A Brit abroad

Kitefest!

On a visit to the botanical garden I considered myself lucky to have spotted a single Mississippi Kite perched relatively close on a dead snag by the river.

However, when news broke of mixed flocks of Mississippi and Swallow-tailed Kites to the south of Athens, I was keen to witness the spectacle. Joel, a local birder, kindly offered to take me out to see them on my last day, and on arriving at Bostwick Sod Farm the first bird we saw was my lifer Swallow-tailed Kite! After driving round the block a couple of times, we were able to get amazing overhead views of the bird performing its aerial acrobatics.

The bird was hanging out with about 15 Mississippi Kites, and the two were frequently engaged in aerial tussles. Note the much larger size of the Swallow-tailed.

We drove on to Fairplay Road, and found a flock of 4 more Swallow-tailed Kites and a lone Mississippi.

There seems to have been a substantial post-breeding movement of these species, and Joel was lucky enough to run into a flock of 65 Swallow-tails at the coast the previous weekend - check out his amazing photos here.

We stopped at a nearby pond to check for shorebirds, and managed the 'small peep sweep' of Least, Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers, along with single Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers. Here's the Western in company of a Least Sandpiper and Killdeer.

The Semi-P was a little more camera-shy, hanging at the back of the pond with the Solitary and Leasts.

On the drive back we were treated to great roadside views of a Loggerhead Shrike family. Here's one of the juvs.

A flyover Osprey on the drive to Atlanta airport was the last quality bird of the trip. As usual, I had a fantastic trip to the States, in no small part due to the fellow birders who shared their time and expertise. Now it's back to the grindstone in Cambridge!

Georgia Botanical Garden birding

Over the course of the week, I managed two visits to the state botanical garden just south of Athens. I spent most of my time on the White and Orange Trails, which run alongside the Middle Oconee River. The water levels are really low right now, and the exposed mudflats have been attracting some interesting wading birds, such as this young White Ibis and a Snowy Egret.

An immature Little Blue Heron was also present, often allowing side-by-side comparison with the Snowy - note the blue bill and greenish legs.

Two different Solitary Sandpipers were present, one adult in almost full breeding plumage, and a second, much duller individual.

As usual, Belted Kingfishers did not allow close approach.

I was able to get great looks at both Louisiana and Northern Waterthrush on the same day. Lousiana Waterthrush shows an unstreaked throat and a bold white supercilium which becomes broadest behind the eye. Occasionally Louisiana wags its tail from side to side, unlike Northern which has a much stricter up-and-down motion.

I grabbed this photo of a Northern Waterthrush as it came down to the river to bathe.

It was part of a loose flock of Cardinals and Titmice which also held a single Summer Tanager and a gorgeous Worm-eating Warbler.

Other warblers were encountered individually at various points along the trail, and included Hooded, Canada, Kentucky and Northern Parula. All were tricky to see, let alone photograph, in the dense vegetation.

I recorded three flycatcher species (Great Crested, Acadian and Eastern Wood-Pewee). The 'small empid' I thought I was stalking actually turned out to be a White-eyed Vireo.

A tiny green lizard...

... dwarfed by an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

Five Points birding

The third and final leg of my US trip took me to Athens, Georgia. I was based in the wooded neighbourhood of Five Points, and was thrilled when a walk around the block yielded a Brown-headed Nuthatch, my first since 2002!

The standard eastern stuff was present in the backyard - seemingly endless Cardinals, Carolina Wrens and Blue Jays, plus an inquisitive young Eastern Phoebe.

The road runs close to the Middle Oconee River, over which was hunting a flock of about 50 Chimney Swifts. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird was working the riverside vegetation.

Many dragonflies were patrolling the riverfront. Among those I was able to (tentatively) identify were Blue-fronted Dancer,

Common Whitetail

and Slaty Skimmer.

On the walk to nearby Memorial Park I added Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Tufted Titmouse and Eastern Towhee.

The park has a miniature menagerie, and I was finally able to see a Barred Owl... behind bars. Note the evil red eyes.

I had several unsuccessful attempts to see this species over the course of this trip, and have now dipped it in at least 5 US states - definitely my no. 1 bogey bird!

The lake held a single Great Blue Heron, here in the process of swallowing a sizeable fish.

Eastern Chipmunks were abundant.

I ran into what this attractive butterfly, which I first identified as a Spicebush Swallowtail on the Birchmore Trail. In fact, it is a Red-spotted Purple, a swallowtail mimic - thanks Joel.

Dead hawkmoth found at the roadside - thoughts on the ID welcome!

A day in San Francisco

After the Bodega pelagic I packed my bags for wonderful San Francisco, where I had the luxury of a whole day to myself. In the morning I wandered over to Crissy Field, where the mudflat held a small selection of gulls and shorebirds. I guess the birds become somewhat accustomed to people, and I was able to get very close to this Long-billed Curlew.

Several Brown Pelicans soared over heading out towards the Golden Gate.

An urban Peregrine also drifted overhead.

I then took a bus through the Presidio out to Golden Gate Park, seeing most of the typical resident species such as Chestnut-backed Chickadee...

American Robin...

Brown Creeper...

... and some particularly confiding Pygmy Nuthatches. The second bird was part of a group of bathing in the leaves of a freshly-watered tree.

August is not a great time for waterfowl diversity, and the lakes mostly held manky Mallards with a couple of Pied-billed Grebes on the reeded ponds.

Ocean Beach is always worth a look, and my visit happily coincided with a resting flock of about 200 Elegant Terns.

There was also ample opportunity for close-up study of Heerman's Gulls.

Behind the gull flock, Seal Rock was teeming with Brandt's Cormorants and Brown Pelicans.

The walk up to Cliff House offers fantastic views down Ocean Beach...

... and the rocks below held a Wandering Tattler, still in breeding plumage.

The Sutro Baths held a flock of Black Turnstones...

... and a tame flock of Red-winged Blackbirds.

A bus and vertiginous tram ride later, and I headed over to the tourist central of Fisherman's Wharf. Star attraction here is the California Sealion haulout - it's always fun to watch them sparring for space.

Among the avian attractions were several Western Gulls and a Double-crested Cormorant.

I finished up a delightful day with a visit to the Frida Kahlo exhibition at the MOMA, washed down with Pomegranate margaritas and a delicious Mexican meal in the Marina.

My excuse for this part of the visit was to be best man at birding buddy Marcel's wedding. The 'stag night' was rather unconventional - a Donna Summer concert at an open air theatre in a winery in the hills overlooking San Jose!

Here's wishing Marcel and his beautiful bride, Elham, a long and bird-filled life together!

Rough seas at the Cordell Bank

A hardy group of Central Valley birders and I toughed out rough seas on the Shearwater Journeys pelagic out of Bodega Bay. I felt particularly bad for the folks I had badgered into coming along who got seasick, but at least they all got life birds! After a foggy and stomach churning ride out, our first good birds were a pair of Xantus' Murrelets close in to the boat - I was still finding my sea legs at this point so no photos! Soon after the first of many Black-footed Albatross started coming in to the chum. The first photo gives a good impression of the sea conditions!

Takeoff...

... and landing

Surprisingly (to me), Pink-footed Shearwaters outnumbered Sooties, which were few and far between.

In a calmer patch of water, Pacific White-sided Dolphins raised the spirits by bow-riding for several minutes.

We saw quite a few Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, only the second time I've encountered them, though I only managed a 'record shot' of an Ashy.

A real highlight of the trip for me was good looks at all 3 species of Jaeger, often lingering around the boat. The Pomarine Jaegers were in various states of moult, though a few were still sporting full spoonage.

Lots of Long-tailed Jaegers were also seen, sometimes in small flocks of 3 or 4 birds.

As they often do, a South Polar Skua stole the show, flying directly over the boat before harrying the gulls in the chum flock.

The ride back in was pretty choppy, so we were all very pleased to see Bodega Head in bright sunshine.

Sometimes the harbour itself holds some good birds. This trip allowed us to compare first-summer Pacific (first photo) and Common Loons.

A photogenic Brown Pelican at the dock.

Bodega Bay is one of the most reliable spots I know for Ruddy Turnstone.

We acclimatised to being back on land with fish and chips and a glass of wine at the Sandpiper Inn, while Chris made us all jealous with tales from his trip to Alaska. In spite of the tough sea conditions, I had a great day - pelagic birding is certainly one of my favourite activities!

Shorebirds in flight

Now I have a camera with which it's possible to photograph birds in flight, I was able to take full advantage of the commotion caused by a Northern Harrier repeatedly putting up the shorebirds at Woodland Wastewater ponds.

American Avocets

Western and Least Sandpipers

Long-billed Dowitchers

Black-necked Stilts

Red-necked Phalaropes

Avocet and Least Sandpiper

The shorebirds commuting between the flooded alfalfa fields were also very photogenic. Long-billed Curlews

White-faced Ibis

Davis birdfest 2008

Following Milwaukee, I returned to my former hometown of Davis, CA for a few days. On the Saturday I arrived, Joan and I went scouting for shorebird habitat , and found very little in the usually reliable spots of the Yolo Wildlife area (not enough water) and City of Davis Wetlands (too much water). In desperation we headed over to the Bridgeway Island pond and found not a peep (boom boom), but a fine Belted kingfisher.

Davis North Pond had low water levels, but still held Black-necked Stilts, Greater Yellowlegs and Long-billed Dowitcher.

A scan of the flooded alfalfa fields west of Davis revealed a few White-faced Ibis and Long-billed Curlew, and several Swainson's Hawks, including this banded juvenile.

The next morning a group of birding buddies joined me for an outing. Among them was an enthusiastic young birder named Toby, who had picked up most of the resident species around town but still needed many of the migrants. We started out at Willowbank Ditch for passerine migrants. At first sight it seemed pretty dead, but we soon saw a couple of Black-headed Grosbeaks in the elderberries, and got Wilson's Warbler, Warbling Vireo, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher and Pacific-Slope Flycatcher as life birds for Toby. To the south of Davis we found an alfalfa field teeming with ibis and curlew, often showing close to the road.

Among them we were able to pick out some distant Black-bellied Plovers, a Whimbrel...

... and a Marbled Godwit.

A male Blue Grosbeak treated us all to prolonged scope views.

Checking the roadside wires en route to the Davis Wastewater ponds, we saw several (migrant?) Western Kingbirds...

... a smart male American Kestrel

... and large mixed flocks of Tree and Cliff Swallow, including a few Bank.

The wastewater ponds themselves had an excellent mix of shorebirds, the best of which was a group of 5 Willets with the curlew flock.

Following an excellent Mexican lunch, a few of us carried on to West Pond to look for a Green-tailed Towhee found by Gene and Jo Ellen - no luck with this, but the hummingbird garden they had planted was attracting many Rufous Hummingbirds.

A brief stop at Betty Berteaux's house produced a teneral Common Green Darner.

I took an evening cycle ride to Putah Creek via the arboretum, running into a Nuttall's Woodpcker with a huge tick on its eye.

It was encouraging to see some healthy-looking flocks of Yellow-billed Magpies in farmland along the creek.

I spent a tranquil half hour at my favourite 'birdbath' at Pedrick Road, where one Yellow and 3 Wilson's Warblers came in to drink.

A morning visit to Woodland Wastewaster Ponds produced my first juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher of the fall.

Here it is behind a moulting adult Long-billed Dowitcher.

This male Northern Harrier was doing a great job of scaring up all the shorebirds (see next blog post).

In the evening I enjoyed a delicious meal of garden-reared veggies cooked in a solar cooker, prepared by some fellow birders and bloggers. The raptors out to the south of Davis are always a treat to watch, and I enjoyed great views of young Swainson's...

... and Red-tailed Hawks.

A White-tailed Kite was also sat on his regular dead tree.

Sunset over the coast range.

Wisconsin Dragonflying

Birding Wisconsin in early August can be hard work, but in contrast dragonflies are abundant and easy to observe around freshwater bodies. Here is a selection of the species I picked up during my short stay in the Milwaukee area. I don't have a US dragonfly guide, so all IDs were deduced from websites - please let me know if I made any mistakes!

Halloween Pennant

Eastern Pondhawk

Eastern Amberwing

White-faced Meadowhawk

Male Widow Skimmer...

... and a female. At first I thought this was a Black Saddlebags, but this species only has black on the hindwings.

Prince Baskettail

And finally a tiny (c. 1 inch) damselfly I couldn't identify.

Milwaukee birding

I spent a a fun week in the Milwaukee area while attending the annual Ecological Society of America meeting. The first couple of days of this were spent on the farmhouse owned by the parents of my former Davis roommate Sara. Being close to the Horicon Marsh, we saw several Sandhill Cranes, and White Pelicans frequently circled the house.

The bird feeders were frequented by Chipping Sparrows and dazzling Indigo Buntings.

The property had a well-stocked fish pond, and I got to try my hand at line fishing, catching a few bluegill but no bass. I also got to drive this 6-wheel drive ATV - yee-haw!

A walk around the pond added Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird and some very curious Common Yellowthroats to the list.

Among the other wildlife seen here were a few Monarchs...

... and a distant group of White-tailed Deer.

I also had the great pleasure of birding with Nick Barber, who I met at last year's ESA meeting in San Jose.

Following some advice from one of the reserve staff, we headed to the Wehr Nature Center to search for Barred Owls, one of the easier eastern birds I haven't managed to catch up with yet. We didn't find one, but a singing Field Sparrow (only my second ever) made up for this. I had no idea they sounded so similar to Black-chinned Sparrow.

The restored prairie here was ablaze with colourful wildflowers, to the extent that the neon-yellow American Goldfinches were somewhat hard to pick out among them!

To make up for dipping Barred Owl, we got to hold Tufts, an Eastern Screech Owl who had lost sight in one eye after being hit by a car, and now serves as an educational bird for the visitor centre.

As well as taking an hour out of his schedule to show us around, the warden also gave us each a bottle of maple syrup made from maples on the reserve. I'm always amazed by the generosity that American birders I have never met before have shown me on my visits.

Before heading back to the conference we managed a short spell of shorebirding at the Milwaukee Coast Guard Impoundment on the shore of Lake Michigan. A nice mix of species was present, including Least, Semipalmated, Pectoral and Spotted Sandpipers, the latter species still in full breeding plumage.

A California birder in Cambridge

Just before I headed off to the US for my annual summer trip, I had the great pleasure of showing California birder Leigh around Cambridge on her first day in England. In true English summer style she experienced everything from torrential rain...

... to drying out with a Pimms in a pub garden.

As expected, town birding in early August was pretty slow, but we enjoyed watching House Martins in their nests in the entrance to Kings College, and had some luck around Newnham with an obliging Spotted Flycatcher that sat out in the open drying off after the rain (why didn't I take my big camera?), Common Treecreeper and prolonged views of a soaring Sparrowhawk being mobbed by 2 Common Terns. By the end of the afternoon she'd picked up 24 life birds, and I really needed to get packing for my trip. You can read about Leigh's British birding adventures over the coming month on her blog.