December 24 - Quick Rarity Chase

As I had this day off from work I had a little time to look for some recent rarities.  First up was a Northern Shrike in the South Branch WMA.  It took me a few minutes to find the exact road and the abandoned house with the two silos.
However once there, and having walked about 100 paces, I was able to spy the Shrike in the distance atop a Cedar tree.  As I continued to walk in hopes of a better view, the bird flew in a bit closer, and then closer still.
It felt like the bird was curious about my presence, and it finally landed atop a small deciduous tree only about 20-25 yards away, which afforded my some very nice views.  Unfortunately the bird turned it's face as my photo was taken, however the image still allows me to share with you the intent of this blog, which is to share what my eyes see...

click to enlarge


Afterward I made a stop nearer to home to try for the Painted Bunting which had been found by David Blinder about one week earlier.   At the stakeout, I ran into friend Mike S. and we spent some time chatting as we waited for the bunting to appear.
After almost 90 minutes it was time to leave for both of us, and as luck would have it the bird finally appeared, however it was the briefest of views as the bird barely came out of the phragmites and only provided partial views of its unmistakable colors.

December 12 - Long rarity Chase

Today my friends and I finally decided to go see the Prospect Park Painted Buning, affectionately known in Star Wars' jargon as '3PB'.  This bird was first report around December 1st, and was faithful to the area above the skating rink known as the LeFrak Center.  Many newspaper articles and television news shows have has reports about this bird during the month of December.
Here's just one of them Why a Painted Bunting landed in Brooklyn

We arrived just after 7:30 am, and within 15 minutes I located the bird for our group of 4.  Soon there were more than 20 birders, and novices, enjoying the spectacular colors of this bird.

Here's just one of the many lovely images of this beauty:

Click to enlarge
credit: Chun Zhou


A youtube video of the bird & some of it's watchers is found here:

A Painted Bunting in Prospect Park, Brooklyn - YouTube


After looking at a few more regular birds within Prospect Park we decided to head north up toward Greenwich, Connecticut for another recently found rarity.  I ahd last tried for this bird in Connecticut back in 2006, but I had missed it then. This target was located in the area of Cos Cob, and we arrived just after 1 pm and were told the bird had just been seen, however it had flown off.  Thankfully the wait was short as the bird returned a few minutes later.  We all got to enjoy nice looks at this western vagrant known as the Townsend's Solitaire.

credit: Frank Mantlik                                                                      click to enlarge

This bird would sing at times, and moved around quite a bit, but all in the same area so it was in view for quite some time.
I had last seen this species back in June 2008 while in Colorado.

November 15 - Cape May Day Tripping

We took the long ride down to Cape May today so we could see the rare Cave Swallows which have been in the area for a few days.  Before we arrived a text message was sent out that nearby an Ash-Throated Flycatcher was being seen near the Magnesite Plant, so we made that out first stop.   Instantly we saw a Baltimore Oriole and then the rare Flycatcher.

We then stopped at the Rea Farm Beanery where we saw an Orange-Crowned Warbler and also a Western Kingbird that was expertly spied by friend Jennifer.

Later we saw dozens of the Cave Swallows in flight over the hawkwatch and also sitting on the beach.

October 18 - Jones Beach & Orchard Beach

This morning at Jones Beach we saw a few woodpecker species in the Downy, Flicker, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, Red-Bellied, and Red-Headed Woodpecker.  We had some latish warblers in Palm, Magnolia, and Yellow-Breasted Chat.

Other goodies were Clay-colored Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Lark Sparrow, and Baltimore Oriole.

At Orchard Beach we checked for Sparrows and I was able to add to my list of New York State Birds in the Nelson's Sparrow !!  

Credit: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren


Other sparrows we saw were Chipping, White-Throated, White-Crowned, Savannah, and Swamp. We saw three warblers of Common Yellowthroat, Blackpoll Warbler, and a latish Black-Throated Green Warbler.

October 11 - Sandy Hook Sparrows

Today I made a trip to Sandy Hook to see some sparrows.  My primary target was the Nelson's Sparrow, a species that migrates through the coastal marshes in mid-October and through mid-November.
I had not seen this species last fall so a special trip was in order.  I arrived at Sandy Hook at first light and parked in Lot C to make my way toward Plum Island, which is on the Bay Side. The bay eventually forms the Shrewsbury River.  Immediately I saw several of the Nelson's Sparrows, including a bright orange one that is from the Interior Race of this species, and these birds breed in Central Canada.

Other sparrows seen today were Song, Swamp, Savannah, White-Throated, White-Crowned, and a lone Lincoln's.   Along Raccoon Alley, I had a Philadelphia Vireo and a Blue-Headed Vireo.

September 27 - North Carolina's Outer Banks

Before visiting family in North Carolina I spent a few days in Kitty Hawk, which is located on the Outer Banks.   The first few days had fine weather, but the final 2 days were terribly windy with on-shore winds gusting into the 30-mph range.

On the nice days I was able to do a little bird-watching.  Locally in Kitty Hawk I was able to see a regional specialty in the form of Brown-Headed Nuthatches.   Along the beach were numerous Sandwich Terns, along with other tern species like Royal, and Common.   Surprisingly to me, there were quite a few of the Lesser Black-Backed Gulls on the beach.  They were joined by the expected Willets, and Sanderlings.

Click on images to enlarge

My favorite birding on this trip was at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.  This area is located immediately south of the Oregon Inlet.  The birding here was productive.  There were several species of Ducks, and also Shorebirds and Waders.  There were a few dozen of the American Avocet, yet sadly none of the Black-Necked Stilt.  I saw more Tri-colored Herons in this location than I've ever seen before, and the flocks of White Ibis were also in high numbers.   A handful of Marbled Godwits were seen as well.

The  notable shorebird species seen were Piping Plover, Black-Bellied Plover, White-Rumped Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlin, and Western Sandpiper.   Caspian, Forster's, and Royal Terns were seen here too.

This pic shows one of my favorite moments in life....waiting for the Sunrise !

Here is a shot of Pea Island in the daylight

September 15 - Philly Vireo

I made a quick stop at Garret Mountain today and ran into friend Bill E. and the first thing I did was to thank him for telling me about the Connecticut Warbler from yesterday.  A little while later I thanked him again as he spotted a Philly Vireo up near the Tower.
Later at the spot where we had the Chats this past Saturday, I re-found the Philadelphia Vireo and had great long looks at the bird.  Perhaps it was the same one that we saw earlier...

There wasn't much else around so I headed off to work after an hour or so.