ABA Blog

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.

 

#ABArare - Green Sandpiper, Tundra Bean-Goose - Alaska

The rarity season in Alaska started with a bang on St. Paul Island this week when Doug Gochfeld and Scott Schuette, both with St. Paul Island Tours, found on near consecutive days an ABA Code 4 Green Sandpiper and a Code 3 Tundra Bean-Goose. The sandpiper was found on Thursday (5/16) and hasn't been seen since, and the goose was found this morning (5/18).

photo by Doug Gochfeld

St Paul Island is accessible by air via several Alaskan airports, most notably Anchorage, on Penair Airlines. The ABA is holding an event there this fall.

Green Sandpiper is a very infrequent vagrant to the Bering Sea region. This record is about the 12th for the ABA Area, but only the third away from the western Aleutians.

Tundra Bean-Goose is a casual vagrant to western Alaska, with most records in the spring. Many Alaska records can only be assigned to bean-goose species because the former Bean Goose sightings were not identified to subspecies at the time. The AOU split Bean Goose into two species, Taiga and Tundra Bean-Goose in 2007 in their annual supplement.  

More, undoubtedly, to come from western Alaska as the spring goes on.

Open Mic: Introducing Wader Quest

At the Mic: Rick Simpson

Rick Simpson of Newport Pagnell, UK, is a bird guide, illustrator, author of Confessions of a Bird Guide, and a Birdlife Species Champion. 

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As if life wasn’t complicated enough when it comes to waders and shorebirds it is not just their identification that is confusing, their very definition gets the grey matter working if you start talking to someone who lives on the opposite side of the Atlantic to you. It gets a bit like explaining the rules of Cricket. In North America all shorebirds are waders, but in the UK they are not, however all waders are shorebirds which of course is not true in the US and Canada, see what I mean?

For the purposes of this article, as this is a North American website we will use shorebird, but we mean wader…. follow?

So what is Wader Quest? In its simplest form it is a quest to see as many of the world’s shorebirds as possible, on a limited budget in a 12 month period. However, there is more to it than meets the eye.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Wader Quest has two main aims:

1) To raise awareness about the dreadful plight of shorebirds throughout the world, especially those that rely on the inter-tidal zones during their life.

The inter-tidal zones of the world are being destroyed at an alarming rate; it is easy to understand the value of rainforests and thus engender support for saving them, but not so large expanses of mud. We urgently need to raise the profile of beaches, mud flats and other wetland areas around the world among birders and non-birders alike and show that rather than being desolate wastes they are exciting, vibrant and productive ecosystems upon which millions upon millions of creatures depend, birds among them. In the USA you know about this only too well with the problems you are having with the beach plovers, Piping, Snowy and Wilsons and this is due to recreational use for the most part. Imagine then the problems faced where governments are set on turning these places into factories or fields for the plough and local people hunt the birds for food.

Pied Avocet

2) To raise money to support the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) Spoon-billed Sandpiper captive breeding programme.

There are probably less than 100 breeding pairs of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper left in the wild today. Their survival is in the balance and they are hurtling towards extinction. The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in the UK is part of an international team set up to prevent the extinction of this amazing little bird. The captive breeding programme they are carrying out is designed to provide a safety net for the species should the attempts to prevent its extinction in the wild fail. We would like to raise as much money as we can to assist them in this noble task.

Thus Wader Quest was born; the idea being to travel the world, visiting the six major continents on which shorebirds can be found with a view to seeing as many of them as we possibly can, whilst engaging with local communities through talks, visits and the media. Obviously our funds are limited as we are not sponsored in any way, so it was not designed as a serious attempt to set or break any records, it was merely an extravaganza that we hoped would capture people’s imagination and get them to follow our travels and adventures and who knows? Maybe feel the urge to donate to the cause.

Naturally our quest started in the UK on November 1^st 2012. We wondered what would be our first species and assumed that it would be Northern Lapwing, the UK’s most common shorebird. But we travelled for two hours across the UK to Norfolk, through some prime lapwing habitat and didn’t see a single one.

Black-tailed Godwit

This rather underlined the whole point of Wader Quest for us. Shorebird species are in decline the world over. It is not just these enigmatic species in far flung corners of the world that are in trouble. In the last thirty years or so, the Northern Lapwing population in the UK has halved. A lot is spoken of the decline in songbirds, but it seems to us that shorebirds are the forgotten cousins in the bird world, and they shouldn’t be.

So what then was our first bird? Well when we arrived at the Titchwell RSPB reserve in Norfolk we were further thwarted by the water levels on the reserve being too high for shorebirds, especially the smaller Calidris types, we wondered if this was an omen, first no lapwings and now this! As we trudged up the path towards the beach eventually we came across a Common Snipe, at last the list was opened. That was quickly followed by Common Redshank, the absent Northern Lapwing and a Black-tailed Godwit, but where were all the birds?

At the end of the track one passes through a dune area and out onto the beach. As we passed between the last of the dunes it was like opening the door to a surprise party, there were shorebirds everywhere, the beach was rippling with life; we were in heaven. Red Knot, Black-bellied Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Sanderling, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Ruddy Turnstone and Dunlin were all scurrying up and down the beach going about their business.

Ruff

We spent a long time enjoying this spectacle and then decided that a reviving cup of tea was required. Whilst imbibing this refreshing infusion we learned that there was a rarity in town; White-rumped Sandpiper. We couldn’t resist it and off we set in hot pursuit.

A short drive along the coast to the ley NNT reserve and some local directions and we were in the hide watching and waiting. As we did so we clocked up some more birds for the list, Pied Avocet, European Golden Plover and Ruff but where was the sandpiper? Eventually we found it, having a preen in the middle of a group of Dunlin, we ended the day on 16 species, not bad for England in November.

The next morning and another dash for a rarity, this time Long-billed Dowitcher. It was at the home of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper captive breeding programme at Slimbridge WWT in Gloucestershire. We saw it and also a Eurasian Whimbrel, taking our tally up to 18 for the first part of our quest in the UK.

Two days later we flew to Thailand in search of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and much else besides. Were we successful? We’ll let you know next time.

Rare Bird Alert: May 17, 2013

A short intro this week, one that was defined generally by two phenomena. First, the wind out of the southwest has been pretty much constant for the last several days, the result being that there have been a ton of western birds turning up in the east, particularly around the Great Lakes. Second, the bird of the week may well be Ruff, as the invasion staged last fall is seeing a sequel, particularly mid-continent, as all those southbound Ruffs in the fall are heading north and stopping at many of the same places on the way back. Only this time, many of them are looking really sharp. 

We have another state first, finally making it full year since we've gone more than one week without a first state or provincial record somewhere in the ABA-Area, which is still ridiculously impressive and a testement to all the really focused bird-finding going on out there. 

That first record came from Alberta, where the province's first Purple Sandpiper was well-photographed near Calgary. the bird sadly didn't stick around more than a day and a half. 

Nearby in Idaho, an Orchard Oriole in Jefferson is that state's 2nd record. 

A White-faced Ibis was photographed near Cranbrook, British Columbia. 

Just in time for the Kachemek Bay Festival, a Eurasian Hobby (ABA Code 4) turned up near Homer. 

A couple Chimney Swifts were seen among Vaux's at a roost site in Douglas, Oregon. 

Good birds in California were offshore, 3 Brown Boobies (3) in San Diego and a Hawaiian Petrel (4) from a cruise ship in Humboldt waters. 

One of few records recently, a Yellow Grosbeak (4) briefly visited a feeder in Pima, Arizona. In the same county, a Baltimore Oriole, one of fewer than 20 records, was seen. 

In New Mexico, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak was in Albuquerque. 

A Green Violetear (3) was a very brief visitor to a feeder in Cameron, Texas, this week. 

Shocking enough for the locale, but even moreso in mid-May, was a Common Redpoll in Baldwin, Alabama. 

A pair of American Flamingos flew by Miami-Dade, Florida, and an absolutely gorgeous Western Spindalis (4) was photographed in Monroe. 

Semi-annual north of Florida, a Gray Kingbird wasd reported from near McClellonsville, South Carolina. 

A Swallow-tailed Kite had to be an exciting find in Cape May, New Jersey, and a Painted Bunting turned up in Monmouth. 

The first of many Ruff (3) this week was one in Cayuga, New York. Also in New York, a White-faced Ibis in Chautauqua and a Swallow-tailed Kite flew over Queens. 

In Rhode Island, a lingering King Eider was seen in Napatree and an overshooting Boat-tailed Grackle in Charlestown.

Massachusetts had a Ruff (3) in Essex. 

In New Brunswick, a Common Gallinule was in a marsh near St. George. 

Notable birds in Newfoundland include a Northern Wheatear and a "Eurasian" Whimbrel, both at Cape Spear. 

In Quebec, a Black-tailed Godwit (3) was at Marais salés de Longue-Rive, and a White-winged Dove at Sept-Îles. 

For Ontario, a Lark Bunting at Frontenac and a Swainson's Warbler at Point Pelee are both very good this week. 

A staggering 3 Kirtland's Warbler were seen this week in Ottawa, Ohio, and a Red Phalarope in Franklin. 

Indiana's 2nd ever Rock Wren was near Howe. 

A bit more northernly than expected, an Anhinga was seen in Muhlenberg, Kentucky. 

Missouri had a Black-headed Grosbeak in Webster, a pair of Ruff (3) in Platt, and a third at Squaw Creek NWR.

Arkansas had a Ruff (3) in Maryville. 

The cup bloweth up in Iowa, where a Rock Wren was seen in Boone, a Lewis's Woodpecker visted a feeder in Lime Springs, a Lazuli Bunting turned up in Cedar Rapids, a Western Tanager in Mason City, a Bullock's Oriole in Story, and a Painted Bunting near Shenandoah. Pshew!

Increasingly common in the north, a Great-tailed Grackle was reported from McLeod City, Minnesota. 

A couple good birds in North Dakota include a Barrow's Goldeneye near Gackle and a Hooded Warbler near Grand Forks. 

Great for Saskatchewan was a nice male Black-throated Blue Warbler photographed in Saskatoon. 

A bizarre records for Wyoming is an apparent Red-bellied Woodpecker visiting a feeder in Laramie. 

Both a Summer Tanager and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak were seen in the same location in Logan, Utah. 

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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