Henslow’s Sparrows on e-bird.  The area turned out to correctly located on the e-bird map (unlike a couple other birds I had tried to find on this trip), and was a very nice old pasture with a couple small shrubs.  After a few minutes 2 different males were calling - #8 in MI.  Although I couldn’t find any Grasshopper Sparrows in what seemed to be good fields nearby, it still was a great way to end the trip. 

The Trip by the Numbers

All in all it was a pretty successful trip, despite the limited migrants at Magee and Pelee, and challenging heat at the beginning of the trip and rain at the end.  Here are some key numbers for the trip –

·         70 new state and province birds –

o   12 in OH – now with 226 and 15 over the recent ABA threshold

o   8 in MI – state list is now 240 and 24 over threshold

o   16 in IN – now with 232 and 24 over threshold

o   34 in ON – province list now 181 – still a long way from the 240 threshold

·         194 total species for the trip featuring –

o   33 warblers

o   7 vireos

o   10 flycatchers including all the eastern Empids

o   12 sparrows

o   15 shorebirds species

Midwest Statebirding Trip, May 2013, Part 3 of 4 - Michigan and the Kirtland's Warbler

This is the third part of my blog for my Midwest statebirding trip – Michigan and the Kirtland’s Warbler.  The first two parts were for the Ohio and Ontario parts of the trip; the fourth part is for the Indiana leg.

   

Day 4 – Evening Stops Near Grayling

The rain stayed with me almost the entire way from Ontario to Grayling, eventually stopping just 30 minutes before getting to the area.  My plan was to make a couple evening stops in the area for some MI statebirds, and target the Kirtland’s Warblers for the next day.  My first planned stop was at the western end of Houghton Lake at a spot where Ospreys were nesting.  As I got onto the exit ramp from the highway I noticed an interesting soaring raptor overhead.  I was able to safely get to the shoulder and with binocs realized it was a Goshawk – a good bird and lucky spotting.  MI statebird #1.  A couple minutes later I arrived at the marsh and it was 43 degrees and the wind was howling out of the northwest – quite a change from the 80 degrees and humid conditions when I left Pelee.  Luckily I quickly found an Osprey on a nearby platform (#2) so I jumped back in the car to warm up.  After a brief stop to buy a pair of gloves to keep my hands warm, I headed to a nearby spot where Golden-wings had been reported on e-bird.  No luck with the Golden-wings (though habitat seemed good), but I did have the first of many singing Veerys (#3).  With so many Veerys around it made me wonder why I needed this species for my state list.  My Veery statebird map now pretty well matches the breeding range for this bird, though I still need it in a few states where it is a regular migrant.

Next stop was to head to the Houghton Lake WRA and the Nellsville Boardwalk where a number of my target birds have been reported on e-bird – Snipe, Sedge Wren, Yellow Rail, and Golden-wing.  With directions from the birdfinding guide I eventually found what was supposed to be the beginning of the trail.  But then the trail seemed to die off in the marsh with water too deep for my willies.  I never did find the boardwalk and none of my targets either.  After a quick dinner I had just enough time to try for Trumpeter Swan at nearby Crooked Lake where swans had been reported recently on e-bird.  The lake was situated in a nice mixed forest which looked like great habitat.  My first view of the lake did not reveal any large white birds, but I did have the first of several singing Pine Warblers (#4 – filling another curious gap in my MI list).  I got in the car and tried to find another access point and flushed a small raptor from the ground – it was a Broad-wing which cooperatively perched right next to the car (#5).  Two other stops later and still no swan.  So I turned around and was heading back when I noticed a white spot on the lake out of the corner of my eye – a Trumpeter (#6).  Where was it on my earlier stops?  My statebird map is now starting to match up with the old and new breeding ranges of this species.

That gave me six new MI statebirds in just a few quick stops – a very successful first day.

Day 5 – Grayling and the Drive to Southern IN

Weather – Cold in the morning, highs in the 60’s, Sunny, Breezy

This was my day for Kirtlands’ Warbler.  Officially Kirtland’s is on my life list, but it is based on a heard only bird in late summer more than 40 years ago – long enough ago that I don’t even have a date when I heard it.  That was so many years ago and not in the typical time of year for them, that I’ve always wondered if the sighting was a good one.  And even if I correctly identified the bird, it sure would be nice to actually see one.  So after a bit of research I found a daily tour led by the Michigan Audubon Society out of Grayling, which they say is successful 100% of the time.  But I’ve never been one to rely on tours to find my target birds, so I did additional e-bird research and picked out what seemed to be a reliable nearby spot to find them on my own – Guide’s Rest just a few miles east of Grayling.  My plan was to try for them on my own at dawn that morning, and if I wasn’t successful I could still make it back in time to attend the tour. 

I got to the Guide’s Rest spot a bit before dawn and found some superb classic Jack Pine habitat planted in 1994 and 1997 (see my photo of the informational sign below). 

My biggest worry was the weather – although it was clear and calm it was a very cold 23 degrees.  Would they still be singing in the cold?  I started to drive the sandy roads listening for the warbler.  The 12-15 ft tall trees were full of Nashville Warblers, with an occasional Chipping Sparrow thrown in.  In the distance I could hear Ravens, a gobbling Turkey, and the tapping of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  After about 10 minutes I finally heard a clear song of the Kirtland’s right along the road.  After a few minutes of waiting, I got good looks at a foraging male and an accompanying female.  After >40 years it was great to finally see them and feel good about having it on my life list.  Plus I got to see them on my own without a tour. 

But I decided to go on the tour anyway, hoping for even better teed up views.  They gave an initial slide show that included great statistics on the success of their program and the Kirtland’s comeback (2,090 singing males in 2012 compared to around 200 just 25 years ago). 

After a short drive we arrived at a field with relatively younger jack pines, and quickly heard 4 singing males, but I only got one brief glimpse of a perched bird.  We also had several Clay-colored Sparrows in this field – new MI statebird #7, and the only Vesper Sparrows of the trip.  I’ve seen Clay-coloreds in many of the central US states in it’s typical range, as well as a few coastal states as vagrants.

Next stop was at the Gratiot-Saginaw state game area to try again for Golden-winged Warblers.  I spent a couple hours at locations listed in the birdfinding guide as Golden-winged spots, but only found 4 Blue-wings.  I did get singing Ceruleans and a singing Mourning in this area though. 

That was my last stop in Michigan for the day before heading down to Indiana for the next leg of my trip.  I would get one more MI statebird at the end of the trip as I headed back to the Detroit airport.

Midwest Statebirding Trip, May 2013, Part 2 of 4 - Point Pelee, Ontario

This is the second part of my blog for my Midwest statebirding trip – the Ontario leg.  The first covered my Ohio leg; the third and fourth parts cover the Michigan and Indiana parts of the trip.

Day 2 – On to the Pelee Area

After a short drive I arrived in western ON in late afternoon and headed right for Hillman Marsh Conservation Area.  Hillman is just a short distance from Pelee, and has an extensive wetlands including one cell managed just for shorebirds.  As I approached the shorebird area I heard an odd set of calls that I couldn’t quite place.  As the mudflat came into view I realized what it was – a very large flock of Black-bellied Plovers were milling about and calling in the pond.  At one point they all flew overhead and settled back into the pond – I estimated 2,000 birds.  An amazing site!  I remained at Hillman for the next 2 hours and saw a new flock of Black-bellies fly into the pond every few minutes – with each flock numbering at least 50 birds.  By the time I left I guessed there could be 4,000 birds in the flock.  Here is a phone-scoped photo I took of just one tiny portion of the flock.

Although they weren’t new for my ON list, I did have 5 new shorebird species in the 11 species at the pond - 1 Willet, several Turnstones, 3 White-rumps, 30 Dunlin, and 4 Long-billed Dowitchers.  A quick stop in the woodlands in the park added a couple migrant songbirds, giving me 10 new species for my ON list.  A good start to the Ontario portion of my trip. 

One of my biggest concerns about this entire trip was whether I scheduled it too late for good migrants.  This concern was magnified when I reached my hotel in Leamington.  Although this hotel had been suggested to me as one of the better ones to use while birding Pelee, I quickly realized I was the only birder in the entire hotel.  Hmm… 

Day 3 – Point Pelee and Surroundings

Weather – Highs in the 80s, strong southerly winds, scattered strong thunderstorms

I arrived at the Point Pelee park entrance a bit later than I wanted (only about 10 minutes before sunrise), only to find the gate still closed.  And I was the only car waiting.  I paid the entrance fee when the gate opened at 6 and still no other birders were in site.  I drove slowly to the point, pausing to let the displaying Turkeys walk off the roadway.  Still no other birders around when I reached the visitor center and the parking area for the tram to the point.  The first tram wasn’t until 7, so I birded the area around the parking lot in the mean time and added a couple new birds, but virtually no migrants.  There were 5 other birders with me on that first tram, and I compared notes about strategies to bird the point.  The preferred approach was apparently to get to the point right away, then work your way northward sifting through the migrants.  Plus I heard about a Little Gull that had been recently seen at the point, so that gave me a rarity to hope for.  One birder asked me, given that I had come all the way from MA for this trip, why did I schedule it for so late in Spring.  Ugh.  Though the locals also lamented that the whole spring had been slow likely due to a lack of fronts and weather systems.  So maybe I didn’t miss too much.

I got off the tram and headed to the point with a little song in the woods, adding Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Blackburnian for my list along the way.  At the point I found the immature Little Gull among a flock of Bonaparte’s, along with a Great Black-backed that was mixed in with Ring-bills and Herrings.  Then I started working north through the woods.  At first there were few birds in the woods, but I noticed small groups of warblers milling about overhead near the point.  Most eventually headed south presumably back to OH, though some turned around and decided to stay at Pelee.  Must be a daunting experience for those little birds to embark on such a long flight south when all they can see when they leave Pelee is water.

I added 5 more birds as I worked my way north back to the tram stop, the best of which was a Connecticut Warbler that gave me fleeting glimpses.  I also walked to the Sparrow Field and back adding 4 more including a Thrasher at the field.  Although it was slow birding there were some migrants here and there – it just took some work.  Back at the visitor center I took the Shuster and Tilden Woods trails and added a few more species.  Before I left this area I took this picture of a map of Canada showing how far south Pelee is compared to the rest of the country.

Then off to the DeLaurier trail where I did not find the Prothonotary’s seen there the day before.  One last stop for a “sea watch” of sorts yielded 4 Black Terns.  I left the park mid-afternoon with 17 new birds for my province list, and 14 warbler species.  The surprise of the day was the high number of Philadelphia Vireos – I counted at least 11 birds during the day, after having just 1 in the previous 2 days at Magee.

I decided to head back to Hillman to see if the shorebirds were different from the previous day.  Amazingly there were no Black-bellies at all (after at least 4,000 the day before), and a few more Dunlins, but nothing new.  Though I did add Blue-winged Teal to my list.  My last planned stop was at Wheatley Provincial Park where some good woodland, marsh, and night birds had been reported recently on e-bird.  I arrived at 7 hoping to spend an hour before sunset and then try for night birds.  Unfortunately they wanted to charge me $14 as a day use fee to come in (expensive no matter which currency you were dealing with), so I decided some extra sleep might be a better choice.  The last bird of the day was a calling Sora just after I left the park.  That gave me 89 species for the day, including 19 new ones for ON.

Day 4 – Point Pelee then off to Grayling, MI

Weather – Highs in the 80s, with an afternoon front with strong storms, ushering in colder weather.

My plan was to get to the park when it opened at 6, and head right to the marsh boardwalk to try for marsh birds before taking the first tram at 7.  But before I got to the park I heard a nearby “peent” of a Woodcock, and a calling Pheasant as new ON birds – a nice start of the day.  The marsh boardwalk went through some very nice cattail habitat, though I did not get anything new for my list.  The highlight was a large flock of nesting Black Terns, which were very tame.  I got this picture of a most cooperative bird by holding my phone up to my binocs.

Birding at the tip was much slower than the day before, though the Little Gull was still present.  There were only a few migrants and nothing new.  I got back to the tram parking lot pretty early and decided to head out of the park en route to Michigan.  But along the way I decided to just drive north through the park very slowly and listen for song along the way.  This strategy proved to be productive as I added 3 more province birds en route.  The first was a singing Canada Warbler – wouldn’t it have been ironic to come to Pelee and not see a CANADA Warbler?  Later I found a singing late Parula Warbler.  And just before exiting the park I found a singing Prothonotary – that’s a good bird for Pelee.  As I exited the park a line of black, angry clouds were approaching fast.  And when I saw rotation in the clouds practically right above me, I decided this was a good time to head north to MI.

I ended up with 104 species in ON including 17 warblers.  And I added 34 new ones for my ON list which is now at 181.  My Canada total is now up to 217 - I'm afraid I've never made birding in Canada much of a priority.

Midwest Statebirding Trip, May 2013, Part 1 of 4 - Magee Marsh, Ohio

Each year I take an extended birding trip to some part of the country to work on my local statelists.  This year I thought I would make it a trip to the Midwest to include my first ever stops at spring migrant hotspots of Magee Marsh in Ohio and Point Pelee in Ontario.  Plus I would add a trip to upper Michigan to see Kirtland’s Warbler which is only on my lifelist based on a supposed heard bird more than 40 years ago.  And of course I needed to work on my statelists and ON province list.  Although I am ABA reportable in OH and IN, my totals were only 3 over the threshold in OH and 8 over the IN threshold.  I like to be at least 15 over the threshold, so I needed at least 12 new statebirds in OH and 7 more in IN.  I was already 16 over the MI threshold, but there were still a number of statebird possibilities for me there too.  And finally, my ON list was only 147, including only 5 species of warblers, so the potential new birds in ON were significant.  As always I spent many hours in planning and research, using e-bird, a MI birdfinding guide, various on-line site guides, and input from very knowledgeable birders in ON, OH, and IN.  I would come up with an itinerary that would get me to locations with a lot of statebirding potential, albeit requiring quite a number of miles on the rental car.

This is the first of four parts of my blog for my Midwest statebirding trip – the Ohio portion.  The next three parts will summarize the Ontario, Michigan, and Indiana portions of my trip.

  

Day 1 – Magee Marsh and Nearby Northwest OH

Weather – Highs in the 90s, humid, strong southerly winds, scattered strong thunderstorms

I started Day 1 pre-dawn in hopes of finding some nocturnal species along the causeway to Magee Marsh.  As I started down the road I rolled down the windows and was overwhelmed with song  – principally Yellow Warblers, even though it was still 30 minutes before dawn.  But one “peent” from a nearby Woodcock gave me my first OH statebird.  Out on the causeway the marshes were extensive both to the east and west, and full of geese and mallards, along with marsh wren calls.  One distant “quonk” of a Black-Crowned Night Heron was my only observation of this species, but good enough for OH statebird #2.  I now have this species in each Lower 48 state except lightly-birded Montana. 

By now numerous Willow Flycatchers were calling from the brush, and Yellow Warblers were abundant.  Then a couple Trumpeter Swans flew around the marsh as if in courtship (#3), and even flew less than 20 ft right over my head.  I would later see a flock of 6 more.  I had hoped for Virginia Rails and Common Gallinules along the causeway, but had no rails and only a couple calling Coots.  So although birding was good on the causeway, I was anxious to get to the boardwalk area of Magee Marsh, and start looking for passerines.

As I turned the last bend into the parking lot I noticed a flock of birds sitting in the road – 5 Swainson’s Thrushes and 3 White-Crowned Sparrows were oblivious to me.  That was a good start.  I parked close to the western end of the boardwalk and the trees were full of Blackpoll song, with a few others sprinkled in.  So it all seemed promising – I was hopeful that the strong southerly winds the night before could have resulted in a nice fallout.  I spent the next 6 hours slowly walking along the boardwalk, mostly letting the birds come to me as they passed through the trees.  I ended up with 18 species of warblers with highest numbers being Blackpolls and Yellows, and all the eastern Empids.  One local I talked to said it was “slow” and another said it was “dead” – imagine what it would have been on a good day.  I picked up 7 new statebirds –

·         #4 – Wilson’s Warbler – several including a number in song

·         #5 – Alder Flycatcher – quite a number of birds calling

·         #6 – Northern Waterthrush – 1 late bird skulking in a wet area

·         #7 – Screech Owl – other birders pointed out a perched bird sleeping on a high branch actually quite out in the open

·         #8 – Bay-Breasted Warbler – several males and females, some in song

·         #9 – Philadelphia Vireo – 1 noted in a Tweet which I was able to refind (yes the Magee birders post tweets when they find good birds)

·         #10 – Black-billed Cuckoo – 1 calling bird

A couple of my statebird maps are inserted below.  Alder Flycatcher which I’ve now seen in most of its breeding states but only a few in migration. 

And Bay-breasted Warbler where I’ve got good coverage in the northeastern US but still need it many states as a migrant.

One target I hoped for was Connecticut Warbler which I missed by no more than 10 minutes, despite 45 minutes of time staring into a thicket hoping it might return.  I left at 12:30 and was very happy with my tally of 83 species though it was already in the upper 80s and humidity was climbing.

Next stops were along the causeway and at ponds at Black Swamp and the Migratory Bird Center trying for marshbirds.  But the highlight was this amazingly life-like sculpture of a pair of Bald Eagles on their nest. 

I next headed to Ottawa NWR to check out the possibilities.  Much of the refuge is accessible by auto tour which is only open a couple days a month – and not while I was there.  Some impoundments are accessible by foot, but it was already above 90 and humid, and I decided to pass on a long walk in the sun with limited potential.  Next I headed to Metzger Marsh but again struck out on my targets.  Next stop was a Sedge Wren/Henslow’s Sparrow spot reported in e-bird just south of Magee Marsh.  When I got to the spot identified in e-bird there were no fields with suitable habitats.  Did the birder put in the wrong spot on the map?  That was frustrating.

After a quick dinner I headed to Oak Openings where I had earmarked a number of possible statebirds.  First stop was a field for Henslow’s Sparrows.  Unfortunately I had heard that the field had been cut last year, but I still hoped one might have returned this year.  But when I arrived the field was grassy and well-suited for the grasshopper and field sparrows and meadowlarks that I found, and had no real shrubby habitat for Henslow’s.  I then spent quite a bit of time trying for Hooded Warbler which is supposed to be quite common in the park – but with no success.  And attempts for a recently reported Clay-colored Sparrow and a Worm-eating Warbler were negative.  Though a very late Blue-headed Vireo was still present.  At dusk I heard a Whip-poor-will (#11) which at least gave me one statebird for the park.  My map of Whip-poor-will sightings is really spotty – mostly a function of limited nighttime birding in most states.

I ended the day with 112 species and 11 statebirds – a good start to the trip.

Day 2 – Magee Marsh

Weather – Highs in the 90s, humid, strong southerly winds, scattered strong thunderstorms

This day was forecasted to be just as hot as yesterday, with strong southerly winds.  So again I hoped for a nice fallout, though wasn’t looking forward to another day of heat and humidity.  I started at dawn at an advertised site for sedge wren including 2 on e-bird the week before – the Stange Prairie on the southwest corner of Ottawa NWR.  The site was very dry – too dry for Sedge Wren in my mind.  I did have a number of yellowthroats giving their calls that are a bit reminiscent of Sedge Wren – a tick followed by a buzzy trill.  Wonder if they were the source of the recent e-bird sighting.

Then off to the Magee Marsh boardwalk.  There was some bird song when I arrived but a lot less than yesterday.  I only spent 2 hours in the woods, and didn’t see anything new for my list, though did get a few species I didn’t have the day before.  As I came out of the woods to get ready to leave I noticed a number of birders with binocs trained to the sky.  I asked what they were looking at and they said White Pelicans – I got on the flock of 5 just before they wheeled out of sight.  My map of states with White Pelican tells two stories – out west I’ve seen this common bird in virtually every state.  And thrughout the east it’s a regular vagrant, and I’ve seen them in quite a number of states.  

  

The pelicans were statebird #12, and a good one for OH – so I met my OH objective.  Though I had hoped for more.  A post to the local listserve that morning mentioned nearby Henslow’s, so as I was heading out of Magee I contacted the birder, got the location, and arrived at a very nice prairie managed for songbirds.  But it was midday, really hot, and the wind was blowing at 15-25 mph.  If I had only known about this spot earlier I would have been there at dawn.  I got Grasshopper and Field Sparrows, Bobolinks, and Meadowlarks, but no Henslow’s. 

I ended the OH part of my trip with 118 species and 12 new statebirds in a day and a half.  Pretty good given the hot weather and lack of a good migrant fallout.