ABA Blog

Open Mic: A Big Win for Birding Youth at the World Series of Birding

At the Mic: Brian Quindlin

Brian "BQ" Quindlen is an elementary school teacher in Garnet Valley School District and the Upper Main Line YMCA Earth Service Corps coordinator. BQ is celebrating his eleventh year at the Upper Main Line YMCA in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and has served as lead coach for the World Series of Birding teams for the last six years. An active birder in the northeastern United States, BQ is a member of the conservation organization Friends of Exton Park and leads bird walks for the Cape May Bird Observatory.

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New Jersey Audubon Society celebrated the 30th annual World Series of Birding on Saturday, May 11^th and for the first time a youth team took home the cup! The Upper Main Line YMCA’s “B.B. Kingfishers”, comprised of three high school students from suburban Philadelphia, tallied 186 bird species for the historic win.

Senior Director of Youth Development Brian Raicich (left) and birding coach Brian Quindlen (far right) stand with the B.B. Kingfishers and the Urner Stone Cup, won for achieving the highest bird count of the World Series of Birding. Center: Nathaniel Sharp, 17, Ben Bussmann (captain), 18, Austin Smith, 16 (Photo by Kriston J. Bethel)

 The B.B. Kingfishers hail from the Upper Main Line YMCA Earth Service Corps, a teen environmental service-learning program in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. The team’s captain, Ben Bussmann, 18, and his teammates Nathaniel Sharp, 17, and Austin Smith, 16, participate in our year-round YMCA program. In addition to the B.B. Kingfishers, the YMCA was also represented by the middle school team, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Brant! Yusuf Romaine-Elkhadri, Liam Gallagher, Connor Simpkins, and team captain Tyler DiAndrea came in second place in the middle school division with an impressive 157 species.

Team captain Ben Bussmann, a senior from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, tipped his hat to all of the younger competitors at this year’s World Series of Birding awards ceremony. “I’m really proud of all the youth teams,” Bussmann remarked. “Of the top 12 teams, five of them were youth teams.” He is a seven-year veteran of the World Series of Birding with many career highlights, including one middle school division victory, one high school division victory, and now, the coveted Urner Stone Cup. Ben will be attending State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry this August.

Austin Smith, 16, Ben Bussmann (captain), 18, and Nathaniel Sharp, 17, scan the trees in Stokes State Forest (photo by Brian Quindlen).

Nathaniel Sharp is a junior at Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, and his Urner Stone Cup victory marks his fourth year competing in the World Series of Birding. A meticulous and academic birder, Sharp is an active member in the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club and participates regularly in local Christmas and Spring Bird Counts. Last year, Sharp’s World Series of Birding team took home the high school division championship.

The third B.B. Kingfisher, Austin Smith, is a five-year veteran of the World Series of Birding. A sophomore at Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Austin has captured one middle school division title during his years as a competitive birder. One of Smith’s most prominent mentors is his older sister, Dani Smith. Dani is an Ornithology Department intern at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and a decorated YMCA Earth Service Corps and World Series of Birding veteran.

Marsh Wren at Jake’s Landing, NJ (photo by Brian Quindlen).

This is my sixth year as the YMCA Earth Service Corps coordinator, and one of my responsibilities is to act as the lead coach for our World Series of Birding teams (in addition to my full-time commitment as an elementary school teacher). I began my career as a birder for the YMCA during its first year of competing in the World Series high school division eleven years ago. Once I graduated high school, I returned to the program to serve as its coordinator.

I was very lucky to have a strong mentor during my formative years as a birder. Brian Raicich, the YMCA’s Senior Director of Youth Development, has been my most influential birding mentor. He has been a leader and a visionary for my fellow birders and me, and my goal with YMCA Earth Service Corps is to provide the same experience for future birders and naturalists.

The dedication and work ethic of these students is absolutely astounding. Between weekly classroom sessions, weekend field trips, and their own independent time in the field, these students display a serious level of dedication and passion for birding. This victory shows what students are capable of achieving when given the opportunity to display their talents!

Young birders have certainly been garnering more attention over the past several years. As young birders are becoming more visible in our bird clubs and hot spots, I think it is important for the birding community to begin to recognize these individuals as birders first and young second. Veteran birders must speak with the younger generation as peers, not talk down to them simply because they are young. The birding community thrives when information is exchanged and positive connections are built between its members.

The Upper Main Line YMCA students and staff have been very fortunate to have veteran birders who mentored us over the last eleven years. Specifically, the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club have guided us on Christmas Bird Counts, field trips, and World Series of Birding scouting trips, all while being our finest teachers. My hope is that more birding clubs around the nation embrace the younger birding generation as students, friends, and future club members!

Congratulations to the B.B. Kingfishers, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Brant!, and all of the other youth division teams for representing the new generation of birders! We look very forward to seeing everyone at next year’s World Series of Birding!

Rare Bird Alert: May 24, 2013

This week saw two first records here on the leeward side of spring migration. Bird reports, vagrant and not, are slowing down in the south and continuing apace in the north as they will for at least a couple more weeks. 

As for those two records, one was a no-doubted and the other is a little less certain but arguably more intriguing. 

The no-doubter is the discovery just yesterday of a Brown Booby (ABA Code 3) sitting on a fishing boat off of Westport, Connecticut, for that state's first record of the tropical species. The individual eventually came in to sit on a pier such that it was visible, if distant, from shore. 

The intriguing record is that of a possible White-winged Tern (4) photographed in Lyon, Minnesota, this week. Follow the link for a photo. Sadly, the bird was not refound in subsequent days so its true identity may never be known for sure, but dang it if it doesn't look pretty compelling. 

One of the more exciting birds for the ABA Area came from Arizona this week, as a Slate-throated Redstart (4) was well-photographed and seen by many at Cave Creek Canyon in Cochise. 

California had a pair of Brown Boobies (3), one in Sonoma and another in Mendocino. 

A Bronzed Cowbird was notable for Nevada, seen near Corn Creek. 

Lawrence's Goldfinch in Medford is a nice bird for Oregon. Even better is a Pine Warbler in Eugene. 

Washington had an Eastern Phoebe in Orielle. 

In British Columbia, a gorgeous make Lark Bunting was photographed in Edgewood. 

St Paul Island is the place to be in Alaska this week as Ross's Gull, White-tailed Eagle (4), Green Sandpiper (4), and Tundra Bean-Goose (3) were all seen. 

Excellent inland, a Sanderling turned up near Roberts, Idaho. 

We're so used to western hummingbirds in the east, so it's a bit odd to see a report of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in Riverton, Utah. Also found in the state, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak near Midway. 

Just as likely to come from ast or west, a Red-shouldered Hawk was found in Prowers, Colorado, and a Hudsonian Godwit was a nice find in Weld. 

Well out of range, a Prothonotary Warbler was seen by none other than our own Lynn Barber in Rapid City, South Dakota. 

New Mexico also had a Hudsonian Godwit, this one in Eddy. 

Good for Texas was a surprising Golden-crowned Sparrow in Cameron and a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher in Brazoria. 

Arkansas's second ever Lark Bunting was seen near Dardanelle. 

A White Ibis was in Lincoln, Missouri. 

Illinois had a Eurasian Wigeon (3) in Putnam. 

It's a bit late for vagrant gulls, but a Glaucous-winged Gull still made news in Douglas, Wisconsin. 

Michigan had a Brewer's Sparrow in Delta. 

Nice in the east is a Brewer's Blackbird near Hamilton, Ontario. 

In Quebec, a Prothonotary Warbler in Montreal is a red-letter rarity. 

Newfoundland had not one, but two, confirmed Little Egrets (4) near Fair Haven. 

New Hampshire's 6th Curlew Sandpiper was found in Hampton. 

In Massachusetts, a Common Ringed Plover in Essex is the third for the state. Also present, a Common Gallinule near Marshfield and a White-faced Ibis also in Essex. 

Maryland had a Western Kingbird near Catonsville. 

Pelagics out of Dare, North Carolina, turnedup multiple Fea's Petrels (3) and a single Herald (Trindade) Petrel (3). 

A pelagic in Florida had Black-capped Petrel (3) and a White-tailed Tropicbird (3), while an Antillean Nighthawk was recorded in Miami-Dade, this week. 

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This post is meant to be an account of the most recently reported birds. Continuing birds not mentioned are likely included in previous editions listed here. Place names written in italics refer to counties/parishes

Readers should note that none of these reports has yet been vetted by a records committee. All birders are urged to submit documentation of rare sightings to the appropriate state or provincial committees. For full analysis of these and other bird observations, subscribe to North American Birds <aba.org/nab>, the richly illustrated journal of ornithological record published by the ABA

 

 

#ABArare - Common Ringed Plover - Massachusetts

Those much vaunted ABA rarity codes, created way back when to quickly judge the relative scarcity of a given vagrant to our shores, are not perfect. For starters, birds that breed in Canada or the US, regardless of their rarity anywhere else in those two nations, are given codes 1 or 2 with only a disclaimer admitting that some code 2 birds are harder to find that many of those with code 3 or even 4  suggesting that there is more to the story. This is why a bird like Common Ringed Plover, despite nesting on Baffin Island in a remote part of arctic Nunavut, is a mere code 2.

That's a roundabout way of saying that the Common Ringed Plover discovered by Suzzane Sullivan in Essex, Massachusetts, on May 20th is a much bigger deal than its ABA code would indicate.

photo by Jason Forbes

The bird was seen at Parker Island NWR, often referred to as Plum Island, which is east of Newburyport and just over an hour north of Boston on the Newburyport Turnpike. More specifically, the bird was seen amongst Semipalmated Plovers on Sandy Point near the Piping Plover enclosures, which is the extreme south end of the island and refuge.

Please note that due to a road improvement project at Parker Island NWR, Sandy Point has limited access. Monday through Thursday the road is closed to ALL traffic. On Friday, the road is one-lane until noon, when it is fully open through the weekend. More information is available here.

UPDATE: My mistake. The construction was completed last week and the road is completely open. 

Common Ringed Plover is primarily a Eurasian species, but as mentioned earlier is fairly common in its restricted North American range including the northeastern coast of Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island in the ABA Area. The nominate subspecies, C. h. hiaticula, breeds from northeastern Canada to Western Europe.

Records for Common Ringed Plover on the east coast are few and far between and this is apparently only the sixth such record south of Canada. It has been recorded from Massachusetts at least twice before (1990, 2010), and also from Rhode Island (1991), Maine (2003), and New York (2008). There are several records from eastern Canada in Quebec, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. Additionally, the species has been recorded for the Pacific Coast from Washington (2006) and California (2011).

Given the species' identification challenges, particularly its similarity to Semipalmated Plover, this may be one that is more regular than the records would suggest.

 

An Illinois Big Day Record at Listing Central

Last week, on an absolutely perfect spring day, the Illinois Big Day Record was broken by a team that consisted of not one, but two ABA staff members. Web Developer Greg Neise, Birder's Guide editor Michael Retter, and a team consisting of Adam Sell, Jeff Skretny, Bob Hughes, and Larry Krutulis racked up an impressive 191 species for the day.

The IL Big Day Champs, having just broken the record with daylight to spare

 

For those interested in the planning, the madness, and the non-stop bird-finding of a record-breaking Big Day, you could do no better than Greg's thrilling travelogue currently posted at the ABA's Listers' Corner blog, the social media arm of Listing Central.

For 4 years Jeff Skrentny and I have been working on an Illinois Big Day route that might beat the (then) standing one-day total of 184 species set on May 17, 1997. We tried west-to-east. South-to-north. North-to-south. The Illinois River valley. Our first attempt went so badly, that by 6pm, our team found itself drowning sorrows in beer and whiskey at an outdoor café on the Fox River. Our next two attempts got into the 150s and 160s, but there’s a huge canyon between that and the rarefied air of the 170s. Last year in June, we tried a new route starting in the far NW corner of our state on the Mississippi River, and finishing south of Peoria…

Great success! This route had some spunk … and an amazing array of breeding birds. Our tally of 163 blew the previous June record out of the water by a clean 20 species—and I knew that with some modification, this route would take the gold. We just needed the right day, and a little magic.

This is, in a way, sort of a soft launch of the newest aspect of the online Big Day and List Report - re-christened Listing Central, the Big Day module in which birders can enter the high points of their own Big Day attempts, record-breaking or not. Those accounts usually took up the first third of the old printed magazine, now they'll be available online in perpetuity in a format that makes them a amazing resource for anyone planning their own run at a record.

But I get ahead of myself. The official announcement for that is imminent.

For the time being, head over to Listers' Corner to congratulate Greg, Michael, and crew, or maybe look at their intel to help plan that attempt to dethrone them.

Records are made to be broken, after all.

Springing Forward

It doesn't matter where you do your big year. Spring is always a nonstop proposition - if you can handle it.

I thought that doing a county big year would be so much more simple than a state big year, and really tons more simple than an ABA big year. It is true that there is a much smaller area and fewer possible birds in Pennington County than in South Dakota, Texas or the ABA area. But when spring arrives, no matter where you are, there is pandemonium if you are doing a big year. Birds are coming, some to stay and some to pass on through. It's the passing through migrants that are the main challenge. When will they get here? Where will they stop on their way through? How am I going to be where each species is when it is there? What will I do when/if the rains come and turn the gravel roads to slime?

All I know is to keep on going, check the likely warbler spots, which are few and far between in western South Dakota in a drought, check the few large puddles for shorebirds, explore unknown areas to see what might be there and repeat until there are no new birds to be found.

Right now we are in the midst of a few rainy days. After a weekend out of Pennington County at a SDOU meeting (where there were lots of migrants, which of course were not countable for my big year), I came home desperate to get some more warblers for my big year effort. Last year there very few warblers found west-river, especially compared to the numbers seen to the east of here. Things have been better so far this year than last, but it seemed that more birds should be there somewhere.

One of the best places for warblers in Pennington County seems to be Jackson Park in Rapid City. I've been trying to go there nearly every day for the last couple of weeks, and it has been worth it. Recently, Jackson Park has allowed me to add Northern Waterthrush (infrequent here), Palm Warbler (very uncommon here), Ovenbird, Blackpoll Warbler, American Redstart, and Tennessee Warbler as well as Western Tanager to my county year list.

But the very best bird at Jackson Park was a Prothonotary Warbler today (May 20). Last year when doing my South Dakota big year, I learned that I was VERY unlikely to find a Prothonotary Warbler in the state, and I did not find one, nor do I think anyone else did. Today when an orangey-yellow bird with a dark, white-spotted tail dashed across the path though the rain ahead of me I could not believe it. I forced my way through brush and waded out on to the mud at the edge of the tiny trickling creek and there it was, a golden bit of bird working the downed branches in the stream.

In too short a time, all the migrants will have moved on. The breeding birds that haven't already been ticked off for the big year will need to be located before all the birds leave again. Some time before fall migration I'm sure that one could rest, and maybe even sleep. I'm hoping that is more possible in a county big year than in a big year in a bigger area. We shall see.

P.S. The Prothonotary Warbler was bird species #191 for this year in Pennington County. 

 

Common Nighthawk Multimedia Art Contest Announcement

Official Bird of the Year Art Contest Website

Blog Birding #135

The glowing reviews of the Biggest Week in American Birding are still coming in, this time from Laura Kammermeier writing at the Nature Travel Network blog

As I was chatting with one of my colleagues, who was one of the braintrusts behind the eBird program, he asked where I was from. “Ohio,” I said.

“Ohio? Ever been to Magee Marsh and Crane Creek? That’s easily one of the top ten birding sites in all of the United States.” At the time, I was surprised. Being from northern Ohio and even vacationing in western Ohio quite often, I took my home state for granted.

We all agree climate change is a problem, but its impacts on a personal scale are often hard to grasp. Ted Eubanks of Birdspert considers sea level rise in the Caribbean but the lessons can be applied to the continent too:

Remember; I am limiting the focus to sea level rise. Climate change threats are more complex and wide ranging. Change in rainfall amount, temperature rise, storm intensification, atmospheric desiccation, and ocean acidification are additional concerns and impacts. For the purpose of this discussion, however, let’s limit the scope to SLR and its impacts on coastal birds.

Newfoundland birder Bruce Mactavish saw some cool things in Alberta, notable some breeding season interactions between shorebirds that are a bit more aggressive than what we see at our local marsh:

Near Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park I came across a watering hole built for cattle.  A handful of shorebirds came and went - Willets, Avocets, Marbled Godwits and Wilson's Phalaropes.  I witnessed a particularly aggressive Willet fly in calling loudly and attack another Willet that had been feeding there for 15 minutes.  The first Willet stood its ground and would not be moved by the persistent aggressive antics of the new Willet. Maybe these two birds already had a history between them.  The Willet battle lasted nearly a minute before it was broken up by a Marbled Godwit.The original Willet won out and continued to feed while the aggressor flew off without feeding.

Oddly plumaged birds are one of the fascinating needles in the haystacks of our everyday birding. Alex Lamoreaux at The Nemesis Bird found a really interesting Whimbrel that's worth a look:

Earlier today while out birding at the Magothy Bay Natural Area Preserve (eBird checklist) on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, I spotted a very pale blonde Whimbrel mixed with about 60 typical Whimbrel. The birds were distant but would occasionally fly between foraging locations which allowed me to get a few poor-quality flight shots showing the pale bird. I have never heard of a leucism in this species but a quick Google search came up with a few photos of an ‘Eurasian’ Whimbrel with even paler plumage than the bird I found.

We appreciate all the interest in the ABA's 2013 Bird of the Year, intentional or not, so John Mark Simmons' piece at Two Birders and Binoculars on Common Nighthawk facts is certainly timely:

Isn’t such a cool experience to see a flock of Nighthawks fly over? It certainly is for me. Whether you’re at the soccer field watching them Hawk the bugs around the lights; or, just happen to witness the shadowy wings pass by your house, they are undeniably unique birds. Its almost an art; angling through the air with their razor sharp wings and catching insects with their tiny beaks.

#ABArare - Little Egret - Newfoundland

On May 18, Pierre Ryan found a pair of egrets in Fair Haven, Newfoundland, and reported the pair as Snowy Egrets, which are rare but annual in the province. His photos and description of the birds' plumes led to suspicion that one or both of these birds may be ABA Code 4 Little Egret, an identification that was subsequently confirmed for one of them.

Locals have reported that the two egrets have been present since at least May 12, not always together and occasionally moving up a small river and out of sign for longer periods of time. This would be the 9th record of the species for Newfoundland.

photo by Jared Clarke, used with permission

Fair Haven is about an hour and a half west of St. John's, Newfoundland. From the Trans-Canada Highway turn west onto NL-203 S all the way to the bay.

Although Little Egret is an ABA Code-4 bird, the European range of this species is expanding and some ornithologists predict that Little Egret in North America may begin to expand in a manner similar to what has been occurring in Europe.

#ABArare - Slate-throated Redstart - Arizona

On May 18 an ABA Code 4 Slate-throated Redstart was discovered by P.D. Hulce at the Southwestern Research Station at Cave Creek Canyon in Cochise, Arizona. The bird was refound later and seen by several people, hopefully suggesting that this one will stick around for a little bit.

photo by Chris West, used with permission

Cave Creek Canyon is about 3 hours southeast of Tucson, Arizona. From I-10, exit at Road Forks, New Mexico. Take Hwy 80 south approximately 30 miles to route 533.  Turn right (west) on route 533 and go approximately 7 miles to Portal, Arizona.  You’ll know you’re in Portal when you see Portal Peak Lodge on your left.  Continue up the mountain, staying on pavement, another five miles.

As the Southwestern Research Station is an education and research facility, special rules apply to the viewing of this bird. It is very strongly recommended that birders seeking this redstart take these rules seriously. Please refer to a post on AZ-NM listserv by Richard Webster, the important points of which are copied below:

The bird can be seen from the main (public) road up Cave Creek Canyon. The bird also spends time where it can't be seen from the road, but in order to bird on the SWRS property, SWRS is now requesting that folks sign a release form in the office. The office is open from 8 to 5, roughly, subject to lunch. Birders can look for the redstart from the road at any point, and on the SWRS property once you have checked in with the office and signed.

The Redstart was first seen and was re-found a couple of times along North Fork, which is the creek closest to the main road and the one that goes by the hummingbird feeders (this is below the swimming pool that you see from the main road); it was primarily seen below the hummingbird feeders, where the creek passes between the maintenance area and main road. It was also seen several times along the Main/Middle Fork of Cave Creek down canyon from the maintenance area.

Slate-throated Redstart is a common, variable, and widespread neotropical species ranging from northern Mexico south to southern Bolivia. The subspecies from northern Mexico has red on its breast and belly.  In Guatemala the red is replaced by orange-red underparts grading to yellow in Panama south (Warblers, Dunn and Garrett).

Records of this species in the ABA Area are mostly from Southeast Arizona and Texas. There is one additional record from New Mexico. (ABA Checklist, Pranty et al.).

Birding Online: May/June 2013 issue

We at Birding are quickly wrapping up production of the May/June 2013 issue, and we hope to have it in the mail to you shortly.

There's one item, though, that we'd like to get in your hands immediately, and that's Amy Davis's "Sightings" column, with details on recent ABA Area records of a Fieldfare in Massachusetts, a Spotted Redshank in Indiana, and more. The complete article is available right now to all current ABA members.

Left: Photo by Tom Johnson. Right: Photo by Ryan J. Sanderson.

 There's more! Within a week, we'll be posting the next installment of "Sightings," with such incredible rarities as a Bahama Woodstar in Pennsylvania and a Eurasian Whimbrel in Texas. We'll let you know just as soon as that content is available online.

   

Left: Photo by Michael Burkholder. Right: Photo by Cameron Cox. 

Another great online feature in the May/June 2013 issue is a compendium of original research articles, compiled by ABA Checklist Committee Chairman Bill Pranty, to accompany a feature article on the fascinating story of the Purple Swamphen in the ABA Area. We expect to have that up soon, too, and we'll let you know as soon as the content is available.