Harlequin Duck, Milford, CT, December, 2013

You would think that Harlequin Duck would be a pretty easy bird in CT.  After all, CT is a New England state with significant coastline.  Not to mention that perhaps the best place to see Harlequins in New England is in RI at Sachuest Point just a few miles from the CT state line.  But much of the CT coastline is sandy rather than rocky which is the preferred habitat for Harlequins.  Plus the CT coast is protected by Long Island, so birds heading south down the coast to winter in NJ and points south are not very likely to make stops along CT on their journey.  And a further complication is that most of the coastal sightings are of birds that don’t stay long.  As a result, this colorful duck is quite difficult in CT; in fact very difficult particularly for an out-of-state birder.  I’ve unsuccessfully chased after two different CT birds over the years – one on the coast and one long-staying bird on an inland river where I arrived the day after it departed.  And I’ve seen Harlequin in each New England state except CT – yes I’ve even seen it in inland VT.  So needless to say this is a key target for me.

Now we move forward to 2013 and Christmas Bird Count season.  As the sightings started to be posted on the listserves a post came across of a female Harlequin Duck seen on the Milford CBC at Merwin Point, first spotted in the morning and then seen again at the same spot late in the day, despite a significant ice and snow storm.  The next day, the bird was seen by several birders, though the last posted sighting of the day was a short distance to the west near Sloppy Jose’s restaurant.  My drive time to Milford is a bit more than my normal maximum distance for chasing after rarities.  But since this bird was likely to stick around, and a key target, I decided to give it a try. 

The following morning I headed out, arriving at Merwin Point a bit after 10.  This location featured a number of small rocky islands just offshore, and several man-made jetties, so quite a bit of habitat for a Harlequin.  But despite several scans, I couldn’t find the target bird.  The closest I could find was a male White-winged Scoter.  I wondered if the Harlequin could be hiding out on the back side of some of the islands, but despite looking from several locations, I couldn’t get views of the southern sides of those islands.  I was about to head to the west where it was seen late the previous day when I noticed a group of 5 small ducks at the point, diving frequently.  Unfortunately they were Greater Scaup.  But where had they been on my previous scans of the area?  Thinking that maybe the Harlequin would appear in the same way, I scanned the area again but with no luck.

My next stop was Sloppy Jose’s restaurant.  The restaurant was easy enough to find, and I parked in the restaurant's parking lot successfully avoiding the snow and ice piles.  The problem was the restaurant was a block from the water with no access or view of the Sound.  Instead, the shoreline was hidden behind numerous waterfront houses.  How would I get views of the water?  The birder that found the Harlequin from this area yesterday must have figured it out.  So I started walking along the road to look for gaps between the houses.  Eventually I found a vacant lot with a view of the water, so I set up the scope and began to scan the water and coastline.  But no luck – a few Canada Geese and some Mallards and Black Ducks were close to shore, some Long-tailed Ducks and Red-breasted Mergs were farther out, and in the distance I could see the same 5 Greater Scaup I had spotted earlier.  But no Harlequin.  Yet another scan and still no target.  What next?  Could the bird be moving to the west from its initial location?  Should I drive to west to look for additional rocky habitat?  But before I left, I tried one more scan, and there it was – amazing, right in the middle of the cove that I hadscanned at least a dozen times earlier.  The bird was diving frequently, so it’s possible but unlikely that it could have been under the water on each of my earlier scans.  Maybe it just appeared, like the Scaup earlier.  In any case, I found the bird after about an hour of searching.  I always say that the best search is one you have to spend some time working for, instead of one you just drive up to and see.  So this statebird was quite satisfying indeed.

Harlequin Duck was number #308 for me in CT, New England statebird #1954, and #223 for me in all 6 New England states.  I’ve now seen Harlequins in each Atlantic coast state south to VA, all 4 Pacific coast states, as well as in WI and VT as inland states (see my statebird map below).

Nutmeg Mannikin – Lifebird – and 6 other California Statebirds, December 2013

A couple months ago I was scanning through ABA’s website and found an article describing that the ABA had just voted to add Nutmeg Mannikin as a countable bird in the ABA area.  Actually, more specifically, the population in southern CA is countable, even though there are populations in a number of other locations in the Lower 48.  A couple years ago I had found a small flock of Mannikins in the Los Angeles area at the edge of a riparian area, and last year I saw one in Houston in a manicured lawn in a park.  But those were not countable per ABA’s rules.  So I had to find them again in southern CA in order to add them to my list.  With regular trips to Los Angeles that shouldn’t be too hard.  So as my next CA trip neared, I contacted some local birding friends for advice.  It turns out that although they are all over southern CA, they are generally seen in small numbers and not necessarily very reliable in any one spot.  But a couple key locations were suggested, and I was ready to give it a try.  Plus southern CA can be a great spot for wintering rarities, many of which stick around for quite a while.  Then again, the last time I looked for wintering rarities in southern CA (3/13) I only found 2 of my 8 targets.  Hopefully my luck would be better this time.

The first birding I did was to go after a Dusky-Capped Flycatcher as a CA statebird.  One had reappeared for the 6^th consecutive winter in La Mirada Creek Park very close to where my meetings were.  I had tried for this species twice last winter in another LA-area park without success, so maybe I’d have better luck this time.  It was a very cold morning by LA standards that day (only 40 degrees), and I doubted that the flycatcher, nor its insect food, would be very active early in the morning.  But I was only available in the early morning, so I arrived at 6:30 (20 minutes before sunrise), and began my vigil.  I found a few birds here and there, most notably a blooming tree that was being visited by dozens of Allen’s Hummingbirds, and a Sooty Fox Sparrow, but no sign of the target bird.  By 8:00 it was warming a bit, and some of the bird’s favorite trees were now in the sun, so I hoped that it might become more active.  And sure enough, I heard one call – an unmistakable loud “wheeeer”.  I quickly went to the area where I heard the call, but never saw or heard the bird again.  But one call was good enough.  CA is my second state for Dusky-capped (see my statebird map below).

 A White-throated Sparrow had been seen in the park recently as well, but I never got a good location for this one and didn’t find it.  Mannikins had actually been reported at the park as well, but I wasn’t too worried about missing this one since I had better spots for them. 

My key opportunity to try for Mannikins was late in the day at two different parks suggested by local birders – Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park as the best location and Madrona Marsh as a secondary spot.  Their preferred habitat at these locations was the reed beds, and I was told they are often heard before being seen.  Harbor Park had a good-sized lake nearly surrounded by reeds, so lots of potential Mannikin habitat.  As a bonus, Harbor Park had a couple other rarities to try for as well – Rusty Blackbird and American Redstart.  Microdirections had been posted for both, so I had a realistic shot at 3 targets at this spot.  And since both the Blackbird and Redstart were being seen along the southwestern edge of the lake, I could focus on this part of the park for all 3. 

I began to walk around the edge of the lake listening for Mannikins at each area with reeds, but with no luck.  Eventually I got to the area where the Redstart was being seen, and although I had some Audubon’s Warblers there, there was no Redstart.  Then I got to the dam, one area where the Blackbird had been seen, but no luck on this one too.  I began to wonder if this was going to be yet another CA trip with limited success.  Next I walked below the dam where the Blackbird had also been seen and there it was – feeding out in the open in a small wet area.  I’ve seen Rusty Blackbird throughout much of its normal range in the east, and now in CA as my second western state (after NM) where it is a rarity.

There were many more reed beds to check for the Mannikins, so I headed back up the western side of the lake to bird these other areas.  En route I passed by the Redstart spot again so of course I tried for this one too.  There was a fair amount of activity in the area, again mostly Audubon’s Warblers.  And then I got a glimpse of a bird flitting very actively in the willows – just like Redstarts do at home.  It took a while to get a good view, but it turned out to be the target bird.  CA is my first western state for this otherwise eastern warbler.

My luck was definitely looking up, but I still needed my key target.  I continued to bird the reeds with no luck, only finding an occasional Yellowthroat and some Song Sparrows.  But then I got to another bed and quickly heard some faint high-pitched chirping.  Just a couple seconds later an immature Chestnut Mannikin came up out of the reeds and perched near the top of one just a few feet away.  And within a couple seconds 3 other immatures came up as well.  The group of 4 birds only stayed there for 5-10 seconds before taking off and flying away high overhead, disappearing in the distance.  Although it was a brief observation, I got to hear and see them in their preferred habitat – pretty satisfying all things considered.  That was lifebird #739 and #717 for me in the Lower 48.  And 3 for 3 targets in the park in just an hour of birding.

I needed to get on the road to drive to central CA for my next meeting, but had targeted another stakeout rarity that was right on my way – a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Veterans Memorial Park in Sylmar.  Again excellent microdirections had been posted (near hole #7 on a frisbee golf course).  So if traffic wasn’t too bad I could make it there just a little before sunset and give it a try. 

Despite some backups I successfully got to the park about 30 minutes before sunset.  And just after I arrived I ran into some frisbee players and they gave me directions to hole #7.  The area was heavily wooded, and most every tree had fresh sapsucker holes - so I was optimistic.  Just a minute later I heard some tapping, and it was a sapsucker, but the wrong species – the resident Red-breasted.  Over the next 20 minutes I heard and saw a nice mix of woodpeckers– 2 Flickers, 2 Nuttall’s, and an Acorn – but not the target.  Then I heard some tapping nearby, and chased it down, but unfortunately it turned out to be yet another Nuttall’s.  But just after it flew out of the tree, I heard a little more tapping, and there was the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker just a few feet from where the Nuttall’s had been.  My statebird map for Yellow-bellied is quite similar to my maps for the Rusty Blackbird and the Redstart - another common eastern species that is a regular wintering rarity in southern CA.

Later in the week I needed to drive to the San Francisco area for more meetings.  My route took me very close to Pixley National Wildlife Refuge, where Sandhill Cranes are a regular wintering species.  Sandhills are probably the most common species I still needed for my CA list, so I planned a short detour to try for them.  A recent e-bird report listed only 50 Cranes there, and it’s a pretty large refuge, so I wasn’t sure what my chances might be.  Plus the refuge is in a vast area of open farming fields, so lots of potential Crane habitat.  As I got to within a couple miles of the refuge I saw 4 large birds flying low over a field nearby.  I caught up to them, jumped out of the car, and they were indeed Sandhill Cranes.  And then I started to hear others, and noticed a large flock in the field a short distance away.  I estimated 550 birds - that was easy.  My statebird map for Sandhill Crane is quite spotty for this species although it is regular nationwide.

Having seen my target, I was tempted to leave right away.  But there were birds all around me, especially Savannah Sparrows, so I decided to stay for a few minutes.  I counted 50 Savannahs in view at once with an estimated 110 in the immediate area along the road.  Then 2 Long-billed Curlews flew overhead.  I started to scan the field where the Curlews flew from to see if there were others and noticed some Plovers in the distance walking in the field.  Although my first thought was Pacific Golden, I realized the location was all wrong for them.  And even though I just had binocs and they were quite distant, I was able to identify them as Mountain Plovers.  I counted 25 birds as I watched them feed in the field.  A few minutes later they flew directly overhead calling and giving great views of the white wing linings, eventually disappearing into a neighboring field.  I haven’t seen Mountain Plovers too many times (CA is only my 6^th state), and each time I see this declining species it’s a pretty special event.

This turned out to be a very successful trip despite very limited birding time.  I found 6 of my 7 targets (including the Mannikin as a Lifer), plus the Plover as a bonus bird.  And now I have 364 total in CA, including 13 new CA species this year. 

Fork-Tailed Flycatcher, Hadlyme, CT, December 2013

A couple years ago a very cooperative Fork-tailed Flycatcher showed up in southwest Connecticut.  But that would have been 3+ hours from home for me, which is longer than my normal distance for chasing after rarities, so I didn’t go after it.  However, as the bird continued to be seen daily for quite a while, I wondered if I should have gone after it despite the distance.  After all –would this mega-rarity ever be seen again in CT in my life time?

The answer to that question turned out to be a resounding “yes”, when a Fork-tailed Flycatcher was discovered along the Connecticut River in Hadlyme just before Thanksgiving.  And within my self-imposed 2-hour driving distance for chasing!  The bird continued to be very reliable, so I headed to Hadlyme  to give it a try.  As I neared the ferry parking lot where it was most often seen, I could see at least a dozen cars, and at least as many birders with scopes and cameras all pointing in one direction.  I pulled in and could see the gorgeous bird perched atop a small tree right at the edge of the parking lot – didn’t even need binocs.  The bird was silhouetted against a bright sky for much of the time, so I didn’t get the best pictures, but was able to get these representative shots.

 We are all very lucky that this bird selected such an accessible part of the river as its home during its stay in CT.  There must be hundreds of miles of seemingly similar habitat along the Connecticut that are virtually inaccessible that the bird could have chosen instead.

This was my 3rd New England state (and 3rd state overall) for Fork-tailed Flycatcher, and number 307 for me in Connecticut.  

Sandhill Crane, Somers, CT, November 2013

As 2013 was nearing an end, I was disappointed to have just 20 new birds this year for my New England lists.  That is way below by recent average of about 32 per year.  So I was hopeful that a mid-November pelagic trip out of Rhode Island would deliver on several realistic statebird possibilities.  My plan was to head south the day before the trip with my birding buddy Denny Abbott, chasing after any rarities that may be around in RI, and then take the boat trip the next day.

Weather is always a concern for cold weather pelagics in New England, so I watched the NOAA forecasts daily as the trip neared.  Everything was looking pretty good until early morning the day before the trip, when NOAA put up a small craft advisory for the next day.  Now the boat trip was in jeopardy, but the decision wouldn’t be made until early afternoon, after we were planning to head south.  And another cloud over the trip – no rarities were around to chase after.  Do we just wait for a decision from the captain, or start heading down to RI and do some speculative birding from land, watching e-mails along the way?  Then at 8:30 AM came a post of 3 Sandhill Cranes in northeastern CT.  I have tried for Sandhills in CT at least twice before with no luck, so this was a key target.  So my decision was obvious – at the very least head into CT to try for the Sandhills, and watch for news on the pelagic as the day progressed.

We arrived in Somers, CT just after lunch and easily found the corn stubble field where the Sandhills had been seen that morning.  Although there were no birds in that field, there were many other cornfields in the area, so we were still hopeful that they could just be a short distance away feeding in a nearby field.  We were just about to start searching other fields when a car pulled up next to me.  I was fully expecting the driver was going to be a local resident asking what we were doing.  Instead it was another birder also in search of the Sandhills, who said he just saw 3 large birds drop into a marsh just a short distance away.  Because he couldn’t stop on the road he couldn’t be sure they weren’t Great Blues, and he was about to double back to check them out.  So I turned the car around and followed him to the spot. 

The area was a large cattail and grassy marsh, pretty typical of habitat where Sandhills might nest.  I’ve looked for nesting Sandhills in very similar habitat in Messalonskee Marsh in ME, and even though they are very large birds, they can be really hard to see in a marsh.  In fact it took me 4 tries before I saw them at Messalonskee – and that was in Spring and Summer when the gray birds should have been noticeable in a green marsh.  And now in November, this marsh was mostly shades of gray, so even more difficult to find Sandhills.  That is even if they were Sandhills at all, because the first bird I saw was indeed a Great Blue Heron.  But just a few seconds later I noticed some gray colors that didn’t quite match the rest of the marsh.  And then there was movement – a Sandhill!  Within a few seconds I could see all 3 Sandhills moving together in the marsh.  By then there were 5 birders there, and we all got good views of the birds, though mostly obscured as they fed in the marsh.

We only found those birds because of an amazing string of luck .  First there was an early and timely post from the birder who found the Sandhills, then the other birder was in the right place at the right time to see them fly overhead, then that birder ran into us and passed along the news just before we were going to wander around the cornfields in the area.  And the birder that saw them fly over was actually also planning to go on the cancelled RI pelagic.  Pretty amazing.  I guess the “birding gods” felt sorry for us given that the RI pelagic got cancelled.  Little did I know that I would end up adding Sandhill Crane to my CT list instead of adding pelagics to my RI list.  I guess those RI fulmars and alcids will have to wait. 

Sandhill Crane is the 222^nd species I’ve seen in each New England state.  Despite good coverage in New England, my statebird map shows very spotty coverage for this bird elsewhere across the country even though it’s a regular species in virtually every state.  That's part of the fun of statebirding - always more statebirds to go after.

Black-chinned Hummingbird, Fairfield, CT, November 2013

Just a week after seeing a Calliope Hummingbird at a NH feeder came word that a Black-chinned Hummingbird was being seen in Fairfield, CT – both were state firsts!  At the request of the homeowner, the Black-chin was not being reported on the CT listserve nor on e-bird.  Instead, news was spreading by word of mouth.  Luckily I got a call from a CT birder with all the details – many thanks for the call!  The bird was not coming to a feeder but instead to flowers which were still blooming despite the November date. 

Now I had to figure out when I could get there, or even if I would go.  I typically limit my chasing to a 2-hour drive from home, and Fairfield was 2 hours 40 minutes away.  But as I’ve neared my goal of seeing 2,000 statebirds in New England, the possibilities for new statebirds have diminished.  And I’ve found myself driving a bit farther to chase after stakeouts.  So since this was a first for CT, I decided to give this one a try.  I couldn’t break free for 3 days, so next the issue was whether the bird would stick around till then.  It had been coming to these flowers for about a week, so as long as there wasn’t a killing freeze, hopefully it would stick around for 3 more days.  The home was located very close to the coast so the warm water would likely shelter the flowers from anything but a hard freeze.  At least that was my hope since the morning I headed out to try for the bird it was 24 degrees at my house.  At the same time the temperature in Fairfield was listed as 36 degrees so I was cautiously optimistic.

I arrived at the Fairfield address at about 8:30 and made my way to the back yard where I was told the bird had been coming to a pineapple sage plant.  But just a few seconds later the homeowner came out and said the bird had recently been coming to two other sage plants in the front yard, including earlier that morning.  So the bird made it through the night!  I walked around out front and almost instantly heard the bird chattering.  And less than a minute later it was feeding at one of the sage plants.  I got great prolonged views of this bird including vigorous pumping of its tail, a few black/purple feathers in the gorget (making it a young male?), greenish coloration to the sides, and long and slightly decurved bill.  Couldn’t have been any more cooperative.  And to think it was just a couple months earlier that I was watching a feeder full of Black-chins in the panhandle of OK, and a couple also coming to pineapple sage in the southwest corner of KS.  I think I have to get one of these plants for my garden.

Black-chinned Hummingbird was CT statebird #305 for me, and #423 for me in all of New England.  I’ve now seen this species in 15 states- 11 out west, 3 along the Gulf Coast as an increasing winter visitor, and now in CT as an extreme rarity.