San Diego Birding

Here are some of the digiscoping and birding highlights from my last San Diego trip. The San Diego area has some of the most diverse habitat and thus, ample birding opportunities. One of the more common birds in the area is the Western Bluebird, pictured above. I never tire of watching or photographing this species when the chance presents itself.

With the help of some friends, I was able to track down a number of missing species from my bird life list, including the Mountain Plover (above) that we found foraging in agricultural fields near the Salton Sea. Another target bird that we tracked down in the same area is the eye-popping Grey Flycatcher (pictured below). This is a bird that is drab even by Empidonax standards.

The bird pictured above is a California Gnatcatcher. Federally endangered, this species is most easily distinguishable from the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher by the almost entirely black underside of its tail.

California Gnatcatcher, perched on barb wire.

I've got some serious catching up to do here at 600 Birds. Since my last post I've been to Corpus Christi for the American Birding Association convention and shortly after that, I flew to Homer, Alaska for the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. After those two trips, I now find myself sitting at 597 birds. Looking ahead to my travels in the fall, I'm wondering where I'm going to find those next 3 birds.

In the meantime, summer is here and I'll be tending to our gardens and hanging out with my kids, who all of a sudden have a lot more free time on their hands. That won't stop me from daydreaming about that Black-billed Cuckoo that I still need to cross paths with.

Eagle Optics at the Great Texas Birding Classic

On Sunday, I participated in the Great Texas Birding Classic's Bit Sit competition. If you are wondering what exactly is a "big sit", I recommend you check out this YouTube video by Bill Thompson and Eagle Optics.

Our Big Sit site was at the South Padre Island Convention Center. It was a windy day with few migrants but we had a fantastic time, spoke with lots of birders, and saw quite a few birds in the process.

Team member Michael O'Brien scouts for shorebirds from a ladder perched against our modest shelter for the day. Michael literally wrote the book on shorebirds, so if anyone was up to the task it was him. Fellow shorebird author Richard Crossley also joined us for a bit, so I felt we were in exceptionally good hands.

Here is an overview of our site. We had excellent views of multiple habitats from this spot. The ladder, contributed by Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival President Danny Hoehne, allowed us to get some long views that added significant numbers of species to our list for the day.

Here's a team photo (left to right): me, Terry Fuller, Marci Fuller, Susan Hoehne, Danny Hoehne, Micheal O'Brien, and Louise Zemaitis. Louise is another amazing birder and bird artist. I feel so grateful to have been part of such a collective wealth of talent on this team.

We ended the day with a respectable 98 species on our list. Very well considering the windy conditions which blew most all the smaller migrants right past the island on their way north.

This Blackpoll Warbler was one of 4 warblers we had on Sunday.

The boardwalk at the convention center allowed excellent close-up looks at rails, waders, and shorebirds, including this Short-billed Dowitcher.

Wind-blown, Tri-colored Heron.

Yellow Warbler.

It's Not Always About Birds

So when I'm not birding, digiscoping, selling binoculars, blogging, or spending time with friends and family, you can often find me in the garage/workshop behind my house, tinkering around on a number of different diversions. Most often, I'm engaged in a furniture making project of some type.

This is the shop. I find woodworking a great way to break from my usual routines. It allows me to spend time in a space all of my own, full of sawdust, lumber, motorcycles, tools, and skateboards. These are some of my favorite things that I don't get to keep in my house. I also get to listen to whatever music I like at whatever volume appeals to me at the moment.

Another aspect of furniture making that appeals to me is that I get to work with my hands to build something. That's a sensation near and dear to me, which is generally absent from my usual work obligations.
This current project is a cabinet that will be in my living room, housing our stereo system and other A/V related goods. Probably a few books as well. It's made from Quarter-Sawn White Oak.

This particular wood was harvested from an old tree that was taken down at a park not far from my house. It's a wonderful feeling to look at a piece of furniture I made and be able to recall the tree that it used to be. In this case, it was an ancient tree that I often watched Blue Jays harvest acorns from while my kids played at the local swimming pool. I'll miss it as a tree but am grateful to have been able to get the bulk of the trunk for some furniture projects.

Here are the sliding doors, sitting on top of the cabinet, waiting to be installed.

It looks kind of like a coffin, sitting on the bench.

The shop attracts other wayward men from the neighborhood, such as the fellow pictured above. These individuals, often looking for respite from their day-to-day lives, are drawn to the power tools, obnoxious music, and motorcycles. I guess it's a brotherhood of sorts.

Mangrove Warbler

While at the San Diego Birding Festival a few weeks back, there was a report of a Mangrove Warbler hanging about. Further inquiries led us to this green dumpster behind an office building and adjacent to a freeway.

Lo and behold, the adult male Mangrove Warbler was soon spotted foraging among the flowers of a tree adjacent to the dumpster. What brought this bird from its typical habitat in the mangrove swamps of Mexico and Central America to this particular spot is beyond me.

The Mangrove Warbler is a subspecies of Dendroica petechia, commonly known as the Yellow Warbler. At one point, ornithologists recognized the Mangrove Warbler as a separate species, but for reasons only known by ornithologists, it is currently considered the same species (until they change their mind again).

The Mangrove Warbler was one of a few new birds I was able to observe on my recent trip. Upcoming posts on other new birds include Mountain Plovers, California Gnatcatchers, and the astonishingly gaudy Grey Flycatcher!
Stay tuned.....

Least Bittern

On my last trip to Florida, I had a chance to do some birding at Viera Wetlands, one of the birdiest sewage treatment plants around. We saw lots of great birds but I would have to say this cooperative Least Bittern was the highlight for me.

The Least Bittern is secretive by nature and seldom seen out in the open for extended periods of time. It acts a lot like a rail, though it is technically a heron.

This fellow seemed content to let us watch him hunt for minnows in the shallows of the wetlands. It was fascinating to observe this bird move across and over the water, stepping from stalk to stalk in the cattails and reeds.

As herons go, the Least Bittern is among the smallest in the world. You can reference the size of this bird pictured above with a Common Moorhen. Moorhens tend to be slightly smaller than the more common American Coot.

This bird sighting was one of those great, unexpected treasures that can happen any time you pick up your binoculars and head out for a morning of birding. The fact that these types of encounters are unpredictable and uncommon make them all the more memorable.

Everglades Birding

I have long since returned from Florida but have just now gotten caught up enough with life and work to return to 600 Birds. I had a wonderful time catching up with many friends in the business and was able to spend some quality time birding as well. All of the photos in this post were taken during my trip to the Everglades.

Common Ground Dove at Everglades National Park

This Short-tailed Hawk was one of my life birds from this trip. This was also taken at Everglades National Park. Overall, I ended up with sightings of 7 new birds on this trip (some of them pictured in this post).

Monk Parakeets nesting in a residential neighborhood in Kendell.

This Spot-breasted Oriole was perched on a wire about 4 feet from the parakeets.

This Red-whiskered Bulbul was seen at the same South Miami location where we found the oriole and parakeets. This was a residential neighborhood near the Kendall Baptist Hospital.

This is an Anhinga photographed just off the aptly named Anhinga Trail at the Everglades National Park. It was amazing to be on the boardwalk and watch the Anhingas swimming underwater alongside. Their feathers press against their body underwater, giving them an entirely different shape. Combine that with the fluid motion of their body as they move through the water, and you would think you are watching an entirely different creature.

These Smooth-billed Anis were found just outside of the Fort Lauderdale Airport. This small colony of 6 birds is hanging out in an abandoned lot adjacent to an industrial park, and may be the only known members of this species being seen in North America at the moment.

The trip was a little early to coincide with the presence of some of south Florida's more sought- after specialty birds like the White-crowned Pigeon or Black-whiskered Vireo. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic trip and one I hope to repeat. The Everglades and Florida Keys are some of the best tropical habitat a birder in the US can visit without a passport.

Target birds seen:
Monk Parakeet
Spot-breasted Oriole
Common Myna
Hill Myna
Short-tailed Hawk
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Smooth-billed Ani

Target birds missed:
White-crowned Pigeon
Greater Flamingo
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
White-winged Parakeet

North American life list total: 588

Flying South

I'm waking up around 3:30 am tomorrow to catch a plane to Orlando Florida. The whole situation has it's pros and cons of course. On one hand, I could do without the early departure time. On the other hand, we reached a high temperature of -7 degrees today here in Wisconsin, so I'm willing to fore go the beauty rest for temperatures above freezing.After spending the month of December at home, this is the beginning of my winter travel season. I'm starting things off with a trip to the SHOT show. This is different from my usual work away from home for two major reasons.


First is that there is very little interest in birds among the attendees at this event, with the exception of those birds which you can shoot. Primarily a hunting and shooting sports event, SHOT a big deal in the world of optics and the place where many manufacturers unveil their latest and greatest offerings to the optics marketplace.


The second reason it is such a different type of event for me is that at this show, I am the customer. It's nice to be on the other side of the trade show booth once in a while.

After Sunday however, the birding begins.
I'll be sticking around Florida for a few days before attending the Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival in Titusville. There I will be leading courses on birding optics and digiscoping, as well as manning a booth for Eagle Optics. Between these two events, I plan on making a run down to the Everglades to do a little birding and digiscoping. It will be a nice break after SHOT and before the hectic schedule of Space Coast. The Space Coast Birding Festival is likely the largest birding show that we do and it is a sight to behold. There are more activities and trips going on here than at any other venue I attend. If you are in the area or are looking for an excuse to escape those colder northern climates, I would encourage you to check it out. More updates on the festival as well as the everglades trip later.....