South Florida and Southeastern US Trip, January 6-16, 2025, Part 1 of 3

I was sitting at home on a cold day in November 2024 thinking ahead to the prospects of the upcoming winter of birding in western NC.  Winter birding in the area can be pretty slow in good times.  But complicating the picture this year was that several of my favorite birding spots were still inaccessible, or completely destroyed, by Hurricane Helene. 

That’s when I started thinking about setting up a mid-winter trip to a southern (and warmer) US location.  I’ve taken several mid-winter trips recently - lower Rio Grande valley In January 2024, Tallahassee in January 2023, and the Atlantic coast of FL in February 2023.  In each case the trips were focused on pursuing 1or more life birds, and were most successful.  So I checked out the eBird ABA Rarities Alert to see if there might be potential life bird targets to pursue this winter.  There was a long-staying Bananaquit near Miami that caught my eye.  Plus, there are quite a number of newly countable exotic Parakeets, Macaws, and Amazons in south FL that would be lifers for me.  The trip was on!

I started planning a south FL trip focused on specialties, exotics, and rarities.  And speaking of rarities, I also found reports of 2 exciting South American species being seen in south FL - Yellow-headed Caracara and Large-billed Tern.  I mentioned the upcoming trip to my good birding friend Bill Hooker, and he expressed interest in coming along.  Soon we were thinking about a trip for 4 of us –including Bill and his wife Anita, plus Bill’s friend Bob Cowan.  Not only were all of us looking for lifebirds and statebirds, but Bill was also working on his county lists, and Bob was embarking on a 2025 big year.  Plus, Anita was great at photographing our target birds.  So there were lots of potential targets for all of us.  And speaking of state and county birds, we decided to drive to south FL instead of flying so we could work on our lists along the way.

After perhaps 200 hours of research, I mapped out a route that would take us down the coast of SC and GA, through inland northern and central FL, then onto south FL.  Then we would return along the Atlantic coast of FL and back through GA and SC.  We tentatively planned it as an 11-day trip including 5 days in south FL.  Though we included more than enough flexibility to pursue any newly reported target birds.  With this itinerary I hoped for 4 new statebirds in SC, 2 in GA, and 10 new statebirds in FL.  And perhaps 2 of those new FL birds would be lifebirds as well.  Though unfortunately the initial trigger for our trip, the Bananaquit, was no longer being seen.

This blogpost summarizes the first portion of the trip.  The next two posts summarize the rest of the trip.

1/6 - South Carolina

There were an amazing number of rarities being seen in SC as our trip neared.  And even though two initial targets (Eared Grebe and White-winged Dove) were no longer being reported, we still had so many targets that we dedicated most of the first two days of the trip to chasing those SC rarities. 

Our first stop was to try for a Black-throated Gray Warbler at Harbison Pond near Columbia.  This bird had been reliable and seen by many from December 26th through 28th, but then not reported again until January 5th, just in time to put it back on our radar screen.  This western rarity was mostly seen on the eastern side of the small lake, and close to the shoreline.  In fact, most photos showed the bird right at the water’s edge.  So we were cautiously optimistic that the Warbler might actually be pretty easy to spot.

As we drove to Columbia we passed through bands of heavy rain as a strong cold front neared the area.  But luckily the rain had not yet arrived when we got to Harbison Pond, so we had a little dry window to find our target.  We started a slow walk down the eastern side of the lake but the only bird we found was a lone Phoebe.  Making matters worse, then the rain started, along with strong westerly winds.  Even though the bird was typically only seen on the east side of the lake, that area was exposed to the rain and wind.  So we decided to try the protected western side – that was a nice theory but we still couldn’t find our target. 

We went back to the east side and decided to give it one more try.  But this time we had no birds at all.  Just then Anita asked me to check out a bird she spotted high up in a tree in the distance.  Although it was pretty far away I could see the classic head pattern of our target bird – we had the Black-throated Gray Warbler!  (SC statebird #1)  No one had reported the bird foraging that high; wonder if the weather had something to do with it.

My statebird map for Black-throated Gray Warbler is inserted below.  The light blue shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The 5 darker blue shaded states are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity.

Next we were on to Fort Moultrie on the coast near Charleston.  This spot is well known for its rarities and this January was no exception – Western Kingbird, Ash-throated Flycatcher, and LeConte’s Sparrows were all being reported there.  When we arrived we spotted a birder in the distance so we made our way over to her.  She had just seen both flycatchers loosely associating together.  And soon we spotted the Western Kingbird on a low perch in the field – a nice rarity but I had seen one at Fort Moultrie in the past.  We spent a few minutes searching for the Ash-throated but with no luck.  Then I played a couple Ash-throated call notes for this tape-responsive species and it flew right into us (SC statebird #2).  I got these passable digi-bin shots of the two birds perched just a few feet apart.

 

We spent the next 30 minutes searching for the LeConte’s Sparrow, and found a nice flock of foraging Savannahs in about the right location, but we had no luck with our target.

Our next chaseable rarities were a male and female Western Tanager just 20 minutes away at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant.  They were seen separately generally foraging in woods near a submarine memorial and nearby across the street.  We had good directions, now we needed the birds to cooperate.

We parked at the memorial and quickly checked the trees there, but had no birds at all.  Then we headed across the road and at least started to find a few birds here and there.  Soon we got to a small wooden bridge that I remembered as being one of the hotspots for the Tanagers.  This spot turned out to be quite birdy, with a number of birds coming out of the brush under the bridge.  Then I noticed a larger bird perched in a bare tree just above the bridge – it was the female Western Tanager.  (SC statebird #3).  It was likely an immature bird with very limited yellow below.  Certainly not the most colorful bird, but still a new statebird.  Here’s a shot of Bob and Bill looking at the Tanager.

Since we found the Tanager so quickly we still had time for one last stop.  There was a male Bullock’s Oriole coming to a nearby private feeder, and even though the general suggestion was to try for this bird in the early morning, we decided to give it a go since we still had time late that afternoon.  We arrived at the residence and headed to the chairs in the backyard to start our vigil.  The homeowners came out to greet us, and put additional jelly in the feeder to entice the Oriole.  And within just a couple minutes the adult male Bullock’s flew in to the feeding station.  I had seen a female in SC a couple years earlier, but it sure was nice to see this beautiful male.

1/7 – Coastal South Carolina

Our first stop of the day was on Edisto Island where up to 2 Long-tailed Ducks had been reported.  Unfortunately, they had not been reported for 4 days, and the locations of the eBird checklists were at multiple spots all along the beach.  So I was a bit worried if we were going to be successful on this search, or at least successful quickly.  But I got a tip that they might be more reliable off the Coots Bar restaurant, so that’s where we started.

When we parked at Coots Bar I looked down the coast to the southwest and was shocked to see numerous jetties jutting out from the beach.  Long-tailed Ducks like to feed along jetties so there could be a dozen or more places to check.  I scanned the first jetty but didn’t find any ducks.  Then Bill said he thought he had them at the next jetty.  Binocular views revealed two small mostly white ducks, and in the scope we confirmed we had the male and female pair of Long-tailed Ducks.  (SC statebird #4)  SC was the last Atlantic coast state where I still needed this species.  The two cross-hatched states in my statebird map (OR, OH), are the last 2 states where I still need this species in its regular range.

We then spent a little time focusing on the shorebirds feeding on the jetties and picked out 2 Knots among the flocks of Sanderlings, Turnstones, and Willets.

As we continued our trek down the coast our next stop was at Bear Island WMA.  And here we quickly picked up Tundra Swans as our key target.  We also kept our eyes open for a White-winged Dove reported there recently, but just found Mourning Doves. 

Our last stop in SC was at the Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive in Savannah NWR.  The key target here was a Gray-headed Swamphen which was only the second SC state record.  The bird was first reported some 2 weeks earlier, and was seen daily within 100 yards past port-a-potties located along the drive.  An occasional Cave Swallow or 2 was also reported by some birders in the area, though that target was a pretty long shot.

We quickly found the port-a-potties less than a mile from the beginning of the drive, parked our cars, and began searching the marshes nearby.  Our initial searches yielded numerous Common Gallinules and Coots and a few dabbling ducks, but no big purple marsh birds.  We continued down the road a bit combing through more cattail marshes but still couldn’t come up with our target.  I took a break at one point to look for swallows and found quite a number of Tree Swallows passing quickly by, seemingly in migration.  None looked like possible Cave candidates though all were passing by so quickly that a Cave ID would have been difficult.

We had now come more than 100 yards from the port-a-potties, so I started heading back to recheck the marsh we had just searched.  Just then I spotted a flash of purple color at the edge of the cattails.  I saw a bit more movement and watched as the Gray-headed Swamphen stepped out of the reeds into view.  (SC statebird #5) 

Just as I was getting everyone on the bird, Bill spotted an American Bittern slowly moving through the cattails just a few feet from the Swamphen.  Even when we knew where the Bittern was it was next to impossible to see.

With the Swamphen search complete, I turned back to the swallow search.  As before there were many Trees flying quickly by, but this time I noticed a swallow flying back and forth foraging low over the impoundment.  This one had an orange rump and buffy throat – we had a Cave Swallow (SC statebird #6).  We had at least 3 Caves together at the Swamphen spot, and at least 2 others a short distance down the road.  Each of the Caves were coursing low over the vegetation apparently feeding, while the numerous Trees were flying as if migrating by.  SC was my 5th state seeing Cave Swallow as a rarity.  I’ve also seen the Caribbean group breeding in south FL, and the Mexican group breeding in TX, NM, and LA.

We birded the rest of the Wildlife Drive, finding lots of waterfowl (including a somewhat unexpected pair of Mottled Ducks) and many waders.  And although we wanted to bird there longer, it was time to move on to our next stops.

1/7 – Coastal Georgia

It was now getting late in the afternoon but we had time for 2 quick stops just over the stateline in GA.  The first was at Fort Pulaski to try for the 3 “marsh sparrows”.  Although the tide wasn’t high, which is the easiest time to find these elusive birds, we still hoped to find them in the excellent salt marsh habitat at the fort.  But despite playing a lot of tape we were unsuccessful.  Lastly, we headed to the North Jetty at Tybee Island where there were old reports of Purple Sandpipers, Black Scoters, and a Long-tailed Duck.  But we could only find Turnstones and Sanderlings.  Maybe we could try for them on the way back north later in the trip.

1/8 – North Florida

Our first stop in FL was at the Sweetwater Wetlands in Gainesville for a long-staying Cinnamon Teal.  Although the bird was seen regularly in a large flock of Blue-winged Teal, there had been no reports of our target since January 2nd.  So I was a bit concerned that it had moved on.  As we walked into the park we saw a group of birders coming out.  They told us that the large flock of Blue-wings had moved on and the Cinnamon Teal likely had gone with them.  When we got to the impoundment where the Teal flock had been we found just 6 Blue-wings.  At least the whole area was very birdy, including this Snail Kite that flew in and perched cooperatively nearby.

Next we were on to the Ocala Wetland Recharge Park 45 minutes to the south.  This site had 2 key targets for us: a small number of Vaux’s Swifts that were being seen sporadically, and an Ash-throated Flycatcher.  The Swifts were mostly spotted flying over impoundments at the south end of the park, and the Flycatcher was principally near the northwestern part of the park.  We pulled in and quickly headed to the southern impoundments, but our searches of the skies came up empty.  We noticed a birder in the distance and walked over to him for some local advice.  He mentioned that we just missed the Swifts, as they flew by just 20 minutes earlier.  Surely they would come back, right?  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case over the next 30 minutes. 

We decided to try to change our luck and look for the Flycatcher.  After a short walk toward the northern end of the park we watched and listened to no avail.  We played some tape hoping for a response like we had with the SC bird a couple days earlier, but again with no luck.  Though a couple Eastern Phoebes briefly got us excited. 

After about 90 minutes at the park we decided to cut our losses and head out for one more stop yet that afternoon.  The last stop of the day was about 2 hours to the south in Osceola County where a Whooping Crane had taken up residence with a pair of Sandhills in a subdivision under construction.  This bird was apparently quite reliable, so we hoped we might soon change our luck after missing several consecutive targets. 

When we arrived we first had to drive through a neighborhood of new houses to get to the construction area.  There we found the roads were completed and the subdivision was all laid out, but the houses were not yet under construction.  The Crane was most often reported right in the cul de sac at the end of the road, but there was no obvious tall white bird in site.  Then I looked to the east a bit to a neighboring farm and noticed a white bird in the distance.  With a quick binocular view we confirmed we had our Whooping Crane feeding in the short grass with 2 Sandhills.  (FL statebird #1) 

After watching it feed at the farm for a few minutes it took off and flew right by us, landing in a pond in the cul de sac, giving us great views.  What a great way to end the day!

There was a second Whooping Crane being seen less than 10 miles away.  It turns out that both birds were released in the area in 1999 and had formed a mated pair, but somehow the 2 birds had recently become separated.  You would sure hope that the authorities would try to reacquaint the birds, especially given that the habitat for the one we saw would soon be compromised once construction of the neighborhood was underway.

1/9 – Central Florida

One of the key initial targets for the trip was a Large-billed Tern discovered at the Goodwin WMA.  This South American species was first spotted in the area in the summer of 2023, but then disappeared until being re-found in November 2024.  Interestingly, it or another one spent the summer of 2024 near Naples in the southwestern portion of FL.  Goodwin WMA is only accessible by car on Thursdays, or with a very long walk on Sundays, resulting in a limited number of reports from the area.  The last positive report for the Tern was December 15th, so we weren’t too hopeful.  But with so many birders looking for the Tern, it’s not too surprising that another rarity was found there- a Ruff feeding with other shorebirds in one of the impoundments.  A nice example of the “Patagonia Picnic Table Effect”. 

Now we needed to gain access to the site and find the impoundments where the Tern and Ruff were most likely to be seen.  Not to mention find our target birds!  For this support we turned to David Simpson, one of the local expert birders, and the person who discovered the Tern.  It turns out that he has his own guiding company, and was free on Thursday the 9th, so we hired him for a half day tour.  And since Goodwin is only accessible on Thursdays, we literally planned our entire trip around birding that site the morning of the 9th.

We met David in the parking lot at 8, and birded the immediate vicinity for a while waiting for the gate to open at 9.  A male Vermilion Flycatcher and a Tropical Kingbird were being seen in the area, and we quickly found both birds perched in the same bush.  Later a female Painted Bunting was spotted there as well.  By the time the gate opened at least 20 birders had gathered anxious to get into the site.  We were hopeful that with all those eyes we would find at least one of our target birds. 

Once we got inside we started to get a feel for how immense the site was.   We first drove through several miles of dry savanna until we reached wet impoundments.  Marsh birds and waterfowl were everywhere, including numerous Swamphens and both Gallinules, all the expected waders, and flocks of dabbling and diving ducks.  We spent some time at the impoundment where the Tern would often perch, but we were all realistic that the Tern had most likely moved on.

We eventually made our way to the impoundment where the Ruff and most of the shorebirds were being seen.  There were already at least a dozen birders there by the time we set up the scopes.  Here’s a picture of the impoundment.

After a bit of scanning we eventually spotted the flock the Ruff was likely associating with, but the birds were really far away and most were sleeping.  Mixed in the roosting flock were large numbers of Skimmers, Ring-billed Gulls, and Forster’s and Caspian Terns – though no Large-billed Tern was in the group.  We tried numerous vantage points but mostly just found more sleeping shorebirds.  But after a while we started to find some birds up and about foraging on the flats, including a nice Stilt Sandpiper feeding with both Yellowlegs.  And then as we were about to run out of time, we came upon a large group of mostly Dowitchers feeding a bit closer to us.  And one birder mentioned he might have an interesting bird in the flock.  David looked in that birder’s scope and confirmed they had the Ruff.  It took me a couple anxious minutes but I was finally able to pick it out in the distance.  (FL statebird #2)  FL is the 10th state where I’ve seen Ruff – of course all as rarities.

On our way back out of Goodwin we spotted a couple Snail Kites – a nice way to end the trip to this amazing spot.  Without David’s help we doubt that we would have been able to find the Ruff, let alone find the impoundment where the Ruff was hanging out.

As we continued our drive toward southern FL our next stop was Paul Rardin Park along the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee.  This small roadside park had an amazing set of wintering flycatchers, with recent reports including a Vermilion Flycatcher, 2 Western Kingbirds, a Tropical Kingbird, and occasional sightings of the only overwintering Gray Kingbird in the state that year.  Soon after we arrived I spotted a pair of flycatchers on power lines at the edge of the park which turned out to be a Western and a beautiful male Vermilion.  Then another Western joined them.  Soon we were surrounded by Kingbirds, and we counted 4 Westerns and a Tropical, eventually all flying in to perches in the same tree!  Here is one of Anita’s pictures of the Tropical with the rising moon in the background. 

We spent some additional time trying to re-locate the Gray Kingbird without success.  That one will have to wait for the breeding season when they’re common in the right habitats.

It was now late afternoon and we had just enough time for a stop at the Sem-Chi Rice Mill.  This spot is well-known for its blackbirds, with large mixed flocks coming to feed on spilled rice.  Our key target here was Shiny Cowbird which was sometimes seen in those flocks.  I had birded here a few years ago, and the protocol was to park at the edge of the parking lot and bird from the edges, staying away from mill operations.  This strategy was confirmed by my more recent contacts as we prepared for this trip.

We pulled into the parking lot and quickly noted a small flock of blackbirds coming into a nearby dumpster.  Just as we started to focus on the birds several employees came out of the buildings and made it quite clear that we weren’t allowed there.  We made a hasty retreat to our cars, and found a safe spot to park just outside the mill property.  Luckily there was a spot where we could still see the dumpster and all its blackbirds.  The birds would fly into neighboring hedges and trees, stage there briefly, then either fly right into the dumpster, or rest briefly on its edge, before dropping into it out of view.  At times the whole flock would be spooked and all would fly away, only to come back to start the process all over again a couple minutes later.  At best that gave us only brief views of any one bird so we had to be quick with the binoculars.

We spent the better part of an hour there watching the almost constant movement of blackbirds dominated by about 100 Red-wings.  We eventually all got good views of at least 3 Shiny Cowbirds (at least 1 male and 2 females), and at least 3 Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  I also got one view of a Bronzed Cowbird but couldn’t get others on it before it flew off.  Wonder what was in that dumpster that the blackbirds liked so much.

The next 2 blog posts summarize the rest of the trip.

4 Maryland and 4 Delaware Statebirds (Aren’t eBird Needs Alerts Great?), January 2017

I grew up in Maryland and during that time really focused on my MD statelist.  As a result I developed a pretty good list while living there, standing at 321 when I moved out of the state almost 30 years ago.  At the time it was my single largest statelist, and MD was my first ABA reportable state.  Since then my focus has turned to exceeding ABA thresholds in all states, so since then I haven’t gone out of my way to try to add birds to my MD list.  Not surprisingly, I have only added 5 new birds to my MD list since I left, mostly with some opportunistic birding while visiting relatives in the area. 

But now I set a new goal to get to 15,000 total ticks.  To reach that threshold I can’t turn down any new reasonably feasible statebird, even in states with my largest lists.  So with an upcoming trip to MD in January I set up an eBird Needs Alert to see if any new birds might be around.  To my surprise many species popped up, including several species that were now regular in MD but weren’t even on my radar screen back in the 80’s – like Cackling Goose, Ross’s Goose, and Trumpeter Swan.  But more importantly the alert included a reliable rarity – Black-throated Gray Warbler.  This bird had been seen since late November in the small Tydings Memorial Park in Havre de Grace.  I only had a few hours available on one early morning to give it a try, but if I got there at dawn I could give it a couple hours before I had to head out.  Plus there was a reliable Trumpeter Swan a short distance away at Perryville Community Park.  So ever the optimist, if I could get the Warbler quickly, I could even try for the Swan as well.

I arrived at Tydings Memorial Park a bit before dawn to pea soup fog, and temps in the 30s.  Given the cool conditions I had expected this insect-eating bird to get active when its food started to get active, most likely in the first trees to be illuminated by the rising sun.  Apparently its favorite trees were a row of 4 cedars planted atop a hill in the park (recent directions put them at the east end of the park but it only took me a few seconds to find them at the west end of the park).  These would be the first ones to be in sunlight at dawn so my logic was coming together.  But that morning the rising sun was obscured by fog, and dawn arrived without any sunlit trees anywhere in the park. 

After a few minutes of searching with no luck I noticed another birder had arrived.  Hoping that he might have better directions I went over to him to compare notes.  To my surprise it was Jim Stasz, a birder I spent many hours birding with in the 70s and 80s.  In fact he was my key birding mentor from my younger formative days.  Amazing coincidence!  He too thought that the cedars would be the best spot to check at dawn.  But the fog was spoiling our plans.  Jim also mentioned that the bird was sometimes seen in the suburban neighborhood just to the north of the park, so that might be an alternate location to try.

In the next hour at least 8 other birders arrived, and we all fanned out throughout the park.  But to no avail.  Eventually the sun did come out, and a few birds made their way to the cedars, but no one spotted our target bird.

It was now time for me to head out having missed the Warbler, not to mention not even having a chance to try for the Swan.  I said goodbye to Jim and drove out of the park.  As I passed by on the road skirting the northern edge of Tydings Park, I noticed the birders all scurrying over to the neighborhood, crossing the road in front of me.  I pulled over and got the news – a birder had just found the Warbler one block to the north.  Seconds later I was with that birder standing at the base of the large spruce tree where he had heard the bird a couple minutes earlier.  Within a minute I heard the bird’s characteristic chip note, sounding much like a Yellow-rumped.  We all tracked the bird as it passed through the neighborhood, getting several brief looks at the bird as it continued to call from the treetops.  Eventually it flew over to the park, seemingly heading to its favorite row of cedars.  If I had left just a minute earlier I would have missed it!

MD was my fourth state where I’ve seen Black-throated Gray Warbler as a rarity – along with MA, GA, and ND, plus I’ve seen it throughout its normal range out west (see my statebird map below).  And it was number 327 for my MD list.

But that was just 1 new MD statebird, and the title of this blog said I added 4 in MD.  The other 3 came on my next trip “back home”.  Energized by the success of using a Needs Alert on my first trip, I set up another alert for my second trip.  Once again Cackling Geese, Ross’s Geese, and Trumpeter Swans dominated the report.  And all 3 were being seen close to my home base in Baltimore.  Most recently a Ross’s Goose and 2 Cackling Geese were being seen in a flock of Canadas 45 minutes northwest at Study Road Pond in Carroll County.  This flock also had an immature Snow Goose and a couple White-fronts – good birds for the area but not new for my MD list.  As with my first trip I had just a few hours free for birding, but these birds looked to be pretty reliable so it seemed to be worth a try.  Plus if I got these birds quickly I could try for a Trumpeter Swan just discovered in a small pond on the southwest outskirts of Baltimore. 

After a short ride into northern Carroll County I turned onto Study Road, and quickly spotted the pond ahead of me, along with a flock of geese on the grassy field above it.  And a second later I picked out a small white goose.  Within seconds I had the Ross’s Goose in my scope, and got this distant phonescoped photo of this most cooperative bird.  Needless to say a white goose in a flock of Canadas feeding in a grassy field really stands out.

MD was my 30^th state for this expanding species.  And although I had seen Ross’s Goose in DE while I lived in the Mid-Atlantic, I don’t believe it was even on the MD statelist at the time.

Now I needed to search for the much less obvious Cackling Geese.  I quickly panned through the flock with my binocs and almost instantly picked out a group of 3 smaller geese feeding on the hill.  With the scope I could tell all 3 were much smaller than the Canadas, but they were facing away so I couldn’t see their bill and head shapes.  Eventually they turned and I could see all 3 had the stubbier bill, and more vertical forehead shape of a Cackling Goose.  But one was slightly larger – the rightmost bird of the trio in this photo.

And now in the middle in this photo.

Could the smaller birds be “Richardson’s” Cackling Geese and the larger one be a “Taverner’s” Cackling Goose?  Or maybe the larger bird is just the male of this potential family group, since males tend to be a little larger than females.  A bit later I found this other Goose that seemed small enough to be a Cackling, but its head/bill shape was more Canada like.  Not sure what to make of this one – maybe a small “Parvipes” Canada, or dare I say a hybrid?

Later I found the immature “Blue Phase” Snow Goose, but with a quick scan I couldn’t locate a White-front.  Although I thought about spending more time looking for that fifth goose species, since I got my target geese so quickly, I decided I should head out to make a very quick try for the Trumpeter Swan.  Luckily the Swan had been seen on a small pond, so it wouldn’t take long to either find it or realize the bird had moved on.  Maybe even easier than the Ross’s Goose.

Potentially a bigger issue with the Swan could be gaining access to the pond.  The bird was seen on the property of a gated retirement community, but one eBirder mentioned he just asked for permission at the gate and was given access.  So I wasn’t too worried when I drove up to the gate to ask as well.  However, the guard said she couldn’t let me on the property.  The pond was not visible from the road, so now what should I do?  I quickly pulled up the area on my map app in the satellite view, and could see the pond on the eastern edge of the retirement community property.  Maybe I could get a view of the pond from the back side of one of the businesses to the east.  I drove around to a couple spots and eventually found one that gave me a view to at least a portion of the pond.  And sure enough on my second stop there was the immature Trumpeter swimming down below.  Makes up for not being able to try for the Trumpeter on my first trip to MD.  I got this miserable shot of the bird by holding my phone up to my binocs.

MD is my second east coast state where I’ve counted the reintroduced Trumpeter Swans – luckily they have been accepted on the MD statelist. 

That gave me 4 new birds on my MD list in just 1 month, raising my total to 330.  After I entered all my sightings in eBird my MD Needs Alerts now only had a couple entries.  Though unfortunately none of the remaining birds were close enough to chase after, but I was very happy with adding 4 new birds in such limited birding time.

With so much success using a MD Needs Alert, I started to think about setting up Needs Alerts for nearby states.  Although my statelists in adjacent states were also pretty good, they weren’t as good as my MD list, so there would likely be several targets to pursue.  The problem was I didn’t have any more spare time while I was in Baltimore.  But I still had to drive back to MA at the end of the trip, so maybe there would be some statebirds I could pursue close to my planned route home with just some short side-trips.  I started with a Needs Alert in DE where my statelist stood at a very respectable 270.  My planned route would take me on I-95 through New Castle County in DE, and sure enough there were several potential targets in that northernmost DE county.  And with a bit of research I was able to find 4 reasonably likely targets to pursue close to my I-95 route – Ring-necked Duck and Common Merganser at the Newark Reservoir, Black-capped Chickadee at feeders at the Tri-State Bird Rescue, and Cackling Goose at Bellevue State Park.  Despite having to make stops at 3 different sites, my total additional drive time was just 45 minutes.  If I made short “tactical” birding stops at each location it would all be feasible - my plan was set.

After just an hour drive from Baltimore I neared the DE stateline and took the exit to head to the Newark Reservoir.  Several recent eBird reports had included small flocks of both Common Mergansers and Ring-necked Ducks there, including just 2 days before my visit.  (Not exactly sure why I still needed these quite common species in a state where I’ve done so much birding over the years…)  There were also a couple reports of Cackling Geese there a few weeks earlier, so another one to watch out for.  I needed a short walk uphill to gain access to the reservoir, but I hoped to be able to quickly check off both the Ring-neck and Merg once I got the reservoir in view.  As I headed up the path to the reservoir I saw a duck flying overhead – it was a male Common Merganser.  That was easy!  Now I just needed the Ring-necks to be as cooperative.  Unfortunately it wasn’t to be.  Although I had 9 Common Mergs on the water, I could not find any Ring-necked Ducks.  And there was only 1 Canada Goose – none of its smaller cousins were around. 

My statebird map for Common Merganser pretty closely matches it regular range, though I still need it in OH.  And as a postscript – if I had found a Ring-necked Duck I could have filled in DE in my statebird map as my last continental US state for that species.  (I’ve seen 26 species in every continental US state.)

Next I was off to nearby Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, where a few eBird posts had reported a Black-capped Chickadee coming to their feeders.  The northern tip of DE is traditionally near the southern edge of the range of Black-caps, especially in winter when a few birds tend to move a bit south of their normal breeding ranges.  And many of these birds are reported from feeders, not surprisingly with several Carolinas, as was the case with the Tri-State feeders.  That brings up the challenge of identification of these 2 very similar species.  Luckily I’ve grown up near the edge of the Carolina/Black-capped ranges, so I’ve spent a lot of time with these 2 species.  To me, the biggest ID clue is the size difference, though interestingly that feature isn’t stressed in the field guides.  When I travel to MD and see a Carolina Chickadee, after spending years with Black-caps in New England, my first thought is how much smaller Carolinas are. 

With prior approval to bird at the Tri-State feeders, I arrived mid-morning and headed to a deck overlooking their feeding station.  I quickly found 4 Carolina Chickadees actively coming to the feeder to grab a sunflower seed.  They would then fly to a bush just a short distance away to open the seed.  They would chatter a bit, and then head back to the feeder to repeat their cycle.  Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t turn any of them into a Black-cap.  After 20 minutes I was starting to second-guess my efforts.  After all it had been more than a month since the last eBird report.  Then I spotted a different Chickadee fly in from the south.  I instantly thought that this bird was bigger.  And when it landed near the feeder I could see its whiter wings, rustier sides, and more ragged edge to the bib – a Black-capped Chickadee.  However my look was brief, as it stayed near the feeder for just 10 seconds, never actually stopped at the feeder, and then flew off to the north.  In other words it wasn’t even associating with the Carolinas that had taken up residence at the feeding station.  I’ve now seen Black-capped Chickadee in just about all its regular states, including down the spine of the Appalachians in VA, NC, and TN.

I was now quickly back on the road driving through some suburban streets headed off to my next stop.  As I neared a red light I could see a large flock of crows circling overhead.  I half-heartedly told myself to keep an eye open for Common Raven which had been occasionally reported from the general area.  As I sat at the light I noticed one more distant Corvid that seemed to be doing more soaring than flapping.  On a lark I picked up my binocs from the passenger seat, lowered my window, and focused my binocs on the bird in question – it had a wedge-shaped tail.  Amazingly, it was indeed a Raven!  I continued to watch it glide along the edge of the flock of Crows; that is until the light turned green.  Thank goodness for long red lights.  With the exception of NJ, I’ve seen this species in all its regular states and a few others as it continues to expand its range.

Next I was off to Bellevue State Park to try for Cackling Geese.  A flock of 5 had been reported there in early January, but that was now more than 2 weeks ago.  But I tried to remain optimistic.  Once I got to the park it was pretty easy to find the lake and adjoining fields where the mixed Canada and Cackling Goose flock had been reported.  And sure enough up ahead there was a small flock of about 200 geese grazing in the field.  A quick scan did not reveal any smaller geese.  So I got closer and with just a bit of searching found a flock of 5 smaller Cackling Geese feeding together.  Perhaps a family group?  Amazing that they have stayed in this park for so long.  I got this photo of the 5 Cackling Geese with 2 larger Canadas off to the side.

 

My Cackling Goose statebird map is less a reflection of the wintering range of this species than it is  indicative of the states in which I’ve birded in the proper season since Cackling Goose was split out as a separate species.

That gave me 4 new DE statebirds, bringing my list up to 274.  And along with my MD success, amazing to add 8 new birds to my already substantial Mid-Atlantic statelists despite making just 3 short birding trips.  As I continued my drive north up the NJ Turnpike I was half-tempted to pull over and set up a quick Needs Alert in NJ.  But that will have to wait for a future trip. 

I love Needs Alerts…

126 Statebirds and Reportable in North Dakota, Including Maybe a Mega-Rarity, May 2014, Part 1 of 2

Each year I take an extended birding vacation somewhere to work on my various statelists, and hopefully move a step closer to my lifelong goal of reaching the old ABA reportable goals in each of the lower 48 states and DC (“lower 49”).  This year it was to the Great Plains in North Dakota, Montana and South Dakota.  This entry to my blog summarizes the results of the ND part of the trip; other posts discuss MT and SD.

ND was one of 2 last states where I had very small lists – with just 78 I would have lots of statebirding potential.  So I started to put a plan together to bird as many habitats as possible in central and western ND.  I spent quite a bit of time reviewing a relatively recent birdfinding guide for ND, got some excellent input from local birders, and also gathered some information from e-bird.  I eventually set up an itinerary with 4 days in western and central ND, with an optimistic goal of adding at least 100 statebirds, especially concentrating on those birds most likely to be in the western part of the state.  Since the old ABA reporting threshold is 199, I would likely come up a bit short of threshold (or so I thought).  So I would eventually need to come back to ND, likely to look for the species more typical of the eastern US.  As for target species, I didn’t have any likely lifebird targets.  But I was hoping to see Baird’s Sparrow, which is on my lifelist but based on just one sighting in January 1994 in AZ, which I’m now unsure of.

Day 1 – Fly to Bismarck and Drive to Bottineau

After a long day of flying, and miserable connecting times, I finally landed in Bismarck just before dinner.  Because I needed to make a long 3 ½ hour drive to Bottineau which was my starting point for the next day, I was planning to make only one brief birding stop that day at the Minot sewage lagoon.  As I drove through Bismarck I realized the foliage on the trees was typical of mid-May back home when migrant passerines were at their peak.  So I was hopeful that I had timed the trip to coincide with some good migration.  I felt even better about my timing when I heard a singing Tennessee Warbler as I drove through a suburban part of Bismarck.  But just a few miles north of Bismarck I realized that there were now few leaves on the trees.  And within an hour north of Bismarck there were almost no leaves visible on any bush or tree.  Was I too early?  Would I miss many of my hoped-for migrants?  As I continued my drive I started to think that I would never reach my goal of 100 new birds.  But maybe I would have a better shot at some of the late wintering birds, like some waterfowl and sparrows.  In any case, it was pretty disappointing as I realized the vegetation looked more like early April than mid-May. 

When I arrived in Minot I made the short 10-minute side trip to the Minot sewage lagoons which had had some pretty good birds recently.  But there were only a few Lesser Scaup, Eared Grebes, and some dabblers on the water, and almost no shorebirds along the edges.  I did pick up Spotted Sandpiper there – notable only because ND was my last of the lower 49 for this species.  I also had a couple Wilson’s Phalaropes and a Least Sandpiper, but otherwise it was really slow.  

The trip finally started to pick up north of Minot when I realized that many of the flooded fields along the highway had at least a few shorebirds.  At one stop while looking at several peep species, a breeding plumaged American Golden Plover passed through my binocular field.  Striking bird!  There were 6 birds in this small flock, which were the only ones for my trip.  A little farther along while on SR5 I passed through Clark Salyer NWR and I noticed some white geese on the shoreline.  With a quick stop I found a flock of 15 Snow Geese, along with 1 White-fronted Goose.  I’ve found quite a number of out-of-season summering White-fronted Geese across the country, and I’ve now seen this species in quite a number of states.

About half of these birds had broken wings, likely injured during the past hunting season and destined to spend the rest of their lives at the refuge.  By the time I rolled into my hotel in Bottineau I realized that there were no leaves anywhere – ugh.  I ended the day with 12 new statebirds which was a pretty nice start all things considered.

Day 2 – Passerine and Shorebird Fallout in North-Central ND, And a Visit to Manitoba

I planned to spend much of this day in the Turtle Mountains just a few miles south of the US-Canada border in north-central ND.  This area has nice woodlands, and I was hoping for some good passerine migrants, especially eastern ones.  But not only did the Turtle Mountains look like April, but it felt like April – it was 45 degrees, low overcast, breezy, and drizzly.  En route to my first stop at Wakopa WMA I had a couple good birds – a pair of Ravens were nice, as was a flyby Peregrine Falcon (my only one of the trip).

When I arrived at Wakopa just after dawn my expectations for migrants were low.  But as soon as I opened my car door at my first stop I heard numerous warbler chips – mostly Yellow-rumps.  I was on the western edge of a large lake, and there was a constant stream of birds moving south down the western edge of the lake.  And with no leaves anywhere, they sure were easy to see.  I spent at least 3 hours at Wakopa and was amazed at not only the number of passerines, but also the diversity.  And I got most of my key eastern targets.  The numerous Yellow-rumps were joined by Black-and-whites, Palms, Orange-crowns, Yellows, Blackpolls, Redstarts, and Ovenbirds, along with a Nashville, a Chestnut-sided, and numerous Northern Waterthrushes likely on territory.  There were many Swainson’s Thushes – at least 50 - and several Veerys.  Vireos included several Warbling’s and Philadelphia’s, and a couple Blue-headeds.  Flycatchers were mostly Leasts, with one Yellow-bellied and one Eastern Pewee.  Larger migrants included several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Baltimore Orioles.  A sole Ruby-throated Hummingbird and a couple Broad-winged Hawks were cooperative key targets near the western edge of their US breeding range.  Sparrows included several late White-throats and Lincoln’s.  It was quite a show!  Though I felt sorry for these passerines who couldn’t be finding many insects to eat.  As the morning progressed most were feeding on or near the ground which likely was a bit warmer and had a few more insects.  As for waterfowl, most lakes had singing Common Loons, and each lake had exactly one pair of Red-necked Grebes.  I left the area feeling very good about my results.

Next stop was at the International Peace Gardens, which is another wooded area, half in ND and half in Manitoba.  One of my key areas of interest there was a grove of planted conifers.  A quick walk around the firs yielded one male Cape May and one male Bay-breasted, along with an immature male Purple Finch – exactly the kinds of birds I was hoping for there.  Other new birds were Magpies, and my only Eastern Phoebe and Merlin of the trip.  I’ve now seen Eastern Phoebe in most all states where it is a regular nester. 

Since it was only around noon and I was running ahead of schedule, I decided to make a short foray into Manitoba.  Since that was my first time ever in that province, every bird was new.  I spent just an hour in the Manitoba portion of the International Peace Gardens and picked up 40 species.  At one point I was just 100 yards north of the border when I watched a flock of Franklin’s Gull fly overhead to the south – adding them both to my Manitoba and ND lists.  Most MB species were similar to the ones I had earlier, except for the Gray-cheeked Thrush which was my only one for the trip.

After coming back through the US immigration checkpoint, I worked my way to the west to Willow Lake for some water and marsh birds.  But as I arrived at a marsh which was supposed to have Nelson’s and LeConte’s Sparrows, I noticed numerous small passerines feeding low right along the edge of the marsh.  They turned out to be warblers – I estimated 100 Yellows and 50 Yellow-rumps.  Most were oblivious to me as I walked up to within 10 feet of the activity.  These birds too must have been having troubles finding insects in the cold weather, so this slightly warmer perimeter of the marsh must have had a few more insects.  As I stood there watching the activity a different species popped into the open – it was an Oporornis with white arcs above and below the eye.  A MacGillivray’s Warbler – a good bird for ND!  I’ve seen MacGillivray’s in most states in its regular range, and now also in ND and MA as a rarity.

And the marsh was full of marshbirds too – Soras were calling constantly greatly outnumbering the pair or Virginia Rails, and Sedge Wrens everywhere in the wet grasses.  But no Nelson’s or LeConte’s.

A bit farther along I got to a place with a distant view of the island way out in the lake with a number of nesting species.  I picked out both Forster’s and Common Terns, my first California Gulls and Avocets, along with many Cormorant nests.  I also had a small flock of Bonaparte’s Gulls which were the only ones for my trip.  And the lake had my first Horned Grebes in with the numerous Eared and Western Grebes.  Another nice stop!

It was now late afternoon and time to make my 2+ hour drive west to Kenmare, ND to prepare for the next day.  Soon after I started the drive I realized that not only was there a big passerine fallout occurring in the area, but there was a big fallout of shorebirds as well.  Every flooded farmer’s field (and there were many of them) had at least a few shorebirds, and there were numerous shorebirds in the air.  I made many stops along the way picking up good numbers of the regular species like White-rumps, Baird’s, and Stilt Sands, and Avocets, along with a few Pectorals, Dunlin, and Long-billed Dowitchers.  I also had a flock of 11 Hudsonian Godwits and a flyover flock of 4 Long-billed Curlews.  Although curlews are regular in all western states, I still need this species in a number of different states.

As I continued west I neared a concrete culvert over a grass-lined stream running north-south.  Up ahead I could see 3 mid-sized shorebirds (that I thought were likely yellowlegs) flying northbound low along the stream.  I continued to watch these birds as they gained a bit of altitude just enough to pass up and over the culvert.  They passed over the culvert just as I reached the culvert such that I was looking at them directly out my driver’s window.  I got a close look at one of the birds, and my initial thought was that this wasn’t one of the shorebirds I was tracking because it was completely black below.  My initial split second thought was that maybe it was a blackbird.  But then I noticed it had a long dark bill and long pointed wings, and realized it was indeed a shorebird, and it was one of the 3 I initially watched from a distance fly up the creek.  This bird was basically flying along with me for maybe 3 seconds, before it continued to fly north and I lost it.  I quickly reached the conclusion that a shorebird that was all black below and long bill could be a Spotted Redshank!  I pulled off the road just to the west and spent the next 30 minutes scanning the creek below, both to the north and to the south, but found no shorebirds at all.  One that got away!

A bit farther along I got to the Clark Salyer NWR where I had had the Snow and White-fronted Geese yesterday.  There were now close to 100 white geese, so I decided to check for a late Ross’.  And sure enough, there was one in with the Snows.  Another of my targets was Eurasian Collared Doves, and as I continued to drive west I was surprised that I hadn’t seen any yet.  So as I drove through the net ND town I made a small detour and instantly saw several ECDs – my 38th state for this species.  And as I finally pulled into Kenmare it was almost dark, but I had some Purple Martins at a box right next to the motel.  A very nice way to end the day.  I ended up with 139 species and an amazing 72 new birds for my ND statelist.

Day 3 – Lostwood NWR and Stops in Northwestern ND – Plus a Stop in Saskatchewan

Lostwood NWR was well-advertised, in fact famous, for being the spot in ND to see Baird’s Sparrow, Sprague’s Pipit, Piping Plover, and Nelson’s and LeConte’s.  Though I had heard it hadn’t been as good for Baird’s in recent years.  So I planned to spend much of the day at the refuge for these and lots of other marsh and grassland targets.  I left my hotel pre-dawn, and as I walked to the car I heard a calling American Bittern – not a typical bird for the middle of a small town but this was very close to marshes of Des Lacs NWR.  Later that morning I would have numerous calling Bitterns at Lostwood.  This bird hasn’t been as cooperative for me in many other states as shown by all the gaps in my statebird map below.

The route to Lostwood was in the heart of heavy fracking activity in the Bakken shale.  As I drove along in the darkness the flares burning off the gases lit up the area and were visible for a considerable distance on this morning with a new moon.  At one point I counted 8 flares visible just directly ahead of me (who knows how many there would have been if I had scanned the entire horizon).   Later I came to some road construction, or should I say de-construction.  The paved road was gone, and the “road” was nothing but loose soil, undoubtedly a project to replace roads destroyed by all the heavy truck traffic.  In the pitch black I wasn’t sure where the road ended and the adjacent prairie started.  Little did I know that these several miles of what was supposed to be paved road would turn out to be my worst road conditions of the trip.

When I finally made it to Lostwood the skies were getting light, and there was a very heavy fog making viewing distances extremely limited.  Plus the car thermometer said it was just 30 degrees. 

As the sun began to rise I saw this rainbow caused by the fog – pretty cool.

My first stop was at the Sharp-tailed Grouse lek which I was told was the best spot in the refuge for Baird’s Sparrow.  The good news was that I counted 18 grouse still displaying on the lek although this was now late May.  The bad news was that despite over an hour of trying there were no Baird’s Sparrows.  I then doubled back to “the” location in the refuge for Sprague’s Pipit (the tower seen in the distance in the fog picture above).  But just like the Baird’s attempt – no luck.  At the end of my trip I talked to one of the refuge employees about missing the Baird’s and Sprague’s and he told me that the refuge is no longer managing the prairie for these species.  Both require recently grazed or burned prairie, and throughout the refuge all I saw was lush, tall vegetation.  Makes one wonder how the refuge is managing the prairie for in the first place.  Maybe it’s for all the Clay-colored and Vesper Sparrows which were abundant throughout the prairie.

There were some positive highlights to this stop though.  First, I saw at least 3 Short-eared Owls flying over the prairie in the early morning.  And I also heard 2 LeConte’s Sparrows in wet grassy areas accompanied by numerous Sedge Wrens.  I also saw 4 Piping Plovers including 2 in courtship at the alkaline ponds where they nest.  The water levels in these ponds were generally too high for shorebirds, though I did find 2 very distant Red-necked Phalaropes at one spot.  Plus one sparrow flock along the road that I ran into consisted of 6 White-crowns and 1 Harris’ – all very late.  Otherwise the refuge was pretty quiet.

As I exited the refuge I made a quick tour around the refuge buildings where there are a number of planted bushes and trees, hoping for migrants.  There were a few flycatchers and warblers here and there, but not much.  That is until I reached the end of my loop around the buildings when a small bird flew by me and landed just 15 feet away from me – a male Black-throated Gray Warbler.  Quite a rarity for ND!  I’ve now seen this species as a rarity in MA, GA, and ND, along with all the states in its regular range.

Since I struck out on Baird’s Sparrow at Lostwood, I headed west to 3 other locations where Baird’s had been reported in the past, or were mentioned in birdfinding guides.  The first was at Smishek Lake, though I never found any worthwhile habitat.  Next was Alkali Lake, where again prairie grasses were too tall and lush for Baird’s.  Though a male Cinnamon Teal was a nice find here.  Next was Lake Zahl where again the prairie grass was tall.  But I decided to walk along a 2-track between the prairie and a farmer’s field, where I finally found the first Chestnut-collared Longspurs for ND.  On a lark I tried playing some Baird’s Sparrow tape while looking at my map to figure out my next stop.  When I looked up there was a Baird’s perched on a barbed wire fence just 20 feet away providing great views of what turned out to be the first of many for the trip. 

My next planned stop was west into Westby, MT, but since I was running a bit ahead of schedule I wondered if there was another stop nearby.  Then I looked at the map to realized not only was I again close to the Canadian border, but this time it was Saskatchewan – another province I had never been to.  So after another 1-hour trip into Canada I had 48 species as a start to my SK province list.

Just after crossing back into ND I noticed a bare tree with a nest containing large Great Horned Owl babies.  Another target crossed off.  I was now starting to realize I was doing really well toward my goal of 100 new birds in ND.  Though I only got 13 new birds on Day 3, I now had 97 new species for ND, and portions of 4 more days of ND birding to go.  I needed 24 more to get to the reportable threshold.  Could I get enough to be reportable in ND?  I made a list of my remaining targets, and began to change my strategy from birding general locations or habitats, to instead focusing on finding specific species.