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.

Arriving Machias Seal

Arriving Machias Seal
Originally uploaded by Jettpakk1

The dory taking some of our folks onto the island. Slippery ramp visible to the left.

Maine, up to Acadia

June 19, 2007

Not very rested, but again I was in a state where my list was six birds. I had seen many more, but had no records since those two trips to Maine, one to Acadia before I started birding, and the other to Penobscot Bay to visit a friend I'd met birding in the Everglades, were way before I had kept daily counts. I've been using Avisys for about five or six years, and it's changed the way I think about sightings. I'm not entirely sure it's all good changes, I don't always like being so conscious of the numbers and statistics and missing lists. Early in birding, and before I'd become acquainted with listing software, all I'd focused on were new species, lifers, so I only had the sketchiest recall of all the rest. Even the concept of lifer was something I'd learned from a Pete Dunne book. I had just been wandering around the countryside to see what I could find. I had no idea of what was rare or not, nor where to look for things I hadn't seen. No List-serves, nor hotlines, no bird-finding books, no companions. And there was something glorious about finding a new bird, a Mountain Chickadee in the Burros outside Silver City, or a Cinnamon Teal at Bosque del Apache, which was an epiphany. Occasionally I'd meet really good and skilled birders, and I'd learn what I could, but I didn't even know the right questions. My first Sora was in Moab and came after a woman told me what it was when I described the call, and said, "just stand still and wait". I'd never seen a rail.

Once more, I had plotted a lot of sites from the "Birder's Guide to Maine" by Pierson, Pierson, and Vickery. Unfortunately, I had only made it halfway up the coast before the trip started, so the northeastern part of the state was less organized. I headed for the closest unit of Rachel Carson NWR, but it was a small outlier, a tidal drainage on the coast, and not that great with the tide out. It must have turned about that time since things started filling back in for the rest of the morning. The next stop was Mount Agamenticus WMA which was quite good. Nobody there, several stops by the roadside on the way to the top, and then hiking around the grassy area where the old abandoned ski slope had been, and down one of the trails into the woods. Lots of the standard woodland breeders, and even a Great-crested Flycatcher. Spent over a hour there, but really wanted to get to the coast.

Two very good sites came next, one was the headquarters area of Carson NWR, which had good woodland trails down to the tidal marsh, and a loop through the woods. I also was able to get some local and up to date info at the headquarters, particularly about Piping Plovers and Least Terns breeding at Lundholm Farm just a couple of miles away. It's a beautiful old farm that is now an Estuarine Research Center. That turned out to be one of the best sites in Maine. It had a good variety of habitat, and trails through it leading by various routes to the beach. The beach was built up but publicly accessible. Found the plovers, but not the terns, though I did come back a week later and find them as well. The woodland birds were a lot different than the ones at Agamenticus, the woods being more coastal and not as tall not dense, I suppose from being closer to the shoreline weather and salt spray and the soil being sandier.

The next stop was Biddeford Pool, which was Okay, but I think would be better in winter, since it's a shielded area right next to the ocean. I did luck into some Wifi while punching in sightings parked on the side of the road. Some unprotected household network, and many thanks to them for a few days accumulation of email. Then off to Scarborough Marsh and another bit of great luck, actually several. First was the walkway across the marsh, where I learned that it was a Sharp-tailed Sparrow place, but I couldn't find them. So I went back to the little non-descript Audubon building, where I found the most wonderful and knowledgeable woman who pointed me to a place where I could find them both, and had a handout on how to tell the difference. Went there, and there they were, one singing clearly, and the other distinguishable by a different behavior, which I confess I can't recall. Might have been brighter coloring also. Anyway, forgive me and if you go that way, just get the handout. Just beyond that place, which was at the end of a restaurant parking lot, was a road leading to a big tidal channel with lots of anchored sailing etc ships and boats. She said that there were Roseate Terns nesting just offshore there, and they liked to fish the channel. Sure enough, both them and Common Terns, the Roseates clearly showing their coloring.

Another site near there was Two Lights State Park, which juts out into the ocean, and has a hillock right over the beach where it's possible to scan for seabirds. I found both Common Loon and several Northern Gannets but couldn't get any Fulmers. I made another run inland to Saco Heath, which was a wetland that required a long walk through some very nice woods, I seem to recall Hemlock, and which yielded a couple of good warblers including Prairie. I went back to Scarborough Marsh and checked into a campground across the road from them, and got a taste of seaside Maine tourist gouge, thirty some dollars for a "campsite" with no table, no water, and no juice nor any lighting. The other section for "real" campers with huge oil guzzling motor-homes had showers and laundry, so at least there was that. Don't ever go there. However, my aggravation was softened by the 67 species I'd added in Maine in one day.

June 20, 2007

I got out of that place as soon as possible in the morning, but decided to check out the marsh just outside its gates. There was an old section of sidewalk, crumbling, and edged by brush that almost touched in the middle. So I thrashed my way back in there, got some good close looks at Willets, which are abundant in that area, and as I walked back there was a Virginia Rail on the sidewalk that just walked along calmly ten feet in front of me for twenty or thirty feet before ambling into the marsh. Closest ever for that one. My other morning goal was the Kennebunk Plains, a grassland with scattered clusters of small trees. Sparrow heaven, with at least six species including Vesper and Grasshopper, and an Upland Sandpiper as well, ol' button eyes.

From there it was about an hour's drive into Portland to check out the Ferry to Nova Scotia. Turned out you could get a day trip ticket, up and back for about a hundred. The down side was that the new ferry was a hydrofoil, and so fast that the birding was compromised. The old ferry, which had taken nearly three times as long, was perfect for watching seabirds. I mulled it over and got the schedule. Just north of Portland is an Audubon Center, Gilsland Farm. The folks there were really helpful, one printed out some detailed birding information for further up the coast, and I resisted the urge to buy books or maps. I birded around the farm, but was only bale to cover about half of it before the rain started. I'm not fanatic about birding in the rain, especially if there are other things to do, and no super zootie to pursue. So I just started driving.

It rained all day, all the way to Acadia National Park. The good part of my failure to get all the Maine birding sites into the mapping software was that I drove blissfully unaware past lots of promising areas, guilt free. I got into the park late in the day, just beat the welcome center closing, got a knowledgeable ranger there also, and was able to get a plan together with some maps. I drove around and did some minor exploring, and then headed down the west side of the big bay that splits the island partly in half, to Seawall Campground, and got there a little before dark. I was able to make reservations for the Machias Seal Island boat out of Jonesport, and contacted the daughter of a friend who worked at Acadia. We planned to meet up the next day. Still drippy and drizzly.

Maine, Acadia to Jonesport and back

June 21, 2007

The next morning was foggy and drippy, but eventually cleared off. I started by poking down some trails out of the campground toward a bog to the west, and around a camping circle that wasn't in use. This was still too early for the peak of the season, and the national parks had been losing attendance, though I don't know if that's true of Acadia specifically. (I read later, '08, that there has been a trend nationwide to decreased outdoor recreation) Back out on the highway it was just a short way to the Wonderland Trail, and beyond that to Ship Harbor. Got a Purple Finch singing on a snag right there, a song that I don't know well, so several times on the trip I had heard it and had to scout down the bird. Mostly it turned out to be a good warbler day, adding seven expected northern breeders. From there I took an alternate route back to Bar Harbor, making some stops along the way wherever it looked interesting.

From Bar Harbor I got on the park roads, a separate system from the regular island roads, and headed for the trails branching off from the Native Plant Garden at Sieur de Monts Spring. There's a nature center there as well. That was a very good place, a low elevation wet woodland, probably a bog that had filled in. Found Wood Duck, Veery, and Least Flycatcher. Also found the friend's daughter, Shoshona, at the garden where it turned out she was working on an internship. We were surprised to find each other, I was surprised I recognized her.

Went down the Eastern coastal park road to a parking area below the cliffs of Cadillac Mountain. There were two rangers there with a spotting scope, hoping to find a nesting Peregrine Falcon, without luck. They were speculating that the stormy weather had something to do with that. I hung out there for awhile, and did find an Indigo Bunting across the road. The ranger was able o direct me to a Blackburnian Warbler further around the loop. By then I'd found 102 species, but the birding had slowed down a lot. So back through tourist world and up the coast to Jonesport, where I found some Wifi in the library, and a good sub at a little market. There was a private campground on a spit overlooking the harbor, a funny mix of improvements and primitive, but only $12, and equipped with gulls.

June 22, 2007

A good heavy breakfast in the local fisherman's place, not cheap, but ballast for the Dramamine. My technique now is to take one at bedtime and another in the morning, and another at noon if it's an all day trip. This wasn't. Folks started gathering in the parking lot at the dock, shy greetings, binocs a give-away. The boat pulled into it's slot about a quarter to six, and we were off by shortly after six. The day was gray with thick clouds, but not much fog. The photographer's knew the colors would be good. Trip out was a little over an hour, with gulls at first and later Common Loons, Common Eiders, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Cory's Shearwater, Gannets, and as the target island was discernible, strange shapes that the Captain Norton teased us to identify. I finally got a clear enough glance to figure the hatchet look of a Razorbill, but within minutes it all became obvious. Probably one to two thousand each of Atlantic Puffins and Razorbills filled the air and water, and semi covered the rocks. The island is a friendly bone of contention between the US and Canada, so the Canadians occupy it, but the navigation electronics are American. I hope I got that right.

The boat unloaded into a dory with an outboard and we got ferried to the slickest algae covered ramp of your nightmares, awash and sloshing, but with a railing, and finally not that bad. There was a small flock of Arctic Terns visible when we landed, but they weren't seen again. The group, maybe twelve or so, was split between two blinds where we were to stay for an hour. They stunk of guano, and rattled with the birds on the roof, and whirred and clicked with the cameras inside. For once I had my camera and tried my luck, which yielded a few good images. About two thirds of the hour was up when someone came to tell us to return to the boat. It was sprinkling already, and thunderheads were building over the mainland. Not long after we got started back it got to raining hard, with lightening. The chop got noticeably taller but not scary. An hours ride back, everybody crowded in the cabin or under the overhang, wet chilly spray and the grins, including mine, from seeing new life birds. This had been one of the focal motivations for the whole trip, and was really satisfying. Lifers now are not only hard to come by, but also often distant or brief views, while these were up-close, a few feet, and extended.

It was late morning when we got back, rain pouring over the vehicles, and eight or nine hours til dark. I found a House Finch through the windshield. I simply hoped for the best and headed for Moosehorn NWR. It rained mostly the whole way, but I did have a good talk with a naturalist there, and got some advice on trails and ponds which I hope will be useful some day. An interesting thing he told me was that only after twenty plus years of outdoor life in that area had he seen a Spruce Grouse. That was some perspective, and made me feel a little less of a failure for the several times I'd been in the right place, but not at the right time.

I drove around a little, tried a platform by the highway scanning wetlands, but was generally disappointed. I headed back for Bar Harbor, and the rain did finally stop. Dinner with Showy and her friend Tess, me talking about birding, them about college and career plans, and then early bedtime sleeping in the truck parked in their back-yard. I'd been up about eighteen hours and had driven about three hundred miles plus a Pelagic trip. Slept soundly for sure.

Atlantic Puffin 2

Atlantic Puffin 2
Originally uploaded by Jettpakk1

Another image from the blind on Machias Seal Island

Razorbills

Razorbills
Originally uploaded by Jettpakk1

This is my favorite image from the trip. I call it "Birds watching"

Maine, south and New Hampshire mop-up.

June 23, 2007

Got a quick pastry and coffee breakfast at the bakery where Showy worked, picked up some Wifi in the city park, and then headed sort of north to the mainland and then west. The first major stop was the Sidney Grasslands, which were Okay, but a lot of haying was going on with truck and machinery action, so the hoped for raptors were somewhere else. I did find an Eastern Kingbird, but that was the only new tic there. Bobolinks are nice anywhere, and now that I've spent time in country where the summer meadows are filled with their song, I feel cheated back home with just Eastern Meadowlarks. Not too far west of there Highway 11 crosses Belgrade Stream where I found Black Terns from the colony on the lake that feeds the stream. South west from there with some random stops and I got to Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary near Lewiston. It's a big enough place to get lost, and I did, so I spent a couple of hours on many trails through mostly hilly woodlands and some meadows. Very nice place, and probably even better during migration when the birds aren't dispersed on territories. Eventually I found a sign with a map, and figured how to get back to where I'd parked. Another twenty minute hike.

More wandering around and I got to Brownfield Bog. Put this on the don't miss list. The road in was poor, always a good sign, and eventually you come to a decrepit little shack and a parking area. I guess it's possible to drive further, but the birding on foot was great. It's one of those places where you keep wondering what's down there, or over there, and just keep walking. I even met some other birders, not experts, but we enjoyed watching a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker pair on their cavity nest. Other good birds were Yellow-throated Vireo, Wilson's Snipe, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Lincoln's Sparrow, and the only Black-billed Cuckoo of the trip. There were lots of Baltimore Orioles as well, the only ones in Maine. I spent about three hours there, and it was cooling off and getting on toward evening. The map showed some campgrounds in White Mountain National Forest a little ways north, so I headed there, making a stop at this attractive general store in Center Lovell. I just beat closing, and was able to get a good sandwich and some snacks. At the forest the campgrounds had a lot of folks, it was Saturday, and I chose to head back to a trail parking lot to sleep and listen for owls.

That was basically the end of Maine. I'd started with 6 species and ended with 121, having seen all the previous birds as well. 115 tics in five plus days.

June 24, 2007

I don't have very good notes for this day, probably because I was too tired to write much at the end. What I did was go west into New Hampshire where I still needed to find a few more species. Went basically south along the eastern edge of the state, and at one point jogged back into Maine to go to Lundholm Farm again to find the Least Terns, which were there after a long walk up the beach. And a lucky freebie was a Wild Turkey scratching in a flower bed of a yard along the entrance road. (these included in count above) Then back into NH keeping to the coast side of Portsmouth and checking out some sites I had noted in the mapping software. It worked really well. I found Blue Jay and Bluebird driving south, a couple of gulls at the shore, Bobolinks and some ducks and herons here and there. In all added twelve more species to make a healthy 108.

On into Massachusetts, and Parker River NWR, sometimes called Plum Island, more a spit than an island. It's a place I've gone repeatedly and found several lifers including a Reeve, ie a female Ruff, without a clue it was there. Just saw a red legged shorebird that caught my eye, and figured it out. The Mass list had a healthy start at 91, so I didn't feel too pressed. By the end of the day I was at 97, which shows how little birding got done. The problem was Boston, or at least the signs on the Highways of Boston. I missed a critical turn off the outer beltway, the GPS locked up which happens about once a week, and by the time I'd tried to make up for the mistake without knowing where I was, I'd taken a road into the heart of town that stopped being four lane after awhile. Then I was driving as I type, hunt and peck, very bird-like. At least it was Sunday, but still downtown local traffic, un-gridded streets, road repairs and a total urban experience. Probably lost about an hour getting back on the Thruway toward Cape Cod. I'd stayed at Miles Standish State Forest before, and it was till the best choice in the area. They have a most obtuse check-in procedure requiring driving to the far end on terrible roads to fill out long forms in an office, and then you might get lucky with a decent campsite. Or not. Mine was marginal, but at least near the showers. And it had got hot enough to be draining so my personal tank was about empty.

Vermont mop-up, Western Mass, and into Connecticut

June 27, 2007

Since I was at the south end rather than the Boreal end of Vermont, just a short drive north, the birds were enough different to make five more species easy, like Eastern Kingbird and Indigo Bunting, Field Sparrow and House Wren. I wanted to explore some as long as I was there, so started checking out some of the Connecticut River Birding Trail map sites, and whatever I could get out of the book which hadn't been studied for this quadrant. One place that interested me was Jamaica State Park, northwest of Putney. But I never got there, since I found Townsend State Park. I had pulled into a lot near the Visitor's Center, a nice old CCC building. I was messing around in the truck when the lady who ran the place, maybe she was bored, came down and asked what's up. I told her my tale of a hundred species etc, and mentioned looking for a motel to get a shower etc, and she says, "Why don't you use the shower here?" I did, and insisted she collect a day use fee too, which she had been willing to ignore. Being clean made everything much better.

I wandered back east to the river, Herrick's Cove, which looked like a great migration place, but wasn't too active at mid=day in almost mid summer. From there I was back into Bellow's Falls where I'd started the loop, found more maps, found Wifi, and found a gear store. I love gear stores, always end up with some little gadget to play with. Best of all, after a couple of hours walking around Herrick's, which has a lot of habitat variety along with the backwater ponds and wetlands from the river, I found a cheap (and good) Chinese restaurant for lunch. What a treat. The day had gone from wallowing in a bad sleep head to well fed, well washed, and a dose of consuming. Birds too.

I headed back south on the Interstate and then west at Greenfield, Mass. The idea was to go to Mount Graylock, highest point in the state, and try for some Boreals. It was slow driving, and hot too, but clouds were building and some spits of rain had started as I got on the Graylock road. That didn't last long, the road that is. Just barely out of North Adams, and it was closed for repairs. Turned back, found a state Park north of town, Clarksburg SP, and got into the office just as a big thunderstorm let loose. It broke the heat and the nurse who was tending the office turned out to be very good conversation. We ended up on dying parents, a topic fresh for both and still worth of airing. Another unexpected blessing in a day filled with them. I camped there and it rained and thundered well into the night.

June 28, 2007

The storm broke the heat, but it was a drippy morning in the dark spruce woods around the campsite. Went the few miles into town for breakfast, and put some clothes in the laundromat, then returned to the park. There was a lake in the park, so I headed down there, a little more open, but still not very good. My records show mostly new warblers, Boreals, and sparrows, plus a Rose-breasted. Sort of makes sense, it was the highest and northernmost ground even without getting up Graylock. The state park seemed to have a bad resident goose problem, and there were barriers that must have suppressed other waterfowl as well. Back to town for dryer and folding, and then headed south down the western edge of Massachusetts.

I stopped at two Mass Audubon sanctuaries, Pleasant Valley and Bart's Cobble. Both were excellent places. Pleasant Valley had a lot of water, small creeks and ponds and pools, while Bart's Cobble was more flatland and meadows, and a woodland on some steep ground above a small river. Got a Spotted Sandpiper there, first of the trip I believe. At the Cobble I had left the truck in the parking lot, and when I got back one of the staff came out and said they'd noticed my collection of stickers and decals, and thought I should have one for the Mass Audubon land preservation organization. Nice addition to the collection. It actually ended up being a pretty successful day, adding 19 species, for a total of 122 when I left Mass and headed into the northwest corner of Connecticut. That was 31 for the state for the trip.

Connecticut

June 28, 2007

When I got into CT I had 33, so there was a ways to go. My first try was on Mount Riga, the highest place in the state. I was following the "Connecticut Birding Guide" by Devine and Smith. It was a neat place, wooded all the way to the top, the road following a creek drainage. The land at the top was a private commercial forest, but it showed signs of good management, no big ugly clearcuts along the road. The road was pretty dicey by then, very narrow and uneven, hard to find pull-offs or turn-arounds. The birding was good considering it was early afternoon, and I was still able to find some good woodland types, but nothing particularly Boreal. In CT they'll have to be migrants. Next major stop was the Sharon Audubon Center, very good place but very bad timing, just before 5pm. Did manage to raid their bookstore and pick a couple of brains. Very helpful folks, and it was clear that I had to come back the next morning. Made a run into town for some pizza, watching the weather build up before heading about twenty miles south to camp.

I planned to stay at Macedonia State Park. The park is rustic, thankfully, and had few campers. It took awhile to find the hand powered well pump in another section of the campground. And I managed to find more rain there, but in between showers I worked along the road and around the campground. It was a great day, with 42 new species in about eight hours. Macedonia also put me in good position for River Road in Kent the next morning and it wasn't too far from Sharon for the reprise there. No owls in the night, maybe too wet.

June 29, 2007

I wandered around the park briefly in the morning, picking up five species including a first year immature Blackpoll Warbler, distinctly yellowish, known to birders as buffy. It was a quick drive to the River Road, and I started by making random stops as I drove northeast, upriver. Started getting predictable swallows and woodpeckers. About a mile up the road it splits and most traffic goes up a hill to the left, and a small lane continues along the river. There are signs about no vehicular traffic, but apparently some locals drive the road. It is mostly easy quiet walking with the river on one side and a brushy wooded hillside on the other. Two nuthatches, Worm-eating and Cerulean Warbler, Rose-breasted, and Wood Thrush were highlights. Dipped on the Hooded W though. I spent a couple of hours there, and it deserved more, certainly a day in migration.

Then retraced my route back to the Sharon Audubon Center. This time it was morning, and I got way back in there on their confusing and haphazardly signed trails. Even the map was just barely helpful, but it was a good way to create a sense of adventure in a place that's basically a bedroom suburb of New York. It was good for eight more species including Winter Wren, Least Flycatcher, and Purple Finch. There was a lake at the farthest reach of the trail system with a thick growth of rushes and reeds, Wood Ducks, and just a neat feel, as the whole site is on a glacial moraine, with rough bouldered ground mostly, but an occasional meadow, probably old pond sites.

From there it was back eastward to make a traverse of the state and check out some book sites sticking close to the northern boundary. The best spot was the backside of the Hartford airport, but it's not called that. It's a tricky place to bird though since parking is limited and the road patrolled. But good sparrows in the grassy road edges and Upland Sandpipers inside the airfield fence. Also a random Mockingbird. From there I had the good fortune of getting disoriented in afternoon rush hour traffic, even the GPS wasn't really helpful since I couldn't tell when an exit would shoot me unwillingly in the direction opposite my intentions. I did eventually get out of there going southeast toward the coast, but stopped short at Devil's Hopyard State Park. Lots of very attractive and unusual habitat there, the campground really primitive (water was out cause the hand pumped well had tested bad) and packed. I learned later never again to camp next to a swelling overnight population of drunken college students. Murder was contemplated from under the pillow wrapping my head. Still I was up at the crack of dawn to check out some trails in the park. Still couldn't scare up a Hooded.

June 30, 2007

I headed for the Ocean, following the east side of the Connecticut River. At its mouth was a decent viewing platform overlooking Great Island, a tidal island. Good for Ospreys and Willets and such-like, some herons and Marsh Wrens. Now traveling back east, and finally toward home, I made several stops at sites described in the book. One park, Rocky Neck, had a no-fee trail in from the highway, and it was quite good, netting a Green Heron, and some others. I stopped in at McKinney NWR, but didn't stay long, and don't remember exactly why. Another state park, Hammonasset, was ten dollars admission and packed with weekend beach-goers, and the entrance folk wouldn't let me go just to the nature center, which the book had praised. At that point I started making time headed for my brother's place in Philly, but had the great luck to try Milford Point Audubon Center. What a score. Piping Plovers nesting, YC Night-Herons, Some ducks, Glossy Ibis, Oysterctchers, and one of the best birds of the trip, Monk Parakeets, which I was able to see in their colony tree nearby.

I made a run from there, but will go back, maybe try for fall migration, and also will get to Gulf Pond on the east side of Milford, which a couple of birders I met recommended. Dismal Saturday evening traffic into New York, and I was stupid enough (it seemed like a good idea at the time) to make a stop at Jamaica Bay Refuge, a favorite place, but this time it only netted a good conversation with a Scotsman and a Fish Crow. More traffic over the Verrazanno, the NJ turnpike south with fireworks several times in the distance. I got to my brother's about ten that night. That made about eighteen hours of drive, bird, drive-bird, drivebird, durb, duh, on not much sleep.

Trip Finale, random homeward birding in Delaware, Maryland etc

July 1, 2007

The next morning my Brother Mike was off to work as the sacristan of the local parish church, and I headed down to Elk Neck in Maryland to get over the hundred species mark. Susquehanna NWR. It was an aggravating trip, I made wrong turns and too much traffic, tried a couple of very unproductive places, but nevertheless succeeded. Among others, Eastern Kingbird, Indigo Bunting, and Orchard Oriole. I was back by mid-afternoon for a big nap, much needed after the effort of the day before. Then we went to visit my mom's grave, and got hoagie shop food, and walked around the old downtown of Media, PA, everybody's hometown.

July 2, 2007

Since he gets up so much earlier than I do, I had to stop by church to say goodbye to my bro. Then I headed down past Wilmington, DE to Bombay Hook and Prime Hook NWRs. Bombay I've been to several times, once took my mom and Mike along. She loved it, Mike was indifferent, but it was a good trip. It's a place which gets birded a lot, and it has a fair number of rarity reports each year. It's where I got my Lesser Black-backed Gull, but I would have never picked that one out without help from another birder. On this trip I picked up the new Duck Stamp, hot off the presses. Prime Hook I hadn't visited as much, and I really liked it. Think I got into an area I hadn't been before, more developed for visitors, and better habitat variety. I got some nice new birds there, including Blue Grosbeak, House Wren and Field Sparrow. Total of eight new tics for the day, which put me just short of one third for Delaware.

Next stop was Assateague Island NWR/National Seashore. The duck stamp got me in, but I would have had to pay to camp. Moot point, they were full, 4th of July weekend and all. The birding was real good there, I found several back bay places with good viewing, and lots of people. I'd like to go back some obscure time of year, but there aren't many when it's located sitting among 300 miles of cities. Anyway it was more icing on the MD goal, and I ended at 114, so a third is now within reach. Back out to Route 1, and a long way around into Virginia and Chincoteague NWR. It was late in the day, almost sundown, but I drove the loop, and then checked behind the beaches on the mud flats and found some shorebirds goofing around. Good shorebirds, Hudsonian Godwit, and Stilt and Solitary Sandpipers. Also found the Least Terns nesting there. I had added those in quite a few states on this trip. Turns out that Virginia, which I hadn't given much thought to, got 21 species added, and is also close to a third birded.

It was pretty much dark when I got back to the main highway, got some C-store fried chicken, and drove to the base of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. There's a rest area there, not fancy with fast food and brightly lit restrooms, but really big and fairly dark and quiet even with trucks parking. I could pick up Wifi from a motel on the other side of the road, so all was good and I got a pretty decent night's sleep. I've stayed there at least three times over the years. It's also conveniently located just down the road from Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR, which I headed for the next morning.

July 3, 2007

But I was too early and the gate was closed, and then the "Check Engine" light came on, and when I opened the hood, the radiator reservoir was empty. My intermittent engine troubles had never gone away, and I sorta panicked and just headed on home. Over the Bridge, through Norfolk, then easing south and west into Tennessee toward Memphis. Slept in a rest area on the far side of Nashville, stopped for coffee and Internet in Memphis, and then drove home, making one brief stop at some fish farms along the way.

New England Trip Summary

I left NW Arkansas on June 3 and arrived home on July 4, 2007. Added 664 ticks to my ABA area total, and saw 215 different species, so obviously many species were ticked several times in different states. Compare that to 222 species seen in Kansas, and adjacents, in one week about a month earlier. I added three lifers, two at Machias Seal Island, and Bicknell's Thrush in New Hampshire. I don't know how many miles, but the routing was pretty compact except for having to go back into Vermont. I never stayed in a motel, and managed free nights about a third of the time. Nutrition wasn't great, but in New England you can get great fresh sandwiches loaded with veggies in many gas stations, so the spell of McDonald's was broken while there. Total cost was somewhere between 2 and 3 thousand bucks, mostly for gasoline, my drug of choice.