Every North American birder should try to make it to the tropics at least once in their lifetime, if finances allow it. The beautiful array of birds would be worth every penny. I took my first trip in December 2011 and stayed through New Years and the first week of January 2012. I visited four different locations: the Osa Peninsula, Monteverde Cloud Forest, Arenal Volcano and San Gerardo de Dota. Even though the trip was not based on birding, I racked up 130 life birds.
The trip was suppose to be during the beginning of the dry season, however, it rained for much of the trip. This led to mostly mediocre photos – many of which I never showed anyone else since they are not up to par with my normal work. Despite this, I wanted to share the beautiful birds that I saw, even with sub-par photos. I will also mix in some of the nicer photos – though, they were few and far between!
I’m not entirely sure where to begin, so I will jump in with some of my target birds. The bird names and locations are under each photo.
Resplendent Quetzal, San Gerardo de Dota
Blue-crowned Motmot, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Keel-billed Toucan, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Scarlet Macaw, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Note that I also wrote a post about the Quetzal early last year where you can see more photos. This was on bird that I had great photo ops with! I plan on doing the same for the Motmot.
As expected in the tropics, I saw many species of Tanagers, most of them were very colorful.
Rufous-winged Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
Bay-headed Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Golden-hooded Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Flame-colored Tanager, San Gerardo de Dota
White-throated Shrike-Tanager, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Cherries Tanager with a Variable Seedeater, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager, Trogon Lodge, San Gerardo de Dota
Blue-gray Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Palm Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
These birds are also classified as Tanagers, but do not have it in their name. They are still equally as beautiful!
Green Honeycreeper, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
Bananaquit, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Yellow-faced Grassquits, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Buff-throated Saltator, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
I also saw some species of warblers that I do not get in the northeastern US.
Rufous-capped Warbler, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Buff-rumped Warbler, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Slate-throated Redstart, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Collared Redstart, San Gerardo de Dota
Tropical Parula, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Some of the birds were cool surprises.
I nearly jumped out of the car for the White-throated Magpie-Jays, Arenal Volcano
Common Potoo hiding in the brush, Sierpe River
White-whiskered Puffbird, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Slaty Flowerpiercer, San Gerardo de Dota
Black-throated Trogon, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
One of my favorite birds had a great mating display.
Montezuma Oropendola, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
I saw a nice variety of different Flycatchers throughout my trip.
Great Kiskadee, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Tropical Kingbird in the rain, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Social Flycatcher, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Yellowish Flycatcher, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Black-capped Flycatcher, San Gerardo de Dota
Possible Mountain Elaenia (still being identified), San Gerardo de Dota
Common Tody-Flycatcher, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black Phoebe, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Some of the finches were pretty unique…
Large-footed Finch, San Gerardo de Dota
Thick-billed Seed Finch, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Especially, the colorful ones in the Euphonia family.
Yellow-throated Euphonia, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Tawny-capped Euphonia, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Elegant Euphonias are hidden in this photo, Monteverde Cloud Forest
I did see some nice woodpeckers, including a couple I did not get to photograph like the Pale-billed and Lineated Woodpeckers.
Acorn Woodpecker, San Gerardo de Dota
Red-crowned Woodpecker, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
I also saw some birds from the Thrush family.
Clay-colored Thrush, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Sooty Robin, San Gerardo de Dota
Black-billed Nightengale-Thrush, San Gerardo de Dota
Black-headed Nightengale-Thrush, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Of course, I did see some parakeets too!
Orange-fronted Parakeets, between San Juan and Monteverde
Orange-chinned Parakeet, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
I did not see many raptors, but I was able to photograph some. Unfortunately, my Owl photos are not even good enough to show on this post and my lifer Crested Caracara is too terrible.
Common Black-Hawk, Cano Island
Yellow-headed Caracara, Sierpe River
Here are a few birds that I found by the water:
Magnificent Frigatebird, off of the Osa Peninsula
Sandwich Tern, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron perched over a waterfall, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Like their North American relatives, some birds were very vocal.
Great-tailed Grackle, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Brown Jay, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Some of the larger birds just chilled and let me get a nice look.
Crested Guan, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black Guan, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Gray-headed Chachalaque, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
But many of the smaller ones were hard to catch!
Band-backed Wren, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black-cowled Oriole, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black-hooded Antshrike, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Ruddy Ground-Dove, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
As you can see, this post is lacking Hummingbird photos. I will put up a post specifically about them at another time since I saw so many! For now, and to close this post, I will leave you with a photo of my target hummingbird…
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.
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 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.
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
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 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 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!
One of the Northern Pygmy-Owl’s great perches
Hermit Warblers were pretty common!
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.
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.
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…
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 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 on Haystack Rock
Common Murre flying by
Brown Pelican flying by
Pigeon Guillemot on the nest
Pelagic Cormorants on their nests
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.
I was so happy to get good looks at Steller’s Jays!
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.
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.
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…
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 chattering at me from my deck
Adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak
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 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 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, 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.
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 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 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.
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.
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 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!
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…
This Northern Parula serenaded me with his beautiful song
Registration for the Biggest Week has been open for over a week now and a record number of people are already signed up. Trips and talks are selling out but there are still plenty more left. If you are planning on going, sign up today – registration is easy! Just go to the Biggest Week website and sign up online.
Baltimore Oriole near the Magee boardwalk
Whoa! Back up for a second – did I just say that a lot of people have signed up already? Doesn’t that mean that it will be crowded? Maybe. More so on the Magee boardwalk than anywhere else – but keep in mind – more people means more eyes. More eyes means that no bird goes unnoticed. See that Black-billed Cuckoo over there? No? The person next to you did and I bet they will announce it and help you find it. You will be surrounded by birders. Surrounded by people who are enjoying themselves and who all have a common interest.
It can get crowded on the boardwalk, but remember that you all have the same motive!
I am not a person who likes crowds. I try to avoid them. This crowd, however, I like. If it weren’t for them, I would have missed this bird that was basically out in the open – if you knew where to look.
Eastern Screen-Owl over the boardwalk
If you find that it is too crowded on the boardwalk, you can always venture out to other areas around it without having to get in your car. Magee has plenty of trails along Lake Erie and the surrounding marsh.
Palm Warbler at Magee, but not on the boardwalk
Many great birds showed up specifically in these spots.
This Yellow-bellied Flycatcher was on a trail near the lake
There are also other great places in the area that are very birdy – Maumee Bay, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Metgzar Marsh, Pearson Metropark, Oak Openings… I birded all of these last year! You can go on your own or sign up for guided field trips.
Chances of seeing a Summer Tanager at Oak Openings are much higher than at Magee
At the end of a long day of birding, there is still plenty to do. Keynote speakers are giving talks every night at Maumee and Ottawa. Socials, which are included with your registration, offer free refreshments and music, book signings, raffles and even a bird tattoo contest. Meet new friends or even some well known birders who may be lurking around.
Barn Swallows at the visitor center
New this year is a CafePress shop full of awesome gear featuring the Biggest Week logo. All proceeds will go right back into the Black Swamp Bird Observatory research and education. Interested? Head on to the brand new CafePress store – there is plenty to choose from!
Check out the Biggest Week CafePress store!
You can also opt to donate $10 during registration to the Save the Golden-Wing Project to offset your travel carbon footprint—and support creation of a habitat corridor in Nicaragua for overwintering Golden-winged Warblers. Speaking of Golden-winged Warblers… if you haven’t seen one, this may be your chance!
One of a few Golden-winged Warblers I saw at Magee
The Biggest week is not just about birding. You will meet many people and can make new friends. I’ve met so many great people during this festival who I still keep in touch with. I am looking forward to seeing them and finding birds together in May!
I still have my mind on the Biggest Week in American Birding. It was an unforgettable experience that will be tough to top. I saw 150 species of birds and had twelve – yes TWELVE – life birds. Last week, I wrote a post about some highlights from my trip. This week, I will continue by sharing some photos to show you what can be expected if you decide to attend next year – yes – I am already thinking about next year…
This Clay-colored Sparrow was a life bird!
Birds, birds and more birds
Beautiful birds are everywhere you look!
Cape May Warbler from the boardwalk tower
Baltimore Oriole near the boardwalk parking lot
Blue Gray Gnatcatcher taken from the boardwalk tower
You will see more than just birds
Aside from birds, you can see some cute mammals, rare snakes and many turtles.
This Raccoon was playing peek-a-boo with me
Do not let the crowds scare you away
Crowds will form where there are good birds – the good thing about these crowds is that someone in it will see a good bird so no bird goes unseen. When they spot a bird they will let you know what they are looking at and help you find it. I took some photos with my phone of the crowds, both what I saw…
What’s that? A Golden-winged Warbler?
And some viewpoints from the birds…
A bird’s view from the ground
A bird’s eye view of the boardwalk
There are other great spot to visit
If the crowds are too much for you, there are quiet spots both on and off the boardwalk to visit. You do not have to even stay at Magee Marsh – you can also go to the trails at Maumee Bay State Park, take the auto tour at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, go for a day trip to Oak Openings, watch birds from the Windows On Wildlife at Pearson Metropark, look for waterbirds at Metzger… there are so many great hotspots!
Red-bellied Woodpecker at taken from the “Windows on Wildlife”
Beautiful view from Oak Openings, taken with my phone
Hard-to-see birds will be in someone’s sights
How many times can you say that you’ve seen a Whip-poor-will perched in a tree??
Other birders directed us to this Whip-poor-will
You can test top-of-the-line scopes and binoculars at Optics Alley
I think this photo speaks for itself…
The scope line-up at Optics Alley
Bird by day, hang out by night!
Birds & Blooms hosted a karaoke night. I did not sing, but those who did gave a great show!
Kim Kaufman killed it on the karaoke floor
There are other great events during the day
While we were making our way out of Magee Marsh, we stopped at the visitor center and were surprised by some live birds of prey from Back to the Wild. These birds were injured and cannot be returned to the wild, so they are now used for educational purposes. It was nice to get some photos of more cooperative birds. And further down the road at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, they were banding wild songbirds – they had a Northern Waterthrush when we were there.
This young Peregrine Falcon was flapping around
This Bald Eagle was hit by a train and is now blind in one eye with an injured wing
My favorite little raptor, the American Kestrel
I hope to see a Barn Owl in the wild some time soon
This Barred Owl was keeping an eye on us
The Great Horned Owl was not as angry as he looks
You will make new friends
It was great birding with friends who we met last year – even after seeing them a year ago at 2012’s Biggest Week, we connected like we see each other all the time. We also met many new friends along the way. Everyone, from the bloggers to the guides to visitors on the boardwalk were pleasant to be around and we could not ask to be around a better group of people!
Kim Kaufman’s sand art
Did I mention that there are lots of great birds to be seen?
Magnolia Warbler
American Bittern out in the open on the Magee causeway
Today, I took a better look at my yard bird list because I thought I hit the 100th milestone with a singing Wood Thrush. Well, it turns out that I did not hit it today – I hit it last month without realizing it! The Thrush ended up being number 103, making a Barn Swallow that I saw two days ago number 102 and an Eastern Screech-Owl that I heard number 101. Number 100 went to a good one and I wish I knew it at the time – I was outside talking to a friend about yard birds and I mentioned that I have been trying to see Bald Eagles migrate overhead so that I can get it as a yard bird. Ten minutes later, guess who came flying low over the creek while we were standing in my driveway? A Bald Eagle. I did not know it then, but that was yard bird number 100!
I will celebrate this huge milestone with a list of my yard birds and, of course, some photos taken from my yard.
I have some birds who stick around all throughout the year, my true residents and feeder birds
Northern Cardinal
Black-capped Chickadee
American Crow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Blue Jay
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Sparrow
Song Sparrow
European Starling
Tufted Titmouse
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Carolina Wren
Some birds are here year-round but do not show up often, or show up more in one season than another
Eastern Bluebird
Brown Creeper
Dark-eyed Junco
Ring-necked Pheasant
And Hawks who watch them or are seen flying over the house
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Some birds stay to breed and I see or hear them throughout the summer, but they migrate south in the winter
Gray Catbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Purple Finch
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Baltimore Oriole
Eastern Phoebe
Chipping Sparrow
American Robin
Field Sparrow (heard only, seen in woods)
Veery (heard only, seen in woods)
Red-eyed Vireo
Turkey Vulture (flying)
Common Yellowthroat (heard only)
Cedar Waxwing
House Wren
Others stay to breed but I only see or hear them once in a while
Indigo Bunting
Brown-headed Cowbird
Northern Flicker
Ruffed Grouse (heard only)
Ovenbird (heard only, seen in woods)
American Redstart
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Barn Swallow (flying)
Tree Swallow (flying)
Chimney Swift (flying)
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Yellow Warbler
These birds stay throughout the winter but breed further north
Common Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll
Pine Siskin
American Tree Sparrow
My yard gets a lot of migrating birds who come through in waves
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-headed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
And birds who come during migration and stay for a few days or even weeks
Fox Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Also birds who I’ve seen migrating over my house, both high and low
These birds are usually flying to or from the neighborhood creek
Mallard (flying, vocalizing)
Canada Goose (foraging across the street)
Green Heron (perched in a tree!)
Great Blue Heron (flying)
Killdeer (flying, vocalizing)
Belted Kingfisher (flying, vocalizing)
Common Merganser (flying, vocalizing)
I’ve only seen or heard these birds once, but hope they return soon
Bald Eagle (flying)
Northern Mockingbird
Osprey (flying)
Rock Pigeon (flying)
Eastern Screech-Owl (heard only)
Swainson’s Thrush
Brown Thrasher
Wood Thrush (heard only, seen in woods)
American Woodcock (heard only)
It is exciting to think about who will show up next or which birds I will see in my yard that I’ve only heard so far. Fall migration is when I get most of my new surprises but hopefully I do not have to wait that long for the next one.
Last December, I entered a photo into Project FeederWatch’s BirdSpotter contest on Facebook. The photo did not win, but it received recognition from Cornell and plenty of kudos from fans. That day, I received a private message from an editor of the National Wildlife Magazine who was interested in using the photo for an article. I didn’t get my hopes up yet because the image was not the best quality and probably not good enough to print. I sent the photo over and it turned out that the photo was usable! I was told that it would appear with a story about summer bird feeding in the April/May 2013 issue. I still did not want to get too excited because it all seemed to good to be true.
Then yesterday, the magazine showed up in my mail box. I saw my photo as soon as I opened the magazine – it ended up on the centerfold article! It really happened! I was published in a national magazine!
So, how about some back-story on this photo? It almost seems too perfect to have happened and I’ve been accused of it being photoshopped many times; but it really was a lot of patience and especially luck.
In 2010, I moved from central New Jersey to upstate New York. The decision to move was made easier because the company that I work for, Local Wisdom agreed to let me work from home. In the absence of people, I decided to make the best of my new situation by putting my desk downstairs near my sliding glass doors. I immediately purchased bird feeders that were visible from my desk and so began my love of birds. I made sure my set up was ideal for both working in a relaxing environment and having maximum exposure to my yard. I always have my camera facing out the window, even on poorly lit days because you just never know what will show up.
My home office, with camera set up to face outside
On warmer days, I set up outside for even more exposure and a better overall view of my yard.
My outdoor office, on a second story deck, taken with my HTC Thunderbolt
This set up paid off a few times where I was able to get photos that I would have otherwise missed. From new yard birds to Warblers who perched for only a few seconds; a rare Hoary Redpoll who disappeared after four snaps; and the most colorful photo that I have ever taken.
Indigo Bunting, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole
Too bad I was not 100% prepared for it! At the time, I was aiming to get a photo of my most colorful birds. I was zoomed out because my original yellow bird was a Yellow Warbler who would often perch on the branches to the right. I kept coming close to the perfect photo with female Goldfinches instead of male. Still very lucky, but not what I really wanted!
The photo taken right before my all-male photo
This was taken only a few seconds before my prized photo. The female was not cooperating enough and never made it to the feeders, but then a male flew in and I quickly took another photo.
The original uncropped photo
Then I zoomed in and took another one… and he was gone.
Three Colorful Males and a Chickadee
The Goldfinches were much more fidgety than the other birds. But the Cardinal and Oriole seemed to not want to pose anymore either. Any more attempts after that only resulted in three colorful birds, not four. But hey, I won’t complain about it!
Goldfinches, Indigo Bunting and Baltimore Oriole
Always be ready, you never know what surprises you may catch!
