“I am a Cerulean”, Greenville Watershed, SC, April 25, 2021

Cerulean Warbler has a song that is rather unique.  That is if you compare its buzzy, rising-pitch song to the primary songs of other eastern warblers.  But then again, if you consider alternate songs, both Parula and Black-throated Blue have similar buzzy songs that rise in pitch.  And once I even heard a Redstart giving a nearly perfect Cerulean song.  These are all sufficiently similar that in my role as a member of the NH Rare Birds Committee, I’m not likely to accept a record of a heard-only Cerulean.  Though of course Cerulean is quite a rarity as far north as NH, so any record generally deserves considerable scrutiny.  And with limited experience with Ceruleans in New England in general, I wasn’t feeling very secure in my ID’s of singing Ceruleans as well.

But all that was cleared up, at least for me, when I moved to western NC.  Soon after I arrived I heard about a new mnemonic for the Cerulean song – “I am a Cerulean”.  To my ear that’s a perfect description of their song.  And ever since knowing that mnemonic, I’ve been able to separate Ceruleans from those less typical songs of Parulas and Black-throated Blues.  Or even rogue Redstarts.

And all that came in handy while participating in the 2021 Greenville County Spring Migration Count.  The Count was initially scheduled for Saturday April 24, but that turned out to be a rainy day.  So I took advantage of the option to delay my counting to the 25th, which turned out to be dry but quite windy in the morning.  The key part of my territory is the Greenville Watershed which has tremendous deciduous woodland habitat – some of the highest elevation woodlands in SC.  There are just 2 roads that wind through this habitat.  My greatest bird numbers are along Saluda Road, principally because the road has next to no traffic and lots of opportunities to pull over or even just stop while on the road.  The other road I bird in the area is Old US Highway 25, which has a little more traffic and fewer places to pull over, so my tally along this road is typically a bit lower. 

Once again this area had great numbers of the higher elevation breeders, despite the chilly and windy conditions to start.  Notable tallies included 33 Red-eyed Vireos, 16 Ovenbirds, 36 Hoodeds, 15 Parulas, and 10 Wood Thrushes.  And as always one of the stars of this area is the Swainson’s Warbler – I had 6 singing males plus another silent pair.  But the best was yet to come. 

As I neared the NC/SC stateline on the upper end of Old US Highway 25 I started to look for a place to turn around and head back down the road.  There are several pretty sharp turns in this stretch of the road and limited shoulders.  But just as I neared a spot to pull over I heard what I thought was a classic “I am a Cerulean” call in the distance.  But were my ears playing games on me?  Luckily it took me just a few seconds to pull over and listen for the call again.  And there was the call, clear as day, coming from the canopy of an area of large deciduous trees – “I am a Cerulean” over and over again for at least 5 minutes.  Sure am glad to have learned that mnemonic so I could recognize the song so quickly even when I was driving along. 

This same bird was re-found by other birders the next day and again on the 29th.  Perhaps it’s going to be a local breeder.  There are no eBird records in Greenville County from June or July, though some range maps show Cerulean as a local nester in the area.

Cerulean Warbler was #285 for my SC state list.  SC was my 25th state for this somewhat elusive species (the blue-shaded states in my statebird map below).  The cross-hatched states are those where I still need Cerulean in its regular range. 

Two Lifebirds and Three Other Statebirds, South Florida, April, 2018

In 2006 and 2008 I added a few vacation days to business trips to south Florida in search of multiple introduced species.  Some were countable lifebirds, like the Spot-breasted Oriole in 2006 and the Common Myna in 2008 which had recently been added to the ABA list.  But others weren’t, like the Purple Swamphen I specifically sought after and found at Pembroke Pines in 2008.  And during that trip I also had a fly-by Egyptian Goose which unfortunately also wasn’t countable.  Then a few years later the ABA added both the Swamphen (though now determined to be the Gray-headed Swamphen) and the Egyptian Goose to the ABA list.  Unfortunately, even though I had seen both species in the wild, I couldn’t count them because that was before these introduced species were determined by the ABA to have sustainable populations. 

So I needed to get back to south Florida to see both the Swamphen and Goose to fill in these new holes in my ABA list.  Unfortunately I haven’t had any business trips to south FL since 2010, so I’ve had no chances to see these very “gettable” species.  Finally an April 2018 family vacation to visit relatives would provide an opportunity to check them off.  So I made sure to set up an itinerary that included a couple days in southeast FL to look for both targets.  Plus of course there are always a few other statebird possibilities to try for.  I targeted two additional possible statebirds – Nelson’s Sparrow likely still hanging around in saltmarshes on the Gulf Coast, and a flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds coming to a rice silo just west of West Palm Beach.

Our first stop was to visit relatives north of Tampa.  These relatives live in a subdivision with next to no native vegetation.  That is except for their backyard, which includes a small grove of natural live oaks.  In our previous trips there, these trees have always seemed to attract some nice migrants.  So on our second day there I spent much of the afternoon sitting in the yard watching quite a number of migrants come and go – mostly Palm Warblers, Yellow-rumps, and a Black-and-white.  Then I noticed another warbler that I initially thought was a Yellow-rumped but soon realized it didn’t have a yellow rump.  Upon closer inspection I realized it was a rare female Cerulean Warbler.  I continued to watch it off and on for the next 20 minutes.  That was a most unexpected surprise for this species that typically migrates into the US across the western Gulf.  FL is my 23rd state for this declining species (see my statebird map below).

The next day I headed off to nearby Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park to try for Nelson’s Sparrow.  I lived in central FL in the late 80’s, and had numerous wintering sparrows which back then were called “Sharp-tailed Sparrows”.  Of course since then this group has been split into 2 species.  Unfortunately I didn’t look close enough to tell whether the many birds I was looking at in the 80’s would become Saltmarsh or Nelson’s Sparrows.  Although I’m sure I saw both of these common wintering species, I decided to only count the Saltmarsh Sparrow on my FL statelist.  So with that somewhat arbitrary gap in my FL list, I researched possible sites for Nelson’s Sparrow.  It was getting late in the season, and there were no recent posts for this species.  But there were April sightings of Nelson’s at this park in 2006 and 2014 - obviously dated but still worth a try.  Besides the salt marsh couldn’t have changed that much over the years, right?

I arrived at dawn at the trailhead for the Black Rail Trail at the state park, and began my walk.  After a short distance through the woodland, the trail emerged into a very nice saltwater marsh – perfect habitat for the Nelson’s, as well as for Saltmarsh and Seaside Sparrows.  I continued walking along the trail, stopping to play a bit of tape here and there (since Nelson’s can be very tape responsive), but to no avail.  Then after about 30 minutes of watching and listening I finally heard a Nelson’s singing out in the marsh.  I tried to track it down, but it turned out to be too wet so it stayed as a heard only bird.  Later I heard 2 other singing birds, but could never get any visuals.  Interestingly I didn’t have Saltmarsh or Seaside Sparrows while on the walk despite the excellent habitat.

My statebird map for Nelson’s Sparrow has lots of gaps.  First of all, I’ve never had any luck finding it on its Midwest breeding grounds (though I’ve seen it nesting in ME).  I've also seen Nelson's as a nester in 3 Canadian provinces - AB, NS, and PEI.  And my story for Nelson’s in its wintering range along the southern Atlantic coast is the same as it was for FL – I’m sure I saw this species in those states years ago, but my notes are insufficient to be able to count both Nelson’s and Saltmarsh in those states.  So like FL, I’ve only checked off Saltmarsh Sparrow in the states along the southern Atlantic coastline.

As a side note – while along the Gulf Coast I made sure to look at the wintering Willets to be sure I saw a “Western” Willet in hopes that some day this species will be split into two like the “Sharp-tailed Sparrows” were.

Next we were off to southeast FL, and with only a slight diversion we made a stop at the Sem-Chi Rice Mill where 50 or more Yellow-headed Blackbirds had been found feeding with other blackbirds on rice that had been spilled at the mill.  Soon after we arrived I noticed a flock of blackbirds feeding on the ground right next to one of the buildings.  After a short walk I was a safe distance away, and could see many Red-wings, a couple Cowbirds, and 1 or 2 Common and Boat-tailed Grackles, but no Yellow-headeds.  Then I thought I saw a flash of yellow among the flock of blackbirds.  And then as the birds moved around a bit I caught another glimpse of yellow, and eventually spotted an adult male Yellow-headed feeding in the middle of the flock.  The bird didn’t seem too healthy, but it was alive and countable.  I thought about looking for other Yellow-headeds nearby, but since my family was in the car waiting for me, I figured a shorter stop was the better approach.  FL is my 3rd state for this normally western species as a rarity (in addition to MA and NH).

So although it certainly was nice to add 3 birds to my FL statelist, the key targets were still ahead of me – Gray-headed Swamphen and Egyptian Goose as lifers.  With a bunch of eBird research, I found several seemingly reliable locations for the Swamphen not too far from our hotel, but numbers in each case were pretty low.  So I mapped out several possible locations in case I had problems finding my target among the more numerous Common and Purple Gallinules.  My first choice was Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands southwest of West Palm with recent reports having up to 5 Swamphens along with dozens of Gallinules.

I arrived at Green Cay at dawn, and started to walk slowly along the boardwalk which meanders around the wetlands.  Shortly after I arrived I ran into this Anhinga on the railing as if it were welcoming me to the park.

The first area I came to was full of waders, but I only found 1 Common Gallinule.  There wasn’t much marsh habitat there, so I wasn’t too worried yet.  Then a short distance farther along I finally came into some nice marsh habitat that looked suitable for my target.  And sure enough with a quick scope scan I spotted a Swamphen in the distance.  And as I was about to set up for a distant phone-scoped photo, I heard an odd call coming from the marsh right behind me.  I turned and found a much closer Swamphen giving a call which sounded a bit like a Red-headed Woodpecker.  This most cooperative bird provided this nice Kodak moment.

With the pressure off, I continued to walk along the boardwalk at a leisurely pace and found 3 other Swamphens giving me 5 for Green Cay.  And although the Swamphens were outnumbered by the 30 Common and 3 Purple Gallinules, they really stood out.  The park was full of waders and other marsh birds as well, with one of the highlights being a nice visual of a Least Bittern.

Next I was off to search for my next target – the Egyptian Goose.  Research on eBird suggested there was a pair in most every park or golf course in the area that included a freshwater pond.  But most locations had just a few sightings, and never more than a couple birds.  But as I continued to watch the eBird reports I noticed multiple sightings at the Snook Island Natural Area.  Sightings indicated it was a family group with multiple goslings, so this seemed to be my best opportunity.  But like the Swamphen, I came up with a list of other nearby spots just in case I struck out at Snook Island.

After a short drive from Green Cay I arrived at Snook Island and soon realized that the park was actually a coastal reserve including some nice mangroves (and lots of no-see-ums), but had no freshwater.  Not the proper habitat for the Geese.  But it was adjacent to a golf course with several ponds, so that must be the correct location.  I could see a good portion of the golf course from the fenceline along its southern edge, and I first scanned the closest pond but just came up with a few Mottled Ducks.  Farther out in the park I noticed a couple more waterfowl walking in the grass but they were just Muscovy Ducks (countable but I already had them on my FL list).  Then in the far distance I spotted another bird walking in the grass and got the briefest look of an Egyptian Goose just before it walked over a rise and out of view.  That was enough to add it to my list, but it was a miserable view.  So I decided to drive into the golf course to ask permission to walk around the course a bit and try to get a better view.

A couple minutes later I got to the golf course office but couldn’t find anyone to ask permission.  So I decided to just head off on my own, and the first pond I came to had these 2 Egyptian Geese preening right in front of me. 

I had allotted the whole day to look for my 2 lifers, but had them both before mid-morning.  Do I stay out and do more birding, or head back early to join the family on the beach at the hotel?  As a compromise, I decided to make one brief attempt for another possible target– a Tropical Mockingbird.  This bird first appeared at the Lake Worth Beach parking lot in June 2017, stayed into July, and ended up breeding with a Northern Mockingbird.  From notes in eBird it looked like the locals didn’t think it would be countable, though I don’t think the FL rare bird committee has voted on it yet.  Presumably the same bird was re-spotted a couple weeks earlier, and since the parking lot was only a couple miles away, I decided to give it a try.

I first headed to the southern end of the parking lot where the Mockingbird was typically seen last summer.  With a quick scan the only birds I could find were a pair of Collared Doves.  I walked to the middle of the lot and soon spotted a bird on the wires – it was a Mockingbird but which species?  It took a while for the bird to cooperate, but I was eventually able to ID it as the Tropical – no white wing patches, and a wide white patches in the tip of the tail as shown in this photo.

 

Later it was joined by a Northern Mockingbird and the two appeared to be a pair, spending some time checking out suitable nesting sites. 

This is the second Tropical Mockingbird I’ve seen in the US – the first was one on the TX Gulf Coast which later was determined to be an escaped bird.  Unfortunately birders are likely to reach the same conclusion on this one, even though they nest not too far away on the Yucatan peninsula and in the northern Caribbean.

A most successful trip!  With 2 new lifebirds that brings my ABA Continental Area (not counting Hawaii) total to 754, and my Lower 48 list to 734.  And my FL statelist is now at 319 – conservatively not counting the Tropical Mockingbird, at least for now. 

Four Migrant Passerine Statebirds, Galveston, TX, April 2016

My typical routine of late in preparing for my monthly business trips to Houston is to set up a Needs Alert in eBird to see if there might be a statebird or two I could try for locally.  And with my next trip coinciding with migration season in late April, the Needs Alert listed quite a number of passerines seen near Houston that I still needed for my TX list.  Usually I can squeeze in a little birding time in the early morning or evening to check out a local hotspot or two, so I was optimistic that I might add at least one or two new birds to my list on this upcoming trip. 

But then as this trip neared several of my meetings were cancelled, freeing up an entire morning.  That would give me enough time to head a bit farther afield.  So now I started thinking about whether I had time to head to the coast to visit some of the key TX migrant traps – something I’ve never done before.  With some eBird research I found a couple places on Galveston Island where quite a number of my targets were being seen on an almost daily basis.  Perhaps the best spot was Lafitte’s Cove, which was just over an hour’s drive from Houston.  I could take the morning off, leave Houston pre-dawn to arrive at Lafitte’s Cove at first light, bird the island throughout the morning, and still get back to Houston by just after lunch.  And although migration is always variable, I thought that even an average day could net a few new statebirds. 

Lafitte’s Cove is a veritable oasis of thick natural vegetation surrounded by a suburban neighborhood of upscale homes.  Thankfully a local preservation group had protected this area, built some trails running through the park, and maintained two water drips.  I arrived at the park about 15 minutes before dawn on a cloudy morning, and began the short walk into the park.  Along the way I first came to wetlands with calling Marsh Wrens, Yellowthroats, and Gallinules, but quickly passed through the area - I headed right to the woods to start my search for my target migrant passerines.

The first thing I noticed when I got to the woodlands was the total lack of sound – no songs and not even any call notes.  This didn’t bode well when searching for migrants.  It was still pretty dark in the dense vegetation, and since I wouldn’t be able to identify much yet anyway I decided to wander around the park a bit to get my bearings before the lighting, and hopefully the birding, improved.  I found the two drips, and walked about half the trails, but still didn’t see or hear any birds.  This was not starting well.

As I neared the intersection of two trails I finally spotted some movement – an Ovenbird – not a target but finally a bird.  Then I noticed some movement on the trail up ahead.  Although light was limited, I got brief views of the bird which I thought was a Hooded Warbler.  That’s one I needed for my TX list, so I moved in a bit closer and eventually got good views of the female warbler foraging low in the brush – the yellow face and white in the tail clinched it as a Hooded.  I’ve tried for this species several times in Houston where it is near the western edge of its breeding range, so I was happy to finally fill this gap in my TX list, which was the 31st state where I’ve seen this species.

Then a few seconds later I noticed another bird right on the trail near the Hooded.  It was a dark Catharus thrush, but lighting was still very limimted.  I finally got a good look at its face and it was a Gray-cheeked – another target bird.  My statebird map for this skulking migrant is very spotty, so I was happy to be able to tick it off in TX.

I walked a bit further ahead and was now nearing the edge of the park.  A Cardinal flew by, and then I heard the song of a White-eyed Vireo.  And then I noticed a bit of movement high in a tree - it was one of those confusing female warblers.  Although I recognized the plumage I struggled a bit to remember what species it was until I finally realized it was a Cerulean Warbler – a plumage I haven’t seen in many years.  And another bird I needed for my TX list.  My statebird map for this species is somewhat like my Gray-cheeked map – very spotty although this is a widespread eastern breeder and migrant, though a declining species throughout its range.

So although I had seen or heard just 6 individual birds, 3 of them were new statebirds.  Amazing!

I continued to walk slowly through the park and birding was very slow, though I would occasionally spot a bird either on the trail or low in the brush.  I would eventually end up seeing another Gray-cheeked, a couple Swainson’s, a Veery, and a Wood Thrush.  And at one point I spotted a skulking warbler that finally popped into the open – a Worm-eating Warbler – another target bird, and my third new "southeastern" warbler for my TX list.  

I spent about 3 hours in the park and only heard two singing warblers - a Blackpoll and a Canada.  During that time I saw a female Hooded Warbler five different times feeding low in the brush – was this just the 1 bird or multiple individuals?  I ended up with 11 species of warblers and 4 Catharus thrushes – nice diversity in a morning with very few birds.  I ran into several other birders in the park who saw almost nothing by comparison, so I felt very lucky to have been so successful.

With my available time rapidly coming to an end, I decided to try another migrant spot to see if there might be more birds.  I headed toward the eastern end of the island to a spot called Corps Woods that had had some pretty good sightings of late.  But I was most disappointed in this spot – despite a large patch of natural woodlands there were almost no trails, and I found almost nothing.  Though I was able to get this picture of a most cooperative Yellow-crowned Night-Heron by holding my phone up to my binoculars.

I ended my Galveston Island birding by making a quick stop near the eastern end of the island and found an amazing congregation of terns and shorebirds roosting in a flooded parking lot.  I counted 19 species of shorebirds and 5 species of terns plus Skimmers.  With such a diverse set of habitats I had a feeling that I had racked up a pretty good list for the morning.  After entering everything into eBird I tallied an even 100 species – not bad for just a morning, and for pretty limited passerine migration.

With 4 new statebirds that gives me 433 for TX.  Although that’s my largest statelist, there are still quite a number of relatively easy species to try for on future trips to the state, especially if those trips occur during spring migration.

Cerulean Warbler, Route 4 Rest Stop, Ira, VT, May 2015

For a number of years I’ve read Ian Worley’s accounts of Cerulean Warblers nesting on Snake Mountain.  I had not made it a priority to chase after them until 2014 when I reached out to Ian to get some details on his birds.  The problem was they didn’t show up that year, so I had unfortunately waited too long to see the Snake Mountain birds.

But then in 2014 I noticed a couple e-bird posts with sightings of Ceruleans at the Route 4 Rest Stop just west of Rutland in the town of Ira.  That spot used to be known for nesting Golden-winged Warblers, and I had successfully seen this rare and declining species there back in 1995.  Unfortunately those birds are no longer at the Rest Stop since the woodlands have grown up quite a bit.  I didn’t try for the Ceruleans there in 2014 mostly because the directions were a bit vague.  But then reports of birds at the same spot started to come across in May 2015, with some good details on their locations.  So I decided it was finally time to try for Ceruleans in VT.  I got some micro-directions from a local birder, and 2 birds were singing there the day before my trip, so I was cautiously optimistic.

I arrived at 8 after a 2 ½ hour drive, and quickly headed to the top of the hill above the Rest Stop where the birds were most often heard and seen.  There was a lot of song in the area, with the most common species being Redstart, Ovenbird, Veery, Wood Thrush, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  Within a couple minutes I heard 2 distant Cerulean songs off in the distance to the north.  That was good enough to check it off my VT list, but since this is a bird I don’t hear or see very often, I wanted to spend some more time with them.  Since they had been regular there, I figured I wouldn’t have to wait too long.

However, I spent the next two hours in this immediate area and never heard or saw them after the 2 initial songs.  The closest I could get were at least 2 Redstarts that were giving superficially similar songs.  I ended up with nearly 40 species including 9 species of warblers – 1 of which was a skulking female Mourning Warbler.  Not bad for a 2-hour long “big sit”.  Though I sure wish the Ceruleans had cooperated.  I remember Ian mentioning his birds would stop singing pretty early in the season as nesting was progressing.  Maybe that’s what the birds at the Rest Stop were doing now – or perhaps they were just being very uncooperative the day I was there.

Cerulean Warbler was #269 for my VT list.  That was almost exactly 20 years since the last time I was at the Route 4 Rest Stop, when Golden-winged Warbler was VT bird #146 for me.  VT was my 20th state for Cerulean, which I guess isn’t too bad for this declining species.