Eurasian Collared-Doves in PA and MD, and White Ibis in PA, August 2012

A trip to visit relatives in PA and MD has to include at least a little birding time, right?  Of course it does for a "total ticker".  Though since I grew up in the area I've got pretty good lists for all the mid-atlantic states (and especially MD), and there's not much in the way of likely state birds.  I started off spending a little time checking the listserves and didn't see much to chase.  Then on to e-bird where I started to research Eurasian Collared-Doves - I need them for every mid-atlantic state except DE.  There has been a colony of ECDs in the little town of Shady Grove, PA for some time, and recent e-bird reports included up to 4 birds.  Plus there were a number of recent e-bird sightings of 1-2 birds just to the south across the stateline into MD.  Two possible statebirds within a 90 minute drive of the relatives - certainly critical mass and worth the try. 

I got up early on my first available morning only to find that it was raining heavily in the general vicinity of the doves.  So I decided to make that trip the next day.  But I had free time on my hands that morning before anyone else was awake.  What to do...  I checked the PA listserve and read that an immature White Ibis had been found the previous day just an hour away with pretty good local directions.  After a few minutes of looking at the map, I was off to the Susquehanna River a bit northeast of York to try for the ibis. 

The bird had been found in a small stream channel a short distance from the Susquehanna.  When I arrived I found some excellent riparian habitat along a small dirt road, and realized that the stream channel was at least a mile and half long.  And some of it was obscured by trees.  This could be a challenge.  I slowly drove along the channel 2 times checking at each opening in the trees, but with no luck.  A calling Screech Owl was a nice find though.  I decided to give it one last try, and as I reached the mouth of the channel I noticed a small wader on the rocks - it was the White Ibis.  Wonder where it was on my first 2 passes?  PA is now my 13th state for White Ibis (see the map below) - 8 southeast states in its normal range, along with 3 in the mid-atlantic and 2 in the northeast as a vagrant.

And the next day I was off for an early morning try for the ECDs.  After a pleasant drive through the beautiful PA countryside I neared the small town of Shady Grove, en route to Kline's Grocery in the middle of town which has been the center of dove activity.  One of the first birds I noticed on the eastern edge of town was a chunky dove on the wires - a most cooperative Eurasian Collared-Dove.  I drove a 1/2 mile to Kline's Grocery and had another 4 ECDs within just a couple minutes.  A nice colony of doves!

Next was a quick drive across the MD line to the small crossroads of Reidtown where ECDs had been reported this year.  Just 5 miles "as the dove flies" from Shady Grove, perhaps this is the beginnings of a satellite colony.  Soon after I arrived I found many Mourning Doves on the wires but no ECDs.  Then I noticed a dove in flight and got a brief view of a chunky square-tailed bird flying away.  A couple minutes later I saw the same bird in flight, and again at the same angle, as it flew off to the northwest out of sight.  I had wished for better views, but the bird didn't return in the next 2 hours.  So that would have to do to add Eurasian Collared-Dove to my MD list. 

Those are my 33rd and 34th states for ECD, with most being in the southeast and out west.  (I haven't birded in NM and MT since ECDs arrived there.)  And now I have them in MD, PA, DE, and VT in the northeast.  Just as it did in Europe, this species expands its range to the northwest before colonizing to the northeast.  And for statelists - that gives me 326 in MD and 238 in PA.

Red-Billed Tropicbird, Seal Island, ME July 2012

In the summer of 2006, a wayward Red-Billed Tropicbird was reported among the nesting terns on Matinicus Rock off the Maine coast.  Maine Audubon runs trips to that island to show off the nesting tern and puffin colonies, and the Tropicbird was seen on each of their first 3 trips that summer.  I went on the fourth trip in 2006, which turned out to be the first Maine Audubon boat that did not see the bird that year.  As the bird continued to be seen over the next couple years, my interest continued to grow.  In 2008, I took another Maine Audubon boat trip to Matinicus Rock.  When we arrived a worker from the island rowed out to our boat to report on the results of that year’s nesting activities.  When I asked about the Tropicbird she said that it had relocated to nearby Seal Island.  Although that island was visible from our boat, it wasn’t on our itinerary so no attempt was made to look for the bird.  The following year I signed up for another Maine Audubon trip but ended up not going due to a prediction of rough seas.  It turns out they didn’t see the Tropicbird on that trip anyway.  That meant through 2009 I was 0 for 3 (or maybe just 0 for 2) on attempts at seeing this tropical vagrant. 

Although I didn’t make any other attempts at seeing the Tropicbird the next couple years, I kept watching for reports from the islands to see if it was still around.  It continued to return each summer to Seal Island, though most reports were from the staff working on the island.  Many (most?) birders who tried for it from a boat were not successful.  But then came word of a new way to try for it – John Drury, an owner of a converted lobster boat, would take birders from Vinalhaven to Seal Island, for a reasonable fee of $80/hr.  Better yet, with all his runs to the island, he had become an expert on the bird, knowing the best times and places to see it.  Then came an e-mail in early summer 2012 mentioning that it was back again for its 7^th year, but who knows how much longer it would return.  That gave me the sufficient “activation energy” to give it yet another try.  I contacted my birding friend Don Mairs from Maine to see if he had seen the bird yet.  It turns out he had missed it no less than 9 times, but was willing to try again.  So along with another Maine birder, Louis Bevier who had tried unsuccessfully 5 times, we made plans for another trip to Seal Island.

We took the 10:30 ferry from Rockland, arriving at Vinalhaven at about noon.  John said there was no need to get there before 3 PM, so he met us at the dock in Vinalhaven at 2, and we headed to sea.  Winds were almost calm, and the ocean was as smooth as glass – which was most appreciated given that we had to cross 12 miles of ocean in a lobster boat.  We made a couple stops along the way for things like a pair of Parasitic Jaegers and some most cooperative Gannets on the water. 

 As we neared Seal Island we began to see puffins flying toward the island with fish in their bills to feed their young.  And small groups of puffins were lounging on the water providing some great “Kodak moments”.

We arrived at Seal Island at about 3:30 and headed toward the spot where the Tropicbird hangs out.  Within a couple minutes, John motioned that he had the bird.  A minute later there was the Tropicbird – sitting on the water among the bathing Common and Arctic Terns.  Over the next hour we had the bird in sight virtually non-stop as it seemed to have fun harassing the terns.  It would interrupt their bathing time by flying amongst the birds on the water, fly over the colony which put them all into the air, and strafe the small freshwater pond where they bathed (it called during two of these strafing runs).  A couple times it even harassed a cormorant.  Maybe after 7 summers without a mate it was in a foul mood. 

On the way back to Vinalhaven we stopped at one of the islands to check out a leucistic Great Black-backed Gull that John had found.  At least I don’t think it was an albino.

The Red-Billed Tropicbird was #730 for my ABA list, and #320 for me in Maine.