Oregon Portion of the Northwest Sagebrush Country Trip, Part 2 of 2, May-June 2023

This post summarizes the second half of the Oregon portion of my sagebrush country trip starting on Day 5 of the trip.  The previous blog post summarized the first half of the OR part of the trip on Days 2-4.  See my next post for the Washington part of the trip.

Day 5 – May 28 - Idlewild Campground and La Grande

Our plan for Day 5 was to start our day a short distance north at the Idlewild Campground in the Malheur National Forest, starting pre-dawn and then birding there through much of the morning.  The campground and surrounding area were at an elevation of about 5,000 feet in forest dominated by Ponderosa pines.  Needless to say our targets here were quite different from those at the refuge, most notably including 3 woodpecker species – Black-backed and White-headed Woodpeckers and Red-naped Sapsucker.  

But perhaps even more exciting were the nocturnal species often heard near the campground.  This spot was seemingly reliable for Flammulated Owl and Poorwill.  Plus apparently Long-eared Owl was a possibility.  Although sightings of this sensitive species are not detailed in eBird, I noticed a couple nocturnal checklists from the site in previous years mentioning in the details that they heard Flammulateds near where the Long-eareds were heard.  Plus there were occasional Pygmy Owl reports here too.  Certainly a target-rich environment.

We arrived near the entrance to the Idlewild Campground at 4:10 AM, more than an hour before sunrise.  We got out of the car and listened for a while, hearing a Poorwill calling in the distance.  Then we started playing tape for Flammulated Owl, and shortly thereafter had one call in response (OR statebird #26).  That’s only the 4th time I’ve heard this species, following single observations in CA, NV, and UT.  Then we played recordings of the hoots of the Long-eared Owl, and got an almost immediate response of a series of higher-pitched nasal calls that neither of us recognized.  I checked other Long-eared calls on the Sibley app and realized that what we were hearing was a match to the “Harsh hoots (female)” call (OR statebird #27).  I didn’t even know that Long-ears made that call.  My statebird map for this species is a bit unusual.  Although I’ve seen or heard this species in all 5 of the western-most Lower 48 states, and a couple states on the East Coast, I’ve yet to observe it across the vast majority of its range throughout much of the country.

While we were listening to the Owls several Dusky Flycatchers started calling nearby (OR statebird #28).  That was an expected species at this spot, but not necessarily expected to be calling still 45 minutes before sunrise.

We then drove a short distance down NF 2820 on the north side of the campground and came upon a large parking lot for snowmobilers.  We thought this large “clearing” in the forest might be a good location from which to listen for other calling nocturnal birds, so we pulled in to check it out.  We had been out of the car just a short time when I heard what at first I thought was a Snipe winnowing.  But we it was odd to hear a Snipe before dawn, and especially one in the middle of a pine forest.  And then I said “unless it’s a Boreal Owl”.  The bird continued to call every 45 seconds or so, giving a series of short hoots that started soft and got louder, and lacked the metallic quality of a Snipe.  We were shocked to have found a Boreal Owl! (OR statebird #29).  Per “Handbook of Oregon Birds” by Herlyn and Contreras (2009), this species nests near the northeast corner of OR, but is not known to breed this far south in the state.  That’s only my 3rd Boreal Owl, the first 2 being in MA and AK.  What an amazing start to the morning – 4 new statebirds before sunrise!

It was now daylight and time to switch gears to start looking for diurnal birds.  We drove into the campground and started making a slow walk around the campground loop.  The Ponderosa pine habitat is one of my favorites.

We had only walked a short distance when we heard woodpecker tapping sounds up ahead.  As we approached closer a woodpecker flew by – it was a White-headed Woodpecker (OR statebird #30).  It joined a second bird, and we watched these gorgeous birds for quite a while as they foraged nearby.  Here’s a heavily cropped photo of one of the birds.

We continued our walk around the campground and started to hear a harsh call in the distance that I didn’t recognize.  I played some tape and realized it was a Clark’s Nutcracker (OR statebird #31).  And Merlin confirmed it as well.  I just need this species in 2 more states in its regular range.

We were now walking along the western access road of the campground in just about the only patch of deciduous trees in the area.  I mentioned that this could be a good spot for our Sapsucker target since they prefer aspens.  And just then I noticed some movement in some low trees nearby and spotted a Red-naped Sapsucker (OR statebird #32).  It’s nice when your targets cooperate.

Our next target was Black-backed Woodpecker which had been reported in previous years in a recent burn along NF 2820.  There was a recent burn on the north side of the road near the campground, so we assumed that was the one in question.  We started slowly walking through the burn area – most all the underbrush had burned in the fire, and all the tree trunks were charred though few of the trees were killed.  The area was actually quite birdy, with a number of both Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, a pair of Western Bluebirds (I need that one in ID later in the trip!), Cassin’s Finches, and “Oregon” Juncos.  Plus we spent some time watching Townsend’s Solitaires as they sang in flight high above the trees.  We didn’t know that that’s their typical approach for singing on territory.

But we had no woodpeckers of any species.  Though most of the charred trees had bark chipped off with piles of bark chips near the base, so we remained hopeful.

We had spent nearly an hour wandering through the forest and were thinking of giving up when we heard a drumming call in the distance.  It was similar to the call on the Sibley app, and Merlin thought it was a Black-backed too, but we needed to be sure.  A recording of the Black-backed call is uploaded to my eBird checklist - ebird.org/checklist/S139676839

We walked closer to the call and eventually a large woodpecker flew in and landed nearby – it was indeed a male Black-backed Woodpecker (OR statebird #33).  We watched it forage on trees nearby and then it just disappeared.  We walked around the last tree it was on and David spotted a nest hole.  Not only had we found a Black-backed Woodpecker, we had found a nest!  A bit later another Black-back called in the distance and this second bird flew in – it was the female. 

A couple minutes later we watched a nest exchange as the male flew out and the female flew in to take his place.  So cool!  Later we had another Black-back on the Summit Trail on the other side of the campground giving us 3 in one morning.

It was now about time to head out, and as we started our drive from Idlewild Campground a Green-tailed Towhee flew by.  A nice way to end our morning.  We had only 31 species in nearly 7 hours of birding at the campground, but we sure had some great birds.

Our hotel that night was in La Grande, 3+ hours to the north.  But along the way we had one target to pursue – Grasshopper Sparrow at the Thief Valley Reservoir.  There were several reports of that species there in previous years, and just a couple so far this year, but locations weren’t very detailed.  So I reached out to one of the birders who had reported the sparrow there this year, Nolan Clements, for some advice.  Nolan provided us excellent input on the best location to find the Grasshopper Sparrows, and offered to help on our other targets as well.  His help would prove to be invaluable on several of these other chases too. 

But first back to the Grasshopper Sparrow – Nolan gave us specific coordinates of the best location, which took us to the edge of a grassy field being grazed by cows.  We walked a short distance along the fence line and played some tape but got no responses. 

We then drove to another part of the field but the grass there was more heavily grazed and didn’t look like it would be as appealing to our target.  In fact, the best habitat seemed to be back where we first stopped, where there was a strip of taller grasses close to the fence.  So we went back there and played more tape.  This time we heard a weak response and then spotted a Grasshopper Sparrow that perched on the fence long enough to allow me to get this digi-binned photo (OR statebird #34).  We should have just stayed at the initial location suggested by Nolan. 

Our last stop of the day was Deal Canyon in La Grande where Nolan suggested we might find Calliope Hummingbird.  We parked at the bottom of Deal Canyon Rd. and started walking up the paved road that took us into the canyon.  The road was quite steep so luckily there were a quite number of birds to look at while we rested along the way to catch our breath.  At one point I spotted an Orange-crowned Warbler in the brush (our only one of the trip), and then spotted a Nashville Warbler in the same patch of brush (OR statebird #35).  We would later have 3 more singing Nashville’s on the way up.  Unfortunately we couldn’t come up with any hummingbirds.  At least the view was nice.

Nolan mentioned that if we missed Calliope at Deal Canyon he could contact his parents who live in La Grande to see if we could look for them at their feeders.  So on our way down I called Nolan and left him a message to see if we could visit their feeders the next day.  But more on that tomorrow.

Yet another day of double-digit new statebirds!

Day 6 -May 29 - La Grande Area

We only had 2 planned stops for the day on the west side of the Wallowa Mountains, which at most would fill about half the day.  So with extra time on our hands I did some more eBird research the night before to see if anything else might be around to chase after.  There was a recent report of Great-tailed Grackle a short distance from town that was confirmed by the eBird reviewer, so that one would be worthwhile to try for.  And just in case we were unable to reach Nolan’s parents I put together a list of other Calliope Hummingbird sightings in the area, though all were at private residences.  That one might take some effort…

Our first stop was the riparian area along Philberg Rd.  That road would dead-end at a parking area and the beginning of a foot trail that would take us into the next hotspot, Rhinehart Canyon, with more riparian habitat.  We had 3 remaining targets possible at both sites – Calliope Hummingbird, Veery, and Catbird.  Though Nolan mentioned that Veery can be difficult in the Canyon but are vocal along Philberg Rd so be sure to drive along slowly with our windows down.

We arrived at the north end of Philberg Rd. at 5 AM just a couple minutes before sunrise and began our slow drive south.  We had come no more than a quarter mile with windows down as Nolan suggested when I heard what I thought was a singing Wood Thrush from the hillside above the road.  We quickly got out of the car and amazingly it was indeed a singing Wood Thrush! (OR statebird #36)  We listened to it singing its “e-o-lay” and similar songs for the next 15 minutes.  A recording of the Wood Thrush is uploaded to my eBird checklist - ebird.org/checklist/S139728975.  Although there are many other birds singing at the time drowning out the Wood Thrush, it is best heard 2 seconds into the recording.

We knew it was a rarity for OR but didn’t know just how rare it was until later – there are only 5 prior accepted records in the state!  This species normally only gets as far west as the eastern portion of the Great Plains.  Interestingly that was my second Wood Thrush as a western vagrant – I photographed a bird in NM years ago.

It was quite anti-climactic, but while we were listening to the Wood Thrush we also had a singing Veery (OR statebird #37).  And minutes later we had the first of many Catbirds, which were one of the most common birds there (OR statebird #38). 

After birding along Philberg Rd. for about an hour we reached the end of the road and the parking lot for the Rhinehart Canyon trail.  We then went on foot and headed south into the canyon.  Catbirds continued to be common, but as Nolan predicted, we had no more Veerys.  Canyon Wrens were common singers from the rocks above us, and the riparian area was quite birdy featuring many Bullock’s Orioles, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Yellow Warblers, Nashville Warblers, and the like. 

Then we reached the bridge that formerly was sturdy enough for vehicles but was now only a footbridge.  Three boulders had been placed at the end of the bridge to prevent anyone from driving onto it, and the foot trail continued along hugging the left edge of the left boulder.  Just as I stepped near the boulder about to get onto the bridge I heard an odd sound that startled me and I quickly stepped back.  From a distance we peered under the boulder and there was a very large head of a rattlesnake.  We thought it might be 5 feet long!  Here’s a picture of the snake tucked in under the boulder.

Since that was the only way onto the bridge and the rest of the trail beyond we decided not to tempt fate and turned around and headed back to the car.  Though it was tough to leave this nice habitat behind.

On our way back to the main road we stopped at the Wood Thrush spot on Philberg Rd. but could no longer hear the Thrush.  Hopefully it was still there for others to hear it later on.

We got back to La Grande and tried calling Nolan again but it once again went to voicemail.  [It turns out that Nolan was birding out of cellphone range at the time.]  We didn’t want to leave town without the Calliope, so we decided to try a couple of the private feeders to see if we might be able to gain access.  One of those feeders where Calliope had been reported was on Morgan Lake Road but it turned out that the feeders were not visible from the road.  I was tempted to knock on the door but the fenced front yard kept me from getting to the door.  Then I noticed a hummingbird feeder across the road, and watched it from a distance for a short while when a male Rufous Hummingbird came in for a visit.  Worried about continuing to stare into people’s backyards with binoculars, I knocked on the front door but no one was home. 

We decided that was enough trying to access private feeders unannounced.  Then David went onto one of his favorite people search websites and potentially found the phone number for Nolan’s parents.  I gave the number a call but could only leave a message, hoping that we had the correct number but apologizing in the message if we had it all wrong.  (If only there was such a thing as a phone book again.)

Then we went off to chase after the recently reported Great-tailed Grackle.  The report came from a wetland a short distance southeast of La Grande along Airport Rd.  The wetlands was very birdy, featuring 9 species of waterfowl and 3 Black-necked Stilts.  And we had the regular Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds, but no Grackles.  Just then my phone rang and it was Nolan’s father, Steve Clements – we had the correct number after all.  He was fine with us coming by to watch his feeders.  But first he gave us another suggested spot for the Grackle – just around the corner on Wilkinson Lane.  We went over to Wilkinson Lane and ran into a small group of birders at another marsh.  There were once again quite a number of birds there but no Grackle.  They mentioned that the Grackle actually hadn’t been seen there for a few days, and suggested trying another nearby spot, the Grande Hot Springs RV Resort, where one bird (or perhaps the bird) had been reported.  So we took a quick drive over to the RV park but came up empty again. 

We decided it was time to give up on the Great-tailed Grackle, and head to the Clements’ back yard to try for their Calliope.  After a short drive we arrived at Steve’s house and he and his wife greeted us at their backyard gate.  They offered us chairs on the back porch and we started our vigil for our target hummingbird. 

While we waited we mentioned that we had a singing Wood Thrush earlier in the day, to which Steve said something like – “oh you’re the ones that had the Thrush.”  The news had apparently traveled fast, and other birders had already tried unsuccessfully for it after we posted the eBird checklist.  Steve then made a quick call to Trent Bray who is the eBird reviewer for the area, mentioning that we were at his house looking for hummingbirds.  Trent came by a few minutes later and we had an opportunity to describe our sighting to him in person – certainly better than just having the eBird reviewer evaluate our description written down in a checklist.  Trent and Steve were both thinking about trying to re-find the Thrush, and I suggested trying again this evening rather than the next morning in case the bird decided to migrate out of the area overnight. 

But now back to the hummingbirds...

After a short wait a female hummer visited the feeder close to us on the porch.  It most often fed from the far side of the feeder out of view but came around occasionally showing buffy flanks and faint streaking on the throat.  A bit later another female hummingbird arrived, this one lacked the buffy flanks of our first bird and was pumping its tail.  But we couldn’t see a noticeable size difference.  After some discussion we decided the first bird was a Calliope and the second was a Black-chinned, and the size difference was difficult to tell at such a close distance.  Later a hummingbird visited the feeder out in the yard and this one was obviously a smaller Calliope (OR statebird #39).  OR was the last state where I needed this species in its regular range.  I’ve also seen Calliopes in 7 eastern and central states as rarities.

With our target bird out of the way, and some time now on our hands, we had a nice chat with Trent and Steve, especially focused on our trip.  Steve mentioned that he had heard that just after we left the birding group on Wilkinson Lane the Great-tailed Grackle appeared.  We thought about heading out right away to chase after it.  But then Steve said that there was a small colony of Great-tailed Grackles in Ontario, OR.  We would be driving right through Ontario in a couple days on our way from WA back to Boise so we decided to give them a try in a few days instead.  We also talked a bit about our planned walk the next morning at the McCully Creek Trail and Trent and Steve gave us great advice for birding that spot as well.  But now it was time to get back on the road, so we thanked them for all their help as we headed out and wished them good luck on re-finding the Wood Thrush.

It turns out that Trent was able to re-find the Wood Thrush that evening, getting a much better recording of the singing bird than mine.

Our hotel that night was in Enterprise, OR, just over an hour away.  It was still pretty early when we checked in, so we decided to do some scouting for the next day’s walk at McCully Creek Trail.  The trail was on the north side of the Wallowa Mountains just south of the town of Joseph.  The scenery was nothing short of spectacular - this panoramic view just doesn’t do it justice.

There were a couple options for places to park and locations to pick up the trailhead so we were glad to have checked it all out in advance.  And after a bit of exploring we thought we had it figured out and were ready for the next day’s hike.

Day 7 – May 30 - McCully Creek Trail and Drive to Walla Walla

Our plan was to bird McCully Creek Trail on foot for much of the morning before starting to make our way toward Walla Walla for the WA portion of the trip.  The key attractions for this trail are Grouse – all three species of them.  In fact, this spot is among the best in the state for Spruce Grouse.  Plus there is the chance for a number of other boreal species like Pine Grosbeak, Goshawk, 3-toed Woodpecker, etc. 

Given our interest in the Grouse we wanted to be the first ones on the trail, so we arrived at 5 AM, a few minutes before sunrise, and started our hike.  We walked along slowly looking for Grouse both on the ground and perched in the trees.  Soon after we started we heard a drumming Ruffed Grouse – definitely a nice start.  We were picking up a few birds here and there like Mountain Chickadee, both Kinglets, and Hermit and Swainson’s Thrushes.  Then we started to hear low-pitched calls right next to us coming from the spruce underbrush that almost sounded like hoots.  We peered into the brush but it was too thick to see anything.  Whatever was making these sounds was moving because the hoots continued but slowly got farther away.  They sounded somewhat like the hoots of a Long-eared Owl, but that wouldn’t be likely at all this time of day, not to mention unlikely so close to the ground.  We were thinking it could be a Grouse walking on the ground, but the calls didn’t sound anything like any of the calls for any of the three Grouse species provided on the Sibley app.  Eventually the calls stopped and we were left scratching our heads.  We would have to do some research that evening to see if any of the Grouse make calls like these.

But for now, it was back to birding.  We continued up the trail and started picking up singing Fox Sparrows, “Oregon” Juncos, and Pacific Wrens from the underbrush.  And from overhead there were numerous Yellow-rumped and Townsend’s Warblers, Hammond’s Flycatchers, and Warbling Vireos.  Wetter brushy areas featured MacGillivray’s and Wilson’s Warblers.  One of our highlights was finding a couple groups of Chestnut-backed Chickadees – striking birds.  And a singing Olive-sided Flycatcher was a nice addition.  But we found no other boreal species, nor any more Grouse, even though we spent 5 hours on the trail, covering the first 1.5 miles, sometimes hiking through some remaining snow patches.

Although we were a bit disappointed when left the trail, our moods picked up that evening when I went onto xeno-canto.org and played several recordings of the Spruce Grouse.  It turns out one recording of “alarm calls” from northwest Montana was a nearly perfect match to what we heard near the beginning of the trail.  So that evening we decided that our mystery call was indeed from a Spruce Grouse (OR statebird #40).  Although there are a number of states where I’ve yet to see Spruce Grouse in its regular range, I’m very happy to have found this hard-to-see species in 8 states across the country.

On our way to Walla Walla we had one last stop in OR in the Umatilla National Forest near the OR/WA state line.  There was a spot right along the highway where 3-toed Woodpeckers were seen each of the last 2 years.  Although there were no reports in 2023, the eBird locations from 2021 and 2022 were pretty specific so at least we knew where to look.  We started from where the birds had been seen and walked along the road about a quarter mile in each direction but the only woodpecker we found was a Flicker.  Though 4 flyover Red Crossbills were nice consolations.  Soon thereafter we bid farewell to OR and were off to WA!

Days 7-9- Washington 

See my next blog post for the WA portion of our trip on Days 7 through 9.

Day 10 – June 2 - Ontario, OR

We left Walla Walla around sunrise and were on our way to Boise and searches for several targets in ID.  But along the way, we had one last stop to make in OR – in Ontario for the Great-tailed Grackle.  A quick search of eBird showed that there were 2 seemingly reliable spots for them in town – Beck-Kiwanis Park, and the Walmart parking lot.  The park sounded like a much better habitat to bird, so we started our search there.  We pulled into the parking lot for the park and it looked like a typical county park with lawns and scattered trees and some ballfields.  But off to the north we could see a pond and wetlands, likely better habitat for the Grackles.  Before the car had even stopped I spotted a blackbird perched on a footbridge at the wetlands.  I put the bird in my binocs and it was indeed a Great-tailed Grackle (OR statebird #41).  I got this marginal digi-binned photo of the bird in the distance.  

OR was my 17th state for this species which continues to expand its range.

Conclusion

We ended the trip with a whopping 166 species in OR, a testament to that fact that we birded so many different habitats in and around sagebrush country.  And most importantly that included 41 new statebirds, much better than the 28 I hoped for.  That brings my statelist to 290, greatly exceeding both the old ABA reportable threshold (259) as well as my “ABA reportable plus 15” goal (274).  Note that as of May 2023 the official OR statelist stands at 548 – meaning that the new threshold for half of the total would be 274.  Looks like just being 15 over the old threshold isn’t enough to stay above half the statelist total. 

I have now exceeded the old ABA thresholds in all the Lower 48 states and the District of Columbia.  Interesting that both of the OR species that allowed me to reach the ABA threshold (Virginia’s Warbler) and my “ABA reportable plus 15” goal (Rose-breasted Grosbeak) were rarities.  It’s nice when it happens that way.

Here is a link to my eBird Trip Report for the OR portion of our trip –

OR Portion of 2023 Sagebrush Country Trip - eBird Trip Report

Many thanks to Ezra Cohen for his help at Malheur NWR, and northeastern OR birders Nolan and Steve Clements and Trent Bray for all their help on so many of our searches.  And thanks to Steve for allowing us to visit his hummingbird feeders.

Calliope Hummingbird Along With 2 Rufous at One Feeding Station, Polk County, NC, December 7, 2022

Although I’ve set up eBird Needs Alerts for a number of the nearby western NC counties, I don’t check them too often since there aren’t too many species reported that I still need for those county lists.  But luckily I checked my Polk County Needs Alert for November 23 – it contained a report of not only an adult male Rufous Hummingbird, but also an adult male and immature Calliope Hummingbird!  And all at the same feeding station!  More importantly, the Calliope would be an NC statebird for me.  Review of the photos posted on the eBird report revealed that what was initially ID’d as an immature Calliope was actually a Rufous/Allen’s – but the adult Calliope was still a good ID.

As is often the case for wintering hummingbirds at feeding stations, the key hurdle to overcome in chasing after them is gaining an invitation to visit those feeders.  And this time would be no different.  The person who first reported the birds was a bander that I knew, but he was apparently not at liberty to invite others to see the birds.  Then came reports on November 27 that birders were allowed to band the hummingbirds, but only 1 Rufous was present.  Although I’d still love to add the Rufous to my Polk County list, I was less interested in pushing the issue since there was no longer the potential for a statebird at the site.  Or was it…

On December 3rd I got word that the Calliope was back.  Now I needed an invitation to visit the home the hummingbirds were visiting.  Three local birders accompanied the bander on the 27th (Kevin Burke, Simon Thompson, and Vicky Burke), and I knew all three of them well.  They figured out a way to get invites, so perhaps they could get me an invitation as well.  I reached out to all three and found out that the homeowner was not generally willing to allow birders to visit, but since she had birded with those local birders in the past she was OK for them to come to her yard.  All 3 of my friends still needed the Calliope so they likely had an interest in coming back for another try.  Perhaps I could join them.  Sure enough, Vicky offered to meet me there on the 4th.  Unfortunately, I was leading a bird walk for the NC Bird Atlas that day so was not available.  As it turns out they were lucky enough to see the Calliope on the 4th but dipped on both Rufous.

Now I had to grovel some more to try for another invitation.  Just as I suspected Kevin and Simon wanted to see the Calliope as well, and planned another visit for December 7th – and I could come along.  The plan was to arrive at first light to be there when the hummingbirds started their feeding activity for the day.  We were all set – now we just needed the hummingbirds cooperate.

We carpooled to the homeowners residence and arrived just before 7 AM.  Simon and Kevin pointed out that there were three feeders that the hummingbirds were visiting – one on the front porch, one on the back of the house, and one on the side.  Plus, they often fed on pineapple sage flowers still in bloom in this garden near the driveway out back.  

We had only been there a couple minutes before we heard the characteristic hummingbird chipping notes at the pineapple sage.  It was still too dark for IDs, but we were optimistic.  Then we saw one hummingbird fly over our heads toward the side yard – we were up to 2 birds.  A few minutes later it was light enough to see the immature Rufous/Allen’s at the pineapple sage.  And a bit later I briefly spotted the adult Rufous at the side feeder.  But soon thereafter all was quiet.

Now that the initial flurry of activity was over we needed a game plan to find the Calliope.  Where the 3 feeders were located meant we could only see one at a time.  So we decided to split up and each of us focus on just one feeder.  I chose the one in the back of the house because I could also see the pineapple sage from there.  The 3 of us took up our posts and waited for our key target Calliope to appear. 

But with each passing minute with no hummingbird sightings at all I grew less and less optimistic.  We had now been there at least 45 minutes with no Calliope even though the Rufous were active at least at dawn.  Then Simon poked his head around the corner and said he had the Calliope.  I notified Kevin and we all converged on the front of the house.  Simon said the Calliope had just visited the feeder on the front porch and had flown to a small pine tree nearby.  With a bit of a search we spotted the adult male Calliope nicely perched in the pine right in front of the trunk.  Here’s my barely passable digi-binned photo of my target bird.  Sure was glad I was able to get an invite… 

Calliope Hummingbird was #322 for my NC statelist.  My statebird map for this species is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  Cross-hatched Oregon is the only one in its regular range where I have yet to see it.  And now NC is the 7th state (shaded in brown) where I’ve seen Calliope as a rarity.

 

Hummingbird Trifecta, Plus an Unexpected Rarity, Athens, Georgia, November 28, 2021

One of the first things I do each morning is to turn on my computer and check my Needs Alerts for nearby states.  In the GA Needs Alert I look for records from counties in the northeast corner of the state which are closest to home.  But there are few birders in that part of GA so most days no records pop up.  That was once again the case on the morning of the 27th. 

But then I noticed that there were 3 rare hummingbird species being reported in Clarke County – Black-chinned, Calliope, and Rufous.  I had no idea where Clarke County was, but that would certainly be enough justification for a chase, if it was only close enough.  With a quick search I realized Clarke was the county surrounding Athens, GA – roughly a 2 1/2 hour drive.  That’s a bit farther than my normal 2-hour drive limit, but with 3 rarities in the area, it was certainly worth the try. 

Though the trip would only be worthwhile if I could find information on locations and procedures for seeing the birds.  I first researched the Calliope and found that the bird had actually spent most of last winter at that location as well, so it seemed that this bird might be quite reliable.  I first looked through recent eBird reports but found no details.  So I then looked at the reports from when it first appeared last year and found directions for viewing – text the homeowner in advance and she would unlock the backyard gate to let you in.  So I texted the homeowner and she almost instantly replied and invited me to see her bird the next morning.  But, she mentioned the Calliope was most reliable before 9 AM so she suggested I try for it before the other hummers.

Then it was on to the Black-chinned.  The bird first appeared on 11/10, but had only become a daily visitor starting on the 19th.  Reports came in throughout the day so it seemed pretty reliable.  And with just a bit of hunting I found an eBird post that provided the viewing protocol – no need to contact the owner in advance, and viewing was from the driveway with feeders in the front yard.  That sounded pretty easy.

But the Rufous was more challenging.  Only one eBird post included what was apparently the address, but none provided access details.  So I reached back out to the Calliope homeowner to see if she knew the details on the Rufous.  Luckily she did, and sent me the contact information of the Rufous homeowner, Vince Howard.  I texted Vince and he was very obliging, inviting me to his backyard the next morning.  The complication was that his bird was almost never seen past 8 AM. 

So with quite a bit of effort I had obtained the protocols for seeing each bird, and had gotten the needed permission.  Now I needed to figure out the order to try for them.  Although all 3 are rarities, the Calliope and Black-chinned are certainly much rarer, so those should be my highest priority.  And since the Calliope had been around the longest (both this winter and last), maybe the newcomer Black-chinned should be my first priority.  Now I needed to factor in the most reliable times to see each bird.  The Rufous was only reliably seen before 8, Calliope before 9, and Black-chinned all day.  With all those datapoints I decided to try for the Calliope first, then the Black-chinned, and the Rufous last.  I knew that would greatly reduce my chances for the Rufous, but I figured there could always be other Rufous Hummingbirds I could chase in GA in the future.

The last issue that crossed my mind was how long to wait for each hummer to appear.  With multiple target birds, you never know if waiting longer for an earlier target increases your odds for seeing that one, or just diminishes your odds for seeing later ones.  I decided to cross that bridge when I came to it.

With my strategy all set to try for the 3 rare hummingbirds, I then checked to see if there were other birds I might need that had been seen recently nearby.  With a bit of research it seemed my most likely nearby opportunities could be Vesper and White-crowned Sparrows.  Both species had been seen about 20 minutes to the west of Athens at the Robertson Bridge Road hotspot, though the sightings were about 2 weeks old.  But since I would be in the area, and likely done looking for hummingbirds in the morning (regardless of whether I was successful), it still seemed to be worth the try.  My plans were set!

I was out of the house the next morning at 5 AM – even earlier than I planned.  And with few cars on the road I made great time getting to Athens.  I pulled into the Calliope spot at 7:40, and quickly made my way to the back yard.  The first thing I spotted as I walked into the yard was a beautiful pineapple sage plant covered in red tubular flowers.  Not surprisingly this was reported to be a favorite of the Calliope.  I walked to the area under the deck, the recommended viewing spot, and started my vigil.  Not 2 minutes later I noticed movement and there was the little hummingbird perched in a bush next to the sage.  It was facing me giving great views of his beautiful gorget.  That was easy!

My statebird map for Calliope Hummingbird is inserted below.  The blue states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range; the cross-hatched states are those where I still need it.  And the 6 brown states are those where I’ve seen Calliope as a rarity.

 Although I wanted to stay longer, I had other hummingbirds to chase after.  So I only stayed for a couple more minutes before heading back to the car.  And just 10 minutes later, by 8:00, I was at the residence where the immature Black-chinned was being seen.  The protocol here was to stand on the driveway and watch the feeders in the front yard.  Plus the day before the hummer was spotted at the top of the crepe myrtle which apparently was one of its favorite perches.  When I arrived the homeowner was out filling his birdbath.  He said he had already seen it that morning, and said it was really only reliable from 8 to 9.  Good thing I got there early.  I settled in watching a few birds coming and going and then within 5 minutes spotted my target bird fly into the top of the crepe myrtle.  It sat there for at least a minute giving good views of its long and slightly decurved bill, and slightly curved folded wing.  Then if flew off to the north chipping along the way.  GA is now my second state (after CT) seeing Black-chinned as a rarity.

Two down and one to go, though I wasn’t terribly optimistic about the Rufous.  I arrived at 8:20 and was joined by Vince in his backyard to watch for his hummingbird.  He had seen and photographed the Rufous that morning before 8, but true to form had not seen it since then.  There were many birds at his feeding station including 2 nice Orange-crowned Warblers.  But there were no hummingbird visits at the feeder.  Then again at one point I thought I saw a hummingbird fly by - maybe that was just wishful thinking.  It was now 9:15 and I was starting to wonder how much longer I should wait.  And just then I looked back at the feeder and there was the Rufous feeding.  It drank for at least a minute, giving me views of its green back and closed tail.  Then it was off in a flash.  Although I would have liked to have seen its rufous flanks and gorget, I was happy to have just seen it so late in the morning.  Here is one of Vince’s pictures he took that morning through his window.

I’ve now seen Rufous Hummingbird in each southeast state but MS where it is now a regular wintering species.  Along with 7 northeast states where it is still considered a true rarity.

Three for three rare hummingbirds in one county all within 2 hours – a hummingbird trifecta.  And to think just a day earlier I didn’t even realize they were being seen there.  I obviously have to add Clarke County to the list of GA counties in which to search for new GA statebirds.

But my birding day wasn’t over yet.  It was only 9:30 when I left the Rufous location, so that gave me plenty of time to head to Robertson Bridge Road to look for some sparrows.  This hotspot was a narrow dirt road that winds through cattle pastures, with low shrubs along most of the roadsides.  It certainly looked good for sparrows.  I parked my car near the north end and started birding the road on foot.  I soon ran into a White-throat and several Songs, but sparrows were scarce.  Then I noticed a large blackbird flock in one pasture and with a quick view realized they were mostly Rusty’s.  I guessed at least 75 birds, along with 50 Starlings and few Red-wings.  They later perched in nearby trees along Barber Creek and then flew off. 

I then looked back into the pasture and spotted two blackbirds near some cattle.  With binocular views I could see they were all dark, and quite shiny.  Brewer’s perhaps?  I raced back to the car to get the scope, and then with scope views could see they were very iridescent and glossy despite the cloudy weather conditions, with medium length tails.  Brewer’s Blackbirds indeed!  I always think Brewer’s males look like miniature grackles – very glossy but lacking the long tail.  That was an unexpected surprise – not a huge rarity but still requiring details in eBird.  GA is my third southeast state (after NC and SC) where I’ve added this species since moving to the area.

What a great morning!  The hummingbird trifecta plus an unexpected rarity brings my GA statelist to 257.  Certainly made the 4:30 AM wake-up call worthwhile.

8 Statebirds in Southwestern Louisiana, Including Some Nice Rarities – February 2017

Back in January I took a successful 1-day statebirding trip to southwestern LA, adding 6 new birds to my list (summarized in an earlier blog post).  While doing research for that trip I noticed quite a number of reliable rarities and other more common targets being seen in the southeastern part of the state.  Certainly too far away to try for during my brief January trip.  But when a rare business trip to New Orleans and Baton Rouge came up in February I was already excited about those possibilities before even starting on my local research.

Of course my first step was to set up a Needs Alert, focusing my attention not only on Baton Rouge and New Orleans but also on the north side of Lake Ponchartrain.  Several apparently reliable rarities stood out like 2 Western and 1 Couch’s Kingbirds at Fontainebleau State Park, and several Ash-throated Flycatchers and older sightings of a Brown-crested Flycatcher at Bayou Sauvage NWR.  There were also numerous reports of Purple Finches and Woodcocks throughout the area, though I couldn’t find what seemed to be reliable sites for these targets.  And then there were the ever-present, but difficult to spot, Brown Boobies at the Lake Ponchartrain causeway.  On the waterfowl front, I needed Redhead and Common Goldeneye, but the few sightings in the area were now pretty old.

Then there are the hummingbirds.  LA is well-known for its nice collection of western hummingbirds that winter at feeding stations.  Although I already had 6 hummingbird species on my LA state list, the eBird report included 2 more that I needed – Calliope at 4 locations, and 1 banded Allen’s.  Another good resource for information on LA’s wintering hummingbirds is HUMNET which provides a detailed compilation of species by parish.  Although these sources provided general locations for the birds, I still needed specific addresses, and most importantly invitations from the homeowners to be able to bird at these feeders.  I reached out to Erik Johnson who compiles HUMNET to see if he could assist in my searches.  Erik was able to get me access to 3 of the feeders with Calliopes, and connected me with the birder that had the Allen’s.  Unfortunately I found out that the Allen’s had moved on, so that one was off my target list.  Erik also gave me tips for a site for Redheads, and a spot for both Woodcocks and Henslow’s Sparrows.  The Henslow’s hadn’t even been on my radar screen so that was a nice additional target.  But the observations Erik mentioned were from Christmas Counts, so they were now getting quite old.

Next I reached out to my LA birding friend Marty Guidry.  Although he couldn’t bird with me on this trip, he had tips for a couple spots around Baton Rouge, including a feeding station with both Calliope Hummingbird and Purple Finch.  And if I struck out on the Finch there, Marty had them at his feeder.  Marty also checked on an older Goldeneye sighting in the area, and confirmed that that bird had moved on, saving me time to do a search for the bird.

Chasing after these targets efficiently would be important on this trip, because as usual I had limited time and lots of potential birds to chase after.  I would be free a couple hours before work and after work on the first day of the trip.  And given how many targets I had, I decided to take the afternoon off on the second day.  My plan was to bird near Baton Rouge in the morning of Day 1 to try for the Calliope, Purple Finch and Redheads.  Then late in the day near Covington I would try for Woodcock, Henslow’s and Redheads again (if necessary).  Then in the afternoon of Day 2 I would try for the 4 flycatcher rarities at Fountainbleau SP and Bayou Sauvage NWR.  And depending on my earlier luck with Calliope I could either end the day with another Calliope try, or take a trip on the causeway for the Boobies.  That itinerary would give me 10 targets to try for. 

But there was one additional concern to be aware of – mid-February in LA isn’t exactly very winter-like.  For instance with 80 degree temperatures the week before I arrived, I had heard that the Purple Finches were now more likely to be feeding on tree buds rather than at feeders.  And the most recent flycatcher posts were all now at least 2 weeks old.  Plus of course Christmas Count reports were 45 days old.  So I worried that many of the “wintering” targets might have already started to head north (or west!).  So I tempered my enthusiasm and hoped for maybe 4 or 5 new statebirds for the trip.

Day 1 – Early AM

At dawn I was pulling into Donna Dittmann’s and Steve Cardiff’s property outside Baton Rouge.  Marty had told me that they had purchased the property years ago and had been managing it to for wildlife, and of course for birds, ever since.  Donna took me on a quick tour which featured dozens of hummingbird feeders scattered throughout their amazing “yard”.  She described how each hummingbird has a wintering territory, and pointed out which feeder was preferred by each of their hummingbirds.  Along the way we spotted a female Ruby-throat, a male Black-chinned, a couple Rufous, and the first of 3 Buff-bellieds.  Then we got to the preferred feeders of their female Calliope and soon heard the chip notes that Donna recognized as the Calliope.  A few second later there was the target hummingbird, looking downright tiny compared to the other species (LA statebird #1).  Not only was it nice to check that one off, but it also meant I would not have to spend time looking for it at other feeders the next day.  LA is my fifth state for Calliope outside its normal breeding and migration ranges.

We then headed back to the house to try for the Purple Finches.  Although they had been seen at the seed feeders the day before, they were becoming less regular as spring approached.  As I stood out on the deck the feeders had a pretty constant stream of visitors, including Cowbirds, Cardinals, House Finches, White-throated Sparrows, and a lone Red-breasted Nuthatch.  But no Purple Finches, nor Goldfinches with which they were frequently associating.  Then I heard a short warbling song coming from high above me in the trees overhead – a singing Purple Finch (LA statebird #2).  I heard it sing 2 more times, then the bird gave several of its “pik” notes, though I never saw it.  Good thing I know its song and call.  I just need this species in a couple more southeastern states in its wintering range.

 

I waited a bit longer to try to get a visual on the Finch but with no luck.  So with enough time for one more brief stop before work I thanked Donna and Steve and was back on the road.  The next stop was a speculative one for Redhead – the Denham Springs wastewater treatment plant where one lone report 3 weeks earlier featured 20 Redheads.  But a quick look from the road yielded only a small flock of Shovelers.  Unfortunately there was no access to the much more reliable spot for Redheads in the area - nearby LSU Aquaculture Research Station (which also featured an Ash-throated Flycatcher).  So striking out here left me with just 1 more iffy spot for Redheads I would try to visit that evening.

Day 1 - Evening

I got out of work right on time and soon was on my way east to the Lake Ramsay WMA.  After Erik’s tip for Henslow’s Sparrows there, I did some eBird research and found quite a number of posts with up to 21 Henslow’s reported, though there were no reports in the last 2 weeks.  I had pretty specific directions to search in one area of wet savannah, and even more specific suggestions to especially bird areas with scattered small brush rather than just open grasslands.  But it would be difficult to find these secretive birds on my own.  That is if they were still there in the first place.

With duck boots on I was ready to walk through the wet grasslands.  But on the first 100 yards of my walk the ground was actually pretty dry, so I wondered if the area was still wet enough to attract the Henslow’s.  Though calling Brown-headed Nuthatches were a nice consolation.  Then I finally reached some wetter areas, including remains of last year’s pitcher plants among the grasses.  But I was still in open savannah, so I headed to an area with some scattered bushes as recommended.  And as soon as I got to that patch I flushed a large dark sparrow.  It landed in the bush and just sat there – a most cooperative Henslow’s Sparrow (LA statebird #3).  I don’t know which was more beautiful – the greenish color to the face or the rusty patterned back and scapulars.  I can’t remember having better views of a Henslow’s.  My statebird map for Henslow’s is pretty spotty for this bird, where LA is only my third state in its wintering range (hmm – I need it in TX in winter…).

Later I would flush a second Henslow’s though this one wasn’t nearly as cooperative.  The next target here was Woodcock that Erik had as a flyby at dawn on the Christmas Count.  I figured a flyby at dusk was just as likely.  And now that it was later in the year perhaps they could be calling, assuming they all hadn’t headed north by now.  But it was still more than an hour before sunset, so I had some time to kill.  I then though about the spot Erik had mentioned where Redheads had been reported on a Christmas Count – a small man-made lake along Ochsner Blvd in Covington.  It was about 20 minutes away so I had just enough time for a short stop there before heading back to try for the Woodcocks at dusk.  But with no Redhead eBird reports from this spot at all, I wasn’t very optimistic.

I arrived at the lake on Ochsner Blvd and unfortunately found that it was fenced off.  As a result I could only find one limited viewing spot looking through the fence, and worse yet I was looking right into the setting sun.  I set up the scope and scanned the small portion of the lake without the sun glare, and only found a couple Pied-billed Grebes.  This was turning out to be a waste of time and I started to wonder why I didn’t just continue to bird the Lake Ramsey area.  Then I noticed some waterfowl in the sun glare.  I did my best to look at them in the scope and thought I was seeing red color on the heads of some of the birds, but couldn’t be sure.  Then a few birds swam to the left out of the brightest sun and they were indeed Redheads.  I eventually counted an amazing 46 birds (LA statebird #4).  Boy was I lucky – if they had stayed in the part of the lake in the sun glare I wouldn’t have noticed them.  I only need Redhead in 3 more states to completely fill in my statebird map for this species.

I made my way back to Lake Ramsay WMA and stayed till dark but had no luck either seeing or hearing Woodcocks.  On a whim I even tried some tape for Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will’s-widow while waiting in what seemed like good habitat for these wintering and/or migrant birds, but to no avail.  Though I did have numerous Sedge Wrens that serenaded me during my wait.

Day 2 – Afternoon

My first stop after work was the Fontainebleau SP where 2 Western Kingbirds and 1 Couch’s Kingbird had spent much of the winter.  After poring through all the eBird reports I was able to piece together some pretty specific information on their locations – most often seen near the group cabins and sometimes at the nearby individual cabins.  And although all 3 birds were often seen together, the Westerns seemed to be the easiest ones to find.  One last important tip was that they often responded to playback.  So although I was optimistic, the last report (positive or negative) was 2 weeks earlier.  In fact, recent posts on the listserve from the park focused on King Rails and not Kingbirds.

After arriving at the park I drove right to the cabins, and first took a slow walk around the entire area where the Kingbirds had been reported.  I decided to not play any tape at first, hoping to find them without playback.  It was a pretty birdy area with many Yellow-rumps flitting about, and I found a perched Shrike and a couple perched Mockingbirds, but no Kingbirds.  With no success on my first loop through the area I started to play tape – both of Couch’s and Western.  I had passed through almost all the area again but still had no luck.  Then at the edge of a clearing I spotted a larger bird fly up from the ground to perch in a tree what showed quite a bit of yellow.  My first thought was it was a Flicker “anting”, but when I put it in the binocs I realized it was one of the Kingbirds.  But which one?  It cooperatively perched nearby and showed a yellow (not gray) chest.  With a bit more time I could see the tail was rusty brown and not black, and lacked white outer tail feathers.  It was the Couch’s Kingbird .

Or was it?  Once I started to hear it call it didn’t sound anything like the taped calls I had been playing.  In fact the calls were more like a Western than a Couch’s.  Then I heard it sing and the song was nothing like the tape.  Then I looked down at my BirdTunes app and realized all along I had been playing Cassin’s Kingbird calls instead of Couch’s Kingbird.  When I started playing the calls of the correct Kingbird species the bird came right in to investigate.  And the song was a perfect match.  So I could finally count it as a Couch’s Kingbird and LA statebird #5 – only my second state for this species in addition to TX.

The bird was most cooperative, in view or calling for most of the rest of my 3 hour visit to the site.  I got this picture holding my phone up to my binocs.

Now I needed to find what had been the more reliable Western Kingbirds.  But despite 2 more hours of walking through the area, and playing the correct Kingbird calls, I never found them.  Although I wanted to stay longer, I still needed to bird Bayou Sauvage, so I headed out of the park assuming that the Westerns had moved on.  As I drove away I was disappointed to have missed the Westerns, but I was happy to have found the rarer of the 2 species.  [As I write this post, since my visit there the Couch’s has been reported again on eBird but not the Westerns, so likely the latter have indeed left their wintering site.] 

The key target birds at Bayou Sauvage NWR were up to 3 Ash-throated Flycatchers that had been seen in the area since November.  There had also been a Brown-crested Flycatcher at the refuge, also with sightings going back to November, but the last sighting of this bird was 45 days ago.  Then again, a more recent eBird post suggested that the observer may well have seen the Brown-crested associating with an Ash-throated.  In any case it was an additional bird to watch for.

The next step was to figure out the locations of the past sightings of these birds.  One might think that with all the many posts on eBird it would be easy to figure out microdirections for the locations of these birds.  But most sightings had few if any details as to location (remember eBird asks for ID details on rarities and not info on the locations of these birds).  In fact, many of the posts were associated with the general hotspot for the entire Bayou Sauvage NWR, which covers a very large area.  And some mentioned locations that might be obvious if you had birded the area before, but not specific enough to birders who were new to this spot (e.g., “across from the hog trap”).  I finally figured out that most sightings were along Recovery Road, but then couldn’t find this road on GoogleMaps.  Luckily it was shown on the pdf map of the refuge that I found online, so that was a start.  And several mentioned the southwest corner of the landfill, and some mentioned south of the railroad tracks.  These features also showed up on the refuge map – the tracks were about ½ mile south of US 90, and the landfill was another ½ mile south, all along Recovery Road.  I finally felt like I knew where to go.

After a drive around the eastern side of Lake Ponchartrain I arrived at the Bayou Sauvage NWR and parked at the north end of Recovery Road.  This turned out to be quite a “seedy” spot, with a number of present and former industrial activities in the area.  In fact, Recovery Road was a gated road with trash dumped on both sides.  And now my research was starting to make sense – what used to be Recovery Road dead-ended at what was likely a former industrial landfill built in the middle of a large wetlands.  Certainly not a spot anyone would want to live, but the kind of area that frequently provides some good birding habitat.  (We’ve all birded at spots like these…) 

I started my walk south along Recovery Road and started to get my bearings.  A canal ran along the west side of the road, likely the source of soil used to build up the land to make the road itself.  And in between the road and canal was a line of low trees and brush.  Most of the rest of the area was marsh and other wetlands.  The “woodlands” north of the railroad tracks was full of Yellow-rumps, and although I wanted to stop to check them out, all the flycatcher sightings had apparently been south of the tracks, so I kept going.  After waiting for a train to pass by, I crossed the tracks and started to bird the brushy habitat.  Again I ran into flocks of Yellow-rumps, and soon started to find a number of Phoebes, but couldn’t turn any of them into a Myiarchus of any species.

I continued walking slowly south, birding along the way, and soon reached what looked to be the landfill to the east.  (I also found the hog trap nearby.)  Although the road continued farther south, all the sightings seemed to be no farther south than the landfill, so I turned around here and slowly starting walking back to the north.  At this point I heard a series of single notes off to the east toward the landfill that I couldn’t place - sort of sounded like “preep”.  Although I wanted to turn it into one of my targets, they didn’t really match calls of either the Ash-throated or the Brown-crested.  In any case the bird soon stopped calling, so I continued my walk north.  Now I was playing tape of both species, but got no responses.  By the time I reached the tracks I had seen several Phoebes, but nothing new. 

I made this round-trip circuit 2 more times but still found none of my targets.  Though one more time I heard the “preep” calls coming from the landfill in the distance.  And after 2 hours of trying, I was starting to wonder if these birds had moved on, just like the Western Kingbirds at my earlier stop.  Afterall the most recent Ash-throated report was now 11 days old, so maybe I was too late. 

I was now on Recovery Road near the southwest corner of the landfill, and was about to give up.  But then on a whim I thought about trying at the actual southwest corner of the landfill, not on the road near that spot.  The landfill was only 50 yards to the east, but it was worth the try.  I walked up the berm to the edge of the landfill and played Ash-throated calls.  Instantly I started to hear the same “preep” calls I heard earlier.  And just then a flycatcher flew in – it was a Myiarchus.  My first gut feel was that it was a big bird – too big to be the diminutive Ash-throated.  And then the bill seemed too big.  I started to play Brown-crested calls and the bird became very agitated.  It continued to call, and although these calls weren’t a perfect match, they were certainly closer to Brown-crested than Ash-throated.  The bird occasionally came out into the open, and I tried to get phonescoped pictures of the bird, but with limited success.  At one point when the bird out of view I quickly checked my photos on my phone and looked at this photo that I initially thought was miserably out of focus. 

But then with a closer look I realized that I had gotten a good photograph of the underside of the tail – the tip is rufous red with only dark corners.  That confirms the ID as a Brown-crested.  I also was able to get this "video" of the bird calling.

That was my 6^th LA statebird of the trip; LA is my 5^th state for this typically southwestern species.

The bird then flew to the trees along the road, and slowly made its way north, calling almost non-stop.  After 15 minutes with the bird, I parted ways and started my walk back to the car.  I looked back and could hear the bird still calling in the distance – the same sounds I heard earlier from the landfill.  I smiled as I realized that I had actually been hearing this bird all along.  And just then I noticed a small Dove fly from the landfill over the road and out of site to the west.  It had red wing-linings making it a Ground or Inca Dove, and given the short tail, it had to be a Ground Dove.  Although I didn’t think much of it at first, I realized that I might need this one for LA.  Sure enough it was new for my LA statelist, my 7^th of the trip, though not even on my radar screen as a possible target.  After the fact I checked eBird and noticed that there had been a few Ground Doves reported from the landfill area – one I had overlooked in my research.  LA is my 9^th state for this species, and although a rare bird in LA, not nearly as rare as the one I recently saw in MA.

As I continued back north up Recovery Road toward my car I realized that, like my experience with the Kingbirds earlier, I had found the rarer of the two targets, but not the comparatively more common species.  A disappointment, but still nice to get the rarer one.  I was now nearing the railroad tracks and spotted a flycatcher up ahead perched near the road.  I initially took a cavalier attitude toward it, and assumed it was one of the many Phoebes I had spotted in that area.  But I put my binoculars on it and it was an Ash-throated Flycatcher (LA statebird #8).  I had been in this area several times over the last 3 hours without spotting it - wonder where it had been.  LA is a nice addition to my statebird map for this species, which includes 5 New England states where I’ve also seen it as a rarity.

 

Ash-throated was my 7^th flycatcher species I had seen in 2 trips to LA this winter – Eastern Phoebe, Say’s Phoebe, Scissor-tailed, Vermillion, Couch’s Kingbird, Brown-crested, and Ash-throated.  That’s quite a nice collection of rarities more typically seen in the southwest.  And also a nice way to end my stop at Bayou Sauvage.  To think just 30 minutes earlier I was ready to leave the area without any of my targets.

With a little time to spare, and having checked off the Calliope Hummingbird the day before, I decided to make a try for the Brown Boobies on the Lake Ponchartrain causeway.  Booby sightings along the causeway go back to 2015, with up to 35 reported on eBird.  That all makes it sound like they would be easy to find.  But - these birds roost under the bridge, and principally only under one short stretch of the bridge.  So when looking for them by car, you have to hope that one or more happens to be flying by along the bridge close enough to ID while you’re driving by at 60+ mph.  And by the way, there is no stopping on the bridge either.  As a result, not surprisingly the 35 birds were reported from a boat.  I made 3 unsuccessful round-trip attempts for the Boobies last year, so I knew the drill.  Alas this one was no different.  Best I could find was a few Pelicans, Gulls, and Terns.  It’s frustrating to think that the Boobies are likely no more than 20 feet below you but invisible as you pass by overhead.  At least the toll is only $3.

Despite the Booby frustration I was very happy to have added 8 new birds to my LA statelist, 5 of which were rarities requiring documentation in eBird.  That brings my LA statelist to 270 – a nice respectable total for a northeasterner.