A Mixed Bag

I got up early this morning to go birding. My goal was not to waste precious daylight driving and to be at my first destination at first good light. I didn't get to my first spot exactly when I wanted to, but I was within fifteen minutes of my goal time. 

My first stop was Lake Tiogue in Coventry. There have been Tundra Swans there for almost a week, but I had yet to see them because I am not old enough to retire. When I pulled up I saw two swans right away. I put my binoculars on them and they had the black bill and the yellow under the eyes of the Tundra Swans. 

 From Tiogue I went south. My next stop was in South Kingston to look for the Least Bittern. Least Bittern is a small wading bird. They are not very common anywhere. They are alos very hard to see because they blend in well with the marsh grass. The one in South Kingston has been very cooperative for photographers. It hangs out about 25 feet from a small bridge, sometimes right in the open for hours.  It was not so cooperative today. I did see it but stayed well hidden in the Phragmites. I could see it with my scope and binoculars but only little pieces of it at a time. Others were there also, I looked through their scopes but we all had the same view.

Just as it was coming out to feed, this Great Blue Heron flew in scaring the bejesus  out of the little Least Heron. The Least took off running through the grass. I went back two more times hoping it would come out of hiding, but it never did.

 In the area of the Least Bittern I came upon a cooperative crow while driving

After I left the crow I tried for a few other species without any luck. I went looking for the Fox Sparrow under Trustom's feeders but it wasn't there. I was told someone saw a Wood Thrust at Trustom also, but I'm sure it was long gone by the time I half heartedly looked for it. Lastly I tried for the Evening Grossbeaks that were at Burlingame a couple weeks ago. Again I struck out.

I did find the American Bittern at Trustom. It was flying around the pond. As I was driving back to look for the Least, I drove by a lady with her camera on a tripod. I looked out into the field and saw the same Barred Owl I saw two weeks ago. This time it was in a tree a lot closer than last time. I took a few dozen pictures of it.

On my way home I stopped in Narragansett looking for gulls but there weren't very many on the beaches. This worked out for me because I got home before the rush hour traffic. All in all, I had a good day. I didn't see all of the birds I wanted but had great views of the Tundra Swan and Barred Owl. I saw a Blue Winged Teal on a pond. I saw two different species of Bittern so I'm not complaining.

Birds every month of the Year

My first new bird in December,
Peregrine Falcon

Sorry, but yes, this is another post about birds. I will probably be spending most of my days off during the winter chasing birds. During this last month, I hope to add a few birds to my list. During January all of the birds will be"new" again so I'm curious to see how many bird species I can kind since I have learned so much the past year.

I've mentioned multiple times that I keep track of my list with other birders who bird in Rhode Island. Besides my RI list I just keep track of the birds that I've seen in New England but not in Little Rhody. I really have tried not to make birding about numbers. Truthfully, my goal really is more about getting good pictures. Still I keep the lists.The RI list is more important to me because I am friendly with the other people on the site. I see them at bird walks and most of them are in the Ocean State Bird Club. I could never catch the leaders even if I retired because I like to fish too much. I still want to see as many birds as I can.

One thing that I realized in October, I have seen new species of birds in every month of the year to that point. I knew there were a few more birds out there so I was going to add to my list during the final two months. During November I added thirteen species of birds to my list. During December if I could add another ten I will be ecstatic. One thing is for sure I will have found at least one new species in each month. On December 1 I found a Peregrine Falcon in Pawtucket. Peregrines are an awesome bird. I was disappointed I hadn't seen one yet this year.

I know that no one cares a rat's ass if I've seen new birds in each month. Trust me, this post isn't about "bragging". However, for me personally I am taking a little pride in it. Seeing birds all year means that I stayed diligent. I kept looking for birds. This is obviously been my best year birding in terms of numbers. But I also feel that it was a complete year round process to find them.

I didn't really spend any time birding until Feb 3. I saw a few birds in January but didn't look for  many winter specialties (which is why I still am on the lookout for them now).

The month I saw the most species- February- 67
The month I saw the least new species July- 3 (all at Charleston Breachway looking for shorebirds)

Also of note, Friday was the first time I have ever
been close enough to a Eurasian Widgeon to
make a photo worthwhile.

Crazy Good Birding

When I write my posts I try to tell it like it is. Sometimes that means I did not have a very good day, sometimes it does. A couple of posts back I wrote about how I had a terrible day birding until 3 pm. When I reread my post, it sounded like I was a Debbie Downer. The truth is, your not going to see a lifebird every day. When I go fishing, I'm not going to catch twenty five schoolies every time out. I'm not going to catch a personal best carp once a week. When I go to New Hampshire, I am not always going to have perfect weather and hundred mile views. I try to reflect these things in my posts.

However, when I have a good day, I hope that is reflected in my posts as well. When I post a picture of an albie, I hope you can tell the shit eaten grin on my face is real. I feel blesssed when I'm out in the woods or have a rod in my hand. When I see a new  bird or hike to the top of a mountain and the sky is blue, I assure you, I am happy.

Today was one of those days birding. I took a ride to Covenrty, RI to see the Red Crossbills at Nicholas Farm. Red Crossbills are a bird of the far north. There is a big invasion of them this year because their food supply ran out up there. If they have adequate food they would never migrate. I looked for them without luck a couple of times over the last two weeks without any luck.

Female Red Crossbill

I got to Nicholas Farm about 8:30. There was another birder named Mike there. He said the birds had been coming by in small flocks from about 7-8 am. A few minutes in, we had a lone Crossbill fly over us. So at least my ride wasn't  wasted. Things were slow until 9:30 or so and the flocks that Mike had seen earlier came back. All told, we probably had roughly fifty birds. Numbers didn't matter to me. I was just hoping to get some good looks. One of the flocks landed in a tall pitch pine right on the trail. Although the birds were thirty feet up a tree they were right above us. We got fantastic views in good light before they moved on.

Besides the Crossbills, we also had Rusty Blackbirds, Ravens, and a lone Pine Siskin. All of these were new year birds for me in Rhode Island. Pretty impressive morning to get four yearbirds on November 30th. When I left, I was more than satisfied.

My next focus was Narragansett. There were reported Glaucous Gulls and Black Backed Gulls there. It is a long ride from the Connecticut border in Coventry to Narragansett Beach, I can tell you that. When I finally got to Narragansett, I went to the beach parking lot. The Black Headed Gull was supposed to be right in the lot. It wasn't there when I drove in. I went down to the beach to look for it. I saw a Bonaparte Gull but dipped on the BH Gull. No worries, I've seen one this year. I was just hoping for a good photo op.

I went to Scarborough Beach in hopes of finding the Glaucous (I saw my Black Headed there in Feb, so there was the possibility one could also be there). There were a ton on gulls on the beach. In front of the main building I could see hundreds to my left so I walked that way. In the mix was a giant white gull. It would have been impossible to miss. That was the Glaucous Gull. I took a bunch of pictures of it. There was bait in the water and the gulls were feeding on it (no fish were present). The Glaucous went after the bait  a couple times which is when I got shots of it flying.

After half an hour I was heading back to my car and I noticed how many gulls were by the jetty. I took a walk down to look for the Black Headed Gull. I didn't see any, but found another Glaucous!. This one was in much closer to shore. I got some pics of that bird also. It started to sleet so I went back to my car. At this point it was almost 3 pm, and decided since it was sleeting I may as well try to beat the commuter traffic.

The Red Crossbills and Pine Siskin were lifebirds. I had technically seen a silhouette of Rusty Blackbirds flying before but since the view was so bad, I didn't count them. Therefore, the Rusty's are another lifer. The Glaucous Gull lives in the far north, most likely in Iceland or the Arctic, so that is a very good bird even though it is "just a gull". The best part was I got to use my trusty camera and got some pretty decent shots. What a day.

More photos below. Check out the size difference from the Glaucous to the more normal Ringed Bill Gull.

This photo shows how big the Glaucous Gull is. The
bird on the right is your run of the mill Ring Billed
Gull that will steal your food at the beach.

Red Throated Loon

Enjoying the Entire Holiday Season

The two most striking thing about December are 1) How early it gets dark out. 2) The holidays are upon us. Truthfully, I hate how early it gets dark at this time of year. When I get out of work I barely have an hour of daylight. There's not a lot one can do with that little amount of time. Tens of millions are getting out of work when it is already dark.

To combat this depressing lack of sunlight, I take full advantage of the holidays. I don't just look at the "holidays" as Christmas morning. We try to really take full advantage of all of the events going on during December. Anyone reading this blog knows I am a firm believer in making memories. Here is a list of Holiday ideas. Some we are doing, some we have done, some I want to do-

Our calendar-

Sat December 1- Stadium Theater Christmas

Stadium Theater in Woonsocket  puts on a show of Christmas Carols that are tied together in a story. Some are just songs others are "song and dance numbers". I went last year and found it very entertaining.

Tues Dec 4- Creepy Christmas with Jeff  Belanger

Jeff does a presentation usually at libraries where he explains the origins and legends of Christmas. Things like the Yule Log, how Christmas fell on Dec 25, and Santa are discussed. He also talks about darker charecters such as Krampus. It is a lot of fun.  The presentation we are going to is in Middleboro. However he is doing a couple more in other places. If interested here is his website
https://www.jeffbelanger.com/

Jordan's Furniture, Avon, MA

Laurie and I are going to the Enchanted Village at the Jordan's Furniture in Avon. On top of the Enchanted Village there is also a 4D Polar Express Ride, an indoor skating rink, and a Laser Light Show,. We went a couple years ago and had a blast

A Christmas Carol-

A Christmas Carol is playing at many places this month. It is probably the most famous ghost story ever. We are seeing it at the Stadium Theater

December 18- A Christmas Celtic Sojourn-

Thi is something I have wanted to do for a few years. I'm not sure what to expect, but it is a basically an Irish sing and dance show. We are seeing it at the Hanover Theater in Worcester. There are also shows in New Bedford, Emerson College in Boston, and The Vets in Providence. You can get info at the venue websites or below
https://www.wgbh.org/music/celtic/christmas-celtic-sojourn

Trial of Ebenezer-

It has been a year and Scrooge is back to his old ways. He sues the ghosts and Cratchet. I have wanted to see this play for three years. It is running at the Attleboro Community Theater the next three weekends.

Heritage Gardens, Sandwich, MA

A landscaped garden decorated in Christmas lights. I only heard about this last year. It seems worth the trip
https://heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/


Other ideas-

There are plenty of things to do during the season that I have never done or never heard of. I'm sure a little internet research or exploring can find you exactly what you are into. Here are some othere things we have done that might make you a little more jolly during the holiday season

Boston Pops Holiday Concert-

Seriously, the Pops under Keith Lockhart is my favorite thing I have ever done Christmas related. Everyone should go at least once. Symphony Hall is awesome. The show has moments that will have you laugh out loud. At other points you will be in awe. The 12 Days of Christmas rendition is one of the best things ever

Old Sturbridge Village Christmas by Candlelight

OSV is only open a 3-8 pm certain days of the week during December. The town is transformed for Christmas. There are chestnuts roasting on an open fire, there are carolers, holiday concerts, poetry readings, gingerbread houses, a barn fire, etc. It is really fun

Other holiday concerts- There are holiday concerts all over not just the Boston Pops. They may be more convenient and cheaper.

Bake Sales

Church Fairs

Craft Fairs

Tree Lighting

La Salette Shrine Festival of Lights

Holiday Movies on the Big Screen -   The Greenwich Odeum has screenings of "A Christmas Story" and "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Frozen"  http://www.greenwichodeum.com/calendar/

The Odeum also has other holiday themed shows during the month.

For other ideas especially theater check out Motif Magazine. It is essentially a stoner magazine but there section on things to do is second to none.
http://motifri.com/

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The holidays should be about more than the latest electronic. If your stressed out during the season, you are doing it wrong. Eliminate the things that are stressing you out and add things you will enjoy. Have fun during the holidays. You know what comes after the holidays? January which is a big pile of SUCK!!!

Trustom Saves the Day

Up until 3 pm, I was having one of my worst birding days ever. I went all over the Rhode Island coast from Little Compton through Aquidneck Island and Jamestown all the way to Charlestown. I started at about 8 am in Little Compton. Every place I stopped I had a target bird or birds in mind. I didn't see any of them. In Little Compton I was hoping to see the Cattle Egret without any luck.

Carolina Wren

There were some birds around in most of the places I went, but they were all regular common birds like gulls and robins. The only place I had any success was Rueker Wildlife Sanctuary. I saw a first of the year (FOY) Winter Wren. I also had a loud Carolina Wren close willing to get its picture taken. Other than that, I didn't see much in seven hours.

I tried to be at Trustom at 3 pm. I knew there would be ducks on the pond and the light would be good. Everywhere I went throughout the day, the water was glass calm. I knew the water would be glass on the pond. I wanted to go out to the pond because I knew a lot of ducks would be on the water. If they were close, I could get some good pictures.

I ended up getting to Trustom at 3:05. The last two stops before I went there were fruitless. I went to Charlestown Breachway but there wasn't a bird within a quarter mile from shore (there were loons and Black Scooters way out, both common species). I also tried the pond behind the old Cross Mills Fire Station. Last week I had Pintails and a Northern Shoveler there. Today it was frozen.

My luck changed in Trustom's parking lot. Under the bird feeder was a Fox Sparrow. This is a very good bird. At least one usually shows up each winter to these feeders. I actually saw one on Thanksgiving at Moose Hill, but I didn't have any chance for a picture. As I started snapping my first three pics, a couple cars pulled in. The occupants slammed their doors and talked really loud. This spooked my shy photo subject. I waited five minutes but I was burning daylight and went out to the pond.

The pond had all the usual suspects. I counted at least ten species of ducks. I missed the Canvasback that I saw last week but I found the Tufted Duck very easily. The ducks were not nearly as close as they were last week. I only stayed with them for fifteen minutes. I trudged back as quickly as I could to see if I could get any more photos of the Fox Sparrow. When I got back to the feeders, the sparrow was back but my light was gone (it was 4:03 pm). I took a bunch of pictures but the flash came up. In all of the photos of the bird's eye is shiny. I'll have to go back again and see if I can get some better shots.

On the bright side, while watching the little Fox Sparrow, I heard a Great Horned Owl hoot a couple of times. Since birders are allowed to count birds they can identify by hearing, I get to count the owl. The owl, Fox Sparrow, and Winter Wren gave e three new Rhode Island birds. Next time I bird all day, I'm going to have to leave more time for Trustom, it really is an ace in the hole!
Two pictures below

Just one of many photos of the Fox Sparrow in bad light
with shiny eyes. 

I blew this up so you can see the Tufted Duck. It is
the one in the middle. You can see the feathers
sticking out the back of its head

Birding in the Cold

Brown Creeper

The record for the coldest high for Thanksgiving was 30 degrees. The average high temperature for Nov 22 in Providence is 51 degrees. Neither of these statistics mattered today. Today is the coldest Thanksgiving on record.  It will easily demolish the old record by 8-10 degrees.

I couldn't sit around and eat all day. I needed to get out and explore. I went to Moose Hill Audubon Refuge and hiked/birded for almost four hours. I dressed for the weather and the only part of me that got cold was my chin (oddly, not my nose).

I went to Moose Hill beacuse of an ebird report I saw yesterday. A guy spent 6 hours hiking. He found 243 Red Breasted Nuthatch, Red Crossbills in multiple flocks, 3 Fox Sparrows,and 16 Brown Creepers. I certainly did not expect to have a day like that since it was thirty degrees colder and more importantly, the wind was strong. None the less, I was hoping for some of those birds.

I ended up seeing a few Red Breasted Nuthatches, a Fox Sparrow, and three Brown Creepers. All in all there were not a lot of birds as expected. Still, I ran across a couple of mixed flocks. The Creeper and the Fox Sparrow were both  yearbirds for me. Birding sure beat staying in the house.

Friday I will be opting outside again. The wind is supposed to die down. Maybe I can get a few more winter specialties.

Things I am Thankful For (outdoor related)

Mt Madison, number forty seven on my quest for forty
eight, seen from Mt Adams, number 48

If you read along with this blog consistently you will see I write a post every Thanksgiving about things I am thankful for. I write my list for things that have to do with the outdoors whether that be fishing, hiking, birding, etc... I'll keep the real world stuff private. So without further ado...

1. This first one is a bit selfish. I am very happy to have completed the NH 4000 foot mountains. When it takes seventeen years to complete, you feel like it will never end. For a week after I finished, I was still in disbelief that I had finished. Now, I can hike anything I want without "wasting" a day I could be working on my list.

2. I say it every year, I am thankful for striped bass. I would have so much more time to fill during the months from April to November. Some days at work during the spring I think about about stripers all day long.

You wouldn't know it by the lack of fish I've put on Social Media
but I actually caught a lot of fish this year despite birding so much

3. I am thankful for unselfish birders. I have seen a disproportionate amount of really good and rare birds this year. Many of them are because of bird alerts and Facebook posts. Sometimes I'd show up to a spot and the birders would be more interested in getting me on the bird than continuing to look at it themselves. I've had this happen a dozen times this year and seen it happen dozens of times when others show up. The RI birders are very good people willing to share with others.

4. I am thankful for my outdoor clubs I've joined. The Ocean State Bird Club is full of many of the people I mentioned above. The Narragansett Surfcasters is a great organization. They  have so many fun events and (when I actually remember them) I enjoy the meetings.

5. I am grateful my mother introduced me to the outdoors. I've wrote about it many times in different ways, but I will never forget our memories. I've also taken my love of the outdoors far past anything she ever did or learned. But she certainly built the foundation.

6. I get the same adrenaline rush from mountain top views, catching a huge fish, and seeing a rare bird or animal. I really will never understand anyone that doesn't get excited catching a thirty pound striper or seeing a Scarlet Tanager or Moose. I am VERY grateful those things matter to me. 

7. I am grateful that Plum Island, one of the greatest birding destinations in the U.S, is ninety minutes from home.

8. I am grateful for the four days I spent in Acadia NP this September. We did and saw so much in those days. However, I am twice s happy that Laurie loved it as much as me and we are going back in June.

9. I am very happy my favorite things to do are free except the gas to get there. I need hiking, fishing, and birding in my life. If I had to pay (for more than a license or White Mountains pass) I would have to do them a lot less.
'
10. As always, I very much appreciate being invited on my friends' boats. Both Eric Meyer and Dick Durand let me fish with them this year. Both are good friends and I can never show my gratitude enough.  Because of them I caught tons of big Black Sea Bass including my biggest ever.

I don't think I'd fish for anything else
if these were around all year

11. I caught one albie this year. That might seem like a disappointment. However catching one is million times better than getting zero. They are such an amazing fish. Whether I get one for the year or have a twenty fish day, I never stop being in awe of their beauty and strength. Dave was there to take a few pictures with absolutely perfect light to do the fish justice.

12. I saw two porcupines in a month. This may be a weird thing to be thankful for, but I had only seen one in my life before that. Both were on the ground and not afraid.

13. I have destroyed my old record of how many birds I've seen. However, that is not what I am thankful for. What I am really happy about are the experiences. So many days this year, I birded from daybreak until evening (then met Dave to go striper fishing). Some of those days were truly spectacular. There are too many cool memories to write them all here, but here is one.

I showed up at Miatomini Park in Newport one morning this May. I realized half of Rhode Island's best birders were there so I tagged along. We all got lucky and there was a "fallout". There were birds everywhere. The trees looked like they were covered in bright Chistmas lights. I saw more Bay Breasted Warblers and Canada Warblers that day than my life combined. There were Scarlet Tanagers and Summer Tanagers along with a bunch of other warblers everywhere you looked.

I had another day like that at Plum Island. There were days where I chased rarities to be rewarded with wallhanger photos courtesy of the bird. These are all reasons why I get up at 5:30 in the morning to go look at birds.

Chestnut Sided Warbler

12. I am thankful for my vacation buddy best friend Laurie and thankful for my fishing buddy best friend Dave Pickering. Both know how much they mean to me.

13.  Although I worry about his crazy ass antics, I proud that my son followed his dream to live the life he wants and see all of the places on his bucket list. It takes a brave person to drive cross country alone to take a job at Yellowstone without knowing a soul. After Yellowstone he got a job at the Grand Canyon. He saved enough money to take a three month vacation around the world.He is going to start in Madrid and go to the Far East before coming home.  I envy his willingness to try new things. I said I took my love of the outdoors far past my mother in terms of learning and seeing. My son took my wanderlust and magnified it ten fold. I'm proud of him.

One of the first birds I see after I bought my new lens.
I photographed it for three hours

14. Looking back, I'm grateful I bought myself the 150-500 mm camera lens this spring. Taking pictures with it is probably my favorite thing to do. In fact, since I bought it, I haven't wanted to buy anything "materialistic" for myself since. I've taken more "wallhangers" in a good week than I have in some full years. Along with my surf rod it is my favorite possession. I can live without a television ( I have). I really could live without a dining room table, but I NEED to own a big camera lens now that I've had one.

15. I'm grateful my boss let me take three Wednesday's off this spring. I worked in our kitchen on Tuesday nights so I could have three three day weekends (Wed-Fri). I did so much during those weekends. I took a trip to Maine to see Puffins and Monhegan Island. The other two weekends I lived at Plum Island NWR. For the first year ever, I didn't feel like I was missing out on spring.

16.Although I will admit, I enjoyed Acadia more, I am glad Laurie suggested the vacation we took this year to Niagara, Gettysburg, D.C. and Philly. We saw many of America's greatest landmarks on that trip.

17. I am thankful I finally caught my first ever legal size tatoug.

18. I am thankful I went to three temperary art exhibitions. I saw lines of thought at RISD which were drawings and doodles from people such as Rembrandt, Michelangelo, DaVinci and many more. I was blown away (this was actually 2017, but still within the last 12 months). I went to a Georgia O'Keefe exhibition at Peabody Essex. Lastly at Mystic Seaport I saw artifacts borrowed from a museum in Sweeden that contained many Viking artifacts. Just awesome!

19. I am happy to live in a country with so many beautiful places and great animals. My bucket list of places to visit is pages long. I have trails I want to hike in ten western states. I want to visit a dozen wildlife refuges in Texas and Florida. I'll never get to see all of these places, but the point is, it is great to live in a country where there is too much to see!