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| Yellow Bellied Sapsucker |
Over the last few weeks I have taken any fun experience I could get such as yesterday's Razorbills and last week's Peregrine Falcon. However, over those few weeks, I have really been targeting new birds. When I saw the Peregrine, I was actually looking for Lapland Longspurs and after that I took the Block Island Ferry to look for alcids.
Knowing today was my last real chance to see any new birds before Jan 1, I went in search of targets that I knew were around. They were Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, Brown Creeper, Eared Grebe, Lapland Longspur, and Yellow Breasted Chat. I knew there was zero chance of seeing all of these birds, but I was going to give it the old college try. On the RI Birds list I keep track of my birds on, I was in 10th place to start the day. I was three birds behind an 8th place tie.
I went to Trustom Pond first to look for Yellow Breasted Chat and Brown Creeper. The Chat a very pretty large warbler had been around Farm Pond for a few days. I didn't find it. However, I did get a Brown Creeper relatively easily. I found it on the Red Maple Trail. One bird down
From Trustom I went to Fort Ninigret. There is a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker that birders say "is always in the big tree at Ft. Ninigret" except when I am there. I have looked for the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker 40 or 50 times this year. The big tree is right next to the parking area. Everyone and their brother has seen this damn bird there except me. On Christmas my friend Mike saw it in the morning and sent me a text. I met him there an hour later and it was gone!!!
Despite going 0-45 I had high hopes this morning. The sun was out and it was warm. It was the perfect weather for a Sapsucker to soak up some rays. Sure enough I found it within a minute. I sent Mike a text in all caps that I FOUND IT! Two birds down
From Ft. Ninigret I went to Westerly, I had two targets, the Eared Grebe and Longspur. The grebe had been seen just west of Weekapaug. I knew before I got out of the car I didn't have a chance of seeing it. The ocean was still rough from yesterday's storm. I never would have found it between huge rollers. Even if I saw a grebe, I would never had time to identify it.
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| Horned Larks 23 Lapland Longspur 0 |
After striking out in Westerly I went back to Trustom. It was only 12:15. I figured I'd give the Chat another chance. I went back to Farm Pond. I ran into a birder named Dave who I see quite a bit. We ended up talking and the next thing we knew we had been looking for it for two hours. Another birder saw it in a spot we weren't looking, he had pictures so this gave us hope.
Finally after three hours Dave left. I walked to the other side of the pond and started "pishing" I walked all the way around the back side but still didn't see it. After I came back to my original spot, the bird came out of the thickets. I only got t couple of good looks at it, but it is unmistakable. I really wish Dave was still there as a witness but I saw it a good half hour after he left. After I saw the Chat, I had to pick my son up at the train station. Three birds down in a very successful day!
So I finished the day tied for eighth in Rhode Island for the people on the list. Diane Auld, David Wallis and I have 231 species each. I will have to wait it out two more days to see if either of the other two get another bird. Part of me hopes that Eared Grebe got blown to Montauk, NY (pretty much 100 percent of me). As Robert Duvall who plays Robert E Lee in "Gettysburg" after planning the third day of battle says "It's in God's hands now"
That last line may or may not be a bit dramatic, I'll let you be the judge. I do have one more species I can chase after work. Barrow's Goldeneye. One or two usually winter in the Providence River. One guy saw them three weeks ago. I looked three days in a row. I found Common Goldeneye but no Barrow's. The guy Dave who I birded with at Trustom today also said he didn't see them either. But they might be there. Who knows?
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