A First State Record and Three Pelagic Species in One Day in CT, August 2018

It all started with an absolutely amazing set of sightings in Long Island Sound off the CT coast.  First there were reports of a large number of Shearwaters at the eastern end of the Sound, with Great, Cory’s and Sooty Shearwaters seen in record numbers from the New London-Orient Point ferry.  Unfortunately I couldn’t break free to get out on the ferry during that time.  And when I finally could get out, the Shearwaters had mostly moved on.  The best I could do was add Great Shearwater to my NY list on one leg of one of these ferry trips. 

Then came CT reports of multiple Parasitic Jaegers seen from land, principally from Hammonasset Beach State Park.  And several of these reports included an occasional Shearwater.  All sightings were apparently associated with feeding frenzies including hundreds, if not thousands, of Terns.  I didn’t try chasing after these birds since the sightings were a bit hit or miss, apparently depending on whether there were schools of fish nearby to attract these pelagic species. 

All in all, this was perhaps an unprecedented set of pelagic sightings in Long Island Sound.  Unfortunately one that I hadn’t been able to experience.

That is until a report of a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in Essex, CT came across the listserve.  Photos confirmed the ID of this first state record, and many birders were able to see this most cooperative bird later that same day.  When the bird continued to cooperate the next morning, though seen in multiple spots in the immediate vicinity, I cleared my schedule to be able to make the trip to Essex on Day 3.  And since Hammonasset was within 30 minutes of Essex, I could combine the 2 locations into one trip with lots of statebird potential. 

But as I was piecing together the directions to the spots where the Whistling-Duck had been seen, I noticed a post that a birder watched it fly north around Noon and he did not refind it.  I posted to the listserve asking for other updates and unfortunately only received negative reports.  I tried to remain positive that it would return since vagrant BBWDs will often stay in one spot for quite a while, and decided to keep with my plans.  And just before closing the computer that night a post came across that the bird returned at 6:30 PM.  The chase was on!

I was out of the house before 6, arriving in downtown Essex by 7:45.  The Whistling-Duck seemed to prefer a small tidal pool in a suburban backyard at the corner of Ferry and Pratt Streets, so that was my first destination.  As I drove down Ferry Street nearing the intersection I looked to the left toward the pool and there was a lone duck standing in the lawn at the edge of the pool – it was the Black-bellied Whistling Duck.  I parked on Pratt Street and got crippling views of this extreme rarity, including these phonescoped shots as it fed in the mud.

 

CT was my 9th state for this species, most of which as a vagrant.

I was happy that my first target was so cooperative because I needed to move on to Hammonasset to try for my next objectives – pelagics on the Sound.  Within a half hour I was at the park gate and realized this was the first time I had ever been there “in season” requiring an entrance fee.  The $15 day pass seemed steep, but I hoped it would be worthwhile.

Minutes later I was at Meig’s Point and walked up to the observation platform.  Two birders were already there, and they mentioned they had just had a couple Jaegers.  And one birder had a Cory’s Shearwater.  That made me hopeful for what might lie ahead, though I wished I could have been there a bit earlier.  With a first scope scan I could see a large flock of Terns flying low over the water – we had a feeding frenzy with critical mass for the pelagics.  And sure enough within a couple minutes I picked out a slim Jaeger which was very most likely a Parasitic.  Then I spotted another, and another, and soon had a group of 6 Jaegers all in one scope field!  Over the next 45 minutes the feeding frenzy continued nearly directly off the point, and we had at least one Jaeger in sight nearly the entire time.  And we all agreed that at least a few we could positively ID as Parasitics, with all the others most likely Parasitics as well.  CT was my 12th state for this species – I only need it in VT to complete the sweep of all 6 New England states.

Over the next couple hours the feeding frenzy would die down, and sometimes completely stop.  And then a few minutes later we would find the big flock of Terns a short distance to the east or west, again accompanied by multiple Jaegers.  I conservatively reported 6 Parasitics in my eBird checklist, since I had 6 in view at once, but the total could well have been more.  Then there was one that got away - at one point I spotted a Jaeger to the west of us, and watched it fly by eventually out of sight to the east.  It was not associating with any of the Terns as all the other Jaegers were, and was apparently just migrating through the area.  Most interestingly, I could not see any white in the primaries.  Could it have been a Long-tailed?  Unfortunately it was too far away for a definitive ID of these very tricky species.

By 11 the activity had slowed dramatically and the other two birders left the point.  I thought about calling it quits myself, very content to have found my second CT statebird for the day.  But then another couple birders arrived, and I decided to stay a bit longer to compare notes.  A little later one of those birders spotted a Shearwater flying west.  Although it was distant we could ID it as a Great.  Finally had my first Shearwater for CT after many unsuccessful trips on the Ferry.  And then a bit later while searching through another Tern flock I spotted another Shearwater gliding by – this one was a Cory’s.  A few minutes later I spotted another Great actively feeding in the Tern flock.  Amazing!  Good thing I didn’t leave earlier!

My statebird maps for Great and Cory’s Shearwaters are very similar – all the coastal states from NY north, plus a few mid-Atlantic states.  I’ve also seen both species in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

On a comparatively minor note, I also had excellent results with Black Terns during my seawatch.  In my last hour there twice I had a single flyby of a Black Tern heading west, once had a pair heading west, and twice I spotted a group of 4 birds feeding in with the Common Terns.  I initially reported 8 Black Terns for the morning, only counting the group of 4 once.  But later I was notified that 8 would be a new record for a single location in CT, so I decided to be overly conservative and revised the total to just 4.  Those were only my second Black Terns for the state.

I guess the $15 entrance fee to Hammonasset was a worthwhile investment after all.

A first CT state record, then not 1 but 3 pelagic species all from land.  That brings my CT statelist to 331.  What a day!

Seven Statebirds in Coastal Mississippi – May 2017

A short business trip to the MS and AL Gulf Coast came up in mid-May, and of course I wondered if I might have much statebirding potential.  My free time would be limited as it almost always is on these business trips, so I would have to focus on just a few key targets.  First I needed to do some research.  Although my MS and AL statelists were already pretty good (229 in MS and 238 in AL), in the back of my mind I thought that I needed several pretty easy birds in MS.  So I set up an eBird Needs Alert for MS and sure enough 10 possible targets popped near the coast – several were regular breeders.  Only a couple came up on my AL Needs Alert, and those didn’t look very reliable.  So it seemed that with limited time I should target the possible statebirds at or near the Gulf Coast in MS. 

Now I needed to develop an itinerary for the trip.  I would arrive on the coast mid/late afternoon, and would be free through that evening, so that would only give me a few hours for birding.  But the Needs Alert included possible targets in three different areas.  First there were 4 targets on the coast – Reddish Egret, American Oystercatcher, Sandwich Tern, and Seaside Sparrow.  Then 3 generally a bit inland – Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Anhinga, and Common Ground-Dove.  And then 3 even farther inland – Chuck-will’s-Widow, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and Bachman’s Sparrow – luckily all in the same general location at DeSoto National Forest.  There were reasonably reliable spots for all of these targets except the Egret and Ground-Dove, so in theory I could come up with an itinerary with 8 realistic targets.  I could start with several stops on the coast, work my way inland, and finish the evening at DeSoto NF.  That would be a lot of stops with limited time so the birds would have to cooperate quickly if I was going to be successful.  But of course I was optimistic.

My first stop was to try for Sandwich Tern.  Although this is a regular nester on the coast, there didn’t seem to be any specific locations where it was regular.  Instead there were several spots where it was being reported at least occasionally, with perhaps the best location being the lighthouse at Biloxi, so I made that my first stop.  When I got out of the car at the lighthouse parking lot I quickly spotted a small flock of birds on the beach but they were all just Laughing Gulls.  Then I scanned across the open water with my binoculars and found a number of Royal and Forster’s Terns, most coming and going from a spit of land a bit to the east.  With some nice activity I went back to the car to get my scope and then started to scan in earnest.  Soon I spotted a bird flying over the water which was a little larger than the Forster’s that was apparently an adult in non-breeding plumage – it had a dark patch near the eyes and around the back of the head, and darker wing tips.  Eventually I could confirm the ID as a Sandwich Tern (statebird #1).  Finding this bird in MS fills in the last gap in my statebird map (below) – I’ve now seen Sandwich Tern from TX all the way up to MD on the Atlantic coast, not to mention seeing it as a rarity in MA.

My next target was American Oystercatcher, which is a nester on the MS coast, but unfortunately on offshore islands that are inaccessible.  The best I could hope for was to find some birds wandering around on the coast, and the best spot appeared to be Front Beach at Ocean Shores.  Unfortunately despite several quick stops along the beach I found no shorebirds at all.  Although I dipped on this target, the silver lining was it didn’t take much time to look for it. 

Then I was off to try for Seaside Sparrow – a common nester in saltmarsh habitat all along the coast.  The challenge was to find appropriate habitat that was accessible.  I targeted Graveline Beach about 30 minutes east of Ocean Shores where there had been several recent reports.  As I approached the beach I could see lots of great Spartina marsh which would be ideal for Seaside Sparrows, and I stopped at the first area where the marsh came right up to the road.  It was pretty windy so the chances of hearing these birds was pretty slim.  I started to scan the marsh and in no time I saw two cooperative Seaside Sparrows flying low over the grasses (#2).  I now only need this species in GA as the last state in its coastal range.

My next target was Anhinga – another regular breeder in southern MS.  And indeed there had been reports of this species in a number of different locations, but the only spot where they were seen with any frequency was the New Pascagoula River Audubon sanctuary.  Up to 4 birds had been reported there on apparently regular walks through the sanctuary, so this would be my key spot to give them a try.  Just as I arrived at the park entrance I noticed a sign that said the park closed at 5 – it was now 4:45.  Yikes – this would have to be a quick stop.  I headed to the wetlands behind the building and did a quick scan of the adjacent trees hoping to find a perched bird but with no luck.  Then after a few more steps on the boardwalk I got a view of the marsh but still no target.  Then I turned the bend and there in front of me sitting right on the boardwalk was an Anhinga (#3).  A couple minutes later I was back in my car and left the park with 5 minutes to spare – that was an efficient stop!  MS was my last state for Anhinga in its regular breeding area, though I can still hope to find this species most anywhere else in the east as a vagrant.

Next I was off to try for Black-bellied Whistling-Duck which is really expanding throughout the region.  A great example of that expansion - a flock of up to 95 birds had been reported recently in the Inner Harbor of Pascagoula.  When I arrived at this spot I found what appeared to be perfect Whistling-Duck habitat – numerous houses with manicured lawns surrounding the harbor.  Although access was pretty limited I was able to search most of the lawns but couldn’t find any ducks.  Then I drove to another portion of the harbor, and with this different viewing angle, I quickly picked up a flock of 8 Whistling-Ducks sitting on a distant lawn (#4).  MS was my 7th state for this species and now the 4th across the Gulf Coast.

Next I was off to DeSoto National Forest to a whole different set of habitats in the piney woods.  Apparently I had never birded this habitat in MS since eBird reports indicated that my 3 targets (Red-cockaded, Bachman’s Sparrow, and Chuck) were quite common here.  And all in the immediate area of the Bethel Mountain Bike Trail.  In fact, all 3 were reported on some individual checklists.  After a quick 45 minute drive northwest of Pascagoula, I arrived at the beginning of a dirt road which was the start of the bike trail.  I had not walked more than 100 yards up the road when I heard the first call notes of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker (#5).  And when I was trying to track it down I heard a singing Bachman’s Sparrow (#6).  That was easy! 

I spent quite a bit of time with the Woodpeckers, and counted at least 4 adults in this colony, including this foraging bird.

And I eventually tracked down an active nest with young bird(s) calling from inside.  Note that this is a man-made nest hole.

MS was my 7th state for this endangered species.

During this time I kept my ears open for Bachman’s Sparrow and heard at least 5 singing birds.  Great to hear so many individuals of this declining species in one spot.  And good to see that all the efforts to manage the habitat at this location have been successful for both of these species.

Since I was able to get both of these birds so quickly I now had some spare time on my hands while waiting for it to be late enough to listen for the Chucks as my last target.  I walked up and down the trail a bit and found the area to be quite birdy.  For warblers there were a number of Pines along with a couple Prairies and a Chat.  And singing Painted Buntings and Orchard Orioles were very nice – I don’t hear either of these species singing often.  Then as it approached sunset I starting hearing a number of Nighthawks, which continued calling and displaying the rest of the time I was there.  Finally, at 18 minutes after sunset, I heard the first song of a Chuck-will’s-widow (#7).  And soon thereafter at least 2 others joined in.  My statebird map for this species is pretty odd- although I’ve heard this species in several northern states as a rarity, I still need it in a few southeastern states where it is common in appropriate habitat.

That concluded a most successful birding trip finding 7 of my 8 realistic targets.  In fact, given my limited time, I wasn’t even sure that I’d have time to try for all 8 of the targets.  My MS statelist now stands at 236 – 29 over the old ABA threshold.