Snowy Search Yields one RI Rarity but not Two, December 2017

With a quick scan of late evening e-mails I noticed reports of a Le Conte’s Sparrow seen that morning in Warren, RI by local resident Tom Seiter.  Three times I’ve chased after Le Conte’s Sparrow in late fall or winter in New England and each time the bird stuck around for a while.  So I was hopeful that this one might too.  I couldn’t head out the next day but could go on the third day, so I closely watched for updates.  Unfortunately the only update that came across was that there was no available parking in the area.  That likely meant that few if any birders gave it a try, so there were no further updates on the status of the Sparrow that day.

Then later that day came a post that there was a White-winged Dove coming to a feeder at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown, RI – only the 4th record for RI.  With multiple posts during the day it appeared that the Dove was being seen reliably at the feeder.  Middletown is less than a half hour’s drive from Warren, so it would certainly be feasible to chase after both the Le Conte’s and the Dove the next day.  However, White-winged Doves are often 1-day wonders in New England.  Although I’ve seen this species twice in New England which were long-staying birds in MA and CT, I’ve chased after two different birds in NH and two others in ME unsuccessfully.  And there were no positive reports on the Sparrow, though at least that species has a track record of staying around for a while. 

Hmm, what to do…  Despite some misgivings, I decided to try for both birds the next day.  And with a quick e-mail exchange from Tom, he agreed to meet me the next morning to search for the Sparrow, greatly increasing my chances for his bird.  I would start early morning in Warren to try for the Le Conte’s, then head south to the Norman Bird Sanctuary to try for the Dove.  Although I tried to stay positive and hope for 2 new RI birds, I was realistically expecting just 1, and realized that there was more than a fair chance that I could miss both targets. 

As I headed out the door the next morning I made one last check of the forecast - seasonably cold weather, light winds, with maybe a quick hit of an inch of snow in southern RI.  That would certainly be manageable.  Though as I started my drive south I ran into light snow in southern MA.  And by the time I hit northern RI the roads were already white.  When I finally made it to Warren a couple inches had fallen and it was still coming down quite hard.  I made it to Tom’s house and his unplowed road was quite a challenge.  But snow on the roads was likely to be a minor problem compared to looking for a skulking Sparrow with a deep snow cover on the ground.  We walked down to the marsh where Tom had seen the sparrow and now had a good 3 inches of snow covering the ground.  We started to walk along the marsh edges where he had the bird 2 days earlier but with no luck.  We were soon joined by 4 other birders, and all of us first walked along the edges, then trudged through the adjacent marsh, but didn’t see a single bird.  I also tried to play some tape of the Le Conte’s call note (the bird I saw in ME was quite tape responsive) but got no replies.  After about an hour we called it quits.  Maybe the bird was still around and skulking under the new snow.  Or then again, maybe it was just a 1-day wonder.

And speaking of 1-day wonders, as I headed back to my car I checked my e-mails to see if the White-winged Dove had been reported that morning.  But there were no posts at all.  Typically no news was bad news, though I tried to be optimistic - it was still early and maybe the snow had deterred birders from looking for it that morning.  Plus maybe everyone who wanted to add it to their RI state lists had already seen it the day before.  So I called the Sanctuary to ask for updates but they said that no one had looked for the Dove yet.  At least that wasn’t a negative report.  So I started the drive south luckily with just lighter snow falling.

The previous day the Dove was always seen at or above the feeder to the right of the walkway as you headed to the welcome center.  This feeding station was obvious when I got to the Sanctuary, but the only birds in the area were 5 Crows.  So after a quick look I headed in to the main building to check in, and to ask if anyone had seen the Dove yet.  The good news was that the bird had indeed been seen that morning, but it was seen all around the building not just at the feeder at the entrance. 

I headed back out and checked the entrance feeder east of the building but it still just had Crows.  Then I headed around to the south and found another feeding station with a bunch of birds, including a couple Mourning Doves, but no White-winged Dove.  I noticed more activity behind the building to the west, and found yet another feeder with more activity, and another Mourning Dove.  But still no target bird.  Now I understood why the Dove could be seen all around the building.  Now I just needed to re-find it. 

I retraced my steps and returned to the south of the building and watched that feeder for a couple minutes.  Then I noticed a large bird fly in to the top of a tree on the other side of the building.  I knew right away that was a Dove, but it took a few seconds to see enough field marks to confirm it was my target White-winged Dove.  Wonder where it flew in from?  Just a couple seconds later it dropped down out of view near the east feeder.  I headed back there and spotted it again perched above the feeder it frequented yesterday.  Then a couple minutes later it flew back behind the building to the west.  After a bit of searching I spotted the White-winged Dove perched deep inside a honeysuckle thicket just below a Mourning Dove.  I got this photo of both Doves by holding my phone up to my binocs.  Unfortunately the White-winged had just fallen asleep so I missed getting a shot of the bird’s red iris.

Good thing at least one of my targets wasn’t a 1-day wonder!  Though a bit surprising that the target that has a track record of sticking around was the one that couldn’t be re-found.  The White-winged Dove was #328 for me in RI, which was my 17th state for this species.  I’ve now seen it in most of the southwestern and Gulf Coast states in its normal range, and now in several Midwest and New England states where it is a rare but regular vagrant (see my statebird map below).

And on a bigger picture note – that was my Total Tick #14,500.  If you’re unfamiliar with the term, “Total Ticks” is the sum of your state and province lists.  Many years ago I hoped to get to 10,000 Total Ticks but blew by that milestone back in 2003.  More recently I’ve set my eyes on 15,000 – just 500 more to go!

Shiny Cowbird, Bethesda, MD – First State Record, December 2017

Having grown up in MD my state list is pretty good at 329.  And with relatives still in MD, visits with the family can sometimes provide opportunities to add to that list, though target birds pretty much have to be rarities at this point.  A few days before a December trip to Baltimore I set up a Maryland Needs Alert in eBird.  Several species popped up, though most were too far away to try for given my small windows of available time.  But then at the bottom of the list I noticed numerous posts of a Shiny Cowbird being seen in Bethesda, MD, just north of DC.  Reports went back at least 3 weeks so the bird appeared to be rather reliable.  And Bethesda wasn’t too far from the BWI Airport.  So with a species as rare as this one (a first record for MD), I made plans to make a quick stop to try for the Cowbird before heading to the airport on my last day in MD.

Now I needed to compile the micro-directions.  The Cowbird was being seen in a small suburban neighborhood, and many sightings were of the bird perched high in a tree.  In most cases the Shiny Cowbird was associating with groups of Brown-headed Cowbirds.  And perhaps most importantly, recent sightings mentioned that the target bird was re-growing all of its tail feathers, so its tail was now much shorter than normal.  Several specific locations were mentioned, though access appeared to be limited.  Several posts mentioned seeing the bird from the driveway of the birder who first spotted the bird at 9901 Parkwood.  And 4804 Edgefield was mentioned several times.  Plus a feeder in the front yard of 9918 Parkwood was mentioned once.  So my plan was to at least bird these 3 locations, keeping an eye out for Cowbirds in general.  And needless to say my goal was to not get arrested peering into suburban backyards with binoculars.

I arrived at the neighborhood midday and instantly spotted 3 birders up ahead on Parkwood.  They mentioned that the bird had been seen a few minutes earlier, but was not visible now.  They also suggested that going over to Edgefield was best at this point.  A minute later I parked on Edgefield and found another small group of birders in front of 4804 Edgefield.  They provided a similar story – they had the bird earlier but not at the moment.  As we all waited for the Shiny Cowbird to reappear, I began to see lots of activity around this house.  Several times small groups of Brown-headed Cowbirds would fly in above the house, and then drop down in the backyard.  There must be feeders in the back, but the yard was not visible from the road.  Now I started to understand why many of the sightings were of the bird high in trees – it must be flying in from elsewhere, perching momentarily above the feeders when birders spot it, then dropping out of sight to feed.

We continued to wait for at least 30 minutes, and had lots of activity but now Shiny Cowbird.  I decided to walk over to Parkwood to see if my luck was any better there, trading cellphone numbers with a birder remaining at Edgefield in case the bird was spotted.  When I got to 9901 Parkwood I noticed a feeder in the back yard with a few House Sparrows and 1 Brown-headed Cowbird, but little activity in general.  Then I walked to 9918 Parkwood and found the feeders in the front yard but there were no birds at all.  So I returned to 9901 Parkwood to wait a bit longer there.  A couple minutes later a flock of about 10 Cowbirds flew in to a tree a short distance away – could the Shiny be in this group?  I scanned the group but they all looked like Brown-headed’s.  One by one they dropped down out of view into a thick stand of bamboo apparently near the backyard of 4804 Edgefield.  With just a couple birds left from that flock still perched in the tree I noticed that one bird had a short tail – and it was all dark including its head – I had the Shiny Cowbird!  Just then it too dropped down into the bamboo.  I called the birder back at Edgefield and told him I just had the bird, and it likely just dropped into their general location.  He responded by saying that they got access to the backyard with all the feeders so they would be waiting for it.

I quickly ran over to 4804 Edgefield and found out that one of the birders talked to the homeowner, and she was fine with us sitting in her back yard to watch the feeders.  I joined 3 other birders behind the house and found multiple feeding stations full of seed.  Within a minute a flock of Cowbirds dropped in and one was the Shiny Cowbird.  The flock was very skittish, but the target bird kept returning, and each time the easiest way to pick it out among its Brown-headed cousins was to look for the Shiny’s shorter tail. 

One of the birders I met there, Dave Brenneman, had a monster lens and he took numerous shots of the bird.  He shared this one with me, providing great comparisons with a male Brown-headed, not only showing the iridescent purple head of the Shiny Cowbird, but also its shorter tail. 

A couple minutes later I was back in my car and heading to the airport with plenty of time to spare.  On my way I reflected on what turned out to be a very satisfying chase – finding the target bird after about an hour’s search, and eventually getting great looks at an extreme rarity. 

That was my third sighting of Shiny Cowbird in the ABA area – I’ve also seen it in south FL and in LA where it is reported with increasing frequency these days.  All our local passerines need is yet another species of parasitic Cowbird to contend with.

King Eider, Lake Champlain, VT (and NY), November, 2017

Either Eider is a rarity in VT, so when a female Common Eider was reported in mid-November at the Champlain Bridge on Lake Champlain that really got my attention.  Then later in the day came additional posts that the bird was actually a King Eider.  And then a couple days later the news got even better - a pair of King Eiders, a female and young male, were spotted a short distance to the north from the DAR State Park in Addison.  King Eider is an exceptionally rare bird in Vermont, with sightings not surprisingly mostly coming from Lake Champlain.  There are only 5 records in eBird since 1990, with the most recent being birds seen at two different spots on the lake in 2006.  Given how rare this species is in this inland state, it sure would be great to chase after them.  But that’s more than 3 ½ hours from home which is beyond my normal driving distance, so I decided to pass on them.

As the days progressed, sightings of the Eiders continued both on the listserve and eBird- they were sticking around!  And with each additional post I got more and more interested in trying for them.  Then finally I decided to make the run up there, opting to get a rental car (using one of my free days), rather than putting all those miles on my car.  Now I needed to do some research to get the micro-directions.  All the recent sightings were similar – the pair of Eiders were sticking closely together, and they were most often associating with a flock of about 30 Long-tailed Ducks.  (Those are rare birds for VT as well, though not nearly as rare as the Eiders.)  Seemed easy enough – look for the Long-tailed Ducks and you would find the Eiders, right?  One challenge was the reports from the day before my trip said the Eiders were way out on the lake, maybe in NY waters.  As a result I was less worried about finding my target birds than I was in finding them in VT (I already have King Eider for my NY list).

The day of my trip finally arrived and the weather was quite good – not too cold and only light breezes from the south.  That should make for good viewing conditions even if the birds were far out on the lake.  I arrived at the closed gate to DAR (the park is closed this time of year), parked on the shoulder, and started the short walk to the lake.  Although there was another person in the park, he wasn’t a birder, so I was on my own.  I set up my scope and casually scanned the lake but could only find a small flock of Mallards.  I scanned 2 or 3 more times, each time looking more closely than the previous search, but still came up empty. 

My vantage point next to a picnic shelter a short distance above the lake gave me a great view of most of the lake, but I couldn’t see too far to the north.  I remembered passing a sign for a trail to the shore, so I decided to take that trail to see if it gave me a different viewing angle.  The trail ended right at the shoreline, and it gave me views directly west and most importantly to the north, so I was hopeful I would find my targets.  Though now down low to the lake meant I had to deal with some heat shimmer.  But despite my different viewing angle, my scans again were not only negative for the Eiders, but I found no waterfowl at all.  Then finally on the next scan I thought I noticed tiny white dots far out on the water.  I concentrated on this area and eventually realized these were the reported flock of Long-tailed Ducks – so the Eiders couldn’t be far away.  After a couple more anxious minutes of peering across the lake I finally noticed a couple larger brown ducks close to the Long-tails.  They were really far away, but eventually I got some details on the birds, including the orange bill of the young male, and confirmed they were indeed the King Eiders.  Amazing that they were still around more than 2 weeks after first being seen off DAR.  Success, but - they were so far out that I thought that they were in NY and not VT. 

The birds were slowly making their way to the south which should make them visible from my original viewing spot.  And from that higher vantage point I would have less heat shimmer to deal with so maybe that was now the better vantage point.  So I headed back to the first spot and eventually re-found the Eiders.  Viewing was indeed better from here, and the Eiders were not only swimming south, but also a bit to the east.  Three other birders arrived, and I was able to get them on the birds, though the extreme distance made it difficult.  Over the next 30 minutes the birds continued to move a bit south and east, and all of us agreed the Eiders were eventually in VT waters, though still pretty far out.  I could finally check King Eider off my VT list.  But perhaps the crowning moment of my visit was when a group of high school students arrived on a science field trip and we were able to get all of them on the birds.  Even though they likely didn’t appreciate how rare these birds were, their reactions when they finally spotted the birds in the scopes were priceless.

King Eider was #281 for my VT list, and the 247th species I’ve seen in each of the 6 New England states.  I’ve also seen this species in 5 other northeast states as well as in AK (see my statebird map below).

As a postscript, I and the other birders at DAR that morning started to theorize about why the Eiders had stayed in this area so long.  And also why such a large flock of rare Long-tailed Ducks were in the area as well.  The local birders suggested that this spot must be a good feeding area for Zebra Mussels.  Perhaps this is also why a large flock of diving ducks typically congregates here most winters as freeze-up approaches.  So the Zebra Mussels may be an unfortunate invader to Lake Champlain, but at least they attract some good diving ducks to the state.

Townsend’s Warbler, Trustom Pond, RI, November 2017

Townsend’s Warbler is a very rare vagrant in New England, with birds typically being spotted in late fall or winter.  My first ever New England Townsend’s was a bird I found at Odiorne Point State Park in NH over Thanksgiving weekend in 1993 – the first year I moved to New England.  Unfortunately that bird was a 1-day wonder which no one else saw.  At the other end of the spectrum sometimes Townsend’s will appear at feeding stations, spending much of the winter returning to the same location, which was the case for the one I saw in Cambridge, MA in 2007. 

So when a Townsend’s Warbler was reported at Trustom Pond NWR in RI, only the third record for the state, I really wanted to chase after it.  But as with most of these chases I had to be able to clear my calendar and hope that this non-feeder bird would stick around until I was free.  Luckily this one was reported for the next couple days, hanging out in the same location at Trustom Pond, and seen by a bunch of birders (though some needed several hours to find the bird).  Despite numerous posts, directions were at best confusing, especially since I wasn’t too familiar with the nooks and crannies of the refuge.  Several reports mentioned the bird was seen along the Red Maple Trail near the old windmill and near a bench that was dedicated to local birder Phil Budlong.  Other reports just said near the windmill.  I thought that meant there was a stretch of trail between the windmill and bench to look for the bird.  So my plan was to start walking the Red Maple Trail and look for the bench and windmill, and hopefully look for other birders too.

When I arrived at the refuge early in the morning I was happy to see a dozen cars in the parking lot - undoubtedly these were birders already searching for the same target bird.  My plan was coming together - I could get close to the bird’s location along Red Maple Trail and then look for the birders to tell me the correct spot.  “Bird the birders” as I say.  Perfect…  I started down the Red Maple Trail and quickly found the bench dedicated to Phil Budlong.  But there were no birders to be seen.  My first thought was that I wasn’t in the correct spot and all those birders were somewhere else looking at the target bird.  So I decided to check my e-mail for updates and sure enough there was a new post that the bird was seen in the original spot about 20 minutes earlier “near the windmill”.  But I couldn’t find any windmill.  Again that made me think that I was in the wrong location.

I was about to head farther down the trail to look for windmill and the birders, but quickly realized there was a major flock of passerines there.  What should I do – hope I was in the right spot and search through the birds (perhaps including the Townsends’), or should I keep searching for the birders (and the windmill) instead?  Although I also heard some distant chip notes that made me think I might have been hearing the Townsend’s, I decided to keep looking for the birders.  Just when I started farther down the trail I spotted a greenish-yellow bird fly by and got excellent looks at an Orange-crowned Warbler!  A great bird for RI and only my second for the state, but it wasn’t my target bird.  So I kept walking a bit farther and didn’t see anyone.  At this point I decided to head back to the original spot to search through the flock I briefly saw earlier.

I got back to initial location just a couple minutes later but by now most of the birds were gone - ugh.  So I concentrated on the area where I heard the potential Townsend’s chip notes and heard the calls again.  And then I heard them again, this time closer nearby.  A few seconds later I spotted a bird high in a deciduous tree – it was the Townsend’s!  I bet the bird was in the area as soon as I got to the spot.  Luckily it stayed put while I tried to figure everything out.  And while looking at the Townsend’s I noticed the windmill – no more than 30 ft from the bench tucked back into the woods hidden from the trail.  Like I always say – chasing down my target birds often requires a lot of detective work.

So there I was looking at Townsend’s at its key location (within a few feet of both the bench and the windmill), and there were at least a dozen birders in the park searching for it, but I was the only one there.  So much for “bird the birders”!  A minute later 3 other birders arrived and I got them on the bird.  But by the time others arrived the bird had flown off.

I stayed in the park another hour and had the bird one other time, though unfortunately again not all the birders had looks at it.

Townsend’s Warbler was #327 for me in RI.  I’ve now seen this species throughout most of its regular range in the western US and Canada, as well as in 3 New England states as rarities (see my state and province maps below).

Since I was able to find my target bird so quickly I decided to make a quick stop at nearby hotspot Mud Pond, which often has a nice group of ducks and shorebirds, and then do a brief sea watch as well.  But first I had to take a work call, and I had just enough time to drive to Mud Pond to take the call from there inside my car.  As I started on the call another birder drove up and set up his scope about 50 ft away to check out the ducks on the pond.  A minute later I noticed a bright yellow bird fly over the road in front of me and land in a bush on the other side about 10 ft behind the birder.  I put my binocs on it and it was a Yellow Warbler.  Unfortunately the other birder never even knew it was there.  I was told that that may have been the latest record for Yellow Warbler in the state.

Then just a few minutes later, while still on my call, I spotted a small bird drop in from a bush next to the road to drink from a small pool right in front of my car.  It was a Cape May Warbler, not 25 ft away from me.  An amazing pair of birds seen through my windshield while on a conference call.  Not bad…

After the call was over I headed over to Mud Pond and found a nice flock of Pintails, and a group of Dunlin foraging on the edge.  And a short stop at the beach yielded a nice Gannet show not too far offshore.  But I was actually more interested in looking for other late passerines, so I turned around and started walking north up Moonstone Beach Road to see what else I might find. 

I began a slow walk up the road, not finding too much.  But just then I noticed a large flycatcher fly over the road.  It was only a quick view and I never got the bird in my binocs.  But the “jizz” of the bird was that of a Myiarchus flycatcher.  The view was too short to eliminate a Phoebe, but I would bet it was an Ash-throated Flycatcher.  If I had still been in my car on my call I probably would have had a better view of it through the windshield as it flew by.  Go figure.  Who needs to beat the bush to go birding…  I spent the next 15 minutes in the area hoping to refind the bird, but with no luck.  At least I don’t need that one for my RI list. 

Along with numerous Yellow-rumps, I ended the morning with 5 species of warblers.  Not to mention the mystery flycatcher.  The Trustom Pond area can be good for fall migrants, though I’m not sure if I’ve ever had as many as 5 warbler species there in a single day before, even during the peak of migration.

Yellow Rail But No Other Targets, Southwestern, LA – November 2017

As my upcoming November business trip to Houston began to take shape it was looking like I might have a free day.  So I decided to take a day of vacation and do some local birding in the area – which would be cheaper than incurring change fees to fly home a day earlier.  However, with some eBird research I wasn’t finding any possible TX statebirds nearby to chase after.  So I set my sights on southwestern LA, and found recent reports of several possible statebirds, many of which were associated with rice harvesting in the Thornwell area.  Specifically quite a number of Yellow Rails were being seen, along with a few American Bitterns (alas I still need this common bird for my LA list).  My first ever Yellow Rails were 2 I saw in AR in October 2000 when I was lucky enough to find a combine harvesting rice.  That was a tremendous day, when I spent almost the entire time walking alongside the combine, also finding 2 extremely rare Black Rails, and hundreds each of Soras and Virginias.  With those fond memories I was really looking forward to another opportunity to watch rice being harvested.

Now I had to do my detailed research.  I noticed that several of the eBird reports were from Donna Dittmann and Steve Cardiff.  In February 2017 I birded in their Baton Rouge yard to add Calliope Hummingbird and Purple Finch to my LA list.  So I reached out to them again, this time to get advice on their Rails.  Unfortunately it turns out that they had coordinated in advance with a rice farmer to be at his fields when he was harvesting, so instead I would have to drive around the fields in the area and be lucky enough to find a field that was being harvested when I was there.  That approach worked for me in AR – hopefully it would work for me in LA as well.

Rice harvesting doesn’t happen until later in the day to allow for the morning dew to evaporate, so I could make at least one other stop before heading to the Thornwell rice fields.  I decided to start at dawn at Peveto Woods - a remnant patch of woods along the coast which can be a great migrant trap.  There had been several recent reports of late fall warblers there that I still need for LA.  There were also a number of recent records of Franklin’s Gulls at various spots along the coast.  And then there was a spot not too far away in Calcasieu Parish where a pair of White-tailed Hawks had been seen for nearly a month.  So along with watching the rice harvest, that would make for a full day of birding (and driving).  My plans were set.

I arrived at Peveto Woods right at sunrise and began to bird the woodlands.  There were good numbers of birds present, but all were wintering birds.  I found several Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers, but couldn’t find any late migrants.  A quick stop at the nearby beach yielded a nice Piping Plover, and a couple Western Willets, but nothing else.  So with visions of flushing Rails dancing in my head (it wasn’t yet the season for sugarplum visions), I headed out of Peveto to make my way to Thornwell.  Along the way I stopped at each flock of Gulls and Terns I spotted roosting along the coast to look for Franklin’s, but with no luck.  Things had to pick up when I got to Thornwell, right?

As I neared Thornwell I started to see numerous rice fields, though almost all had already been harvested.  As I got closer I spotted a large flock of white Geese flushing from a field in the distance - I guessed there could be 1,500 birds in the flock, which included a number of White-fronts.  But rather than stopping to check out the Geese, I needed to focus on finding a rice field being harvested.  As I started to crisscross the back roads I began to find quite a number of fields that hadn’t yet been harvested.  But I couldn’t find any activity in any of the fields.  I spent at least an hour driving around the area, checking out fields along maybe 15 miles of roadways, but with no luck.  At 11:30 I had to stop to take a work call, so I pulled over at what seemed to be a nice location and began the call.  Just then I noticed a small Flycatcher fly from a nearby tree – it was an immature Vermillion Flycatcher.  Not a new LA statebird (it was my 3rd for LA), but a nice bird nonetheless.  I got this record phonescoped shot of the bird, which had a yellow belly rather than a more typical pink or red.

My call ended a few minutes later, and I decided to call it quits on looking for a rice field being harvested.  Just then a large tractor appeared over a small rise in the distance.  It was apparently cutting the tall grass growing in this field.  I put my binocs on it and noticed its tires were wet.  Maybe this field would be wet enough to harbor a few Rails too.  So I trained my binocs on the tractor as it cut the field.  Soon a large flock of Cattle Egrets appeared out of nowhere to feed in the newly cut grass.  Then three Caracaras dropped in to eat.  Then I spotted a small dark Rail fly out of the grass which I think was a Sora – a quick 2-second view and the distance made for a difficult ID.  A minute later a couple more likely Soras flew out.  And just then a Rail flew out which luckily fluttered low over the grass for maybe 10 to 15 seconds.  At one point as it banked a bit I caught flashes of white wing patches – it was a Yellow Rail.  Not the best of views, but good enough to check it off.  I’m glad it wasn’t a life bird – I’ve also heard it as a nester in MN and of course saw the migrants in the rice fields in AR.

The tractor disappeared over the small ridge and headed to the north.  I tried to re-find it but could never get close enough to it to watch for more Rails.  The consolation was while looking for the tractor I found another large flock of Geese and a flock of dark Ibis that included both Glossy and White-faced.  I decided to call it quits, with a nice list of 45 species for the area, including a wild guess of 3,000 Snow Geese, along with at least 5 Ross’ and 500 White-fronts, and an estimated 300 dark Ibis.

Next I was off to try for the White-tailed Hawks.  Recent sightings had mentioned both an adult and an immature, and eBird reports seemed to suggest they were pretty regular in the area.  So I was optimistic.  When I arrived I quickly found a pair of large raptors perched in the distance in low trees along the back side of a cattle pasture.  Very typical habitat for White-tails, and typical roosts as well.  The one bird was facing me, and with scope views I could see it was all white below.  I was about to tick it off as a White-tailed, but decided to get better views first.  A few minutes later it took off and one of the first things I spotted was white at the base of the tail – but then I saw red nearer the tip.  It was a Krider’s Red-tailed Hawk – reasonably similar to an adult White-tailed, but no cigar.  Later the other perched raptor flew from its perch and it too was a Red-tailed.  I then went to another part of the prairie and spotted an all dark Buteo with its back to me.  I instantly thought it was the immature White-tailed, but with a scope view I saw white feathering on the shoulders.  Soon it turned a bit and I could see it was a rare Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk.  I spent at least another hour in the area, spotting other Red-tails, several Harriers and Turkey Vultures, but no White-tailed Hawks.  Although I wouldn’t question anyone’s IDs, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few birders spotted the Krider’s thinking it was the adult White-tail, and the Harlan’s might be the immature White-tail, especially if they were distant.

It was a long day which yielded just one new LA statebird, giving me 276 for my state list.  And although I hoped for more, I ended up with a nice tally of 90 species for the day.  Plus finding the Vermillion Flycatcher and the Harlan’s and Krider’s Red-tails was fun.  If only I had found a rice field being harvested…

9th Time’s the Charm for Brown Booby – Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, LA – November, 2017

Brown Boobies have been spotted on the Lake Pontchartrain causeway north of New Orleans going back to 2015, with up to 35 reported on eBird.  That all makes it sound like they would be easy to find.  But - these birds roost under the bridge, and principally only under one short stretch of the bridge.  So when looking for them by car, you have to hope that one or more happens to be flying by along the bridge close enough to ID while you’re driving by at 60+ mph.  And by the way, there is no stopping on the bridge either.  As a result, not surprisingly the 35 birds were reported from a boat.  I’ve had several business trips to the greater New Orleans area the last couple years, and have tried for the Boobies four different times – making 3 round-trip attempts last year and another round-trip earlier this year.  Each time I’ve come up empty.  So that’s 8 individual passes by their known roosting spot.  It’s frustrating to think that the Boobies are likely no more than 20 feet below you but invisible each and every time as you pass by overhead. 

Then in November 2017 I had another business trip to New Orleans, including a day of meetings in Covington requiring another trip on the Lake Pontchartrain causeway.  Although I had no time for birding on this trip, of course my mind went to the Brown Boobies under the causeway.  I did a quick eBird search and they were still being seen.  My north-bound trip up the causeway would be after dark, but I would be able to return the next day in the late afternoon affording me a 9th opportunity to look for my nemesis bird.  I certainly wasn’t very optimistic, but of course I would keep my eyes open just in case.

It was a gray overcast day, so there would be no sun glare which had hampered my viewing on most of my other trips across the causeway.  After I paid my toll I began the drive south, sticking to the slow lane and going about 60 mph.  That was 5 mph below the speed limit, which I had found was about as slow as I could go and not feel like I was presenting a safety hazard to the rest of the traffic on the bridge.  As I went I made numerous quick scans of the air and water to the west, while of course still watching traffic.  Luckily the bridge is very straight.

The “sweet spot” for most of the Booby sightings is generally between mile markers 16 and 18.  That’s just a 2-mile stretch, and at 60 mph that means you are in the prime viewing area for just 2 minutes.  By the time I neared mile marker 18 I realized I hadn’t seen any birds at all.  Usually I see gulls, terns, and pelicans on my trips, so I was starting to think this one would be pretty boring.  But just as my window of opportunity was nearing an end, at mile marker 16.2 I spotted a bird flying about 50 feet over the highway flying east to west.  As it passed nearly directly over my car I could see it had the telltale shape of a Sulid – it was a Brown Booby!!!  And then just seconds later I spotted a second bird flying northbound at eye-level – it passed right by my car no more than 20 feet away – another Brown Booby! 

You know the old saying – “ninth time’s the charm” – well something like that.  That’s certainly the most attempts I’ve ever made for any given species in my birding career.

Brown Booby was #275 for my LA list, which was my fifth state for this ABA rarity.

South Polar Skua, Point Judith, Narragansett, RI, September, 2017

Over the years I’ve added some really nice statebirds in every New England state except CT following close calls with hurricanes.  It all started when Hurricane Earl passed by the New England coast in September 2010 and I was lucky enough to see a Sabine’s Gull and a South Polar Skua fly by at First Encounter Beach in MA.  And then in August 2011 I guessed right and traveled to Quabbin Reservoir in MA immediately after the eye of Hurricane Irene passed right overhead and had an amazing White-tailed Tropicbird and several Sooty Terns.  Plus over the next several days I added Sanderling in VT, Brown Pelican and Sooty Tern in RI, and Black Skimmer in ME - all attributed to the passage of Irene.  But a couple other times I’ve guessed wrong and missed multiple hurricane-blown rarities, and other times I’ve headed to the coast following a storm and saw nothing.  It’s important to be in the right place at the right time.

So it was with great anticipation that I watched forecasts of the projected path of Hurricane Jose in September 2017.  The storm was predicted to travel northeast a short distance off the coast as far as the Mid-Atlantic States.  Then Jose was forecasted to take a sharp turn to the east sparing a direct hit on New England.  That track would result in strong easterly winds on the south coast of New England as the storm passed by to the south.  And if all that came together, a seawatch from the RI coast could be quite productive, hopefully yielding open ocean birds that had been blown to the west.  I need both Red-necked and Red Phalaropes in RI, so maybe I’d get lucky and the winds would divert a few Phalaropes to the west as they passed by on their regular migration routes down the coast.  Given these conditions, Point Judith was likely the best spot from which to do a seawatch.  So my plans were set to be at Point Judith early the next morning. 

But when I work up the next day I saw that the actual track of Jose had been a bit farther east than predicted.  That meant that the forecasted east winds were now out the north instead.  That would blow birds away from the RI coast instead of closer to shore.  I was tempted to cancel my plans altogether, but since I had already cleared my calendar, and I love doing seawatches regardless of the weather, I stuck with my plans and headed out for my 2-hour drive to the RI coast. 

When I arrived at the lighthouse at Point Judith there were quite a number of sightseers already there watching the angry seas.  But the wind was blowing hard out of Narragansett Bay making viewing conditions difficult.  So I quickly decided to relocate to nearby south-facing Camp Cronin, where I could be a bit protected from the wind.  As I arrived I found a flock of about 60 Laughing Gulls (mostly immatures) feeding in the churned up waters just off shore.  Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find anything better in the flock.  Then I turned my attention to the west and watched the waves overtopping the jetty that protects Galilee harbor – pretty amazing.  Here is a picture I took through my windshield of the jetty in the distance.

But now it was time to get down to doing the seawatch.  Winds were out of the north-northeast, at maybe 15-25 mph, and it was only raining occasionally.  Visibility was quite good – Block Island was visible.  All in all – surprisingly good conditions for a seawatch.  Now I just needed the birds to cooperate.

I started to scan the open waters and quickly picked out my first Shearwater flying east to west – it was a Cory’s.  Additional scans yielded more Cory’s Shearwaters – most were single birds with an occasional group of up to 4.  I would end up with 40 Cory’s plus 2 Greats, and another 4 others that were too far out to ID, all flying east to west.  But despite the good early passage of Shearwaters, I didn’t spot any more in the afternoon. 

Throughout the morning there was also a steady stream of Common Terns flying by.  Interestingly, virtually all were flying west to east - opposite of the direction of the Shearwaters.  But I couldn’t find any other tern species mixed in.  There were also quite a number of Herring Gulls passing by, mostly first year birds.  And with the exception of one 3rd-year Lesser Black-back, there no unusual gulls either.

By noon the movement of birds had slowed down quite a bit, and successive scans picked up few birds at all.  But then on one of my scans I briefly spotted a bird low to the water far to the east that was all dark, very heavy-bodied, and broad-winged.  Although I only saw the bird for a couple seconds before it disappeared behind a swell, I instantly thought it could be a Skua.  Luckily a few seconds later it reappeared as it rose a bit above the waves, and I got an extended view as it continued to fly west.  It had white patches at the base of the primaries typical of Skuas and Jaegers.  And it was really big!  Now that the bird was closer (as close as the closest Cory’s that flew by) I could see it was much heavier bodied than a Jaeger.  For a while the bird chased after a Great Black-backed Gull and the bird was only a little smaller.  It was definitely a Skua – but which species?  I continued to follow the bird for at least a full minute and saw no pale mantle or body feathers, this eliminating Great Skua.  It was a South Polar Skua – quite a rarity for RI.  Eventually the bird disappeared off to the southwest out of sight.  And to think I was just hoping for maybe a Phalarope to pass by – I never expected something as rare as a Skua!  

South Polar Skua was #326 for my RI list.  I’ve now seen this pelagic species in ME, MA, RI and Nova Scotia.

And it was a nice addition to my list of hurricane-assisted birds in New England! Speaking of hurricane-assisted birds, my Skua was the only bird reported from anywhere in New England associated with the hurricane that would have been a new statebird for me.  That is except for a state-first Blue-footed Booby that was picked up on Cape Cod and taken to a rehabilitator.  So it looks like I guessed right at least for this hurricane!

Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Gilsland Farm, Falmouth, ME, 9/17

While taking a break from chores around the house I opened my e-mails to see what might be around.  Needless to say my attention was instantly drawn to one that had just been posted with this subject line – “FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER, Gilsland Farm, Falmouth”.  I’ve seen this South American vagrant in New England in MA, NH, and CT, but still needed it in ME, so of course I wanted to run right out and chase after it.  However as is often the case, I had commitments that day and could not go twitching.  And worse yet, I couldn’t go out the next day either.  Would the bird still be around on Day 3?  Vagrant Fork-tails will often stick around for a while, so I tried to be optimistic that I might still have the chance to see it in a couple days.

The e-mails and eBird Alerts continued throughout Day 1, and then luckily continued through most of Day 2 as well.  The bird was being reasonably reliable, though it was more difficult to find when a cooler fog bank engulfed the farm.  Under those conditions the flycatcher’s food was likely less active, so the bird was not surprisingly less visible feeding from lower perches.  All sightings were around the North Meadow, and since I’ve birded Gilsland Farm before, I had a general idea of the habitat and trails in this area.  With a bit of research I compiled a pretty good list of areas where the bird had been seen over those 2 days – basically any perch around the perimeter or in the middle of North Meadow.  It would be a large area to cover, but I was hopeful that there would be lots of eyes looking for it when I finally had a chance to give it a try. 

I left the house pre-dawn on Day 3 to make the 2-hour drive to Falmouth.  Just after dawn I saw a post that the Fork-tail was refound that morning, but the weather was once again cool and foggy at Gilsland Farm, so the bird was not being very cooperative.  But at least it was still around!

I arrived at 8 AM and quickly noticed 3 birders out in the middle of North Meadow.  I made my way down to them and one of the birders was the person who had spotted the target bird earlier that morning.  Unfortunately it had not been seen for at least an hour.  Soon thereafter I came upon a birding tour group who had decided to stop at a spot with a nice overlook of virtually the entire North Meadow in hopes of spotting the bird on an exposed perch.  And then minutes later the leader of that group got a phone call from another birder on site saying he had refound the bird.  After a few anxious seconds of searching, I spotted the Fork-tailed Flycatcher in the distance hunkered down in an apple tree.  The pressure was off, but I wanted to get much better views of this most attractive adult bird and its long tail feathers.

After a short walk I made my way down much closer to the apple tree where the Flycatcher had been spotted earlier.  The bird was still there, but mostly obscured by foliage.  Eventually I got some better views of the bird, and was able to get this passable phonescoped shot of it in the fog.

A couple minutes later it flew down to some shrubs in front of me and began to eat berries, providing this “Kodak moment”.

Satisfied with these great looks, I began my short walk out of the park, only to realize that the bird had flown into trees right in front of me.  So of course I had to stop to get a few more phonescoped shots of this amazing bird.  Unfortunately the thick fog limited picture quality quite a bit (not that phonescoped pictures are ever very good quality).

I headed back to my car very satisfied with my great views of this spectacular Fork-tailed Flycatcher, which was #341 for my ME list.  

Third Time is the Charm for Common Ringed Plover – Lifebird, Westport, MA, September, 2017

My track record trying to pursue Common Ringed Plover has been a frustrating one, with two close calls in the past.  The first came in May 2013 when one was spotted on Plum Island, MA, just over an hour away from home.  I was monitoring the MASSBIRD listserve when the post came across that day just after the sighting was confirmed, meaning I could have dropped everything to chase after it.  Unfortunately I was in Ohio at the time, though on a birding trip to Ohio, Indiana, and Ontario.  In fact I was at birding hotspot Magee Marsh in Ohio when I spotted the post.  Ordinarily being at Magee Marsh in May would be a good thing.  But the 2 days I was there were extremely slow (one local birder called them “dead”), which was why I was spending more time checking my e-mails than I was birding.  The Plover was seen by many birders over its 4-day stay in MA, but was long gone by the time I got home.

My next close encounter came in September 2016 in Baie Missisquoi in southern Quebec just across the border from VT.  I birded Baie Missisquoi on my first day in the area finding some locally rare shorebirds including Long-billed Dowitcher, Stilt Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, and Baird’s Sandpiper.  Plus there were many Semipalmated Plovers.  I spent the next day birding in northern VT unfortunately seeing few birds of interest.  That night after returning home I checked the Quebec listserve to see which of my finds might be still around.  There were a flurry of posts, which after some French-English translation, revealed that a Common Ringed Plover had been found at the same spot I birded the day before.  The bird was seen all day long while I was less than 25 miles to the south in VT.  Could it have been in with all the Semi Plovers I saw the day before?  Needless to say, a very frustrating turn of events.

Then fast forward to September 2017 – a post came across MASSBIRD saying that an immature Common Ringed Plover was discovered at Gooseberry Neck in Westport.  And although the bird was re-spotted several times during the day, I couldn’t break free – hate it when work gets in the way of birding.  But the next day was a definite possibility.  Although I had to fly out on a business trip that day, I had an early afternoon flight which would give me a couple hours to try for the bird in the early morning.  Of course I’d have to hope that the bird would continue and not be a one-day wonder.

The next morning I was out of the house early and arrived at Gooseberry Neck at about 8.  I figured I could stay until about 10:30 before I had to head to the airport, so I was optimistic that would give me enough time assuming the Plover had stuck around.  But there were no sightings of the bird yet when I arrived.  I could see a fair number of birders up ahead on the eastern side of the peninsula looking for the bird.  Another birder at the northern end of the peninsula suggested I bird down the western shoreline to search additional habitat.  Although that would be a logical option, I worried that if I headed down that way on my own I wouldn’t find out if the bird was spotted elsewhere.  What to do?  And then just a minute later that same birder got a text that the Ringed Plover had been spotted at the southern tip of the peninsula.  Good thing I didn’t head off on my own!

It seemed to take forever to make my way the 3/4 mile to the southern tip of Gooseberry Neck.  Especially the last several hundred yards which required walking on large round rocks along the shore – good way to break an ankle especially if you’re rushing to see a lifebird.  Finally I reached the tip and saw several birders together with scopes pointed south.  Within seconds they had me on the Common Ringed Plover – success.  I was able to get several phonescoped shots of this quite cooperative bird.

I also heard it give its distinctive and unique call.  Although I would have never been able to identify it by call on my own, I’m pretty sure I would have realized that the call was something I had never heard before.  

Common Ringed Plover was #414 for me in MA, and either #749 or #750 for my ABA list.  The indecision on my part is whether to count the recently split Cassia (aka South Hills) Crossbills which I most likely saw and heard in Idaho a couple years back.