Razorbills

 

 I went to Newport today because of rumors of Mackerel being caught around Fort Adams. The reports were a week old, but today was the first day I could get down there. It was rainy and crappy out but it was also warm, I figured I had nothing better to do. So I took a chance to try to catch a species I've never caught before (snagging them at the Canal for bait does not count)

   Needless to say, I didn't get any macs. I tried for over ninety minutes casting into deep water. The tide was fairly low, so maybe they were out deeper. Maybe they moved on, or they were hiding on the bottom just out of casting distance, I will never know.

   All is not lost! When I walked up to the bulkhead I saw a couple of Razorbills. Razorbills are an ocean going species that nest north of us. They only go on land to  nest during the breeding season. They stay out in deeper water rarely straying within 500 yards of shore. You are much more likely to find them on the open ocean. They are in the alcid family of birds. The most famous species in this family are puffins.

   Every year Razorbills make it to Rhode Island. The most consistent place to see them is Beavertail. Still, Beavertail is no sure bet. The birds are usually way out over a quarter mile. When you do see one, you usually have to wait for it to come up on the next wave to see it again, while also hoping it doesn't dive down. They are almost impossible to see in rough water. If you've been to Beavertail, you know how unlikely it is to have placid conditions. Between early February and late March I made at least ten trips to Beavertail to find them and other winter specialties. I didn't see one in any of my attempts.

On Christmas while birding, I ran into my friend Mike Tucker. I mentioned how I wanted to see Razorbills since I have missed them so many times during the colder months. I had my two hundred dollar scope while Mike had his $3000 spotting scope. Needless to say, I was counting on his bright, crisp, clear glass to find me a Razorbill way out. Luckily, he did. At Point Judith, Mike found two Razorbills flying about a quarter mile out. I found them in my binoculars and watched them until they flew out of site. Mission accomplished. An hour later I found one on my own at Beavertail. It was sitting on the water about 300 yards out. This is pretty close for these guys. I could see it naked eye. In my scope, I watched it preen and clean itself. At that distance there is no point in trying for a picture, but I got great views of it in the scope.

Fast forward back to today. I was working my way up the shoreline casting my spoon into the drink. When I got to the bulkhead I noticed two Razorbills right near it. I'm talking within 20 feet of shore!!! I eased my way back out of site and walked back to my car to get my camera. I hadn't taken it because it was raining. If I did catch any mackerel I was just going to use my phone camera. The round trip took me about ten minutes. I was fairly confident that I did not scare them. However, when I got back to the bulkhead, they had disappeared. I put my camera in a trash bag (which I had brought in case I found any mackerel to take home.

For the next half hour I watched the water as I continued fishing. I kept my eyes shifting in the 180 degrees I could see from left to center to right. I kept walking the bulkhead while fishing. At one point, I glanced behind me toward the boat docks. There were my little friends behind me between where I was and the docks but still hugging the shoreline. I ran back to get my camera out of the trash bag and waited until the Razorbills to pop up.

They popped up almost at my feet. They were so close I had to back off my zoom. They were probably less than ten feet from where I was standing. They were actively feeding. They would dive down and I would run twenty feet in the direction they were headed. When they'd pop up I'd take a bunch of pics and repeat the process. For fifteen minutes this went on. My heart was racing with excitement and I had to control my breathing to keep the camera still.

During my time photographing them, I never stopped thinking how lucky I was to be this close to a seabird that should be a mile offshore.

Peregrine Falcon

For most of the year I have been dumbfounded that I hadn't seen any Peregrine Falcons. A couple weeks ago I decided to put fate in my own hands and look for them at a known nest in Pawtucket. I found them but they were so far away that I couldn't get any decent pics.

A few days later I ran across another Peregrine on some pilings near the Hendrickson Bridge. Again, it was too far away for any pictures. This morning I was in Westerely, RI looking for a flock of Snow Buntings. In the flock was a Lapland Longspur. I didn't see the flock, but I had good reason. There was a Peregrine on a telephone pole looking for a potential meal. Luckily for me, this pole was right near the road. The sun was to my back. The falcon did not seem to mind at all that I was taking its picture. I watched it for ten minutes from my blind (my car) before heading out.

I saw Northern Gannets today followed by Horned Larks below.

Horned Lark

Christmas Bird Count

A long time ago, there was a Christmas tradition to wake up on Christmas and go out and see how many birds you could kill. It was a competition worth little more than bragging rights. In the year 1900 a bunch of people got together and decided it might be better to count the birds rather than shoot them. Miraculously, this idea stuck and it became the first Christmas Bird Count. Counts are now held on the weekends within a couple weeks before and after Christmas. They are not all scheduled for the same day so you may participate in more than one.

Fast forward 118 years ahead. My friend Mike Tucker texted me on Wednesday and asked me if I would be interested in joining him on the bird count he runs on Saturday (Dec 15). I had this Saturday off so I jumped at the chance. I had never done a Christmas bird count (for now on refereed to as a CBC) before so I was very excited before we got off of the phone. The purpose of a CBC is to count all of the birds in an area. In our case, Mike's block was the Seapowet area and the northern part of Tiverton. Along with Mike and myself, we had Jan St Jean who this year has seen 294 species of birds and regualrly goes over 300 in Rhode Island. Also joining us was Greg Sargeant who is pretty well known in the birding community. Basically, I birded with experts, and I was the new guy.

Our block was one of five that ran around the Westport River, Sachuest, Tiverton and Fogland Beach area. After the count is over, all of the groups meet to tally up numbers. The point is more for science than competition. Some areas might be on the open ocean such as Sachuest, so those birders would get sea ducks, where as a woodland area would have robins and blue jays.

Our section was a little dead today. The weather although warm was wet. Not too many birds took to the skies today. I don't know the final number, but we had about 60 species. Our highlight bird was a Little Blue Heron. It was the first one ever recorded in all of the years of the count area.

We did see an adult Bald Eagle today while scanning a pond. I had two new birds for the year we heard an Eastern Screech Owl, and we saw American Tree Sparrows. I hadn't seen American Tree Sparrows all year, but they were everywhere we went today. I contributed to the count and I wasn't just a waste of a seat in the truck. First thing this morning, while waiting for Mike to get me at Pardon Grey, I heard four Killdeer. It turned out to be the only Killdeer any of the groups reported. Jan got five of the six Brown Headed Cowbirds herself. I also believe Mike got the only Purple Finch of the day, but am not positive about that.

Although birding was on the slower side, we had a good day. The count ended with 133 different species. I am told, anything over 130 is a good day. Not only would I absolutely do it again next year, I'm going to see if any counts are still going on the first week of January when I have another Saturday off!

Common Redpolls

I spent four days this week looking for another northern winter finch, Common Redpolls. These elusive little guys seem to life birch forests. There is one in Lincoln, RI along the river. Last week a group of Redpolls were found by one of RI's best birders, Barbara Sherman.

Since then, I have tried three times to find them after work. I heard them once but for the most part the woods have been dead when I get there around 3 pm.

Today, not having to work, I tried again this morning. It took me quite a while but I ended up seeing two of them. They were tough to find and took me well over an hour. As I was walking out, three birders were walking in. I don't know if they have found them or not.

As far as I know only four other birders have seen them in the whole state. Hopefully, the birders I saw found them, but they are a challenge, and you will not see them without diligence. They are not like ducks on a pond. My guess is less than ten have seen the Redpolls. I am glad to be part of the club.

A Creepy Christmas with Jeff Belanger

On Tuesday, Laurie and I ventured to the Middleboro Library for a talk/ lecture by author Jeff Belanger. Jeff is into the paranormal. We has written multiple books on ghosts. He has a podcast where he talks about New England Legends. He breaks down the legends and tries to get to the bottom of how they started in the first place.

Tuesday's presentation titled "Creepy Christmas" details how many of our holiday traditions got started. Jeff talks about why we put wreaths on doors. He talks about the Yule Log and what garland represents (Yuck!!!). He discusses why Christmas and Christmas Eve are on December 24th and 25th. More than anything the first half of the talk is a history lesson about Christmas. I found it fascinating.

The second half is about scary Christmas characters.  He discusses the most famous of these, Krampus. He goes into other Christmas monsters from around the world as well. A quote from him "Those Germans knew how to discipline children". They had multiple scary creatures to keep kids in line.

Also Jeff talks about "Jingle Bells". Jingle Bells was written in Medford, MA. It is NOT a Christmas song. Christmas is not mentioned once. What it is, is a "hook up"song. It is literally about getting the girl to, um, do the deed. Jeff explains the lyrics and their true meaning.

The presentation takes a little more than an hour it is well worth the drive. It is extremely educational. It is also funny and entertaining. Lastly, it is FREE!. He is doing another lecture Wednesday December 12th at the Bancroft Library in Hopedale, MA. It is also free, but I think you have to register in advance. Link below

https://www.jeffbelanger.com/blog/event/a-creepy-christmas-with-jeff-belanger-at-bancroft-memorial-library/

A slide of Krampus getting rid of the naughty children

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.