Team Awesome Leaves for TX... soon!

Jason, Ben, and I (left to right) are scheduled to leave for TX tomorrow... weather depending... I'm going to attempt to blog from the road a bit while gone and will also be keeping twitter updated with our progress: http://twitter.com/LAKRAS feel free to keep track on either one and leave us comments as we go...

Tonight I'm finishing up packing... laundry is finished and there are some fresh baked cookies coming out of the oven as I type this (thanks to ben...)

We'll miss you all but will certainly be enjoying some good birds *we hope*.

Thats it for now... see y'all later.

LK

Appledore Island Gulls

Today I spent my day on Appledore Island to get a feel for the island as I will be TA'ing a class there this August.

Fortunately, I had lots of time to bird and check out the island. There were many highlights including helping to attempt to catch and band the female Herring Gull which has mated with the male Lesser Black-backed Gull on the island. Unfortunately, she never made it into the cage so I was not able to witness this happening.

Female Herring Gull inspecting the nest and the cage trap

This is the 4th year that this Lesser Black-backed has come to Appledore to breed. He was banded along with his mate in 2008 and they both returned in 2009. They raised two chicks one of which has been seen both in Provincetown, MA and in Brevard County, Florida. This year he is with a new mate - hence the need to band her. Dr. Julie Ellis heads up the gull research on the island and has been banding birds on the island since 2004 (with the help of students and volunteers). She also keeps a blog where you can follow the Lesser Black-backed Gull and other gulls: http://gullsofappledore.wordpress.com/

Male Lesser Black-backed Gull: first documented bird to breed in the US

For those of you who don't know... Gull babies are extraordinarily cute. The island is currently overflowing with them. This means their parents are in a very vicious stage! Here's a photo of Great Black-backed Gull Chicks:

Finally, here's a slide show of pictures from the day... all photos can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lkras/sets/72157624211302151/

Life List - 450; What does it mean?

Not that long ago I saw my 450th lower 48 life bird in the form of a Golden-winged Warbler. He was cute, flashy, and very cooperative. 450 seems like a pretty big mark... and 500 really isn't too far away given not-to-distant traveling plans to Texas. However, I've recently been reflecting a lot about listing and what it all means.

(GWWA - Lower 48 450th lifer)

Back in January of 2006 I hated birders and birds. Honestly, I really did. I know many of you have a hard time believing that but there are MANY people who can testify to this being reality. Thing is, I didn't know much and it frustrated me to be around people who had seen HUNDREDS of birds and the only birds I had seen were American Robin, Bald Eagle, Blue Jay, and American Goldfinch. Twitching seemed absolutely insane to me and completely un-environmentally friendly. I didn't understand the mentality that was behind it all. Who cared about the LeConte's Thrasher? Why was it worth getting cactus spines in my foot? It was just a bird. Why would we drive 12 hours out of our way (each way) to see Whooping Cranes in Texas? Wouldn't the drive be a huge waste? Not to mention, if everyone did this regularly wouldn't the habitat disappear sooner with SLR and climate change?

In time, I got past the frustration and began to identify birds like Chickadees, Kestrels, and Red-tailed Hawks. Birding became fun and a way to feel connected to the world around me. It was a way to feel a sense of place and was one more piece of the puzzle that is the world around us. I saw Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and Warblers! Birding was fun and I started keeping track of what I saw. Not because I wanted to reach a certain number but because knowing how many species I was able to identify on my own was a testament to how much I had learned and how far I had come in just a few (2) years. My 300th species came in the form of a Grasshopper Sparrow in Northern Lower Michigan. It was very exciting because I didn't really know how to identify many sparrows at the time but they seemed like they could be a lot of fun especially when they had neat names.

Things changed drastically between 300 and 400. I became obsessed with birding. I wanted to find out how good of a birder I could be, how many things I could see, and what I was capable of when I pushed myself to my limits. I set a state record, I chased birds, I got upset if I missed a sighting. Four years ago I hated that type person because they seemed to not care about the birds themselves so I attempted to make an effort to observe behavior, practice the identification, and enjoy EVERYTHING. However, there were times when I failed because I was simply too caught up in the moment.

(Me enjoying birding from a parking lot)

At the end of my year I was left to a similar conclusion as Ken Kauffman was at the end of his big year; the journey, the process, the birds are what make it worth it. The listing is exhausting. Listing can be fun as it pushes you to be out birding every day and can help you keep track of how far you come. However, somehow it seems as if our motivation as birders has switched away from this. Life lists, year lists, etc no longer really represent what we know or what we've learned; instead they reflect how talented the people we bird with are, how talented the people are in the state we live, how often we are called about rarities, how often we chase rarities, etc.

Stop and think for a moment: how many birds have YOU seen? Not how many birds have you chased. When was the last time you went birding, had a completely average or below average day and were proud of it? I'm guilty of saying "gee today was really slow and below par" and being bummed about it at times. But I want to fight this so bad. I like anyone will fall into this trap. I just really hope that I surround myself with better people than I have at times in the past. People who appreciate rarities from a distance (and don't harass the hell out of them), people who genuinely appreciate every bird they see, and people who recognize that "getting out into the field isn't a means to the end, it itself is the end".

(people who genuinely care about the birds)

My big year was filled with many above average and below average days. But each one of them is what made it great. Because the year ended up being about much more than a number and a total. However, it would have been very easy, the temptation was there, and on some days I gave in to it and the number became my focus. I think as a birder it is impossible to escape this temptation at times. However, I promise to myself to strive to escape it as much as possible, to appreciate every day, every bird, every experience, and every walk where we see "nothing" because everything is part of the journey and everything is part of our life. And really, the "big life" isn't about a total of species. It's about knowledge, growth, happiness, friends, and family.

(friends who are practically family)

Two years ago 300 species said a lot about me: it said I had come from hating birds and birders to learning to love, accept, and identify. 450 says I've grown some more, but it also says that I bird with three of the most experienced birders in the state on a regular basis. It says that people call me about rarities, and it says that I've moved to a new geographical region of the country. What says way more about the last two years is that I now can identify dozens of warblers by song and/or call. I can tell you about uppertail and undertail coverts of Common Gull. I can tell you about retricies and tarsi of Jaegers. I can tell you when Blackpoll Warblers arrive in NH, when you're likely to happen upon a Black Tern, and how to read radar for migration.

These are the things I'm proud of now; not 450.

More Than Sightings

Birding to many is about getting outside and seeing what you can find. It's about the challenge of an identification, the pursuit of a new species (for your life, state, year, month, or day list), and about having fun. What many people fail to realize or investigate are bigger picture questions dealing with migration patterns, seasonal distribution, distribution on breeding grounds, distribution in migration, overwintering challenges, habitat use, etc.

Lately these sorts of topics have been dominating and directing my birding (along with the desire to find out if this is ACTUALLY an early spring or if it just seems that way... more on this later though).

While there are some species which we know a lot about, it is safe to say that for almost every single species, even the most common (such as your local species of Chickadee) there are many more things that are unknown about its life, behavior, and distribution. There are many examples of ways that people can investigate these species more without much effort and fill in the gaps of our knowledge. One of my favorite examples is counting migrating goldfinches. I'm sure NH birders are laughing and already know what I'm talking about here, but for the rest of you here's a bit more information. During migration, two of NH's best birders (Steve and Jane M.) hit the coast and park at a spot they like to call "cutsie dootsie" and count migrating goldfinches overhead. Since American Goldfinch is common year-round in NH most people aren't invested in detailed observations of this species. Something as simple as counting the number of goldfinches migrating past forms a unique data pool for a species in which most people are familiar with.

While we information like this is helpful for all species, there are a few groups of species which deserve specific attention as there is extremely little known about them on their breeding grounds. These include: grassland(including salt marsh), bog/boreal, and early-successional species. Right now there is great need for information on species within these habitats as so little is known and without good information conservation efforts will not be informed.

(Vesper Sparow - one of many grassland species which is under threat due to destruction of habitat)

I'm sure the citizen-scientist part of birding isn't for everyone. I'm also sure that many people think that understanding distribution isn't a necessary part of birding. Perhaps it's not. However, I would argue that understanding distribution, investigating questions related to distribution, understanding vagrancy patterns, etc. all make one a better birder.

So the next time you see a bird - ask yourself, how much do you really know about it? Do you know much more than field marks? Do you know if it nests on the ground, in trees, or in sphagnum bog mats? What does it eat? Does it migrate, and if so when? Is it habitat specific? Does it prefer certain plants? If its a rare bird, is this a typical time for it to show up as a vagrant? Is its likelihood for vagrancy dependent on weather conditions; what sorts of weather conditions?

If I described a bird as glossy black with red and yellow shoulder badges with a slender conical bill you would probably immediately know I was talking about a Red-winged Blackbird. If you saw the following photo you'd probably know it was a Red-winged Blackbird.

But did you know that Red-winged Blackbirds build their nest low within marsh vegetation or in low shrubs? Did you know that the females choose the nest site yet males have some input? Did you know that sedges, phragmites, cattail, alder, willow and other plants are suitable vegetation for nests? Did you know that the oldest recorded lifespan is 15 years and 9 months? Did you know that Red-winged Blackbirds are highly polygynous?

In some states Red-winged Blackbirds overwinter, in others they don't. Sometimes they form HUGE concentrations (hundreds of thousands) to roost. Here's a video of a mixed blackbird flock headed to roost in NH. On this particular day we estimated 200,000 blackbirds going to roost. Others estimated 500,000 on a later date...

So the next time you see a bird... think... do you know more than just field marks? Do you know anything about its life? How does your sighting fit into the picture of distribution on a local, regional, and national level?

Common Gull in NH

Common Gull pooping. Can't ask for much more in life can you? I don't have much time to write since I'm headed out to the field. But I thought I'd share this first documented state record of Common Gull. More on this later I'm sure.

Winter Highlights

I don't know if you've noticed but it's been a good winter away from New Hampshire. Today marks the beginning of "Spring" at least in the sense of New Hampshire Bird Records. In honor of this exciting turn which will hopefully bring about fewer wind storms (read more about this later in the week) and better birds in the state, I will post some photos of my "best winter birds" outside of NH. Maybe this will encourage NH to provide us birders with some of the same species within the next few months.

Eurasian Wigeon (male on the right)

While I've seen Eurasian Wigeon in the state and was the first to report a EUWI in the fall, I'd like to get one a bit closer and get some good photographs of it. Besides they are just a truly fun species to see. (Additionally, I think Mike deserves another chance at trying to see it after routinely missing it this past fall.)

King Eider (female below the top center male).

King Eider are not that difficult of a species to see within New England. However, in NH there has only been one in the past 20 months. My looks at it were dismal and unexciting. I'd like to improve upon this as its likely that King Eiders are annual in the state and probably occur around the Isles of Shoals with regularity.

Redhead (male)

I've seen Redhead in the state once - yet I didn't have a scope on me so I only got brief looks when another birder arrived and allowed me to use their scope. However, they left quickly and I kept on the bird for as long as possible with binoculars until I had to meet people nearby to show them where to look for the bird. By the time we returned the sun had gone far enough down that no one was able to see the bird. I'd like Jessie, Jordan, and Jason to get Redhead this year.

Canvasback (male)

I've seen 2 Canvasbacks in New England within the past year - both in Massachusetts. The spring before I arrived Canvasback were "everywhere" within NH. Hopefully this spring will provide an opportunity for these birds to have another good showing in the state.

Sage Thrasher

While its probably a little too late - perhaps we'll nab one of these sometime in the next few years in New Hampshire. Every New England record has practically been within sight of New Hampshire! Yet NH has yet to record one. I thought about chasing this one from Salisbury, MA across into Seabrook, NH.

Ivory Gull (adult)

Last but DEFINITELY not least... I'd love to see one of these in NH. There have been a number of Ivory Gulls around this winter. There have been birds in MA/RI, GA, and VT/NY this year. No one knows where the MA/RI bird (or birds?) has taken off to and unfortunately the Georgia bird died after an attack by a Bald Eagle. The Vermont/New York bird has been seen reliably over the past week or so by a number of birders, including Ben. I'd really like to get a good record of an Ivory Gull in NH for this century.

Weekend on the coasts of MA & ME

Despite the fact that the coast is slow this time of year, I spent my weekend touring the coast. What may shock you all more than anything is that I didn't go to the NH coast at all! Instead I birded the southern Maine and northern Massachusetts coasts! Needless to say it was not really by choice but a matter that I agreed to tag along with UVM's Ornithology class that Ben is the TA for. We started on Saturday in Massachusetts on Plum Island:

Unfortunately there really weren't that many birds out and most things were pretty distant, but the scenery was still nice and the students had a good time.

While the students scoped some Black Scoters, Red-throated Loons, and Red-necked Grebes, I spent some time photographing the scenery as the birds were really too close to shoot most of the time. Here's a neat little effect of the sun in the sky:

The clouds were really neat during the day and created all sorts of fun effects as well. Throughout the day I tried to capture some of them - here's one of my favorite shots of the clouds over the dunes at Plum Island.

Sunday we switched gears and birded Maine a bit. On our way up to meet up with the class a Rough-legged Hawk flew over the car. We spent time at Scarborough Marsh and along the beach looking at Common Eider, Long-tailed Ducks, etc. Then we headed down to Marginal Way to look for Harlequin Ducks on the cliffs.

The trip had to end there as the students needed to get back. After they left I took some time to crawl along the rocks and try to snap a few shots of the Harlequin Ducks. Unfortunately the lighting was a bit tough but still fun to see them and the photos are better than anything I had previously.

More photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lkras/

2009 in Review

Here are the final numbers of 2009 listers

And Here is my story:

On January 14^th I returned to New Hampshire at 8pm after spending 25 days with my family in Syracuse, NY. By the time I had returned, many had anounced their intentions of doing a “big year”, I was not one of them. I did decide to keep track of what I saw using the excel sheet that Steve Mirick posted. I set an internal goal of 250 species for 2009 and hoped that my efforts would increase my ABA life list from 347 to 400 by years end.

My year started with a trip to Coe Hill Rd. where I logged my first species of the year: Northern Hawk Owl. I’m sure I saw birds on the way there, or even heard them in my yard, but I never noted any of them. It was my 348^th life bird.

On January 19^th I spent my second day birding in 2009 down in Gloucester, MA on a mission to see the Ivory Gull with Ben Griffith. Ben showed me lifer #349: Thayer’s Gull, which was found by Jeremiah Trimble. Within an hour the Ivory Gull appeared for #350. Before the end of the day I also added Harlequin Duck and Black-headed Gull to my life list.

My third trip out in 2009 was to the NH coast on January 21^st. I quickly added the usual sea-ducks, Razorbill, Guillemot, and to my surprise King Eider. The lack of any report of King Eider for 19 days caused some doubt of the validity of the sighting; however, later in the year, when I opened up the Winter Issue of NH Bird Records, I learned that Len Medlock reported King Eider on the same day at the same location!

In an effort to spend some more time birding together, Ben and I headed up north twice (joined by Jason Lambert on one occasion) where we saw Pine & Evening Grosbeak, Hoary and Common Redpoll (the three of us also saw both species in Keene, NH), Gray Jay, Bohemian Waxwing, and other northern specialties.

I went birding approximately 4 days a week with Ben throughout February. We spent time in Plymouth-MA, Keene, Rochester, Dover, Durham, Exeter, and the coast. Admittedly, some of my motivation was not “birding related”.

Ben left for California to work with Island Scrub-Jays. We tried the long distance thing… but that didn’t work out so well for us. However, despite his absence I realized that “being a birder” was who I was, with or without him; I really began to find myself and began to feel more and more comfortable in who I was.

On March 15^th I headed out on the Spring Pelagic trip. Conversation on the boat focused on who would be at the lead at the end of the year: Steve? Len? Jason? Eric? Len Medlock and Jason Lambert were in the lead followed slightly by Steve Mirick who was followed by Eric Masterson’s. On the trip I realized that my list was right in the middle of everyone else’s totals and I was frustrated that no one mentioned my name in the debate of who would finish the year on top. Then again, I had to remember that when Ben first met me, he “took it easy on me” due to someone’s suggestion to do so. However, by the time Ben left, “taking it easy” wasn’t in my vocabulary and motivated by the conversations on the boat I went on a mission to show others that I had grown and changed and was just as capable/dedicated as anyone else when it came to ending the year on top.

From that day forward I knew that if I was to end the year on top I would have to aim to break the 280 species that Mike Harvey saw in 2003 as 280-290 was goal for Eric and others. I knew others had the advantage of having years of expertise behind them, yet I knew that I had the advantage of having a never say die attitude, a flexible schedule, and a job that required my “work” time be spent in marshes throughout the coast. My strategy from that day forward was to see things as soon as they showed up in the state, and to spend any free moment I had in the field searching for migrants, breeding birds, and rarities.

March allowed me to add an abundance of waterfowl including Gadwall and Greater White-fronted Goose. April was a weird month beginning with a Great Gray Owl in Durham and ending with a flood of 22 species of warblers in the state including Yellow-breasted Chat and Hooded Warbler. I tallied 21 of the 22 species of warbler seen that month and shared a remarkable total of 17 warbler species in a day in April with Jason Lambert!!!

May proved to be even MORE productive as I added Harlequin Duck, White-eyed Vireo, and Gray-cheeked Thrush (thanks to Steve Mirick!) and Sandhill Crane thanks to a random whim to stop and pish for warblers in Newmarket. The Mississippi Kites returned and so did Ben. Before long we were back together and looking at a Lark Sparrow found by Steve in Exeter. We spent time birding migration where I logged my 400^th Life (though not ABA) bird in Tennessee Warbler. Ben became my coach and his “orders” sent me to the coast on May 29^th where I logged Black Tern and Red-necked Phalaropes.

June started off with a Royal Tern found by Eric Masterson, followed by a trip to Mt. Jefferson with Jason and Len to see Bicknell’s Thrush for Jason’s Birthday. After the trip I came down with mono and found out that a family member had cancer. To reflect and get away from work for a bit, I took a trip with Ben up north and added Spruce Grouse, Red Crossbill, Boreal Chickadee, and Olive-sided Flycatcher. When I returned to Dover, I made preparations to head home to NY to help out the following week. Ten minutes after I cleaned out my car I received a phone call from Ben who had just heard from Steve, that Mike Harvey had found a Sabine’s Gull near Pulpit Rocks.

I grabbed my gear and ran to my car. Sabine’s Gull was one of my “most wanted” species. I knew it would be a GREAT species to have on a big year list. I won’t tell you how fast I drove, but I’m sure you can imagine. On my way I found out that it had moved down to the Seal Rocks area. I pulled in and parked about 3 cars in but didn’t care. I’m pretty sure I left my car running as I dove out and saw JoAnn and Mike standing there looking through their scopes. JoAnn let me take a look, and I frantically spoke. I’m pretty sure Mike was convinced I was crazy at this point. I moved my car to a spot that had opened up and set up my scope dedicated to watch the bird until others got there. Birders arrived over the following few hours and it was one of the craziest times that I can remember.

A more detailed Sabine’s Gull recap can be found here: http://wornfieldguide.blogspot.com/2009/07/tale-of-sabines-gull.html Sabine’s Gull was ABA bird #400 and #263 for the year.

A few days later I headed home to help out and missed an American Oystercatcher. I was a bit bummed but knew I was needed at home more than anything. Luckily, shortly after my return I was rewarded with one of the most memorable birding excursions of the year on July 4^th. While I was patiently awaiting Ben’s arrival to the coast in order to go on an afternoon whale watch, text messages from Jason trickled in with the word “Jaeger”. Frantically I texted him back trying to figure out the details. Frustrated I left a rude voicemail and scanned out over the ocean from Pulpit Rocks in vain. Later I learned he was on a whale watch and had all 3 species of Jaeger with some other birders (later this was dropped down to 2 as one was a mis-id).

Ben and I boarded the boat and were rather tense as the pressure was high. Before long a first summer Pomarine Jaeger (the least expected Jaeger species in July) bombed right past the boat after a shearwater, and then… the boat went into “No-man’s Land”, the area in-between NH and MA that doesn’t count for either state (grrrr!!!). We had beautiful looks at bubble feeding humpbacks, but felt time slipping away. On the way back in to Rye Harbor we frantically scanned from the bow of the boat and then suddenly in the distance we spotted a first summer Parasitic in the distance!!! After celebrating, I headed to the wheelhouse and begged that we swing by the Isles of Shoals where a Long-tailed Jaeger had been seen earlier that day by the other group. Pete (the captain) obliged and just outside the Isles Ben picked out a beautiful adult Long-tailed Jaeger with streamers!!! A different individual than the other group had!!!

July 4^th was the second of over a dozen whale watches this summer and was the first of 3 trips where I viewed all 3 species of Jaegers! It was a truly spectacular summer for pelagic birds in NH, or so I am told, as it was the ONLY summer I’ve ever experienced in NH! On behalf of all of the NH birders who took a Whale Watch with Granite State - Thanks to all of you... Lindsay, Pete, Melanie, Will, Katie, Jonathan, Jodi... and of course Beth!

Perhaps the only thing more ridiculous than seeing all 3 species of Jaeger in a day was the “over-summering?!?” Sabine’s Gull which was seen on occasion in Hampton Harbor! July actually proved to be a great gull month with sightings of Black-headed Gull and Little Gull as well! The month capped off with July 29^th sighting of my second Little Blue Heron and first Baird’s Sandpiper!

In August things picked up as shorebirds started to move through again and I added Western, Stilt, and Pectoral Sandpipers. Hudsonian Godwits appeared in Hampton Harbor, and more notably, Steve showed up to the Coast in a tank-top. On August 7^th I was sitting at 279, 1 away from tying the record and 10 species ahead of Steve when I stepped onto Granite State (the whale watching boat) with Jason and Ben. We were hoping for some Phalaropes on the trip and were not disappointed. In fact, the first Phalarope we saw was a Red Phalarope!!! I had tied the state record!

I began to get antsy but it was 17 days before I saw my next species for the year. But it was worth the wait! On August 24^th I was doing my laundry when I got a call from Steve informing me that Mike Harvey had just found a Franklin’s Gull at the Rochester WWTF! I threw my damp laundry in a bag and bolted for my car. I was so frantic that I even left my iced coffee on the top of my car and wouldn’t have noticed if I had not been stopped at train tracks. When I arrived, I ran over to Mike. In some symbolic way I’m glad it was he who found what turned out to be #281.

September was marked with fond memories including large numbers of American Golden-Plovers and Buff-breasted Sandpipers (including one ADULT (not photo below)! Found by Ben and me).

October was the time of one of my few trips outside of the state as I headed to Wellfleet, MA with Jason L. and Mike T. to see the Fork-tailed Flycatcher (aka “spotting Brazilian wildlife”). On our way home, we received a call about NH’s 3^rd record of Bell’s Vireo, found by Len Medlock, Jane Mirick, and Steve Mirick. October never cooled down as additions kept pouring on including: Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Moorhen, Caspian Tern, Clapper Rail, Eurasian Wigeon, and Pacific Loon. The month ended with beautiful looks at a Common Murre inside Rye Harbor.

November was a time of many trips to the coast searching in vain for CAAVVEEE SWALLOWWWS!!!! But you have to miss out on something! I made up for it by finding a Yellow-headed Blackbird in Greenland and seeing a Black Vulture in Newmarket, NH which was seen a day prior by Denny Abbott and a month prior by Phil Brown. Tundra Swan, found by Bob Crowley, was my closest “almost miss”, and also occurred in November. I arrived with Ben, Steve, and Jane in Chatham, NH where 8 Tundra Swans were just over the ME/NH line. Within 5 minutes of our arrival, a boater approached the birds which then flew across the line into NH and out of sight.

I got a lovely birthday present from Pat Watts who found a Western Kingbird (#306) on November 13^th (the same day I saw Pink-footed Geese in Maine). However, I did not see the bird until November 15^th but then saw it for 6 days straight.

On November 30^th and December 2^nd I saw my 307^th year bird in the form of a very interesting Thayer’s Gull at the Rochester WWTF. On the 30^th Ben and I felt good about the ID. Unfortunately photos didn’t really resemble the bird so we had a few unanswered questions about the bird. Luckily, on December 2^nd I re-found the bird and in better light all question really disappeared.

My last bird of the year came in the small and adorable form of 4 Dovekie on the Winter Pelagic (seen again on the Seacoast CBC) where I also had my closest actual miss of Puffin which was only seen by 3 individuals on the boat before it dove out of sight never to be seen again.

The year ended with 3.25 CBC's in NH (Pittsburg, Seacoast, Lee-Durham, and about 2 hours worth of Errol before my car had had enough and required an $835 fix). It was remarkable to reflect how far I had come in one year at the Seacoast CBC. Highlights of the CBCs included an "Oregon" Dark-eyed Junco, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and, a Dovekie in Portsmouth East, not to mention 462 Purple Finches, 444 Black-capped Chickadees, 8 Boreal Chickadees, and the 3rd ever Tufted Titmouse on the Pittsburg CBC. Lee-Durham had the highlight of the CBC season though as Ben and I turned up 12 Pink Flamingos of the "plasticus" subspecies (Oh yeah... I almost forgot, we had 2 Red Crossbills too).

My final "chase" of 2009 was on 12/31/09 when Ben, Jason, Denny, Davis, and I all searched and successfully found the "Sooty" Fox Sparrow in Barrington. While not countable, it is easily the "best record" I saw all year. Just proves that birding should never be just about a number.

I ended the year with 64 lifers in NH and 308 species. I saw 305 out of the 308 species. I only heard Clapper Rail, Least Bittern, and Olive-sided Flycatcher. Some people may criticize and say that trying to set a number is more about the number than the birds. In some cases I’m sure this is the case; however, when ever allowed the chance I made an attempt to both study field marks and behavior of any bird seen this year. Some of my fondest moments with birds such as the Western Kingbird did not occur within moments of seeing it, rather, they occurred throughout the week as I would observe its behavior from across the treatment plant while also scanning through the gulls. I will never forget setting the NH Big Year record (which will be broken sooner or later) and ending 2009 ahead of everyone else. But more importantly, I will also not forget each and every single one of my species seen, whether life birds or not.

Many people may take note of my nh.birds post and see “308 species in NH in 2009” and think wow that’s a lot of birds. But for me, the year was about much more than just 308 species. It was about birding every single day and enjoying everything I saw. It was about being inspired to learn and improve my skills as a birder to a point that I would be able to earn respect and actually deserve it. It was about finding myself and making memories that are truly unforgettable. Finally, and most importantly to me, it was about getting to know a group of people who I now count as my closest friends: Steve, Jane, Len, Jason, Jessie, JoAnn, Mike H., and of course, Ben – I couldn’t have done it without you all.

Have a great 2010!

Weekend Report

Between Saturday and Sunday I turned up 125 species. Not bad considering the fact that most of Saturday consisted of re-scouting the precise location of a bunch of birds for the Birders who blog, tweet, and chirp event. The rest of Saturday was spent socializing while birding before prematurely abandoning the event to head up north. There I experienced no moose but lots of rain. The rain dampened our plans so to speak, along with our clothes, and we ended up altering plans a bit and did not go any further north than Jefferson Notch.

"Evolution of the tent" (2009 left, 1970s right)

Now for some specifics:

Saturday morning at 4:30 I dragged myself up and out to hi

t some spots looking for birds. Part of my goal was to see if anything unusual was around while another part was to re-locate the birds I had scouted at various points the week before to ensure that I knew where they were most likely to be for the "Birders who blog, tweet, and chirp" get together.

I hit the coast before traffic got bad. Had the usual suspects off the coast ranging from Northern Gannet to Common Tern to Bonaparte's Gull. I found some Roseate Terns offshore but with the tide still pretty high there was no hope for any in the harbor. Inland I went.

Pease was no disappointment as I quickly found every bird I targeted there including Upland Sandpiper, Vesper's Sparrow, and Grasshopper Sparrow. Eastern Meadowlark, Common Raven, Osprey, and American Kestrel all showed off for me too. Since everything was going so smoothly I skipped over Chapman's Landing as I had success with both species of sharp-tailed sparrow a few times including the night before.

I nailed down the Gonet road (thanks Len!) and Main St. nest sites for Mississippi Kites. Numerous birds were singing and I picked up a few species of warbler and the nesting Baltimore Orioles. On a whim I decided to check the Waste Water Treatment plant in Exeter. I was already plenty late for the Plum Island event and I figured I might as well make my time worth while. However, the only bit of excitement was the Willow Flycatcher. A few months ago this bird called and we were unable to find it. This time it was wide out in the open showing off.

A few other stops, some wrong turns, and one iced coffee later I was at the entrance to Plum Island/Parker River NWR. I called to check in and got the report that they were running a bit behind but were working their way out. A few minutes later I was able to sync up with the group. Naturally, the group photo waited until I arrived.

A few willet's, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 1 Least Bittern, 1 Bobolink later, and many conversations later we moved on to the next pull off. One step closer to NH. As Chris put it... "birding and socializing continue(d)". People got plenty of photos of Savannah Sparrow and Great Egret before moving on to pick up Least Tern in an unpleasant haze...Snowy Egret... Belted Kingfisher... and we were off the Island!

At this point Lunch was needed for most and more coffee and espresso was needed for me. And then... it was on to NH.

We skipped the coast - low tide had come and passed so finding a Roseate Tern would have been a matter of scanning groups of feeding Terns - and with weekend traffic on the coast - our group would have been too large to truly manage.

On to Newmarket we went. As expected a Kite was on nest when we got there. We patiently waited for another to swoop in but were disappointed. On to Chapman's Landing we went.

Chapman's Landing turned a bit frustrating with the harsh backlighting we were given. 4 Nelson's were moving around but none perched with their fronts towards us. Many more saltmarsh's were seen. Perhaps the most frustrating thing was this one Nelson's that perched up with its back to us and sang its little heart out without giving anyone a satisfactory look at the physical features you would associate with Nelson's.

Chapman's Landing can be a bit of a challenge in that you have Saltmarsh and Nelson's to deal with and chances are they hybridize with each other.

Here I abandoned the group (sorry!) because I was running late for dinner. I was tempted to speed but refrained during the 105 minute drive. As I was arriving at dinner I got a call from Chris saying that the group was at Pease safely and looking for birds.

Jason and his tent with a front yard

After dinner with Ben I headed up to the Jefferson Notch area to meet up with Len and Jason for our camping and birding expedition to celebrate Jason's 26th birthday! I had to set my tent up in the dark but I added some nice decor thanks to Dawn. However, I did finish setting up before Jason who was attempting to set up the super ultra dome 5bazillion complete with built in skylight. The hilarity of the situation cannot be fully recounted.

My button on my tent

After trying for Northern Saw-whet Owl in the rain and failing we decided to call it a night. A few short hours later we were disassembling the tents (still in rain) as we were told by a "reliable" source that the showers had mostly passed. We headed up to Jefferson Notch and began climbing. Not much was singing besides the 5+ Winter Wren and 17+ Blackpoll Warblers we counted (also had Magnolia and Black-throated Green). All of a sudden an unknown note came from the bushes. Excitement builded as we realized it was a thrush and then let down followed as we all turned to each other recognizing it as a Swainson's Thrush. Onward and Upward we moved.

Len may have had a tent with holes... but he was the only one with a pillow

We took our time in the rain (which was not seeming to end) and in the steeper sections I paired looking/listening/calling for Bicknell's Thrush with frequent breaks. Then finally, the moment we called, a bird whizzed right over my head. The three of us got on it and it began to sing... THAT'S IT! Bicknell's Thrush! Well before breakfast the 3 of us had secured a life bird and Len and Jason had secured fabulous photos. Before long a second bird appeared and we were beyond ecstatic. The whole thing was topped off with a Black-backed Woodpecker drumming in the distance.

I got photos of them getting photos of the bird

We headed down to the cars as the rain picked up. Turns out our "reliable" source wasn't so "reliable". A brief stop at Trudeau Rd. turned up Northern Waterthrush, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Nashville Warbler, and a few others. Time for coffee and breakfast we decided. We joined up with Ben for some delicious food then headed back out in search of more birds. 5 river crossings later the rain was coming down harder than ever so we moved on to identifying trees.

Naturally in a complete downpour hunger sets in and you desire ice cream. So we had a lunch of ice cream. Then we spent quite some time discussing things and planning our attack. Then miraculously the sky cleared. We tried to mini-golf but it was closed... eventually we ended up having a real dinner/lunch and sampling some of the beer brewed at the Woodstock Inn.

Skies still clear we headed back to Trudeau Rd. Len attempted to call in a Black-backed Woodpecker:

And indeed.... we ended up seeing Black-backed Woodpecker (although not for another 30 minutes). We picked up Black Bear on the ski slopes, saw some toads, and quizzed each other on tree identification. And then... we headed home.