More Herps while birding

 I spent a good chunk of May looking for birds. However, as the day would progress and the birds got quiet I started looking down more and more for herps. I was pretty successful. Besides the Spotted Turtles I came across some other good stuff. 

   One frog Laurie found was a Pickerel Frog. I tried to grab it but it hopped about four feet to the water. Would have like to get a photo because it was a lifer for Richard.

   The best thing I saw, I didn't find. My friend Allison O'Conner and I both went to a meeting at Kettle Pond. We both got there early to bird, though she was there before me. When I ran into her, she told me about a Grey Tree Frog she had just seen. So we raced out to go see it. Photo Below

I came across this small Northern Water Snake while walking back to the car one day with Richard Tucker. I found it, he grabbed it, we both got a photo holding it, we let it go.

                                                         Richard holding the Water Snake

                                                       And myself

This was another Northern Water Snake I spooked near a pond. It only slithered to a tree limb near the water and we watched it for a few minutes. Myself, Laurie, and Richard.

                                                     American Toad

                                                        Out of focus Garter Snake

                                                        Another Toad

Northern Rough Winged Swallow Upgrade

 

   I've gotten lucky with some species and it would be hard to upgrade my photos. Some species have quite literally put on a show and I've been fortunate enough to have a fifteen minute photo shoot with them. When that happens I will manipulate my settings and play with them on my camera. I'll change the aperture and/or the shutter speed. I'll take some photos on the "P" mode and even a few on autofocus. If the bird is close enough sometimes I can get multiple near perfect photos.

   On the other hand, some species just don't want me to photograph them. One example would be Sharp Shinned Hawk. I've seen quite a few. They are not a rare bird especially in the winter. But I'll be damned if I can ever get a photo of one. There are other species that also come to mind that I've gotten either terrible or no photos of. One of them would be Northern Rough Winged Swallow.

  Rough Winged Swallows are a common bird. They nest everywhere there is water. They will also migrate with other swallow species. I see or hear them just about every time I am at Trustom Pond. But for some reason, I can never get a good photo of one. 

   Trying to get a photo of a flying swallow is an exercise in futility. They move so fast and never in a straight line. Trying to focus on one is almost impossible. Hoping one lands in front of me is usually my best bet, but up until Thursday of last week, that strategy has never paid off.

   Thursday I went for a birding bike ride on the South County Bike Path. On my way home I stopped at the Cumberland Monastery because someone reported a Wilson's Warbler there earlier in the day. I knew my chances of getting the Wilson's were small but it was still early and had nothing to lose. I knew the warbler was seen right between two ponds only five minutes from my car. 

   

This was the branch they originally landed on
that got me excited.

   Sure enough there wasn't any sign of the Wilson's Warbler. However I saw some Rough Winged Swallows flying around in the small pond. They landed on a dead stick out in the middle. The sun was right in my face and any photos would be washed out. I started walking to the other side of the pond in the hopes the swallows would stay on the branch and rest. I did not have  hope that these little energetic birds would sit for the three minutes it would take to get on the good side of the light.

   To my surprise the little birds did stay. As I neared them I started taking photos every ten steps just in case they flew. As I got to where the sun was right at my back...they flew. But only for a few seconds. They circled the small pond a couple of times then landed again. The light wasn't as good as I hoped. While the sun was at my back, the dead branch in the water was in the shade. The birds repeated the sit and do a couple of laps multiple times. I had all the time in the world to take all the photos I wanted and to play with my settings. The branch the birds rested on was probably thirty feet from shore. The birds were not taking up the whole frame by any means, but they were still a photo upgrade from the dark drab photos I had before. 

   After taking fifty or sixty pictures I knew I wasn't going to get any better photos of the swallows out on the branch. I walked a few feet up the shoreline and there was a dead snag sitting in the water. I thought that maybe a swallow would come to this snag if I sat still. In my twenty minutes of watching the swallows none had gone over to this branch. It stood within reason that if none had landed there before then they probably wouldn't land there if I was close to it. 

   It turned out I was wrong. About two minutes after getting near this fallen limb a swallow landed just fifteen feet from me. It was close to eye level and in bright sunlight. I started snapping away. After a minute it flew off and I thanked it for the opportunity to get some photos. It must have heard me because it came back. Just as the swallows had done before this one would sit for minute, do some laps and land again. Needless to say, I didn't stop shooting. When I got home and went through my photos I knew the ones of the birds on the branch in the middle would not compare to the on that landed a few feet from me. However, I didn't realize how good the light was and how nice the photos would come out. Enjoy.

My best Northern Rough Winged photo before today

 

Spotted Four Spotted Turtles

    Last week while checking out swamps and ponds for birds I came across Endangered Spotted Turtles at four different places throughout the state. Yes you read that right, Spotted Turtles are very rare in Rhode Island. So needless to say seeing them in four places was really exciting. 

   Knowing that these turtles are extremely rare I sent an email to the RI DEM herp biologist to let him know the locations. I know this is a short post, but thought these guys may be of some interest. Photos below 

Photos with Friends

 

Tim Metcalf and I

   A couple weeks ago I decided that I wanted to start getting photos with some of my bird mates. I posted on Facebook (about thirty of my birder friends are Facebook friends) that I wanted to get photos of them to collect as memories throughout the year. Of course, I have friends that are not on Facebook so I'll have to ask them for photos and explain this whole project to them individually. 

   The whole idea came about just because May is here and I know a lot of people will be out. I have collected a lot of great photos of birds but very few of birders. I can always upgrade some of the birds I've seen, and I have. So far, I have fifteen upgrades this year. I think it is fun to take photos of birds (and any wildlife). I suspect taking photos of wildlife will be a lifelong passion. But I wanted to add photos of my friends too because in the end, that's what birding is about.

   I am very surprised by the support I have gotten from my friends about this. I hate getting my picture taken. So no matter what, at least half of the people in the photo are already uncomfortable. I suspect many of my friends also aren't thrilled about being in photos. So I certainly understand most people might feel the same way.

  The opposite has been true so far. I've had multiple people come up to me and say we need to get a photo together. In fact, the morning after I posted my status, Tim Metcalf took out his phone and took a selfie with me just so he could be first. Besides Tim I've had about five people ask for a photo. 

    Besides not enjoying my photo being taken in the first place, I'm pretty happy in my little social distancing bubble. So just the mere fact that I need to get close to people is somewhat uncomfortable for me. But, I have been making it a point to put my arm around my friends as we get photos together.

   It is my hope that when something great happens I can get a photo of the occasion. An example would be if myself and another birder get a lifer together. Another instance would be a group of us going on a whale watch (this is how I plan to get a photo of Scott, shhh!). I have no problem with just getting photos with my friends, but I do hope some of the photos will capture happy moments in time.

Annual Plum Island Trip

Indigo Bunting

    Though I haven't posted lately, I have been out everyday. I've been leaving to go birding early in the morning and fishing most evenings. I've been birding in Rhode Island almost everyday. Mostly I have been going to Miantonomi Park in Newport. I went there for a week straight. Yes, I did get tired of seeing the same birds. So I decided on mixing things up. Yesterday I birded by bike along the South County Bike Path. I had eight species of warblers. Mostly breeding birds in RI. 

   Today I took my annual trip to Plum Island. I look forward to going every year. I have discovered the best birding is around the twentieth. I have been keeping an eye on the wind and last night was a southwest (despite below freezing morning temps which made no sense to me) I got a little later of a start than I would have liked consequently I didn't get there until 7:30.

   There were still plenty of birds to look at. The pine trees in the sunlight were loaded with flying insects and the hungry warblers noticed. The few pine trees along the road were dripping with warblers. Many of the rarer warblers were feeding on these insects. My very first bird on the refuge was a Bay Breasted Warbler. I had a feeling it was going to be a good day after that. 

 

Olive Sided Flycatcher

    The best bird of the day wasn't a warbler. It was an Olive Sided Flycatcher. This rare bird lands on dead branches to perch. They are a large flycatcher with a big head. They have a white chest that makes it look like it is wearing a suit. Unknown to me until today, they also have white spots on their back that look like cotton balls. This bird hung around all day. I saw it four times in four different dead snags. 

   Besides the rare flycatcher I saw many species of rare warblers. The "best" warbler was probably a Tennessee. I had only seen two before today. They usually hang out in the top of trees. The first one I  ever saw was in a seventy foot oak. Not exactly a great view. The trees at Plum Island are stunted due to the salt air. So today's Tennessee and all the other birds were no more than thirty feet off the ground. 

 Other good warblers were a Canada that I only got one photo of, and it was a bum shot. I watched a Blackburnian for fifteen minutes hopping around and foraging in a small oak. The bird I most wanted to see was a Wilson's Warbler. I ended up seeing one after noontime. There was also a Blackpoll in the same tree. The best bird that I found, that had not previously reported, was a Cape May. 

   There are multiple ways to bird Plum Island. One is to see how many species you can see in a day. This would require stopping at Lot #1 and scanning the ocean. You'd also hit Sandy Point for the ocean and the beach. There you can get birds like Piping Plover and Least Terns. Other places to hit would be the Wardens for sparrows and the Salt Panes for shorebirds.

  I did none of that. I didn't care about seeing shorebirds or counting species. I went to the island to see warblers. I spent all of my time at Hellcat parking lot and the Pines Trail. Hellcat was where it was at today. Especially the road. The boardwalk trail was pretty dead. On the other side of the road where the trail crosses I did have the Wilson's Warbler and where the Waterthrush lives. But most of the birds were along the road.

 

Tennessee Warbler

     All in all, it was a great day on the island. The pine trees were loaded with birds in the morning. I ended up seeing eighteen species of warblers. As I said the best bird of the day was the Olive Sided Flycatcher. However, there were many species of rare warblers. The only species that I know was there today that I dipped on was Northern Waterthrush. It was not for lack of trying. I looked for it five different times in the swampy areas. 

   After things died out I went shad fishing for a bit in West Newbury. I knew right away it was a waste of time. The wind was blowing in my face dirtying the water. Underwater visibility was about a foot. I gave it a half hour anyway. I then quickly drove over to Mill Pond where I saw Blue Winged Warblers and an Indigo Bunting. Many more photos below

Bay Breasted Warbler

Baltimore Oriole

Wilson's Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler (and below)

It was a little crowded 

Chestnut Sided Warbler

The backside of a Canada Warbler

Common Grackle

Red Winged Blackbird

Black Throated Green

Common Yellowthroat

Indigo Bunting

Blue Winged Warbler

The back of the Olive Sided Flycatcher.
 Notice the cottony white patches on its back

One Night of Queen

   Last night Laurie and I saw the Queen Tribute Band called "One Night of Queen" at the Plymouth Memorial Hall. The group is fantastic. The lead singer Gary Mullen looks and sounds just like Freddie Mercury. He has the same mannerisms and even the same build. I'm not sure about everyone else in the band but Gary Mullen is British and you can tell when we would stop and talk to the crowd.

   The group played about two and a half hours minus the intermission. They played every Queen song that I knew and a few that I didn't. We had seen the group last year at Bold Point and was blown away. When we saw that they were coming back again we jumped on the tickets.

  It does you no good for me to do a concert review of a band I just saw, except they will be rolling back to town September 2 at the Cape Cod Melody Tent. There are many open dates around Sept 2 so it is quite possible they will try to fill the open dates with shows in the area. Below is a link to their tour dates

https://www.garymullenandtheworks.com/upcoming-tour-dates

Below are a couple of crappy videos I took of the concert

Too many hobbies

    As I've said in previous posts I'm still not where I want to be health wise but feeling far better than I did three months ago. I've been out every chance I can doing as much as I can. I know for sure that I won't be going back to work until at least June. This means for the first time in my adult life I have May off from work. May is the best month for bird migration. All birders cherish this month for the beautiful migrants such as warblers, Scarlet Tanagers, and Indigo Buntings that are passing through.

   Besides the birds, fishing is great in May. The water is still cold enough for trout but warm enough for bass. Actually all freshwater fish will be active during May. On the salt front stripers have been around for a while. Bluefish will arrive any day. Tautog are hitting and by the end of the month fluke will be hitting. If you have a boat and can get out on Buzzards Bay the best Black Sea Bass fishing in the entire world is under your feet. In short May is the month!

   While I was still in the fetal position during the winter I had hoped I'd be well enough to enjoy the spring. Luckily that dream did become reality. While I was waiting out the winter I put a list of things I wanted to accomplish together. Many of those things I do regularly anyway. For instance Cape/Plymouth Trout. I love fishing the kettle ponds down the Cape and Plymouth. Throw in the fact that Rhode Island doesn't open their waters to trout fishing until mid-April means I have almost a month of Mass trout fishing before I can even go fish in RI.  

   Also, I planned on doing way more striper fishing than I did last year even before I got hurt. So I felt that between stripers, birds, and trout I could have a really fun spring before I end up going back to work. I could get my fill of these hobbies. Knowing that time is short in the spring, I seemed to have stopped carp fishing to make time for the trout and birds. Stripers I can catch in the evening. 

  The problem is I also put a bucket list of challenges I wanted to accomplish during April and May. It turns out they are taking a lot of time from my other hobbies and I still really haven't attempted many of them. 

   Before I go on, I need to explain that "fishing" is more than one hobby. Keep in mind that my car can only fit so much gear. So fishing for stripers is totally different than trout. I need different rods for each. My waders can and are used for both pursuits, they stay in the car all year. However, I carry two rods for trout and my fly rod. My eight foot surf rod is in the car all spring. So I have four rods in my car plus my waders. Not to mention my birding gear: scope, binoculars, and camera. I have a box full of clothes. Stuff like gloves, hunter orange sweatshirt for hiking during hunting season, raincoat, mittens, and sweatpants fill the box. So as you can see, and imagine, my car is pretty full of gear.  But wait there's more...if I use my kayak I also need my paddle, life jacket, anchor, and back rest. 

   So, my car is already filled to the gills on any given day. I am not complaining. I'm glad to have this free time to do my favorite hobbies. The problem is my bucket list of spring events and my stubborn attitude. If I write something down, it is very hard for me to let it go and it KILLS me if I don't try to accomplish it. Besides the trout, stripers, and birds here is my list. 

Catch Tiger Trout,  Catch a tautog from the kayak,  Fish Indian Lake for Smallmouth,  Beach Pond for Walleye,  Go to Queen Tribute Concert,  Look for Copperheads,   Fish the Cinder Worm Spawn,  Catch a Bluefish on my Fly Rod,  See a presentation by author Michael Tougias ( May 17 Hopedale Library)  See Jessie Liam (local band, May 18 in Warwick), Bird Plum Island and go Shad fishing.

   Needless to say, trying to fit all of this in during the first three weeks of May plus actually enjoy trout, stripers, and birds seems impossible. Many days, my plan is to bird in the morning and fish in the afternoon. This will work out for the bluefish on a fly and fishing the Cinder Worm hatch. 

   I'm going with Laurie to look for Copperheads on Sunday. We are also going to the Queen Tribute Band and the Michael Tougias presentation together.  We also enjoy going to see Jessie Liam. So those three things will be fun. 

  As for the Tiger Trout, Walleye, Tautog, and the Smallmouth, They present a problem. The Tiger Trout I did catch but took a few trips to the Cape to get them. Walleye are very light sensitive and do not bite well during sunny weather. So I need to fish for them on cloudy days or after dark (too far of a drive for the latter) but I also need it too be almost windless so I can use my kayak. I've attempted to fish for them three times but each time the wind picked up or it got too sunny. Since I've never caught one I want to fish for them in the best conditions to give myself a fighting chance.

   The same can be said of catching a tautog from my kayak. I need calm conditions since I would be in the ocean. As for the Smallmouth, I need it to be calm and I'd probably use my canoe instead of my kayak so I can stand and cast. 

   Each of these pursuits require specialized gear. I need a saltwater fly rod plus a box of saltwater flies for bluefish. Tautog require a sturdy boat rod plus hooks, sinkers, and a bucket full of crabs. Smallmouth will require my canoe and my bass tackle box. I put together a box full of lures I hope will entice walleye. Each of these adventures needs my to plan accordingly and bring the right gear for the job.

   Basically, the whole point of this post is that I want to do a lot of different things, but the truth is, I wish I didn't. I wish that I could let things go but once it is on my list it is there forever. I've had catching a tog from my kayak for three years now, and it is eating away at me. I have wanted to catch a Walleye for years but never seem to get around to it. But this spring I have no excuse... However, two things have made these adventures tough. First the weather has been unrelenting, specifically the wind. I can't fish from my kayak during a gale. Secondly, if I play hard for two days in a row, I seem to need a rest day. Taking one out of every three days off is wasting valuable time. ( I don't do nothing on a rest days. I'll be an adult and run errands. I'll bird and fish close to home for an hour or so. I just don't play hard). 

The honest to God's truth is I wish I didn't have a restless soul. Sometimes I wish I didn't want to do everything. It would be nice if all I cared about was stripers, or birds, or reading. But I want to try everything. As I said, once it is on the list, it eats at me. Many of these challenges, I will and do really enjoy, such as catching a Tiger Trout. Others, such as catching a Tautog from my 'yak is just to prove I can do it, and really nothing more. While Tautog is a tasty fish, I'm not a huge fish eater anyway. 

  My hero and best friend, Dave, has it figured out. He carp fishes in the morning, exercises at noontime, and striper fishes in the evening.  He is extremely happy with his hobbies. He keeps it simple and does what he loves. I wish I could narrow it down like that. However, he was a teacher and I know he got anxious when the wind was blowing just right and the stripers would be stacked up but he couldn't leave school until 3 pm. He also fished the Cape for trout, the North River for Coho Salmon, and the sea-run Browns at Scorton Creek. Not to mention he had four boys in sports. So I know he had a restless spirit also. So maybe there is hope that someday I can simplify and settle down. Until then I'll keep plugging away at my list. May goes by much too fast. I'll do my best.

Side note- I did make some progress this spring at letting things go. I took two things off of the dreaded "list". Every year my plan is to go to the Cape and see whales from shore. We did that again this year and saw some whales two miles out to sea. So I decided this is not worth doing. The cost of gas and the motel could be used to go on at least two whale watches. So from now on I'm taking it off of the calendar. 

  Secondly, I've been wanting to see back country waterfalls filled with snowmelt for some time. For reasons I don't understand, seeing roadside waterfalls wasn't good enough when we went a couple years ago to NH. However, when we went to the Delaware Water Gap there were a couple of large waterfalls. There wasn't any snow but they were gushing. I figured that was close enough. So I decided the gas and the five hundred miles on my car just to see a waterfall wasn't the best use of my time or funds. So look at me making progress.

Side note #2- Yes this post was written by a forty eight year old man. Instead of worrying about things like someday getting married or putting a roof on my my house, I worry about if I'll ever catch a Walleye. Normally, I'd make a joke about "white person problems" but over the last year I've developed plenty of problems. However, I admit, wanting to fish Indian Lake is a weird thing to worry about at almost fifty years old. I don't know what's wrong with me either.

Tiger Trout!

 

 One of the banes of my spring has been Tiger Trout. For reasons I can't understand, I really NEED, not want, to catch a Tiger Trout. Every morning when I have woken up for the last month I have checked the Mass Wildlife website to see if Tigers were stocked. This has thrown off many of my plans. For starters, sometimes I get a late start to my day because I'm waiting for the stocking report. Because of the late start and usually no Tiger Trout have been stocked, I end up screwing myself out of daylight.

   I have it in my head that catching a Tiger Trout is important. I can't tell you why. It is the only species of trout I haven't caught yet in MA/RI (Brook, Rainbow, Brown, Golden) not including Lake Trout. A couple weeks ago I went down the Cape targeting Tiger Trout, I didn't get any but had a blast with Browns. 

   Today when I woke up, as usual, I checked the Mass Wildlife website. Tiger Trout were stocked at two different lakes down the Cape that were within driving distance. Next I checked GPS and it turned out there was a ton of traffic getting over the bridges. So when I left the house I wasn't even sure I was headed down there. It turned out I turned right. I went birding in Newport first. I spent the morning birding with friends because a rare bird (Summer Tanager) showed up at Miantonomi. By the time we got done birding it was 1 pm.

   When I left Mia I still wasn't sure I was heading to the Cape. If I went over the bridges I knew I'd be there till after the afternoon rush. I went for it. I pulled up to Hamblin Pond in Barnstable and a few guys were fishing but there was a lot of room. For over an hour I didn't get any fish. I kept searching. I was casting and moving and covering a lot of ground. Finally I hooked a trout, but it was a rainbow. I was happy to catch a fish but not happy it was the wrong species.

  My next fish was also a Rainbow but finally my third fish was a Tiger Trout. It wasn't huge, maybe a foot or slightly more. I took some photos on my phone and let it go. I ended up with five Rainbows and two Tigers. All of them were caught on a casting bubble/ wooly bugger. 

I'd like to say that I got that challenge out of my system, but I have to admit I had a really fun day. I spent four hours fishing and really it just flew by.

 

Crazy Colored Little Blue Heron

 

   Allen's Cove in Quonset usually has Little Blue Heron's and Yellow Crowned Night Herons show up every year. Both species are rare in  Rhode Island. Of all of the coves in Rhode Island from the south coast up to Providence, I can't tell you why this cove is the most consistent place for both species to show up. 

   Last week the YCNH showed up and I got some photo upgrades. The next day my friend Sue went to see them. While she was there a Little Blue flew in. She said it was a pretty one. Since I 'm not keeping a list I'm not chasing rare birds. However, I had two hours to kill yesterday in the late afternoon so I decided to go to Allen's Cove.

   When I pulled in I ran into my friends Allison and Richard. I talked to them in the parking lot for a few. Then Allison decided to walk down to the bird with me. Not surprisingly, it was right where she left it. I've seen dozens of Little Blues between here and Florida but I've never seen one with a bright blue bill before. The color blue was neon. I looked at for a few minutes. It was feeding on small fish during the rising tide. It was quite beautiful. 

   The bird could be seen from the bike path walking down from the parking area on Marine Rd.

Extremely Cropped