From the Home/From the Field
July 28:
Jon Dunn reports from his recent Birding the Civil War tour to Maryland and West Virginia:
Our trip in mid-June to Maryland and West Virginia experienced delightful and unseasonal cool temperatures. The heavy rains that had fallen in advance of the tour had ended and the weather did not factor much in our birding or in our touring of the Civil War battlefields, notably Gettysburg, Antietam (Sharpsburg), and Harpers Ferry. We recorded 113 species, including 25 species of warblers, missing only Blue-winged and Pine. These included excellent views of Worm-eating, Kentucky, Blackburnian and Cerulean, plus our best ever views of Swainson's, We watched one forage for an extended period at close range. Other highlights included side-by-side comparisons of calling Alder and Willow Flycatchers, a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers, singing Eastern Whip-poor-wills, and nesting Peregrine Falcons at Harpers Ferry, the first nesting there in over a half century. Rarities included an adult Mississippi Kite near Harpers Ferry (in Maryland) and a territorial Sedge Wren in Canaan Valley, West Virginia. A beautiful Baltimore Checkerspot was also seen very well.
Swainson's Warbler
Sedge Wren
Baltimore Checkerspot
July 13:
Jake Mohlmann reports at the end of a cracking good Alaska tour
We recently wrapped up the second of two Alaska Majesty tours where inclement weather largely missed us, exciting birds seemed never-ending, and new mammal species were a constant surprise. Every guide dreams of the chance to show a group a first North American record. We did just that as we tracked down a new bird for the country’s list…a cracking Rufous-Tailed Rock Thrush! This bird was only around for 1 day so we were all elated at the fortunate timing of our flight. That same day we were alerted to the presence of a Polar Bear just offshore on the sea ice. We hurried out and were able to find the massive beast as it tore chunks of meat from the melting saltwater.
The arctic breeders were in their gorgeous breeding plumages including stunning cherry-colored Red Phalaropes tending to nests with eggs. Eiders of all 4 species were seen both in Nome and Barrow, but perhaps the most exciting experience was approaching 2 pairs of Steller’s Eiders on foot as they rested up before a courting session. One of our days in Seward was a wash in the afternoon, but luckily in the morning we tallied a suite of temperate rainforest birds including an endless display from a bold Pacific Wren defending his territory. The constantly changing scenery was always inspiring, and on several occasions a Moose would be in the frame, sometimes quite close. One never really knows what might show up birding at the top of the world.
Our group thrilled with our successful trip.
Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush…a first for North America.
An enormous Polar Bear coming in to feed.
Multiple stunning Red Phalaropes in breeding plumage seen.
Male Steller’s Eiders resting up on tundra pools.
The song of Pacific Wren rang through the rainforest.
Moose were seen almost daily, some quite close.
June 22:
Skye Haas has an update from his recent North Carolina tour
Shazam! WINGS just wrapped up an amazing run to coastal North Carolina for our 2021 Pelagics and Pineywoods tour. Highlighted by two back-to-back days aboard the Stormy Petrel II, we had an excellent selection of seabirds and cetaceans with highly desired species like Black-capped Petrel, Audubon’s Shearwater, Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, Bridled and Arctic Terns and all three Jaegers as well as Cuvier’s Beaked Whale, Spotted Dolphins and point blank looks at a resting Sperm Whale! We then continued along the coastal saltmarshes for killer looks at Seaside Sparrows, Clapper Rails, Eastern Willets and baby Least Terns, King Rails and Wilson’s Plovers. The Pineywoods birding proved to be delight with very cooperative Swainson’s, Prothonotary, Yellow-throated and Worm-eating Warblers, along with multitudes of Brown-headed Nuthatches and Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (including an active nest of woodpeckers!), while being serenaded by Bachman’s Sparrows, Painted Buntings and Chuck-will’s Widows. Palamedes Swallowtail Butterflies were everywhere and sightings of Black Racers, Mud Turtles and Sheep Frogs helped round out a dreamy visit to the naturalist’s playground that is the Carolina coast! (Photos by Skye Haas).
Black-capped Petrel
Great Shearwater
Red-cockaded Woodpecker at nest
Cuvier's Beaked Whale
Swainson's Warbler
Scopoli's Shearwater
Sperm Whale
Bachman's Sparrow
Yellow-throated Warbler
Blue Grosbeak
June 21:
Ethan Kistler reports from the land of fire and ice.
Iceland is famous for its dramatic landscape of volcanoes, glaciers, picturesque waterfalls, and stunning vistas. That in itself brings many tourists to this remote island nation. The first of two back-to-back Iceland tours has concluded where we had the stately White-tailed Eagle, a breeding pair of Gyrfalcons, bustling alcid colonies, copious breeding shorebirds, over a dozen Orcas, an Arctic Fox, and even a vagrant Black-and-white Warbler. Iceland never disappoints and I’m excited to begin the second tour tomorrow for a whole new group of birders!
Goðafoss "waterfall of the gods" is one of the most spectacular waterfalls of Iceland
Þingvellir National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has exposed North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is here that the world’s first democratically elected parliament that remains functioning, Alþingi, was formed in 930 AD.
Black-and-white Warbler was a nice bonus and only the 4th record for Iceland.
Hundreds or thousands of Northern Fulmars can be seen daily nesting on coastal cliffs.
This Atlantic Puffin was photographed during the midnight sun giving it an orange glow.
June 8:
Ethan Kistler reports from the Upper Midwest
From boreal forests and aspen parkland of Minnesota to the vast grasslands and prairie potholes of North Dakota, the Northwoods to Prairies tour concluded with great success! We had point blank views of Connecticut Warbler and Great Gray Owl, recorded over 20 species of warblers, and even crossed into Wisconsin to see the vagrant Arctic Loon before heading west where the grasslands were filled with the melodies of Chestnut-collared Longspurs and wetlands were teeming with waterfowl. You can say I’m already counting down to the 2022 tour!
This Upland Sandpiper sat on his post and sang his extraordinary song.
The final three crossing our makeshift bridge to a singing Connecticut Warbler.
May 10:
Gavin Bieber reports from sunny Florida
After a year-long hiatus due to the pandemic it was fantastic to return to Florida for our 2021 Spring South Florida tour. Although we only visit a small section of the state it’s a tour with a remarkably varied avifauna. Several Caribbean species like Black-whiskered Vireo, Shiny Cowbird and White-crowned Pigeons reach the northern edge of their range in Florida and this year we were also treated to a true vagrant in the form of the wonderfully cooperative Black-faced Grassquit.
Black-whiskered Vireo
Shiny Cowbird
White-crowned Pigeons
Black-faced Grassquit
Out on the Tortugas we connected with Black Noddy, Bridled Tern, Masked Booby and even a surprise Audubon’s Shearwater. Waterbirds abound in the wetlands of the southern Peninsula, perhaps none more unique than this Limpkin.
Limpkin
Florida has its share of endemic subspecies too, such as the darker and more heavily spotted Burrowing Owl and smaller and paler Red-shouldered Hawk.
Burrowing Owl
Red-shouldered Hawk
Of course, no trip around Miami could leave out the wealth of established exotics, such as this inquisitive Mitred Parakeet or these colourful Nanday Parakeets that we found near Tampa Bay on the first day.
Mitred Parakeets
Nanday Parakeets
Add in the diversity of reptiles, butterflies and dragonflies and this short week in South Florida proved quite the wildlife spectacle!
(Photos by Gavin Bieber and Allen Codding)
April 21:
Steve Howell sends a closing report from his month in West Mexico, barely enough time to celebrate the diversity of birds there—around 400 species seen with pretty casual birding!
Arguably top ranked among birds of color is the stunning Rosy Thrush-tanager (a potential split as Mexican Thrush-tanager), here a male.
Although male Orange-breasted Bunting is also a strong contender!
And even a male Bronzed Cowbird in good light is really quite stunning
The male Red-breasted Chat is stunning in a different way, and rather easy to see here in spring.
The violet-blue mask highlights of Russet-crowned Motmot (a potential split, as Mexican Motmot, from Guatemalan birds) can be appreciated close-up, and they are amazingly COMMON here!
Another potential split, the West Mexican Vermiculated/Middle American Screech-Owl showed well, and Steve made some good recordings that may help resolve the taxonomic uncertainty.
The most surprising bird of the ten days at Rancho Primavera was this Long-eared Owl, watched chasing a Northern Potoo!
The next night, this obliging Mottled Owl was “all” we could find in the same trees.
Probably the rarest bird of the trip was Sinaloa Martin, seen a few times from the patio of Steve’s casita.
And here’s his Rancho Primavera “office” away from home, in late afternoon (beer time)—where, oddly, not much work was done!
April 12:
Steve Howell on Military Macaws
- While birding around northern Jalisco, Mexico, for the past ten days, Steve Howell and Luke Seitz found Military Macaws to be a daily occurrence—there is a healthy (but inevitably threatened) population of these magnificent birds in the region. In some places the birds could even be watched perched, rather than the more usual flight views.
- A couple of low-flying macaws from a few days ago, spectacular birds with their palette of emerald-green, turquoise, red, and golden yellow.
- Perhaps not surprisingly, the Mexican populations of Military Macaw look and sound somewhat different from the other (far distant) populations in the Andes of South America, and are a potential split (Mexican Macaw), making their conservation even more important.
- Fortunately, there are people passionate about conserving the macaws and their habitat. Luke and Steve met with macaw biologists Carlos Bonilla R. and Claudia Cinta M., who have been working in Jalisco for 10 years with conservation, research, and environmental education. Check their website www.macawforever.org for more information; like all such projects they always welcome donations—even a little money can go a long way in Mexico.
April 6:
Steve Howell reports from the quiet Rancho Primavera in West Mexico.
Feeder Birds. Not everyone is lucky enough to live in Canada or the Northeast US where the winter cold and snow bring chickadees and sporadic invasions of finches to their feeders. Here at Rancho Primavera in West Mexico (an hour or so south of Puerto Vallarta, out in the hills) I have to live with Russet-crowned Motmot, here alongside a migrant Swainson’s Thrush, …
The occasional Yellow-breasted Chat…
And the usually skulking Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush,
Plus lots of Rufous-backed Thrushes (or Robins).
Streak-backed Orioles really like the oranges…
As do the Mexican (aka Yellow-winged) Caciques
And even the Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers.
It’s not all color, but the Grayish Saltator is attractive in its own subtle way,
Although outshone by a glowing male Yellow Grosbeak, a fan of papaya.
One of the regular feeder visitors is Blue Mockingbird, a great chance to see this typically shy and elusive species.
There are even sparrows, but only the rather fancy Stripe-headed Sparrow. So, if you ever feel like a winter break to escape the chickadees, this could be the spot!
March 30:
Steve Howell sends another update from San Blas, Mexico.
After 18 days in San Blas, Mexico (our regular tour is only 9 days!), Steve Howell reluctantly dragged himself away. The highlight of his stay was a small group of White-fronted Swifts one morning, a species described only in 1992 (!) and seen in life only a handful of times ever!
For the non-swift aficionados, there was plenty of color, including this Golden Vireo...
Groups of sociable Mexican Parrotlets...
And lots of Lineated Woodpeckers.
Elusive species included a confiding Lesser Ground-Cuckoo
And, after 40 minutes of patient sitting, a stunning Spotted Rail finally peeked out.
One of the San Blas signature birds, Boat-billed Heron, showed well (even if it tried not to!)...
And a remarkable record count of 39 Northern Potoos may have been due to dry season conditions concentrating birds along the river.
Speaking of records, along with Luke Seitz and Maili Waters (down in Mexico on a three-month trip), Steve helped set a new Big Day record for Mexico—290 species on 27 March, including Eared Poorwill (number 286)…
And a stunning fly-over Laughing Falcon…
But not including Surfbird, which had been a regular migrant in preceding days—the joy and unpredictability of birding!
