DOAS Sanctuary and Hawk Watch on Franklin Mountain

  Thursday was a very “birdy” day at the Audubon Sanctuary. The hawkwatch alert had said that it would probably be the best day of the week for spotting raptors migrating through, but it wasn’t just raptors that were moving through. The rain storm that we’d had the previous couple of days apparently had caused a fallout of birds. Birds were everywhere, especially warblers. I couldn’t decide whether to go up to the hawkwatch as planned or just stay down in the field and practice my skills at identifying confusing fall warblers. Who knows when I’d find this many fall warblers together again. 

  I made my way up the hill stopping every few steps to check out birds hiding in the goldenrod or among the leaves of a tree. At the hawkwatch birds were flying everywhere. Turkey vultures sailed through the sky and chatty ravens floated on the air. I don’t think there was ever a moment when there were not ravens in the air. At one point I counted a grouping of sixteen. 

  There were plenty of small birds in the trees so when the number of raptors going through slowed down I was able to scan around and look at these small birds. A ruby crowned kinglet flew up onto the stem of a plant directly in front of me. It flew away then a black-throated green warbler   flew onto the stem. Phoebes were flycatching. A towee was calling. Flocks of yellow-rumped warblers were all around us. Bluejays flew from treetop to treetop. A brown thrasher flew into a bush and common yellow-throated warblers flitted about nearby. 

  The steady northwest wind was perfect for pushing the birds southward. We spotted a good variety of raptors, bald eagles, sharp-shinned and cooper’s hawks, kestrels, merlins and red-tailed hawks. It was a banner day for osprey. We counted around a dozen. Canada geese were also on the move and many flocks passed by us. 

  Walking back down to the car to leave I stopped to look at the birds in the bushes and goldenrod again. There was a huge flock of white throated sparrows. I’ve been studying the fall warblers. My hopes were high of finding something I haven’t already been able to easily identify, but the birds are still confusing. I’ve got to figure out how to tell the difference between birds like a fall cape may and a yellow-rumped warbler.

  One of the other hawkwatchers showed me a baby snapping turtle he had found. I wondered if a turtle that small could still give a finger a good bite, but I wasn’t about to find out. Down by the pond a tiny wren was flying around among the reeds. I tried to make it out as something other than a house wren, but I couldn’t see enough of it to tell. All in all I had twenty seven species of birds for the day.

  I wondered if the birds would still be there tomorrow. The predicted east wind didn’t bode well for raptor spotting, but if the warblers were still there it seemed like a good idea for me to go up for an hour or so just to check out the warblers.

Who's Watching Who

  I’m not a morning person and I suspect that I miss seeing a lot of birds because I look for them too late in the day. Circumstances had me up by the Susquehanna Greenway bright and early Monday morning and so I thought I’d take advantage of the early hour to do a little bird watching along the trail. There are a lot fewer local birds around as many of them have already left for warmer climates, but if I was lucky maybe I’d find a few of the less frequently seen birds from up north which were currently migrating through on their way south.

  As I walked down the trail I was not able to catch anything more than a quick glimpse of a bird before it would fly off into the wild blue yonder making it impossible to identify what it was. It looked like it was going to be one of those days when the birds saw me and took off before I saw them. I’d heard a kingfisher and a blue jay calling, but I had yet to see anything more than these momentary glimpses of birds fleeing away from me.

  There was very little wind blowing. I prefer windless days when the trees are all leafed out because the birds are easier to spot when there is no wind. When the leaves on the bushes are perfectly still I’m more apt to notice a few of them rustling where a bird is hopping along a branch. If I focus there long enough with my binoculars hopefully the bird will pop up out of the leaves for a few seconds so that I can get a look at him.

  A common yellow throated warbler hopped up onto a branch near me alarmed by my presence. Common yellow throats seem to be everywhere right now. I can almost count on seeing one or two when I’m bird watching. During breeding season they are a little yellow bird, but now their feathers have turned much browner.

  There was another bird flitting about in the undergrowth. When I got my binoculars focused on him I saw he had two white wing bars, was gray on top and bright yellow underneath. I could think of only one bird that looked like that. “Now let me see those dark stripes on the flanks,” I thought as I angled for a good view and yes, there they were…a magnolia warbler. What a pretty little bird.

  I could hear the sound of something pecking on a tree nearby then “Peek!” Ah ha, there had to be a hairy woodpecker around here someplace… and there he was at the top of that tree.

  Further down the trail bulldozers and backhoes at the nearby landfill were making loud noises. I doubted I’d find any birds in that area with that racket going on and except for a killdeer on the island in the river there weren’t any. If the birds weren’t staying there because of the noise neither was I and I was happy to go back down the trail where it was quieter.

  Returning to where I was able to hear the birds once more, I thought I heard a shorebird calling. I moved to a clearing by the river to see if I could find it. I didn’t see any shorebirds, but I caught a glimpse of a large brown bird sailing through the treetops, a raptor of some kind, that disappeared into the trees. I thought it was gone, but then the bird rose up above the trees and circled around coming back overhead. It was a red-tailed hawk. The hawk sailed through the air along the ridge of the hill in front of me. Suddenly a dozen crows flew up from the trees below.  They made swooping passes at hawk probably hoping to drive the hawk out of the area, but the hawk just seemed to take all this activity in stride and continued circling lazily overhead until it disappeared behind the hill.

 As I proceeded along the trail I observed three cedar waxwings sitting in a tree top just above my head while further back in the bushes a vireo was flitting around. As I watched the vireo the waxwings above me never moved from their perch. It seemed odd that they would allow me to be so close to them. I noticed that one of the birds was covered with puffs of downy white feathers, a good indication that it was probably a fledgling and as such might not be able to fly very well. The other two were most likely its dutiful parents staying nearby. I focused my attention back on the vireo. If only it would come out from behind the leaves. I thought I saw a dark line through its eye. I always assume a vireo is a red eyed vireo if I see a line through the eye, but now I know that isn’t always the case. This bird lacked that sleek look that I associate with a red-eyed vireo. In one glimpse it looked like it had a trace of yellow near the rump and in another glimpse maybe some more yellow near the head. Darn bird, he wouldn’t hold still. He stayed deep in the bush and when he did get into a position where I was able to get my binoculars focused on him he’d move somewhere else so I had to refocus my binoculars all over again. I caught another glimpse of what appeared to be an olive green back. He stuck his head out of the bush for a few seconds and from what I could see he didn’t have red eyes. Now where did he go? I searched around looking for the bird in the bushes and up in the tree branches. Oh there he was. Good grief! He’d been sitting on a branch right in front of me watching me all this time while I was searching for him. I lifted my binoculars one more time to try and identify him and he flew off for good. Well as I said earlier it was one of those days when the birds seemed to be doing a much better job of people watching than I was doing of watching them.

Charlotte Creek

Today I returned to my favorite birding place, Charlotte Creek,  to see if I could find some new birds I haven’t already seen this year. Once in a while something will surprise me there, but there was nothing that I didn’t already have on this year’s list. I do love to walk around there this time of year when the dreaded multiflora roses are in bloom. Enjoying their lovely fragrance is nice. Trying to walk around in the areas where they have become overgrown is quite another thing- ouch!ooch! eeech!.

The little ruby throated hummingbird sat, as he usually does, at the top of the dead tree surveying his domain as I got out of the car. I could hear a lot of birds, but they were staying hidden. The first time I went around the loop I saw very little. Usually I’ll walk around twice if the first time doesn’t produce anything. The second time around was the charm. A chestnut sided warbler flew onto a bare branch just above my head and sang “Pleased, pleased, pleased to meet you over and over. I saw only one catbird although I could hear other catbirds singing from inside the rose bushes. Off in the distance I heard the song of a veery spiraling downward and a male redstart sat on the top of a bush singing. 

There was a puddle in the path that the birds were using as a communal bath. I think if I had set up a chair there I might have eventually seen every bird in the area show up for a bath. The first time around the loop I spotted a small bird splashing about in the water. It was brown on top and had a yellow chest and a white eye ring. At first I thought Nashville warbler, but the size makes me think it was a common yellow throat. He flew off into a bush and I could see a yellow warbler there in the bush as well, perhaps waiting his turn for a bath. On my second time around a song sparrow was busy dousing himself in the puddle. He flew off and a blue winged warbler flew in and splashed about. 

Butterflies were everywhere, black and white ones, little blue ones, orange ones, and the only one I know the name for- the yellow tiger swallow tail. Those big light blue and black dragonflies followed me about and locust would suddenly fly off as I approached them along the path. The area is nicely overgrown and wild, almost as if no one had been there for a while. I was afraid many of the birds might disappear when several ATVs showed up last year and went tearing around the loop, but I don’t see any sign that they’d been there this year.

Near the car I spotted two cedar waxwings. I’m surprised I’ve only seen one waxwing up until now this year. Back at the car a flicker flew across the field and lighted on a branch in a dead tree. I was hoping to see some newly fledged birds when I was there, but nothing so far. Guess I’ll just have to come back.

Back to Montezuma

   I recently visited the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge. I was hoping to find some birds there that I probably wouldn't find around here. As it turned out I just missed seeing a major migration of shore birds. A few days earlier, least sandpipers and dunlins alone had numbered into the hundreds. There were still flocks of shorebirds at the refuge when I was there, but not as many as there were previously and they were too far away for me to identify with just my binoculars. Never the less I was hoping I could at least find one or two shorebirds wondering around closer to the road and within range of my visibility. Even though the bird population at Montezuma was much lower than when migrants come through we had a good time hunting for birds and found a few new birds for my birding list for this year.

    The pond by the visitors’ center…wasn’t. It had largely dried up. Except for puddles of water here and there the pond was a field of grass with Canadian geese walking around in it. The bird houses by the visitor's center were swarming with purple martins. That was good. I needed to find purple martins for my list for this year.

   As we drove down Wildlife Drive the first pool on the left had Canada geese and mallards in it, nothing all that exciting. Then I noticed a small dark bird near the edge of the water. When I focused my binoculars on him I could see bright red on the forehead, a moorhen! Now that’s more like what I was hoping to find here. It was a great way to start the day.

   The water was drained off of the main pool exposing lots of mud. The ducks and shorebirds were concentrated on the water that still remained in the central part of the pool, but at that distance it was not possible for me to tell exactly what the birds were. There were plenty of mallards about and we spotted some pied-billed grebes in the water that filled a ditch by the road. A duck was walking along the shore behind some reeds. It took me a while to get a good look at it. I finally figured out it was a female wood duck. Great blue herons seemed to be everywhere. An osprey was fishing in the canal near stop number four where huge numbers of carp could be seen crowded together in the water trying to get into the main pool from the canal. Red-winged blackbirds were spotted here and there among the cattails.

   As we rounded the corner I spied two little ducks in amongst the reeds. The one duck had a crescent on his face. They were a male and female blue-winged teal. I would spot the only shorebird that I was able to see at the refuge here along the shore. It was a solitary sandpiper. It was a disappointment not to be able to see any more of the many shorebirds being reported by other birders.

   From Wildlife Drive we went to Tschache Pool. I could see nothing out on the pool except Canada geese.  Then I noticed something white at the far distant side of the pool. I could make out that it was a swan when I looked at it through my binoculars, but it was impossible to tell anything more about it than that. As we stood around by the pool two large white birds flew over the pool. Terns! I think they were Caspian terns. They provided some great entertainment. The terns would hover over the water then pull their wings into their sides and dive bomb into the water with a huge splash that sent water spewing up into the air..

   We went from Tschache Pool to May’s Point. I had read that a red-headed woodpecker had been spotted in that area. Finding the bird was no problem at all since we passed three people lined up along the road with their scopes and cameras pointed at it. It was a lifer for me.

    I wish I could have spent more time exploring other parts of the refuge, but time did not permit it. Maybe I’ll be back to try to find more of those shorebirds another time

A Big Day Of Birding

I’ve been birding for about five years yet I continue to refer to myself as a beginner. Sometimes it seems the more I learn the less I know. Or to put it another way the more I learn the more I have to be confused about. I spent yesterday birding and I’ll still find myself staring at little brown birds in front of me wondering which little brown birds they are.  

I went birding at several places yesterday starting with the pond on Oneida Street. I was hoping to find a lot of waterfowl there, but I didn’t see much of anything except a few canada geese and a great blue heron.

After that I drove to the fishing area off of the I88 access road from Oneida Street. Water levels in rivers and streams everywhere seem to be low exposing more of their bank and shore. There was a sandpiper wondering around along the muddy shore line of the stream. So which sandpiper was it? It would have helped if the sandpiper had spots, but it didn’t. I was wondering if it might be a spotted sandpiper that still had its winter plumage (dark bill and lighter colored legs as this one) but it seemed to me that a spotted sandpiper would have changed from its winter plumage by now. This bird also wasn’t acting very much like a spotted sandpiper. It was bobbing its head rather than its tail. Hmm…a mystery.

Most of the birds I found at the fishing access were common birds. There was another mystery bird, a small warbler skirting among the tree leaves so I could only get glimpses of what appeared to be a dark topside and a streaked bright yellow underside.

I next drove to the DOAS sanctuary. Most of the birds I had seen up until now had been fairly common for this year, but that was about to change. As I walked along the trail by the pond the female hooded merganser jumped out of the nesting box and sailed down among the reeds in the water as she always does when I pass by there. I always feel bad about disturbing her like that. I didn’t see the male this time. He is usually in the open water at the back of the pond. I hurried along the trail in order to give the birds some space. Then from the opposite side of the pond I heard “who, who cooks for you” repeatedly. Was that a barred owl? I wasn’t sure if they were active at this time of day, but it had to be one. I had only heard a barred owl at the sanctuary once before and it was very distant.

I followed the red trail down to the blue trail and stood there trying to decide if I wanted to take the blue trail all the way back into the woods or not. There could be something different in there, so I figured why not. As I walked down through the woods I could hear ovenbirds calling “teacher, teacher” all around me. I considered trying to follow the sound to see if I could track down this elusive bird. I’d already tried unsuccessfully to do that once this year. As I walked along two birds suddenly came flipping and flapping by me. The birds were actively engaged in behavior that would help to ensure the creation of another generation. They flew down to the ground in front of me then one flew off while the other remained. It was an ovenbird. I watched it walk along a log actively displaying the bright orange crown on its head. Ovenbirds, sheesh, just when I’m convinced I’m only going to hear them, but not see any, it seems like they practically fall into my lap.

A little further down the trail I thought I heard a blue headed vireo. There were three little birds flitting around in the pine trees in front of me. I got out my binoculars to see who they were. I saw a black throated green warbler. Well that’s a good bird, but not the blue headed vireo I thought I heard. Fortunately the birds weren’t going anywhere. They flitted back and forth while I fumbled around with my binoculars until I could clearly see the blue heads of the other two. Usually blue headed vireos stay high up in the trees, but once in a while I will get lucky and find them lower. Going down the blue trail had been worth it.  Blue headed vireo, black throated green warbler and ovenbird, were three species I needed for my list of bird sightings this year. I was pleased. Could it get any better than this? Oh yes it could.

As I was heading out of the forest I saw a large bird fly across the trail in front of me. A turkey maybe? It seemed a little small for a turkey. I peered around a tree and there on a branch sat a barred owl. Holy cow, I never expected that. It’s a lifer for me. The bird looked at me and I looked at him then he flew back in front of me and higher into a tree. I walked down the trail trying to get a better view. The bird took one more look in my direction then flew off. How cool was that!

I spotted one more bird of note as I was heading down the hill toward my car. A black bird flew up onto the roof of the shelter at the hawk watch. It was back lit so it appeared black, but when I looked at him through my binoculars he was actually blue, brilliantly blue. It was an indigo bunting. I stopped and listened to him sing his song. In my opinion the mnemonics I had learned for the song, “fire, fire, where, where, here, here”, don’t fit the song that well. I’ll have to try to come up with something more appropriate.

My next stop would be at my favorite birding spot along Charlotte Creek. The hummingbird was back at his prized spot atop the tallest dead tree in the field. I get a kick out of seeing this little tiny bird perched up there and he’ll take on all comers who try to usurp it. Two brown headed cowbirds were also in the tree, no doubt searching for a nest in this warbler rich area. The weather had turned hot and hazy. The birds were chirping and singing loudly, but few were actually where I could see them. There were a lot of songs I recognized, but also a lot that I didn’t. I can’t help wondering how many birds I miss because I don’t know their calls. I spotted a magnolia warbler in a bush. After looking at that bird I believe that the mystery warbler I had seen earlier was also a magnolia warbler. That was one mystery solved. 

The road loops around to the creek and back. I spotted a couple of female common mergansers on the water as well as two canada geese. As I turned to go a sandpiper flew up onto the muddy bank of the creek. It looked just like the one I had seen earlier at the fishing access. I was still unsure of its species. I studied the bird. It looked like it had a faint white curl or crescent by the shoulder like a spotted sandpiper. That white crescent is a good indication of a spotted sandpiper winter or summer. I thought that might nail this bird’s identification, but when I looked up other sandpipers in my field guide the solitary sandpiper can also appear to have something similar near its shoulder. Looks like I need to do some more research.

I stopped for a lunch break then headed over to Riddell Park. All those muddy banks along the creeks and rivers from the low water levels were proving to be perfect habitat for attracting sandpipers because I saw a spotted sandpiper here. There was no mistaking this sandpiper with the big brown spots all over its belly. Maybe those other two birds were solitary sandpipers.

I found a few more birds I hadn’t seen that day. Finally as I was walking up to the bridge over the swampy part of the trail I heard an insect like buzzing coming from a clump of bushes. Could it be? It definitely was a bird and not an insect. I followed the noise as the bird made its way through the bushes. If I was correct this was a worm eating warbler. That would be a lifer for me. The song sure sounded like what I had been listening to on my recordings of bird songs but I would have to see those black head stripes for a positive ID.  The bird emerged from the bush undetected by me and sat facing me for a few moments until I noticed him. Yes, it could be a worm eating warbler, the bird was a dull yellowish color, but from this angle I couldn’t see any stripes. Oh no, come back. The bird flew up into the tree above me. I was still in the wrong position to see the head. The bird sat there for a few minutes, enough time for most birders to get a look at him. As I was fumbling with the focus on my binoculars he flew off. Agh! As exhilarating as it was to see the barred owl it was equally devastating to think about this one that got away. I would probably not get another chance like that again, not around here anyway.

At the end of the day I had 49 species. (Now I wish I’d driven through the supermarket parking lot to find a house sparrow so I’d have an even 50.)