Rio Grande Valley: Day 2

Another fun and exhausting day.  As I type it is 9pm and I could have gone to sleep an hour ago.  Today included stops at Estero Llano Grande State Park and Bentsen Rio Grande State Park.  The group's favorite location was Estero Llano.  We ended up joining a bird walk that took off from the visitor center around 8:30am.  Steve and Susan, our leaders, were extremely helpful.  Others in the group turned out to be wonderful birding companions.

Bentson was a little disappointing.  We did not see a lot of birds in general, but I was able to add Black Phoebe and Loggerhead Shrike to the list.  Here are a few pics from today.  The lighting for photos continued to be poor, but tomorrow will hopefully be sunny and 70 degrees.  Going up river to Falcon Dam.  Once again...I can't wait!  Happy birding.

Green-winged Teal

White-tailed Kite

White-tailed Kite

Least Grebe

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Not a pile of leaves.  Find the Common Pauraque

Anhinga

Green Kingfisher

Tropical Kingbird...probably.

American Coot

Plain Chachalaca

Eastern Screech Owl

Rio Grande Valley: Day 1

Today we visited three spots in South Texas: South Padre Island, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, and Oliviera Park.  I added 16 birds to the Big List.  Here are some pics from today's adventure.  Enjoy!

Green Heron

Black-necked Stilt

Black Skimmers...and others.

Reddish Egret

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Great-tailed Grackle 

Willet

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican

Tricolored Heron

Northern Mockingbird

Laughing Gull

Can you tell Dad likes Brown Pelicans?

Roseate Spoonbills

Eurasian Collared Dove

Black-crested Titmouse

Clay-colored Thrush

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall...I Am a Birder

Ted listens for a response to my Barred Owl call

I have to admit, before this year, I didn't do a lot of winter birding.  I usually got out during peak migration times.  Ducks were big for me because my wife especially enjoyed birding when they were coming through.  Although they migrate in the colder months, we didn't really get out of the car to look at much else.  Not a lot of extensive hiking going on.

Spring migration, of course, was the main event.  Warblers, warblers, and more warblers.  The migration of song birds in Northwest Ohio is often an epic occurrence.  People who weren't birders before frequently find themselves hooked after a few May days near the migrant traps on Lake Erie.  I was fortunate enough to grow up in the area and have enjoyed many spring days at Magee Marsh.

Although I birded sparingly throughout the summer and fall in the past, winter seems to have been the time of year where I hung up the nocs (I'm not a huge fan of people calling them bins.  My 2 year old calls them nocs and I find that abbreviation for binoculars to be the cooler choice between the two options), and hid away from the elements until the Springish duck migration started up.

This year was different.  Doing a Big Year forced me to get out and bird no matter what the temperature was.  And you know what?  I loved it.  The first part of this year was an eye opening experience.  I never knew I could see Yellow-rumped Warblers all year long in our area.  A Golden-crowned Kinglet on March 1st was crazy.  Once I got plugged in to eBird I began looking over the data, amazed at what I was missing during the winter months.  In January of this year I got some ducks, some Pine Siskins, and a Rufus Hummingbird.  A hummingbird...in January!  Once again, after a little reading, I learned that our best chance for seeing a Rufus in Northwest Ohio is when it gets a little colder.

We wish you a very serious, Merry Christmas

So now it is winter again, and I have found myself enjoying the season immensely.  Although I have only picked up a handful of new birds in November and December, I have reveled in helping others get some life birds during this time.  When I joined some of the Woodlawn Warriors back in November at Secor Metropark to get Julie Heitz her first Pileated Woodpecker, I sensed it would be a special day.  Not only did we get a spectacular view of one in flight, but we had a clean sweep of all seven of the likely woodpecker species.  And then, just a few days ago, I helped my Dad and my aunt pick up Greater White-fronted and Cackling Goose at Independence Dam State Park near Defiance, Ohio.  Although my dad doesn't keep a list, he was clearly happy to see something he had never seen before.

Of course there are days like today, where you go out birding in the rain and you don't see anything new or particularly exciting.  I joined the Woodlawn Warriors for their Friday morning walk today.  We didn't have a terrible list.  It was just ok.  Patty Toneff, the associate director at Woodlawn, was almost apologetic to me about the lack of a spectacular species.  "Hey, I'm just happy to be birding.  Some of my best days birding have been on cold, rainy days.", I told her.  My response prompted Patty to call me a true birder.  Yeah...I think I am now.  After 20 years of casually watching birds, I have graduated to a bird brain status during the course of this year.  Even if I don't see anything amazing, I'm still just happy to get outside and watch birds.

One of the great things about my Big Year is that I have been more aware of my surroundings.  I have never noticed the seasons change in such a methodical fashion.  It made me wonder, "Have they always done this?"  Life seemed to slow down because I was trying to pay attention to every detail.  Of course, now that it's almost over, the year seems to have flown by.  Very strange.  Birding, as it turns out, is just another way to gage what season it is.  Kind of funny actually.  If someone had no sense of time and temperature, they could still tell what season it was by watching the birds.

One disappointment for me this winter was not having the opportunity to take part in the Toledo area Christmas Bird Count.  The event was supposed to take place on December 15th, but due to inclement weather, had to be postponed until the 30th.  Unfortunately, I will miss the big day because I will be flying home from Texas upon the completion of my trip to the Rio Grande Valley.  Don't get me wrong.  I am psyched about the trip.  It just would have been nice to take part in the Toledo count because so many of the wonderful people I have met this year who have helped me find birds and learn more about them, will be taking part in count.  I wish you all good luck, good weather, and even better birds.  Thanks for reading and happy birding!

Ross's Goose in Delta

I have said that the Delta Reservoir is nearly devoid of life.  Rarely do I see something extraordinary there, but today was an exception.  On my way home from work I stopped by the reservoir, and to my surprise there was a single Ross's Goose hanging out with a large flock of Canada Geese.  Nice bird for Fulton County Ohio.

Yo Ho Ho and a Bag of Popcorn

Alfred Hitchcock eat your heart out!

Pelagic.  The word comes from the Ancient Greek for "freezing birders on a boat."  Actually it means "open sea", so the trip that a handful of birders took yesterday in Cleveland was more like a diet pelagic.  Choppy conditions out on mighty Lake Erie prevented the Holiday ("My was she yar!") from venturing beyond the break wall.  That did not prevent us, however, from seeing some really cool birds.

Personally, I needed one bird to hit my pre-Texas goal of 275.  I would get it, but I needed to work for it.

One of many

Before we even boarded the vessel (I'm going to try and squeeze in as much nautical terminology as possible), I was already impressed with the numbers of Ring-billed Gulls that were congregating in the channel.  These are sea gulls I thought.  These are the stereotype.  Some call them garbage birds.  However bad a rap Ring-billed Gulls get, it is an impressive sight when you see an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 in four hours of birding.

As we made our way down the Cuyahoga towards the lake, a few nice but not necessarily unexpected birds made an appearance.  We had a beautiful male Wood Duck, an adult Cooper's Hawk, and...gulls.

Bonaparte's Gull (my favorite)

Once out of the channel we turned west towards Edgewater Park.  The marina harbored Red-breasted Merganzers, Hooded Merganzers, and one Pied-billed Grebe among other species.  As we headed back east, we got our first look at a Snowy Owl.  We would end up seeing three individuals on the trip, and they certainly didn't mind posing for the birders who instantly turned into the paparazzi.

As we continued on the safe side of the break wall, we picked up more wonderful winged creatures.  A Ruddy Duck delighted many by flying more than a few feet.  A few Bufflehead streaked by.  I spotted a Bald Eagle circling far out beyond the break wall.  Great Black-backed Gulls successfully made all the other gulls seem as small as sparrows.  Oh yeah, we saw those two other Snowy Owls.

After two hours at "sea", I was beginning to get a little antsy.  When I signed up for this trip, I thought I could potentially add up to 5 birds if I really got lucky.  Now, the trip was half way over and I hadn't added a single bird to the big list.

Snowy Owl

These thoughts vanished from my head almost as fast as they had cropped up there.  The reason?  "Purple Sandpiper on break wall!"  I saw it fly.  It disappeared.  I had seen a shorebird but I didn't get a great look.  Was that it?  Was that the only shot I would get at a new bird?  "There it is again!"  The bird flew up from the rocks and towards the bow of the boat.  I was in the stern, and again, all I could say for sure was that I saw a darker colored shorebird.

The boat chugged along, and few moments later the Purple Sandpiper was relocated.  This time I did not let it get away.  Actually, the bird just decided to be very cooperative and I was even able to get a cruddy, but diagnostic photo of it.  Bird #275!  The notable birds were rounded out by the Cleveland Brown Pelican that has been hanging out for months in the rock and roll town.

Purple Sandpiper

As it has been throughout my Big Year, I have found that meeting new people is just as rewarding as seeing new birds.  This trip was a good mix of characters.  There was Cleveland birder extraordinaires Chuck Slusarczyk and Donna Owen.  Great photographers and fun to talk to.  I met a pair of archaeologists named Dale and Brittney who were relatively new to birding.  Dale picked up 10 life birds on the trip and is planning on checking out Magee Marsh next spring for The Biggest Week festival.  Hope to see you guys there!

The real treat for me was riding on the BSBO bus with three knowledgeable, intelligent, and generous people.  Mark Shieldcastle is a founder and current Research Director for BSBO.  I have met him a few times, and he always impresses me by how willing he is to talk at length about the findings he has gleaned from his research.  I talked with him about my upcoming trip to the lower Rio Grande Valley, and he told me that I had to go to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.  I had previously decided to skip Laguna due to time constraints until I talked with Mark and he through a wrench into my plans. SHIELDCASTLE!!!  Anyways, it was a blast talking to him.

The other two BSBO peeps included Aimee Weidner and Kelly McKinne.  Aimee is an Education and Outreach Specialist, and Kelly is a naturalist who has volunteered with BSBO for years in addition to working with the Black Swamp Conservancy.  Aimee was lucky enough to pick up 3 life birds.  She was especially excited about the Snowy Owls.

Where Aimee was more quiet, Kelly was a talker (It takes one to know one).  We obviously talked birds, but we also spent a good 15 minutes discussing the recent Detroit Tigers trades.  Baseball and birds.  Story of my life.

The number of birds I see this year continues to decrease in personal importance.  The number itself is not important, but doing a Big Year has pushed me to do things I probably would not have done otherwise.  It's allowed me to meet wonderful people and really enjoy life in general.  With only 23 days remaining, it's hard not to feel a little down about it ending.  Come the 1st of the year I plan on throwing myself into job hunt overdrive.  Until then however, I will enjoy the birds.  Happy birding!