Parker River NWR May 30+31

May 30th and 31st I had off from work, so I treated myself to a trip to Plum Island both days. I've decided to post the pictures on my shutterfly site for better viewing:

http://b1rds0nthebra1npix.shutterfly.com/

May 30th I added at least 4.5 lifers to my list. I know, I know: .5?? Let me explain: I have seen a Woodcock before, but the encounter reflected this bird's reputation in that it was very brief and I didn't wind up getting a particularly good view or a picture. Although the woodcock is known for being elusive, it is very distinct in its appearance, and that allowed me to identify it at the time despite the circumstances. May 30th, however, was entirely different. Within 5 minutes of pulling into the refuge, I almost drove right past one that was just hanging out by the side of the road! It wasn't even just after dawn--I had gotten a late start that day, and the time was 8:42 am! I pulled over and was treated to several great pictures of this spectacular bird, it was a wonderful way to start the day, and I admit I took it as a good omen. Later on, talking to some other birders, I found out that apparently woodcocks often perform their courting ritual in the parking lot to the Hellcat trails at dusk.

My other lifers for the day:
Bobolink
Savannah Sparrow
Least Bittern
Purple Martin

I believe there are some others, as well. I just need to process the photos I took and identify the shorebirds I'm not sure about [one of them is picture 32 in the shutterfly album, I'd appreciate any help :) ].

I should mention that the last 3 photos in the album were actually taken in Gloucester, not at Parker River. You'll also notice a turtle portrait in the album--I discovered this Eastern Painted Turtle just chillin' smack dab in the middle of the refuge road. It struck me as a poor choice of hang outs, so I somewhat timidly picked the fella up and set him down about a foot off from the side of the road in some low grasses.

My May 31st visit saw "only" one lifer--a very special bird indeed--the precious Piping Plover. I was beyond thrilled to watch an adult foraging along the sand at Sandy Point, and couldn't get over the fact that most people just simply walked right on by the bird. There are signs all over the refuge and barriers set up to protect nesting areas, so I assume most people must be aware of their presence. A large stretch of the beach at Plum Island is blocked off every year for the Piping Plovers. I couldn't (and still can't) decide if all of this uninterested people simply didn't know it was a Piping Plover and took it to be "just another shorebird" or if they were locals who see them each year. In any case, I managed to get several shots before getting chased out by the rain.

Take nothing but pictures (and maybe the trash of jerks who came before you), leave nothing but footprints.

What I've Been Up to this Month

Okay--get ready for a big ol' game of catch-up. Although I haven't been posting, I have indeed been birding this month, and I've added several lifers to my list. I'd also like to share some of my better photos, like this one of a very well camouflaged female mallard in Island Cottage Woods on May 5th:
Oh, great news! I'll be taking the banding course offered by RIT/BBBO this coming Fall. I'm really looking forward to it.

Three weeks in a row I was robbed of my volunteer time on Thursdays at BBBO- twice because of rain, then because of finals last week. I was especially disappointed since I had just started getting instruction on how to take birds out of the nets. I hadn't actually made an attempt yet, but that was the obvious next step, and really exciting for me.

YWAR-May 7, 2009-Mendon Ponds Park

My birding records are a mess. I used to have a decent system-after each trip I'd write down everything I saw and where on an index card. Later, this would be compared with my photos and I'd neatly copy the data down into a notebook. An example of my entries would be:

December 11, 2008
Irondequoit Bay State Marine Park, 4:53-5:56 pm

• rock pigeons
• 7 long-tailed ducks (juv. + female) etc.

Lifers are indicated with red asteriks. I record the sex of as many individuals as I can and the number of each species seen that day if I can. I also record any other wildlife I see (apart from chipmunks and squirrels, that is): dragonflies, butterflies and moths, mammals, wildflowers, etc. I've gotten into the bad habit of just uploading my pictures to my computer and not writing down notes the same day of my trip. Ideally, I should take notes while I'm actually out birding, not later when I get home.

Alright, this catch-up game is going to be summarized instead of gone over in detail. Recent lifers include:

Island Cottage Woods in Greece, NY--May 12

• Wood Thrush

Island Cottage Woods in Greece, NY--May 18

• Northern Waterthrush
• Blackpoll Warbler
• Magnolia Warbler
• Black and White Warbler

Oxbow NWR in Harvard, Massachusetts--May 26

• Veery

I also added Blue-Headed Vireo and Red-Eyed Vireo to my life list at some point in May, I just need to "process" my photos and figure out when and where.

REVI-May 18, 2009-Island Cottage Woods

Schooling is Interfering with my Education

The following was written on May 11th:
(then forgotten about during the hectic last weeks of the quarter, and is finally now being posted)

I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with the well-known quote from Samuel Clemens, otherwise known by his pen name, Mark Twain-- "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Well, today marks the beginning of the last week of classes for me in this academic year. The sun is also shining and my camera battery is all charged and ready to go. Too bad I'm buried under piles of work.

Essentially, I'm starting to get slightly bitter that my schoolwork is keeping me from the birds. I keep hearing reports of wonderful rare birds in the area (a White Pelican is hanging around Braddock Bay) and it seems everyone else is out taking in all the sights and sounds of the gorgeous variety of warblers coming through.

Enough complaining, though. I did get a few lifers this past week, and I didn't miss out entirely on the sights and sounds of the warblers.

May 5 I visited Mount Hope Cemetery for the first time. I didn't stay too long, I found myself feeling slightly uncomfortable--I kept worrying about unintentionally being disrespectful, if that makes any sense. It was very beautiful, and I enjoyed the variety of wildflowers growing everywhere, but I knew I would feel much more at ease in the woods somewhere on a trail.

Apparently quite a few people have no problem being 100% intentionally disrespectful, as I found several empty beer and soft drink bottles strewn on the ground, or wedged in between tree branches. I always get upset and annoyed when I see trash thrown around in parks and in woods that are on public property, but I suppose the notion of people not caring about nature is something I'm exposed to more often than the notion of people being disrespectful of the dead. I do agree in part with the Buddhist philosophy that the body is simply a vessel while our souls inhabit this world, and that once we die, the body is nothing but an empty shell. However, I was not brought up believing this, and a large part of me still clings to the idea that although a loved one may no longer be in that body lying there, the body is to be respected and honored, as is its resting place.

Summary of that rant: Really people, really? You're going to go to a cemetery to have some beers with your buddies, then leave the empty bottles lying around the graves of other peoples' loved ones? WHY?!

Ok, done now, I promise. It's out of my system. Now, back to the birds. I continue to see lots of Yellow-Rumps, RCKIs, Yellow Warblers, and Palm Warblers. I always find delight in the breathtaking yellow of the Yellow Warblers, and I've been treated to several good views so far this Spring. I'm also seeing lots of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, and have gotten a couple fair looks at them from not-too-far-away, but not as many as I'd like. I find them to be very energetic, endearing little birds. I'm spending a lot of time looking straight up, and getting plenty of butt shots of all of these birds. At least I know for sure what the undertail coverts look like, right? *shrug* Alright fine--I see no benefit to butt shots.

Here's a series of photos of a mobbing incident I saw while I was at Mount Hope-

Take nothing but pictures (and maybe the trash of jerks who came before you), leave nothing but footprints.

Lifer in the Middle of Bio Lab

Today while I was in the woods on campus working on a group project for Field Biology with a couple of my classmates, I suddenly saw a Pileated Woodpecker fly to a nearby tree and land there. I freaked out--"oh my god, guys, come here, come here! I can't believe this, it's a Pileated Woodpecker....come here, guys! No, really, I want to show this to you, it's a really cool bird." I've been wanting to see one for a little while now, and I honestly can't believe that I saw one on campus while technically in-class. My classmates weren't as enthused as I was, and I don't blame them a bit. If I were hanging out with a geologist and he started excitedly pointing out kinds of rocks, I wouldn't really care. *shrug* Just not my thing.

Unfortunately, no pictures of the bird since I didn't have my camera on me, and it also flew away while I was trying to get my classmates to look up at the tree where it was. Oh well.

Despite the weather predictions for the day, I raced against the rain and tried to get in a little birding. Then, even when it did start to rain, I just went back to my apartment to re-outfit myself: plastic bag and a solo cup with the bottom cut out to protect my camera against the rain. This provided more proof that I have no inclination whatsoever toward engineering, but it kind of worked. I only needed it to work for a little while, anyway. I'm glad I went out (to Mendon Ponds) because I saw lots of sparrows and Yellow Warblers. I can now check White-crowned Sparrow off of my life list. I also saw Yellow-rumped Warblers, Brown Thrashers, and Chipping Sparrows.
I'm not sure if I'd call this a lifer or not--I can't remember if I've seen a Field Sparrow before and somehow forgot to check it off my list, or if I really haven't seen one until today. In any case, I got very close views of a couple of them today.

Take nothing but pictures (and maybe the trash of jerks who came before you), leave nothing but footprints.

Springing Forward

Tuesday was a day of kestrels, swallows, and phoebes. I went out to Burger Park and explored it. I've really only been in the little parking lot before. I was delighted with the grid of trails I found. It wasn't long before I remembered how impatient I can be when I'm trying to stalk the passerines hiding in the thickets and the trees. I'm not as stealthy as I think I am. After exploring the trails I laid down along the path near the parking lot to attempt to get some pictures of the swallows diving and swooping overhead. A few of the times I missed completely and got a picture of nothing but clear blue sky. When that happened, I'd make a funny little noise of frustration, reminiscent of childhood tantrums, and then just laugh and give up for the next couple of minutes. It was all too delightful to watch, how could anyone actually be annoyed?

I adore watching swallows dive and dip and plunge and swoop and swirl and sail and careen and soar and turn and otherwise rocket around. It just makes me smile. They look like freedom.
That day I also got a lot of good looks at Kestrels hover hunting. At the time, I had no clue that that was what I was watching, but a quick trip to the Hawkwatch (to pester one of the counters I knew would be there) answered all my newbie birder questions.

Yesterday wasn't as outstanding as was hoped for, but it was still a great day of birding for me. Three Sandhill Cranes flew by while I was at the Hawkwatch--first lifer of the day--the view wasn't outstanding, they were a bit far off, but it wasn't bad either.
Then someone pointed out a pair of Wood Ducks to me--second lifer of the day--they were also a ways off, but I got a couple pictures, and was thrilled that she had said something, since otherwise I would have missed it entirely!
The third lifer of the day was a Caspian Tern. I got good shots of it both yesterday and today.
After a while at the Hawkwatch one of the regulars I've been getting to know decided to go birding in the woods, turning the attention from raptors to songbirds. Things were slow up above our heads, so I joined her and she showed me Island Cottage Woods, which was a new birding spot for me. She showed me what Sapsucker holes look like: and put a name to a couple of plants I hadn't bothered to ID yet--May Apples and Trillium. Hermit Thrushes were everywhere. I suggest clicking on this first photo for a bigger look, and then admiring the camouflage this guy's got going for him Towards the end of our walk we got a special treat--a look at one that was only a few feet away, for maybe a good 45 seconds. It's always a thrill to get a close-up look at a bird, especially when it lasts for more than 2 seconds or so!
Today was a big day of migration: strong SW winds and hot. Lots of broad-wings. It was the first of "Bird of Prey Days" for BBRR, so there were tons of people there. There was an owl prowl in the morning, tours of the Hawkwatch, the Raptor Banding Station, and the songbird banding station, and presentations with live raptors (including a Golden Eagle) and live venomous snakes. Other presentations covered the endangered Short-Eared Owl in NY and the Raptor Population Index Project. Some of the day's pictures:
Some Great Egrets we had the pleasure of seeing today:
I got my lifer Golden Eagle today, and it honestly couldn't've been much better. It flew in overhead, getting closer and closer, but not too quickly (a lot of the birds today just got blown right over us in a blink because of the strong winds). Then it hovered above us and provided a fantastic photo op for everyone. Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

That wasn't the only lifer I got today while I was at the Hawkwatch, either. A few of the regulars around me suspected that a certain gull flying over the marsh nearby wasn't an ordinary variety. Then someone confirmed their suspicions and called out "Glaucous-winged gull!"

Tomorrow's the second day of BBRR's Bird of Prey Days. Here's a link to the schedule of events, if you're interested.

Take nothing but pictures (and maybe the trash of jerks who came before you), leave nothing but footprints.

Nets + Tours

This week has been a really exciting one for me and my birding "career" (I use the term here very loosely). When I checked my email on Wednesday (April 15) I had something from one of the RIT professors who runs the on-campus banding station (an "e-hello," as he put it). He had gotten my email address from the BBRR volunteer list I had just recently signed up on. He asked what I was interested in in terms of birding, I gave the poor guy a very lengthy answer, and he invited me to stop by the RIT banding station. Essentially, more networking with members of the birding community--and I'm thrilled!

I went to bed around 1:30 am on Thursday morning after making some cardinal-shaped cookies (they turned out edible, but quite plain. that's fine by me, considering it was the first batch of from-scratch cookies I've ever made by myself in my life) and had a lot of trouble actually falling asleep--I was just like a little kid on Christmas Eve.

Then the alarm was going off. The glorious alarm! *YAWN* okay, maybe not so glorious. I arrived down at the banding station by 8:30, and was greeted with waves as I parked my car from a few women who were already at work setting things up. Introductions were made and we set to work. I had no clue how exactly these nets were set up, but everyone helped get me acquainted with things, and I learned a lot. The first one went a little slowly (or at least, it seemed to) and then as more people arrived and we got into the swing of things, the pace really picked up.

I met a lot of new people (no, I don't remember everyone's names. I'm terrible with names. Terrible. Horrendous.) and I'm really excited to spend my Thursday mornings out there with them all, getting to know them and learning from them--I'll definitely benefit from their experience.

We did end up keeping a few of the nets open for a little while: a black-capped chickadee was recaptured, and we banded a song sparrow and a grackle. I started learning how to act as a scribe--recording wing length, tarsus length, mass, sex, year, etc.

That was pretty much it for the day (not to imply that all that isn't enough for one day), I went home tired and happy.

Friday night, as I was getting ready to go out with some friends, I got an unexpected phone call from someone who works with BBRR (Braddock Bay Raptor Research, person's unnamed because I prefer not to mention names unless I have permission). I had just signed up as willing to volunteer and given them my contact information a week prior after the Saw-whet Owl presentation. Apparently the size of the group going on the Hawk Banding Tour the next morning had more than doubled at the last minute, and they needed someone to help out with the tour. They knew I had just signed up and this was last minute, but could I help out? I said I'd give it a try, I was given the details, and then I started to get really excited.

The next morning I was pretty nervous. Would I be able to answer questions? I didn't have to lead the tour, just sort of keep half of the group occupied while the other half was at the banding station (not enough room for everyone all at once), but could I do that and make it look like I knew what I was doing? When I explained to one of my roommates and her boyfriend why I was nervous, he asked if I would be "backwards-walking person." I said yes, and laughed. I quite like that way of putting it.

Long story short, it went just fine. I didn't feel totally useless (thanks to everything I learned from the regulars at the Hawkwatch station, the Saw-whet Owl Presentation, and my guidebooks!) and I feel so lucky that an opportunity like that just fell right in my lap. I had a really good time, and yea, I feel like a cool kid now. B-)

Take nothing but pictures (and maybe the trash of jerks who came before you), leave nothing but footprints.

BBBO Set-up Tomorrow!

It's marked on my calendar in orangey-pink fluorescence, outlined in black: BBBO banding station set-up! It's tomorrow, people! Excited much? Yes.

I bought a cardinal-shaped cookie cutter from Wegman's especially for this. Trying to win their favor? You bet I am. Plus, they're cookies.....shaped like birds.

Yeah, I'm a little hyper right about now. I still need to do a little write up about my latest lovely day at Montezuma (March 31) because I had a number of lifers that day and got some decent pictures, some nice ones of a pair of Osprey getting their nest ready. Anyway, off to frantically prepare for the day of classes I have ahead of me.

Take nothing but pictures (and maybe the trash of jerks who came before you), leave nothing but footprints.