A male Eurasian Wigeon has been mixing company with American Wigeons and other birds at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge for the last week or so.

I spotted the bird, initially reported to the Cayuga Birds birding listserv, during an impromtu stop at MNWR on my way back from  Ithaca, NY.

I showed up with my bins and scope and started looking. I asked the birder next to me whether anything was special out there–I had zero gen on the site as I hadn’t been monitoring the listserves. The woman told me she was trying to find the Eurasian Wigeon she’d had and then lost about 15 minutes ago.

Male Eurasian Wigeon (right), Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, NY, March 20, 2010

Scanning the ducks, I tried to recalled the key field marks I’d learned last year when I made an unsuccessful attempt to find a Eurasian Wigeon that appeared on Conesus Lake. The Eurasian resembles the American Widgeon, but the male’s bright cinnamon head, topped with a cream stripe, and its finely vermiculated gray back and sides help distinguish the two. For more identification tips, please see the All About Birds or Ducks Unlimited websites.

It didn’t take too long to spot the bird: it’s cinnamon head was flaming in the sun. The woman and I enjoyed long looks at the bird as it floated across the pond, then tucked our scopes over our shoulders and left.

Male Eurasian Widgeon on right.

Though I felt like rushing home to my boys who I missed so much, I was glad I took 30 min to stop and bird so I could add Eurasian Widgeon to my life list. This is yet one more reason to believe:

When In Doubt, Go Birding.

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As long as round-ups are making the rounds, here’s my round-up of my ten favorite bird photos from 2009. Chosen either for quality or for the excitement of the bird itself, these are the top ten I’ll hold near and dear to my heart for years to come.

1. The star of the show at the Midwest Birding Symposium was this Kirtland’s Warbler, a rare and endangered species that breeds in the upper Midwest. Imagine my surprise, shock, and delight when festival organizers said this shot was likely the best captured during the festival-it’s been requested for use by several entities. This life-bird Kirtland’s Warbler brought tears to my eyes, and I was lucky enough to share that sighting with my friend Krissie, who is a new birder. This was practically the first bird she saw after learning how to use binoculars. Talk about spark bird!

Kirtland's Warbler (East Harbor State Park, western Ohio)

2. My life Scissor-tailed Flycatcher caught a southwest wind and wound up in central New York! His mission? To show that dreams really DO come true (Scissor-taileds are the only birds that show up in my dreams) and to signal, without a doubt, that I MUST attend the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival of Texas come hell or high water. And as you’ll soon see, my camera was grateful for this event.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, NY)

3. While down at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, I photographed several life birds during my photography workshop at the Martin Ranch. This Pyrrhuloxia was one of my favorite shots.

My life Pyrrhuloxia at Martin Ranch (Rio Grande Valley, Texas)

4. While sitting quietly in a blind on the Martin Ranch, several Green Jays swooped in and out to grab nuts and go. They are gaudy, beautiful, feisty creatures. The closer I examine their colors, the more in awe  I become. Sitting still in a blind allowed me to find the appropriate exposure and focus settings and take hundreds upon hundreds of shots.

Green Jay (Rio Grande Valley, Texas)

5. Until the RGV, Vermilion Flycatcher had been on my most wanted list for YEARS, mostly due to the photographic artistry of those whose images show up on full-page spreads in birding magazines. It’s an unbelievably attractive red-and-black bird that is deceptively hard to photograph. The red is so intense that it easily saturates the image – I’m still working on solutions to this problem. This particular fellow was eating spiders and capturing insects from its tall perch in full view of our party at Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge in southern Texas. 

Vermilion Flycatcher at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge (Rio Grande Valley, Texas)

6. Sometimes a pretty bird sits pretty in perfect light, allowing you a pretty good shot. This Tri-colored Heron was extremely cooperative as it sat on a huge pipe in one of the ponds at Viera Wetlands in Brevard County, Florida. These birds remind me of 1920s flappers.

Tri-colored Heron (Viera Wetlands, FL)

7. What some images lack in dazzle they make up for in novelty. This rare Lawrence’s Warbler paid visit to a nearby natural area last spring. The experience of learning about and searching for that bird was quite something. The LAWA is part of the Vermivora complex, and is a hybridized form of Golden-winged and Blue-winged warblers.

Lawrence's Warbler (Rush Oak Openings, near Rochester, NY)

8. The story of Eastern Bluebirds nesting in our backyard box was a classic csae of “If you build it, they will come.” It was an intensely loving and intimate experience to host this pair of bluebirds. I watched and waited for them daily while photographing their every move. Here, the female has just removed a fecal sack from the box. I love the gleam in her eye, and still remember how the sunlight reflected off the fecal sac when she brought it out. I submitted this to the Birders Who Blog, Tweet, and Chirp photo contest and WON! (Thanks if you voted for it!) 

Eastern Bluebird (Rochester, NY)

Would you mind if I inserted an (8.5) here? Considering how long I waited for nesting bluebirds and how immensely rich it was to watch them grow a family, this image of their nestlings ranks high on my 2009 list of faves. 

Eastern Bluebird nestlings (Rochester, NY)

9. I love several things about this shot of Delaware’s first-ever Roseate Spoonbill. First, I was lucky enough to see the bird. Second, I love how feminine and graceful the bird looks as it flies off the ground into a nearby tree. Third, this sighting was a perfect case where social networking can put you on a bird faster than a New York minute. Let me add a fourth: Birder’s World published this in their October, 2009 issue in the sightings section. 

Roseate Spoonbill, Delaware's First Record!

10. My best image of the year, in terms of quality, is this Scaled Quail. A covey advanced on the scene while I was huddled in the photo blind during the Martin Ranch photo safari in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The photo opps were just dazzling, resulting in at least one publishable shot.

Scaled Quail at Martin Ranch (Rio Grande Valley, Texas)

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I recall an interesting conversation I had at the Midwest Birding Symposium on approaches to bird identification. To set the stage, I also dug up a few more decent shots of the Kirtland’s Warbler at East Harbor State Park, western Lake Erie in Ohio (September 18, 2009).

An eager crowd searches for the Kirtland's Warbler at the park's Meadow Trail. By then, the day's heat was intense and the bird was probably skulking low in the bush. Or running from the hundreds of birders who were hot on its trail. (Notice: not a khaki shirt in the crowd--except behind the lens!)

The crowd dispersed but returned hours later after hearing that the bird finally showed itself. This image is a bit dark, but shows the tail and body proportions better than my other shots.

Not every rare bird will make me drop everything and bolt for the door. But the beauty of this warbler and its unfortunate status as an endangered species meant this bird was not to miss!

Yes, there's a bird in this photograph. Experts examined the tail feathers, which indicate this is a first-year male. Perhaps someone can explain why/how in the comments?

We eventually noticed an artist lurked in the crowd. Above, Peter Burke mindfully sketches the bird that flitted about in the bush. Peter is an accomplished birder, artist, an author (you can find his work in New World Blackbirds, The Birds of Chile, and National Geograhic's Birds of North America, among other places). He is also a professional guide with Field Guides Birding Tours Worldwide. Behind Peter stands Chris Ashley, Park Maintenance Supervisor at East Harbor State Park, who was quite pleased the Kirtland's decided to land in HIS park, and not a few miles in either direction.

When Peter's sketch was complete, we made him stand at the front of the class to show his work.

"How did he do that?" we asked. The bird never stopped moving for more than two seconds! Watching an artist sketch an image into life is like watching black pixels fall onto a blank page, quietly arranging themselves into a recognizable form and beauty. Sure, artistry takes study and long hours with a pencil, but I think it also takes a drop of magic.

At lunch I had the pleasure of sitting with Connie Kogler (Birds O’ The Morning blog) and several professional guides from Field Guides Birding Tours and Guatemala Nature Tours. We struck up a conversation about different approaches to bird identification.

Alvaro Jaramillo had just given a presentation that morning about looking at the “whole bird” and letting its Gestalt register your brain, just like the image of your mother, sisters, and brothers are embedded in your memory, letting you instantly recognize them (I hope that adequately captures the gist).

This is somewhat different than the traditional approach of reducing a bird’s identity down to the sum of its field marks. That is, starting with the details and working up to the whole.  As someone who often birds this way, I sometimes “don’t see the forest for the trees” and need to back up and see the bird, the whole bird, and everything about the bird; its behavior and habitat. 

People’s tendencies are probably hard wired for one or the other approach, and early training in the hobby sets you on a particular path, but greatest success in bird identification comes from placing energy into both methods.

My brain throbs and sweats just thinking about it, but expert birders and artists like Peter are adept at “seeing” birds from both these perspectives with ease. 

I’m interested to know: 

How do you approach bird ID?  

What can you do to develop a more holistic approach?

Have you ever successfully switched from one method to the other — what was that like?

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The hour of 3 am and I are becoming intimate bedfellows. That being the case, I may as well prop up my eyelids with toothpicks, wince from the glare of my screen in this darkened room, and report on my trip to the Midwest Birding Symposium.

I went into the symposium believing that I was here more for the birders than the birding. I looked forward to getting out to the famed Magee Marsh, a migrant stopover situated on the southwestern edge of Lake Erie, but I didn’t have designs on a long or intense birding experience.

It took only ONE bird to ramp up the birding intensity, however. This handsome Kirtland’s Warbler, which experts tell me is a first-year male:

Kirtland's Warbler observed at East Harbor State Park, western Lake Erie basin, Ohio, September 18, 2009.

I already dished on that sighting here, and other blogging attendees will no doubt relate their experiences (bloggers, place your link in the comments to help us out). Thanks to the wonderful spotters and informers who kept us in the loop on this sighting. And big apologies to those who did not see the bird – I feel your pain.

To put this sighting in perspective for you: Kirtland’s Warbler is one of the rarest members of the wood warbler (Parulidae) family, due in large part to its restricted range and unique habitat requirements. The bird nests in just a few counties in Michigan’s northern Lower and Upper peninsulas, in Wisconsin and the province of Ontario.  

The bird nests on the ground in 5-20 year old jack pine forests, usually in stands greater than 80 acres. Jack pines of this age class became increasingly rare because they require fire to germinate and spread (yet Man no like Fire, so we often suppressed them). Kirtland’s Warblers reached their peak population numbers between 1885-1900, they plummeted in the early 1900′s, and by the late 1950′s recovery efforts were already underway with various forestry management practices. Today in Michigan, jack pine stands are managed by logging, burning, seeding, and replanting on a rotational basis to provide approximately 38,000 acres of productive nesting habitat at all times.

Kirtland’s Warbler populations have also been impacted by a persistent nemesis, the Brown-headed Cowbird. Cowbird mothers lay their eggs in other species’ nests and are raised without question by the host mother. This practice, called nest parasitism, decreases the breeding success of the host species. Fortunately, cowbird trapping has decreased the nest parasitism rate from 66% to <5% in the last 35-40 years. Today’s population numbers hover around 1,700 mating pairs. 

Kirtland’s Warblers flock to the Bahamas in winter – along with tens of thousands of other sun-and-rum seeking vacationers for whom the beaches are boardwalked, the trees are felled, and tiki torches and hotel rooms light up the night sky. It’s vitally important for this species to have adequate food and habitat on their wintering grounds, as well as at migratory stopovers along their flyway. A multi-agency conservation partnership was formed to work within the archipelago to find pockets of wintering birds, preserve habitat and educate people on the special importance of their islands to the Kirtland’s and other species (Next time you plan a tropical vacation, think about what birds may winter there and what you can do to help promote bird conservation while on the ground).

In the Crazy Connections category: the bird was first collected (i.e., SHOT) in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio (which is about 100 miles east of where the Symposium was held and an additional 100 miles distant from its range) by the son-in-law of Jared P. Kirtland, a medical doctor and all-round naturalist who lived in Cleveland. 

The man brought the specimen to Kirtland, who submitted it to the Smithsonian Institution for identification and preservation. Eventually, the species was named after Kirtland, as was the esteemed Kirtland Bird Club in Northeast Ohio. Way back in 1843, Kirtland also co-founded (Case) Western Reserve University medical school which is where my husband earned his doctorate.

Judging from whispers I heard “coming up” in Northeast Ohio, echoed by this flattering memoir/biographical sketch written in the tone of the day, Kirtland was a one-in-a-million person and naturalist. This connection makes this sighting even more special for me.

Well, there I go, wanting to give you a synopsis of the symposium but delivering a Kirtland’s Warbler essay instead. I couldn’t help it. I’m still enamored by this bird. Still talking about it. Still weeping over the photos. Still thanking my lucky stars to have seen such a rare and beautiful bird. Suffice it to say the weekend was a whirlwind tour of joy, jocularity, friendship, reunions, introductions, surprises, birds, learning, and even a dash of gin-soaked drama. I’ll save that story for Vanity Fair. ; )

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My $75 registration fee was just returned in spades. During one of the early morning talks at MBS today, my cell phone vibrated with a very curious message: “Kirtland’s Warbler at East Harbor State Park, Meadow Trail.”

At that point, I had to bail on the fine and illustrious speaker, Jim McCormac, because I knew he’d understand.

I picked up Su Snyder, who’s great at ferreting out rarities, and her friend Bianca and we tore (I mean, drove calmly, slowly, and obeyed all traffic signals) over to East Harbor (EHSP).

About a dozen or so people gathered at the Meadow Trail. The bird had been seen only 3 minutes earlier. But we struck OUT. We skulked around in the heat for another hungry ninety minutes before bailing for lunch.

“He’ll be back,” predicted more than one birder.

So I went back, inhaled my turkey wrap, and attended another talk given by a fine and illustrious speaker, Jeff Gordon.

Lo and behold, another buzz comes from an attendee’s pocket with a News Flash: “Kirtland’s Warbler was seen 3 minutes ago.” He was kind enough to share the news. I shuffled in my seat for a few polite but arduous minutes before grabbing my friend and going.

This time, it took almost no effort to see the bird. Festival organizers had marked the trail and had planted a naturalist guide, Dan Donaldson from Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District, there to help people.

We turned a corner and there it was in a small copse of trees, flitting about in a locust.

There were “ooohs” and “ahhhs,” there were high fives, there were even tears in the group, along with several shutter snaps from eager photographers, myself included.

The bird struck several awesome poses, one of which I captured in my lens.

We celebrated with a Life Bird Tic-Tac.

Life is GOOOOOD.

More when I can. I just had to get this up!

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Update: New Photographs!

Update: Brad makes it to 300!

What does a birder do when he (or she) has graduated from little brown jobs to peeps and age-classing juvenile gulls? In New York, he sets about a big year where he attempts to see 300 species in 365 days.

White-winged Crossbill by Brad Carlson

While the New York State Avian Records Committee (NYSARC) recognizes at least 470 bird species representing 19 orders and 63 families of birds, seeing 300 in one calendar year requires intense focus and tons of time studying records, chasing rarities, and visiting prime birding locations during each season.

Having kept a list or two and undertaken more than one wild dash to search for a rare bird, I’m intrigued by the art and sport of listing.  So when I heard a local birding friend, Brad Carlson, was going for 300 this year, I asked him about what inspired his goal and how his quest is going so far:

******

INTERVIEW WITH BIRDER BRAD CARLSON OF ROCHESTER, NY

Thanks for sharing details of your big year, Brad.  Why are you going for a big year?

Attempting to see 300 species of birds in New York is not unprecedented, nor what I would consider extremely difficult, but it takes a lot of time and effort. I typically see between 260 – 270 species in New York each year. This involves lots of local birding and a casual trip or two to Long Island and/or the Adirondacks.

In order to see 300 species, I literally need to see every species that breeds, migrates through, or wonders into upstate New York, as well as make at least one serious birding trip to Long Island (for coastal species) and the Adirondacks (for boreal specialties).

How long have you been birding in New York?

I have been birding with my Dad and brother around the Rochester area since I was a little boy…before I remember. I started keeping a list when I was 12 years old.

How many species have you seen so far?

As of August 19, I am close with 299 species for the 2009 calendar year. I don’t expect any problems achieving the 300 species target at this point, so now I will try to see as many species as possible.

What species are on your target list to hit 300?

During the rest of August I will focus on the shorebird species I have missed to date, as well as the fall migration of Common Nighthawk which I missed in spring. After that, it is hit or miss as I try for some less common fall/winter species.

Snowy Owl by Brad Carlson

How many times a week do you bird? What do you do each week to help you meet your goal?

My birding varies dramatically depending on the month of the year, weather conditions, and whether or not a rarity has been reported that I would like to “chase.” Early in the year, I set a goal to see 100 species for the month of January. I went birding a few days per week and ended the month with 105 NY species.

I did almost no birding in February and March. In April and May I tried to bird as much as possible. Now in mid-summer, I have been going a couple of weeks between outings, but that is changing as fall migration starts.

To maximize my efforts, I review my historical records for the optimal dates and locations to look for species. I also check the various New York list serves for sightings every day. 

What’s the farthest you’ve traveled so far to add birds to your list?

For the first time in my life, I have traveled to all corners of New York state to track down birds.

I birded the extreme northwest corner of the state at Fort Niagara to see Black-headed Gull, and then 9 1/2 hours away to the extreme southeast to bird at Montauk Point on Long Island.  [Editor's note: check out what chasing the Black-headed Gull with Brad was like.]

To the northeast, I birded the north side of the Adirondacks in Bloomingdale Bog. 

To the southwest, I traveled to Allegany State Park at the Pennsylvania border to find breeding Yellow-throated Warblers.  I also traveled to Lake Chautauqua to see the White Pelicans that were there (Editor’s note: also see my post on these pelicans), only to have this species show up closer to home on Braddock Bay weeks later!

Describe a few of your favorite birding experiences this year.

In January, I hosted one of the rarest birds I have seen all year in New York, and it was in my own yard. A Yellow-headed Blackbird came to our feeders for nine (9) days. This made 20+ years of feeding birds all worthwhile. That was special for me on a personal level since it was at my house. Many birders came to see it.

Yellow-headed Blackbird by Brad Carlson

On Long Island, birding friend Doug Daniels and I enjoyed an unexpected phenomenon at Montauk Point. We watched over 3,000 Cory’s, Greater, Manx and Sooty Shearwaters, and ~50 Wilson’s Storm-petrels flying and sitting on the water close to shore. Most birders are lucky to see them bobbing up and down from a boat on a pelagic trip 50 miles out to sea, so we were fortunate to enjoy this near-shore experience.

Dominic Sherony, Doug Daniels and I were able to see a male Spruce Grouse in the Adirondacks. This is one of the rarest breeding species in New York, with less than 100 birds remaining and it’s population is continuing to decline.

Just yesterday, Dominic and I spotted a Western Sandpiper at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. That bird put me at 299!

White-eyed Vireo by Brad Carlson

How many other birders have achieved 300 species in New York?

I have no idea, but I expect that avid birders from down state (those that get out 2-3 times per week) may achieve this goal every year. It is more difficult to see 300 species in and or from upstate NY  without easy access to the coastal species, and the numerous rarities that end up on or close to the coast.

Once you hit the magic 300, what happens next? Are you inducted into a secret society? Do you throw a party? Stop bird watching? Own braggin’ rights? : )

I will get some personal satisfaction from achieving my goal, but most importantly I had a lot of fun along the way. This kind of objective also triggers you to meet many nice people and to see many interesting places throughout the year. There is no fame or glory that comes with it, and I don’t expect to repeat this objective any time in the near future. Next year, I suspect I’ll continue to do casual local birding, but will focus my efforts on any of the species that I do not see in New York in 2009.

Thanks, Brad. Your added photos enhance the post. Good luck getting to 300, and be sure to update us when you do. 

300 UPDATE!:  Shorebirds continue to reap rewards. On August 25th, Brad saw his 300th and 301st birds, including a Red-necked Phalarope and a White-rumped Sandpiper. Since then, he’s gone on to spot American Golden Plover, Baird’s Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, Sabine’s Gull, Common Nighthawk, Wilson’s Phalarope, and Black Kittiwake. And he ain’t done yet. He’s hoping to see another ten or so by the end of the year.

Congratulations on your 300+, Brad! 

Imagine the flip side for a moment: having four whole months left in the year, but knowing that there’s ONLY TEN species left that you haven’t seen. It makes my modest NY list, numbering somewhere over 100, seem perfectly okay. Lots of potential that way!

****

I’m collecting stories. If you or someone you know has gone for a big year in New York, send me a name and contact info at laurakamms {at} gmail {dot} com. For now, check out Corey Finger’s posts on his big year in 2007 on the 10000birds.com website.

Thanks in advance if you’re moved to Tweet or Share this story:

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More than 25 new birds species have been described in the neotropics since the year 2000

Roughly 10,000 known bird species live on our planet. They are a precious, finite resource and it would seem that legions of bird watchers, biologists, and naturalists have covered every inch of the Earth in hot, wondrous pursuit to catalogue every one. Being colorful, animated, and full of chatter or song, all bird species must have been discovered by now. Right? 

Happily, no. Lurking in dark, deep tangles of the globe where biodiversity is rich and creatures run wild, birds are yet undiscovered. Some thrive in secret, some fight for their last survival. Yet they exist, and every so often word of a newly discovered bird species leaps across the newswires.

I recently came across a list of new species from the neotropics in the American Bird Conservancy’s (ABC) Bird Conservation magazine from Winter 2008/2009. ABC dedicated that entire holiday issue to bird conservation success stories, something near and dear to my heart and worthy of discussion and dissemination.

The following is a selection of new bird species described from the neotropics since 2000, as compiled by ABC and listed here with permission. The photo and factsheet hyperlinks are my own additions. 

(I found, of course, that good photos of most are hard to come by.  This begs the question: who WILL get the winning, definitive photographs of these species and when will we see them? A worthy quest, indeed…)

Scarlet-banded Barbet – Peru, 2000 (factsheet = fs)
Foothill Elaenia – Ecuador/Peru, 2000 (fs)
Caatinga Antwren – Brazil, 2000 (fs)
Chestnut-capped Piha – Colombia, 2001 (fs)
Chapada Flycatcher – Brazil, 2001 (fs)
Mishana Tyrannulet – Peru, 2001 (fs)
Johnson’s (Lulu’s) Tody-Tyrant – Peru, 2001 (fs)
Allpahuayo Antbird – Peru, 2001 (fs)
Cryptic Forest-Falcon – Brazil/Bolivia, 2002 (fs)
Bald Parrot – Brazil, 2002 (fs)
Santarem (Tui) Parakeet – Brazil/Bolivia, 2002 (fs)
Pernambuco Pygmy-Owl – Brazil, 2002 (fs)
Carrizal Seedeater – Venezuela, 2003 (fs)
Munchique Wood-Wren – Colombia, 2003 (fs)
Acre Antshrike – Brazil/Peru, 2004 (fs)
Sulphur-breasted Parakeet – Brazil, 2005 (fs)
Planalto Tapaculo – Brazil/Argentina, 2005 (fs)
Upper Magdalena Tapaculo – Colombia, 2005 (fs)
Stiles’s Tapaculo – Colombia, 2005 (fs)
Iquitos Gnatcatcher – Peru, 2005 (fs)
Gorgeted Puffleg – Colombia, 2007 (fs)
Sincorá Antwren – Brazil, 2007 (fs)
Rufous Twistwing – Peru, 2007 (fs)
Yungas Tyrannulet – Peru/Bolivia, 2008 (fs) (Could this be the unidentified species Ted Parker heard while combing the Bolivian Andes in 1989?)
Santa Marta Screech-Owl – Colombia, 2008 (fs)

Note that each of the countries listed above lies, at least in part, in the immense Amazon River basin, which supports the largest tropical rainforest in the world. I can’t say for sure whether each new species is associated with the rainforest but it would not be surprising, as new insects, plants, and other taxa are regularly being discovered in this vast wilderness.

These 25 striking and elusive birds give bird watchers hope and renew our sense of mystery of what can yet be discovered in this world if we only take time to look (or invest in those that do). And yet, these 25 are only part of the picture of our growing knowledge of the bird species of the world. We now need a companion list of birds from Asia, Africa, and Europe…

***

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Delaware’s first record Roseate Spoonbill (June 28,2009).

Here’s a reason to use Twitter: it can put you onto a rare bird faster than a New York minute!

The first Roseate Spoonbill ever to grace Delaware’s shores was observed the Sunday before my trip to Maryland. The bird—believed to be a first-year juvenile —was first observed in Fenwick Island (Assawoman Bay) in the extreme southeast corner of the state, close enough to the MD line to make MD listers green with envy (and hoping for a strong north wind).

Being from the Great Lakes, I knew nothing of this rarity. But as I neared southern Delaware, I happened to have a brief Twitter exchange with birder extraordinaire Jeff Gordon as I passed close to his hometown.

After asking him to peek over his fence and wave (metaphorically speaking) he immediately said, in 140 characters or less, “Howdy! You will be passing by a long-staying Black-bellied Whistling-Duck & Delaware’s 1st Roseate Spoonbill. Want info?”

Well, do ducks fly?

Roseate Spoonbill inhabits the warm waters of the Gulf Coast and its range extends to South America. The species is a colonial tree nester and uses its spoon-shaped bill to strain food from the water.  This is another species whose populations were threatened in the late 1800s when its feathers were indiscriminately used to adorn ladies hats and fans. Luckily, conservation efforts made its population rebound, and it is no longer a threatened species.

The bird was only 15 minutes away, so on Sunday, June 28th, I followed Jeff’s excellent directions to the bird, which was hunkered down below some pines in a private residence just behind the Catch 54 Restaurant in Fenwick Island.

Sporting a pretty pink wash on its sides, the eyes of this young spoonbill beamed a clown-like innocence. In some photos, he is almost smiling…On site I ran into another birder, Dirk Robinson, who traveled from Pennsylvania. We watched the bird for an hour or more as it rested in the company of Canada Geese. We appreciated that it was tired after a long, wayward journey, but we also hoped it would alter its resting/preening posture long enough to see some field marks. 

Suddenly, we were startled by the synchronous flush of wings. A large dog flushed the entire gaggle–including the spoonbill, which circled a few times before landing on an osprey platform. Luckily, the bird held some fidelity to its original spot and eventually returned. The scare didn’t affect the bird for long, and this gave us an opportunity to see it in flight.

At one point, the bird flew up into a pine tree, where it proceeded to nibble on cones and needles:

Maybe the spoonbill was enjoying the tasty sap or scraping its tongue? If you have any ideas, let me know.

On June 19th, Virginia recorded its first-ever Roseate Spoonbill in Augusta County. Could this be the same individual? 

In any case, it was a privilege to see this wandering wader and I’m grateful to JeffGyr and to the network of birders on Twitter that makes spontaneous rare bird chases like this possible.

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Victoria James’ description of her quest to see the elusive Capercaillie, a very large, rare grouse found only in the ancient Caledonian pine forest of the Scottish Highlands, begins simple enough: 

Right now, in pubs across the country, you will hear earnest knots of men – and maybe a few women – discussing lifers. They’re not off-duty prison officers, or the local chapter of Amnesty International. They’re birdwatchers.

She goes on to tell a wonderfully observant tale of her and thirty other birders’ single-minded pursuit to find this rare bird. Her pseudo-scientific descriptions of a territorial male birder amuse.

For this is the dark secret of birders, normally the most affable people alive: until the target has been spotted, it’s every man for himself. Like the object of his fascination, the male birder is both competitive and highly territorial…

Read more at the New Statesman:

Hardcore birding by Victoria James >>

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2. Chasing A Black-headed Needle In A Haystack (part 1) I’m always amazed by what lengths extreme birders will go to spot a rare or unusual bird; how much effort, time, gas, and money they...
3. “Lawrence’s” Warbler at Rush Oak Openings, NY The full text of this outing can now be found here (please click link below:) “A Birder’s Tale: Spotting A Tricky Rare Hybrid, “Lawrence’s” Warbler...

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My husband and I spotted this vocal "Lawrence's" Warbler at Rush Oak Openings on May 3, 2009.

PROLOGUE

Why a prologue? Because birding backstories are almost as fun as the birding itself!

The birding network is so broad and keenly in tune that sighting reports move lightening fast, at least when they travel through the usual channels (e.g, birding listserv). But sometimes reports creep up where you least expect them. On Saturday night, my husband and I went downtown to a fundraiser inside the old stone mill that houses a swank restaurant and art gallery.

The mill was the last place I expected to get the skinny on local birds. In fact, in the midst of so many non-birders I had to work hard to have “normal” conversations about school principals, stimulus packages, and county taxes. Lord, have mercy…

I walked up to the piano player, a friend of ours who was nursing a brew after his last set. Steve is a Harvard-trained naturalist/educator who lives with his family on a 200-acre nature preserve he purchased from the heirs of Joe Taylor, founder of the American Birding Association. He, his wife, four children, and 71 barn animals cohabitate on this marvelous piece of property where Roger Tory Peterson once slept.

The point to all this is that Steve leads a colorful life, and has more stories than you can shake a stick at. This night, he unfolded a yarn about the Great Peacock Getaway that occurred three nights earlier. Somehow, one of his wily peacocks had popped the lock on his barn door and ventured forth toward bluer skies and greener acres. Its motley crew of peahens followed suit.  The peahens eventually returned but the lone male, which apparently has big cajunas, was still at-large. The neighborhood hotline indicated the bird was last seen strutting in an easterly direction. “Towards India,” Steve supposed.

Or possibly New Hampshire. Steve was largely unfazed by his peacock’s independence as he hearkened the mantra, “Live Free or Die.” 

So I invited myself to bird on his property the next day, and in this context he mentions that he’d been leading a nature walk for the Mendon Foundation earlier that morning at Rush Oak Openings, a 228-acre nature preserve in the Town of Rush in southern Monroe County (New York). And, by the way, the participants caught great looks at a “LAWRENCE’S” WARBLER and a SNOWY OWL.

Um, say what?

At this point, it is beyond me why we spent twenty minutes prattling on about peacocks when Steve was sitting on the location of a Snowy Owl PLUS a rare warbler. See, Steve is a good birder, but removed enough from the obsession that it doesn’t interfere with “regular talk.” If you’re reading this post, you probably wish you were so lucky.

Either that, or you are wondering why I’m prattling on about Steve’s peacocks when there’s a rare hybrid to report.

Now you know how I felt. Okay, okay, I’m getting there…

WORD OF THE RARITY 

News that a SNOWY OWL and a RARE HYBRID WARBLER were seen that morning just a few miles from my home made my eyebrows pop over the rim of my glasses. I demanded every detail Steve could muster. 

The SNOWY OWL was seen on a utility pole near the road, looking like he was on the move. This makes perfect sense so I didn’t hold my breath to see it the next day. But I still don’t have Snowy on my year list, and this will be the SECOND individual I’ve missed in my hometown in the space of five months. UGH!

A “LAWRENCE’S” WARBLER was seen near the main entrance near the field’s edge. It was easy to find and everyone in his group laid eyes on it.

This was all I needed to know. I ran home to study up on the “Lawrence’s,” which is part of what is known as the Vermivora Complex of hybridizing warblers.

THE VERMIVORA COMPLEX

Hybridization of Golden-winged x Blue-winged warblers occurs wherever their ranges overlap. Hybrids paired with either species produce a variety of backcrosses. 

The “Lawrence’s” warbler is a specific backcross that shows recessive traits including the black throat patch and wide ear patch of the Golden-winged, with the yellowish underparts and two white-wing bars of the Blue-winged. 

Ornithologists believe that a “Lawrence’s” Warbler is created when a first-generation hybrid Golden-winged x Blue-winged (which is called “Brewster’s”) pairs with either another Brewster’s (Bonter and Lovette, Living Bird Vol. 26-2) or either full species (Sibley, 2000). 

The song of  Blue-winged is a lazy beee-buzzzz. The Golden-winged sounds like a buzzy bee, bzz bzz bzz. Hybrids may sound like either parent, or sing an odd combination of both songs.

Though there is regional variability, hybrids make up an average of 5% of singing males (Gill, et al. 2001). The “Lawrence’s” phenotype is the rarest form, and is expected to appear in about 1 of every 16 progeny of a pair of hybrids (J. Confer, NY 2008 Breeding Bird Atlas). 

In New York, Golden-winged (G-W) populations are trending downward (they are a Species of Special Concern) while Blue-wingeds (B-W) are gaining ground. 

Ornithologists speculate that hybridization could be a major force in the eventual extirpation of Golden-wingeds, for two reasons. First, it seems that B-W genes more easily flow into birds with G-W phenotype. Second, G-W warblers pair with hybrids more often and produce more hybrid young than B-W warblers (Confer, et al. 2003).

To put it another way, it appears genes of the Golden-winged Warblers are slowly becoming ‘washed out’ by those of the Blue-winged. But research on the population genetics of the Vermivora complex is ongoing and many questions remain unanswered.

What’s important to remember is that “Lawrence’s” Warblers:

• are not a distinct species, but part of a hybrid complex
• are rare, making up a tiny fraction of Vermivora hybrids, which themselves average only 5% of singing males
• have an olive back and yellow head
• have a black throat patch and a wide black ear patch 
• have yellow underbelly and two white wing bars
• can sing either the Blue-winged or the Golden-winged song, or a peculiar combination of both
• are beautiful to look at!

SPOTTING THE “LAWRENCE’S” WARBLER

The next morning I popped up out of bed before sunrise, brewed some coffee, polished my lens, studied Peterson & Sibley one more time, and dragged my mostly willing husband out of the house by 7 am. 

Spring birding doesn’t get much better. The weather was clear and sunny. Bird songs filtered from every corner of the preserve. Light was in our favor as we traversed in a south-southwest direction with the morning sun at our backs. We quickly tallied up several vocal migrants:

• BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER
• HOODED WARBLER
• COMMON YELLOW THROAT
• YELLOW WARBLER
• WOOD THRUSHES
• FIELD SPARROW
• SONG SPARROW
• CHIPPING SPARROW
• WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
• EASTERN TOWHEE
• BALTIMORE ORIOLE
• AMERICAN GOLDFINCH
• HOUSE FINCH
• BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD
• BLUE JAY
• NORTHERN CARDINAL

Hark! Is that a Blue-winged I hear?

We took off in the direction of the bee buzzz and heard more than one male singing from the other side of a wide hedge row. After a few minutes of assessing the situation, it seemed unlikely that the birds would pop over to our side, so I walked ahead looking for a pass-through amongst the shrubs. Paul hung back and hoped one would pop over to our side.

Just ahead, my eye caught movement at eye level. I had to pass up great looks of an Eastern Towhee scratching the leaves in order to follow the warbler-looking bird flitting in the shrub.

It was hard to focus because the bird kept moving away along the edge of the hedgerow. It only wanted to show me its rump, but when I finally caught a glimpse of two white wing bars and a yellowish tinge underneath, I got excited. If only he’d show me his face…

Then Paul, who was about 25 yards back, whispered a loud, “Hey!” Turning away from what could be the “Lawrence’s” seemed foolish, so I pointed into the brush and put my finger up as if to say “Wait a minute.”

Paul was clearly unsatisfied with my response, and made an even louder “Tshht!” followed by a whistle to grab my attention. I looked back to see him frenetically waving me over, like “What’s are you DOING? I’ve got something!” And he looked up the path at me, frenetically pointing into the bush, like “Dude, leave me alone!  I’ve got something!”  This was marital birding at its finest.

I finally view a glimpse of the bird in my bins; its all-white throat and yellow spectacles revealed it to be NOT a “Lawrence’s,” but a White-eyed Vireo….so I hoofed it back over to Paul.

Sure enough, he has the bird, the “Lawrence’s” Warbler, spotted in a tree about 30 feet high. The Blue-winged-sounding bird eventually DID peek over the hedgerow and when it did, it landed close-by, then whizzed past his head so close he had to duck! It landed behind him in a small shrub only ten feet away. Paul had had amazing looks for a fraction of a second before it flew up again to the tree that was now in our lenses.

I whipped out my camera and for the next ten minutes, the bird flitted from station to station around us in this magnificent old field.  Eventually, it landed on a limb in good light and let me take these photos: 

This "Lawrence's" Warbler was very vocal.

The "Lawrence's" Warbler sang "beee buzzz" and sounded just like a Blue-winged.

Full species or not, this was a spectacular-looking and very cooperative bird. Knowing that it is a rare form made it all the more exciting. 

We eventually tore ourselves away from the “Lawrence’s” and continued birding. We traced another beee-buzzz to this Blue-winged Warbler, which gave us the confidence of a decent comparison:

The Blue-winged Warbler is yellow underneath with white wing bars, but lacks the black throat patch and wide black ear patch.

Soon after, the harsh croaks of a Ring-necked Pheasant rang out over the marshy creek eight, maybe nine times. No sign of the bird, however, which made us wonder if it was a hunter calling in game? This place is known for illegal shooting, so maybe we were almost the game!

While crouching in what I hope wasn’t pheasant-like posture, we heard a gentle bee, bzz bzz bzz from deep in the marsh. 

On any other day, I would have called this a Golden-winged Warbler, but today had emphasized the importance of not making assumptions in the field. Was it another “Lawrence’s?” Could there be two in one area?  My husband swears he had two in his sites back in the field. The NY Breeding Bird Atlas says that Golden-winged Warblers are known to breed in swamp forests, so maybe we DID have a bona fide Golden-winged? The secrets, I’m afraid, are buried in the marsh at Rush Oak, and e’er will be.

And so ended our day of birding. Am happy to report that we did not mistake any windblown white shopping bags flapping in a tree for a SNOWY OWL. And that by posting the sighting to the listserv a bunch of other folks added “Lawrence’s” Warbler to their NY list.

Our Sunday school lessons were:

• If you’re birding an area where Golden-winged and Blue-winged warblers overlap (check your range maps) and hear either’s buzzy song, do not check the species off your list until you see the bird’s field marks.
• If you hear a buzzy song that sounds suspiciously like one or the other, but different, it may be a hybrid. Get a closer look.
• Familiarize yourself with the plumage variations shown by hybrids so you can more confidently ID them in the field.

Good Birding!

A cooperative Yellow Warbler sang from the bush.

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