The rarest bird I am ever going to see in Rhode Island

Tereks Sandpiper
Photo courtesy of my friend Sue Palmer who saw it this morning 

   I'm working Sunday like I always do and I get an alert on my phone from my text group. My friend Jan StJean found a Black Skimmer and a  weird looking sandpiper at Napatree. My reaction was the same as it always is when I get a report like this on a Sunday. I tilted my head back and thought "Why does it have to be f-ing Napatree?" I am on call all day Sundays and Napatree is a 4 hour trip. It is 90 minute drive each way and a 30 minute walk. That doesn't even count the actual time birding. Throw in there's beach traffic, lack of parking, and the 2 hour parking limit if you can get a spot. Why does it always have to be fucking Napatree!

  A few minutes later I get another alert that the bird is a Tereks Sandpiper. You may ask what the hell is that, don't worry, so did everybody else. It turns out a Tereks Sandpiper is an Asian shorebird. They summer in Siberia and they winter along the west coast of Africa. Yes, I had to Google it just like every other birder in Rhode Island except for like three people.

   Tereks Sandpiper isn't just a rare bird in Rhode Island they have only been seen in the lower 48 states two other times. One in California, and one in Mass in 1990! It is always dangerous for me to go to far from home on a Sunday. Anything could happen at work. A closer could get sick, a toaster could break, etc... I was really not planning on going, it is a long ride/walk, and birds can fly away. However, to sweeten the deal, one of my favorite birds had been seen there, Black Skimmer, and another bird I needed for the year was seen that morning, Bonaparte Gull. So I figured I could get something out of it.

I got to Napatree at 3:30. Laurie dropped me off and went shopping so I didn't have to worry about parking. I made the 30 minute walk in 20 minutes (as did everyone that could) and was sweaty when I got to a group of two dozen birders. I knew before I got there, thanks to texts, that the bird hadn't been seen in two hours, I was not hopeful.

A photo I took of a Black Skimmer a couple years ago

   So I waited and chatted with people I knew. First one of the skimmers showed up. I got great looks of it skimming the lagoon. Since it is one of my favorite birds and I hadn't seen one this year, I felt like I didn't waste my time. Next a Forster's Tern flew by. Another bird I needed for the year.

   Then a Bonaparte Gull flew in and started swimming near shore. I felt pretty good even without the mega-rarity. Then we got a report from Connecticut birders that it was at Sandy Point (which is across Little Narragansett Bay. Then another report came in that it was flying back. Sure enough, about five minutes later someone called out "there it is". The Tereks Sandpiper was flying with two Spotted Sandipers. Most of the two dozen people got a good look of it flying. I wish it would have landed but the 20-30 second flight around the lagoon was sufficient to "call it"  I got to see its most distinguishing feature, its upturned bill. It was bigger than the Spotteds too. After it flew back out of sight there was a collective sigh, and excitement. There were extensive air high fives (pandemic). There couldn't have been happier birders.

Photo of a Forster's Tern

At this point Laurie had been waiting long enough. The bird flew back towards Sandy Point and it was time to go.This bird is so unbelievably rare in the United States that people from across the country are coming for it. One guy drove all night to see it this morning. He was from Ohio. The good news is it was there again today and many others saw it. I didn't get any pictures yesterday. That's okay, I'm a birder. And I got to see the bird!

THANKS JAN!

June Explorations

Wilson's Pharalope. This is probably the best bird I found on
my own this year. I found it one one of my explorations
of the mudflats early in the month

   June is not my favorite month. After the whirlwind of May, June is a letdown. I try to plan my vacation or getaways in June to give me something to look forward to. That obviously wasn't an option this year. So I settled into my typical June routine that I can't seem to break. The days I work, I find it difficult to motivate myself to go out after I get home. Despite perfect weather the beginning of the month, I just don't feel like doing anything. Luckily, this year I have a fairly large garden. Although I couldn't motivate myself to drive any distance, I did keep busy doing yard work and planting.

   However, my days off are another story. I always have plenty to do. Even with two trips cancelled, I still found plenty of places to go. This year I mixed it up a little and did some exploring. I still went to Napatree and the Charlestown Breachway a couple of times, but I also managed to explore some new territory and some old favorites. I only saw one new species of bird for the year this month. It was a Blue Grosbeak found by Bill Thompson at Carter Preserve. But the funny thing is I really enjoyed all the places I went for the joys of birding and listing. I birded in three different states this month. Quite honestly, it was relaxing and very enjoyable. 
 
    During the first week of the month I went birding in Connecticut with my friends Jan, Sue, and Jess. We birded a place called Barn Island. It is just over the border. You can see Napatree from spots. This was a great adventure. There is a lot of different habitat, so there are many species of birds. Despite having all the migrants already north of us, we saw 46 different species in a couple of hours. We had a great morning. I didn't write about it because I was a jackass and left my memory card at home so I couldn't take any pictures. Still we had a great day.

    A week later a bunch of us explored Buck Hill Management Area. This is the northwestern corner of the state. The main attraction is a monument where the three states of RI, MA, and CT converge. We all stopped and got photos of it. I can only hope no one finds this monument offensive and tries to topple it. He didn't see as many species but I did get a decent photo of an Eastern Wood Peewee.

Some of my birding buddies around the monument at
Buck Hill

 














 As I've written about earlier, I visited an old favorite last week when I went to Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary. I went alone and spent 3 hours exploring and taking pictures. I drove home with a smile because of how much fun I had.

Bobolink at Daniel Webster

I made a stop at Hunts Mill in East Providence to get some shots of the Night Heron that summers there. Luckily for me it was there and but on a great show.

 
   

Also last week I went to the Carter Preserve in Charlestown. There I saw my only new bird for the month, a Blue Grosbeak. My photo sucks but it is a life photo and you gotta start somewhere.

Blue Grosbeak

    Today I went to a couple of my Rhode Island old standbys, the aforementioned Napatree and Breachway. I couldn't sleep so I got up early. I has at Napatree at 6 am (it is a 90 ride and I put the kayak on the car first). There was a thick blanket of fog until 8 am. There weren't a lot of birds, but Napatree has a habit of having rare birds such as Black Skimmers, Royal Terns, Curlews, and Little Egret. Even though I didn't see anything rare today, it is the possibility that always draws me back.

    After I left Nap I went to the Breachway. Again, there wasn't anything new but I had fun. My highlight were photo upgrades of Common Terns. Yes Common Terns are common and I've gotten photos before. However, since I was in my kayak, I posed no threat to them. They let me glide right within a few feet. I was in a strong current moving faster than I would have liked but taking the photos so close was still awesome!

Tomorrow I am going to Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Dartmouth. I have only been there twice and not in years. After that, Laurie are going to check out sites of some New England legends. It should be a fun day and I hope I have something to write about.

I guess what I am trying to say with this post is for me, June was a win.

Daniel Webster Wildlife Refuge

In my attempt to find adventures that are not along Route 1 in southern Rhode Island, I went to Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield, MA today. I love going to DWWS  but since I spend too much time in Rhode Island,  I think the following verse from Jimmy Buffett's "One Particular Harbor" sums up how I feel about the refuge

I know I don't get there often enough

But god knows I surely try
It's a magic kind of medicine
That no doctor could prescribe

Daniel Webster is 578 acres. The majority of it is a huge grassland. Because grasslands are rare in Massachusetts, like Crane Management Area I went to two weeks ago, it has birds fairly rare for this area. My favorite bird there are the Bobolinks. There are usually many airs at the refuge. This year the staff decided to rip up much of the grassland and replant it with a larger variety of grasses and plants. Though this made for less nesting area for Bobolinks this year, it should produce great results starting next year. 

I spent 3.5 hours walking and rewalking the trails today. I saw the expected Bobolinks and other species but nothing too rare. Still, it was a really fun morning. It got hot about 10:30 and am glad I got there early so I could leave before it got unbearable. 

Pictures below

Gray Catbird

White Tailed Deer

Cedar Waxwing

Bobolink

Bobolink

Northern Mockingbird

BOOM Song Sparrow!

Same Song Sparrow

A different Bobolink

Purple Martin

Purple Martin

Great Blue Heron

Northern Mockingbird

Yellow Warbler and the photos below

Another Deer

One thing I've learned in the last few months

One of the best days of my life. DJ and I hiked
the back side of the Grand Tetons. We also
saw a couple of bears and a moose this day.

 I said a few months ago that I would write more and use this blog as an escape from the crazy stuff happening in the world. I am going tweak that promise for this post. Though the idea for this post came from thoughts about Covid, it really is a look into the future.

   Many people are looking to "find themselves" or "become the  best version of themself". I have been "me" for a very long time. Although I may change my mind on a political issue or two, my core values have stayed the same for at least 15 years now.

   Since the year that I turned thirty and had an epiphany that I was kind of a jerk  I have really mellowed out. I don't let too many things bother me. I'm competitive but not obsessive. I obviously love the outdoors. I love learning but get bored quickly if I don't like the subject. My son is my favorite human. I find myself getting up early on my days off, but have a hard time wanting to be out late. I don't watch tv hardly at all, but I will binge watch a series I am interested in. I would prefer to travel than work. I work to live as opposed to live to work. I prefer going to concerts than sporting events. I love animals, I could go on.

   One thing that has always been true, I am very conscious of time. Despite what people close to me will tell you, I am not obsessed with it, but I am always aware of it. Even before my mother died when she was 45, I was always aware of the memories I was making. I always appreciated the "now' when I was on vacation, at a concert, or just having a really great day.

   However, if time is constantly on your mind, then you always have the past and the future. For sure, I think about the future a lot. Usually when it it gets too dark to do anything after work in the late fall, I will start planning for the following year. I'll check tide charts and moon phases. I can devour a book on hiking trails in an hour and list the ones I want to do. I plan future vacations and day trips. Planning vacations, researching places to go, and making a bucket list for the year is almost a hobby in itself.

   The past on the other hand, is a little more complicated. When I am doing fun things, I take a lot of photos. I enjoy photography. I don't look at it as getting away from the fun I am having at the moment. When I have a good day, I also can't wait to write about it. I enjoy sharing my stories and my photos. I hope I give good info and maybe some of you will consider doing whatever vacation, museum, or fishing trip I have done.

   However, taking photos and writing have another purpose. That of course is, I am documenting memories. While I enjoy the acts of writing and clicking the button on my camera, I obviously enjoy the end result too. Since DJ was a baby I have averaged about one photo album a year. When he was young, we still used film so I had no choice but to get photos developed. But even with digital, I still get prints for some things. For example last year, I made my 2019 album starting with the few big fish I caught, followed by notable birds. After that the next section was the day trips and overnights I/we did that didn't birds. Lastly, is the section from my Florida vacation. This is my favorite section in the album.

   The way I have always looked at my blog and albums was almost like having memories in my pocket. I figured if I get too old or unhealthy to do the things I do now I can go back and read about my adventures and look at photos of my son growing up fondly. If I were ever stuck in a nursing home, I would consider these photo albums and words as my greatest treasures. I thought they would give me hours of enjoyment to fill the day thinking about my "glory days"

   About six weeks ago, Laurie asked me if I had learned anything about myself since the virus changed all of our lives. If she would have asked me that question in December the answer would have been no. Like I said in the beginning of this post I know who I am. I know my likes and dislikes and I know my strengths and weaknesses. However, I did learn one thing- when you don't have anything to look forward to in the future, looking back on the past is sad. It was not a good epiphany.

   As we were all basically in lockdown, there wasn't a lot to look forward to. I did go birding outside two days a week, but I social distanced, cut back on grocery shopping, and was scared just like most people. I had multiple overnight trips cancelled including some real fun ones like Machias Seal Island. I know everyone went through a lot, some lost way more than me. None the less, just like everyone else, 2020 has sucked for me.

   Anyway, back to my point. While I was doing something next to nothing but different than the day before, I went and looked at some photo albums. I reread about my trip to Florida. What I realized is, I was getting sad. Instead of being happy looking at photos of Key West I was unhappy I wasn't there and may never go again. I did not expect this feeling. It is the exact opposite of the collecting memories to enjoy/relive emotion I expected to feel. We planned on going to Florida again this November. Those plans are obviously on hold. Even if we get to go in 2021, that is a so far into the future, it is silly to get excited over that possibility.

   Hopefully, things will be better in less than a year. Hopefully all of us will be going on vacations. However, my epiphany translates to disappointment when I get too old to have adventures.  If I can't drive or stuck in some nursing home, I don't think I will be looking back. I don't think I'll be smiling at photos of DJ and I on top of a four thousand footer. I'll need to figure out some new hobby because looking at the past will depress me.

   I don't know where this leaves me. I still have a lot of future plans. I really do have a notebook that is dedicated to my bucket list. I have it divided into the eastern part of the country and the western states. I checked of 13 things in Florida last year. I still enjoy the present. I have always enjoyed the little things anyway. So I am not noticing sunsets any more that in the past. Rare birds and big fish have and always will excite me. The only thing I do know, is I am happy I have always been aware of time. I'm happy I've noticed the little things. I'm grateful I really enjoyed being a father every day when I raising my kid. I have a few regret in life just like everyone else, but letting time slip by isn't one of them. I've had a great life so far, and I hope that it continues for many years to come. But I know, that once the fun is over it won't be much fun to look back.

By the way, did you catch the song lyric by Prince above? Clever, aye?

   -Yesterday's are over my shoulder
     So I can't look backward too long
     There's just too much to see waiting in front of me
     And I know I just can't go wrong

                                              -Jimmy Buffett
 

Crane Management Area and an Good Friend

Photo stolen without permission, but it is 11:30 pm
and I don't think he'd mind

Today I drove down to Falmouth to hang out with a friend I have known twenty years, Mike Tucker. Mike used to be a manager of an Audubon sanctuary I live near. We used to talk quite a bit when I went there. He also happens to be about the best birder I know. Mike has since moved to Woods Hole doing a job he loves in a great environment. For the past couple of years we have talked about getting together to go birding at Crane Management Area in Falmouth. After talking on the phone to confirm plans, today was the day.

I met Mike at 7:15. Crane is a huge grassland area, maybe a couple of square miles. Large grasslands are a rare habitat in New England. Because of this fact, birds that are pretty rare in New England are common there. One such bird is the Grasshopper Sparrow. I have only seen them in one place in Rhode Island where they breed regularly. I had seen a total of four in my few years of serious birding today I heard or saw close to twenty.  

On our walk he came across an Eastern Kingbird just posing for us in a Cedar Tree. They are a common bird and I have some decent photos of them. But when one is asking for its photo taken, I don't want to disappoint it. More text below photos of Kingbird

I had never gotten a photo of the four Grasshopper Sparrows I had previously seen. So any shot would be a "life photo". A few of the sparrows were very cooperative. I got photos where I was a little closer but these are my favorites.

One grassland species I kind of take for granted are Killdeer because they are a common bird. However! when you get to see one of their little fuzzball chicks you can't help but enjoy how adorable they are.

One of the parents

One species I didn't consider seeing was Orchard Oriole but they were everywhere. They nest in the few trees in the grassland and along the edges. I saw multiple. This isn't a great photo, but I think they are beautiful. 

All in all, I had a great morning. Just getting to talk to an old friend would have been enough. I also got to see great birds. We also saw an Eastern Meadowlark (heard others) and heard a Yellow Billed Cuckoo.

After birding, we went back to Mike's house where we talked some more. We saw Great Crested Flycatcher, Osprey, Crows, and nesting White Breasted Nutchatch in his yard. We walked down to see Nobska Light and the view of the ocean.  I will definitely be going back.