Using this Blog

In order to read the trip reports, refer to the below. I've put the reports in the archives in their natural order, rather than blog order (last post first) That means ignore the posted dates, and refer to the dates in the posts themselves.

WARNING: If you're not a fanatic bird lister, some of this will seem real boring.

This project is not completed, so some disorder is to be expected.

Ten day Gulf Coast trip is archived in February 2007
Platte River Crane viewing is archived in March 2007
Mississippi River lower valley is archived in April 2007
Ten day Kansas etc trip archived in May 2007
New England trip is archived in June 2007
The Northern Prairie trip is archived in June 2008

North into a cold wet Spring

In my typical way, with time on my hands as the winter passed, I had studied maps and checklists and cash reserves figuring what kind of trip would net the most new state ticks, the most lifer possibilities, and the most new landscapes. Subject to time and money constraints. It used to be just time, but gas prices were changing everything in terms of any kind of distance birding. Which was true for a lot of folks, attested by numerous mentions on the listservs, and a growing interest in "green birding", fuel free and muscle intensive.

I was drawn to another Gulf Coast trip, with the possibility of making the 50% in Louisiana, Mississippi (I was really close), and critically building on Tennessee and Alabama. But I missed the prime time window for those when the migrants were coming ashore on the April/May cusp. So the alternative northern loop through several prairie states started looking best. It had a lot more lifer hopes too, all chickens, my nemesis the Gray Partridge, both Sage Grouses (Grice?), and Spruce Grouse if I went into Minnesota Boreal habitat. I was also drawn to a trip to Isle Royale National Park, almost the only lower 48 one that I hadn't seen, the least visited NP, but one of the top ten for back country permits. Not a real birding goal, tho I could get some good MN ticks with a little luck, obscure woodpeckers, big water ducks and loons, that sort of thing. It also held the opportunity for breaking 100+ species in four more states, and adding to a bunch of others. Like a fool, I listed them out, with their goals, and figured around 300+ ticks possible would give the list a big boost. Plans jelled.

Getaway, start Nebraska and Iowa

Thursday, June 5 and Friday, June 6, 2008

I took my time getting away in the morning, first checking email and delivering some work, then back home to clean out the truck, vacuum everything and wipe it down, then load for travel. I always wonder what I'm gonna forget, any fool would make a checklist, but maybe the next time. I'll make a post of the stuff I take and other logistical considerations on these trips. I did manage to make a note of the mailing addresses and due dates and amounts for several credit cards. Then I mowed the last section of the lawn that was slightly tall, knowing that I'd face a jungle when I returned. We'd had an extremely wet spring, with flooding and over-filled lakes on the news, so plants were thriving. We'd already cut the hay, a month earlier than usual, I usually delay beyond the local custom to let ground nesters get their babies up, but his year I would have lost a lot of grass falling over from its own exuberant weight. Back through town headed north with a stop for the last decent meal I'd see until I got back, at the Oasis, favorite-of-locals semi-vegetarian mostly home-made tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant. When I'm in strange places with some counter-culture flotsam I always hope to find places like it, usually without luck.

First long drive of the trip is north-west across a corner of Missouri, opportunity for the cheapest gas in the nation, and up the Eastern edge of Kansas. I always stop at Schermerhorn Park south of Galena, still looking for Black Vultures and Bewick's Wrens for the KS list. After that it was just a grinding drive, I could have made several stops, but I wanted the feel of being gone from the familiar. Crossed back into MO at Kansas City, and Interstate to the Squaw Creek NWR exit south of Mound City, for another MO gas dose and dinner. The station there was associated with an Indian Reservation, cheap gas and a big cheap plate of food recommended by a trucker on the next stool, good too. Now all this time the weather had been fairly dramatic. I'd had a welcome tail wind going north. I drove along keeping pace with the cloud shadows, which were going fifty plus mph. Not very good birding anyhow. At the station the sky had darkened and it looked like rain, actually it looked worse than that. The waitress I'd fallen in love with (I always do) said there were tornado warnings for the area, and a few minutes later that there were tornadoes on the ground just west of there across the Missouri River in Kansas and Nebraska where I thought I was heading.

Then a few minutes later she announced that there were tornadoes around us, it looked scary outside, low gray fast moving clouds with shreds of green and yellow weather scraps moving like flying trucks. She invited everyone to head for the basement just as the power failed. Folks had a few flashlights, and we crowded into a decent size room with not enough seats. I was on the floor. The guy next to me had his dog. Truckers and staff and kids from the Res, travelers, a cop, made a good mix. We stayed for most of an hour until the spotters said that the worst danger was past. By then it was storming horizontally, with lots of fireworks. It was dark, I was tired, a splashed to the truck knowing that the rain would make the campershell into a drum head. Got the bright idea to park under the station canopy, let the rain fall on that, the lights and pumps were off. But in about an hour I got woke up when the lights came on. So I got up and moved the truck back to a dark spot in the truck parking area, still raining. Well, that was an interesting start.

Friday - I was up before the kitchen opened, so grabbed a muffin and headed to the refuge only a few miles away for premium early morning birding. I drove the tour loop hoping to see a Ring-necked Pheasant, and one finally crossed the road ahead of me. I'd missed them before. Also got a Spotted Towhee for MO. I'd entered Warbling Vireo range, but didn't recognize the song at first. Figured it out later, and it followed me for the first part of the trip, some places they were quite numerous, not having dispersed on territories yet. I added three ticks for MO, better than I'd hoped for. Crossed the river into Nebraska, and worked my way up to Indian Cave SP with one stop when I saw a sign for an arboretum in Fallsville. Indian Cave is great place and I'd been looking forward to catching shorebirds at a couple of places there, one a wetland and then along the river. Both were closed due to flooding. I did OK there, but was disappointed. The flood induced lack of mudflats was a theme of the journey after that.

I was working my way north along the Missouri River, I'd tagged several likely looking places in the mapping software on the laptop, GPS enabled, on the passenger seat. At Nebraska City I crossed into Iowa to check out Waubonsee SP. It wasn't a good birding place, so it wasn't a long stop. Back into Nebraska and up to the Lincoln area. I had been following the NE listserv, and had marked some sites around there. It was very good birding, especially when I found the Spring Creek Audubon Preserve a few miles southwest of town. The afternoon was already hot and muggy, but there was a new Visitor's Center, hereafter VC, with AC. Yesss. Good birding too, nice prairie remnant, and a very kind woman at the VC sent me up the hill for Henslow's Sparrows, which hid forever almost but eventually came out and rasped their little songs and calls. Good bird for the trip and year as well. Back into town for the Pioneer's Park Nature Center, but I was late and some trails were already closed. They'd had some vandalism problems. Looks like an excellent place to hit early in the day during spring migration. I needed to find some camping, the previous night hadn't been good rest, but had some awful luck for a while. I tried a WMA that was over-run with kids, Friday night, the good campsites were closed due to flooding, and the others were both expensive and ill-equipped. The next likely place was a SP where I'd been stormed on a previous trip, and I knew wasn't much for habitat. Kinda hot and frustrated. Ended up back across the river at Lewis and Clark SP, almost flooded, but with good showers. Tried evening birding and got driven back by rain. Logged sightings into the computer.

Siouxland area into South Dakota

Saturday and Sunday, June 7&8, 2008

Birded around the state park in the morning, the rain had stopped. On the whole trip, even though I was rained on over and over, almost all of it was at night. I lost no actual birding time to the weather. A different kind of continuity to the trip was the Lewis and Clark story. Since I was following the Missouri River pretty tightly from Kansas City to the far end of Fort Peck Lake, I was following the trail of the Corps of Discovery. What brought that up was the full size replica of the L&C boat at the state park. I had seen models, but for some reason had never realized how big the main craft was. Reading the journals had made me wonder where they had put all that gear and supplies and trade goods and twenty some men. The full size operating craft would look big at most inland lake marinas, and was accompanied by batteaus as well. Worth seeing if you pass that way.

A couple of years ago I had ordered from ABA Sales a brochure called the Siouxland Birding Guide (or something like that). I broke it out now, and started checking out the sites it highlighted. There are quite a few, enough for several days of more focused birding, but I only spent a day at it. One of the best things about doing total ticking is that each state has to be explored more than superficially. The Siouxland brochure thrust me into places I'd have never expected. Iowa has a lot of flat boring ag fields, but it has a lot of other terrain as well. Anyway, I drove around northwest Iowa checking out maybe ten sites and anything that looked interesting on the map. Very little mudflat as noted, most rivers and ponds were over-full. There was some woodlands, grassy hills, ox-bow lakes, ag fields and what-not. By the end of the day I'd added 14 tics for IA, making 32% of their list. I ended up in Sioux City at Stone State Park on the northwest corner, there's a really nice nature center with well developed trails and some birders there got me on a Scarlet Tanager, always a great bird to find. It alone would be worth at least a half day during migration.

I had to take a break for lunch and Wally World, needed gas vitamins for the truck and allergy meds for me. Say what you will, they have almost everything you need, and the stores are laid out to a pattern so shopping is quick unless you have to walk from end to end for something. From there it was a small bridge over a small creek to put me in the very southeast tip of South Dakota. The attraction is the Adam's Homestead Preserve, and well worth it, got lots of woodpeckers and flycatchers, and some other fillers. Walked about three miles on good trails, but it was a hot and humid afternoon and I was whooped. From there I needed a place to camp, and Ponca SP back in NE along the river looked good. What a great place. Wonderful woodland habitat, and I had somehow gotten above the worst of the flooding so that the river shore was accessible. That meant Least Terns and Franklin's Gulls and Bank Swallows, and a Scarlet Tanager there as well. There are Piping Plovers as well, but I couldn't see them from where I was. I had gone to the Missouri National Scenic River VC, which is in the park, and there was a ranger guy who really was into the birds. He showed me where to look for various things, and also recommended a WMA that the park manages few miles west. I put that on the next day's morning plan. After some exploring and checking out an isolated campsite, I went back to the VC to pay up and find the ranger again. He was gone, turns out he was the park super, young and very casual and into birds. Hope I meet him again when I can go birding some morning. Back to the campsite on the edge of a meadow surrounded by woods and one corner overlooking the river and South Dakota. Just about dark the rain started and lasted all night.

Sunday - I was up early for a soaking world, headed into the little town on the highway looking for food. No luck on a Sunday morning. Went on to the WMA, a large flat bottom-land with some ag fields. And really muddy roads. Went down one until I was sliding some, remembered being stuck in similar circumstances (at least this was flat) and backed up a quarter mile slowly in four wheel until I could bail out. Further west there was a bridge into SD, into Vermilion for breakfast, then back to the north side of the river in a public recreation area and boat launch. I had the scope set up and was scanning for Plovers and Terns. A couple of locals pulled up, and we got to talking. Told them what I was doing, they puzzled over my maps, then recommended going about a mile up-river where they said a guy lived who had a good river view and was into birds. Went there, introduced myself, described my informers, was welcomed to check out the bars and channels. After a few minutes he came up and told stories of exploring the islands and bars in the river, and recalled various kinds of bureaucratic incompetence by state folks studying the wildlife. I did get my birds, and after some map study figured that I had the tics for both NE and SD. I ended up adding 12 species in Nebraska, less than my goal, but OK considering the flooding. Enough so I'm motivated to push that list for the ABA threshold. Now at 37%.

Now begins the continuation of the Tale of Nemesis. One target lifer was Gray Partridge. I have looked for this bird on a half dozen trips through its range. I had made a note from one web posting about the entrance road to a State Park just over the border east in Minnesota. I went there. I drove the target road back and forth twice. I stopped in the VC and quizzed a ranger. He laughed off my prospect of finding GRPA this time of year, seems they hide in the tall grass of the road verges, and only the greatest good luck, which I manifestly lacked for this bird, would get it to reveal itself. I birded their campground briefly since it was an open house day, but then headed on north toward Big Stone NWR. Couple of hours drive and a worthwhile stop. I'd been there before but had somehow not gotten deep into the refuge. This time I did with good results after spending several hours, ducks and waders and scattered shorebirds. Back into town for a little city park with camping, where I thought I'd stay for another morning pass at the Refuge. I caught up my records for the day, and realized that given my latitude and the long days around the solstice, that there were still hours of daylight. Started driving back into SD. Unremarkable except for the first road-killed Beaver I'd ever seen. Actually, I got some good birds in roadside ponds and pools, but the best was when I was at the turnoff for Waubay NWR. It was after sundown but still good light. I had gone ahead just a half mile or so to some possible camping by a decent size lake, and when I was returning to the turnoff the lake on my left had a smattering of ducks. Good ducks, and variety too, Redheads and Canvasbacks, Ring-necks and Ruddys. Between that lake and the one adjacent I managed to make my SD goal, 100 species, and I hadn't hit the refuges yet. It was deep twilight when I got to Waubay, the gates weren't closed, and no signs saying I couldn't so I parked the truck in the first decent pull-off and slept well, dark and no rain.

Arkansas Elderhostel 08

Arkansas Elderhostel 08
Originally uploaded by Jettpakk1

Karen, Margaret, Gloria, J Pat, Kathy

Karen on Eagle Creek Rd

Arkansas 08_27
Originally uploaded by Jettpakk1

This was just after we had seen her long desired Bald Eagles.

Buffalo Road Dinner

Buffalo Road Dinner
Originally uploaded by Jettpakk1

Unforgettable, mellow, great company.

Buffalo Road-RCW trail

Buffalo Road-RCW trail
Originally uploaded by Jettpakk1

Joe explained a lot about the RCW management protocol, as well as the environment in the raea. We had a lot of good plant sightings to go with the birds.

Elderhostel 08 - Devil's Den to Queen Wilhelmina

May 11, 08, Sunday

I got to Devil's Den about 2:30 pm, checked into my cabin, a CCC construction remodeled to modern standards. Lots of hot water, and full kitchen. Took a shower and went out birding, found Gloria, the trip leader, unloaded some supplies, and then continued around the cabin area and along the creek. Thirty-five species by sundown, including a Cerulean Warbler at Gloria's cabin. We had dinner, lasagna, and introductions and orientation. Food was distributed for three breakfasts, and back to my cabin about dark. Left the window cracked to hear owls, but no luck.

May 12, 08, Monday

Started the morning birding around the visitor center, waiting for folks to show up for a hike on the Devil's Den trail. Harry Harnish, park interpretor, leads. We did the loop backwards so we could bird along the creek early, but eventually climbed the bluffs up to the main crevice caves. Great waterfalls. Some good birds, Green Heron, Kingfisher, great looks at Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at the VC. Best thing for me was finally seeing the red cap on an Eastern Kingbird, something I'd yearned for since seeing it on a stuffed specimen at Yellowstone at least ten years ago. Harry explained some of the geology of the Den, and finally confessed that it might be the only thing like it in the world. After that we drove into Winslow for the only cuisine in town, and it was good even if a very funky down-home setting.

Then headed south down scenic Highway 71 just into Crawford County and Cartwright Mountain. Some great birds, starting with a molting Summer Tanager, in the flame stage. Then a male and female Scarlet Tanager. Then a good look at an Eastern Wood-Pewee, followed by an Olive-sided Flycatcher, which I first thought was a Brown-headed Cowbird, since the angle of the full sun made the head look bronze, but when it moved around we were able to get a different opinion that fit better. All at one stop topped off by a Philadelphia Vireo. Nothing quite matched that run as we circled the mountain, but there were other good birds, including a clear but brief look at a Worm-eating Warbler. Stopped at the Artist's Point gift shop on the way back to the park for a break with many hummers, Indigo Buntings (with clear views of several females) and a mother ground-hog with four adorable babies who seemed to be on their first foray from the den. Charming.

Back to the park for a break while Gloria and I checked out a cedar glade as a possible birding spot, short break at the cabin for record keeping, about 65 species since arrival, some not seen by everyone since I had my personal list mixed in with the group's. Dinner at Gloria's cabin, AQ chicken and fixins, barely moderated the urge to truly pig out. Finale was the bat program by the unstoppable Harry Harnish again. Great show, first a lot of Q&A backgrounding, then listening to while watching Big Brown Bats, and Eastern Pipistrels using a frequency translating device so we could hear the clicks and feeding buzzes while watching maneuvers. That made long active day.

May 13, 08, Tuesday

Up really early, first light, stagger about and then wait for the group to assemble. Taped in a great view of a Yellow-throated Warbler. Tried for 7 o'clock departure, got off at 7:30. Drive to Fayetteville airport, XNA really, in Benton County, switch out too small minivan for the real thing, 12 seater. Got a House Sparrow while waiting on the tarmac. Then up to Centerton Hatchery, with big high pool drained and one of the lower ones. Didn't seem too promising. A Spotted Sandpiper, Mallards, two more sandpipers, then Coots. Went to the upper pool. Blue-winged Teals, Wilson's Phalaropes, other shorebirds, the two Caspian Terns which made my day, followed by another fifteen or so, which made my moon-shot. Egret and Great Blue. Headed into Decatur for lunch, then up towards Maysville for grasslands. Good looks at Dicksissels, Scissortails, and Meadowlarks, no sparrows. Things kind of slow but for a flock of Yellow Warblers in the distance as we stood on a bridge.

Drove south to the University Museum, not open to the public, some bizarre and stupid funding shortage. There's a colection, but no display. We got into the inner sanctum where Gloria used to work. Very special treat. Huge climate controlled room with endless shelves and cabinets of pottery and skeletons and skins and eggs and jars of pickled critters. We saw two stuffed Passenger Pigeons, an Elephant Bird egg, the size of a basketball, seriously, biggest egg ever laid, bigger than any dinosaur. Ostrich eggs are more like a softball for comparison. Beautiful specimens, drawers full of bats and mice and muskrats. A Gorilla skeleton. A simply stupendous fossilized crocodillian from the same quarry that yielded Archaeopterix. Around twelve feet of perfection including larynx cartilage and lunch. Incredible detail and finish.

Almost as a let-down and as a time killer until dinner, we crossed the street to a little tree filled park and found three more species: Yellow-rump, House Finch, and a Kestrel. After dinner in town a a brew-pub there were Common Nighthawks calling overhead, and finally a Barred Owl on a sign as we got back to Devil's Den. Twenty-five new species for the day, making 89 for the trip so far.

May 14, 08, Wednesday

Got the truck jumped and called up a Yellow-throated Vireo. Packed and out by about 8. Drive down to Ft Smith, Gloria driving mostly. Stopped at Spring Hill Park (Redstart, Waxwings, a whole bridge full of Cliff Swallows) just over the river, then Janet Huckabee Nature Center in Fort Chafee. It's a brand new facility, the building is quite nice, there's a good trail map, and the trails are routed through some good habitat. The parts we managed to get to as the rain was starting were heavily grown up, brushy thickets or honeysuckle jungles, good for the birds but hard to see into. Several good birds at the center, including a Pair of Painted Buntings on the feeders (pressure is off that one), a really late White-crowned Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, and an empid that was not clearly identifiable. Probably Least by eye-ring and shape, probably Willow by call, there might have even been two. Duh. Into Barling for a good lunch after being driven inside by increasing rain. On south to Waldron, Wally world stop, then the fishing lake there where we called up a Pine Warbler.

Arrive Queen Wilhelmina around 4:30, settle in rooms, then a brief jaunt down the north side trail. Not much bird action, but lots of great flowers blooming late from the nature of the spring weather. The beginning of the fattening for slaughter in their dining room, death by desert. Another edition of the Brad Holleman toilet paper geology talk. This should be on videotape. He's so cool. Right now catching up records and journals. 100 species made by two Cooper's Hawks driving up to the park, us driving, them flying that is.

Eldehostel 08 - Queen Wilhelmina and surrounding area

May 15, 08, Thursday

Really foggy morning, I mean really. Nobody came for the seven o'clock hike, which would have been pointless. After breakfast the stalwarts headed for the north side trail that goes to Lover's Leap. Why is it never accountant's leap or lawyer' leap. Anyway in dripping fog and drizzling trees we got the king of Kentucky Warblers. It came for its own call. It came for all the others. It followed us, and at one point seemed about to attack my shoe; that close. More looks at several other woodland birds that we'd already seen. We wandered around in the fog up on the hilltop, but finally gave up. By the time we saw anything we were so close that they either flushed, or couldn't see any color or detail. So we ate and slept until it was time to drive below the fog to Boles and meet Joe Neal (who birded down the county road with us for about thirty minutes) and then Brad and Allison the interpreter trainee and Daniel the new Ranger. Then we drove down Buffalo Creek road making several stops.

The first was a dip on the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, hereafter RCWs, but some good birds, Chat, some warblers, and then a flock of Red Crossbills. I thought Joe was going to dance a jig. It's a really rare bird in Arkansas, new for my state list for sure. We chased up the hill trying to get the right angles for viewing (they were way in the tops of the cone filled trees), and finally were pretty sure we had a flock of sixteen. Also a great look at a Red-headed Woodpecker. At the next stop we called in a pair of RCWs, a life bird for almost everyone. Same for the Brown-headed Nuthatch that we got back at the road. We got a Prairie Warbler to call back clearly, but it wouldn't come out for a look. We made a couple more stops trying to get a Bachman's Sparrow to come to the tape, without luck. Drove back to Y city for a bathroom break, then back to the woods for dinner. This was big tables and chairs set up out of the back of the park truck and good thick sandwiches and fixins. Great conversation, laughter and stories while waiting for dusk. Around eight we packed up, the park folks headed back, and the Elderhostlers went to our Whipchucking corner. When it was about totally dark we got the two nightjars, but earlier we also had Common Nighthawks. Three nightjar night and enough to let us get back to the lodge. Added eleven species for the trip.

May 16, 08, Friday.

Birded the campground again on a clear chilly windy morning. Mostly hoping for Orchard Oriole, but dipped. Breakfast and then down the mountain into Mena, and check out the train station museum. It was OK, and had a Lum & Abner room which fit in with going to the Lum & Abner store next. Good thing too since we found a Blue Grosbeak there, the only one of the trip. Those two stops and a drive to Waldren and getting gas used up enough of the morning to call for lunch, good cheap Mexican. Huevos Rancheros, yummm. That set us up for more birding.

We went to an area near the forest service District Office, that we call the ranches. The luck got good, with Karen, a Hostler finding another Painted Bunting, and then to fulfill her wish and repay her luck, I found two Bald Eagles, her main target for the trip, flying fairly high but low enough for good details. Down the road we got shorebirds, a Common Merganser, and a Savannah Sparrow. The good finds were adding up. Then we decided to go to Heavener, OK to see the Runestone. Quandary: whether to go back to Waldron and get another highway, or stay on the one we were on and catch the other farther west after county dirt road bushwhacking. I opted for bushwhacking. It worked pretty well, the dirt road got smaller and narrower, became a forest road, we were checking map and compass, when a farmer came by and I begged directions. Good thing too sine there were intersections and turns not on the map, and signs were unheard of out there in remote Scott County. WE ended exactly where we wanted, and went on to the Runestone Park. Got a Roadrunner there. The stone is about twelve feet tall and wide, pretty immense, and the runes are a foot tall and, well, runic. I had the sense they were authentic, and threw a new angle into my prehistory ideas.

Back to the lodge by the west end of Talamena Drive, a short break, another too much supper with dessert, final list tallies, good cheer, prizes and what-not. Now I'm writing this journal, and I'm tired. Good-night.

May 17, 08, Saturday

We were out of Queen Wilhelmina by 7:45, and had delivered Margaret and Patty to the Ft Smth Airport by 9:45. Would have been sooner but for air show traffic. Into Devil's Den for more good-byes, and shifting stuff into my truck to go to Gloria's. She and I had lunch in West Fork, then delivered the van back to Avis at the mall. I dropped her and her stuff at her house and went on home. Not a great pile of mail, house OK, took a big nap.

Sightings for Elderhostel birding in Northwestern Arkansas, May 2008

Species seen from 5/11/2008 to 5/16/2008

Great Blue Heron - several
Great Egret - Centerton
Green Heron - Devil's Den

Canada Goose - several groups
Mallard - Centerton
Blue-winged Teal - Centerton
Common Merganser - Waldron Ranch pond

Black Vulture - several
Turkey Vulture - everywhere

Bald Eagle - 2 flying at Waldron Ranches
Cooper's Hawk - 3 sightings from moving vehicle
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2 sightings, ditto
Red-tailed Hawk - several, ditto

American Kestrel - Ag Center Park, flying, found by Gloria

American Coot - Centerton

Killdeer - several places

Short-billed Dowitcher - Centerton
Long-billed Dowitcher - Waldron Ranch ponds
Greater Yellowlegs - Waldron Ranch ponds
Lesser Yellowlegs - Centerton, may have been Greater
Spotted Sandpiper - Centerton and Ranch ponds
Semipalmated Sandpiper - Centerton
White-rumped Sandpiper - Centerton, found by Margaret
Wilson's Phalarope - Centerton

Ring-billed Gull - AR river, seen by Kathy

Caspian Tern - about twenty at Centerton

Rock Pigeon - Ag Center and other places
Eurasian Collared-Dove - several seen from vehicle
Mourning Dove - many in lots of places

Greater Roadrunner - Runestone Park, OK

Barred Owl - driving into DD, seen from front seats

Common Nighthawk - Buffalo Road
Chuck-will's-widow - Buffalo Road
Whip-poor-will - Buffalo Road

Chimney Swift - many in several places

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Feeders at DD, others also

Belted Kingfisher - DD, near Maysville at river bridge

Red-headed Woodpecker - RCW area on Buffalo Road
Red-bellied Woodpecker - Several places
Downy Woodpecker - Gloria's cabin, Spring Hill Park, others
Red-cockaded Woodpecker - RCW recovery area, Ouachita Nat Forest
Northern Flicker - Ag Park, somewher else (?)
Pileated Woodpecker - several heard, seen flying at Boles

Olive-sided Flycatcher - Cartwright Mountain
Eastern Wood-Pewee - several, Cartwright
Empid sp - Huckabee Nature Center
Acadian Flycatcher - A few, scattered sites
Eastern Phoebe - Many heard, some seen
Great Crested Flycatcher - Several, best sighting at Waldron fishing lake
Eastern Kingbird - Many, red crown seen at DD
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - along roads everywhere

Purple Martin - Best at Lum and Abner's Store
Tree Swallow - a few individuals
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - At Mikey's in Winslow, DD
Cliff Swallow - large nesting flock at Spring Hill Park
Barn Swallow - All over open country

Cedar Waxwing - Spring Hill, L&A

Carolina Wren - Many calling, some seen

Gray Catbird - Spring Hill
Northern Mockingbird - Gadzooks
Brown Thrasher - Boles

Eastern Bluebird - Quite a few on rural wires and such
Swainson's Thrush - DD, Cartwright
Wood Thrush - DD, Cartwright
American Robin - All over

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Several, best on Buffalo Road, Huckabee

Carolina Chickadee - Here and there
Tufted Titmouse - More heres and theres

Brown-headed Nuthatch - RCW area
White-breasted Nuthatch - Many in many places

Blue Jay - Everywhere
American Crow - Everywhere
Fish Crow - heard and seen at DD, Ranch ponds

European Starling - Everywhere, mostly

House Sparrow - The usual places

White-eyed Vireo - Calling at Huckabee
Bell's Vireo - Calling at Huckabee
Yellow-throated Vireo - Best from Gloria's porch in DD
Philadelphia Vireo - Cartwright
Red-eyed Vireo - All woodland stops

House Finch - L&A
Red Crossbill - RCW area
American Goldfinch - best at DD feeders

Tennessee Warbler - Several in woods
Nashville Warbler - DD
Northern Parula - Many calling, seen well at Sprinh Hill
Yellow Warbler - Several stops, best seen at Ag Cntr park
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Ag Cntr park
Yellow-throated Warbler - Gloria's porch, others calling
Pine Warbler - Good at Aldron fishing lake, RCW area
Prairie Warbler - Calling at RCW
Black-and-white Warbler - Many heard and seen in woodlands
American Redstart - Best seen at Sprinh Hill
Worm-eating Warbler - Good but brief at Cartwright
Ovenbird - Best on north slope at Queen Wilhelmina
Louisiana Waterthrush- Several heard calling, no good quality visuals
Kentucky Warbler - QW north slope, very aggressive
Common Yellowthroat - heard severla palces, brief sightings
Hooded Warbler - Seen well at QW north slope
Yellow-breasted Chat - RCW raea

Scarlet Tanager - Best on Cartwright
Summer Tanager - Many seen and heard, one flame color molting male

Eastern Towhee - Pat and Gloria heard at DD cedar glade
Chipping Sparrow - Here and there
Lark Sparrow - In fog at QW parking lot
Savannah Sparrow - Waldron Ranches
White-crowned Sparrow - Huckabee feeder

Northern Cardinal - Everywhere
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - DD feeders, Mon morning
Blue Grosbeak - L&A, molting 1st year male
Indigo Bunting - Everywhere
Painted Bunting - Huckabee, Waldron ranch road, found by Karen
Dickcissel - Best seen near Maysville
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Red-winged Blackbird - Many, females studied
Eastern Meadowlark - All grasslands
Common Grackle - Everywhere
Brown-headed Cowbird - Several places
Baltimore Oriole - Best at Spring Hill, some in DD
Orchard Oriole - Waldron Ranch rooad

Species seen - 119, but not all seen by all participants

A Big Trip focused on New England

For ages I'd been eyeing New England as a place where I could build a number of state lists within a small area, meaning not so much money spent on gas. Other attractions were cooler weather, ocean time, mountain time, possible lifers, and just seeing some country where I'd not spent much time. There were nine eastern states where I didn't have a hundred species list, so that was the official goal of the trip. Since one of them was West Virginia, I took a southern outbound route through northern Mississippi and Alabama and then up the Appalachians through Tennessee and Virginia, and then into the target states. The return trip involved some family visiting near Philadelphia, and then I'd planned to catch some more coast-line down to the Outer Banks. That got truncated by a gradually worsening engine problem that made me think the prudent thing was to just to take the Interstates home. I was gone 32 days.

Arkansas and Mississippi

June 3, 2007

I had to spend a couple of days getting things in order for leaving, like finishing jobs, changing the truck from work to travel mode, mowing a lot of grass knowing that it wouldn't get cut for four or five weeks, canceling mail service, updating one of the computers so I could use it online if necessary. All that done, it was mid-morning before I got away. I drove fairly directly to Bald Knob NWR, where ther was some chance of finding new shorebirds for the Arkansas list, but it didn't pan out. I spent about an hour there, and then headed on east though Memphis and south on the Interstate for Sardis Lake, a COE flood control reservoir with a sweet little campground and a wonderful nature trail. I was there in the evening and the next morning, and also a run after dark down the road that runs past it into the country listening for owls and nightjars. Got a Barred Owl, and a Chuck-wills-widow. I still don't have a Whip-poor-will in MS. Between evening and morning managed ten new tics for Mississippi, making 174, just 34 species short of the ABA threshold for the published list. Still trying to get that for all states adjacent to Arkansas.

Through Alabama into Tennessee

June 4,5, 2007

I drove pretty steadily, but not directly given the two lane blacktop nature of the roads and terrain. I was tempted to stop at Tishomingo State Park, recommended before by Jeff Wilson, and an excellent birding place, but I had heard great things about Bankhead National Forest in Alabama, and wanted to check it out. It had been really dry, no rain in forty days, and at one stop I came across a crew of fire-fighters from Utah. We talked while they mostly napped, waiting for trouble, which was predicted with thunderstorms later in the day. I think maybe the night in town with those southern girls had an effect also, and kidded them about it. That got some wry looks and rolling eyes. Most importantly, I got a look at their good forest map, so I could figure out how to get to the campground. I got there about 2:30 pm, and found a small man-made lake. A couple of day trippers, but the camping was unoccupied. Excellent facilities, and only five bucks. Good birds too, but the best sighting came when I was standing quietly on a little bridge over the clear feeder creek. In broad daylight two beavers, obviously mated from the look of their comfortable side by side swimming, meandered slower than a walk down the creek and under the bridge. I held my breath sorta, peeked over the rail (they were about fifteen feet straight down) hoping they wouldn't see me and be alarmed. I was able to watch them for about twenty minutes. That's more time than all my other beaver watching in a lifetime, since they're usually nocturnal. I've seen them at dusk, but the second I move the tail smacks and they're gone.

In the night it started thunder and lightening, and then hard rain for a couple of hours. When it tapered off, I had to get out and move the truck out from under the trees to avoid the random banging of the post rain dripping on the campershell/drum. It's not so bad when it's raining steadily, just a background roar that I can get accustomed to, with a pillow over my head. The next morning the world was washed and renewed. I guess the Utah guys got to stand down for awhile. I birded around there for the dawn chorus action, and then headed for Wheeler NWR near Decatur. This was my third stop there, and each time I'm more impressed as I discover more nooks and crannies. This time it was the Dancy Bottoms trail, which followed a creek through some great bottom-land woods. I wish I'd been there during migration, but my timing was for New England and I was maybe four weeks late for that far south. Definitely on the to-do list. Back to the visitor center, which hadn't been open when I arrived, and down to their viewing blind. This is the most extravagant and nice blind I've ever seen, it's really a finished building with big windows overlooking a small wetland on one side, and a feeder and water feature passerine attractor on the other side. The approach is through mature hardwoods with lots of brush, so that's good birding too. From there I went to a boardwalk in a swamp near the expressway on the north side of the river, enough different from Dancy (where the soil is well above the creek level) to be interesting.

I had picked up a map of some kind or maybe it was a birding trail brochure, and a place called Hays Preserve caught my eye. Now pay attention! There are two main highways south out of Huntsville. You can't tell it from a normal map, but between the two is a mountain big and steep enough that it has no roads over it. And the signage as you leave the Expressway is worse than dismal. Not once but twice I've managed to miss the place where the main roads divide, and then it's hell to get back to the right place in the right direction if you want the eastern highway, which was where Hays was. Warning: the western road, although mapped as an expressway, has lights every quarter mile and miserable traffic. I got to do it in rush hour one time and it took an hour to clear Huntsville. Anyway, the GPS helped some and I found the one tiny blacktop road that climbed the west side of the mountain, crossing the ridge many miles farther than my goal, and then winding back north until I got to the right highway. I get flustered by wasting time and gas, especially when I don't think it's my fault.

Hays was worth the trouble. It's big, with some good habitat variety, woods mixed with a golf course (!) and pretty birdy. Found my Alabama Hairy Woodpecker there. The brochure had also recommended the University Ag Research Station for grassland birds, so it was back into Huntsville, through the dreaded intersection, but northbound, and then nearly to the Tennessee border. The station was flat and wide open with large paddocks dedicated to various farm critters, cows and pigs and sheep. It was like being in eastern Kansas, with sparrows on the wires and meadowlarks everywhere, found Blue Grosbeaks and Brown Thrashers. I picked up some unexpected birds there, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Eastern Kingbird. I didn't know you could find that kind of place in Alabama. Then the trend was northeast, over the border into TN, and east to Cherokee National Forest.

I got there kinda late and headed for a campground shown in the National Geographic road atlas. One of it's strongest points is that it shows a lot of obscure campgrounds, but it's hard to tell what you may find. This one was just about a resort, with a lake and boats and pricey accommodations, even for tents. The atlas showed another farther down, so I headed that way. The pavement ended, always a good sign. I was working my way down some curvy approach to a drainage when I caught site of campers on the right. Primitive, but there were porta-potties. No water, but a fair number of folks. I walked up one trail and discovered that it was an entrance to a real Wilderness Area, Citico Creek. Almost dark, I went to sleep. The trip was during the longest days of the year, around the Summer Solstice. First light was about 5:30a, and last was after 9p. And those numbers became more extreme as I got way north later in the journey.

Tennessee to West Virginia

June 6,7, 2007

I got a little ways into the Wilderness the next morning. Found a few good birds including Acadian Flycatcher and Ovenbird. From there to the main eastward highway was a long drive following a creek falling out of the mountains, really scenic with a number of other simple campgrounds. Stopped several times for birding and just looking. I finally made it past the desolation of Pigeon Forge and its ilk and was approaching Johnson City. In Greenville is the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, so I stopped there for a hour or so, and then beyond it went back up in the National Forest to check out some campgrounds. The highest and farthest was surrounded by Rhododendrons and I followed a little creek back in there for a ways. Got a Hooded Warbler, doing a call I wasn't familiar with, but it finally came out to pishing. I crossed the border into Virginia at Kingsport, and followed the Interstate north edging toward Kentucky. Just outside Jenkins right at the border I found another National Forest campground, Jefferson NF, this one with facilities and lots of hot water in the shower. I birded the evening following trails along a small creek, and then around the campground. The next morning in the campground was really good. The place itself was a flat valley bottom, hardly thirty yards wide, with a little trickle creek along one edge and both sides rising steeply covered with mature woods. Seven warblers including Black-throated Green, Yellow-throated, Kentucky, and Hooded again.

West Virginia Bonanza, part 1

June 7,8, 2007

Ten minutes on the highway and I was in Kentucky, but I only stopped for coffee. I came into West Virginia near Williamson, and followed small state routes toward Huntington. Just sorta stopped wherever there was a small park or a nice looking stream crossing, and had some very birdy places. I'd particularly pay attention to Beech Fork State Park, where I've had two good stops at alternate ends. I was adding tics easily after my West Virginia curse finally lifted. Three times I'd passed through there intending to do serious birding, and twice was rained out and once snowed and iced. The weather this time was cooperative and I did way better than I'd hoped. I really liked birding in West Virginia, some was remote and beautiful, and most was lush. WV has one of the shortest state lists, just 346 species, but the West Virginia bird finding book, by the Brooks Bird Club, was really helpful in spite of its hard to decipher hand drawn maps. I ended up going from the banks of the Ohio River to the state high point at around 4500 ft.

North of Huntington, the book recommended a couple of sites in Green Bottoms WMA on the Ohio River. The first parking area led past some shallow pools and then through meadows with brushy tree-lines down to the river. Supposedly a good shorebird place, but I was a little late for that. If you went back on the highway a little ways nominally north, you came to a much more natural wetland, which may have been an old millpond, and had an observation tower as well. I went south from there by very indirect county roads back to the Interstate and into Coonskin Park in Charleston. Very good. It sits on an isolated hilltop above the river on the north end of town, mostly wooded, but a fair variety of habitats. One trail near the entrance followed both sides of a deep narrow creek drainage. Further on was a small pond with some waterfowl and good woodpeckers. The real score was a Swainson's Warbler in exactly the place the book said to look, but that required getting into deep brush. After Coonskin, which requires careful navigation for finding the entrance, I went on south to Kenewha State Forest, which was simply a knockout.

It's another place that takes some doing to get to. There are signs, small signs, lots of stop signs, lots of turn signs, and I probably would have been lost at least once but for the GPS. The park is a beautiful old CCC construction, great old buildings and pavilions, trails and fishing ponds, that sort of thing. Camping was $14/night. Showers were good. I stopped at a lot of places along the main road, especially the ponds (Cerulean Warbler, Barred Owl) and meadows where I could work the tree edges. Good for Orchard Orioles and Yellow-throated Warblers. But the best thing that happened was when I played my "chickadees mobbing a screech-owl" tape pointed at a small bush just down from my picnic table just after sundown. I sucked about eight species of warblers out of the woods, including Worm-eating. For the day in WV only, I had fifteen species of warbler. 68 overall. In the morning I followed another trail built by the CCC, and found Hooded Warblers, like the book said I would.

After a great stay at Kenewha, it was back to Charleston, grab some breakfast, and head northeast up the Interstate. I made a stop at Jackson's Mill, part of the Andrew Jackson history, and had good luck there, especially sparrows in the fields surrounding the airfield. I went over the place pretty thoroughly, checking out an abandoned farmstead and the buildings and pond at the conference center. Had a good talk with the guy who was running the blacksmith shop at the mill restoration. West from there though Buckhannon and Elkins (lousy traffic) on US 33, and then south onto dirt at Wymer. This is very remote country, with official Wilderness areas, and Spruce Mountain, the WV highpoint. I got my first Blackburnian of the trip along there. There are some sweet little campgrounds along the roads back in there, but I wanted to see a place called "the Sinks of Gandy". Took some serious effort to find it, it's not marked, the road just barely allows two vehicles to carefully pass, but when I found it, it was a large sinkhole area, maybe a hundred yards across, filled in with wetland and surrounded by a forest/grass mixture that was very birdy. There were some wet cedar glade areas just past there where I found Blackpoll Warblers, and a little farther on got my first Magnolia of the trip. This part of the state, and the adjacent parts of Maryland, are high and cool enough that they have a lot of breeding species that are typical of places three hundred miles further north.

I followed some National Forest (Monongahela) signs until I got to the top of Spruce Mountain. It was the verge of treeline, kind of heathery with stunted vegetation. There are breeding Yellow-rumped Warblers there. Just below the peak I found a Mourning Warbler, the book had said to look there, and I learned that low scrub was their preferred habitat. They like clear-cuts that are starting to grow back. Another interesting thing was a new species of Butterfly, newly identified in the literature, and shown to me by a guy with a net. It's a version of a Tiger Swallowtail, species designation is "appalachiensis". Actually not uncommon, but of restricted range in the highlands, and only recently given full species status. It's a long drive from there up to Canaan NWR near Davis. I made a couple of stops along there, but it was starting to rain. By the time I got to the grocery store in Davis it was torrential, the kind that soaks you to the skin running to the door of the store. And back. There's a little road (one of the worst paved roads in history) that runs past that store into a public use area where I've stayed before, in the rain. In two days in West Virginia I'd gone from 57 to 103 species on the state list, 85 seen in two days, 22 warblers.

West Virginia Bonanza, part 2

June 9, 2007

Dripping wet morning, but not steady rain at least. Back into Davis for some C-store breakfast, and then wandering around trying to find the entrance to Blackwater Falls State Park. I finally found and followed some signs. Note to self... At first it seemed like I was just driving down nice smooth roads with nice smooth shoulders, and nothing remarkable. Kept following signs to lodge. Their Wifi didn't work, but it did lock up the computer. There were trail maps though, and I drove back and parked where one started opposite the trail leading down to the falls. At the parking space got my first Black-throated Blue Warbler for the trip. When I got in the woods, it was a drippy spongy mossy dark paradise for Boreal species. Quickly found Golden-crowned Kinglet, Purple Finch, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Hermit Thrush and others. These are winter birds, and not common in Arkansas, a true sign that I'd shifted bioregion.

I had an interest in Cranesville Swamp, a Nature Conservancy site that straddles the border with Maryland. Made a quick stop at Cathedral SP along the way, and found Rose-breasted Grosbeak. At the swamp, Swamp Sparrow was easy, but it wasn't as birdy as I'd hoped. It needed some care too, the signs were missing, the boardwalk was funky. After taking the wetland route, I went back through the surrounding mature pine woods, and that wasn't so birdy either. Maybe just bad timing, the place looked great, but I'd missed the dawn chorus so critters were harder to find. I drove out and around to the MD side and started getting some tics for there, nothing special, and couldn't really develop an alternate path into the wetland. I knew I was in the highest part of Maryland, and could probably find Boreal species. But for some reason I didn't grab a couple of opportunities that passed, like Garrett State Forest. Garrett County is the place to get those specialties, turns out, not the highlands I crossed later that day. I was needing to get some Wifi, and finally found a motel along the Interstate after several unsuccessful tries. Then I turned south onto a road marked in the mapping software as better than the worst class. It was as bad as anything I'd ever encountered, but not right away or I would have turned back. I did find some birds along there but was rattled from the vehicle abuse. For about six or eight miles it was from dead crawl to maybe ten mph. Somewhere in there it had been designated a four-wheeler use place, and those guys would just stare as I passed, heads in helmets slowly tracking my painful progress. It finally ended when I got back off the ridge I was crossing, but still many miles to a Highway. The campgrounds were small and required permits that had to be purchased back in civilization, so called. Thanks for telling me. I ended up back in West Virginia at Sleepy Creek WMA, where I parked and slept in what looked like an unused logging yard. There was a lot of traffic on the distant road, going down to the lake that was the focus of the area.

June 10, 2007

I went down the next morning and found a good size lake and several campgrounds, semi-primitive, inexpensive. I hung around at several boat-ramps hoping for ducks. Did find a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. The birding was okay, but I couldn't get to the shallow end of the lake where I thought there might be better critters to see. Two more stops, one at Altona Marsh, which is bisected by a little used railway that makes perfect access to the habitat. I found quite a few of those old lines as I got into New England, where fairly flat topography and lots of industry (historically) had strewn track all over the countryside. That railway yielded Willow Flycatcher, House Wren, Sora, House Finch, and Belted Kingfisher. Another stop on the Susquehanna and I found a Warbling Vireo, another only-in-migration bird back home. I ended up with 120 species (63 new) in West Virginia, over a third of the state list, and the only place on the trip where I reached that plateau.

I was finally ready to get back to Maryland, and ended up in Catoctin Mountain Park. I think that's where Camp David is, there are roads not on the park brochure with ominous warning signs. The birding was fair, I walked trails and drove around the park and into the nearby town for food. I did find four warblers, including Black-throated Blue and Cerulean. The campsite was comfortable, showers good, and I needed a rest. Hung out reading and catching up on computer stuff and journal writing. Napping too. Got a good night's rest.

Travel Day through Pennsylvania and into New York

June 11, 2007

I left the park early, driving toward Pennsylvania by back roads. Three new species in a little over a half hour, including Wild Turkey and Purple Martin over a power plant reservoir. And a surprising Green Heron flying over. But I was still three short for MD, so I knew I'd have to get back while I was in Eastern PA on the return. Didn't stop much in Pennsylvania, only one state park with a big boggish lake, and some Boreal warblers. But curiously they were Black-and-White, Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, and an Ovenbird (ta-dah). Some of those were new. I wasn't feeling too driven, knowing there would be some days in PA on the return trip. I picked up a few more species driving, Waxwings and such, but was set on getting into New York, the first of the seven New England states I wanted to work on. My New York list was already pretty strong, 93 species, thanks to one traverse from west to east several years earlier, and a couple of trips to Jamaica Bay in New York City, and a try at Long Island, where I was turned back, nay, repulsed, by the Hamptons. I tried to look at the ocean there, and only found signs warning off the un-rich.

I got as far as Utica, before thinking about stopping. I wanted to see Fort Stanwix National Monument. I was too late to get in but walked around the perimeter. Have to say I wouldn't want to be an attacker, it was very well made for the time, and a lot bigger than I expected, almost like Civil War forts, but not brick, and way better than the earthworks common during the Revolutionary War. A little way north of there is Delta Lake State Park, where I stayed. Showers and even laundry. It was getting dark, and I was getting my first taste of the mosquito challenge.

June 12, 2007

I made a quick run to a C-store in the morning for semi-food, and detergent. Clothes in the washer I set out birding around the park. It had a pretty good variety of wetland forms, open water, lagoons, and marshy areas as well as mature woods. Clothes in the dryer, and some grassy areas and open small woodlands. But I was really ready to get into the Adirondacks. That took a couple of hours driving, and some serious elevation gain.

The Adirondacks to Vermont

June 12, 2007

I had been through the Dacks once before, on my way to Burlington, VT where I hoped to find a job doing work on water remediation. That didn't pan out, but I don't think it was me, but rather the load of problems that came down on the organization. I had some hope of finding a wilder part than I'd seen that time, too many cute little villages and self-conscious vacation cottages. I was following a brochure for Hamilton County, completely inside the park, which had a number of birding sites mapped out, and was put out in conjunction with a birding festival that I'd missed by about two weeks. The next county north has a brochure also, and a fest the weekend after Hamilton. That could make a great week of birding in a tight space. I was plugging along, making stops here and there as they fit my route toward Paul Smith, a town with a Visitor's Center for the park. There's another VC also, but it wasn't on my route. The first really great stop was a place called Ferg's Bog, named for a birder who had brought it to a wider public's attention. My first real dose of Boreal Forest. Black Spruce and saturated ground, and Blackburnian Warblers, Palm Warblers, Yellow-throated Flycatchers, and Blue-headed Vireos. Many others too, but I was just getting into the feel of it. Bugs weren't too bad, but I was using lots of repellent, both DEET and organic. Found a Common Loon along the road on a lake.

I had found the back roads, and was getting worried about the lack of Gas stations, and then really worried. Figured there would be one in Paul Smith, but it wasn't hardly a village. The Visitor's Center was just a a little way farther, and I got directions to a station from there. Great naturalist Lydia Wright started filling me in on birds and sites, and I got the brochure for Franklin County and its festival and bird sites and lists. She naturally asked me what I was hoping to find, and made me confess that a Sage Grouse would make my day, if not the whole trip. Then she explained how hard they were to find, and that I couldn't get into the best place in the county, a closed Nature Conservancy plot. Then she told me where there was a free campsite by a pond (we would call them lakes in Arkansas), in a really obscure place. But first, I had to walk some trails at the visitor center, one across a bog was wonderful. There's a plant there with a maroon nodding flower, and in the dryer woods I found Ladies Slippers, the legendary New England orchid. Also some birds. Good birds. Wild Turkey and Olive-sided Flycatcher. I found the gas place as the sun was dropping, got some fresh sub sandwich, backtracked to the pond campsite, and settled in. I had a Marsh Wren come up and harass me. Very mellow, there were ten minute intervals with no human made sound, no car, plane, or boat. In the night I awoke to one of the strangest sounds I'd ever heard, coming from the other side of the lake where I'd seen distant Loons earlier. I had never heard a loon sound like that, nor anything else. I mentioned it to Lydia the next day, and one of the other naturalists said he'd heard the same thing, at a different place, and yes they were loons.

June 13, 2007

I wanted to make a try at some other birds before going back to the visitor center for some morning birding. There was one awful sandy road with a washed out bridge that was said to be good birding, possible Spruce Grouse. It was good, and really buggy. I found my first Alder Flycatcher of the trip, and also Gray Jays. Also Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Hairy Woodpecker. Then looped back around to the Visitor Center for another hike through the bog. From there I followed the Franklin County map to some sites on the way north. One was a walk along anothere railroad, good for Chestnut-sided Warbler, and then a weird little trail consisting of single plamks supended above watery ground leading up to a fishing spot on another "pond". That had one of the yellowest Bellied Sapsuckers I'd ever seen. The whole place had a magical ambience, the birds seemed bigger and brighter and louder than any place else I'd been. Rose-breasted Grosbeak like flying lipstick. Farther to the north when I was out of the official Dacks, the map showed some grassland areas. I drove around there a lot, but the only new thing was an Eastern Meadowlark. At the end of my New York exploration I had 129 species, having added 36. I was pleased.

Heading east, I'd noted some Nature Conservancy sites on the mapping software, and stopped at one called Sandstone Pavement. It was a lot like the cedar glades in the Ozarks with a different set of plants, bare rock or thin soil, heat and drought stressed vegetation, scrubby trees, brown clumps of short grasses. An unusual place for the north woods country, and the signs said it was one of very few places like it in the world. It wasn't very far from there to the bridge over Lake Champlain into Vermont. I had been tempted to spend some time in Canada, Quebec was ten miles north, just because it would be really easy to add a lot of tics, but the fantasy got out of control, I found myself driving to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in my brain, then getting harrassed at the border coming back, and opted for just following the original plan.

Vermont

June 13, 2007

The first priority after the bridge was Missiquoi NWR. Most of the birds on my Vermont list had come from there on the previous trip, so I was starting with 45. This trip was earlier in the year and it was easier finding birds singing. Almost as soon as I got out of the truck, I got a Purple Finch singing on a tree down a railroad track. Vermont is like West Virginia in having a short state list, about 370, probably because it's small and has no ocean, though Champlain is supposed to be good for winter ducks. I was following "Birdwatching in Vermont" by Murin and Pfeiffer. I had read through all the areas that I thought I might get to visit and had plotted them in the mapping software. About the only thing not included were the southwestern corner, and it proved unnecessary.

Missiquoi was good, and I hiked most of the way to the end of their nature trail, but in my hurry I hadn't coated myself with repellent. I didn't make that mistake again. I was giving blood to the food chain. Some good birds were Hairy Woodpecker, Black Tern, and the first Veery of the trip. I got to know that call very well. I spent two hours there, until I was faint from loss of blood, and then headed for Carmi Lake State Park. That was a hard place to bird since the lake views were restricted by woods, and the campsites were walled by thicket. Still I walked around and was able to hear and sometimes see a few more birds.

June 14, 2007

It turns out the real draw at Carmi is the bog along the entrance road. I walked it from end to end twice. One spectacular sighting was a lingering Canada Warbler in full breeding plumage about ten feet away for five minutes. It just wouldn't leave, even if I moved around. I had drawn it in using the owl and chickadee recording. The bog was strangely bugless, and I wondered if they sprayed. There weren't many flycatchers, but sparrows made a good showing, including a Lincoln's. From there I headed back into Burlington, and found a C-store with good free Wifi, and was able to do some catch-up. First I went north of Burlington on the Interstate to the first island in Champlain. The south end had some good lake views, with Common Goldeneye, and there was a wetland with a decent trail where I found several birds including an Eastern Screech-Owl that came in for the tape. There wasn't much actual water visible, the level was way down, and the shallow areas revealed were dense but mucky thickets. I tried walking in a couple of times and retreated without much success. From there I went back into Burlington where the University had a nice woodland on campus, called Centennial Woods. It wasn't very birdy, but I spent twenty minutes watching a snake swallowing a toad that was way too big. In that whole time he managed to move it about a quarter inch deeper into his throat. At first it was wary when I showed up, but when no harm came from me, it went on with the process.

At this point my focus shifted to finding a Bicknell's Thrush, which meant getting above four thousand feet. South on the Interstate to place I had noted on the map, but it didn't pan out, not high enough and I couldn't figure out how to get to the park I was looking for. Some glitch between the atlas and the software maps. I did find my first Common Raven while eating lunch and revising the plan. The next possibility was to take the toll road up Mt Washington, so it was back north to Stowe. When I got there it was too late, the hours for the road are not birder friendly, not opening until nine, when sunrise was about five, and then it closes hours before sunset. There's a State Park just north of there, Smuggler's Notch, so I figured I'd stay there and try again in the morning. The notch itself had some good birding, but many of the trails were closed to protect nesting Peregrine Falcons. Back at the park, I scared up a Black-throated Blue Warbler, who settled into a tree just overhead, and sang off and on until dark. I learned that song really well.

June 15, 2007

I had a lot of time to kill in the morning waiting for the Toll Road to open. Went into Stowe and bought Maple Syrup that had been requested in jest by one of the librarians back home. Found some Wifi at a motel, and then settled in at the parking lot to wait. Bad idea, because after I'd gone through the email etc I had time to contemplate the $20 toll. It didn't seem worth it, and I was antsy to get on with birding. So back south again for another stab at a mountain with thrush. It involved walking about three miles on a part of the Long Trail. I started with a good will, but my ankle got progressively more unwilling. I tried a get on a road that ran on the ridge along the trail, but found it wouldn't take me where I needed to go. Another retreat. Somewhere around this time the truck developed an alarming symptom, a miss and jerk, that would show up at random times for the rest of the trip. I never could make sense of it, but fed it dry-gas and injector cleaner and high-test gas and anything else that seemed like it might help. That went on for the rest of the trip. There was a nature preserve just outside of Montpelier that had some great trails and nice habitat variety, well worth spending more time, but I wish I'd been there at dawn instead of sitting in a blacktop parking lot. Another good place from the book was a reservoir south of Barre, where it gave almost perfect directions to Olive-sided Flycatcher and Winter Wren.

From there I went back north to an area called Victory Bog. Now we're getting into special Vermont birding. Almost any stop would yield some good Boreal birds. Just after I got there I met a couple of birders, Dan Finizia and Susan Talbot from Providence, RI. Turns out Dan is the top state lister there. They were very good birders, way better than I. But I had the owl and Chickadee tape, so we got along well. We'd drive along until a spot looked interesting, or we heard something, and we'd get out and play the tape and get excellent looks at close up birds. They were up working on a Vermont list, and liked my story about the hundred species in eight states goal. We were both planning on the same place the next day, so after about three hours at Victory, they headed for their motel and I went on to find a camping place. It was easy; there was a parking area just inside the WMA, known as Wenlock, supposedly a good place for Spruce Grouse. The entrance to Conte NWR is right along there as well, and it stretches for miles to the north basically all the way to Canada.

June 16, 2007

Barred Owls in the night, and a strange whirtling sound at dawn, that I heard often that morning and other places, and never did find out what it was. Mystery still present in the world. Dan and Susan showed up about an hour after I was up; I had been just walking up and down the road and hanging by a little bog crossing. The beginning of a great morning. We followed a trail specified in the book that led back to the open water pool at the heart of the bog. Worked our way down some deer trails to the opening, squishing along, found a moose who ambled off, found birds, best find being a Northern Goshawk. It flew over and screamed once, and Dan was almost sure of the ID. So I played a recording of their call so he could hear it, and the bird called back. That was a buzz. We kept hoping for the Grouse, but it was a dip. We did find a good assortment of Boreal birds, the usual warblers, a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, a very gratifying Boreal Chickadee, and further down the road as we circled the area, Winter Wrens and assorted Thrushes. After about three hours in there, we were back on the Highway going west to a small airfield where we were able to hear Vesper Sparrows. Then we went into town for restrooms and snacks at another small park. Dan and Susan went back to explore Conte, and I stopped for groceries. I had 97 species in Vermont at that point. So close. As I drove past he road into Conte, they were on the side of the road, so I stopped to have one last good-bye, and they showed me the Mourning Warbler they'd found. 98. I was still hoping for more after crossing into New Hampshire, and kept watching the side of the road with the river that had Vermont on the far side. Hoping for maybe a hawk of some kind. Finally had to admit that I'd have to go back or settle for a near miss.

New Hampshire

June 16, 2007

New Hampshire was my weakest starting point; the listing software showed three species seen. At least I didn't have to waste time on duplications. But it would prove a test of concentration. Since I was already at the north end of Vermont, it was pretty simple to get to the north end of New Hampshire. I was following the ABA Birdfinder for the state, by Alan Delore, already scanned and plotted in the GPS software. I got on Route 3 headed north and took a back-road loop that turns north at Happy Corner. It was pretty good, since every bird was a tick, but not spectacular. Four sparrows and Juncos. There are a series of Lakes up there, called First, Second, Third and Fourth Connecticut Lakes, which are the source of the CT river. I went to the Third one and found my Loon, then started back south and stayed at the little primitive state Campground there, pricey I thought, but ended up worth it. After getting checked in and getting some birding info, I headed back down to another Boreal boggish wetland area called Scott Bog. I met a man from Massachusetts there, Carl Goodrich, who was getting photographs of Boreal species. He was a great birder, and would complain about his hearing, when he was picking out things I couldn't detect, but it may have been familiarity was giving him an edge. We tried to get Gray Jays and Boreal Chickadees, a species he needed for his pictures. Dipped on both. But the book said the Chickadees could be found at the State Park, and Jack the manager confirmed that they were seen regularly on their feeders. Carl and I agreed to meet up the next morning.

Back at the park, I sat down to stake out the chickadee. Jack and his wife Rose made me feel at home, and after awhile invited me to dinner, a really good home-cooked dinner with chicken and potatoes and veggies, and salad and dessert. They told me stories of the years they had been in the area, living without many amenities, deep cold winter when he maintains snowmobile trails, and their cabin is a base camp. What a treat after almost two weeks of road food and grocery store snacks. I used to cook in camp before I became a fanatic birder, and it's something I miss, but now all daylight is used up seeking. And the BOCH showed up. In camp I found some more good birds, including a Ruby-crowned Kinglet singing, sounding familiar, but I couldn't get it. State dependent memory, since it's a song I know in the winter at home, but somehow had it locked out in the summer. I walked back to a small pond, but was driven away by the evening mosquitoes. They had a bonfire later, Jack was burning a brush pile, and I fiddled with it a visited with the camp neighbors. I was pretty beat, had been up before first light, but woke in the night long enough to hear a Northern Saw-whet Owl.

June 17, 2007

When I met Carl at Scott in the morning he was still elated from seeing a Spruce Grouse less than a minute before I arrived. Just my luck, and later in the morning while I was scanning a regrowing clearcut, he saw a Fisher run across the road, behind my back. O well. You could smell its den on the roadside, skunkish. We had a really good morning there, the Jays made an appearance. We found Alder and Olive-sided Flycatcher, which he photographed, and Mourning Warbler singing, but it stayed hidden. We covered that area pretty well, but it's a place I want to go again, maybe with a kayak so I can get back on some of the ponds. I added another fifteen ticks to the forty or so from the day before. Late morning I headed on south, first stopping at a more developed State Park at Lake Francis, where I got the big and needed shower and head service. From there I worked my way south to Coalbrook and then east to Umbagog NWR. There's a beautiful road heading south following a wide shallow river with lots of pull-offs to check, but it had started raining.

I took the back way around Mt Washington via Jefferson Notch. I hiked in there a ways hoping for Bicknell's Thrush, but the rain and the foot pain drove me back. I did find Blackpoll Warbler and a raincoat lost in the road. Let me make a point about the trails in northern New England. They're not smooth. They are basically boulders with the brush removed, so that every step has to be watched, usually uneven and sometimes slick. Very tiring too, especially for out of shape southerners like me, and I'm fit in my own habitat. Another BITH dip, back down the mountain, and go north to a small campground at Crawford Notch State Park, not very birdy and a dripping wet evening. I was whooped. At the end of the day I had 64 species, including 16 warblers, for NH.

June 18, 2007

I followed the Connecticut River birding Trail map to two very good sites which I caught early in the morning. The first was Whitefield Airport Marsh. A small pond with good viewing as the morning fog lifted, and some productive wet woods on the other side of the road, mostly accessible by some old railways. Beyond that a few miles was Pondicherry NWR, a new unit and not in the New Hampshire bird-finder. The first part of the trail was through very tall and mature conifer woods, where I was able to get Cape May and Bay-breasted Warblers, the only place on the trip for those two species. After the trail broke out of the big woods it followed an abandoned RR roadbed, trackless, for over a mile back to the big pond, a serious lake actually. It took awhile to figure out how to access it, again by railway, but I finally found the viewing platform, flushing a Ruffed Grouse in the process. The entire walk was soaking wet from the rain the day before, parts of the trail were flooded, but judicious quick and high stepping avoided the worst of soaking. Still had to change shoes when I got back to the truck. These were some of the most satisfying and memorable places on the whole trip.

It was only a little way west and then south on the Interstate to Cannon Mountain, with a tramway that wasn't too dear. I got to the top and started finding some birds and birders. One reported hearing the BITH, and the conductor on the tram said another guy had found it that morning. There are some loops around the top, with shortcuts, and trails down the ridge, and I went around the loops twice and tried some of the side paths. Finally on the third loop, I got a thrush type sound out of thick brush. Sorta climbed in between limbs, and found the bird. Still not done. One of the books had warned that Swainson's Thrushes are also found on the mountaintops, so it was vital to make sure the bird had no eye-ring. And it didn't. It was my first lifer in sixteen months. That's a long dry spell. When I was starting birding I once got thirteen lifers in a morning on my first visit to Anahuac NWR on the Texas coast. Even a trip to Alaska won't get those kinds of results, at least not that quickly.

I made a pretty long run on the Interstate to Paradise Point Nature Center on Newfound Lake, which was very productive, the beginning of a more southern kind of habitat for the state, not mountain nor Boreal. From there I made it to another Audubon Center, and then to the Silk Farm headquarters of NH Audubon, another fine place. I was there until around 5 pm, they were closing and I was still getting birds, but needed to settle down for the night. The book had recommended another State Park near the coast, Pawtuckaway, but when I got there the gates were closed. Sort of a quandary, so I just kept moving, headed for the coast. NH doesn't have a lot of coast, but it's birdy if you hit it right. I didn't, came in at Hampton Beach, a big dismal mistake, endless traffic, lights, summer tourist Babylon. So it took awhile to get far enough up the coast to start even finding places to stop and look for gulls and whatnot. Found a Herring Gull, and was fried from trying too hard in a bad situation. I kept driving on into Maine, and crashed in the first Rest Area, hoping not to get roused by a cop. Rest stop type rest, which isn't.

For about two and a half days in NH, I had 96 species seen, including 21 warblers, 6 flycatchers, 8 sparrows, 6 Thrushes and lots of others. But I would still have to come back to get the 100, which seemed like it would be easy on the coast if I did it right.