Manitoba – The Final Frontier, Part 2 of 3, June 2025

When it came time to start planning my big spring 2025 birding trip the destination was quite obvious – it had to be Manitoba.  That was my last state or province that I hadn’t birded extensively.  To paraphrase the Star Trek intro – Manitoba, the final frontier.  (Then again I haven’t yet birded Canada’s more distant and less accessible territories – Nunavut, Northwest, and Yukon.)

With an existing province list of just 61, there were lots of potential new province birds waiting for me in MB.  And if I flew into Grand Forks, ND, I could also fill a few gaps in my MN and ND lists before or after the MB portion of the trip. 

I reached out to my good birding friends Bill and Anita Hooker who went with me on my trip to FL back in January 2025, and they agreed to come along on this trip as well.  It was all coming together.

I spent several months planning the trip, including searching for the best birding hotspots in MB to maximize our species total, and looking for specific one-off targets near Grand Forks in MN and ND.  I came up with a 13-day itinerary where I could add at least 140 species in MB to break 200 for the province, add perhaps only 4 in ND, and hopefully 2 in MN.

This is the second of 3 blog posts summarizing the MB portion of the trip, covering June 2nd through the 5th. 

6/2 – Riding Mountain National Park

Earlier in our trip Brandon birder Gillian Richards connected us with local Riding Mountain birder Ken Kingdon to see if he could help us out in the park.  Better than that, Ken offered to show us around the morning of the 2nd, taking us to multiple stops north along Route 10.   

Our first stop was a short walk along Gray Owl dump road.  Here I added Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cape May Warbler and Purple Finch.  (MB #165-167)  My Canadian province and territory map for Purple Finch is inserted below.  Provinces where I’ve seen this species are shaded in light blue – I’ve now seen Purple Finch in all 10 provinces.  Cross-hatched jurisdictions are those in the Purple Finch's regular range where I’ve yet to see it.  I’ve never birded in Canada’s three northwestern territories (yet!) so none of these will be shaded in for any of my Canada maps.

However, I missed the Siskins that everyone else heard.  Maybe I was distracted by the buzz of the hordes of mosquitoes.  Hopefully that wouldn’t come back to haunt me.

Next, we continued north to Bead Lakes for a longer walk through excellent boreal habitat.  It proved to be a great spot, with finds like Evening Grosbeak right in the parking lot, Hermit Thrush, Canada Jay, Canada Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, a heard-only Boreal Chickadee, Black-throated Green Warbler, and a calling Three-toed Woodpecker.  (MB #168-174)  Unfortunately we dipped on Winter Wren and Trumpeter Swan at an adjacent wetlands.  Ken also pointed out this tree to us – a bear had not only removed the bark near the top of the picture, but it had also rubbed on the bark below leaving some dirt behind.

Our next stop was at the far north end of the park at Crawford Creek.   I hadn’t picked out this site for a possible stop when I was planning the trip so I wasn’t sure what the targets might be here.  As we got out of the cars Ken said that this location was a reliable spot for Golden-winged Warblers, and before we left the parking lot we were hearing one singing nearby (MB #175).  We took a short walk and soon reached this classic Golden-winged habitat – an area of young deciduous trees with open grassy and shrubby patches. 

Soon we got visuals on one male with 2 others singing a short distance away.  I had planned to search for this species at a site on the eastern escarpment of the park – I didn’t realize they were at this site as well.   

We turned around and started heading south, soon reaching our next stop at Moon Lake.  Here we added 2 birds - a breeding plumage Bonaparte’s flew by just as we arrived, and we finally found Trumpeters Swans in the distance.  (MB #176-177)  We also took a short hike especially focused on Lincoln’s Sparrow and Wilson’s Warbler but with no luck.

Next we were on to the Boreal Trail, a site that has had quite a number of nice checklists in recent years.  Although the gate was closed, we assumed it was OK to walk in and take a short hike.   And we’re glad we did.  Here I finally heard multiple Pine Siskins, then an Olive-sided Flycatcher singing softly in the distance.  Then we focused on the willows and alders lining this fast-flowing stream and added both Lincoln’s Sparrow and Wilson’s Warbler. 

Then Bill got a brief look at a very dark woodpecker – sure sounded like it could be a Black-backed but we needed better looks.  Eventually we all got great looks at not one but 3 Black-backed Woodpeckers.  Seems early in the year to be a family group.  Could it be a small breeding colony?  (MB #178-182)

Our last stop of the morning was at a marsh just south of the park where Ken had had LeConte’s Sparrows recently.  The marsh and adjacent meadows seemed drier than normal – perhaps too dry for LeConte’s.  We listened intently for a while, and played some tape, but with no luck.  It was actually quite windy now, so we decided to come back in the evening to try again when the winds would hopefully be calmer. 

We thanked Ken for all his help in getting us on some great birds that morning, hoping that we might cross paths again some day.

After a quick lunch we decided to head to the west of the park, first to check out a report of 2 Connecticut Warblers.  Ken said that COWAs were not likely in the park anymore, so we were a bit skeptical.  The checklist area had some good habitat, but we couldn’t scare up a Connecticut. 

Then we were on to the dam at the south end of Lake Audy.  The area was quite birdy, and our first addition was a flock of 25 or so American White Pelicans on the north shore of the lake very far in the distance.  Good thing Pelicans are so large because they could have been as much as 2 miles away!  Much closer were several flyby Forster’s Terns followed by 2 Common Terns.  Six Trumpeter Swans were a nice sighting as they swam by.  (If only a 7th bird had joined them, we’d have had “7 swans a swimming”.)  And minutes later an Osprey and Bald Eagle flew by. (MB #183-186)  Finally, not new for my list, but still a nice find, was this Red-necked Grebe on its floating nest.

And as we drove from Lake Audy we encountered this Bear walking down the road shoulder right past us.  At this distance it’s nice to see the bear from the safety of a car.

That evening we went back to the marsh for another try for LeConte’s Sparrow.  Even though winds had greatly reduced, we still couldn’t turn up a LeConte’s.  Maybe water levels were just too low this year.  Next we planned to head to the area east of Lake Katherine for Woodcocks.  We were a bit early when we arrived in the area, so we headed to Lake Katherine and had a spectacular nighthawk show over the lake.  That was the highlight of the evening because we had no luck with the Woodcocks. 

I ended the day with 22 new species for my province list, bringing my MB total to 186.  Closing in on 200…

6/3 – Riding Mountain NP

This day was focused on sites along Route 19 on the eastern side of Riding Mountain.  My first key stop was at a stream-lined with willows, hoping for looks at Lincoln’s Sparrow or Wilson’s Warbler.  Unfortunately, those targets remained elusive, but I did have a Red-breasted Nuthatch calling in the distance (MB #187).  Ken had told us that the lack of a cone crop in the Park this year meant that Red-breasted Nuthatches (along with Crossbills) were very scarce, so I was happy to get this one.

A bit further down the road I had a Pileated Woodpecker calling in the distance – the first for the trip but not new for my list.  And as I neared Whirlpool Lake I spotted the first of 3 Wild Turkeys ambling along the road shoulder (MB #188).

Soon afterwards I reached Whirlpool Lake and the woodlands near the parking lot were quite birdy, including 13 species of warblers.  Plus this “scruffy” Canada Jay.

And the lake itself was very pretty.

I doubled back to Lake Katherine and did some quick birding along the trails there.  The highlight of this stop was an Olive-sided Flycatcher characteristically perched on top of the tallest dead snag.

Our last stop of the day was along Clear Lake where we heard another Boreal Chickadee though couldn’t get any visuals.  We called it quits early that day, taking the late afternoon off.    

 I finished the day with 2 additional species, bringing my MB list to 188.

6/4 – Riding Mountain, Portage-la-Prairie

The plan for the morning was to bird the East Escarpment of Riding Mountain along Route 361 out of McCreary.  But first we had to take a picture of the formal east entrance to the park.

Our key target along the East Escarpment had been Golden-winged Warbler, but of course we already found this one at the north end of the park.  Our other 2 remaining targets were Indigo Bunting and Eastern Towhee, both near the northern edge of their ranges.  Gillian had suggested a trail to take to find both targets, along with the Golden-winged.  So that trail was our first stop, and almost immediately after getting out of the car at the trailhead we heard a singing Eastern Towhee.  And then seconds later a singing Indigo in this habitat.  That was easy… 

We took a short walk along the trail adding a flyby Ruby-throated Hummingbird (MB #189-191) and an additional Indigo.  We didn’t have any Golden-wings though – good thing we got them earlier.  Though I’m sure we would have birded more of the trail if we still needed this target.

Next we headed to the former ski slope at end of the road.  One of our first observations here was of a mid-sized mammal walking up one of the slopes – perhaps a mink? 

Notable birds here were a cooperative Blackburnian Warbler, and another flyby Hummingbird.  It was interesting to imagine this spot during its skiing hay day.  Our last stop in the area was a short hike on the Oak Ridge Trail, with a half dozen Least Flycatchers being most notable,

After 3 ½ days at Riding Mountain NP, we were off to the Portage-la-Prairie area.  Gillian had helped to connect us with Cal Cuthbert who was a local birding expert in that area.   Not only does he know the area extremely well, he has an amazing property with widely diverse habitats and great birds.  But first, Cal took us to the Portage-la-Prairie landfill which is well-known for its gull flock and the potential for rarities mixed in.  When we arrived, we drove right up on the landfill, and had just an estimated 60 Herrings, 40 Ring-bills, and 10 Franklin’s.  That didn’t seem like enough critical mass to have any rarities, but we quickly picked up at least 4 immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 adult Californias, and this stunning immature Glaucous photographed by Anita. (MB #192-194)  

MB was my 5th province where I've seen Lesser Black-backed Gull - 4 of which as rarities (the dark blue shaded provinces in my map below).

Plus, we had one bird that I thought was a Thayer’s but eBird reviewers said it was a Herring.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get on the Thayer’s that Cal spotted when we first arrived.

After a most successful time at the landfill, Cal took us to a private location where he had Saw-whet Owls nesting in a nest box.  

We were lucky enough that this juvenile bird was peering out of the box when we arrived (MB #195).

Next Cal took us to the Delta Beach area at the southern end of Lake Manitoba.  Here we witnessed a spectacular shorebird show thanks to Cal taking us to numerous secluded vantage points along the beach.  At each stop along the lake there were hundreds of shorebirds foraging in front of us, and an almost constant movement of birds heading west in waves along the shoreline.  We estimated at least 5,000 birds were included, mostly Semipalmated and White-rumped Sandpipers among the 14 species of shorebirds.  Here’s a typical shot with Semis, White-rumps, and a Sanderling in the foreground, and a pair of Caspian Terns in the background (one Tern is standing directly behind the other – can you see the 4 legs?).

By the end of the afternoon I had added 3 new MB species – 2 Red Knots (MB #196), 2 Caspian Terns (MB #197 – the old ABA reporting threshold for MB), and 32 Black-bellied Plovers (MB #198).  But nearly all were chased away by a Peregrine (MB #199) – at least now we don’t have to spend time trying for that one in downtown Winnipeg. 

We ended up with 101 species for the day, including 14 species added to my province list which now sits at 199.

6/5 – Portage-la-Prairie

We met up with Cal early that morning and he took us to a wet grassy field that had been good for LeConte’s Sparrow in the past. 

Unfortunately, the local drought meant the field was drier than normal, but with the help of some tape we eventually found LeConte’s - in fact we got great views. 

That brought my MB list to 200 – my original goal for the trip.  And we hadn’t even reached Churchill yet.

Then Cal took us to a large lot heavily wooded with mature oak trees at the Young Husband Lodge, in hopes of finding White-breasted Nuthatch.

We not only were successful in finally finding the Nuthatch, but also had views of, and heard, a Great Horned Owl.  And as we were leaving the lot 4 Sandhill Cranes flew overhead.  (MB #201-203)

We went back to Cal’s amazing yard where we walked several trails and ended the visit with some leisurely birding on the back deck.

We bid farewell to Cal, and couldn’t thank him enough for his help and allowing us to visit his amazing property.

The it was off to Winnipeg where I had 3 possible targets – Cooper’s Hawk, Cardinal, and Red-bellied Woodpecker.  All had been seen several times recently at multiple parks in the city, but local directions were limited for almost all of them.  I decided to try Bunn’s Creek Centennial Park as perhaps the best bet, and we headed there for a late afternoon visit.  Unfortunately, we dipped on all 3 targets, but we added an unexpected singing Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (MB #204).

I added 5 to my province list for the day, bringing my MB total to 204. 

Five “Low Hanging Fruit” in South Carolina, September 2020

One of my objectives for fall migration in 2020 was to focus on filling some gaps in my SC list.  Even after a year living in the area, I still had a number of “low hanging fruit” to pursue – birds that were regular migrants or residents that I just hadn’t been lucky enough to run into yet.  And now that I had nearly exhausted expected new statebirds in western NC, I could devote more time in SC during the upcoming fall season.

My first fall trip to SC was on 9/6, which actually began with a stop in NC at Guion Farm in the DuPont State Forest to meet up with Bill and Anita Hooker.  Red Crossbills had been reliable there for at least a couple months.  And since the site is just a short distance from the SC line, after some fun birding with Bill and Anita, I could head 20 minutes south from there into SC.  The Crossbills turned out to be most cooperative, with our first heard bird within minutes of our arrival.  After an hour we had multiple birds in site overhead and perched in nearby pines, as well as calling overhead and in the treetops.  Excellent observations of a local rarity. 

Then it was on to SC!  One of the species I heard on each of my 3 trips to Guion Farm this year was the Red-breasted Nuthatch.  I still needed that one for SC, principally because there were virtually none around the region the previous winter.  But since they were regular at Guion Farm, surely they should be in similar habitat just a few miles away in SC, right?  The problem was finding accessible suitable high elevation habitat in SC.  First of all, the elevation dropped off quickly once you crossed into SC, so higher elevation habitat was limited.  In this part of the state there was just a 3-mile stretch of US 276 from the stateline to Ceasars Head State Park that was at elevation.  And even though there were a couple trails in the area, they were in deciduous woodlands not typically appealing to a Red-breasted Nuthatch.  So my strategy to look for the Nuthatch was to pull-off on the side of 276 wherever I could find conifers – assuming it was safe to do so.

The first possible roadside location was literally right at the stateline where YMCA Camp Rd. intersected with 276.  Less than 20 minutes after leaving Guion Farm I reached the SC border and pulled onto the shoulder of the YMCA road.  There were several pine trees to the west so I was hopeful.  And sure enough within just a minute I heard the “toot toot toot” of a Red-breasted Nuthatch.  But which state was it in?  I listened more closely and heard the bird call again, allowing me to pinpoint exactly which direction it was calling from.  Now I had to find out where the stateline was.  I opened my GoogleMaps app and figured out how the line passed through the area.  The bird was indeed calling from SC, but no more than perhaps 50 ft from the stateline, and just 6 miles from Guion Farm “as the nuthatch flies”.  Success!

In my statebird map below, the blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Red-breasted Nuthatch.  The 4 cross-hatched states are the last ones where I’ve yet to see it.  Although its regular throughout the continental US, it becomes rather rare in much in the southeast.

Another mile farther along the highway I made a stop at a spot labeled in GoogleMaps as “Greylogs Trail”.  This is a short gravel road and parking lot for a trail that was apparently never developed.  As luck would have it, I had a calling Red Nut here as well – needless to say I didn’t need to worry about where the stateline was to conclude that this one was also a SC bird.

Next stop was Ceasars Head State Park, and specifically the overlook there.  This is THE spot for Peregrine Falcon in the Upstate region of SC, as they are reliable at this location year-round.  But I had been here 3 prior times looking for a Peregrine without success.  Though in all fairness 2 of those times the mountain was fogged in.  Today the weather was great, so fog wouldn’t be an issue.  As I arrived at the parking lot I found that most of the lot was closed off, apparently to limit crowds on this Labor Day weekend during these days of Covid.  And there was just 1 open parking space – maybe my luck was looking up.  I parked in that last space and made my way over to the observation point to start my hawk watch. 

The hawk watch was pretty slow, with just a Red-shouldered and a Broad-winged Hawk passing by as likely migrants.  A young Red-tail and a couple Turkey Vultures circled below as presumably local birds.  After an hour I thought that maybe I should call it quits and try for the Peregrine another time.  But then I realized that conditions that day were ideal – not only was there great visibility, but also I had the observation point almost completely to myself.  And since I was free the rest of the afternoon, I decided to stay longer (I’m still trying to figure out how to take advantage of all my free time in retirement).  Another 30 minutes passed and I spotted the Red-tail again.  And just then a Peregrine passed by below me, starting to harass the Red-tail.  It would repeatedly dive bomb the bird, giving loud cackling calls the entire time.  Quite the show which lasted at least 5 minutes.  After 3 unsuccessful tries to see the Peregrine, I guess I was due for a cooperative bird.  Interestingly, all the raptors were below me at the overlook – a notable point for future visits.

Nice to get 2 new statebirds in the same day.  And SC was my 40th state for Peregrine.

 My next trip to SC came on 9/8 with a trip to Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve in Travelers Rest with Gary Harbour.  This was my first trip to this spot – sure wish I had been there before.  This 178-acre site has excellent diverse habitats, including various ages of successional fields, upland deciduous woodlands, and swamplands.  Gary showed me around the site visiting each of the habitats, including seeing the namesake endangered Bunched Arrowhead (which is a plant and has nothing to do with a group of Native American artifacts).  We were especially hoping for a few early migrants, which unfortunately were few and far between.  But I was lucky enough to get several glimpses of a less-than-cooperative warbler that turned out to be a Blackburnian – the last “easy” warbler I still needed in SC.

And speaking of “easy” warblers, I now have Blackburnian throughout the east except for VA and DE, and for several states in the Great Plains along the western edge of its migration range.  I’ve also seen this species in CA as a rarity.

My last two SC low hanging fruit in September came while participating in the Greenville County Fall Migration Count on 9/19.  My assigned territory consisted of the same sites I covered in the Spring Migration Count.  I started both counts at dawn in the Greenville Watershed which is an amazing area of extensive upland deciduous woodlands.  On my trips there in spring and summer I’ve tallied very high numbers of woodland nesting species as I drove along the roads through the woods.  But given that I would be birding in deep woodlands rather than along wooded edges, I wasn’t sure how many migrants I might find.  My key target was Gray-cheeked Thrush which was being reported in the area at the time, principally as a pre-dawn migrant.  But since I wouldn’t be arriving till dawn, I may well be too late.  All things considered, I was hopeful but not terribly optimistic.

I arrived at the Greenville Watershed a few minutes before sunrise.  Although there were no longer birds still migrating overhead, there were already a number of call notes coming from the woods nearby.  One of the first birds I heard was a Swainson’s Thrush, and soon there were multiple Swainson’s giving their “pit” and “weep” calls increasing in pitch.  And then I heard the first thrush call note dropping in pitch.  I listened carefully and heard this call again – too short and not clear enough to be a Veery.  I had my first Gray-cheeked.  I guess I shouldn’t have been too worried since I heard 3 others calling from the understory on my next 2 stops.  Another example of a target bird that isn’t too unexpected at the right place and right time – the perfect example of “low hanging fruit”.  And although Gray-cheeked is a regular species in much of the eastern US, I haven’t been in that right place at the right time to see it as it migrated through quite a number of those states. 

As I approached dawn one of the first birds I actually saw was a cooperative Canada Warbler in brush along the roadside.  Weeks later I realized that I needed Canada for my SC statelist – an unexpected surprise that I hadn’t even targeted.  From my statebird map it looks like I need to make Canada Warbler a target in quite a number of states.  Though I did find one in WY years ago as just the 5th state record at the time. 

The 5 new low hanging fruit statebirds bring my SC list to 273.  Not bad for one month, even though they all were regular expected species. 

“But wait there’s more” as they say.  In September I also added 3 rarities for SC - check out my next blog post for a summary of these 3 less common species. 

Red Crossbill - a Most Unexpected Consolation Prize, Ceasars Head State Park, SC, June 30, 2020

One of the biggest gaps that still exists in my SC statelist is the Peregrine Falcon.  Although it’s certainly not a rarity, often you have to be lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time to run into one.  That is unless there is a known nesting site, or a preferred roost, where you can just hang out and wait for a Peregrine to pass by.  For instance I can remember getting my first Peregrine in CT by camping out at a preferred roosting site in downtown Hartford, seeing my first one in RI at a stakeout roost on a bridge, and seeing a nesting pair in downtown Atlanta as my first for my GA list. 

"The” place for Peregrine in upstate SC is Ceasars Head State Park where there are year-round (likely nesting) birds.  I’ve been told that you just go to the overlook at the park, and scan both above and below you and you might be lucky enough to have a bird fly by.  Although certainly not a guarantee, it’s the most likely spot to find one nearby.  My NC birding friend Dave Minnich took me there in Fall 2019 only to find out that the mountain was socked in fog when we got there – we couldn’t see more than 50 ft.  Needless to say we didn’t see one that day, though it was good to scout out the site.

Then in late June 2020 a couple eBird Needs Alerts popped up with Peregrine sightings at the Park.  With summer nesting season winding down, and the summer doldrums of birding around the corner, it seemed like this could be a good time to give it another try.  After a bit of planning, SC birding friends Gary Harbour and Michael Robertson were on board for the trip, and we now had 3 great pairs of eyes to watch for Peregrines.  We set June 30th as the date when I would hopefully be able to add Peregrine to my SC statelist.

Our first stop on the 30th was a nice wooded neighborhood near where Gary lives to look for an interesting silent flycatcher seen recently.  Unfortunately, we struck out on the flycatcher, but hoped for better success with the Peregrine.  A short while later our caravan arrived at Ceasars Head State Park and we were soon at the overlook anxiously awaiting a fly-by of a Peregrine. 

But after an hour’s wait we were still looking for our target bird.  Not only was there no Peregrine, there were few raptors of any kind, with only a couple Vultures passing by.  But the scenery was nice, as shown in this panoramic view.

As my interest started to wane I reminded myself to stay on the alert even if birding was slow.  And just then I heard sharp “kip kip kip” calls coming from down below us and to the left.  I quickly picked up the birds flying left to right – it was a group of 3 mid-sized chunky finches, perhaps Waxwing-sized.  I could see dull yellowish plumage on 2 of the birds; I didn’t notice the color of the third bird.  Michael was able to get on the birds as well, and we were both able to see and hear them for maybe 10 seconds before they disappeared in the woods to the right.  (Unfortunately, Gary didn’t get on them.)  Just after they passed out of view I turned to Michael and said – “I think we just had a flock of Red Crossbills!”  We quickly compared notes and our observations were the same – we did indeed have 3 Red Crossbills, with at least 2 of them being females or immatures.

What an amazing surprise!  Although Red Crossbills are certainly possible in the upstate of SC, they are exceedingly rare.  With a bit of research on eBird I found only about 11 prior records in SC, including what may have been 2 minor local irruptions –

    8/20/89 – 1 at Burrells Ford Road

    6/99 to 1/00 – 4 sightings in a reasonably small area in Oconee County -

        6/15/99 – 1 at Oconee SP

        9/15-10/11/99 – up to 3 at Burrells Ford

        10/11/99 – 9 at Walhalla Fish Hatchery

    1/8/00 – 35 at Burrells Ford

    7/24-8/24/07 – 1 at Reedy Fork Rd S of Greenville (south of the mountains)

    12/31/12 to 2/3/13 - a flock of up to 18 birds at Devils Fork SP (multiple posts             during the period)

    9/21/14 – 4 at Walhalla Fish Hatchery

    5/12/16 – 2 at Ceasars Head SP

    7/4/18 – 3 at Sassafras Mountain

    7/4/18 – 4 at F Van Clayton Memorial Hwy

Despite staying at the overlook for another hour, we ended up missing our actual target bird - the Peregrine Falcon.  But the Red Crossbill was a much rarer and most unexpected consolation prize - #268 for my SC statelist.  In my statebird map below, I’ve seen this species in the 17 blue-shaded states where it is regular, though there are 12 other states in its regular range where I still need this species (the cross-hatched states).  And now I’ve seen Red Crossbill as a rarity in MD and SC (the tan-shaded states).

Just think, if I had seen the Peregrine on my first trip to Ceasars Head I likely wouldn’t have gone back to the park, and of course wouldn’t have found the much rarer Red Crossbills.  Sometimes it’s OK to miss your target bird.

Four Wyoming Statebirds, April 2015

A few years ago my work travels took me to Denver quite frequently.  On some of those trips I would add a vacation day for a short trip into southeast WY or western NE for some state birding.  Along with one more extensive birding trip to each state, I eventually reached the old ABA reportable thresholds in each, getting to 223 in WY which was 9 over threshold, and 232 in NE or 7 over the threshold.  But my last time birding either state was in 2010.  And the ABA thresholds weren’t static – they were calculated as half of each state’s total list.  So since the statelists generally rise slowly over time, so would the reporting threshold.  For instance the WY statelist has increased by 8 since the ABA last published thresholds in 2011; the new threshold would have gone up by 4 to 218.  So in order to make sure my lists stays higher than half the official state list for many years into the future, I’ve set a somewhat arbitrary goal of getting to at least 15 over the old 2011 ABA thresholds in each state.  That means I need at least 6 more in WY and 8 more in NE.

With an upcoming trip to Denver in April 2015, I started to do my research to identify possible statebird potential in both WY and NE.  April is late for many winter birds, and early for many spring birds, so some might say it can be a challenging time of year.  Then again, it can be a great time to get both late winterers and early spring arrivers.  In fact, I’ve had lots of great statebirding trips in April over the years.  So I was hopeful to have a wide range of possible statebirds in both states.  But since I’ve birded those areas several times, the reality was I had few likely statebirds.  Though there were still quite a number that were at least remotely possible. 

Now it was time to plan my possible itinerary.  Because it had been so long since I had birded WY and NE, I planned to spend roughly a day birding in each state, and started to connect with birders I knew in Cheyenne, WY and Scottsbluff, NE.  Plus I connected with a birder in Casper, WY who had reported Saw-whet Owls in a listserve post.  Turns out she had a Long-eared too.  And I had a lead on nesting Saw-whets in NE.  I figured I had a fair chance of getting the 6 I needed in WY to reach “reportable plus 15”, and possibilities for several new birds in NE.

But just after I landed in Denver to start the work part of the trip I checked the weather – there was a possibility for a rain and/or snow storm in the area during my 2 birding days, with a winter weather advisory for the first day in the Casper area.  I was tempted to cancel the trip, but decided to shuffle my schedule to avoid the worst of the weather, and try to still get to all my planned stops.  After all it would be in the 60s the day before the precipitation was to start, so how bad could it be?

Work ended a little earlier than expected in mid-afternoon, which gave me just enough time to squeeze in a couple unanticipated hours of birding that evening before the rain/snow began.  I decided to head to a high plains area just west of Laramie with many good-sized lakes, appropriately called the Laramie Plains Lakes.  I’ve birded there several times, and have seen quite an assortment of waterfowl there, along with a diverse group of raptors, and typical prairie birds.  In this area my targets were Greater Scaup, a rarity in WY, recently reported from several lakes among hundreds of Lesser Scaup and thousands of other divers, and a pair of Hooded Mergansers seen at one of the smaller lakes.  And with that many divers, who knows what else may be mixed in.

I arrived at Hutton Lake NWR about 2 hours before sunset, and quickly located the lake with all the divers.  With a couple quick scans I estimated 1,500 Redheads, 750 Scaup, 20 Canvasbacks, 100 Ruddies, and about 400 mixed dabblers.  I then started to focus on the Scaup, but saw no Greaters in the first flock I checked.  Then in the second flock I noticed a male with a paler back.  I eventually got a good look at its head and it was indeed rounded rather than peaked in the back – it was a Greater Scaup.  Later I would find another male plus another pair.  Probably not too unlikely to find 4 in with 750 Lessers.  I’ve now seen Greater Scaup in 42 states (see my statebird map below) – not too bad for a bird most typically seen near the coastlines.

 

I spent some more time scanning the lake hoping for something even rarer, but only found 3 Common Goldeneyes and a nice drake Pintail x Mallard hybrid. 

As I turned away from the lake to head back to the car I flushed a large raptor from the ground which flew away with a prairie dog (L) in its talons - a Peregrine Falcon.  An unexpected new bird for my WY list.  Although this species is seen across the country, my statebird map is still pretty spotty.

 

Other interesting birds at the refuge included a flock of about 10 McCown’s Longspurs, 2 adult Bald Eagles, and a Ferruginous Hawk.  But no Long-billed Curlews or Burrowing Owls which would have been remotely possible statebirds.

Next I was on to Blake’s Pond where 2 Hooded Mergansers had been reported sporadically in the last couple weeks.  This was a much smaller lake and easily viewed from the car.  I scanned the lake several times but couldn’t come up with the Hoodeds, though I did find 4 female Common Mergansers.  As I left the area I did a mental tally of the birds I saw in the area and came up with 21 species of waterfowl.  Not bad for just a couple hours of birding.

I had a little more sunlight left, so on a whim I decided to try a subdivision just northeast of Laramie where a flock of Pinyon Jays had been reported for 3 consecutive days.  But that was 10 days ago, so I thought it would be a long shot.  As I neared the area I could see the neighborhood off in the distance – it was a subdivision of maybe a dozen houses constructed in the prairie with no natural trees and only a few small ones planted at the houses.  With no typical pinyon habitat, I was sure the flock was just passing through and was long gone.  So I turned into the neighborhood and looked for a place to turnaround.  And just then a medium-sized bird flew up from a backyard and landed on a fence right next to my car – a Pinyon Jay.  Then another one, and then two others joined it.  Then these birds flew over the road and were joined by a flock of others - I counted 41 in total.  That was my third WY statebird and another one that was not very likely.  WY was my 8th state for Pinyon Jay - a species that I just seem to happen on within its range.

With 3 good WY statebirds already, before I had even planned to start birding, I was cautiously optimistic about being able to reach my goal of 6 new WY birds.  But then I checked the weather again, and the forecast had taken a serious turn for the worse.  Casper was now under a Winter Storm Warning for most of the entire next day, and the rain was to change to snow in Cheyenne as well.  Plus rain was forecasted in Scottsbluff for the next couple days. 

I spent most of the drive to Cheyenne thinking about my options and trying to decide what to do.  Part of me said to continue with my original itinerary – the meteorologists were just being too cautious.  But if they were right, owling in Casper the next evening would be in the teeth of a big snow storm.  If I cut out the Casper part of the trip, I could concentrate more on NE, but the Saw-whets and several other spots I wanted to hit were on dirt roads that were not good when wet.  Given the potential weather challenges, I decided to play it safe and fly home 2 days early, unfortunately eliminating almost the entire rest of my trip. 

But since my flight the next day wasn’t till the early afternoon, and the precipitation was supposed to hold off until midday, I could still have time for a very short stop at Table Mountain WMA to try for Ross’s Geese reported there the previous week.  Table Mountain is about 90 minutes northeast of Cheyenne, and a good 3 hours from the Denver airport.  So if I got to Table Mountain at dawn, I could squeeze in about an hour birding there and still have plenty of time to get my flight.  Luckily I’ve birded Table Mountain WMA a couple times over the years, so I was pretty familiar with the locations where white geese might be there, and thought an hour would be enough time to look for them. 

I left the hotel at 4:45 the next morning under starry skies, and was at Table Mountain by dawn at 6:15.  I pulled into the parking lot next to the main impoundment and took a short walk over to the edge.  I did a quick scan with my binoculars but saw no white geese at all.  Was this going to turn out to be a long 4 ½ hour drive for nothing?  I knew it was really late for the migrant geese, but only the previous week good numbers were reported there.  And numerous times I’ve seen an occasional Ross’s (and even a White-fronted) seemingly left behind weeks or months after the flocks had moved on. 

I then started a slower scan with my scope and the only white birds I saw were Pelicans.  But then I noticed a glimpse of white in the marsh a very long distance away.  I stared at this spot for a couple minutes until the white spot moved, and eventually a white goose stepped into the open.  But which type of white goose was it?.  Then a second bird appeared, which might have been a bit smaller.  Did I have a Snow and a Ross’s?  I tried to see bill size and shape, but the birds were just too far away to tell.  Then a Canada Goose walked next to the white geese which now appeared tiny by comparison.  Now I felt good that these were indeed Ross’s Geese.  A minute later the Ross’s settled back in the marsh and were little more than a tiny speck of white mostly obscured by the marsh grasses.  I guess I was lucky when I did see them.  WY was my 28th state for Ross’s Goose, which not too long ago was a pretty rare bird throughout most of the country.

 

That gave me 4 new WY statebirds which was very good given my brief birding time.  And although I was very disappointed to not get to Casper and Scottsbluff, I definitely made the right decision – Casper, Cheyenne, and Laramie ended up with nearly a foot of snow out of this storm.  I’ll just need to get back to WY and NE on a future trip to Denver.