I haven’t posted in a while, so I thought I’d let you know what I’ve been up to lately. For one, I took a weekend trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The mountains were beautiful, and even though there was rain and thunder every day we were there (I’m not kidding. Every. Single. Day.), we got lots of hiking and some birding in!
RMNP’s Bear Lake
The first day, we birded Wild Basin Trail on the southern side of the park, gaining lifers Mountain Chickadee, Green-tailed Towhee, and Red-naped Sapsucker. The second day, we hiked up Deer Mountain, which didn’t produce any lifers (though we did, oddly enough, find three Wild Turkeys), and on the third day, we hit Matthews-Reeser Bird Sanctuary, which is in Estes Park and not far from our motel, and found a ton of Turkey Vultures, a few late warblers, and lifer Violet-green Swallow. Add that to the Western Kingbird, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Spotted Towhee, and Pygmy Nuthatch that I got shortly after we arrived, and you get a very exciting trip (even though I didn’t find any gorgeous Mountain Bluebirds, which I had been desperately hoping for)! Elk were all over- crossing roads right, left, and sideways- and you could see the mountains from just about everywhere in Estes Park.
An elk seen from our car
My second piece of news is that I made a video in partnership with the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota, all about American Kestrels! I was so excited to do this, because I’ve always had a soft spot for kestrels, and to say the least, I was stoked to meet Sienna, their kestrel ambassador. I’ve filmed a second one as well, which should come out in a few weeks. The video is a recorded Zoom call with me and Henry Cole, an author and illustrator- I’ve linked it at the bottom of this post.
I also attended several bird walks this June, through my local Audubon chapter and the Kestrels birding club. It’s a great way to meet new people and learn new things!
There- that’s everything I’ve done so far this summer. I need to get out more, don’t I?
With COVID restrictions and below-freezing temperatures, I haven’t been going out beyond my own yard much. It can be pretty depressing when your birdwatching is limited to the chickadees out your window! Still, I’ve had a pretty great week. On Tuesday, I reported the Common Grackle that’s been hanging around my feeders all winter to eBird, and it counted as a rarity for this time of year, which was pretty exciting for me. Grackles are normally migratory birds, and all the others flew south last October. This guy, though, stuck around. I was an hour into watching the feeders when he showed up for just a few seconds, but I spent another half-hour waiting for him with the camera until he came back long enough to photograph! It payed off plenty, though, to get those shots.
Common Grackle in January!
The very next day, I happened to be looking out the window (not very surprising, do I do anything else?) when something landed in a tree above one of my feeders. All I saw was a flurry of wings, so I thought it was a Pileated Woodpecker, a fairly unusual bird in my yard. I went and got the camera in hopes of getting some pictures of it, but by the time I returned, it had moved onto a different branch where it was much easier to see, and I realized it was a hawk! I absolutely love raptors, so that was better than a Pileated. Within seconds, it was mobbed by the Blue Jays at the feeders and got out of there, but I got good enough photos to identify it as a Cooper’s Hawk. It was covered in brown streaks instead of red barring, so it must’ve been a juvenile. I hope he found something to eat elsewhere!
Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk
Both of those were exciting, but neither was a new species for me, so my favorite sighting this week was definitely on Friday, when something unusual turned up during my window-watching. What I thought was a Blue Jay landed at the very top of a big evergreen, a popular spot for jays, but when I fixed my binoculars on it, I realized this was something different. It was grey, with a shorter and slightly rounder bill than Blue Jays, and had black-and-white patches on its wings. I immediately knew this was a Northern Shrike- one for the life list! I love it when a new species turns up right in my own backyard. I grabbed my camera, but it flew away before I could get a picture, and didn’t come back no matter how long I waited. I braved the outdoors to look for it, but though I saw a lovely Ring-necked Pheasant, I just couldn’t find that shrike! I’m still holding out hope that it’s lurking somewhere in the neighborhood, and that it’ll come back to my yard soon, but until then, I’m content with a short sighting of an awesome bird to add to my life list.
2020 was a lot of things- some good, some bad. I saw 37 new species; went to 3 new places; wrote 17 posts; and, of course, launched the blog! Hard to believe. I’ve got so many strange memories to take away from the year. Here’s my top five lifers from the birding scene last year.
#5: Red-breasted Merganser
I saw a flock of these diving ducks right at the end of a canoe trip on my local lake. They were the only North American species of merganser I needed to complete my collection, so finding such a big flock almost in my own backyard was really exciting.
Red-breasted Mergansers
#4: Chestnut-sided Warbler
This gorgeous warbler species, seen only once by John James Audubon himself (despite his best efforts), was a surprise addition to my life list last May, when I looked up at the right moment and was treated to a bird at the top of a tall tree. I kept my eye on it as it hopped from branch to branch until it finally came close enough to ID as a male chestnut-sided! He came lower after that, and I managed some good pictures of him before he flew away.
Chestnut-sided Warbler
#3: Carolina Wren
This one came about while I was birding the Wabash Heritage Trail in Indiana this September. Compared to Minnesota, the place is absolutely tropical- it was almost October, but I don’t think it dipped below sixty degrees the entire time we were there! I found Killdeers all over the sandbanks on the river, a great Belted Kingfisher sighting, and lots of warblers (mostly yellow-rumped, but one mourning). Then I heard a wren, and after a minute of aggravating calling without coming into sight, it came out and I saw it was a Carolina Wren, a new species for me!
#2: Peregrine Falcon
This one was less of a surprise, as it was one of the species I’d hoped to find when I made the trip up to Hawk Ridge this October. Still, I was thrilled to see it- I’d left my spot on the rocks to look at the totals for the day, leaving the camera behind but still holding my trusty binoculars, when something streaked through the sky. It was going fast, as falcons usually are, but I’m proud to say I still ID’d it right away. While I didn’t get to see one in its famous, 300 mi/hr stoop, it was amazing to see one in the wild for the first time.
#1: Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpeckers are really getting rare in my area, so I wasn’t expecting anything unusual when I spotted a flash of red in a neighbor’s tree. But when I fixed binoculars on it as it flew, the bright scarlet against the black and white gave me suspicions. Finally, it landed on a tree trunk, I confirmed that it was, indeed, a gorgeous Red-headed Woodpecker. That was such a great experience, seeing a fairly rare bird without even having to drive for miles! I’ve always thought it was such a beautiful bird and was thrilled to finally see one- my favorite sighting of 2020!
Red-headed Woodpecker
There you have it- my favorite new species of 2020! Leave a comment if you think I should do a post on my favorite photos of the year, too!
This Saturday, like I mentioned in my last post, I went up to Sax-Zim Bog for the day. I went last year, and it was awesome! During that trip, I found some great new birds- Canada Jay, Black-billed Magpie, and Ruffed Grouse- but not a single owl, unusual in the bog, which is known for its great owls; so I was hoping to find one that day! My goal was to see three new species, a tall order seeing as I’d already seen some of the common ones last time, and I did that- no more, no less! I’d rather see more than three, but the ones I found were awesome.
We arrived at about one PM, which sounds late, but we left as early as we could- the place is really far from where I live! Almost as soon as we entered the bog, we found a bunch of cars parked on the side of the road. At Sax-Zim, that’s a sure sign of an owl sighting, so we pulled over too and went to see what it was. What we found was a Great Gray Owl- new species number one, and we’d barely been here five minutes! Of course we got plenty of pictures, and stayed to watch the gorgeous owl as long as we could. I could’ve stood there all day, looking through binoculars at the big owl, which was pretty close to the road and gave me great views. He didn’t even seem to notice us, just swiveling his head to look at something off in the woods now and then. Maybe he heard something we didn’t! Eventually, we had to leave, so we got reluctantly back in the car.
Great Gray Owl!
Our next stop, of course, was the Welcome Center. Normally, you can go inside to talk with one of their great volunteers or watch the feeders outside from the comfort of the heated center, but due to Covid, it was closed, so instead we wanted to check out the feeders and hike one of their trails. Once we pulled in, I saw a flock of birds at the top of a tree in the parking lot, so I grabbed my binoculars and took a closer look. They turned out to be a species I’d wanted to see for years- Evening Grosbeaks! Bam, second lifer, ten minutes after the first one! You see why I love this place?
Female and Male Evening Grosbeaks with Female Pine Grosbeaks.
There didn’t seem to be anything but chickadees on the feeders in front of the center, so we went to the back to check out the tray feeder and deer carcasses (yeah, super gross, but do you know a better way to draw in Canada Jays?). As we headed that way, I looked up at the trees and saw a really tall one at the edge of the woods with a single bird at the top. I looked at it through my binoculars, and couldn’t make out what kind of bird it was, but I had a feeling, from the shape of the beak and the reddish color it seemed to have, what it might be. I started to say my suspicion aloud, but before I could, we came to the feeder, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a whole flock of that same species- Pine Grosbeak! Lifer three, just like that! I love Pine Grosbeaks, with the males’ strawberry-pink color and the females’ yellowish and gray one- they’re so pretty, and all around awesome, of course. I took lots of photos of them and the flock of Evening Grosbeaks, which decided to try out the feeder as well; then we took one of the short trails near the Welcome Center, which didn’t yield any new species but was still really nice. We had to be careful not to bump into any trees and send down a flurry of snow from their branches!
After that, I wanted to try the Admiral Road feeders, which the map calls ‘the best place in the state to see and photograph Boreal Chickadees’. We didn’t find any of those, but we did see some Canada Jays, a Hairy Woodpecker, lots of Black-capped Chickadees, and another flock of Pine Grosbeaks, which I got some good shots of. The chickadees had a habit of deciding they’d eaten enough and whizzing right past someone’s ear to the trees on the other side. It was funny, but definitely startled me if they caught me off guard!
Male Pine Grosbeak in a tree by the Admiral Road feeders.
Next we tried Warren Woessner Bog Boardwalk, which is 900 feet long and lined with feeders. There, we didn’t find a lot, since it was getting dark, but we did see some chickadees, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, a Downy Woodpecker, a Brown Creeper, and a Common Raven flying overhead. After that, we headed home, since before long it would be too dark even for owls!
Red-breasted Nuthatch at a feeder along the Warren Woessner Bog Boardwalk.
Much shorter than I’d like, but I really enjoyed the day! My favorite new bird would have to be Great Gray Owl- so beautiful, especially since it’s my first owl I’ve seen at Sax-Zim. I hope to make these trips a yearly thing, but we’ll see!
New species: Great Gray Owl, Evening Grosbeak, Pine Grosbeak
Other species: Black-capped Chickadee, Canada Jay, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, American Crow, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Common Raven
These days it’s so cold out I have to really bundle up just to fill the feeders, but even those little five-minute trips have some interesting sightings. Today I saw a Mourning Dove, which isn’t very common in my yard. I’ve also seen lots of Northern Cardinals at the feeders, and yesterday I found a flock of twenty House Sparrows out my window, eating seeds off the ground. I even saw a Common Grackle, a species which has usually migrated by now, eating fallen seeds below my feeder this morning! And of course, there are always plenty of Black-capped Chickadees, which make me smile no matter how cold it is.
Black-capped Chickadees are the friendliest birds at the feeders, and tough for their size- they stick out the winter with me instead of heading south.
Winter can be pretty dull for a birder, since so many birds have gone south- only a few hardy species join us humans in toughing out the winter here. I haven’t seen any winter finches this year, which is a disappointment, but luckily or unluckily there’s still a lot of winter left for that to happen!
One of the only things for me to look forward to this winter, as far as birding goes, is the trip to Sax-Zim Bog I’m hoping to make. I went last year, and it was a blast! This year, I’m hoping to find some owls- the bog is known as a hotspot for owl sightings, but last year I didn’t see a single one. I only wish I could visit during the annual Winter Bird Festival, which is canceled this year due to COVID-19. Still, I’m really excited just to be there and hopefully rack up some new species! In the meantime, I’ve been lurking on their website, which is awesome and even includes some video birding trips for those of us who can’t wait to visit.
I saw this Canada Jay at Sax-Zim Bog last year. It was such an amazing experience!
So until that happens, I’ll be filling the feeders and watching out the window- got to save up all the warmth I can before I brave a day in the cold!
Last Sunday, I went to Hawk Ridge, Duluth. Its position on the tip of Lake Superior makes it ideal for watching the fall raptor migration. I got some new species for the life list, met some awesome volunteers, and had a great time.
Bald Eagle adult and immature.
The peak raptor migration time is between 10 AM and 2 PM, but we arrived late, at around 1:45, and ended up staying until the volunteers left at 5:00. The first birds I saw were several Turkey Vultures, and soon after that came two immature Bald Eagles.
One of two immature Bald Eagles in the sky.
After that, the skies were calm for another hour or so, with steady flights of Turkey Vultures, one of the most common sights, and a Bald Eagle now and then.
We saw dozens of Turkey Vultures while there.
Eventually, the first new species arrived – a fast-moving Merlin. He was in a hurry, a small, dark bird flapping continuously, unlike most larger raptors, who soar. I didn’t manage to score a photo of this species, though I saw a few more by the end of the day. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any American Kestrels, which are one of my favorite raptors, while we were there, but I have seen one before, so it wasn’t too much of a disappointment.
My next new species was a Northern Harrier, seen by several people. It was flying with several more Turkey Vultures, but I didn’t get a great look and, sadly, no photos. We had arrived too late in the day for Sharp-shinned Hawks, so we didn’t see any, but we did see a Red-tailed Hawk.
Red-tailed Hawk.
My last lifer was a larger Peregrine Falcon, which I looked up just in time to see through binoculars. I got pretty good views of this one, though I wasn’t holding the camera and didn’t get photos of this one, either. They were my favorite lifer of the day!
Eventually, things slowed down quite a bit, though I did see a Common Raven – the largest songbird of North America – on the horizon. We also saw some American Crows. I thought this was a good time to try out one of the trails. I didn’t see many birds on the trail – a White-breasted Nuthatch, some Black-capped Chickadees, and a few more American Crows, plus a male Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I saw a flash of his red crown, but not much. By the time I got back, everyone had left, and so did I. I was hoping to check out Park Point while I was in Duluth, but it was getting dark, so I passed.
That was all for my first trip to Hawk Ridge! I didn’t see any Ospreys, since it was too late in the season for them, Gyrfalcons, because they didn’t come until late autumn, or Golden Eagles, because they aren’t common, but I did see a few of my other favorite raptors for my life list!
I’m back from my summer break from blogging! Birding slows down during the summer, and I had lots to do, so I took a break over the summer. But I’m back, and you can expect weekly posts again.
I took a trip to Indiana this past week, and found some new birds! I also worked on my photography skills. I have some real fall weather up here, and it was freezing (okay, one degree above freezing) on my birdwatching trip this morning. I found some geese, a few Blue Jays, and a House Wren while there.
Juvenile House Wren
I saw a lot of American Robins, for some reason – maybe they’re getting ready to migrate. Last year, they went south, but the year before that, they stayed all winter.
Female American Robin
The most exciting birds on the trip were the Dark-eyed Juncos, who just arrived here on Thursday. The little guys are gorgeous, and I love their pink bills and white tail feathers (the best way to identify them in flight). I get Slate-colored juncos here, but there are several different kinds – Oregon, Pink-sided, Red-backed, Grey-headed, White-winged, and cismontanus are all different subspecies. They’re my favorite sign of winter!
One of the first Dark-eyed juncos of the season!
That’s all for this week, but watch out for next week’s post, because I’ve got something big for it!
I love to photograph birds, but I love to photograph other things in nature, too. Whenever the birding gets slow, I pause and capture a bee pollinating some dandelions, or a patch of violets, or a splash of moss on a tree. When I do spot a particularly photogenic bird, however, it always receives preference over bees and flowers, which fade into the background until the bird flies off and I have nothing better to photograph. But what if you’re looking to shake things up, and try for a more interesting shot than the typical subject-against-background theme? Sometimes, I take a different angle by using the bird to enhance the background – making the background the star.
Double-crested Cormorants and grey sky.
This is tricky sometimes – after all, birds are brightly colorful, constantly moving, and overall eye-catching. There’s a reason you hear more about birdwatchers than bee-watchers, flower-watchers, or tree-watchers, after all. But there are a number of different techniques you can use to accomplish this.
Backlighting
Typically, if a bird is backlit, you’ll decide it’s not worth taking a picture of and find a spot with better lighting instead; but the silhouette of a bird can help make a photo more dramatic, or just reduce the amount of detail and call out the background; which is what you want in this case.
For instance, while I was reviewing and editing pictures for the blog, I noticed one photograph of a House Sparrow, taken in the evening – with the light behind it, all you could see was a dark silhouette of the bird and the branches all around it. I was about to delete it, and look for a more blog-worthy image, when something about it caught my attention – the new, half-opened leaves, with the light shining through them, looked almost like flowers. It was almost the only color in the image, and the bird added a special element to it. It made a very interesting image!
House Sparrow and baby leaves.
Unfocusing
If the bird is out of focus, it invites attention to whatever’s in focus, like this photograph below. It’s hard to get an interesting picture of moss, but moss is colorful and sometimes beautiful, if you look closely.
Black-and-White Warbler and layers of colorful moss.
From Far Away
An interesting pattern in the clouds or the geometric shape of a tree are worth looking at – if you can get the viewer to notice them. One way to prevent the bird from being the most interesting part of the image is to snap a bird from a distance, only one part of an equally captivating background.
This past Saturday was the Big Day of birding, as I mentioned in my previous post, and this provided the perfect excuse to get out of the house and go birding! I decided to kill two birds with one stone (figuratively speaking, of course), by participating in the Big Day and going to a place I’d been hoping to visit this spring – Frontenac State Park. It’s known as the Warbler Capital of Minnesota, and is the ideal place to hit during migration season, featuring prairie, forest, and shoreline habitat as well as a wildlife observation blind. A few family members and I drove several hours to spend the day there!
First, we hit the Prairie Loop Trail, which is 2.8 miles long (I’m not the best hiker, so we didn’t want to go for the 6-mile loop!). There weren’t many birds there, though I did see a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, some Brown-headed Cowbirds, a Turkey Vulture, a Gray Catbird, and lots of Tree Swallows.
The female Rose-breasted Grosbeak is beautiful, though she doesn’t have the bright red marking of the male.
About halfway along the trail, we came to the wildlife observation blind, which is on the shore of the Pheasant Valley Lakelet. There, we spotted a pair of Canada Geese with eight goslings, a napping Wood Duck, a Sandhill Crane, and two new species of sandpiper for my life list – Solitary Sandpiper and Greater Yellowlegs.
Canada Goose goslings going for a field trip!Solitary Sandpiper – a new species for me.
I even saw a tree not far away with an adult and juvenile Bald Eagle perched in it, which was awesome:
This Bald Eagle’s juvenile plumage looks nothing like the adult’s!
Then we moved on, with a ‘fun little adventure’ to recover my notebook (with a list of all the birds I’d seen on the trip so far) when I realized I’d dropped it somewhere on the trail; and a blister in my shoe. It was worth it, though, when I saw my third new species of the day – a Field Sparrow, one of the few sparrow species I can readily identify. I’m terrible with sparrows!
I spied this Field Sparrow sporting his lovely pink bill.
Then we went on the 1.4 mile Sand Point Trail, which had no new species on it, and though we’d planned on doing one more trail before heading home, we were all so tired from the events of the day that we cut it a little short. I didn’t see any new warblers, like I’d expected, but it was well worth it anyway!
