LINKS

Whatbird.com
(excellent site for aid
with bird identification)

Sunrise Birding
Great sight for planning worldwide birding trips, and also for year-round educational bird walks along the Connecticut shore.

Wind over Wings
A marvelous organization that rescues injured raptors.

The Recovery Wing
A marvelous organization that cares for injured and orphaned songbirds.

PHOTO ARCHIVE
Species grouped by family

ABOUT
JOHN SCHWARZ

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NEWS & RECENT OUTINGS

Month of June, 2009

Just routine sightings this month.

Month of May, 2009

May 26    Currently there are several Upland Sandpipers in the large grassy area beyond the pond in the rear of the Cabela Outdoor Store adjacent to Rentschler Field in East Hartford. Photography has thus far been limited to across the pond, plus the birds have been in the high grass. Hopefully some better photo opportunities will be forthcoming.

May 25   Cerulean Warblers nesting as in the past at Hartman Park, Lyme, CT.

May 22   On the annual snowbirding drive from Florida back to Connecticut, we stopped overnight in Suffern, NY to visit Sterling Forest in the morning especially to look for Golden-winged Warbler, a species that is generally hard to find in Connecticut but is present in numbers here. Driving along Old Forge Road one can readily discern their "bee bzzz bzzz bzzz" song here and there through the open car window, but a better place for photography is the second-growth habitat under the power lines at the end of Ironwood Road.

May 13 through May 17   Staying in Tucson, I had the privilege of again exploring Southeast Arizona, this time with Melody Kehl, whose knowledge and experience enabled the observation and photography of numerous extremely local and otherwise hard to find species. The trip produced 18 new species photographed, 2 new races photographed (Audubon's Warbler and Mexican Duck), 6 new species seen but not photographed (Western Screech-Owl, Prairie Falcon, Common Poorwill, Lesser Nighthawk, Northern Goshawk, and Montezuma Quail), and one new species heard but only partially viewed (Virginia's Warbler).

Arizona is in the mountain time zone, but because there is no daylight saving time there the effective time is the same as in the Pacific time zone and it therefore gets light very early in the morning. We therefore set out at 5 AM on May 13 and were able to find the first two of our target birds - Rufous-winged Sparrow (1) and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (2) - in a dry desert patch still within the Tucson city limits. This spot was also excellent for Bell's Vireo, Lucy's Warbler, and Ash-throated Flycatcher. The rest of the day was spent north of the city in the Santa Catalina Mountains at different elevations from 2000 to over 8000 feet.

On the curvy road up the Santa Catalinas, we searched for but could not locate the Gray Vireo known to be in the area, but an inquisitive Zone-tailed Hawk decided to swoop in and flew low directly over us, even waggling its tail almost as if to extend a personal greeting. Colorful Western Tanagers seemed to be everywhere. A Virginia's Warbler was clearly heard but presented only the briefest fleeting partial view. At the higher elevations on Mt. Lemmon were numerous singing warblers including Olive Warbler (3), Red-faced Warbler, Grace's Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and Audubon's Warbler. Yellow-eye Juncos are numerous here, and we got to observe a female Anna's Hummingbird on her tiny nest. Among many other sightings were Warbling Vireo (4), Hermit Thrush, Bewick's Wren, Hepatic Tanager, and a very close flyover Northern Goshawk that was gone almost before I could react.

On May 14 we set off again at 5 AM, this time for the Santa Rita Mountains where we began with a3/4 mile trek up Florida Canyon, where there were good views of Canyon Wren, Warbling Vireo,and Hepatic Tanager.  Costa's Hummingbird was present along the rugged trail, but simply too flitty and quick for photos. At Melody's chosen location we sat down and waited patiently by a small stream, and sure enough by and by a pair of Rufous-capped Warblers worked their way down the hillside to get a drink on the opposite side of the stream where we waited so quietly, and we had a rewarding view of this colorful little bird which is only rarely seen north of the Mexican border. Next was Madera Canyon, where I had spent four fruitful days in 2006. The right side of the road in featured a grassy area before Proctor Road where Botteri's Sparrow (5) was singing. We spent our limited time in Madera at the Madera Kubo Lodge where any number of uncommon species may be seen. "Big Flame," the only known Flame-colored Tanager in the United States, was back here again for his sixth season. The feeders had numerous Lesser Goldfinches and Black-headed Grosbeaks, also Mexican Jay, Lazuli Bunting, Bridled Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Scott's Oriole, Hepatic Tanager, and Bronzed Cowbird. Among the more common Anna's, Black-chinned, Broad-billed, and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, on this day we also had Magnificent and Blue-throated Hummingbird (6), and a White-eared Hummingbird (7) rarely seen in the U.S.

From Madera Canyon we drove south down Interstate 19 which remains the only Interstate in the U.S. where distances are posted in kilometers (but the speed limit incongruously is in miles per hour!) and cut eastward north of Nogales and then northward again to Patagonia where our first stop was the well-known Patagonia rest stop. Here we found the pair of Thick-billed Kingbirds (9)and a cooperatively perched Phainopepla (10) which also afforded some nice in-flight views of its striking white wing patches. No visit to Southeast Arizona is complete without a visit to the Paton House in Patagonia and its numerous hummingbird feeders. This is one of the very few places where Violet-crowned Hummingbird is a regular. Other yard birds here include Lark Sparrow, Gambel's Quail, Abert's Towhee, Mexican Jay, and Lazuli Bunting. Just up the road from the Paton house is an active Gray Hawk nest, and nearby we found a singing Yellow-breasted Chat, and a hollow roadside log which housed a Bewick's Wren nest with four hungry chicks awaiting their parents' return every few minutes. We spotted a pair of partially hidden Monezuma Quail scuttling along in the tall grass, and a Barn Owl flew across the road in front of us. On the road back to Tucson were another pair of Montezuma Quail right in the middle of the main road as we sped by, but we were considerably past them before it actually registered what they had been, and we opted not to turn around. Finally back within the Tucson city limits, Gila Woodpecker and Gilded Flicker, nesting in giant Saguaro Cacti, showed well in the glow of the setting sun. Not a mile from here sits the aircraft graveyard where a thousand or more mothballed jets of every size and description, from A6E Intruders and A10 Warthogs to Boeing 707's and DC 10's, are  parked side by side for eternity, eerily undergoing silent decay.

For a timely early arrival in the Chiricahua Mountains, which lie on the New Mexico border, we got started on May 15 at 4 AM.  One attraction here was a Crescent-chested Warbler (10), another Mexican vistor rarely seen in the U.S. After a bit of a search, Melody located the bird in the canopy at the Pinery Canyon parking area. This was also the sole U.S. spot for Mexican Chickadee (11) with its very prominent black bib - a particularly difficult bird to observe as it stays near the very top of only the tallest trees. We found a second spot with an exuberantly singing Virginia's Warbler, but this one also would not show itself. The Chiricahuas also provided photo ops for Plumbeous Vireo, Painted Redstart, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Yellow-eyed Junco, and at the George Walker House in Paradise above Portal we were amused by a Juniper Titmouse (12) adding peanut butter from a feeder as a condiment onto its green caterpillar breakfast. In the afternoon we stopped at Lake Willcox, where there were a number of Wilson's Phalaropes (13) as well as Mexican (Mallard) Duck, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Eared Grebe, and a juvenile Neotropic Cormorant.

On May 16, we started out at 7 AM in anticipation of a late night.  First stop was the Ash Canyon B&B in the Huachuca Mountain area where the feeders had attracted a pair of uncommon Lucifer Hummingbirds.  Besides Anna's, Black-chinned, Broad-billed, and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Canyon Towhee, Curve-billed Thrasher, and Bushtit were also resident here.  At Fort Huachuca the main attraction was a beautiful Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher (14), and we also had cooperative Plumbeous Vireo and Red-naped Sapsucker, and a Cooper's Hawk on her nest. After a mid-day rest back in Tucson, we set out again at 3 PM for California Gulch, this time accompanied by Melody's husband Eric. Along the unpaved road in leading to the gulch we had a fly-over Prairie Falcon. The last four miles of the rugged road to the gulch takes time and care to negotiate, but the reward is North America's rarest sparrow, the Five-striped Sparrow (15), which is found in no other accessible place. California Gulch also featured another rare bird - a Black-capped Gnatcatcher (16), the rarest of the four North American Gnatcatchers, and also Blue Grosbeak, Bell's Vireo, Lucy's Warbler, and Varied Bunting.  With almost no daylight remaining we encountered a pair of Western Screech-Owls in the adjacent area where the rare Buff-collared Nightjar is known to reside, but the owls were not photographable, and we opted not to stay until after 9 PM just to try to hear the nightjar.  The recently-arrived nightjar was not settled in yet, and its location was not pinpointed enough to hope for a view, let alone a photograph, so we headed back to Tucson.  A Common Poorwill was seen in the car's headlights, and the first rest stop back on I-19 had several Lesser Nighthawks hawking insects in midair.

On the last morning, May 17, we travelled to the barren Santa Cruz flats near Casa Grande where Bendire's Thrasher (17) is resident  and Abert's Towhee (18) can be found among the scrubby trees. Our final stop was back at the Tuscon outskirts at the picturesque Sweetwater water processing plant, but it is quiet there this time of year. There was a singing Warbling Vireo and a close flyover Harris's Hawk.

The total species count for the five days was 163.

Month of April, 2009

4/22/09   The past three days have seen migration in full swing here in south Florida. Numerous warbler species can be found almost anywhere where there is a park-like setting with trees, especially fruiting strangler figs. Among the most frequently encountered are American Redstart, Black-throated Blue, Cape May, Northern Parula, Blackpoll, Black & White, Ovenbird, and some Worm-eating.

4/17/09   This afternoon I visited Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale, hoping to find a Swainson's Warbler to photograph with the sun in the west at that time of day. Birds favor the trees and dense vegetation along the canal on the east side of the cemetery, making morning photography disadvantageous. I found a Swainson's Warbler not five minutes after I arrived. It was easy to pick out, making a conspicuous disturbance in the leafy ground detritus as it overturned and tossed leaves about with its bill. The bird was so busy feeding that it remained mostly in plain view for over an hour and was still there when I left. At times it worked its way to within less than ten feet from where I was positioned motionless.

Month of March, 2009

3/17 - 3/22/09   The Texas lower Rio Grande Valley trip produced photos of 15 new species plus many better examples of previously listed North American species such as this Groove-billed Ani the only previous photos of which species were taken last year in Costa Rica.

First stop upon arrival in McAllen on 3/17 was Santa Ana NWR in nearby Alamo. Although also seen in numerous other places, Green Jay (1) and Buff-bellied Hummingbird (2) are readily found by the feeders near the entrance, while Olive Sparrow (3) and Long-billed Thrasher (4) are resident just past the beginning of the Chachalaca Trail. Garrulous Plain Chachalacas (5) are encountered throughout the reserve. Other birds seen here included Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Least Grebe, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, White-tipped Dove, Great Kiskadee, Black-crested Titmouse, and Orange-crowned Warbler.

Birding the following morning began promptly at dawn at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco. There was a photogenic (though sleepy) Common Pauraque (6), a pair of Red-crowned Parrots (7), and the trip's first Couch's Kingbird (8). Although a Rose-throated Becard and a Blue Bunting seen earlier in the month could not be located by anyone on this day, Estero Llano Grande had the most variety of any of the visited locales. Just a partial list of additional species here included Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Lesser Goldfinch,White-tailed Kite, Black-bellied and Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Blue and Cinnamon Teals, Northern Shoveler, Lincoln's Sparrow, Inca and Common Ground Doves, Savannah Sparrow (grayish race), White-faced Ibis, Harris's Hawk, Green and Ringed Kingfishers (fly-bys only), Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted, Solitary, Least, and Stilt Sandpipers, Eastern Screech-Owl, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, American White Pelican, and Vermilion Flycatcher.

For the afternoon it was only a few miles to the Frontera Audubon Center, also in Weslaco. The striking and valley-specialty Altamira Oriole (9) is resident here, and the tiny Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet (10) can be found along the trails. Also present here were Plain Chachalaca, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Inca Dove, Black-crested Titmouse, Pine Siskin, White-eyed Vireo, and Wilson's, Black & White, and Orange-crowned Warblers. The highly sought-after female Crimson-collared Grosbeak failed to make an appearance, but late in the afternoon an also uncommon female Blue Bunting (11) did come to bathe very briefly in the waterfall pool.

On 3/19 I drove west on U.S. 83 to Salineño. This spot, right on the bank of the Rio Grande, produced the trip's only Audubon's Oriole (12) as well as many of the same other species seen earlier in other locations. Ringed Kingfisher was a fly-by along the river and this also turned out to be one of the best places to photograph Altamira Orioles. I made the thirty-mile drive to Zapata and spent an unsuccessful hour trying to find a White-collared Seedeater behind the library there, but no none else reported it all week either. The area between Salineño and Zapata had Greater Roadrunner, Harris's Hawk, Crested Caracara, Cassin's Sparrow, and many Scissor-tailed Flycatchers.

The morning of 3/20 was spend at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in Mission. Notable birds here again included many of the valley residents, another Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Indigo Buntings, and a group of several Groove-billed Anis. An hour at the hawk watch tower yielded over a thousand Turkey Vultures and a few Broad-winged Hawks, but to my disappointment no Hook-billed Kite.

In the afternoon I moved base eastward to Brownsville and visited the Palo Alto Battlefield (Mexican War) site where I was rewarded with numerous Long-billed Curlews (13) and Cassin's Sparrows in the tall grass. Eastern Meadowlarks abound and White-tailed Kite nests here. Along the Old Port Isabel Road nearby (be sure to have a high ground clearance vehicle) were Gull-billed Terns (14), many Long-billed Curlews (I counted eighteen), two Crested Caracaras, Harris's Hawk, many American White Pelicans, several White-tailed Kites, and lots of ducks (especially Northern Shovelers).

On Saturday 3/21 I arrived at 7:45 AM at Laguna Atascosa NWR in Cameron County, about an hour north of Brownsville. On Saturdays the Reserve offers a guided trip throughout the vast acreage including many of the side roads not open to private vehicles. Highlights of the morning were a female Masked Duck at the alligator pond (good scope view), and a sole juvenile White-tailed Hawk (scope view) which was a life bird, but somewhat surprisingly turned out to be the only one seen on the trip. Before leaving Laguna Atascosa, I spent an hour in the gardens near the vistors' center hoping to find the male Blue Bunting that had been seen here off and on for some weeks. I was just about to give up when the bird suddenly popped out of a large shrub not fifteen feet from where I just happened to be standing. An afternoon scenic drive around the 15-mile loop produced more Long-billed Curlews, some nice aerial views of Caspian Terns, and a photogenic Greater Roadrunner.

The final morning (3/22), before the afternoon return flight from Brownsville back to Fort Lauderdale via Houston, I visited San Miguelito Ranch on Hwy 77 twelve miles north of Raymondsville. I realized I was on a Texas ranch when the main house turned out to be five miles from the front gate. This side trip was well worth the effort for the seldom seen Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (15), a pair of which make their home here. Before heading to the airport I traveled the Boca Chica Highway in Brownsville, still hoping to find a White-tailed Hawk and/or an Aplomado Falcon. I must have looked at every treetop, telephone pole, yucca, and fencepost between Zapata and Brownsville, but I never did find the falcon and the only White-tailed Hawk was the distant one at Laguna Atascosa. I also searched many grassy areas for Botteri's Sparrow, but I believe it was too early in the season for them.

Some lower Rio Grande Valley mementos:

3/7/09  Green Cay has, among other things, a red morph Eastern Screech-Owl roosting daily in a small pine tree although nestled so snugly among the pine needles that photography is impossible. A Sandhill Crane was present here for the first time. Three Sora today were uncharacteristically well out in the open.

Month of February, 2009

2/18/09  At Green Cay nothing new coming through yet, although there is a clutch of baby alligators with the mother keeping close watch. The Magnolia Warbler has a mate, and there are great views of a beautiful male Northern Harrier "Gray Ghost" patrolling the wetlands.

2/2/09  Today at Green Cay Wetlands there was a non-breeding male Magnolia Warbler, just beginning its molt into breeding plumage.

Month of January, 2009

1/30/09  An outing to find life birds for a visitor from Indiana started early in the morning with a study of two female Snail Kites feeding on apple snails. A telescopic view of the bird grasping the shell with one talon while prying the mollusk out with its so specially adapted ultra-curved beak is fascinating. Other highlights were a pair of Hill Mynas at Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables and a Bronzed Cowbird in Olympia Heights.

1/24/09  The fifth new species for 2009 is a female Black-throated Gray Warbler, currently taking up temporary residence in Fort Lauderdale. This western species is not frequently seen east of the Rocky Mountains and is a rare occurrence for Florida. A short drive over to nearby Fern Forest Nature Preserve in Coconut Creek provided a brief view of a Nashville Warbler keeping company with a White-eyed Vireo. Unfortunately this warbler flew off before I could get a picture and I was unable to relocate it.

Test Yourself page 29 is now available.

1/18/09  The fourth new species for 2009 is a Snowy Plover. They are never easy to find, and in South Florida are most often sought at Tigertail Beach on Marco Island on Florida's west coast. One lone individual however was found this week on the east coast amidst a flock of approximately twenty Piping Plovers at Crandon Beach on Key Biscayne. This group in turn was keeping company with a still larger mixed flock of Semipalmated and Wilson's Plovers, Sanderlings, and Dunlins. Also present were numerous Royal Terns and a group consisting of mostly Laughing Gulls but also including a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

1/7/09  A third new species for 2009 is a Great Cormorant, perching reliably on the no. 5 channel marker at Port Everglades, the huge cruise ship port in Dania, FL. The view is from the very far end of John U. Lloyd State Park. Unfortunately the small jetty along the channel has been cordoned off, so the bird can be adequately viewed only with a telescope, and photography is distant and via digiscoping.

1/5/09  About two miles west of Highway 441 in Wellington (Palm Beach County) FL there is still some undeveloped acreage of prime grassland that provides ideal habitat for two reclusive and shy species, Sedge Wren (left) and Grasshopper Sparrow (right). Members of our bird count group noted both of these species there on January 3, but there was no time for photography then so I returned to the spot early this morning. There were perhaps a half dozen of each species present, and some excellent photo ops. Sedge Wren is the second new species of 2009 for this website.

1/3/09  Today was the date for our annual Palm Beach County Christmas Week Bird Count. Each year this becomes more and more challenging because of the loss of more and more unspoiled habitat sacrificed to human development. For example, in our group's assigned territory, last year's most productive sparrow field is now fenced in and no longer accessible. We did record some eighty species, including Barred and Burrowing Owls, Grasshopper Sparrow, Sedge Wren, Yellow-throated Warbler, many Limpkins, and unusually close-up views of Snail Kite.

1/2/09   Back in Florida for the winter season. The first new species for 2009 is the Least Grebe, a pair of which has raised two young locally at Yamato Scrub in Boca Raton. This is a species which commonly breeds in Texas and is quite an unusual visitor in Florida.

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