Photo Journal 2016: October

October brought changes in the scenery, namely in the colors of the leaves, especially during October's final week. One of these weeks also happened to be The Big Sit, one of my favorite birding events. Click here to read more about this fun, global birding event, where sitters stay in one spot from dawn til dusk, counting the bird species they see. On our sit, we saw over 60 species, which isn't half bad for not moving all day. I also had a life bird toward the end of the day, which was a magical moment for all in attendance (read more about that below).

Enjoy these images of the progress of my photo journal. It can also be viewed week by week and in greater detail on my Little Bird Nerd Facebook page.

October, Spot 1

Spot 1: October 2016, Weeks 40-43

October, Spot 2

Spot 2: October 2016, Weeks 40-43

October, Spot 3

Spot 3: October 2016, Weeks 40-43

Life Birds:

This month, I spotted three new species I'd never seen before, including:

Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus), found by Tom Hince near New Baltimore. I had a feeling I would never ID this bird unless it was found first by someone with lots of experience and a scope. Thankfully I have friends with both! This bird was characteristically chasing gulls in a very Jaeger-ish manner. As we observed the bird through the scopes, the park happened to be teeming with people who had come to see a very giant flagpole being erected. When one of them asked us what the heck we were looking at (because we were clearly looking in the opposite direction of said oversized flagpole), Tom said, "The flagpole will be here tomorrow; the bird won't!" I don't know if they found it funny, but I definitely chuckled.

Parasitic Jaeger

White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca): The second of my three scoter sightings, this bird was "moseying" around the beach at Metro, in a quite gentle way. I was able to get some good shots of it in the sun; those white wing patches showing clearly.

White-winged Scoter

Nelson's Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni): By far my favorite sighting of the month, this elusive little sparrow was the highlight of our Big Sit circle. As Paul stepped outside the circle for a moment, the rest of us were busy laughing and being silly as the day begin to decline. Out of nowhere, Paul screams, "NELSON'S SPARROW!" which he had to repeat a few times before it sank in that he was not joking. And then began the mad dash of us birders scrambling for our cameras and binos, running into the reeds where this master of disguise was hiding. As a group, we narrowed down its position and most of us were able to snap some great shots of a sparrow some of us had never seen. The beautiful golden hues, gray and brown crown stripes, and expert skulking skills of this bird made the sighting a breathtaking treat. It was like we had a collective high, and our spirits had lifted right up out of our bodies as we basked in the glow of a group sighting like this. The energy of such a thing is real, is palpable, is unforgettable.

Nelson's Sparrow at The Big Sit 2016

Big Sit Buster! Nelson's Sparrow

Comparisons
Last year's January through October total species count: 207
This year's January through October total species count: 239

Photo Journal 2016: September

September brought new changes to my 2016 Nature Plots (3 spots I visit and photograph each week). Fall flowers bloomed, leaves held fast, and the weather remained pleasant.

Enjoy these images of the progress of my photo journal. It can also be viewed week by week and in greater detail on my Little Bird Nerd Facebook page.

September, Spot 1

Spot 1: September 2016, Weeks 36-39

September, Spot 2

Spot 2: September 2016, Weeks 36-39

September, Spot 3

Spot 3: September 2016, Weeks 36-39

Life Birds:

Just like August, September was a 5 "lifer" month (meaning, I saw 5 new birds I'd never seen before)!

The Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriwa) was my most expensive life bird to-date! This amazing bird, whose normal range typically tops off around Southern Texas, happened to get blown way off course, and ended up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The bird arrived months ago, but I needed to wait until my semester was over to be able to spend the time and money on this trip. Luckily, the bird hung around (and as of now, mid-November, is still there) long enough for me to make it up there! After renting a car and driving over 7 hours to a small paper factory in the little town of Munising, Jason and I were able to spot the bird within about 30-45 minutes of scanning the grounds. The bird appeared to be casually foraging for worms in a field adjacent to the paper factory. Standing over two feet high, it struck us as some strange hybrid between falcon, vulture, and chicken. The rest of the trip was spent exploring northern Michigan, but in this first hour of reaching our destination, the feelings that flooded me were indescribable.

Crested Caracara in Munising, Michigan

Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera): This bird, unlike the Caracara, came unexpectedly and close-to-home. As I was making my way through the woods of my favorite local park, searching for a Gray-cheeked Thrush which had been sighted recently, quick movement at the top of a tree caught my attention. Lifting binos up to my eyes, I knew immediately that this was a Golden-winged Warbler. Even without having ever seen this bird, and not having it on my immediate "radar", there was no mistaking this striking little warbler. The black eye mask and throat, yellow cap, golden wingbars, and plain belly were classic identifiers. I felt like I'd been graced by the presence of a little bird fairy! And just as quickly as it flashed into view, it was gone. A sight for my memory only.

Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus): As I made my way back out of the woods, giddy from the sighting of the Golden-winged Warbler, I was clued in by fellow birder Andy about a Gray-cheeked Thrush who appeared to be injured, sitting on the side of the path. I hated for my first sighting of this species to be of an injured bird, but it was cool to be able to get up-close shots of a bird which is commonly mistaken for other types of thrushes. Having these photos is an amazing educational tool for later study. And later, I passed by the bird once again and it flushed, flying deeper into the woods. Perhaps there was hope for it yet.

Gray-cheeked Thrush

The next two life birds, Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) and Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), were both found along the Shiawassee wildlife drive. The Ibis was awesome because it's normally a bird found much further south. It's always a treat to be able to get a faraway bird close to home. The dowitchers were awesome because they present such a difficult ID challenge (compared to Short-billed Dowitchers). In this case, we had Long and Short-billeds together, so it was cool to be able to see them side by side.

Glossy Ibis and Ring-billed Gulls

Long-billed Dowitchers

Comparisons
Last year's January through September total species count: 202
This year's January through September total species count: 233

Photo Journal 2016: July

July brought lots of sunshine, not much rain, and tons of growth, especially around Spot 1 (which grew increasingly difficult to access as the entrance became overgrown). In my personal life, I was dealing with my mom's recent diagnosis of breast cancer, and trying to balance family time, my relationship, school, and multiple jobs. I would say being out here in nature was both a godsend and a detriment to me, for my sanity and for my productivity levels, respectively. Nevertheless, I am always at home during a walk in the woods, and the summer sun soothed my soul. <3

Enjoy these images of the progress of my photo journal. It can also be viewed week by week and in greater detail on my Little Bird Nerd Facebook page. Not much has changed this month except for more leaves, more flowers, fewer birds, and much drier ground.

July, Spot 1

Spot 1: July, 2016, Weeks 27-31

July, Spot 2

Spot 2: July, 2016, Weeks 27-31

July, Spot 3

 

Spot 3: July, 2016, Weeks 27-31

Other July Happenings:

July is a notoriously horrible month for birding around here. Birds are either up north nesting, or hanging near their local nests, not allowing for many viewing opportunities. Leaf coverage is more dense than any other time, making it additionally difficult to view what is there. It's probably for the best that this lull exists, as it provides a breather between spring and fall migration. Instead of birding, it's a good time to focus on butterflies, dragonflies, flowers, and other parts of nature. July is also prime time for the part of birding that isn't out in the field- the study and research portion. I enjoy this aspect of birding nearly as much as being out in the field, as I've always loved to learn and soak up as much information as I can. Finally, July gives us birders a good chance to spend some quality time with the people in our lives, as we are often absent on birding chases during the surrounding months.

My only first-of-the-year species sighting (both for the county and the entire state) came at the very end of the month, in the form of a few Sanderlings at LSCMP. It was fun to watch them running characteristically in and out of the waves on the shoreline, surrounded by a few other small shorebirds for good comparison looks.

 

Sanderling (Calidris alba)

Comparisons
Last year's January through July total species count: 181
This year's January through July total species count: 214

Photo Journal 2016: June

Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser)

As spring gave way to summer, the vernal ponds began to evaporate. Because of this, the changes this month were most evident in Spot 2. Although I welcomed the warm temperatures, spring will always be my favorite season, and I wished those ponds could stay.

June, Spot 1

Spot 1: June, 2016, Weeks 23-26

June, Spot 2

Spot 2: June, 2016, Weeks 23-26

June, Spot 3

Spot 3: June, 2016, Weeks 23-26

Other June Happenings:

Life Birds

This month brought 6 new birds into my life. This is great for June, which is not typically the best birding month. In fact, of the 16 FOYs I saw in June, 6 of them were lifers, which gave me a 37.5% lifer-to-FOY ratio for June. Alright, enough statistics (NEVER!), I'll get back to the storytelling. :)

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea)

If you recall, last month's summary mentioned "Code Red, White, and Blue". This refers to my three target birds I set for myself this year. May brought Red, the Red-headed Woodpecker, and June happened to bring Blue, the Cerulean Warbler. Andrew Simon and I took a morning trip out to Port Huron State Game Area, which is a known summer site for these gorgeous warblers. As we followed directions outlined by other birders, we sat patiently waiting to hear the warbler's call, or to see a flash of blue. For a while, the only calls and flashes of blue were coming from the many Indigo Buntings in the area. After standing in the same spot for a time, we decided to head back to the car, as we had other spots to check and a storm was coming. In one of those wonderful moments where you just start to give up and let go, in flew a male Cerulean Warbler, allowing us to view it and get pictures. It was a lifer for both of us and we were so excited!

The near-threatened Henslow's Sparrow has declined in numbers due to habitat loss. Fortunately, our local area still supports at least one of these birds, as it was conveniently tucked into a field not far from home. In this same field were more Bobolinks than I'd ever seen in one place; and these birds always make me think of my Grandma, who says she grew up with Bobolinks all over her farm property. While standing in grasses up to my waist, scanning for small brown birds, this tiny sparrow happened to be sitting just in front of me! Its sparsely streaked breast and small size, along with its facial patterns and head shape, helped confirm this bird's identity. I was very happy with the sighting as well as the photographs I was able to capture.

Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii)

Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii)

As the break between spring and summer semesters came to a close, I decided I wanted to do a Big Day of birding before getting back to "the grind". So, on June 26th, friend and classmate Andrew and I decided to join forces and bird hard. We began our trip at Oak Openings in Ohio, which is a beautiful, huge park that I'd like to return to. Our first sighting was not of a bird but of a birder who was very helpful in providing directions to hotspots around the park. We were looking for Summer Tanagers and Lark Sparrows, and found the latter with little effort (thanks to our aforementioned friend!). Although we didn't find the tanagers, I was more than content to spot this distinctively marked, large sparrow which nests in sand dunes. This bird is the only member of its genus, and when compared to the Henslow's Sparrow above, it is obviously quite different in almost every way: size, shape, pattern, behavior, and habitat.

Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)

Our next stop was back in Michigan, to a farm road called Meyers Road, near Ann Arbor. This stop proved to be a winner, teeming with just about every meadow bird we could expect: Dickcissels (the lifer we were after, which we decided looked like a mix of a meadowlark, a sparrow, and a grosbeak), Eastern Meadowlarks, a Northern Mockingbird, Bobolinks, Horned Larks, Killdeer, Eastern Bluebirds, Barn Swallows, and more. I joked I was really glad we didn't drive all the way out to a dusty old farm road and strike out. It would have been a little harder to swallow than if we'd struck out at an "official" park, somehow.

Dickcissel (Spiza americana)

The final stop on our Big Day was Pointe Mouillee, a birding treasure trove located off Lake Eerie in Monroe County. Here we rode our bikes in nearly 90-degree heat, and covered much of the giant wetland territory. We found a lifer gull, a Franklin's Gull, which added to my pitifully short gull list. In my defense, gulls are arguably the most difficult of bird families to ID, with endless subtleties and variations in plumage. I was also lucky enough to see my lifer Black Tern, a beautiful bird which I hope to see soon in my home county, as they are known to fly around Harsen's Island during the summer.

Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)

Memorable FOYS (first of the year sightings):

Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)

Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)

This Piping Plover sighting was magical. My Love, Jason, and I spent almost a week up near Traverse City, Glen Arbor, and Pearl Lake. Of course there was some birding to be done! One of my main targets was the Piping Plover, which we tried for on multiple occasions before finding this one. As we crept along the shoreline at Sleeping Bear Point, we kept our ears open for "peeps" and our eyes open for movement. Out of nowhere came a single "PEEP!" which caused Jason and I to look at each other with excitement, then look around. It was behind me and right near the tide, a single Piping Plover standing there on the rocks. I was able to snap a few quick pictures and then, just as mysteriously as it had appeared, it flew off out over the open water and disappeared. We had to be there at that exact moment to have seen this endangered bird, and I was grateful for the chance. <3

American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)

For a comparison between the Black-billed Cuckoo and the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, click here to read my first edition of "Two Birds".

Comparisons
Last year's January through June total species count: 181
This year's January through June total species count: 213

Common Loon (Gavia immer)

Photo Journal 2016: May

Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera)

"It was May, the best of months nearly everywhere..." -Phoebe Snetsinger, Birding on Borrowed Time

This month brought some of the most noticeable changes to my nature plots. From sparse to full greenery, spring breathed life into the woods. The vernal ponds filled up to the brim, and by the fourth week, began to collect a filmy coating on their surfaces. I even got to take some of my nature plot photos on my 27th birthday (Week 20- May 16th).

May, Spot 1

Spot 1: May, 2016, Weeks 18-22

 May, Spot 2

Spot 2: May, 2016, Weeks 18-22

 May, Spot 3

Spot 3: May, 2016, Weeks 18-22

Other May Happenings:

Life Birds

May was a 5-lifer month for me, which is nothing to complain about!

In the birding community, we joke that there is often a sacrificial birder. This is a birder who decides to call it quits for the day, knowing by Murphy's Law that right after leaving, some great bird is going to appear. The sacrificial birder can also be a birder who goes out of town, and while out of town, a rare bird appears in his or her home county. Well, local birding legend Tom Heatley happened to be out of the country this May, searching for his last bird family (he found it!). We figured his absence would make him the ultimate sacrificial birder, and we were not wrong.

Whooping Crane Capture- Photo by: Kevin Rysiewski

The first of these 5 life birds (birds I'd never seen before) was a species that when I heard of its presence in Macomb County, I immediately thought it had to be a joke.  My friend Andrew had been scanning the eBird reports and stumbled across a record of 4 Whooping Cranes in Romeo, MI. We analyzed the GPS position of the reported sighting and tried to determine where these mysterious cranes could be. In the following days, Andrew did the legwork, driving around the reported area in search of this rarity. Finally, on May 3rd, he texted me in a fury of excitement- he'd found the cranes! I was about an hour away, and was about to search a local park for a recently spotted Blue-headed Vireo (not a rarity, but a FOY for me). I was also supposed to take my dad out for dinner for his birthday in approximately 2 hours. Going for the cranes would mean leaving right that second, driving as quickly as possible, viewing them for a maximum of a few minutes, then driving over an hour straight to the restaurant. I wrestled with this mentally, but I was already on autopilot, driving toward the expressway. Seeing the cranes was one of those moments that command silence. I was struck by the reality of what I was seeing, and aware of the fragile state of this protected species. With fewer than 500 wild birds left on the planet, this was a once-in-a-lifetime sighting. As I was pulling up, I was joined by an Operation Migration vehicle, which had come to collect the cranes and bring them back to their breeding area in Wisconsin, where they would have a much better chance of reproducing with the other cranes in that population. The four cranes had completed their first solo migration from the Mississippi Basin back up north. Interestingly, they had reached the exact latitude point at which they needed to be, but were a bit too far east on the longitude. I was happy for their mistake. The capture of the cranes is something I would have liked to witness, but I had to rush off for my dad's birthday dinner. I exchanged a few words with Andrew and Chris DeWolfe, who introduced himself as "the only Ebirder in Lapeer County" and sped off back down the dirt road, grinning from ear to ear. Click here to read more of this story from Operation Migration's blog.

Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina)

May 7th brought 3 lifers in one day! First we found a Lincoln's Sparrow along one of the Ford House Bird Walks with Wild Birds Unlimited Grosse Pointe Woods. As new co-leader of these walks, it was exciting to be able to get a lifer with new birders who were also seeing some of these birds for the first time. After this great bird walk (where we also found the uncommon Hooded Warbler, one of my favorite warblers), I received news there was a Red-headed Woodpecker at Stony Creek!

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

At the beginning of the year, I had set three top bird targets, which I nicknamed, "Code Red, White, and Blue" for the colors of the three target birds. Red was the Red-headed Woodpecker, followed by Northern Shrike (white) and Cerulean Warbler (blue). I headed straight from the Ford House to Stony Creek Metropark, where Kevin R. and Andy W. showed me my lifer Red-headed. Shortly after, Kevin clued me into a spot to find a Louisiana Waterthrush, which is also an uncommon bird I'd been hoping to find. Sitting in the microcosm of a swamp which this bird calls home; the LoWa singing and flitting about, was about the most peaceful moment I could dream up.

Finally, at the end of the month, I located two Yellow-billed Cuckoos at Nicholson Nature Center. Their ka-ka-ka-ka-kow calls helped me narrow down where they were perched, and when I saw their brightly spotted tails and unique profiles in flight, I was overjoyed.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)

Memorable FOYS (first of the year sightings): 

Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens)

American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)

This month provided FOY sightings of 19 warblers, from common warblers like Black-throated Green and American Redstart to the less common Hooded Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat (which has the potential to be taxonomically split apart from warblers altogether), and the most surprising of all- the Kirtland's Warbler, whose appearance may have been the first ever documented appearance of this bird in Macomb County. With the help of Jeff Steinmetz and all of the other diligent birders who posted their sightings, I was able to witness this bird in my own home county. This sighting made the Sterling Heights Nature Center a birding Mecca for a few days, with hoards of birders coming to document this bird one usually must go Up North to see.

Kirtland's Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii)

Click here for a very interesting radio take on the Kirtland's Warbler story.

Other great FOYs include: Common Nighthawk, Bobolink, Eastern Screech-Owl, and Clay-colored Sparrow.

Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida)

Comparisons
Last year's January through May total species count: 170
This year's January through May total species count: 197

Photo Journal 2016: April

This April brought transitions in the seasons, and in my life. Leaving one job and starting a new one (Wild Birds Unlimited Grosse Pointe Woods) was being discussed, which is never an easy decision for me to make (although let's face it, most decisions aren't easy for me to make). Anyway, I  decided it couldn't hurt to move closer to a life that honors my passions.
I like the idea of aligning yourself with what lights you up inside, because it lights you up for a reason.
Now, let's see how the sun lit up our nature plots this month!

April, Spot 1

Spot 1: April, 2016, Weeks 14-17

April, Spot 2

Spot 2: April, 2016, Weeks 14-17

April, Spot 3

Spot 3: April, 2016, Weeks 14-17

Other April Happenings:

Life Birds

This month was QUITE the month for "lifers" for me (birds I've seen for the first time).

The Fox Sparrow was a bird I didn't think I would recognize when I saw it; after all, it is a sparrow, right? Wrong. Birding is such a teaching experience; a way to open your eyes to the subtleties of the world around you, and realize how much you truly don't see. Sparrows are not just sparrows, they have intricate but distinct differences, and this Fox Sparrow was easily recognizable by it's very red and grey coloring (which makes it a "Red" type...there are many variations on Fox Sparrow plumage across regions of the United States).

Next I went on a little road trip with my mom and sister, leading me to find the Black Vulture and Carolina Chickadee in KY and the Northern Mockingbird in TN (ironically, I had to go down South to see it...)

Back in Michigan, I was able to find a female Purple Finch at Lake St. Clair Metropark- thanks to the keen eyes of fellow birder Brian McGee, who was able to point out this bird to me and other birders around.

Then, friend Andrew Simon helped point out a Broad-winged Hawk (which I figured I'd seen before but could never identify on my own).

Finally, the Pine Warbler un-lifer. I say this because technically I had seen a Pine Warbler before, which Paul Poronto and Kevin Rysiewski were quick to remind me, but I explained the experience didn't stick in my head for some reason. Sometimes, on group outings there are so many birds that fly by so quickly, all you see is a blur and the sighting doesn't feel truly yours. But I finally found this bird, studied it for a length of time, heard and saw it calling,and was able to finally add this warbler to my life list (much to everyone's relief). ;)

Memorable FOYs (first of the year sightings):

Common Loon

This year seemed to be the year for Common Loons. Some days, there were between 20-40 loons at Stony Creek Metropark. This one happened to be hanging out at Lake St. Clair Metropark.






One day, on an extremely over-stretched lunch break at work, I sped to LSCMP to see three Black-crowned Night Herons. I only looked at the birds for about a minute, but it was well worth it. There was even a juvenile up in the tree which I had never seen before. Then I sped back to work. I was only about 10 minutes late.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Black-crowned Night Herons

Finally, the Sora is a bird I'd never actually seen. I'd heard them so many times, giving their characteristic "Whinny" call (click here for a sound clip). Still, they are so secretive! Finally, I saw one. And then, I started seeing them every time I went out. Again, it makes me wonder how much surrounds us which we do not perceive.

"The Narcissistic Sora" (captioned by Kevin R.)

Comparisons
Last year's January through April total species count: 93
This year's January through April total species count: 140

Interestingly, my last new species for April 2015 and April 2016 were both Palm Warbler, followed by a Great Egret on May 1, 2015, and another large white bird on May 1, 2016, the Whooping Crane. More to come on that story in May's post...!