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Birds in Hand

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On Monday morning, I was invited with a friend to see a private bird banding at Jacobsburg State Park near Wind Gap, Pennsylvania. Of course, I brought my camera and took some “cheat” photos of birds right before they were released back into the wild. The banders taught us a few things about the markings and how to age and sex some of the birds – it was overall a great experience!

The first bird we watched getting banded was a good one – a young Rose-breasted Grosbeak who would not stop biting the bander’s hand.

Young male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

This young male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was very bitey

The most common species were the Catbird and Tufted Titmouse. Many of them were young and they were also the loudest.

A very young Gray Catbird who is still growing feathers

A very young Gray Catbird who is still growing feathers

This Tufted Titmouse waited calmly to be banded and examined

This Tufted Titmouse waited calmly to be banded and examined

The only two Warblers they caught were an Ovenbird and Chestnut-sided Warbler.

The first captured Warbler, an Ovenbird

The first captured Warbler, an Ovenbird, was later recaptured and released

A male Chestnut-sided Warbler in fall plumage

A male Chestnut-sided Warbler in fall plumage

We did, however, get three species of Vireo including our bird of the day – the Yellow-throated Vireo.

The Yellow-throated Vireo who stole the show

The Yellow-throated Vireo who stole the show

This Warbling Vireo showed unfortunate signs of stress even before examined

This Warbling Vireo was another good catch for the area

Adult Red-eyed Vireo with striking eye color

Adult Red-eyed Vireo with striking eye color

We also had two good insect visitors right next to the banding table – a Praying Mantis and Northern Walking Stick!

This Praying Mantis and Walking Stick hung out near the table

This Praying Mantis and Walking Stick hung out near the table

It’s pretty awesome to see song birds up close and personal, especially when they are typically up high in the trees. I can never get this detail “in the wild.”

Red-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Birding in the Pacific Northwest – Part 1

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Back in March, I was announced as the winner of Project Feederwatch’s BirdSpotter Photo Contest. The grand prize was a three day trip to Portland, Oregon for me and a friend, courtesy of Bob’s Red Mill. The trip would include birding and a tour of the mill. Of course, I wanted to maximize the birding so I asked my birding friends about when a good time to go was. My friend Chris gave me the name of a Portland native, Dave Irons, who I sent a Facebook message to. Not only did Dave tell me when the best time to go was, he also offered to take us out birding. I sent him my “wishlist” of life birds – I’ve never birded in the Western United States so the list was not small. He replied back that he could get me most of the birds on it in a day’s worth of birding!

I asked my birding-travel-buddy, Renee, to join me. We ended up making plans for the Fourth of July weekend. We knew it would be crowded, but decided to spend the holiday miles away from home, across the country. We added an extra day on our dime so that we had one day to visit Bob’s Red Mill and explore Portland, one day to go birding with Dave and another to head to the coast to see an Oregon coastal specialty – the Tufted Puffin. As the trip grew closer, I asked Dave if he was interested in heading to the coast with us. I can only imagine his thought process when he said yes – it may have went something like “this spot is on the way, then that spot, and then we can go see [insert bird here] in this forest and [insert another bird here] on the way, then get to the coast to see the famous puffins before noon.” It didn’t take long for him to tease us with hints of the birds we can see along the way.

We arrived in Portland in the afternoon on July 2nd. After three flights and two short layovers, we needed some real food. We decided to check out Portland’s famous food trucks and ate more than our stomachs could handle. We walked it off at the Waterfront Park where I saw my first two life birds for the trip – the Violet-green Swallow and California Gull. Then, because we had an early dinner, went to the one of the famous Voodoo Doughnut locations to enjoy dessert.

Violet-green Swallow from later on in the trip.

Violet-green Swallow from later on in the trip.

We went to bed early… in fact, it was still light out… but to be fair, we were up since 1AM local time and it was nearing 9PM.

In the morning, we headed across the river to Milwaukie to visit Bob’s Red Mill. We arrived just in time for the tour – it was very interesting to learn the history or Bob’s Red Mill and also nice to see it behind-the-scenes. I never did get to meet Bob because he was in London, but I did get to meet his partner and shell an ear of whole grain corn in his office. After the tour, we stopped at the Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Store where we spent my gift certificate and ate some really good food.

Renee and I at Bob's Red Mill

Renee and me at Bob’s Red Mill

We headed over to Washington Park where we explored the Portland Japanese Garden and International Rose Test Garden. Bird-wise, I picked up two more lifers – a family of Black-throated Gray Warblers and a singing Spotted Towhee – and also saw my first Oregon subspecies of the Dark-eyed Junco.

This Spotted Towhee continued to sing even as we were nearby.

This Spotted Towhee continued to sing even as we were nearby.

One of my favorite roses from the Rose Gardens.

One of my favorite roses from the Rose Gardens.

We explored Portland some more, sampled flights of hard cider at a local brewery, went to an art walk, and ate delicious Thai food in the Pearl District. We ended up going to bed a bit early again because, the next morning, Dave was picking us up at 5:30 AM.

Pad Thai and Pumpkin Curry from Khao San

Pad Thai and Pumpkin Curry from Khao San

Dave arrived on schedule with an extra birding guest in the back seat – Rozi, the super relaxed and laid back dog. We eagerly hopped into the car and were on our way. As we drove along the highway, Dave pointed out that the birds on the wires were Western Scrub-Jays – a new bird for me. The local Brewer’s Blackbirds were also new and we even stopped the car so I could get good looks at these common birds.

Western Scrub-Jay

Western Scrub-Jay with a filbert

Or first stop awarded us with a singing Western Wood-PeeWee; we tried to locate it with no luck. We continued up the road to find Acorn Woodpeckers – this would be a lifer for Renee and a US-lifer for me. We eventually found them further down and also got our first looks at a Bullocks Oriole, Black-headed Grosbeaks and a Western Wood-PeeWee who showed himself.

Bullock's Oriole

Bullock’s Oriole on the treetops

We made our way to the spot that Dave said we could get a Northern Pygmy-Owl. Renee and I had our doubts about actually seeing this bird but we certainly got more than we bargained for! Dave pulled out a small whistle that resembled a broken recorder (you know, that little instrument that you have to play in grade school?) and started tooting away. The trees started filling up with birds – Hermit and Wilson’s Warblers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Oregon Juncos – and then we heard the Owl call back from down-hill. The Owl progressively got closer until it flew to a treetop within view. The birds then started to focus on the Owl and were joined by Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks and Chestnut-backed Chickadees. Gray Jays gave us some back-lit looks, I saw my first Red-shafted Flicker, a Red-breasted Sapsucker flew in and Band-tailed Pigeons flew by at some point. We were racking up life birds like crazy!

Northern Pygmy-Owl

One of the Northern Pygmy-Owl’s great perches

Hermit Warbler

Hermit Warblers were pretty common!

Dark-eyed Junco

The Oregon subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco

We headed over to Tillamook Forest Center where we could find more birds and, more importantly, have a nice clean restroom. We headed to a small bridge that overlooked a creek and searched for a bird that I was excited about seeing – the American Dipper. Dave found one foraging a bit far off, but not too far for our binoculars.

American Dipper

An American Dipper is hidden in here.

We finally headed off to the coast, but not without stopping at Tillamook Creamery on the way. It was 10AM and Dave insisted that we stop here to have some ice cream. We were on vacation so it didn’t take much to convince us to have ice cream for breaskfast. He gave us a 5-minute tour, we sampled some cheese and ordered our ice cream.

Proof that we had ice cream for breakfast.

Proof that we had ice cream for breakfast.

On the way to the coast, we stopped at Bay City Oyster Company where I got my first Glaucous-winged Gulls. Back on the road, we got caught in holiday traffic. Not just beach traffic – parade traffic. We must have arrived just before the parade and passed crowds of people who waved to the cars passing by. It felt like we were in the parade! What a way to greet the out-of-staters (OK, so they were waving to everyone). Once we broke free from the traffic, we made a stop at Silver Point to do some sea watching. Heermann’s Gulls, Pelagic Cormorants and Brown Pelicans flew by and we had Pigeon Guillemots and a Black Oystercatcher fly in – one of which was my 500th life bird. If only I could remember which I saw first! I think I got my first good scope-looks at the Oystercatcher…

Silver Point

My 500th life bird is somewhere in this photo

And then the moment we were waiting for – not like the rest of the day wasn’t amazing because it certainly was – we arrived at Cannon Beach.

Haystack Rock

Haystack Rock was full of life birds!

We scoped out the rock from where we parked and got our first looks at Puffins – but Renee and I were itching to get closer. Low tide allowed us to get right up to the rock. Tufted Puffins, Common Murres and Western Gulls flew on and off the rock. The Puffins were, unfortunately, landing on the ocean side where there was more grass. A pair ended up flying on the beach side and we got fantastic scope views. Brown Pelicans were also plentiful and we got more looks at Pelagic Cormorants as well as Brandt’s Cormorants. Harlequin Ducks also swan down low and hung out on the rocks.

Tufted Puffin

Tufted Puffin on Haystack Rock

Common Murre

Common Murre flying by

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican flying by

Pigeon Guillemot

Pigeon Guillemot on the nest

Brandt's Cormorants

Pelagic Cormorants on their nests

Pelagic Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant with Common Murre in the background

After being in a dream world for about an hour, we headed to our next destination – LUNCH! Or, we tried to. Traffic stopped us from going to get fish and chips in Seaside but we did end up making some more bird stops along the way were we looked for Bushtits and Wrentits; it was very hot out so we had trouble finding them. We did, however, stumble upon our first Steller’s Jays and got close to a forging Black-throated Gray Warbler.

Steller's Jay

I was so happy to get good looks at Steller’s Jays!

Black-throated Gray Warbler

Black-throated Gray Warbler foraging along the road

We ended up hitting some standstill traffic and went a new direction. Dave led us to Camp 18 for lunch. The restaurant was very interesting: built like a huge log cabin with logging equipment laid throughout the property. As soon as we walked inside, we saw bird feeders and gravitated toward them. We ended up having lunch along side Evening and Black-headed Grosbeaks, Rufous Hummingbirds, Purple, House and Goldfinches, Steller’s Jays and a Cooper’s Hawk who swiped up one of the songbirds.

Evening Grosbeaks

I took this photo of Evening Grosbeaks with my phone – they were eating right outside the glass from me

We had to head home early – we were invited to a Fourth of July BBQ at Dave’s friend’s house – so we headed back after lunch. On the way, we kept an eye out for birds; we specifically tried looking for a Cinnamon Teal but came up empty handed. What we did find was a cooperative Lazuli Bunting.

Lazuli Bunting

The Lazuli Bunting’s song reminded me of the Indigo Bunting.

Finding life birds did not stop there – during the BBQ I got good looks at a female Anna’s Hummingbird and a couple of Lesser Goldfinches. No one minded me putting up my binoculars to look at birds – in fact, they encouraged it – it was a yard full of birders after all…

Continued… Birding in the Pacific Northwest – Part 2

Spring 2014 Yard Bird Explosion

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If I were to describe this year’s spring migration in one word, it would be “outstanding.” Especially in my very own yard. Within a couple of months, my yard bird list went from below forty to over eighty – EIGHTY – species of birds (84 to be exact, and 80 total in 2014 so far). All of these birds were either seen or heard from my house – not from acres of land, but from either one of my decks on my [less than] .4 acres of property. This far exceeded my expectations – especially after leaving such a great hotspot in New York. As of today, I have 15 species of birds on my PA yard list that I did not have on my NY yard list and I am a little over 20 species away in matching my NY list, which had a final count of 106 over three years.

This spring marked the return of breeding birds that grace many people’s backyards such as Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and our tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. The Hummingbirds continue to visit daily.

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole chattering at me from my deck

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

One of my female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

These were expected yard birds; the unexpected birds came in waves – very large waves. And they kept on coming. The best part is that there were no leaves on the trees, so I could actually SEE the birds. Many of them even came close enough to my deck for photo ops.

One of my most common migrant visitors were Black-throated Green Warblers. I had them singing for a few weeks before they completely moved on.

Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-throated Green Warblers were very common during migration

Yellow-rumped Warblers were my other most common migrant. I could see them at any time of the day foraging high and low, near and far. They were everywhere!

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler at eye level

My best Warbler surprises were Blackburnian males and tons of Northern Parulas. I even had a surprise Canada Warbler singing from further in the woods.

Blackburnian Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler, right after he perched about 5 feet away from me (no, I did not get a photo of THAT)

Other Warblers included American Redstarts, Ovenbirds, Bay-breasted, Black-and-white, Black-throated Blue, Blackpoll, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Nashville, Palm, and Pine Warblers.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Male Black-throated Blue Warbler, after leaves came in

During this migration madness, I had an addition built onto my house – a large deck that comes off of my renovated porch (now sunroom). I was able to enjoy the birds at eye level from this deck and my (already existing) balcony.

Scarlet Tanager

Scarlet Tanager at eye level from my deck

In fact, some days, I did not need the extra elevation because the birds seemed to prefer to feed down low. I had at least four male Scarlet Tanagers feeding on the ground at once, along with a few females. This is a bird that is usually seen high up in the tree tops. What a treat!

One of at least four Scarlet Tanager foraging on the ground

One of at least four male Scarlet Tanagers foraging on the ground

Now that migration has slowed down, I have other breeders who sing every day. This includes the very first bird that I heard in my yard before I actually owned it last June – the Eastern Wood-Pewee.

Eastern Wood-Pewee

The Eastern Wood-Pewee was technically my first yard bird

Another bird that I hear throughout the day is also a flycatcher who sing early with the Robins and are calling as late as 9PM! Great Crested Flycatchers are fun to watch. I often see the local pair hawking insects together.

Great Crested Flycatcher

I love hearing Great Crested Flycatchers calling all day

Red-eyed Vireo and Wood Thrushes continue to serenade me with their songs, just as they did in New York. I love hearing both of them!

Red-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo at eye level from my deck

Some other notable migrants that I’ve had are Indigo Buntings, Willow Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbirds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, both Kinglets, Hermit and Swainson’s Thrushes (I finally heard the Swainson’s sing!), Blue-headed and Yellow-throated Vireos, Cedar Waxwings, Common Ravens, Osprey and Broad-winged Hawks. Oh! And how can I forget my most recent yard bird, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, who I heard calling multiple mornings!

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

This Yellow-billed Cuckoo was not my yard bird, but I wanted to show it anyway!

Migration was awesome this year. I hope that this sets the tone for what my yard will be like every spring. In New York, I only had a good fall migrations – it was nice getting the spring colors and songs. Too bad peak migration only lasts about a month – I already miss waking up to the songs of Blackburnians, Parulas, Black-throated Greens…

Northern Parula

This Northern Parula serenaded me with his beautiful song

Backyard Begging – It’s Fledgling Season!

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This is my favorite time of year for backyard birding. Parent birds are bringing their begging babies to my yard and tirelessly giving them food from my bird feeders.

Common Grackle family

Common Grackle family

The parents are very often attentive and I hardly ever see them actually feed themselves.

Northern Cardinal mom feeding young

Northern Cardinal mom feeding young

Chipping Sparrow feeding young

Chipping Sparrow feeding young

House Finch Family

House Finch Family

American Goldfinch dad feeding young

American Goldfinch dad feeding young

The young woodpeckers seem to be the most patient and often quietly wait for their meal, not far off from Mom and Dad. They are also the most fun to watch as they attempt to cling anywhere and everywhere.

Hairy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Young Downy Woodpecker

Young Downy Woodpecker

Some birds, like the Crows and Jays will continuously beg even though the parents ignore them.

Young American Crow begging to an adult

Young American Crow begging to an adult

Begging Blue Jay

Begging Blue Jay

Others show up after they are already on their own and shyly feed themselves.

Young Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Young Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Young Cedar Waxwing

Young Cedar Waxwing

Feeding young is a tough job, but someone has to do it!