American Golden Plover!

Tweet Found an American Golden Plover today hiding behind a tuft of grass while birding the beach at East Fork State Park. This would be a life bird. I originally thought that it was black bellied, but I now see the pics and the back is more brown speckled. Such a cool looking bird!

Again, why do birds always stare me down!

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Midwest Birding Symposium wrap-up

Tweet I had a great time at the 2011 Midwest Birding Symposium. The best part was meeting many of my online birder friends in person. Unlike went I went in '09, I was able to do a little more birding this time.

Here is the sunrise over Lake Erie Saturday morning from the shore at East Harbor.

Maybe this is a good omen, but it seemed that almost all the birds that I encountered were white. Bonaparte's Gulls, Caspian Terns, Forster's Terns, Ring-billed Gulls, Great Egrets, Snowy Egret, Trumpeter Swans.

I always enjoy watching Great Egrets, they always look so pure and regal. Here, one was fishing close at East Harbor.

That's gotta hurt!

The best time I had was meeting for the first time fellow bird blogger Robert Mortensen from Birding is Fun! Since he is a Utah birder, he needed many eastern birds for his list so that he could hit that #400 mark.

While checking the internet for any good birds sighted close to Lakeside, I was approached by another fellow bird blogger and friend Kelly Riccetti from Red and the Peanut along with Rob. Rob informed me of some of the birds that he still needed for his life list and asked if I could help him find #400. I felt honored and challenged, so I quickly thought up a plan.

We headed to East Harbor State Park where I guided earlier in the morning. The first bird we happened to spot was one that he needed, a beautiful Chesnut-sided Warbler! Here is Rob texting the news of reaching #400.

And the victory dance, abbreviated.

Rob Mortensen on #400!

Later, Rob and I decided to try for a couple more lifers for him. He still needed Barred and Eastern Screech-owl. After hearing about a report of a Barred at Meadowbrook Marsh, we headed there after the evening programs on Saturday.

I used my owl calling ability to call for the screeches and barreds. We struck out on barreds, but we quickly had 3 Eastern Screech-owls respond to my calling. They even swooped above our heads. Had a wonderful time birding with Kelly and Rob! Looking forward to birding with them again in 2013!

On Sunday, I went on the auto tour at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge for the first time ever. I saw more white birds.

Here is a Trumpeter Swan peeking over the impoundment wall.

Why do birds always stare me down?

Not really many shorebirds at Ottawa, as the water seemed a bit too high. Did see another white bird though, a nice looking immature Snowy Egret.

Snowy Egret (immature)

A special thanks to all the many wonderful people that make the Midwest Birding Symposium happen and those that attended and made it such an awesome event! Looking forward to 2013!

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Midwest Birding Symposium I

Tweet Made it to Lakeside. I am camping at East Harbor State Park where I am volunteering as a guide. The first bird that I saw in the "area" was a Great Egret. They are as common as Great Blues here, but at home they are hard to find.

Also, there are Great Blues too.

Thursday evening, I went on the Sunset Cruise. The water was a little choppy, but not too bad. Saw a gorgeous sunset.

Perry's Monument on South Bass Island

Even chumming for Gulls off the back of the boat with popcorn.

Saw about 15 species of warblers this morning. Started off slow, but picked up and stayed good for at least an hour.

Here is a Palm Warbler hiding from this morning,

A closer up view:

Also had Philadelphia, Warbling, and Red-eyed Vireos.

Red-eyed Vireo hiding

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Getting ready for the Midwest Birding Symposium!

Tweet Will be heading to Lakeside, Ohio tomorrow morning for the 2011 Midwest Birding Symposium. Been looking forward to it for a while. I had a wonderful time in 2009.

I will be guiding bird walks at East Harbor State Park on Friday and Saturday during the symposium. Have been out practicing my fall Warblers at East Fork State Park. There is a reason that you don't see many warbler pictures on my blog. I am lucky if I can see them good enough to make an ID! Here are some pics from the other day.

I always feel rusty every fall, but I find that it is mostly unwarranted - a good thing :-)

Magnolia Warbler through the vegetation

A little better,

Tennessee Warbler

And here is why you don't see many warbler shots on my blog: (see if you can ID this warbler, look at the head)

And here is another,

Don't have a prize, just for fun. I will post the answers soon.

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A Raptortastic day!

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While searching for shorebirds along the beach at East Fork without much success, I decided to proceed to the woods nearby. I was primarily looking for warblers and any other migrants, however the woods was dead quiet.

I Then caught a glimpse of one of the three Osprey that regularly fishes the lake. It decided to land right above my head and I was able to get this cool shot right before it decided to dive for a fish in the lake!

Osprey

I then heard the call of a Bald Eagle. I could see it flying above the trees, but it proceeded to move on. I then saw it land in a tree on a far away bank. It was an adult.

Far away Bald Eagle

The crows were harassing the eagle constantly, so the eagle took flight and landed in a tree farther away. Much to my surprise, the eagle vocalized and another adult Bald Eagle flew in from behind me and landed right next to the one above.

They proceeded to engage in activities that would suggest that they are thinking about nesting somewhere along the lake shore again this year.

I continued watching the eagles and the ospreys fish for probably about an hour. I love to watch them splash down and to see how big the fish is that they catch. They always seem to have better luck than me when fishing, but their lives depend on catching dinner.

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Tips for beginning birders

Tweet I had just recently conducted an interview with the birding blog Backyard Chirper Blog about tips for beginning birders. You can read the entire article at: Tips for identifying species at your bird feeder with expert Donald The Birder

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