Halibut Point with Mom

Today's the first day of classes for Spring quarter, so I just got back to Monroe county (home sub 2) after being home (sub 1) in Massachusetts for a week for Spring break. Not much birding, mostly spent time with friends I don't get to see often. However, I did get to go out to Halibut Point State Park to see Harlequin ducks--and Mom even wanted to come along! :)Yea, I know, I look kinda goofy. But I was warm, and besides--who worries about how they look when they go bird watching?!?

It was windy and a bit chilly, but actually fairly warm for the time of year and the fact that it's right on the ocean. I was glad to have a chance to show Mom how nice it is to have a scope, since, you know, my parents are the ones who bought it for me for Christmas. :P Since it was so windy I had difficulty keeping both my camera and the scope steady, which meant that I didn't 100% positively identify my lifer Black Scoter until I reviewed my pictures later that day.
I want to make sure I give due credit to Mom for her birding that day, even if it means admitting my own goofs (cue up keyboard cat).....

I initially set up my scope to look at what turned out to be a buoy. As I was confirming the sighting of my first 2010 Buoy Bird--
Mom: "Isn't that a bunch of ducks over there?"
I turn and look, naked eye. "Yes, yup, those are the Harlequins. Nice work."
Oops. Turns out locking on to the first dark thing you see floating in the water may not be the best duck-watching policy. :P

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

SPEAK UP FOR STATE PARKS!

I cannot properly describe the nasty, hollow thing in my gut right now, although it most closely resembles fear, dread.

Please read this brief article.

I urge everyone who reads this to speak up for our state parks, whether you live in NY state or not. I am a registered voter in Massachusetts, but I will very likely remain in the Finger Lakes region after graduation, and begin to make my life here. I spend a great deal of time in government-owned parks--from town and county-managed property to the magnificent Letchworth State Park, and the thought of a single one closing, or diminishing in size, makes me shudder in horror.

NY isn't the only state considering or already planning to close state parks, as the article mentions. Even if your home state isn't considering making changes to its park system, I plead with you to write to your elected officials and to let them know how precious the parks are to you.

Our species continues to rape the natural world, let's face it. There are only tiny pockets that remain relatively unmolested. For the flora and fauna who dwell in these places, for future generations, and for yourself-- speak up!

Click here to email Gov. Paterson

In addition to what I have already asked of you, I ask one more favor: pass the word along. The birding community, I expect, will have a strong voice in this matter.

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

New Social Networking Site for Birders

Heard of WeLoveBirds.org yet? It's a social networking site for birders! NRDC and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology partnered up to create it--check it out :)

No, I'm not dead...just busy

No posts in November, a single post in December, nothing January, and now what is likely to be February's only post (although hopefully not). I have been insanely busy with schoolwork, and my birding--in terms of both the activity itself and networking with other birders--has suffered quite a bit.

I haven't seen a single Redhead or Canvasback all winter. That reflects on the amount of time I've had to go birding, not their presence, or rather, lack of presence. And apparently there are King Eiders in Buffalo, swimming around while I'm stuck doing a CS lab.....grrrr.....

Today as I got got back from class and was walking into my apartment I heard a bird singing, and after going inside to get my camera and snapping its pic, IDed it as a male House Finch. Memories of them singing from the trees in my backyard last Spring crept back into my mind, and I did my best to chisel the song a little bit more into my memory. I'm rubbish with IDing birds by voice and song, haven't had the time to work with my Birding by Ear CDs! Ahhh!

My feeders have been down all winter since the birds were waking my roommate up every morning, so I'm even more birding-starved. I'm sure a number of people can sympathize with me on this: I'm so much grouchier when I don't get to go birding at least 2 times a week!! I'm sure the frequency will vary, maybe some of you get grouchy if you can't bird everyday, or only if you can't bird 3 times a month, I dunno.

But it's okay, because I'm going to bird my brains out in the Spring, and it's going to be AMAZING. I've got it all worked out, you see. I did my best to sign up for evening classes for Spring quarter. That gives me the mornings and at least the beginnings of the afternoons to spend doing bird-related things: dawn to 6 hours after dawn I can be at the banding station/s, and then it's off to the hawkwatch platform! Hours upon hours of birding.....*bad imitation of Homer Simpson drooling*

I've been meaning to post for so long, and I have tons of homework to do for Chemistry, plus studying for Data Analysis (yay?), so I realize that this post is very all-over-the-place and thrown together, little or no proofreading, but blogging is informal, so why am I worrying about it?

The only two other little birding events I can think of were squeezed into my busy schedule:

• driving back to Rochester after spending a weekend in Utica, I saw 3 Bald Eagles at Montezuma NWR, almost drove my car off the road I was so excited (they were flying pretty low at first). Quick detour to the park with my trusty new scope and my camera, and I got some pics. Nothing worth posting, they were too far off, but I got some nice looks nonetheless. Although I do like to get pictures, as long as I can see them with my own eyes, hear them with my own eyes, I can't really complain.
• Walking back to my car after class, I heard a white-breasted nuthatch nearby. Not sure if I've seen one on campus before then, at least not in among the buildings (there's a patch of woods on campus, saw a Pileated there once). I admired him for a few minutes, pointed him out to a random stranger (who I assumed would find it odd that I was standing there looking up at a tree with a goofy smile on my face)

aaaaannd that's about it, although in the first week of January I did drag my brother out to Parker River in the bitter cold, but I'll have to post about that another time.

Finals week next week, perhaps I'll have more time to post, I need to tell you all about how I'm probably going to New Zealand this summer!! :O

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

Aspiring Ornithologist sees a MacGillivray's

Oh my--not a single post in November!

First things first--guess what? Changed my major.
Yup, after more than 3 years struggling along in RIT-NTID's American Sign Language--English Interpreting program, I finally threw in the towel. Had to admit that it's just not the career path for me. I love signing, but it comes a little slow to me--the other day I signed "year" instead of "hour" which, take my word for it, shouldn't be happening at this point. Pretty spazzy. Interpreting just isn't what I'm passionate about. Now, birds on the other hand.....

It may seem reckless and brash to base my new academic ambitions on something I've only been doing for about a year and a half, and maybe it is. But you know when you just.....know? Gotta go with the gut on this one. I can be down in the dumps like nobody's business, and if I happen to hear a nuthatch laughing a little way off, instant huge smile. Everything else fades into unimportance, momentarily falls to the bottom of the priority list. As some of my birding friends say--I've got the bug.

So, no more ASL major. Pending approval of my proposal, I'll be a Multidisciplinary Studies major. A committee has to look over the academic plan I've proposed for myself and give me the go ahead. I've never had to have anything approved by a committee before, has a very intimidating tone to it. I chose Multidisciplinary in an effort to salvage the credits I've already earned--don't want 3 years of college to go to waste! Essentially though, from here on out, I'll be focusing on Environmental Science and Biology.

It begins, folks. I'm goin' for it.

.....but none of that is really about birds, is it? At least not directly. Wouldn't you rather read about the MacGillivray's Warbler that graced Boston with its presence? Towards the end of my Thanksgiving break I finally realized that I should take a look at the rare bird sightings for MA--I haven't gotten into a good habit of checking regularly. Apparently there was a Barred Owl hanging out in town, as well as a MacGillivray's Warbler! So off into Boston I went. Drive to a T station, subway into town, foot from there. And what did I realize 5 minutes after I arrived on the Common? My camera battery was back home in the charger. D'OH! Briefly chatted with a couple of birders, easily identified by the binoculars around their necks. Apparently the Barred Owl hadn't been seen so far that day, so some of my frustration melted away. Long story short, I went back home and gave the trip a second try the next morning--making sure that my camera battery was in the camera this time.

I checked the Common again for the Barred Owl--no luck. However, it was a simply gorgeous day outside. Lots of adorable families--young couples with cute little tykes dressed in bulky red-and-green sweaters, trying to get the boys to stop chasing each other with willow branches so they can take the family photo for the Holiday card. Little babies in strollers all bundled up in puffy down-filled coats everywhere. It was just plain lovely. Great people watching time--a November day graced with blue skies on the Boston Common.

After a brief loop around the Common I set off for the Public Gardens, where the MacGillivray's Warbler was reported to be hanging out. Once there I simply looked for folks with binoculars. Found them pretty quickly. :P

gorgeous day at the Public Gardens

There was an Orange-Crowned Warbler keeping the MacGillivray's company, so I got 2 lifers that day! Got good pictures of both birds, too.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to stay around long because I had to drive back to school in Rochester that same day! (It's a 6-8 hour drive depending on weather, traffic, etc.)

Other than that birding expedition, I really haven't been out too much I'm afraid. Saw my first Long-tailed Ducks for this Winter the other day at Irondequoit Bay, but didn't stay long. I did miss those beauties, though. Really good to see them again. Can't wait for all the other Winter Anatidae favorites to arrive in greater numbers.

My brother convinced Mom to let us open a gift each early, so I already have two fantastic Christmas bird-related presents to spend time reading through: A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See it All by Luke Dempsey and the National Geographic Complete Birds of the World. I have a bunch of reading to catch up on for my Intro to Environmental Studies class, so I'm trying not to get too sucked in to A Supremely Bad Idea. I'm only a few pages in, and I like it quite a bit so far. Already made me laugh out loud. It's written by a Brit, so it's potential awesomeness is increased 10-fold. The National Geographic Birds of the World goes through every bird family on earth, and even just flipping through looking at the photos was mind-blowing. Curious about some of our more um, er, "interesting-looking" feathered friends? Try looking up some members of the Cotingidae family, like the Bare-necked Umbrellabird or the male Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. Also take a peek at the Wreathed Hornbill; it's very.....distinctive.

That seems to be quite enough for now, I'll just briefly mention that I did ask Santa to bring me a scope for Christmas, and I'll be participating in the Newburyport CBC again this year on December 27th! Visit Audubon.org to check out your local CBC's and to either join a field team or become a feederwatcher. Happy Holidays to everyone! And as I like to say.....

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

Pacific Loon and Feeder Visitors

I finally got my act together and signed up for the Genesee Birds List, which allows birders in the area to communicate with one another about rare sightings and various other hot topics. On the 25th the Genesee Birds List update in my email inbox informed me that there was a Pacific Loon at Hamlin Beach State Park. Unfortunately, I discovered this around 3 or 4 pm, but I immediately got my stuff in the car and headed out anyway.

I scanned the water near lots 3 and 4, where the loon had been reported to be earlier in the day. Now, I have a camera (18x optical zoom + 1.7x more zoom with my lens, so 30.6 x optical zoom overall?) and hand-me-down binoculars (10 x 25)--no scope. Trying to get a look at the loon that day, I made up my mind--definitely asking for a scope for Christmas this year. I had also been considering asking for snowshoes, but I think I'll get a lot more use out of a scope. Being a college student, I won't be able to get anything super-fancy. Some people have told me that if a scope is less than $1,000, don't even bother with it. In my case, I'm going to dismiss that advice.

Given my equipment, I didn't have much luck, but I did see another birder on the beach--with a scope--scanning the water. I approached him and asked if he was looking for the Pacific Loon. he was, and said that I couldn't be having much luck looking for it with a pair of binoculars. I wasn't, we chatted for a minute, I wished him luck, and started heading back towards my car. I hadn't gone very far when I heard some shouting, and turned around to see my fellow birder waving his arms at me and yelling "I've got it!"

I awkwardly fast-walked/ran back, holding my camera in one hand and my binoculars in the other so they wouldn't bounce all around. I got a peek through the scope at the bird, and it's now checked off my list. Always grateful to fellow birders who let me steal a peek through their scopes!!

I haven't heard any more complaints from my roommate about the birds waking her up in the morning, but she did say that in the springtime the noise can get "pretty intense." So, hopefully, I can keep my feeders up for the Winter. In the Spring I'll be getting plenty of birding and banding in, so I won't need the feeders so much to get my daily bird quota :-P

Yesterday there were 6 MODOs in the backyard (Mourning Doves). Also had a brief visit from a goldfinch. A female Downy is making regular visits, and a male Hairy even stopped by a few days ago! Below are pictures to compare the Downy woodpecker with the Hairy woodpecker. There are 3 characteristics that are generally used to distinguish the 2 species--overall size, bill length, and the presence of 2 black bars on the outer rectrices. (Alright, I guess it's really 4 characteristics: voice is also helpful in identification of these birds, but I'm still struggling with that, they sound almost exactly the same to me.) The black suet feeder in both pictures is the same, so the pictures make for good size comparison. The HAWO is pictured first, and the second, lower image is of the DOWO. The bars on the rectrices of the Downy aren't very clear from the picture, I'll try to get a better shot of them in the next few days.

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

.....and Happy Halloween!

Another BBBO video online!

Just wanted to let everyone know that there is now a second video on NPR's Science Friday website about BBBO! Enjoy!

http://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/watch/10248