An early winter?

Tweet It is early fall and the temperatures are still pretty mild.  There has been little change in the composition of bird species on the beach at East Fork.  Vultures have temporarily taken up residence on the beach in the morning.  This may have something to do with the lack of shorebirds, but I doubt it.

The turkey vultures were protecting their garbage can from me.  Something must have been tasty in there!

As I got closer, one of them spread their wings and started hissing.

 Least and semipalmated sandpipers along with five sanderlings have been on the beach for a while.  Here are three of the sanderlings flying.

I have been seeing both osprey and bald eagles fishing the lake, but they have not been very cooperative for me photo wise.  This immature bald eagle was perched right above my head for a while.  A person walked between me and this bird, causing it to fly.  

But the real surprise came today.  While I was talking with another birder, waiting for an osprey, eagle, or something good to come by, I noticed a small bird flying above that landed in the brushy weeds in front of us.  I thought I could see white outer tail feathers at first, but I couldn't tell.  At first, I heard no sounds other than a chip.  The bird stayed in the thick weeds for about an hour.  I could see orange on the face of the bird, so I got excited.  This is about the time of year that maybe my lifer LeConte's Sparrow would come through.  I could only see the head mostly.  This was about as good as it got for a long while:

The bird's head is in the center.  From this view, it was hard to tell what it was.  I was still hoping that it would show enough for an ID of LeConte's Sparrow.

Another birder and I watched the bird for a while.  I was going to leave the bird unIDed and hope to see if the other birder got better pics than I.  I decided to stick around and check the beach just one more time before I left.  The other birder had done left.  When I came back to the spot the bird was earlier, a man with a dog was very near here.  The bird flew up and landed right in front of me.  

What the heck?  I thought.  It is 81° and not even October yet.  Can't be.

and then, the bird flew a bit and landed on a stick.

It has to be.  I can see the bird's namesake! 

I then said to myself:  If it would just fly to a rock in the open by the water, I could confirm my ID.  And, it wasn't long after, the bird did just that!

Yep!  Look at that long spur!  Definitely a Lapland Longspur!!!  But what is one doing down here so early?  Local records show that this bird is about 2-3 weeks early.  Is this a sign of an early winter?  Don't know.  Maybe it will be a good year for what I consider to be snowbirds (Snow buntings and Lapland Longspurs)?

Very nice colors in the sun!  

For local birders hoping to find this bird, it has been hanging in the patch of vegetation on the left hand side of the beach, the same spot that the upland sandpiper was.  

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Merlin!

Tweet A Merlin has once again showed up this Sept. at East Fork.  Even in the same tree I seen one in last year.  Wonder if it is the same bird?

This bird was spotted just before it got too dark to see.  For birders that are local, the bird was seen on the south side of the park in the large dead tree between the old ranger station parking lot and the new ranger/watercraft building.  This is the tree at the 90° bend on Williamsburg-Bantam.

Here is a map:

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?hl=en&mid=z1ftRxoyn0Wk.kdZbOzHe6UCk
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A strange TERN of events...

Tweet A Little Gull was reported by another birder yesterday morning at East Fork State Park Beach.  I had to work, so I couldn't get there until evening.  I did not find a Little Gull, but did find the winter plumage Forster's Tern that has been there since at least last Thursday.

This morning (Sunday), I was off work, so I arrived at about 9am at the beach at East Fork.  There were already about 5 or so birders with scopes looking at a bird.  I was hoping that it was a Little Gull, as I have only seen one and it was far away.  This bird was resting on the sand.  Since I have had my scope stolen, I had only binos and my camera.  A couple of birders asked if I would like to see the Little Gull, so I of course said yes.  The only thing is, the bird I was looking at was not a Little Gull.  In fact, it wasn't a gull at all.
They had a few field guides opened to Little Gull on an old water fountain.  I began to suggest other possibilities that the bird might be.  I turned the guide to terns and offered just a little of my opinions.  I was in the minority slightly at first.  I could tell that the birders that were convinced that it was indeed a Little Gull were getting a little uneasy and upset.  I then started to talk to the other birders that were there.  I recognized  one of the birders.  I began to discuss why I felt the bird was what it was and he began to see why I came to the conclusion that the bird was a Forster' Tern in winter plumage.  Another birder also agreed that it was indeed a Forster's Tern.  The couple that never would disclose their name to me left as the talk of the bird being a tern heated up.  Here is the bird that was causing all this confusion:

While I don't have a picture of a Little Gull, there was a Bonaparte's Gull nearby.  I told them that the Little Gull would be more similar to the Bonaparte's than to this bird.  This is the BONAPARTE'S that was nearby.

There are some "Jizz" differences here.  I often suggest to people that they just zoom out or just observe the bird through their binos only for a while.  The couple that insisted that the bird was a Little Gull was so stuck on minor details that they did not look at the overall bird.  The tail I remember was a sticking point.  They did not see the streamers that the bird would have in breeding plumage.  This alone would not be enough to make it not a tern.  White feathers contain no melanin, so they are weak.  This means that the feathers most likely are worn down by now, giving the bird a short tailed look.  

I do not know if the bird above (tern) is the bird the original birder misIDed or not.  I do not recognize the name.  

After everyone but me and one other birder left, things got real interesting.  I started just talking with the other birder when I noticed a long necked shorebird just beyond the gulls.  This little spot on the corner of the beach has been very productive in the past.  I told the other birder I was with that I think I see something of interest over there.  We decided to get a little closer and check it out.  I originally thought that the bird may be a Pectoral Sandpiper, but it just looked too big and long necked.  As we got closer, I said to him "that's an UPLAND SANDPIPER!"  That would be a life bird for me.  

We quickly noted that the bird had an injured wing, as it was dragging it.  The bird attempted to swim away like a duck would swim, but turned around and went into the deep vegetation.  We were able to get a few photos of the bird.  Very sad to see such a nice looking bird in such situation.  Just hope it stays away from the off leash dogs.

Here are the photos that I was able to obtain.  The bird was kinda of skittish, so we kept our distance.  Being injured, I didn't want to stress the bird anymore than it already was. 

When I got home, I checked the Birding Ohio Facebook Group and found that the local Wild Birds Unlimited store had received a call about an injured Upland Sandpiper in Bethel, Ohio.  This is very close to where this bird is.  I talked to the staff person who took the call, a birder friend, who told me that the bird was found in a yard yesterday and that the bird was sent to rehabbers.  Whether this is a different bird or not I do not know.  For now, I can only assume that it is not the same bird.  The bird headed deep into the vegetation, and despite my looking for it, I could not re-find it.  

A very strange tern of events indeed...

Update: This evening (Sept. 13th), I was at East Fork and Ginny Fantetti and Rob Edelen showed up. I have known Ginny for a while and know that she is familiar with rehabbing and the methods used from her work with Raptor, Inc. She came up with a plan and we successfully executed it in short order and the bird was caught without incident. The bird appeared to have a broken wing. It is now in the process of being turned over to the rehabber.  

Update #2 from Ginny Fantetti: "The sandpiper was delivered to Back to the Wild rehabilitation center in Castalia, OH yesterday (an all-day road trip). They have the resources and facilities to get proper care for it and will be able to keep it as a permanent educational display bird if it can't be released. I'm glad it didn't come to an ugly end at the hands of one of the many off-leash dogs or stray cats at the beach at East Fork."

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Glad the story came to a good ending.  Also glad it is over!

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Head west, my friend

Tweet My "fall" shorebirding season kicked off very well this year, with my spotting of four willet and a marbled godwit in July at the beach at East Fork State Park.  I thought that if I am seeing all this now, I can only imagine what the next couple of months will bring to the beach at East Fork.

Well, as of the writing of this post, not much has been happening shorebird wise at the beach.  There is very little shorebird habitat on the east side of Cincinnati, Ohio.  If a birder were to ask where to find good birds in SW Ohio, I would have to tell them to go west side.  The west side has been on fire!  They have had buff-breasted sandpipers, and even an upland sandpiper!  That would be a life bird for me.

I am not joking when I say that the east side of Cincinnati is lacking in shorebird habitat.  While the west side has mudflats, the east side has asphalt flats aka parking lots.  This photo shows the typical Clermont County shorebird habitat.

Most birders wouldn't expect to find a semipalmated sandpiper in a parking lot, but in Clermont County, what can you say?

The amount of human activity has been high at the beach at East Fork this year.  I am sure that this has had a lot to do with the lack of shorebirds there.  I have only been able to see least and semipalmated sandpipers there, the second most common shorebirds next to killdeer around these parts.  

But I am not complaining.  I love shorebirds and could watch them for hours.  I love to stand still on the beach and have them feed next to my shoes.  It is amazing how tiny the peeps are up close.  

There has also been a spaddering of terns at the beach at East Fork.  While not anything "rare" for say, there has been a few Forster's terns and caspian terns here and there.  Here is a juvenile from the other day.  I think the young ones are neater than the adults.  Constantly making odd begging calls.

As things are cool east side, things are STILL hot on the west side.  Baird's sandpipers are also being seen on the west side, a bird that I rarely see, and can't remember if I have ever seen one at East Fork.  

And then...

Comes along a sightings post of a rare bird (for here) that would be a lifer for me.  Last year, I have missed the said bird by one day in Boone, Co. Kentucky.  I didn't want wait around on this one.  While quite the drive for me to Aurora, Indiana, this bird is worth the hour plus drive!

The bird?

SWALLOW-TAILED KITE!!! - Time to go west!

As soon as I came around the bend on the road said to have the kite, I noticed the bird sitting on a dead snag.  Yahoo!  Another birder friend was already observing the bird from his car and exclaimed "are you lost?"  I would have to say yes.  He lives on the west side and was shocked to see me so far out of my area, as I seldom chase.  I had to laugh.

As I got out of the car, I could see the kite preening in a tree in someones backyard.  WOW!  what a bird! Another east side birder friend also shows up.  

Oh Yeah, a life bird!

The bird just sat there, preening for a while.

Love that tail, those wings, those red eyes.  Just awesome.  

I wanted to see the bird in flight, so I stuck around and just watched it.  Kites sure do like to preen.  Then, the bird started to ruffle its feathers.  I think it is about to take flight!

And off it goes!  Awesome! 

I LOVE this bird.  I want one in my backyard.  Its flight was like it was in slow motion.  It was so graceful, a beautiful bird.  

I love that I bird.  I know that you do to.  Remember, to just get out and see birds and also try to bring newbies and young people out with you.  Have fun!

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What the... Goose!

Tweet This morning, when I arrived at East Fork, I spotted a large bird flying in from the north while still in my car.  It had white wings and black primary and secondary flight feathers.  I at first thought American White Pelican and as the bird got closer, I thought Snow Goose.  When it landed on the grass by the beach as I was getting out of the car, I was surprised by what I saw.

A Bar-headed Goose!

I have never seen one before, but was familiar with the species.  This bird is native to Asia and most likely is an escape or a bird that was dumped into the wild.  They have become established in Britain.  The bird can't be added to life lists if you follow the rules, but I am not a lister and really don't get into that kind of thing.  That being said, I do believe that this bird lives a "wild" life.  It was very skittish as compared to the nearby Canada Geese that it later joined up with.

I could see both halluxes, the back toe or "claw".  Many breeders cut one off.  This bird was not pinioned, as it could fly very well.  A while back, one was found in Covington, KY on the Ohio River.  It was clearly pinioned and had its right hallux chopped off.  Here is a discussion of that bird on Cincybirds:

http://cincinnatibirds.com/message/showthread.php?Thread=2107

A very odd bird to say the least.  It is still a very nice looking bird with a very funny sound.

For more on the bird in the wild, see here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar-headed_Goose  from Wikipedia.


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Underappreciated Sparrows

Tweet Many people go out looking for warblers and shorebirds, but not often do birders go out specifically looking for sparrows.  Maybe it is there cryptic coloration or nature, or their LBJ status.  I am guilty myself.

This past spring, while participating in the birdathon, I came to the realization that I have never seen many of the sparrows that are on my life list.  One Sparrow in particular, the Lark Sparrow, was only a fleeting glimpse during a previous birdathon.  I did get looks at Henslow's Sparrow through a scope and close up views of Grasshopper Sparrows during the birdathon this year.  However, due to the fast pace nature of a birdathon, I wasn't able to really look at them close.  So, with recent reports of all of these sparrows actually being seen on the west side of Cincinnati, I decided to set out to see if I could find them.

My primary goal of the trip was to find and get a good look at a Lark Sparrow.  More on that later...

It is a good hour and a half drive to these spots from my house, which is twenty miles or so EAST of Cincinnati.  I had the day off and all day to bird, so I started out before the sun came up.  This is unusual for me any more, as I usually start work at 4am and don't like to get up early on my days off.  I headed for Miami Whitewater Wetlands first, to look for the reported Henslow's Sparrow that is reported to be nesting here.  The humidity and warm temps were already noticeable as the sun was starting to rise.  The place was surprisingly quiet.  I could hear Dickcissels calling from the far fields.  Tons of Common Yellowthroats, but no Sedge Wrens yet.  I proceeded on.

Then I though I heard the very delicate, short call of a Henslow's Sparrow.  No sparrows in sight.  Just far away Dickcissels.  I just kept walking.

I then spotted a small sparrow just sitting on the side of the bike path.  Not a field Sparrow.  Not a Savannah or Song.  It is a Henslow's Sparrow.  Very Close!

The trail winded ahead to where I would be closer to the bird.  I was hoping that it would stay put.  That it did.  It appeared to have no tail, but it was just the way it was sitting.  They look as delicate as their song.

Really a very beautiful sparrow!  This is the first close up of one for me.

As the sun was up now, it was already getting hot quick.  I was soaked in sweat by 8:00am.  Time to move on.  

After the wetlands, I headed to the Kilby Rd. Gravelpits on the West Side of Cincinnati.  This is also called the Smith Tract, which is owned by the county park system.  I was looking for Grasshopper Sparrows.  

I saw some movement, then a bird.

A Dickcissel.  They were very numerous at all my stops.  While not a sparrow, still cool to see them.

After not hearing any Grasshopper Sparrows, I decided to carry on to my next spot.  I have read reports that they have been found at another location close by, Campbell's Lakes.  On arriving at the lakes, the heat was almost unbearable.  I decided to get out and walk around.  I quickly spotted a Red-headed Woodpecker and Blue Grosbeak.    I could hear no Grasshopper Sparrows.  I continued on walking.  I could hear lots of chips in the grasses that I suspected were the sparrows.  I continued walking.  Just as I was heading to the car, I heard one sing.  It was a ways away from me, so I headed in that direction.  

I then saw a small sparrow like bird fly down into the grass.  A couple of fisherman were walking a trail to one of the back lakes, and flushed a bird.  About that time, two birds came flying past me chasing one another.  One of them landed on a small shrub.  

Grasshopper Sparrow!

Again, this is the closest I have seen one.  It is really a sticking little bird.  Very spunky too.

I really like the yellow shoulders.  The back of the bird was just as cool.  It was a pattern that would definitely make it hard to see in walking in the grasses.  Very pretty, the back of a Grasshopper Sparrow.

Close up of the neck.  I found the pattern on the neck to be very cool!

As the heat was now unbearable, I decided to head east towards home.  The spot that is most reliable for Lark Sparrow was on the way home, so I decided to go there next.  The spot were they are usually seen one wouldn't think to be a destination for birders.  It is a semi - abandoned condo complex that has foundations that were never finished or developed.  As I approached the condo complex, I noticed a bird in the middle of the road.  It was just pacing back and forth.  I stopped the car, to find that it was indeed a young Lark Sparrow!  It still had down on its head.  I fumbled to get my camera.  I then happened to relize that I was parked in the middle of a highway and glanced up at my rear view mirror only to find a cement truck barreling down on me.  Yike!  I quickly pulled into the complex and parked.  When I got out of the car, the Lark Sparrow flew into the tree line.  Dang!  The bird never re-showed.  One for next time I guess.

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Cool news!

Tweet There was a request for the need of certain bird photos for an exhibit posted to the Ohio Birds email list not too long back.  The exhibit would be about Alexander Wilson and would be at the Paisley Museum in Scotland.  I looked and the list of photos that they still needed for their exhibit and found that I had one of a those - the Kentucky Warbler!

This is one of my favorite photos that I have taken.  I just got very lucky.  Here is the photo that was used in the exhibit:

                   

It was a bird that was discovered by Alexander Wilson himself, the Kentucky Warbler.

Here is a picture of the pictures hanging in the exhibit in Scotland with other pics of birds by another photographer Steve Jones.  My pic is the 2nd from the right in the 2nd row down.

If you can't go to Scotland and see the exhibit (I can't, but wish I could!) , it is also online here 

Alexander Wilson Exhibit

Here is a direct link to my pic - Kentucky Warbler

Special thanks to Edward Lux and Dr. Jed Burtt for this opportunity.  Also want to thank photographer Steve Jones for notifying me about the online exhibit.

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