Trumpeter Swan (I Guess), February 11, 2026, Spartanburg County, South Carolina

On February 8 there was a post on the Greenville County Bird Club listserve that a Tundra Swan was spotted on a small lake along Berry Road in Boiling Springs, Spartanburg County in South Carolina.  I quickly went to my SC state list and confirmed that I didn’t need Tundra Swan for my list, so there was no need to chase after it. 

I didn’t think much more about the Swan, even though it continued to be reported.  But then I noticed one birder raised the question about whether it could be a Trumpeter Swan instead, especially based on the lack of yellow lores.  I checked out several of the photos posted on-line showing the birds’ cheek, and it looked like a Tundra to me based on a curved edge to the black bill on the cheek, and the black eye being isolated from the black bill.  In fact, those features make it a stereotypical Tundra Swan. 

These features are evident in this photo I took of a Tundra (on the left) and a Trumpeter (on the right) in southwestern Michigan in November 2025.  The Tundra has the curved edge to the side of the bill against the white cheek, with the isolated eye.  Whereas the Trumpeter has the straight edge of the bill which includes the eye.  It also helps that the larger size of the Trumpeter is obvious in this photo.

Not to mention, not all Tundras have yellow lores.  Still no need to chase.

That is until another photo was posted that showed the white feathering forming a sharp V at the top of the black bill, which is very much Trumpeter-like.  Plus, it was a young bird retaining some darker plumage, which is also like a Trumpeter which molts later than Tundras.  Given these somewhat contradictory field marks, some birders even suggested it might be a hybrid.  But rather than waiting for the ID to be confirmed, taking the risk that the bird might leave first, I decided it was now time to chase it, and let the ID be confirmed later.

I headed out early in the morning on the 11th hoping I hadn’t waited too long.  I arrived at sunrise at the small pond, driving slowly down Berry Road but didn’t see the Swan on the pond.  I was getting worried.  I turned around for another pass and thankfully there it was near the far east end of the lake.  The white dot in the distance in the middle of this picture is the Swan beyond Berry Road. 

My friend Keith Viglietta submitted photos of the Swan to the Report a Swan Citizen Science Project at the Trumpeter Swan Society for ID confirmation.  The response from the Trumpeter Swan Society’s expert, Dr. Ken Abraham, was as follows:

“I think it’s a Trumpeter.  Straight, heavy bill.  The narrowness of the culmen process leading to the eye is more Tundra-like, but not out of scope for Trumpeter.  Agree that it’s not an adult.  Coloring of the bill is black on most photos, but one or two look like there might be some residual paleness of the juvenile bill.”

So Trumpeter Swan it is (I guess).  An apparent third SC state record.  And statebird number 313 for my SC list. 

My statebird map for Trumpeter Swan is copied in below.  The light blue states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range, which now includes a major re-introduction program.  The cross-hatched states are those where I’ve yet to see it within its range.  And the 10 dark blue states are those where I’ve seen Trumpeter Swan as a rarity, now including SC.

Midwest State Bird and Life Bird Chase, November 12-17, 2025, Part 2 - Michigan

You may be asking – “Why the Midwest in November?”  It all goes back to the roots of my state birding hobby.  Long before eBird existed, the American Birding Association (ABA) would publish your state and province totals but only if your total exceeded half of the total species ever observed in that state/province.  For instance, if 500 species had ever been reported in a given state, then your state total would only be published if it exceeded 250.  Decades ago, I set a goal to exceed the ABA reporting threshold in each of the Lower 48 states.  I met that goal back in 2023 with a birding trip to eastern Oregon.

But it gets more complicated.  The state total lists will inch up over time as new species are found in the state.  The last time the ABA published their reporting thresholds was in 2011, so state lists may have gone up dramatically since then.  I researched each state’s present list, and calculated new thresholds.  I found that several of my state lists were close to the new thresholds, most notably WI.  The WI threshold increased from 216 in 2011 to 228.5 today.  My state list was 229, perhaps safely over the threshold in 2011, but just a half above the threshold today. 

The story is similar for MI.  Years ago, my state list of 240 was 24 above that state’s threshold which happened to be 216 as well.  But the newly calculated threshold has jumped to 233, leaving me only 7 above that level.  So since MI is “only” a 2-hour drive from WI at the closest points, I could easily bird both states in one trip – in southeastern WI and southwestern MI.  And given that I was well above the present thresholds in both Illinois and Indiana, I could drive right through those 2 states and just focus on WI and MI.

Now that I had selected the states in which to bird, it was time to determine the best time of year to give me the greatest state bird potential.  I went onto eBird and clicked on the Target Species function first for WI, then for MI.  The output lists the species I need for my WI and MI lists in order of frequency of checklists submitted.  Although the report showed that I needed birds that can be seen in those states throughout all the seasons, the greatest number were seen in the late fall migration time when geese and other waterfowl, along with late passerines like Fox Sparrows and Rusty Blackbirds, are coming through.  It was all starting to come together.

And then while looking at the WI target list more closely, I noticed European Goldfinch well down on the list.  Thanks to some quick eBird research, I found that the Goldfinch was a “Naturalized” exotic (and countable) per eBird rules in the southeastern corner of the state.  And then farther down the WI target list I noticed Great Tit.  There is apparently a small breeding population of this species in southeastern WI as well, listed in eBird as a “Provisional” exotic species (and also countable). 

Suddenly the prime objective of my trip morphed from filling gaps in my state lists to pursuit of 2 countable lifers.  My plan was to bird as long as was needed to (hopefully) find the Goldfinch and Tit.  And then whatever time remained would be used for chasing after the remaining state bird targets.

I checked my schedule and determined that I could squeeze in a 7-day Midwest trip in mid-November.  Hopefully before it got too cold or snowy.  It was all falling into place. 

Now it was time for the hard work – all that research to find the best locations for my targets.  And a complication was that I didn’t know how much time I’d have for to try for the state ticks.  I optimistically assumed I would find the Goldfinch and Tit quickly, giving me 5 full days for the state bird targets.  But I’d have to be flexible if those initial searches were unsuccessful.  After lots of research on eBird and with the input from a few local birders, I found I had about 14 realistic targets in WI and hoped to find 6 of them, including the 2 lifers of course.  My target list in MI was a bit smaller at 11, and hoped for 4.  Adding 10 total state ticks and the Goldfinch and Tit as lifers would be a most successful trip.

This blog post summarizes the MI portion of my trip.  The previous post summarized the WI portion.

November 15 – Afternoon in Southwest MI

I left my last stop in WI around lunch time which gave me plenty of time to bird at least a couple spots in MI that day.  My first planned stop was at New Buffalo Beach just across the IN stateline.  Although this can be a great spot to do a lake watch, my key focus today was on a Snowy Owl that was seen there all day long the previous day.  Unfortunately, no one reported it the morning of my visit, so it was likely gone.  But I still gave it a try, checking all its favorite perches from the previous day with no luck.  I did a bit of a lake watch looking for my one realistic target, Black Scoter, but didn’t see much flying by, so decided to call it quits.  At least the weather was nice – maybe too nice for those sea birds.

Next I was on to the Three Oaks Sewage Ponds where the previous day there was a report of 2 Tundra Swans.  Both Tundras and Trumpeters were reported at most MI waterfowl sites recently (I only needed Tundra for my list), so IDs would be important.  Soon after I pulled up I spotted two Swans swimming in one of the impoundments, which eventually gave me good views of their bill shape and I could ID them as Tundras (MI State Bird #241). 

With that one out of the way, I turned my focus to this flock of sleeping Canadas hoping to pick out a smaller Cackling. 

While unsuccessfully looking for the smaller Goose, 3 Swans stood up in the flock of Canadas.  Soon they joined the 2 swimming Tundras, providing great comparisons, and I was able to ID 4 Tundras and 1 Trumpeter.  I was lucky enough to get this phonescoped photo of the Trumpeter trailing one of the Tundras, showing the difference in size and bill shape.

My state bird map for Tundra Swan is inserted below.  The light blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range (per Sibley’s range maps). The cross-hatched states are those where I’ve yet to see them in their normal range.  And the dark blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Tundra Swan as a rarity.

My last stop of the day was the nearby lake across the road from the enormous Forest Lawn Landfill where a number of waterfowl had been reported recently, including more Tundra Swans.  Luckily, I no longer needed this one because there were on waterfowl at all.

November 16 – A Cold, Windy Day of State Birding

My first two stops of the day were at Warren Dunes SP.  And my first target was a Winter Wren that had been reported several times at the Floral Lane hotspot.  With several trails at this location, I was happy to see one eBirder mention they had the bird along the Yellow Bird Loop.  It was 36 degrees and very windy when I arrived there at sunrise, but I hoped the Winter Wren was hearty enough to withstand those wind chills.  Most of the trail wandered through wet, swampy habitat that looked great for a Winter Wren, so I was hopeful.

But it wasn’t to be.  I played some tape for what is normally a very tape-responsive species, but couldn’t get any replies.  I even re-hiked the beginning of the trail thinking that I had started too early for the Wren to be up and about.

Next, I made the short drive to the Mt. Randall part of the park to do a Hawk Watch – Sharp-shinned was my key target, but fly-by winter finches would be nice too.  The northwest winds should be good for a hawk watch, but I never found Mt. Randall, which is apparently just the top of a sand dune.  I stopped at a nearby spot with good views of the sky hoping to get a fly-by but could only come up with some Crows overhead and Juncos in the dune grasses.  I was off to a slow start.

But my luck quickly changed.  I no sooner got back on the highway to head north when I spotted a small raptor flying over the median.  It was a small Accipter – my target Sharp-shinned Hawk (MI State Bird #242).  I just need this wide-ranging species in 4 more states.

My next stop was a very windy Tiscornia Park to try to do another lake watch.  I had fair numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers and a second year Lesser Black-backed Gull, but the wind was way too strong to effectively scan the lake.  Although my plan was to spend at least the rest of the morning to do lake watches, I decided it was just too windy.  So I decided to head east toward Kalamazoo and do some inland birding, and return to the coast the next day.

My first stop near Kalamazoo was a hotspot called Justin’s Marsh.  Recent reports had included 3 of my targets – White-fronted and Cackling Geese (both as recently as the day before), and Snipe.  When I arrived, I was surprised to see only 75 or so Canadas, far fewer than recent reports.  And none of my targets were anywhere to be seen.  Though it was nice to see so many Mute Swans and a family of 5 Trumpeter Swans.  Perhaps more Geese would come in later in the afternoon to roost for the night, so I decided to head to a couple other nearby spots and come back to Justin’s Pond later.

I packed up and headed to nearby West W Ave. Marsh where Wilson’s Snipe had been reported several times recently.  As I pulled up, I was surprised to see a large flock of at least 200 Sandhill Cranes on both sides of the road.  And there were muddy edges throughout the marsh making for great Snipe habitat.

I scanned the edges with binoculars several times but I couldn’t find my target.  Then in the southeast corner I spotted what appeared to be an unusual brown “bump” at the edge of the reeds.  With a scope view I confirmed I had a Wilson’s Snipe (MI State Bird #243).  I just need this species in 1 more state (South Dakota) to completely fill in my state bird map.

The next stop was at nearby Upjohn Pond where a pair of white phase Snow Geese had been reported the previous day.  As best as I could tell, the southeast corner of the pond was the only vantage point to view this pond.  But unfortunately, when I arrived nearly all the waterfowl were near the northern end almost a half mile away.  There were many Geese there but I couldn’t pick out any white ones especially at that distance.  But notably there was a huge tightly packed flock of Aythya ducks (Ring-necks and Scaup); perhaps 1,000 or more.

After numerous frustrating scans I headed back to Justin’s Pond hoping to see big Goose flocks dropping in.  But there was nothing new.  I was a day late for no less than 4 possible MI state birds – White-fronted, Cackling and Snow Geese and the Snowy Owl.  I guess I’d just have to find my own good birds.

Short-eared Owl was one of my targets, but there had been no reports of any apparently reliable birds near the southwest corner of the state yet this season.  So I started to check eBird reports from the winter of 2024-2025 and found quite a number of sightings at the hotspot called the Oswalt Family Farm.  With a bit of research, I found out that there were no reports from this hotspot yet this winter.  And with the first 2024 sighting being in early November, perhaps they had already returned this year but just no one had looked for them yet. 

One other potentially exciting twist was that most of last winter’s reports from that hotspot included sightings of a Rough-legged Hawk.  That was another of my targets, but there were only a couple random reports of this species in the region so far this winter.  Maybe that one too had returned to the Oswalt farm area this year but had not yet been detected.

I arrived at the Oswalt Family Farm hotspot at 4 PM, with sunset at 5:19.  With just a bit of scouting I found the key location where birders were reporting the Owls feeding last year: fields to the north of the farm buildings.  And I found the ditches where a couple birders mentioned they were roosting. 

Now with some time to kill before dusk I drove around some of the roads looking for raptors but came up empty.  I came back to the hotspot to wait for dusk and soon spotted a large raptor flying by in the distance.  And with a quick binocular view I confirmed I had a Rough-legged Hawk (MI State Bird #244). 

I went back to scanning the key locations for the Owls, and at 5:43 I spotted a Short-ear flying low over the fields (MI State Bird #245).  A very successful evening, finding 2 targets that hadn’t been reported yet this winter.

November 17 – One Cold Day in MI

The car thermometer said it was 26 degrees when I left the hotel at dawn.  At least there wasn’t any wind.  My first stop was back at Justin’s Pond hoping that more Geese would have roosted there overnight.  But there were actually less Geese than the day before.  The only thing new was a thin layer of ice over half the pond.

Then I went back to Upjohn Pond for one more try for those Snow Geese.  Once again most of the waterfowl were at the far end of the lake.  While scanning the distant flocks I spotted a Blue Phase Snow Goose – not previously reported in the area (MI State Bird #246).  I just need this species in 4 more states and D.C.

I continued to scan the Geese and picked out at least 1 Cackling Goose, often disappearing behind its larger cousins (MI State Bird #247).  I still need this rather recently defined species in quite a number of states.

That was another species not previously reported here.  That was a very successful return trip to Upjohn Pond.

The plan for the rest of the day was to do lake watches at 3 spots on the way back to Chicago.  I had just one realistic target, Black Sctoer, but I was always on the lookout for a rarity as well.

My first stop was at North Beach in South Haven.  The weather was cold and pretty breezy, causing some pretty big whitecaps on the lake, and making viewing pretty tough.  I had one very distant flock of Scoters flyby, but they were way too far out for IDs.  And a flyby Red-throated Loon was nice.  But otherwise, there was little activity over the lake in my 90 minutes of viewing time.  A flock of 50 Snow Buntings flying down the dunes was a nice find – nice to reacquaint myself with that species.

Next it was onto Tiscornia Park, where there was once again few flybys.  Best birds were a Horned Grebe and Red-throated Loon in the river mouth, a Lesser Black-backed Gull on the jetty, and yet another Red-throated Loon flyby.  I needed the Loon in WI but not MI – go figure.

My last stop of the trip was at New Buffalo Beach.  The wind had died down and the water was quite a bit smoother, so viewing conditions were greatly improved.  As I pulled into the parking lot I noticed 3 birds in the river right in front of me that turned out to be a Surf Scoter and 2 Horned Grebes.  I was cautiously optimistic.  Over the next 90 minutes I tallied 9 White-winged Scoters either flying alone or with Red-breasted Mergansers.  And I had at least 12 more Scoters that were too far out for ID’s.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with a Black Scoter.  But it was still a fun last stop.

I had a most successful time birding in MI, adding 7 new birds to my MI state list compared to an expected 4 new birds.  Notably, 4 of my new species were birds that I found myself and not previously reported.  And now that my MI list is at 247, that puts me 14 over my self-imposed threshold of half the total state list.  Or put another way, there will have to be 28 new birds added to the MI state list before I’ll have to come back to fill a few more gaps in my MI list. 

The WI portion of the trip was even more successful, finding European Goldfinch and Great Tit as lifers, and 8 additional new state birds.

The eBird trip report can be found here:  ebird.org/tripreport/437815.

Manitoba – The Final Frontier, Part 3 of 3, Churchill, 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.

One last big picture decision to make was whether to include a trip to Churchill in our MB itinerary.  I’ve heard so much about Churchill over the decades, starting back in the late 1900’s when Ross’s Gulls nested there.  I know Ross’s haven’t been seen there in a while, but birding continues to be great.  So we talked ourselves into making the extra round-trip flights from Winnipeg to Churchill, though it made for a pricey add-on to the trip.

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 blog post summarizes the Churchill portion of the trip, covering June 6 to 9.

6/6 – Churchill

The day had finally come for our trip to Churchill!  I had heard so much about Churchill over the years (in fact, decades), and had read “A Birder’s Guide to Churchill” cover-to-cover at least 3 times trying to prepare for and plan this leg of our trip.  The field guide was now 21 years old, so I knew it was a bit dated.  For instance, Ross’s Gulls were still being seen when the book was written (Ross’s was last reported in 2016).  And one of my hoped-for targets, Smith’s Longspur in its brilliant breeding plumage, was still a regular nester when the guide was published (only 3 reports in all of 2024).  But I still hoped it would be a valuable resource. 

Our flight to Churchill left Winnipeg right on time at 10:30.  A tour group of 11 birders was also on that flight, and Bill happened to be sitting next to one of the birding guides.  Bill made some introductions and I was able to ask the bird guide a number of questions and get his advice on several of our targets.  For instance, he told me the best spots for Spruce Grouse and where the Smith’s Longspurs formerly nested. In general, he said the field guide was still reasonably accurate, so I hoped my research would be on track.   

Our flight landed just a few minutes late at 1:15 PM.  While waiting for our bags at the airport it was tough not to see this sign regarding the risks of polar bears.  They normally aren’t seen in Churchill until July, but we were duly warned.

This was forecasted to be the best weather day of our 4 days in Churchill (spitting a bit of rain, temps in low 50s, windchill in the upper 40s) so we wanted take advantage of the “good” weather.  We picked up our rental car without a hitch – a 10-year old Nissan SUV with over 150,000 miles on it.  The Check Engine and Low Tire Pressure lights were on but the owner of the rental car company assured us not to worry about them.  And, oh by the way, the tailgate didn’t latch.  After a quick stop for staples at the grocery store, we were out birding by 2:45.

I decided to start by heading out the peninsula towards Cape Merry.  Our first stop was the Granary Ponds where we quickly added Greater Scaup and singing White-crowned and Fox  Sparrows. (MB #205-207)

Then we made it to Cape Merry where we started a seawatch at the mouth of the Churchill River where it empties into Hudson Bay.  Our best viewing spot was a former fort structure with walls that were almost too tall to look out over.  Check out the ominous skies on this “best” weather day.

The seawatch started slow but the birding soon picked up.  We quickly got the easy ones out of the way - Common Eider, Arctic Tern, and Pacific Loon.  Later I spotted a flock of Scoters sleeping at the river mouth that turned out to be mostly White-winged with a few Surf mixed in.  And while watching them a flock of Black Scoters flew by in the background.  A bit later a lone Long-tailed Duck flew by, and 2 Red-throated Loons were feeding in the river.  Later a Parasitic Jaeger flew in harassing a Tern that had apparently just caught a fish.  After about an hour we figured we had checked off all the regulars, and we headed back to the car.  We could certainly come back there for seawatches later in the trip – perhaps the bad weather might blow something in.  Along the walk back to the car an American Pipit flew into the grasses right in front of us, giving me 10 new province birds in just an hour.  (MB #208-217)

Next, we headed to Goose Creek Road to get in some birding there while the weather was still good.  Our first stop was the spruce forest along Kennedy Park Road, and here we picked up a Lesser Yellowlegs calling from the top of a spruce tree (MB #218).  I had hoped to see 3 different species seemingly out of place perched on spruce trees (Yellowlegs, Godwits, and Bonaparte’s), but interestingly this was the only one on our trip.  A bit later I heard a distant singing finch “identified” by Merlin as a Pine Grosbeak.  With a bit of tape one flew right in (MB #219).  We had no luck with Spruce Grouse though.  Here’s a shot of the nice boreal forest habitat.

We returned to Goose Creek Road and soon came to several ponds with shorebirds and waterfowl quite close to the road.  We were treated to a great show of Hudsonian Godwits counting at least 7, most being in high breeding plumage (MB #220).  There were also a dozen Short-billed Dowitchers, undoubtedly of the hendersoni race, in their brilliant orange breeding plumage (MB #221).  It’s so rare that I get to see these species in their breeding plumage.

We also had numerous Lesser Yellowlegs, Red-necked Phalaropes, and a few Stilt Sandpipers on the flats.  Plus, we spotted a Wilson’s Phalarope which is rare this far north. 

Our next stop was a feeding station we heard about at the Goose Creek Cottage area, adding numerous Redpolls (MB #222), along with multiple Pine Grosbeaks.  Plus there were  lots of sparrows - at least 1 Harris’s Sparrow (MB #223 and new for my Canada list), Fox, White-crowned, White-throated, and Junco.  It may not be much of a feeding station, but the birds (and snowshoe hares!) sure enjoyed it.

On a later stop Anita and Bill picked up a distant singing Blackpoll Warbler which I just couldn’t hear.  We’ll hopefully get another one of them later. 

We quit birding at 7 PM with only 50 species for the day.  But that tally included 19 new Manitoba species bringing my total to 223.  Not bad for just 5 hours birding.  I was now nearing my next milestone: my single highest province list is 224 in BC.  Surely that milestone will be reached the next day.

6/7 – Churchill

The 7th was rainy, cold and windy – just what the meteorologists had predicted.  It rained off and on all day.  And temperatures started in the balmy mid-40s dropping to 34 degrees by the afternoon.  The 10-20 mile per hour winds gave us a 25-degree windchill.  Not exactly the best for birding.  But we endured anyway…

We started our day back at Goose Creek/Hydro Road to bird the southern portion we didn’t get to the previous day.  But first we went back to the Goose Creek Cottage area for a quick stop at the feeders again.  There was nothing new (though we did stop for more views of the Pine Grosbeaks), so we drove to the end of the road hoping for a recently reported Spruce Grouse.  Despite a walk around a closed gate and some walking through more excellent boreal forest, we struck out on the Grouse.  Though I finally heard and saw a singing Blackpoll Warbler that I missed the day before (MB #224).  Notably we had few other boreal species despite this very nice habitat.

We continued farther down Hydro Road checking out more wetlands hoping for recently reported Black Ducks.  We finally picked out 4 Blacks with Mallards and other waterfowl in a shallow lake (MB #225).  And nearby at the Hydro Road Tower we had several singing Northern Waterthrushes.

We reached the end of the road at the pump station and I got out of the car to check out what birds may be on the river.  But the combination of wind and rain made me scurry back to the warmth of our car.  We turned around to come back toward town, and soon afterwards while driving through an area of spruce woodlands I spotted a large bird ahead in the road.  We stopped and got distant views of what we thought was going to be a female Spruce Grouse.  We were able to slowly pull up even with it for spectacular views.

Later we heard from the eBird reviewer that it was actually a Sharp-tailed Grouse.  As we were studying this bird we did consider Sharp-tailed as a possibility.  (We don’t have a lot of experience with these species, especially at distances of less than 10 ft.)  Though we noted that Sharp-tailed just shouldn’t be in Churchill - the Sibley range maps showed it was not in the area, it’s not mentioned at all in the Birder’s Guide, and eBird considered it unreported and needing details.  Plus, Sharp-tailed has only been reported in eBird in the area 2 other times this year, and 3 times in 2024.  That’s a lot fewer sightings than Spruce Grouse.  So I guess a silver lining to correcting the ID to Sharp-tailed is that we actually found a much rarer bird than the Spruce Grouse.  Of course, we saw dozens of Sharp-tailed’s in southern parts of the province a week earlier so it wasn’t a new province bird.

Our next area to explore was on to the east along Launch Rd.  But the weather was now so cold we mostly birded from the car.  The next addition was at the Below-the-Observatory Tundra.  I scanned the wet tundra below from the lee of the car and spotted 2 Tundra Swans, 1 was on a nest (MB #227 and new for my Canada list).  Later we would find 3 more in flight.  Here’s a shot of the wet tundra below. 

A stop at both the old and new landfills revealed not a single gull of any species.  That’s certainly a huge change from the way it used to be.  Quoting the 20-year-old Birder’s Guide:  “The gulls at this dump surely support the claim that after the Niagara River, the Churchill area is probably the best place in North America to see a variety of gulls.”  Though we did see this very authentic mural painted on the side of the former trash incinerator.

On a later stop while driving through the dry tundra on the Golf Balls Road we spotted a flyby American Golden-Plover in the distance (MB #228).  Here’s a typical view of the drier tundra in the area.

The last birds of the day were 4 Snow Geese right outside town, and 2 Brown-headed Cowbirds that are rare for the area.  There were actually quite a number of Cowbird sightings while we were in Churchill.  That doesn’t bode well for species that are subject to parasitism.  In fact, I wonder if Cowbirds might be successful in parasitizing ground-nesting small shorebirds (like Leasts and Semis).

We ended with 62 species for the day – not bad for such difficult weather conditions.  And I added 4 birds to my Manitoba list, bringing the total to 228 – by far my best list for any Canadian province both with respect to the percentage of the total species ever seen in that province, and the absolute number of species.

6/8 – Churchill

We looked forward to spending much of the day of the 8th in the boreal habitats along Twin Lakes Road and at Twin Lakes.  But then there was the weather.  We thought it was bad on the 7th – it was even worse on the 8th.  It rained most of the day, with temperatures in the low 30’s (the car thermometer said -1 degrees Celsius as times), with strong NE winds giving wind chills in the lower 20s at best.  As a result, most of our birding was from the car, with at most short walks into good habitat.  Though our lack of walks likely didn’t cause us to miss too many birds, as there were few (if any) birds at nearly all our stops. 

Despite the challenging conditions, we were able to eke out some good birds.  Probably our favorite was Willow Ptarmigan (MB #229 – and new for my Canada list).  Our first was right along the side of the road on Twin Lakes Road and we had 3 others at later stops including this handsome male. 

A couple times I got out for short walks and found a number of Orange-crowned Warblers.  All were foraging low to the ground which was likely the best location for the insects they searched for in these temperatures.  And speaking of insectivores, at one point we spotted a rare Eastern Kingbird hovering along the road.  That was one confused bird. 

We were now in the heart of Spruce Grouse habitat, with thick stands of spruces and large patches of reindeer moss as a ground cover. 

We drove every mile of road we could in and around the Twin Lakes area, but couldn’t find one of these prime targets.  In fact, our only boreal species for the area was one calling Canada Jay.  Pretty slim pickings…

At one point we were driving along a two-track road through the woods and Anita and I both spotted a large raptor fly up from the road ahead of us.  It appeared to be uniformly gray.  Could it have been a Great Gray Owl?  We got out to look for it but couldn’t locate any raptors or any birds at all for that matter.  And we couldn’t drive any further because of the snow drift across the road.  Here’s a selfie of our intrepid group all bundled up against the elements.

Next we were onto Ramsay Trail, though it took a bit of searching to find it as it was not mentioned in the Birder’s Guide.  Soon after starting on the trail a Solitary Sandpiper called nearby (MB #230).  And no more than a couple minutes later I heard what I thought was a singing American Tree Sparrow.  I played tape and it flew right in (MB #231).  We had 2 others in this area as well.  We also spent some time with a flock of geese that Merlin thought included a Cackling Goose, but that was just optimism on Merlin’s part.

Later in the afternoon I went out on my own along Cape Merry, but the rain and wind had picked up making it difficult to do a seawatch.  Though I was able to briefly spot several Beluga Whales feeding in the river. 

A last stop of the afternoon was at “The Flats”.  I covered only a portion of this area in the wind and rain and had a nice mix of shorebirds including a flock of Turnstones and a Dunlin.  I’ll have to go back there tomorrow when the weather was predicted to be better. 

I ended the day with 3 new province birds, bringing my MB total to 231.  Not bad given the weather conditions.

6/9 – Last Day in Churchill

We woke up on the 9th to much better weather conditions – it had finally stopped raining and the wind wasn’t howling.  Of course, this was the day we were set to leave and we could only bird till about Noon.  Go figure…  Though it was still just in the low 30s.

While standing in the hotel parking lot as we were set to head out to begin our day, I noticed a small bird in a group of stunted spruce trees at the edge of the parking lot across the road.  Initially I expected it would be a White-crowned Sparrow which was common in the town.  But when I got it in my binocs I realized it was a rare female Bay-breasted Warbler (MB #232).  Later it flew to small trees at the edge of our parking lot and we got great views.  That was a nice start to the day.

Our first stop was at the Flats – a portion of which I birded the previous day.  We drove to the end and found our only Sanderlings of Churchill, plus a flock of 12 White-rumps, a Dunlin and a Turnstone.  The tide was pretty high at the time – maybe it would have been better at a lower tide.

We decided to bird Goose Creek/Hydro Road again to see what new birds might have migrated in.  Our first stop was along Kennedy Road for yet another try for Spruce Grouse.  Again, we came up empty though we heard that one was seen there the previous day.

Then we were on to Goose Creek Cottage road.  A quick stop at the feeders gave us views of 5 Pine Grosbeaks.  While watching the feeders I heard a blackbird calling nearby.  I looked up and saw a Common Grackle fly into a tree above the feeders – another rarity for Churchill.

We drove to the end of the road where again our key target was Spruce Grouse.  As we got out of the car we heard a Catbird singing from the brush – apparently a continuing rarity heard there recently.  Though we didn’t hear it when we were there the previous day.  A walk into the woods there gave us a couple Fox Sparrows, a singing Pine Grosbeak, and our only Boreal Chickadee at Churchill.

Back on Hydro Road heading south we spotted the same Sharp-tailed Grouse we saw the previous day.  Continuing south we went by the wetlands that contained good numbers of shorebirds on previous trips, but numbers were way down today.  Though we did have one spot with 2 Black-bellied and 1 American Golden-Plover in nice breeding plumage.  And an adjacent pond had 2 Sandhill Cranes.

As we continued south I spotted a blackbird flying over the road.  I got an extended view of the bird which turned out to be a Rusty Blackbird - the last new province bird for the trip (MB #233).

Our last stop in Churchill was on a bluff along the Churchill River to try to see Belugas.  This was the same spot I saw distant Belugas the previous day so we were hopeful.  On our way along the edge of Hudson Bay we got this view of ice that had been blown on-shore by the strong northeast winds the last couple days.

After a bit of a wait at the bluff we got excellent views of several Belugas when they surfaced.  What a great way to end the Churchill portion of the trip, and for MB in general.

I added 2 birds to my MB list that day, bringing my total to 233.

 

And now a postscript on our trip to Churchill –

I was actually a bit disappointed with our trip to Churchill.  For decades I had heard so many stories about the great birding there, but I’m afraid it just didn’t quite live up to the hype.  Numbers of waterfowl seemed to be about as expected, but numbers of virtually all other species were much lower than I had anticipated.  We saw most of our expected species, but most were in low numbers.  Except for good numbers of Pine Grosbeaks and Redpolls, boreal passerines were virtually non-existent.  And I was really hoping to see Yellowlegs, Godwits, and Bonaparte’s perched on tree tops, but we saw just 1 calling Lesser Yellowlegs perched at the top of a spruce.  Needless to say, the cold and wet weather didn’t help, but with all the time we spent in good habitat I still expected more birds.  Were we too early in the year for nesting species?  For instance, tamarack trees and many shrubs were not yet leafed out.  Maybe a July trip might have been more fruitful. 

Now for some final thoughts on the Churchill rarities.  We found 7 rarities needing ID details in eBird – that’s a huge number in just 3 full days of birding.  All were species that are common in southern portions of MB, so were likely spring migrants that overshot their normal ranges.  Then again, with global warming, were these southern MB birds heading north to expand their breeding ranges?  And continuing that logic, maybe some individuals of the regular Churchill species were missing from Churchill because they are now nesting farther north as well.

 

MB Trip by the Numbers

172 – New MB ticks

233 - MB Province list total, my largest province list both by absolute number of species and the percentage of species ever reported in that province

231 - Number of species seen in MB on this trip (only Palm Warbler and Golden-crowned Kinglet were seen on previous MB trips but not on this trip)

387 – Canada list, adding 4 species on this trip (Black-backed Woodpecker, Harris’s Sparrow, Tundra Swan, Willow Ptarmigan)

20 - Number of waterfowl species seen in MB

26 - Number of shorebird species

20 - Number of sparrow species

22 - Number of warbler species

92 - Number of species seen in Churchill

7 - Number of “southern” rarities seen in Churchill (Wilson’s Phalarope, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Eastern Kingbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Bay-breasted Warbler, Gray Catbird, Common Grackle)

My eBird Trip Report for all our stops in MB can be found here:  ebird.org/tripreport/ 388769

And the Trip Report for the Churchill portion of the trip can be found here:  ebird.org/tripreport/384450

Three Opportunistic Chases Nets Two Statebirds in Knoxville, TN, March 7-8, 2023

My wife and I scheduled a trip to Knoxville, TN in early March 2023 to take our dog to the University of Tennessee Veterinary School for some testing.  If we had spare time, that could present some statebird opportunities in a part of the state I don’t often get to.  Though at best my time would be limited, so the targets would likely need to be nearby.  I started to watch the eBird Needs Alerts during the week leading up to the trip but initially came up with no nearby targets.  But then the day before we left a report came in of a Tundra Swan in a small impoundment at a treatment plant a short distance east of Knoxville.  It was about 10 minutes off our route to and from Knoxville, so it was one to try for likely on the way home.  At least that gave me one to look forward to.  Assuming the Swan stuck around, that is.

We made the drive to Knoxville on the 6th, and that evening I re-checked my Needs Alert.  The Tundra Swan was still around, so that was good news.  And even better, two more of my “Needs” were reported that day no more than 15 minutes away – a Red-necked Grebe and a Black Scoter, both on Fort Loudoun Lake.  It sounded like I would have some free time in the middle of the day on the 7th, so it would be feasible to chase after both birds.  Suddenly I was up to 3 statebird possibilities. 

It turned out that I had about 2 hours of free time in the early afternoon of the 7th, which was perfect to bird nearby Loudoun Lake.  I first went to the boat ramp at Concord Park where the Red-necked Grebe had been spotted the previous day.  Comments from that sighting noted that the bird was with Pied-billed Grebes generally on the far southern part of the lake.  Unfortunately looking to the south meant looking into the sun that time of day, and my initial scans came up with just a couple Cormorants in the difficult lighting conditions.

Then I panned more to the southeast in somewhat better lighting and picked out a few Pied-billed Grebes in the distance.  Had I found the correct spot?  Sure enough a few seconds later I spotted the much larger Red-necked Grebe loosely associating with the Pied-bills.  The large yellow bill and longer neck were clinching field marks.  I tried some distant digiscoped photos but each time I got everything lined up the bird dove.  Here’s a picture of the reservoir with the Grebes about 2,000 ft out.

My statebird map for Red-necked Grebe is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The 4 cross-hatched states are those in its normal range where I’ve yet to see it.  And the brown-shaded states are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity – several southeastern states as a wintering bird, and 2 central states as a rare breeder.

Luckily it only took a few minutes to get the Grebe, so I quickly headed to nearby Carl Cowen Park where the female Black Scoter had been reported the previous day.  The bird was swimming in a distant tight flock of 35 diving ducks, so I figured my best shot at finding the Scoter was to look for that flock of divers.  Unfortunately, once again I was looking to the south into the sun – ugh.  Amazingly I almost instantly found a flock of divers – did I have the flock?  But like the Grebes, they were nearly a half mile away.  I counted 47 birds, and watched the flock for at least 45 minutes.  Unfortunately, not only could I not pick out the Scoter, I couldn’t even be sure of the IDs of the other ducks (though I assumed they were Ring-necks, Scaup and/or Redheads).  I bet I had the Scoter in view, but the flock was just too far away and lighting was so bad that I couldn’t be sure.  That was frustrating.

After getting negative results on our dog’s tests (yay!), we headed home on the 8th.  Luckily my non-birding wife agreed to let me take the 10-minute side trip to try for the Tundra Swan.  The bird was being seen now 3 days in a row in an impoundment at a sewage treatment plant along Route 160 in Hamblen County.  The small impoundment was right next to the road, so I hoped we would need less than 5 minutes to find my target bird.  We pulled over on the road shoulder even with the pond and I did a quick binocular scan.  Even though that large white bird should have jumped out at me, I couldn’t find it.  Had it moved on since yesterday’s sighting?  There were some cattails and other vegetation on the pond, so maybe it was a bit obscured.  And sure enough, with a closer look I found the Tundra Swan on the near shore partially hidden by cattails.  Here’s a shot with no magnification of the impoundment, and with an arrow pointing toward the Swan.

TN is now my 8th state where I’ve seen Tundra Swan as a rarity.  Though I still need it in a number of states where it is a regular migrant.

That gave me two new TN statebirds in less than an hour of birding time.  That’s pretty efficient birding, and very opportunistic given my time and geographic constraints.  And with the addition of 2 birds my TN statelist is now at 255.

6 New Colorado Statebirds, January 2013

A particularly heavy travel schedule for work of late had become quite trying and tedious, with no time for birding during those trips.  So as my third trip to Denver in 4 weeks came up, I decided to try to see if I could squeeze in at least a little time to fill some gaps in my CO statelist.  With 266 birds on my CO list I don’t need too many regular birds, but I was hopeful that at least a few less common birds might be staked out in the greater Denver area.  The CO listserve is a good one, including an updated statewide RBA every couple days with sightings separated by county.  So as long as you know which counties are in your area, a little research on the listserve can be a big help in planning a statebirding trip to CO. 

So I opened up the CO listserve and quickly saw that there were a number of potential statebirds being seen in and around Denver, and many had been present for some time.  Now the question was whether I could have time to try for them.  Based on my initial work plans it looked like I might have an entire morning free, along with a couple early morning hours on a second day.  So I set up my plans to pursue 6 potential stakeout statebirds.  During my free morning I would start at dawn in Fort Collins at a spot with both Redpolls (including a first state record for Hoary), then head south to Lower Hoffman Lake for Trumpeter Swans, then farther south to Valmont Reservoir for Tundra Swans.  Then in my free early morning I would start at dawn at a Red Rocks Park feeder for a Golden-crowned Sparrow and then a quick stop at a marsh at the Wheatridge Greenbelt park for a Swamp Sparrow.  All in all a very doable schedule.

When I arrived in Denver one of the first things that happened was my work schedule changed, and now my free morning was going to be consumed by meetings.  Ugh!  Hate it when work gets in the way of birding.  So now I needed to rethink my schedule.  That would mean there would be no chance to get up to Fort Collins for both redpolls, but there was a feeder in Wheatridge with a small flock of Common Redpolls that I could squeeze into a lunch break instead.  And maybe I could get to the lakes with the Swans either at the end of a work day, or at dawn before work started.  So maybe I could still squeeze in attempts for 5 targets.

As the first day’s work neared an end, it looked like we might be done at 4:30, and sunset was 5:10 so a 30-minute drive to try for the Trumpeters could be feasible, though with little time to spare for searching for the birds.  As I left the office the light snow that was falling that afternoon was just ending, so I hit the highway and quickly got to Lower Hoffman Lake.  But it was surrounded by a suburban subdivision, so it took me a few minutes to find access.  When I finally got access to the lake, all I could see was ice.  Had to be some open water somewhere.  Eventually I found a different access point and saw some open water.  Sure enough there was a Trumpeter Swan in with quite a number of dabbling and diving ducks.  And as the light waned, large flocks of geese flew into the lake to roost on the ice.  This included several Cackling Geese – one was calling as it flew in with the Canadas.  This was my 12th state for Trumpeter Swan – aided by the big reintroduction program and their subsequent expanded breeding success.

 The next day my work meetings started at 8 AM, but with sunrise about 7, I figured I could get to Valmont Reservoir before work to try for the Tundra Swans.  I had been there back in 2007 to take in the spectacular gull show that occurs in winter evenings as gulls descend into an overnight roost on the open water of this power plant reservoir.  I arrived at 7 (even though an overnight snow made the drive challenging) but couldn’t find an access point on the north side of the lake.  But then I remembered that in 2007 we accessed the lake from the east, so I headed there and was able to drive toward the edge of the lake.  As soon as I parked I noticed a flock of at least 500 gulls circling low directly overhead.  I started scanning through the flock and quickly found a small white-winged gull – either a first year Thayer’s or an Iceland.  I watched it for at least 60 seconds – it had a thin all dark bill, never saw any darker coloration to the primaries or secondaries, and its tail was only slightly darker at the tip than at the base.  So although I never saw the bird from above, I concluded it was an Iceland Gull.  This or another Iceland was seen at Valmont the next day.  CO is now my third Midwest or West state for Icelands, in addition to seeing them in 11 states in the northeast,.  And that was my 10th gull species for CO – not bad for a state in the Rockies.

Next my attention turned to the Tundra Swans.  From the car I could see only a small portion of the reservoir, but no large white birds (just 3 large dark birds which were immature Bald Eagles).  So I started to walk over toward the lake and soon found quite a bit of open water and a flock of Canada Geese.  And then with a slightly different angle I found the flock of 12 Tundra Swans at the edge of the ice.  After a quick walk back to the car I was able to drive to work with and got to my meeting with just a couple minutes to spare.  Although my statebird map for Tundra Swan is a bit spotty, it’s pretty well filled in for the eastern and western migration and wintering populations. 

The next target was the Redpoll flock coming to a feeder in Wheatridge.  I only had a small window of time over lunch before having to go back to work, so I needed the redpolls to be pretty cooperative.  After a quick MacDonald’s stop I arrived at the house, but there were no birds present.  But luckily only 10 minutes later a mixed flock of finches flew into trees next door – Goldfinches, House Finches, and a couple Redpolls.  Soon the flock dropped into the feeding station and was joined by 30 or more other finches.  There were about 8 Common Redpolls in the flock, including one where the red pigment was replaced by orange.  This bird was also quite pale, but had a light tan rump, and a couple dark undertail coverts.  It was most likely just a Common Redpoll with some pigment issues.  Although CO was my 13th state for this species, my statebird map is pretty spotty except in the Northeast.

The next morning I had 2 free daylight hours of birding time before heading to the airport.  So I left the hotel before dawn to head to the beautiful Red Rocks Park, and specifically the Trading Post where a Golden-crowned Sparrow had been visiting a feeding station for most of the winter.  It was 20 degrees and quite breezy when I arrived (I was definitely underdressed for that windchill) but there were many birds at the feeders.  Most were juncos, and I counted 6 different races – Pink-sided, Oregon, Gray-headed, White-winged, Slate-colored, and Cassiar.  It was quite a show.  After about 15 minutes the Golden-crowned showed up (a nice adult bird), though it was only in view for about a minute before running back into the adjacent brush.  I waited for another 45 minutes but it not reappear, so I guess I was lucky.  By the way the “White-winged” Juncos were only my second in the west.  I mention “in the west” because I had a junco at my feeder in Massachusetts a couple years ago that had white wingbars but I guess it was more likely an aberrant Slate-colored than a White-wing.  That was my 5th state for Golden-crowned Sparrow, and my first as a rarity away from its normal range. 

The last stop was the Wheatridge Greenbelt which is a linear suburban park along a river that flows through the Denver suburbs.  There was a post from about 10 days earlier about a Swamp Sparrow in a cattail marsh, with very specific directions to the location.  So although the post was a little old, I thought I’d give it a try in hopes that this was a wintering bird.  I got to the park at about 8:30, and although the temperature was up to 25 degrees the wind had increased, so the wind chill was likely even lower.  A short walk later I was at the cattail marsh where the sparrow had been spotted – everything was completely frozen and the wind was howling.  But a Song Sparrow was chipping in the marsh so I had some hope.  Swamp Sparrows can be very tape-responsive, and I had planned to bring along my MP-3 play and speakers.  Unfortunately I forgot to pack them (doh!), so the night before I went to the Xeno Canto website and had picked out one recording of call notes and one of songs that I could play from my iPhone.  I started to play the call note recording and almost instantly had the bird respond.  The bird eventually appeared and gave me brief views before it went back to its hiding places in the frozen cattails.  Luckily that only took a couple minutes because I was really getting cold.  I’ve now picked up Swamp Sparrow in a number of western states as a rarity –maybe it’s easier to find as a rarity than other species.  On the way back to the car I found a Snipe along the edge of the open water along the river – didn’t expect that one in January in Denver. 

So that gave me 6 new statebirds, putting my CO state list at 272.  Certainly was fun to be able to see so many of my target birds - plus finding a rarity - even though my birding time was so limited.