Birding west

Another summer living the life of a bird bum, counting birds for a living for the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO). I'll be heading up to BCR17 in the Dakotas again this year, but first it's to Fort Collins to work in the office for a couple weeks doing landowner contacts and field season prep. So I packed up my car and hit the road west from NC. I had four days to make the drive, enough time to hit several good birding areas on the way west. So, I decided to do something different this year and head out through Arkansas and Oklahoma before cutting up into Colorado. From Chattanooga, i took US72 down through northern Alabama and Mississippi before hitting Memphis. A few quick stops here and there netted me some state birds in both: now it's AL 81 and MS 63! A ways to go still. I thoroughly enjoy "state birding" on road trips, as it gets me to places I likely wouldn't go otherwise and gives me something to occupy myself with: important if you are going at it solo. I made it all the way past Little Rock, AR that first day where I found a comfy interstate rest area to park my car at for the night that was near my first destination for the following morning: Holla Bend NWR.

What a great place it was. Located in a bend in the Arkansas River, the refuge contains a wealth of habitats including bottomland forest, agricultural, second-growth, and ponds. So as a result, you can imagine that bird diversity would be quite high, particularly in spring. I had 95 species in about 4 1/2 hours of birding, which made for a dang good morning of birding! Breeders were mostly back here, with Kentucky Warblers stealing the show- there were so many of them singing in bottomland areas that I just couldn't get away from them! Transient species were coming through as well, with Nashville Warblers being numerous and Tennessee Warblers here and there as well. I left here around 10:30 or so and decided to visit Mount Magazine State Park, which is about an hour or so west of the refuge. Mount Magazine State Park is home to the highest point in Arkansas, Signal Hill at 2753 feet, as well as an isolated population of Rufous-crowned Sparrows that make their living in the arid, rocky slopes above the bluffs. The wind was killer during my visit, and the sparrows didn't show for me. But was a great place to visit nevertheless, and they have some cabins at the top which would make for a nice weekend getaway.

View from Overlook Dr. at Mount Magazine State Park (note the people on top of the bluffs for scale)

I picked up I-40 again in Fort Smith, where I picked up my state Missisippi Kite before crossing the border into Oklahoma. It wasn't long before I had a run-in with an Oklahoma state trooper, who wasn't a fan of my "I'd rather be birding" license plate frame. Actually, he didn't care what it said- just that it covered up too much of my license plate. He was nice about it and was interested in my work, and simply asked me to remove the frame before being on his way. I then stopped at nearby Sequoyah NWR where Blue-winged Teal seemingly blanketed every wetland. The wind was high, and it was mid-afternoon so songbirds weren't really all that obvious. A couple of photogenic Scissor-tailed Flycatchers entertained me for a while though, and some of the taller trees in riparian areas were hosting some vocalizing Warbling Vireos and Great Crested Flycatchers.  A Cooper's Hawk made a quick buzz-by too.

 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in a swarm of gnats

One of hundreds of Blue-winged Teal present in the wetlands of Sequoyah NWR

From here, heading west on I-40 through one Indian Nation after another, I passed through Carrie Underwood's hometown of Checotah, OK and turned south to Lake Eufala State Park. I was hoping for a good selection of passerines here but with the wind still whipping and it being so late in the day, I didn't find much. I was excited about birding some areas around Oklahoma City the following morning and dozed off into a deep slumber as soon as I parked at the next rest area off I-40.

I was planning on birding Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City the next morning, and I arrived before dawn. But as soon as it starts to get light and the first robins and mockingbirds start to sing the skies just open up as if an act of God. Lightning constantly surrounding, and a torrential downpour- needless to say, i wasn't going to be finding any songbirds in this. What i did however, was bird my way around the lake while scanning and scoping from the car. A wet scope and binoculars was a small price to pay for the thousands of ducks, gulls, and shorebirds I found along the North side of the lake! Good shorebird diversity considering the conditions, with Least, Semipalmated, Western, Bairds, and Pectoral sandpipers along with a couple spotties. Around a hundred American Avocets were a treat. A big flock of roosting Snowy Egrets, a flock of Franklin's Gulls numbering in the thousands, and a scattered raft of a variety of waterfowl rounded out the highlights from here. I was cutting through on a nearby gravel county road when I spied a small flock of Harris's Sparrows playing along the fenceline. This is a bird that I don't get a chance to see very often, as I am seldom in their range, so I had fun watching and photographing these guys for a few minutes in the rain.

Harris's Sparrow (Oklahoma City, OK). Unfortunately, my camera doesn't do so well in the rain at 1600 ISO.

 

 It was then that I decided to get off the interstate for the rest of the day and cut up through rural OK and the panhandle so that I could see some new country and do some panhandle birding around Black Mesa, the summit of which highest point in Oklahoma at 4,973 feet. It is around Black Mesa that a number of western mountain birds inhabit their only location within Oklahoma. 

Driving for hours through central and western Oklahoma, I thought it fitting to listen to classical country radio with Johnny Cash playing as I pass through the scattered small cattle and farm town. The panhandle of Oklahoma is generally a whole lot of nothing. In fact, it is nicknamed "No Man's Land" since it was one of the last places to be homesteaded and settled during westward expansion. I made it to Boise City in relatively good time, although it didn't quite seem that way as I was driving along desolate highways that went 20 miles without a curve. Boise City is 22 miles southeast of Black Mesa State Park and the closest town to the park. When I arrived here, I stopped by the water treatment plant holding ponds where a few ducks and Wilson's Phalropes were piddling as well as a single Bonaparte's Gull. The town cemetary is an oasis of a few big trees in the middle of open space, and thus has potential to hold a few migrant songbirds. Here I found a handful of Yellow-rumped Warblers as well as an Orange-crowned Warbler and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher among the House Finches and random group of House Sparrows. 

Decrepit interpretive sign at a roadside picnic table along rural US270 in the OK panhandle

As I drive west from town, I began to climb ever so slightly and see less agricultural fields and more yucca, sage, and high prairie. Not surprisingly, the birdlife began to change as well. Loggerhead Shrikes became regular fixtures on telephone lines, and a kestrel would grace me with it's presence every few miles. A beautiful light phase Ferruginous Hawk perched on a power pole signaled that I was getting into the sort of habitat I was looking for. When I arrived in the park, I first went to the campground which is along a lush riparian corridor adjoining Lake Carl Etling. Canyons and bluffs, grassy with scattered brush, border the campground on its other sides. The campground area was very birdy, with a big flock of harlequin Lark Sparrows feeding in a lawn and a huge flock of noisy finches feeding in the area as well. They were mostly House Finches (at least one or two yellow variants) and American Goldfinches, but a handful of Lesser Goldfinches were sprinkled in as well. Other southwestern species present here were Vermillion Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, and Ash-throated Flycatcher. Lake Carl Etling was equally full of birds- scattered waterfowl and grebes, a flock of White-faced Ibis roosting in the lake, Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds feeding in the mud, and a nice group of shorebirds containing some Western Willets. 

Afterwards, I went up to the actual Black Mesa (NW of the state park) Nature Reserve, passing by the booming metropolis of Kenton- home to a one-room museum, a somehow-still-standing one room post office, and a few houses. Birds were quiet at Black Mesa, with a Canyon Wren and Golden Eagle being of the highest interest. It was late afternoon now and I needed to get on into Colorado, for I needed to be all the way up in Fort Collins around midday the next day. Looking at Google Maps, it appeared that caddy-cornering New Mexico along State Road 456 and cutting up to Branson Colorado would be quickest and easiest. Instead, that road turned out to be 17 miles of driving along a wet-in-places red dirt road down an entire canyon, and another 30 miles or so of paved nothingness. In 48 miles of driving, I saw exactly one other vehicle on the road. The clouds were ominous, and I was concerned that it would start raining and my little Corolla would become mired in the clay. I got lucky though, and eventually made it into Colorado. Branson seems like a renmant Dust Bowl community in the middle of absolutely nowhere (not sure how many people still actually live here)- it was another 45-50 miles to Trinidad from there. The next morning, I birded a couple spots around the south end of Colorado Springs before heading onto Fort Collins to begin another few months of work for RMBO. Here's to more birds and more adventures.

Israel: A brief summary and wrap-up

Over the rest of the week in Israel, we spent a couple days birding around the Eilat area where we enjoyed more raptor migration up in the mountains, shorebirds at K-20 salt ponds, and more Sylvia warblers then you could shake a stick at. A few notable birds stand out from these couple days, including a Cyprus Wheatear that we were able to refind at the edge of a date palm plantation just North of town. Cyrus Wheatears are very closely related to the more widespread Pied Whetear, but as you can guess they only breed on the island of Cyprus, in the Mediterranean Sea. Their entire population is estimated to be around 700-800 pairs, and since they winter in east Africa there's always a chance you could intercept one in southern Israel on it's way back North. A striking Citrine Wagtail feeding right outside our minibus at the K-20 salt ponds was sure a treat, as was a striking Pied Avocet that was hanging out with a flock of shelducks and three Eurasian Spoonbills on one of the dikes. A trip to the Eilat k-19 sewage ponds to look for Dead Sea Sparrows one morning paid off with a flock of 40 or so in a brushy ditch on the backside of the property.

 Me photographing the Cyprus Wheatear against the Edom Mountains of Jordan in late afternoon light (photo: Jonathan Meyrav)

Cyprus Wheatear

One of the main highlights of the trip for me was an all day trip to the Nizanna area, about 2-3 hours northwest of Eilat. Here, while standing on bed of the old Turkish Railroad, we watched a displaying male MacQueen's Bustard and an interested female for an hour. This is one of the most reliable and accessible spots to see this species in Israel, and we sure weren't disappointing. Bustards sure are funky birds...and we even got to see both birds briefly in flight (something seldom observed). I was lucky to manage some *very* distant photographs, as the birds were probably close to a half mile away. But heck, I'll take it! Cream-coloured Coursers were scattered around the desert here as well. None ever let us approach close, but even observing them from a distance it was clear that they are some of the most dapper looking birds you may encounter out here! In the Nizanna area they are fairly common, but can be very localized and pretty hard to find throughout most other areas in the southern part of the country.

Perhaps the ultimate highlight of the trip was a night trip up to the Dead Sea to look for Desert Tawny (Hume's) Owl and Nubian Nightjar. Both of these birds are quite rare in the region and can be sensitive to excessive disturbance; so organized trips are the best way to view these birds. About 35 of us, including some seasonal volunteers from the SPNI Eilat banding station and hawkwatch, boarded a charter bus for the long drive up. Somehow, I always luck out and get one of the front seats in each bus ride- even when trying to defer the privilege to others. This setup paid off when I was one of only two people to spot a jackal crossing the road. Jonathan Meyrav, the organizer of the Eilat Birding Festival and of the upcoming Champions of the Flyway event (more on that later) met us on-site at the Desert Tawny Owl location, near the village of Kalya. After about ten to fifteen minutes of playing tape, a bird came right in--about 20m from the group! What an experience, especially to happen to a gigantic group of 35. The Nubian Nightjars were about an hour South, and they didn't disappoint either. We got looks at a couple birds, including one sitting in a dirt road 30m away.This location was in the middle of an agricultural operation- but adjacent to one of the largest salt marshes remaining in Israel, which the nightjars require. It so happens that this marsh is also an active minefield- so we were limited to walking the roads adjacent to it and through the neighboring ag area.

Desert Tawny (Hume's) Owl

I rode back to Eilat that night with Jonathan as well as a British birder, Nick, instead of taking the charter bus. We talked birds for a couple hours and I learned a lot about the Champions of the Flyway event coming up the following week- a "big day" competition in southern Israel with over 30 teams participating from all over the world. Teams from locations as diverse as Spain, South Africa, USA, Finland, and Palestine all competed. The event is designed to raise money to fight the illegal slaughter of songbirds in Cyprus, and it's raised ~ $50,000 each of it's first two years. $100,000 USD can certainly go a long way in these conservation efforts!

A fantastic trip with new friends made from the US, Britian, and Israel. I definitely will be back- and when I do, I'll have to make it across the border to Petra. Maybe I will volunteer as a bander or hawkwatcher this coming spring...we'll see what life will hold

An Introduction to Israel

After a long trans-Atlantic flight from Newark to Tel-Aviv, I have now made Israel a reality. My dad and I stayed the first night in the Beachfront Motel, a hostel-type lodging by the Tel-Aviv beachfront promenade, and therefore spent our first afternoon in Israel exploring the Tel-Aviv beaches and walking down to old city Jaffa. Although it was near elbow-to-elbow pedestrian traffic at times, historic Jaffa was remarkable and well worth the walk down. Hooded Crows and Laughing Doves everywhere, and a few Palestinian Sunbirds and Graceful Prinias around the old city of Jaffa. There is a bar and grill next to our motel called Mike's Place, so of course I had to go check it out. After several Israeli beers (Goldstar is a great and cheap lager, and would highly recommend it- reminds me of Yuengling) and some new Israeli friends I hit the sack. Tomorrow morning we are to meet up with a small group to head down to Eilat for the birding festival.

Tel-Aviv waterfront

 

 Jaffa waterfront

On the way down to Eilat we drove through new Jerusalem, which was fantastic- unfortunately we had no time to stop and do the usual touristy sightseeing. However, we were able to see across the adjacent border fence into the West Bank as we were just outside of town. Continuing east, we stopped at a rest area across the valley from Jericho, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, and started picking up the first new birds of the trip- Arabian Babblers, Little Green Bee-eaters, and Black Storks to name a few. Another quick stop around some farm fields produced numerous White and Yellow (feldegg) Wagtails feeding on large compost piles, Spur-winged Lapwings, Desert Finches, and a few Sand Partridges. We then began heading south along the Dead Sea, where the scenery is positively stunning. Looking across the sea, the mountains of neighboring Jordan are easily visible. The Dead Sea is up to 1/3 solid matter and the most saline body of water in the world, where no life can exist. No insects, no fish, no anything. However, the adjoining mountains provide excellent opportunities to view passing raptors as well as resident Fan-tailed Ravens. We stopped along the ride at a mountaintop lookout where we enjoyed some spectacular scenery as well as White-tailed and Isabelline Wheatears and three raven species. As we were on a tight timetable we didn't have long to spend, so we began to continue on South to Eilat through the Great Rift Valley. Passing through a construction zone, we were treated to a Hyrax sitting out on a rock by the road shoulder- if a marmot and a squirrel had offspring, they would look a bit like this!

 Rock Hyrax

We arrived at Eilat early in the afternoon, and were surrounded by mountains while driving through the valley- the Eilat Mountains to the west, and the imposing Edom Mountains to the east in Jordan. Our birding group is based at the Agamim Hotel in Eilat, an upscale hotel with a palm-lined wrap-around pool in the courtyard! The hotel also has a restaurant and two bars (!)- with fantastic food. Eilat is the "Vegas" of Israel, along the edge of the Red Sea with abundant nightlife, an upscale theme park, many diving opportunities, and hordes of tourists- hence the abundance of fancy hotels here. After settling into the hotel we went to the KM20 salt ponds on the north edge of town for some late afternoon birding. Coming in, a small group of Dorca's Gazelles greeted us along the entrance road. A flock of close to 1000 Greater Flamingos spend the winter here in the salt ponds every year, and there were there today as well! What a sight. They look so funky when flying- with their necks and feet outstretched while flapping constantly with their weak-looking wingbeats. Slender-billed Gulls were abundant here, the adults having all dark bills while those of the immatures appear yellowish, as were Black-winged Stilts- reminiscent of the Black-necked Stilts found in the US. A variety of Eurasian shorebirds were hanging around these pools too- Common Redshanks, Common Greenshanks, Common Ringed Plovers, Little Ringed Plovers, a Grey Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, and flocks of Little Stints. Around 50-60 lifers already!

Greater Flamingos flying w/ Jordan in the background

Dorca's Gazelles

The first full day of birding we began at the Eilat Birding Center- a preserve/research station located just outside of town that is ran through the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and is well-renowned for its diverse birding opportunities. We visited the banding station where we were treated to several different species of old world warblers in the hand for close study- Eurasian Reed-Warbler, Savi's Warbler, Sedge Warbler, and Sardinian Warbler to name a few. This being my first birding trip out of North America, old world warblers are a thing to be reckoned with. Several distinct genera, but those within each genus can look almost identical to the untrained eye. I have a feeling I will still be trying to sort these out from each other by the end of the trip! However, there were other great birds here that weren't as confusing to ID- Eurasian Penduline-tits, two Bluethroats, and a Wryneck! Wryneck was one of the birds I was most looking forward to seeing on this trip- in the woodpecker family, it looks like a cross between a woodpecker and a nuthatch- and strikingly patterned with browns and grays. Good scope views, but only some distant ID-quality photos. They recruit several volunteers, international and local, each year to help out at the banding station here- now that would be fun and a great way to expand my ID skills of a lot of these birds!

Savi's Warbler in-hand

About mid-morning the raptors get up and start to catch thermals so we headed up to the Eilat Mountains to catch some of the migration. The mountains here by Eilat are a crucial passageway for raptors heading north in the spring- the vast majority are Steppe Buzzards, but good numbers of Steppe Eagles, Short-toed Eagles, and Black Kites, among others, are present as well. On a good day in mid to late March, hawk counters here can record over 50,000 Steppe Buzzards passing over in one day. We spent about an hour watching this morning and recorded around 1000 Steppe Buzzards as well as multiple Egyptian Vultures, Steppe and Short-toed Eagles, and Black Kites. White and Black Storks also kettle in the thermals and we saw around a hundred Black Storks passing north here as well.

Common "Steppe" Buzzard migrating

 
Calling this post finished for now- more on Israel coming soon!

Longspur road trip

Ever since Virginia's first Smith's Longspur appeared in the Shenandoah Valley two weeks ago I have been itching to get up there. A four and a half hour drive from Southern Pines, but it would be a life bird for me- plus, I have never been up to that area and have been wanting to check it out for years. After having to postpone twice because of weather, I finally was able to head up there this weekend along with my dad. Upon arriving at the Shenandoah Valley Airport in Weyers Cave, we almost immediately found the bird with the direction of a handful of birders who were already present. Several inches of snow still on the ground made it stand out nicely. For the 45 minutes we watched it, it usually stuck close to one or two nearby Horned Larks and was feeding on the grassy/muddy shoulder of the road leading to the airport parking lot. It was also seemingly oblivious to the group of birders about 50 feet away. Once when flushed, it gave great looks of its white outer retrices in flight and also did it's "rattle" call a couple times- to my ear, drier-sounding than that of the other longspurs.

 Smith's Longspur

 Shenandoah Airport- with Longspur-chasing birders in the background 

We didn't make it up to nearby Harrisonburg to look for the continuing Trumpeter Swan, but instead spent some time photographing the snow-covered rural farmlands in the area and toured around the UVA campus in Charlottesville. This campus has a robust history involving Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe- three of our early presidents. I was hoping to spend some extended time hiking and exploring Shenandoah National Park, but the 5 inches of snow still on the ground and unplowed park roads resulted in the gates being closed. Oh well , this is an excuse to visit some other time in the near future as well- perhaps when warbler migration is in full force in the spring!

Snow-covered farm  in Weyers Cave, VA

UVA campus chapel

Some winter birding highlights, and a reaffirmation

It's been over three years since my last real activity on the blog. With finishing up my BS degree and giving graduate school a stint, I guess I never really found the motivation to keep up-to-date posts on here even though I traveled fairly extensively and found numerous adventures during that time. However, now that I am out of school and embarking upon my quest for happiness, knowledge, fulfillment, and purpose I feel that I should transform this blog into a regularly-updated, helpful selection of writings that will inspire other birders, conservationists, and travelers alike.  Of course, birding will always stay a primary focus of my writings and musings but I look forward to expanding out to touch on other topics and experiences as well.

    To look back on the last few months, here are a few birding highlights from my winter travels in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Snow Bunting

    I spent a blustery day birding around Chattanooga, TN on December 7, 2014  in hopes of finding some good waterfowl on the surrounding lakes. My morning was going well after finding a super-late Osprey soaring over a local wetland and a handful of Common Goldeneye hanging out in their usual wintering spot in Chickamauga Lake at Booker T. Washington State Park. A dawn vocalizing Virginia Rail and Sora at Standifer Gap Marsh, along with a near sweep of all expected dabbling ducks, provided some good county birds. However, the real surprise of the day came when I stopped at Chickamauga Dam. Windy and blustery, I wasn't having much luck with distant waterfowl on the lake and was about to leave when a local birder, Tommie Rogers, pulled up. We had met briefly before, and engaged in some serious birding yik yak. About 15 minutes later, we caught a glimpse of a small bird fly in front of her parked Prius and land on in the rocky scree slope on the bottom of the dam. Curious, I peered over the edge to get an ID on the little guy. Lo and behold, a Snow Bungint was sitting on top of a rock about 20 feet away! I quickly got my camera out of the backseat and snapped a few documentary photos- surely this was quite an unusual bird for TN in general, particularly this southeastern corner of the state. Tommie and I got to watch it for about 45 seconds before it took off and flew over the lake to the NE, not to come back. She quickly got the word out to some local birders who arrived in ten minutes or less. But despite much searching, and subsequent visits by locals to nearby shorelines, it was never relocated. I soon learned that my photos of the bird would constitute one of very few photographed records from the state, and perhaps only the first or second accepted record from southeastern Tennessee. Cool!! And on the way back to Knoxville, I had to stop and enjoy the spectacle of the Sandhill Cranes at Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge again. I would soon revisit Hiwassee yet again in January with my parents. 5000+ cranes sure is an impressive sight to see!

Sandhill Cranes from January, 2014 (can you spot the Snow Geese?)

    Of course, I would do my usual round of NC Christmas Bird Counts in December. This year, I believe I did 7 (around my running average). Without running into too much detail, a few of many avian highlights were self-found Eared Grebe (Pamlico Co. CBC), Mottled Duck, Razorbills, and 5 Parasitic Jaegers (Southport CBC; Fort Fisher). It's a treat to bird with Ricky Davis and Jeff Pippen every year on the Southport count- Ricky has some of the sharpest eyes I've ever seen, and they are both great company. Matt Daw and I did our regular CBC rounds through Cape Hatteras (where we found 4 of the 5 continuing Snow Buntings, but the Lapland Longspur was nowhere to be found), Bodie-Pea Island, Lake Mattamuskeet, and Alligator River NWR again this year. Birds were plentiful as always, but we had no super-rarities here this year. Rainy and/or windy weather at Lake Mattamuskeet and Alligator River made viewing conditions difficult at times. We did our usually territory of Gull Rock Gamelands for the Mattamuskeet count again this year, and were joined my Kyle Kittleberger and Ed Corey. Despite a very wet day, we absolutely blasted away our previous high count for the territory with 105 species between us (our previous high was about 96 I believe), all before 2pm on a dreary, wet day. 

    It was also good to catch up with an old friend, Casey Setash, and do some birding around Fort Fisher NC for a day while she was on her way home from a productive jaunt to south FL. We found some solid birds, including killer views of all 3 marsh sparrows in the same patch (you don't get that too often!!) and a few lifers for Casey along the way. 

    One last highlight from December/January was a day jaunt up to the NC/VA border. Nothing special bird-wise that day, but it is significant in the sense that I then had submitted at least one Ebird checklist from each of the 100 NC counties. Next up, tackling my goal of achieving 10,000 NC County Ticks! That may take a while longer. For the non-birders reading this, total county ticks simply refers to the sum of the number of bird species one has detected in each county. So, when referring to NC total county ticks, the sum of ones bird lists from each NC county is therefore ones NC total county ticks. Trivial, maybe...actually, definitely. But, keeping track of statistics such as this (actually, Ebird does it automatically for you) can provide motivation to explore and bird areas of the state that one normally wouldn't venture near.