Swainson’s Warbler Near Houston, Texas, July 2017

My work travels take me to Houston most every month, and over the last couple years I’ve been trying to add a statebird or two on many of these trips.  One of the targets that has kept popping up on my eBird TX Needs Alerts has been Swainson’s Warbler.  But Swainson’s aren’t normally breeders too close to Houston, and only irregular migrants in the area, so I hadn’t made much of an effort to try to add this species to my TX list.  However, back in early April I had a side trip to far eastern TX which put me close to their breeding range.  The problem was it was a bit early in the breeding season and there had been no reports in the area yet this year.  Ever the optimist, I tried for them at a couple places where they bred last year, though with no success.

Then this summer my Needs Alerts included reports of a singing bird at Lake Houston Wilderness Park just 30 minutes north of Houston.  It was unusual to have a summering bird that close to the city, so I sure wanted to give it a try.  That is if I could break free.  Unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to look for it on my June trip to Houston.  But when my July trip rolled around, it was beginning to look like I would have a small window of time in the early morning one day.  Now the question was whether the bird would still be around this late in the summer.  So I set up another Needs Alert and sure enough the Swainson’s was still being reported, albeit infrequently.  Then again in eBird, when there are no reports of a target bird, you never know if birders have looked for but missed the target, or whether no one has even tried for it.  But like I said I’m an optimist, so even though it hadn’t been reported for 8 days, I was hopeful it would still be around.  And given that these are real skulkers, I was especially hopeful that it would still be singing.

Luckily the past reports included good details about the location of the bird – near the junction of the Peach Creek South Loop and Ameri-Trails next to the Ameri-Trail Primitive Camping sign.  With a bit of on-line research I found a trail map of Lake Houston Wilderness Park, and located the intersection of the 2 trails just a half-mile walk south of one of the parking lots.  My plan was to get to the park a bit before sunrise and be at the Swainson’s Warbler’s location at dawn hoping to hear my target bird singing from the underbrush. 

I arrived at the park entrance at 6:15 – right on schedule 15 minutes before sunrise.  Unfortunately the park gate was closed and there was a sign that it wouldn’t open until 7 – as they say - “Houston – we have a problem.”  So much for an early start.  Plus now I was worried about how much time I would have to try for the bird before having to head off to work.  But much to my surprise someone showed up at 6:30 to open the gate, so I didn’t have to wait too long.  And after a quick drive to the parking lot I was ready to start my search.

As I headed down the Peach Creek South Loop trail I kept my ears open to listen for the song of the Swainson’s Warbler.  After all the song is quite loud and I was within a half mile of where it had been heard.  I quietly played the tape of both the Swainson’s song and a high-pitched chip note that my app called a “flight call” to remind me of what I was listening for.  But as I made my way down the trail there was very little song at all – mostly just White-eyed and Red-eyed Vireos.  It took me just 10 minutes to reach the intersection with the Ameri-Trail, and quickly found the Primitive Camping sign.  But the woods were quiet.  Finally a couple minutes later a Hooded Warbler started to sing, which made me optimistic that the Swainson’s would start singing too.  But there were no Swainson’s songs.  I spent at least an hour in the area adding another Hooded, but little else. 

Then I walked a couple hundred yards to the south to track down a distant song which just turned out to be another Hooded.  I was pretty well convinced that the Swainson’s was gone, or at least was no longer singing.  Then as I threw in the towel I tried to console myself - at least I was familiar with this spot so that I could give the bird a try earlier in the summer next year.  That is if it returned.  But just then I heard a bird nearby giving sharp chip notes sounding much like a Waterthrush.  I eventually got good looks at the bird and it was the Swainson’s Warbler.  Surprisingly these calls were very different than the high-pitched flight calls on the app.  It finally sang a few times and I was able to get this recording of one song.  A most satisfying experience!

Swainson’s Warbler was #439 for my TX statelist which is only my 8th state for this secretive species (see my statebird map below).  I don’t spend too much time birding in the southeast these days so I’m not likely to fill in too many more states anytime soon.

Rare Ohio Business Trip Yields Two Statebirds, June 2017

The last time I birded in OH was May 2013 when I added 12 birds to my statelist bringing my total to 226.  That put me 15 over the old ABA reportable threshold of 211 (defined as half of the total state list) – exactly meeting my goal to be at least 15 over the threshold.  However, since that time, an amazing 12 new birds have been added to the OH list, meaning the new threshold has increased by 6 to 217.  Although you wouldn’t think the OH statelist would continue to grow at that pace, if it did, I would drop below the new threshold in just a few years.  So when a short business trip to Cleveland came up, I certainly looked forward to a rare opportunity to do some statebirding in OH. 

As always my first step was to set up an OH Needs Alert in eBird.  And since my OH list wasn’t too large, quite a number of possible statebirds popped up statewide.  But my spare time would be limited to just one early morning, so I would need to restrict my search to the immediate counties around Cleveland.  Luckily 3 targets were still possible – Broad-winged Hawk, Virginia Rail, and Hooded Warbler.  And all 3 were being reported reasonably reliably at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park which was just 25 minutes from my hotel.  Although not surprisingly there was no specific site for the Broad-wing, the Rail was reported from one marsh in the park, and Hoodeds were reported from multiple sites throughout the park.  So it seemed like I could make a quick stop for the Rail, ride through the park a bit keeping my eyes and ears open for the Broad-wing and Hooded, and still get back in time for the start of my meetings. 

Unfortunately that plan began to unravel when I woke up that morning and checked the forecast - heavy thunderstorms most of the day starting in the early morning.  The radar showed that the leading edge of the rain was just a few miles west of the city, so I had at most a small window of good birding weather.  I first considered just cancelling my birding altogether, but I figured I could still squeeze in quick stops for at least a couple species before the rain hit.  So I stuck with my plans, and was out of the hotel an hour before dawn, reaching the park at first light.

The first area I targeted was Chippewa Creek Drive which appeared to be in the center of the area where multiple Hooded Warblers had been reported this year.  My plan was to drive along slowly, with my windows down listening for my target birds.  There was quite a lot of early morning song in the woodlands, especially featuring good numbers of singing flycatchers – including Pewee, Acadian, Phoebe, Great Crested, and Kingbird.  Then I reached an area that looked really nice for Hooded Warbler - a heavily wooded area with thick undergrowth where the road paralleled a stream.  I stopped the car and almost instantly heard the clear whistled song of a Hooded Warbler.  Then I heard another, and another – there were 3 Hoodeds singing in the same spot.  I thought it looked like a nice spot!

Adding Hooded Warbler in OH fills in one of my last gaps in my statebird map (see below); I still need it in AR and NY within its regular range.  I’ve also seen it in CA and throughout northern New England as a rarity.

Next I was off to try for the Virginia Rail at the nearby eBird hotspot called Station Road Railroad.  There had been just one report of the Rail here this year but it was in the last week.  Plus there were several reports of one bird at this spot last year.  So although I would have preferred to see more reports of the Rail here in 2017, I was still optimistic the bird could be reliable at this spot.  (Besides – why wouldn’t you find a Rail at a railroad?)  With the help of comments included in a few posts, and some GoogleMaps satellite searches, I was able to figure out that the bird was in a wetlands about a third of a mile south of the Station Road parking lot along a set of railroad tracks.  Within a few minutes I arrived at the parking lot, and with umbrella in hand, began my walk down the tracks.  (By the way the tracks were active so I would have to be mindful of oncoming trains.)  Within a few minutes I had reached the wetlands and almost instantly heard a Virginia Rail giving it’s kid-dik calls from the reeds at the back of the marsh.  Good thing I heard it when I arrived because that was the only time it called during the 20 minutes I was at the marsh.

I just need this species in 4 more states in the Lower 48 to fill in my statebird map for this common wetlands species.

Later I would hear and see a most attractive Prothonotary Warbler at the marsh.  And on my way back to the car I also heard a singing Cerulean Warbler – it’s always great to encounter this declining species. 

As I returned to my car it had just started to rain, but I thought I’d be able to make one more stop to try for the Broad-winged Hawk.  There had been sporadic reports at the nearby Oak Grove picnic area, perhaps of birds nesting in the area, or birds that might be visible passing overhead at this clearing in the woodlands.  But soon after I arrived it started to rain heavily, and I called it quits.  Though I was surprised to find a Junco here in June, and another singing Hooded Warbler was a nice find as well.

That gives me 228 for my OH statelist, now 11 over the newly calculated threshold.  OH birders would have to find 23 new birds for the total statelist before I’d fall below the threshold – hopefully that holds me at least for a while.  

Brown Pelican, Hampton, NH, June 2017

A post came across the Maine listserve that a Brown Pelican was spotted off Prout’s Neck in southern ME.  There were also a couple Pelicans being seen on the northern MA coast – that’s quite a movement of birds into New England!  Ordinarily I would want to chase after the ME bird (I already have Pelican in MA), but I was away on a week-long business trip and wouldn’t be able to go for it.  That is unless it stayed in the area until I returned.  And when the posts for the ME Pelican (as well as the MA birds) continued through the week, I started to get more optimistic that perhaps I had a chance for it.  I flew home Friday and that evening checked the ME listserve again – the Pelican was still being reported, though access to its preferred perches was a bit limited.  So early Saturday I put together a plan to head out to try for the bird the next morning, and I sent an e-mail to my NH birding colleague David Donsker to see if he wanted to come along.

Less than an hour later I received this text from Steve Mirick along the NH coast - “Brown Pelican flying south past Concord Point.  NOW!!”  And just a minute later I received this update – “Pelican LANDED ON CONCORD POINT!!”.  That would be a great bird to try for in NH, but realistically the chances were pretty slim that it would stay put for the next 90 minutes that it would take me to drive there.  So I lamented how I would miss another possible NH statebird, and went back to my chores.  Though of course I was still planning to head to ME the next morning to try for the Pelican there.

Then just a few minutes later I got a call from David Donsker – he was at Concord Point looking at the NH bird.  He said the Pelican was sleeping on rocks well above the high tide line, so perhaps it would stay.  That was enough to push me over the edge, and 5 minutes later I was out the door to begin my drive to the upper NH coast. 

My drives to chase after a rarity are nearly always quite stressful.  I always want to drive faster than I ought to, and can’t ever understand why a slow driver would be in front of me.  And then I always hope there will be positive updates as I make my drive making me feel more at ease.  One of those updates came from David about half way along my trip – the bird was still there.  But then as I was just 15 minutes away, he called again - but this time I could tell from the tone of his first few words that it wasn’t going to be a good update.  He reported that the bird had just taken off and left Concord Point, flying south.  My heart sank.  If only I had left right when I received the first texts I would have made it in time. 

What to do?  I was half-tempted to just turn around and head home.  But I was so close, why not try to re-find the bird?  I knew it was a long shot, but worth the try.  My first stop was at Eel Pond, a couple miles south of Concord Point.  I quickly scanned the beach, any rocks in view, the ocean, the pond, but found nothing.  Then I went a bit farther south and made another stop, but still nothing.  I realized that my access to the coastline was pretty limited, and there were many possible resting places that a Pelican might favor that were simply out of view.  Re-finding the Pelican was definitely going to be a needle in a haystack proposition; that is if the bird was even still in NH at all. 

Then I continued my trek to the south and arrived at the beach at North Hampton State Park.  I parked at the north end and scanned first north up the coast, then east out to sea, but found nothing.  Then I looked to the south and far in the distance I could see a couple Cormorants perched close to shore.  And next to them was another taller bird, or at least I thought it was a bird, that seemed about right for a Pelican.  I quickly pulled the scope from my car, and even though I later realized that the birds were 1.1 miles away, I could tell that I had indeed re-found the immature Brown Pelican!  I called Steve so he could get the word out.  He suggested that maybe the bird would be close to Bicentennial Park, so I made that my next stop.

A couple minutes later I pulled into the parking lot at Bicentennial Park in Hampton.  The lot was marked for residents with town stickers only, but I didn’t care.  I quickly set up the scope and looked north toward a rocky outcrop near Plaice Cove and there was the Pelican swimming first with some Cormorants, and then later with some Eiders.  Good thing the bird was standing when I first spotted it from the State Park as I doubt I would have been able to pick out a swimming bird at that distance.  And speaking of distance, I had re-found the bird 6 miles south of Concord Point, and 30 minutes after the Pelican had started its trek south.  I got these miserable phonescoped photos of the bird as it bobbed in the swells.

Later I was able to get a couple other birders on the target bird.  And while comparing notes a parking enforcement officer showed up and suggested we leave since we didn’t have the required resident stickers.  Not wanting to risk getting a parking ticket, we all headed out very happy to have seen the bird.

Soon after we left there was a report from another birder who watched the Pelican fly from Plaice Cove heading further south.  And later yet there were reports of the bird at Hampton Harbor and then near Seabrook Beach.  The bird was definitely making its way south.

On my drive home I wondered whether the NH bird was yet another Pelican in this mini-invasion, or perhaps one of the MA birds, or the worst option – that it was the bird that had been in ME for the last week.  Later that day there was one negative report from ME, and no positive reports at all.  So I decided not to head to ME the next day to try for that one.  And good thing I didn’t – a later post concluded that the NH bird was actually the one that had been at Prout’s Neck in ME the previous week.  Unfortunately there were no more reports of the Pelican returning to ME.  Oh well – I missed the chance to add Brown Pelican to my ME list, but got it in NH.

Brown Pelican was #363 for my NH statelist (after removing Thayer’s Gull which was just lumped with Iceland Gull).  And NH was my 3rd New England state for Brown Pelican – in addition to MA and RI.  Plus I’ve seen it throughout its regular range on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts, not to mention AZ. 

Brown Booby, Windham, NH, First NH Record, June 2017

I was sitting at home on Sunday morning when I noticed this report on the MA listserve - “A photo of a Brown Booby at Cobbetts Pond in New Hampshire was posted on the Mass Audubon Facebook page”.  With a bit of research on Facebook I found a photo of a Brown Booby perched just a few feet away on a deck railing, and based on the timing of the post, it was apparently from the day before.  Given that it was found by a non-birder, the good news was that it was posted somewhere on the internet.  And the MA listserve post was soon picked up on the NH listserve to spread the word.  The bad news was that this info was now a day old. 

A few minutes later another post on the MA listserve mentioned that although the bird spent the entire night on that railing, the bird was no longer perched there.  So much for chasing after a Brown Booby in NH – the first state record.  Then again if the bird had stuck around I likely wouldn’t have had time to chase it anyway - I had a busy Sunday ahead of me, with an afternoon family commitment plus a flight out that evening.  So no need to increase my blood pressure to worry about how I could squeeze in a rare bird chase.  If only the news had gotten out on Saturday. 

Just when I was starting to relax, this post came in on the NH listserve a few minutes later – “Bird is there now. By the town beach. I am in contact with the home owner. Gooooo”  I wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad news.  If I was to go after the bird I needed to do it that day since that evening I was leaving on a week-long trip.  But my flight was out of Manchester, NH that day instead of Boston.  Just maybe I could try for the bird along my way to the airport.  But I was getting ahead of myself - where was Cobbett’s Pond anyway, and was it anywhere near the Manchester airport?  With a quick search I found the pond in Windham, which was in southeast NH, not too far off my route to the Manchester airport.  Maybe this could work after all.  Luckily my afternoon family commitment was over early enough to give me a tiny window to try for the bird – as long as the bird cooperated quickly I could do it.  And then I got a notification that my flight was delayed by 45 minutes – a rare time when it was good news to hear that your flight is delayed.  The stars were starting to align…

As I drove toward the pond I got word that the Booby was often perched on a roof that was at eye-level with the road to the town beach.  So although there was no parking there, a slow drive-by could be successful.  I was optimistic, despite my painfully slow route through the greater Nashua area.  (Does every traffic light need to be red?)  And then I got another alert on my flight – it was back on-time.  Now I had maybe just 5 minutes to look for the bird.  Where is a green light when you need it? 

I neared Cobbett’s Pond and made sure no one was behind me so I could go slowly past the houses where the Booby preferred to roost.  And just when I could see the area ahead of me I spotted a birder standing on the side of the road with his camera raised.  I slowed to a crawl, looked to the left, and there was the Brown Booby most cooperatively perched on the roof!  A minute later I parked in the last available spot at the town beach, took a quick walk back up the road, and took this photo of the Booby by holding my phone up to my binocs. 

Two minutes later I was back in my car and on my way to the airport.  I made my flight with plenty of time to spare.  Isn’t it great when a plan comes together? 

As a postscript – it turns out that the Booby continued at Cobbett’s Pond for more than a week, so I could have seen it in a much more leisurely fashion after I returned from my trip.  Then again, the stress of hoping it would stay while I was on the road would have been difficult to take.

Brown Booby was #362 for my NH list, and an amazing first record for the state.  I’ve now seen this species in 4 states, including a long-staying (but difficult-to-find) bird on Cape Cod back in 2011.

Canada Maritimes Trip – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, May-June 2017

Each year I go on a big birding trip to work on my US state or Canadian province lists, and 2017 was no exception.  This year’s trip was an 11-day, 10-night trip in May and June to the Canadian Maritimes to work on my New Brunswick (NB), Prince Edward Island (PEI), and Nova Scotia (NS) province lists.  I had only been in each of those provinces once before as part of a 7-day trip in late September 2015, where I tallied 100 birds in NB, 85 in PEI, and 107 in NS.  Needless to say there were lots of potential new province birds ahead of me in 2017.

As I do before all of my trips, I spent many hours researching possibilities and planning potential itineraries and possible stops.  This included developing long lists of potential targets in each province.  Generally my success rate is a bit over 50% on these target lists.  But since most of my targets were regular breeders, and my trip was timed to be near the peak of the breeding season and summer song, I was optimistic that I would be more successful on this trip.

My 2017 trip had a similar itinerary as my previous foray into the Maritimes –

• Drive up through Maine entering NB at Saint Stephen
• Several days birding in NB heading generally north and east
• Followed by birding in PEI entering the province from NB and leaving via the ferry to NS
• Birding NS mostly heading south and west
• Leaving NS via the ferry from Yarmouth to Portland, ME.

But with more time in the field than in 2015, I added numerous stops, some for just 1 or 2 local specialties.  Of note, that included searches for several species associated with urban areas, or otherwise associated with human activities, that are common in the states but difficult to find in the Maritimes.  For instance my target lists included Killdeer (all 3 provinces), Nighthawk (all 3), Chimney Swift (NB, NS), Cowbird (NB, PEI), House Finch (NB), and House Sparrow (all 3).

New Brunswick

My goal for NB was to add 50 new birds, which would bring my province list to 150.  With such a large goal and 107 possible targets, I developed an itinerary that would take me through many different habitats throughout southern, central, and eastern NB.  My research included quite a bit of time on eBird, supplemented by excellent local advice provided by NB birder Gilles Belliveau.

Highlights of my 3 full days and 2 partial days of birding in NB included –

• Evening/nocturnal birding at Saint Stephen featuring a Woodcock and local specialty Whip-poor-will, not to mention rare House Finches
• St. George Marsh with excellent wetlands birding including 2 American Bitterns, a Virginia Rail, and 4 Soras, plus finding a calling Common Gallinule as a rarity
• Locating stakeout rarity Upland Sandpiper at the Utopia Blueberry Barrens (though not until my second try)
• The only Brown Thrasher of the trip at Pennfield Airport, based on a 2-year-old eBird report
• Finding a rare 1st/2nd cycle Iceland Gull roosting in the marsh at the Irving Nature Park, though unsuccessfully searching for Nelson’s Sparrow
• Excellent boreal birding just outside the Fundy Trail including good numbers of both Crossbills, Yellow-bellied and Olive-sided Flycatchers, and Ruffed Grouse.  Interestingly the Trail itself is only open 9-5, eliminating the best birding hours – a big disappointment.  Luckily the area just outside the Trail was great!
• Birding along the St. John River valley in more “southern” deciduous woodland habitats,  finding a number of local specialties including Black-billed Cuckoo, Great Crested Flycatcher, Baltimore Oriole, Phoebe, and one of the few (only?) active Purple Martin houses in the province.  Plus local nesters Black Terns, Greater Scaup and Common Goldeneye, along with an out-of-season Great Cormorant.  And I can’t forget this very photogenic American Bittern.          

• Several stops near Jemseg featuring Warbling Vireos and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. Not to mention this juvenile Great Horned Owl.

• Checking off local Fredericton specialties Indigo Bunting and Willow Flycatcher.  And then finding a rare Least Bittern spontaneously calling at the Flycatcher spot.  And I can’t forget a pair of Cowbirds.
• More boreal birding along Taylor Road northwest of Moncton with multiple Palm and Wilson’s Warblers among 15 warbler species (despite a midday stop), two singing Philadelphia Vireos, and my lone Sapsucker for the province
• Memramcook Sewage Pond stop with Pintail among other dabblers and Pheasants (in the neighboring fields not the pond mind you)
• Ruddy Ducks among a diverse set of breeding waterfowl at the Fort Beausejour impoundments, though missed target Coots
• A quick stop at the Sackville waterfowl park was pretty slow, but I did take this great shot along one of the boardwalks

• House Sparrows at their local stronghold in Jolicure - a spot where only House Sparrows would be at home.

• Red-breasted Mergansers at my last stop in the province at Cape Jourimain.  Unfortunately I couldn’t access the area with Nelson’s Sparrows and Willets due to recent bear sightings

I ended the NB portion of the trip with 140 species including 104 species during one birding day.  I added 73 species to my NB province list, giving me 173 on my province list.

Prince Edward Island

I started the PEI portion of my trip with a province list of 85, and with 80 targets I hoped to add 40 to get me to a modest 125.  There I teamed up with local birder Dan McAskill who knows the birds of PEI like the back of his hand.  By far the highlight was a marathon 19-hour birding day where we had 108 species including several rarities such as Little Gull in adult basic plumage (though not new to my PEI list), a Glaucous Gull (one of 9 gull species on the day), and a Wilson’s Phalarope.  I was able to get this passable phonescoped photo of the Phalarope. 

I really love doing seawatches, so I was especially looking forward to our extended seawatch at East Point - rapidly becoming one of my favorite birding spots.  Here we added more rarities – several Red-throated Loons, 2 Kittiwakes, a flock of 5 Razorbills with a Thick-billed Murre mixed in, and this female Harlequin Duck. 

Here is a photo of the angry sea and skies at East Point.

Of course Dan and I did a lot of landbirding as well, including finding 16 warbler species, breeding Boreal Chickadees, and a Gray Jay.  Plus our landbirding featured excellent looks at an Olive-sided Flycatcher, and good views of a normally skulking Canada Warbler.  We also had a long mammal list including numerous foxes, deer, coyote, etc.  Not to mention birding at this nice northern bog.

Our day ended with a calling Saw-whet Owl and Woodcock, and a visual on a Barred Owl.  Along with two partial days of birding, I had 114 species in total, and added 53 species to my PEI list which now stands at 138. 

Nova Scotia

With a starting point of 107 in NS and 88 possible targets, I hoped to add 43 more to get to 150 species.  I spent a lot of time reviewing the province birdfinding guide and researching eBird to develop an itinerary covering much of the province except for Cape Breton.  That information was supplemented with tremendous local advice from NS birder Keith Lowe, who also birded with me on two days. 

The highlights from my 3 full days and 3 partial days of birding included –

• Brief stop at Amherst marsh to find local target Black Tern
• Eddy Marsh wetlands birding including Virginia Rail and local specialty Marsh Wren, and woodlands birding featuring Ruffed Grouse and the first of many Mourning Warblers
• Woodlands walk around Amherst Point featured singing Blackburnian and Cape May Warblers, followed by wetlands birding including finding a rare Common Gallinule
• A brief stop at the Amherst sewage treatment plan with a pair of Greater Scaup along with the only Killdeer for the province
• A rare Glaucous Gull seen from the PEI-to-NS ferry
• Piping Plover on its nest at Big Island, along with Black Scoters off-shore, and a difficult to find Common Nighthawk nearby (especially as a daytime flyover)

• An evening of birding along West River west of Melrose with the only Evening Grosbeak of the trip, several pairs of Common Mergansers, plus a somewhat unusual Chimney Swift.  I couldn't resist this "Kodak moment".

• A dawn walk along the beautiful Liscomb River trail featuring several Winter Wrens and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, and lots of signs of Black-backed Woodpeckers though no birds in sight (and luckily no sightings of recently spotted bears)

• Boreal birding at Taylor's Head Provincial Park including 9 singing Blackpoll Warblers plus Olive-sided and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers
• A flock of 25 Red Crossbills amazingly attracted by spishing at Martinique Beach Provincial Park
• More boreal birding along Mines Road included finding a rare Willow Flycatcher and a pair of Gray Jays which had apparently just stolen a baby Purple Finch from the nest

• An early morning birding in the Musquodoboit River valley included 2 singing Canada Warblers and 3 calling Snipe
• Quick stops near Elderbank in deciduous woodlands with a decidedly more "southern" feel that yielded a White-breasted Nuthatch, 3 Veerys, and a fly-by Broad-winged Hawk
• A walk along the Herbert River trail was successful for two key targets - Eastern Phoebe (one of its few reliable spots in NS) and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• A "tactical strike" for House Sparrow at Scotch Village (a rare case when you can get excited about seeing a House Sparrow)
• My lone Sapsucker of the province at Akin's Marsh
• Baltimore Oriole at its nest at Miner's Marsh (another species with a very restricted NS range), though we missed a nearby stakeout Great Crested Flycatcher

• A Black-throated Blue Warbler at a brief late evening stop along Myra Road north of Porters Lake
• An Arctic Tern, but little else, in a raging rain and wind storm on Cape Sable Island where I was forced to do almost all my birding from inside the car
• A pair of Roseate Terns with Commons at Pond Road in West Pubnico
• A lone Turkey Vulture along Chepogue Road in Yarmouth
• And an excellent ride on the high-speed ferry from Yarmouth to Portland, ME featuring 1 Fulmar, 2 Cory's, 30 Greats, 27 Sootys, 27 Shearwater Sp., 7 Wilson's Storm-Petrels, and 1 South Polar Skua.

I ended the NS portion of my trip with 135 species, 67 of which were new to my province list, giving me 174 in total.  Once again – many thanks to Keith Lowe for all his help!

Numbers for the Entire Trip

• 193 new ticks, greatly exceeding my goals of 133 for the 3 provinces, and a remarkable 70% of my targets.  My total ticks in Canada are now at 1,347 (the old ABA reportable threshold was 1,000)
• 175 species including 21 warblers and 20 waterfowl.  Easily the most Magnolia and Mourning Warblers I've ever heard in one trip, and perhaps more than I've heard in my entire life.
• Excellent boreal species including Gray Jays in 2 provinces, Boreal Chickadees in 2 provinces, Philadelphia Vireos, Red Crossbills in 2 provinces, and Whit-winged Crossbills.  Though I couldn't find Spruce Grouse or Black-backed Woodpeckers.
• 13 new species for Canada, now at 370 (the old ABA threshold was 350)
• Ticks in all 3 provinces in 1 day (started the day birding in NS, then added my last tick in NB, then birded the evening in PEI).  Only once before have I added ticks in 3 jurisdictions in 1 day - TN, AR, and MS.
• 60 miles walked (according to my Fitbit)

Province Bird Maps

For quite a while I've prepared state bird maps, where I shade in all the US states where I've seen a given species.  And now that I'm spending more time focused on province birding, it's time to start preparing province bird maps.  My province map for Eastern Kingbird is included below.  Although it shows that I have only seen this species in the southern tier of provinces, I've actually never birded the northern provinces - Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Newfoundland and Labrador.  In fact, Eastern Kingbird is one of just 10 species that I've seen in each of the 9 provinces where I've birded.

By comparison, my US statebird map for Eastern Kingbird is provided below.  In the US I've birded extensively in each of the 50 states and DC, and am only missing Eastern Kingbird in WA and NV within its regular range.

Near the the other end of the spectrum for province maps, my map for Ruffed Grouse shows that I've only seen (or heard) this species in the 3 Maritimes provinces - in each case on my 2017 trip. 

There's certainly a lot more province birding ahead!