Northern Saw-whet Owl in hand, taken with my iPhone
The coolest part about it was seeing the bird under a black light. Birds feathers display UV patterns which can indicate the age of a bird. This Northern Saw-whet Owl’s feathers were glowing pink across the under side of its wing, which showed that it was a hatch-year bird.
Left wing under UV light
Right wing under UV light
If the bird had older feathers, they would not glow as bright as the newly grown feathers. For more information on this, check out my friend Ann Nightingale’s article on BirdFellow, Pretty in Pink: The Northern Saw-whet Owl’s Flashy Secret.
Once all of the measurements were taken, the banders allowed me to release the bird. It’s so tiny!
Me holding the Owl before release; photo taken by my friend, Steve
Once the bird was released for the second time, it stuck around in a nearby tree, allowing us to get some nice photos. I used the light from our headlamps to lighten the bird up rather than using a flash. It was a great experience to see this tiny owl up close. I hope to do it again next year!
Northern Saw-whet Owl hiding behind the leaves
Northern Saw-whet Owl perched, after getting banded
A month ago, I went to The Biggest Week in American Birding with three of my friends. We arrived in the mid-afternoon and headed right to Magee Marsh. Unfortunately, storms were rolling in and we got in only a little bit of birding before it started to rain. That did not dampen our spirits at all – we ended up finding a good bird to chase just as the rain broke. A Henslow’s Sparrow was down the road. This was a life bird for one of my friends (the rest of us saw one last year at Magee). This time, the bird was in the perfect setting and we watched it sing.
Henslow’s Sparrow near Ottawa NWR
More rain was coming, so we decided to check into our hotel, finalize registration for the event and hang out at the evening social. We heard about one of the Maumee Bay Eastern Screech-Owls hanging out in the open, so we went out to the boardwalk to check it out before dinner.
Red-phased Eastern Screech-Owl
For the next couple of days, we birded the Magee Marsh boardwalk, Metzger Marsh, Oak Openings, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and other hotspots along the way. We ran into some bird and human friends alike. This year, photography was a bit slow, but we did see tons of birds! Sometimes, I decide to just enjoy them rather than photograph them. Here are some of the songbirds that I did lift my camera for.
We also saw a few more birds that you don’t normally get to admire out in the open.
Gray-phased Eastern Screech-Owl (#2)
Gray-phased Screech-Owl (#3 – yes, I photographed 3 different Screech-Owls!)
Common Nighthawk right on the trail
Yeah – that’s “slow” for the Biggest Week – as you can see, we did see tons of birds. We also reconnected with old friends and made plenty of new ones. The evening socials were hopping with great vendors and, as always, Optics Alley was a great place to hang out.
One of the many awesome vendors at the evening socials – the birder chicks (here with my friend Renee) were one of our favorites!
Last weekend, I took an impromptu birding trip with my friends, Jon and Steve. Steve invited us along to chase a Painted Bunting that was just over the Pennsylvania border in Andover, New Jersey. A beautiful male life bird at a private feeder that can be viewed from a public trail? Sounded like a plan! We had vague plans afterward to go to Wallkill New York for some field birds. We had no idea what the day would end up being as epic as it was.
When we arrived at the location for the bunting, it started to snow. Thankfully, the bird had been hanging out in a tree right before we got there. After a nice scope view, he flew to the feeder.
Painted Bunting on a private feeder
A life bird for all three of us. He flew into the brush shortly after and disappeared for some time, probably finding shelter from the weather. Satisfied enough, we left and made our way to Wallkill, New York.
On the way up, we drove through some farmland back roads and said hello to various local cows. We found a large flock of Horned Larks feeding on the melted parts of the field. Every time they would get close, a car would pass, so I did not get any good photos of them.
We arrived in Wallkill almost two hours later. We made our way through the marked paths, even though the snow was a foot or more deep. The first owl was spotted in the distance, followed by another who wanted the perch. We saw several Rough-legged Hawks flying around and perched in trees – at least six of them that we could differentiate all at once. We also saw a Bald Eagle flying in the distance and a Red-shouldered Hawk perched near the parking lot.
Rough-legged Hawk in flight
We walked around the paths, through the deep snow, looking for any way would lead us to a better location. We decided to go to a hunting blind across the field where some of the owls were perched (one was ON the blind). While we were walking, most of the owls slowly made their way into a single tree stand. It was really cool to see all of them in one spot!
Four Short-eared Owls in the trees
I also got my closest views of this beautiful bird.
Short-eared Owl perched
We made out way to the blind, but just as I set my camera up, the owl who was perched nearby flew off to meet the other birds.
Short-eared Owl in flight
We decided to settle in the blind to see if the birds would come in close. That lasted all of five minutes after I checked Facebook to see this message:
3:30 PM Saturday: Curt McDermott reports that the GYRFALCON is being seen now at Hoagerburgh Road near Bates Lane at Blue Chip Farm, Wallkill, Ulster County
That was in the exact area that we were. This Gyrfalcon was reported the day before, but they aren’t known to stick around, so we did not have high hopes of seeing it. That changed quickly! We trudged back through the snow to the car and made our way to Bates Lane. The line of cars gave the exact location away.
This is not even a quarter of the Gyrfalcon crowd, more were in front of me
We could see the bird sitting on top of a pole as soon as we got out of the car. It stayed in the same spot for the entire twenty-or-so minutes that we hung out until a Red-tailed spooked it off. It was nice to watch the flight too!
Gyrfalcon iPhone-scoped
Scope views were beautiful. This was not my lifer Gyrfalcon – I saw one at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge a couple of years ago, but I did not get these same killer looks at it for this long, let alone decent photos, so this was a real treat.
We started the day with a rare bird from the southern US and ended the day with a rare arctic visitor. In-between these two amazing birds, we saw six Rough-legged Hawks and seven Short-eared Owls – two species that the three of us enjoyed very much. This day easily completes with the top birding days of my “career!”
For the past two years, I had the honor of being on the blogging team for The Biggest Week in American Birding. I am attending the festival again this year and will continue my position as a volunteer. I will also be more active on social media in general for the event, so look out for bird-filled photos and posts from me!
Are you interested in contributing to the greatest spring event around? There are currently many positions to be filled including Registration Packet Assembly, manning tables and being desk hosts, field trip leaders, trip bus drivers and more. Every effort helps make this festival a huge success. You even get some perks out of it like FREE registration, a festival t-shirt and a bag full of festival goodies. The best part is knowing that you helped an event that thousands of people from all around the world come to. More information can be found at the Biggest Week website.
Registration will open very soon – you will want to register quick because field trips fill up fast. You can go on guided bird walks and van trips, boat and canoe trips and you can also have the chance to go on trips with some of the biggest names in birding. If you need a break in the afternoon, there are various bonus presentations being offered as well as workshops and evening keynote speakers. Free with your registration are daily guided walks around Magee Marsh, evening socials, a birder’s marketplace, bird banding programs and more!
What makes birding here so different than anywhere else? Not only is the energy above the clouds, but you will see tons of birds. Magee Marsh is full of bright and colorful migrants.
The Cape May Warbler is one of many birds you will see
If a rare bird is seen in the area, you can get notified with the details on Twitter by following @BiggestWeek.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks nearby? Relax! You will know about it.
It’s not just Magee Marsh – you can explore other parks and preserves that the area has to offer.
This Sora was foraging at Pearson Metropark, right next to our car
Cliff Swallows at the bridge to Maume Bay Lodge
If there is an owl in the area, you will know about it. Who DOESN’T like owls?
An Eastern Screech-Owl is always hanging out above the boardwalk
And, of course, you will meet some pretty great people, including some of birding’s top birders and book authors. Oh.. and did I mention the BIRDS??
Earlier this month, three of my friends and I took a trip to the New Jersey coast to look for wintering waterfowl and sandpipers. Knowing that the temperatures were going to be well below-freezing, we bundled up and prepared for a windy day. Our first stop was Barnegat Light and the jetty that I have a love/hate relationship with. I hate it because you have to be careful going from rock-to-rock and it can be slippery when wet. But at the same time I love it since it always brings us good birds. The rocks were icy, but the birding turned out to be pretty good!
My friends returning from the tip of the icy jetty
On our way down the jetty, we spotted a single Dunlin on the beach-side. It didn’t seem to want to move, though it didn’t look injured. For a moment, it seemed like it was just frozen in place.
A lone Dunlin
We found one brave songbird on the jetty. It also did not seem like it wanted to move far.
Savannah Sparrow on the rocks
Last winter, we had plenty of waterfowl close in the inlet, but both time I went to Barnegat this season it was different – there were hunters in boats close to the jetty, which kept the waterfowl distant. There was a large grouping of Eiders in the bay, but harsh light and distance made for poor photo ops. They were mostly Common Eiders, but we did spot one King. Many Common Loons and some Red-throated were also present. Scoters were even more distant with a few Black Scoters coming near the jetty. A single pair of Harlequins came in close.
The only pair of Harlequin Ducks who came in close
Harlequin Duck drake flying by
We did run into the usual flock of Dunlin and Ruddy Turnstones on the jetty. They were huddled and did not care to move as we passed by. The Purple Sandpipers were on the very tip and I did not go close enough to photograph them.
The flock of Dunlin stay warm
Ruddy Turnstones with the Dunlin
Dunlin on ice
Ruddy Turnstones using a rock to break the wind
On the way out, we walked on the sand so that we could keep our eyes on the dunes for buntings, larks and longspurs – and also to keep warm since all of us seemed to lose feeling in our fingers. We ended up seeing a ton of Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Yellow-rumped Warbler on the path
Other highlights from Barnegat included a couple of close fly-bys by a juvenile Northern Gannet, a male Northern Harrier hunting the dunes and an unexpected Bonaparte’s Gull. On our way off of the island, we checked out a few marinas for more waterfowl. We got distant looks at Bufflehead, Horned Grebes, Loons, Pintails, Black Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, Gadwall, Goldeneyes, Red-breasted Mergansers and Ruddy Ducks.
After that, we chased reports of a Cackling and Ross’s Goose on the way to our next destination. The birds were not present, but there were some other friendly waterfowl. Sometimes, you just have to take a photo op, no matter how common the bird is.
The often-ignored Mallard Duck
Mute Swans are a beautiful bird, often overlooked by birders
Oddly enough, this is my first close photo of a Black Duck
Our final stop was Island Beach State Park. We wanted to show one of my friends the foxes and also see if we could get a glimpse of a Snowy Owl. The foxes did not disappoint.
Red Fox off the road at Island Beach
We brought our scopes out onto the beach to scan the water. We estimated around 15,000 Scoters – mostly Blacks with many Surf and White-winged mixed in. As we were leaving, we decided to check out a spot that a few cars were parked at. Sure enough, they were looking at a Snowy Owl. The bird was a bit distant, but she had a nice perch. It was a great way to end the day!
It is getting increasingly more difficult for me to see new life birds in my area. Many of the eastern birds that I do not have are tougher to get. Out of 67 new birds this year, 54 were seen in Oregon and Washington. Four were seen during the Biggest Week in Ohio and a few were found in Bombay Hook in Delaware. Until recently, I only had one new bird in Pennsylvania – the Worm-eating Warbler. And then I ended the year with three new birds, seen in my state during December, with a New Jersey lifer in-between.
The bird in New Jersey was a surprise lone Ross’s Goose at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.
A lone Ross’s Goose at Forsythe in November
Two of my life birds seen in Pennsylvania are rare species for the area. A Harris’s Sparrow has been hanging out at feeders on a private residence in Williams Township. We waited a few hours for the bird to show up while getting to know the host. You could tell that she loved showing people this bird – she was very accommodating and really does deserve all of the rare birds that happen to find her property (her yard list is well over 200 birds).
Harris’s Sparrow grabbing seed from a rock
Harris’s Sparrow on a platform feeder
The other is a bird that I just wrote a post about, the pair of Barnacle Geese that showed up at a lake 20 minutes away from me. For more on these birds, see my previous post.
Barnacle Goose at Weir Lake
All of these were great birds, but the best is the most recent bird I saw. Another friend-of-a-friend has been seeing a Northern Saw-whet Owl on his property. While we were out and about last Friday, my friend sent the host a message asking if we could see the bird. It turned out that he already located the owl that day and was showing it to a couple of other people; he invited us to tag along.
Northern Saw-Whet Owl at eye level
That was a pretty easy one to get! I never realized how small these owls were until I saw this one. Four local life birds in less then two months – what a great way to end the year!
Last Friday, my friend Jon and I headed out to the New Jersey coast to find waterfowl, shorebirds and our main target bird – snowy owls. There have been early reports of the owls in the eastern United States and we wanted to see if we could find one. Last year, we got our Snowy fix in November and wanted to try to do the same this year.
Recent Snowy Owl Reports recorded on eBird
We decided to chase a bird who was spotted on Long Beach Island. Neither of us are familiar with this part of the island so we did not know what to expect. We parked the car and walked for a couple of miles on the sand. Every step we took was another that we would have to take on the way back. I started to feel discouraged and wanted to turn around a few times, but Jon was confident that we could find the owl. As we approached the very southern tip of the island, we saw two other photographers who passed us earlier on. They had their sights on something! It turns out that they were after the same target bird – the Owl was on the edge of the dunes.
The bird was looking around for a meal and flew a couple of times to different spots. We watched her make attempts at some smaller birds.
She landed up high on a pole, with the sunset behind her.
We went over to the other side to get what little light we had behind us and snapped away at this beautiful bird.
In total, we walked over five miles in the sand to find this bird. She did not make it easy to get to her, but once we found her she certainly was cooperative!
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 you are going to the Biggest Week, then I cannot stress enough how important it is to follow @BiggestWeek on Twitter and, if you can, get the tweets sent to your phone while you are at the festival. The tweets had me and my friend, Renee, chasing birds all over the place – with a high percentage of success. There are a number of good birders who have access to post tweets, so the area is pretty much covered.
Note: this post has embedded tweets, please be patient with the loading time.
Thanks to the tweets, our first afternoon at Magee started off with great views of a bird we only barely saw last year.
Gray-cheeked Thrush at the beginning of >Estuary Trail
Not sure where Estuary Trail is? Do not be shy to ask someone. Birding guides are all over the boardwalk; your fellow birders are also friendly and will be happy to help!
After a long day of birding outside of Magee, we came back to another good find. Once we got to the location, the crowd of people directed us where we needed to look.
American Bittern close to the road out in the open along the Magee Causeway (north end)! – Ethan Kistler
I would have never thought I would see a Bittern out in the open like this! He was busy fishing while many birders got great looks.
One of my favorite tweet stories happened on our third day. Renee and I just began the Ottawa wildlife drive and this tweet came in. She saw the tweet first didn’t know what to say about it. I picked up the phone and knew why.
We drove through the rest of the wildlife drive without looking for more birds and made our way to Magee. As we were walking to #13 on the boardwalk, birders assured us that the Owl was still there – and it was.
Long-eared Owl at Magee Marsh!
We did have some unsuccessful attempts at chasing tweets – you can’t get them all!
Black-billed Cuckoo just flew between # 1 and 3 – adrian
I can’t tell you how many times Renee and I chased the Black-billed Cuckoo in hopes of both of us getting a life bird. Unfortunately, this is one that we did not see. They did not show themselves for long, but the chase was fun. In the process, we did get to see one of the American Woodcocks off the boardwalk.
American Woodcock found while looking for Cuckoos
Another tweet came through that had us abandon the Cuckoo search that morning…
Golden-winged warbler showing nicely at north edge of small loop on MM boardwalk (7ish). -Greg Miller
This one was a success! Thank you, Greg – you helped us both get a great life bird!
Golden-winged Warbler at the loop
The loop turned out to be pretty popular for good Warblers. At one point, there were so many birds that people were using Warblers to direct birders to another Warbler.
Prothonotary and Canada at 7A on small loop – adrian
I hope this post convinced you – getting live tweets sent to your phone can really help you stay connected! You will also stay up to date on the latest event happenings.
Book signing: Stokes, Kaufman, Birdchick, Ken Keffer – 1 PM – AT BLACK SWAMP BIRD OBSERVATORY
That happened after the festival was over, but three Kirtland Warblers showed up and were tweeted about on the previous year during the festival, so you never know!
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!
