Some pretty cool birds

The Tricolored Heron I saw today was too far away to make a photo
worthwhile.  Here is a photo of one from Scarborough Marsh, ME from 2018

 I am attempting not to make every post about birds, but this will be two back to back. Sorry

   The last couple of days a Tricolored Heron has been in Newport. As you probably suspect, because I am writing about it, it is a rare bird for New England. The only reliable place I know about them in New England is Scarborough Marsh in Maine. I have seen them there, but have only seen one in Rhode Island. It was on Block Island last  September.

   This bird has hung around Ocean Drive and Hazard Ave for three days. Unfortunately, I had a couple of long work days followed by really bad (read:expensive) car trouble. I had today off, and figured there was a 50/50 chance it would spend another night. I got to Newport around 9 am. I parked on Hazard Ave and started scoping for it. To my relief I found it in the scope within a minute. Another woman walking her dog was also looking for it in her binoculars. I pointed it out to her, she was very grateful. A few minutes after that a couple fellow birders showed up, Barbara Sherman and her friend Cindy,  I pointed it out to them.

I won't give you play by play of every bird or place I went after that. My main goal was to hike some trails, secondary was seeing birds. I only ended up doing about five miles. I saw another "good" bird walking on the road at Fisherville. It was a Red Breasted Nuthatch. This bird can be common or rare in RI in a given year. This is a rare year. I had only seen one and it was because of a report. So seeing them today, and finding my own was cool.

I didn't really see anything else exotic today. I dipped on Blue Headed Vireo and Northern Waterthrush, both birds should be pretty easy to get in a couple weeks (I don't want to sound like a broken record but... I should see them as long as they don't keep closing down open spaces)

Pine Warblers are very common this time of year. They are in about every forest that has a pine tree. Today as I was "pishing" to call in birds, one came right up to me and I got a half decent photo.

Completing the Bradley Challenge- Seeing all the Waterfowl in Rhode Island

In front of the goose and to the right you can see the
male Blue Winged Teal with its characteristic  white crescent
in front of the eye

 Three years ago, I was having a conversation with my friends Dick and Marge Bradley. Marge had retired that year so they got to spend more time birding. While we were talking, Dick mentioned it was the first year they saw all of the waterfowl. We all keep our list on a website run by a fellow birder named Paul L'Etoile. I had never thought about seeing all of the waterfowl that regularly pass through Rhode Island. It seemed like an obvious challenge.

  The category of waterfowl includes all the species of swans, geese, and ducks that can be seen in Rhode Island.  Many of these birds are easy. I'm sure all of you reading this see plenty of Mute Swans, Canada Geese, Mallards, and Wood Ducks. There are plenty of others that are still pretty easy to see if you are a birder such as most of the sea ducks.

   However, seeing the few harder species is no easy task. The rarer birds don't always show up every year. When they do, sometimes it is only one and you need to chase it. Case in point, there was one King Eider seen in 2019. It could only be seen from the Block Island Ferry or the cliffs on BI with perfect weather conditions. Black Guillemot is another duck you can only see from the ferry.

Other rare species include Tufted Duck, Blue Winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Barrow's Goldeneye, Greater White Fronted Goose, and Tundra Swan.

   Last year in my quest to see as many species as I could I managed to see all but one of these birds. The one I worried about most was Tufted Duck, a native of  Europe but a few will wonder our way. One was seen last May at rush hour in Newport. I was at Swan Point Cemetery about to leave because it started to rain.When I found out about the bird, I went through downtown Providence at 5 pm. I drove through the rain and traffic, saw the bird and came home.

  This left me with only one species I needed, Tundra Swan. Every year for as long as I can remember going back to when DJ was a kid, I would see Tundra Swans at Lake Tiogue in Coventry in December. In 2018 they were there at the end of December, but the pond froze up on Dec 30 so when I went there the first week of January they were far south. Not to worry, I figured, I'll get them in Dec 2019. So or the entire month of December I checked Tiogue on all of my days off. They never showed up. This crushed me since I was one bird that I see every year away from completing the Bradley Challenge.

It turned out two Tundra Swans did show up at the end of 2019 on Block Island. We all thought they were for a day but left so no one went after them. We didn't know the Tundra Swans would end up staying the winter. So on January 2 six of us braved the crossing of Block Island Sound, took a taxi to Sachem Pond and saw the Tundra Swans guaranteeing we would have them for the year.

  Seeing most of the waterfowl was easy this year. I even saw the rare Pink Footed Goose, a species so rare in Rhode Island they are on a "vagrant" list. By the end of January I had all the swans, geese, and ducks except for Wood Duck (easy in March) and Blue Winged Teal. I  got the Wood Ducks a couple weeks ago leaving the teal.

Late March through April is the best time to see Blue Winged Teal, but they are not easy. For the last three weeks I have been searching known hotspots without any luck. Today a pair was seen at Great Swamp (one of the hotspots I have been going to) by John Magill and Linda G.. So after work I rushed down and refound them. I watched them for 15 minutes along with a pair of Glossy Ibis before heading home. Thus completing the Bradley Challenge.

Glossy Ibis

   This was the first time I have seen all of the waterfowl like I said. Some years a few of these species just won't show up. However, I suspect most of my hardcore birding friends have more years where they get them all then not. I have only been in this game competitively for a couple years now, so for me, it was my biggest birding goal for the year. I doubt I will get anywhere near the number of birds I got last year for multiple reasons. I doubt whale watches will be going out, winter finches may not show up, and many birding locations are closed thanks to Corona. So, I am thrilled to have seen the pair of Blue Winged Teal tonight.

One last thing, I had the conversation with Dick about the waterfowl three years ago, I literally made up the name the "Bradley Challenge" as I was walking  out of Great Swamp tonight.

How to catch stocked trout

 It took me a lot of years to get into trout fishing. I spent most of my childhood fishing for anything that would eat a worm. I spent my teenage years and early twenties chasing largemouth bass. Then from age 25 onward I have been addicted to surf fishing for stripers, blues, and albies.

   Somewhere around eight years ago, I decided to fish for trout regularly. When trout are stocked the water is still too cold for migrating stripers. So fishing for trout gave me something to do after ice out but before the arrival of my seven lined friends. Trout fishing also gave me something to do when conditions weren't good for striper fishing or when I didn't want to take a long drive. Lastly, trout fishing in New Hampshire gave me a challenge at the end of the day when I was done with a hike and still had daylight.

   What ended up happening was, I got good at it. It turns out fishing for stocked trout isn't very hard. However, some people make it much harder than it should be. I can't tell you how many times I've been fishing at a crowded bank and I caught more than everyone else around me combined. Some people just don't get it. If you are one of them, read on my friend

   There are really three ways to catch trout. You can dunk bait such as Powerbait or worms. You can catch them fly-fishing, and you can catch them using lures. I am only going to cover using lures. There is no reason for me to cover fly-fishing. Chances are pretty good, if you can cast a fly rod you don't need my advice.

   I'm not gong to cover Powerbait or worms either. For one thing, there isn't any skill in castng a piece of Powerbait and waiting for a trout to hit it. Secondly, almost every trout you catch on Powerbait and worms will have swallowed the hook. The fish is almost assured to die. I don't have any problem eating a stocked trout, but I'd rather have the decision left up to me, than the floating trout on the shoreline.

Okay, so now that we got that out of the way, how does one catch  a stocked trout on lures? First off, you have to remember, these fish have lived in a crowded hatchery their whole life. For a while they still act like it. They will stay in tight schools for a week or so, then split up into smaller schools before finally becoming loners. So you have two choices find the fish or have them find you. 

If you have the chance, go find the fish. Many Cape Cod kettle ponds and Plymouth lakes have tons of access. Some you can walk around the whole lake. I choose to wear my waders and circle the lake until I find fish. Obviously, you can use a boat, kayak, or canoe to find fish also. But, I will tell you, in a lakes with unlimited shoreline to wade, I usually do just as well from shore.

Another thing to remember is, sometimes the fish just aren't biting in one pond. I will leave one pond and fish others in a single day. If I make a day of it, I usually have a plan to fish three or four ponds n a day. One day a few years ago I went to the kettle ponds at Nickerson State Park. I left before daybreak and fished them for hours. I caught two or three trout. It sucked. Finally in late afternoon I left. I stopped at a pond in Sandwich on my way home just because it is a pretty pond. I ended up catching twenty six trout in a couple hours. That was after spending eight hours at Nickerson with barely a fish to show for it. Mobility.

So now that we covered that you should move until you find fish, even to another pond if you have to, what should you use?

For a fishing rod, I use a six foot medium light rod. Many ultra-light guys will use a 4'6" to five foot rod, this is fine in small streams, but on a lake, it just won't cast a lure very far. I can easily cast a spoon three times further with my six footer than these guys can with their ultra-light. I use six pound line on a 1500 size reel. I'm partial to Shimano Sedona, but as long as your reel doesn't suck you'll be fine. These aren't Tarpon.

My entire box is about the size of my phone,
and probably weighs less.

 You will be surprised to know my trout "tackle box" fits in my pocket. Everything I need to catch trout fits in a little 3x5 box. A few years back I wrote an article for The Fisherman Magazine about using a small box to carry your lures. I'm always actively looking for trout and want to cover a lot of water.   As I said, I'm not using Powerbait or drowning worms. I am searching for trout that are willing to hit a moving target. My choices of lures are spinners, spoons, a small swimmer, and a casting bubble/fly combo.

   Using spoons and spinners means I can cover a lot of water quickly. They are simple to use you cast them out, wait for them to sink a little and reel them in. Simple. Sometimes I'll vary the speed. Usually I will try different depths. I have to force myself to countdown to let it sink before reeling.

   As for spinners, I am partial to Roostertails. I am sure others like Mepps and Blue Fox work just as well. Roostertail makes like a hundred colors. I basically use two. I use the Yellow Coachdog ninety percent of the time. It is my favorite lure when I am not using the Casting bubble/fly. The other color I use is White Coachdog. I have both of them in sizes 1/8 and 1/16 ounce. I use the bigger size more often because I like the longer casts. I have caught trout on other color Roostertails, but I really believe in Keep It Simple Stupid. When they go onsale, instead of stocking up on twenty colors, most of them I will never use, I buy back ups for my two favorite colors for when I lose one or it rusts.

For spoons, I keep that basic also. I use 1/8 ounce Kastmasters. I have silver for sunny days, and gold for cloudy days. I probably have a perch color also. Again, I'm sure many companies make spoons that work. That's fine. I choose to keep my selection simple. The less time I am deciding what to use, the more time I'm casting.

For a swimmer, I use a 1 1/2 or 2 inch Rapala. I rarely use a swimmer. it is probably the last lure I will try. I like the silver, but will also use the perch color. I'm not sure if color matters.

This brings me to my favorite method of catching trout with a spinning rod, using a casting bubble and a fly. Almost nobody uses this method but it is the most effective way to catch trout that I know. When I said above that I've had days where I caught more than anyone around me, this is what I was using. First off, a casting bubble is a bobber you fill with water. This makes it heavy and  I can cast it a mile. Secondly, it sinks, so I can control the depth I am using my fly. There is a "straw" in the middle that you thread your line through. Below the bubble, I use a 6 foot fluorocarbon leader. I'm not really a believer in fluoro, but I do catch more trout with it than without it. 

   Lastly, the fly. I carry a couple of flies for this method. I use olive and black Wooly Buggers. Olive Wooly Bugger is the fly I use seventy five percent of the time. I also carry Hares Ears (tan or olive) in size 12 and Pheasant Tails. I usually try the Hare's Ear and Pheasant Tail when the Bugger isn't working. This method is simple. Cast out as far as you can. Let it sink to various depths. I usually start with a five count. And then reel it in S-L-O-W-L-Y. If you think your reeling it in slowly, it is probably not slow enough. I have been on the bank with forty other guys and I was the only one using this method while everyone else is trying everything else in their box and I'm hooking them on every cast. I have witnesses.

   My last tip I'll give you is to fish into the wind. I know this is uncomfortable, but it works. If the wind has been pushing in one direction for a day or more, the trout will be on the shoreline the wind is blowing to. All of the food items such as insects and small fish will be pushed that way. There is a lake in New Hampshire that all of you have driven by that I fish regularly. I can walk around it and  will always fish with the wind in my face and the waves splashing my waders. One day a few years ago I pull up and the wind is howling through the valley. The shoreline it was blowing to was across the pond and a half mile walk. I got in the water and fished as I went. I didn't have any luck until I turned a corner and had the wind in my face. Every trout in the lake must have been on that side of the lake and they were hungry. I caught them on almost every cast. I couldn't miss. I tried every single lure in my box to find something they WOULD'NT HIT. I never did. In the course of a few hours I ended up with 59 brook trout, which is my high number to this day. The only reason I kept fishing after reaching absurd numbers was I was hoping for a big one. The fish that day went 8-13 inches, but  had I caught big ones in that lake before. That day wasn't an anomaly,  have had multiple twenty fish days in that lake, but always with the wind in my face!

  I hope this helps you catch more trout this year. I have certainly seen more people fishing since their options are limited. Maybe some of these tips will help you get more trout on the bank. All I ask is please pack out your trash so the next person doesn't have to see it.

Just Do It

Bluebird

Today one of my friends posted a picture of a bluebird that decided to take up residence in the bluebird house in her yard. This is cool and I'm pretty jealous. One of the comments I read was "I'd love to see a bluebird". She didn't say she wanted to have them live in her yard, she just wanted to see a bluebird.

I'm not going to lie, the comment got me mad. Mad enough to write this post. Here's the thing, if you want to go see a bluebird, get off of your ass and go see a bluebird. You might be saying, I'd like to see a bluebird, but I don't know where, maybe she doesn't either. THEN ASK!!!

   I see comments like this all of the time usually when someone posts a great photo. Here are some typical responses.

Great picture I'd love to go see a bald eagle.
That would be a lifebird for me, I hope to see one someday.
That's too far of a walk for me
When I retire I'll spend more time___fill in the blank
And on and on they go with excuses.

   Admittedly, this might not be the appropriate time to go out and look for birds because of stay at home orders. But hopefully, ninety nine percent of us will live through this  and life will go back to normal. So when it does, start doing and seeing things you want to see and do and stop making excuses!

I am so tired of hearing how people "want" to see birds but they never actually go looking for them. It is not that hard to find bluebirds. If you don't know where to look, just ask a birder. But it's not just bluebirds or birds. If you want to do something that's important to you, why haven't you done it yet? I'm not talking about a dream vacation to Hawaii that you may need to save up for a couple of years, but if you have never seen a bluebird or eaten Manhattan Clam Chowder and you have wanted to but never gotten around to it, what the hell are you waiting for?

Though the reason I wrote this was because of a bluebird, birds are really just a metaphor for this post. Seriously, if you want to hike a mountain, try a new restaurant, learn to play guitar, see a snowy owl, or fish the Cape Cod Canal, there is no reason you haven't other than excuses.

None of us are getting any younger. I think we have all learned how easily life can be taken away. One of the excuses I posted above was "it is too far of a walk". I read that once from a woman that needs a hip replacement. There were some great birds at Charlestown last year and  posted some pictures of the birds. She congratulated me on my finds and pics, but she can't take the trip out there because of her hip.  She just retired, still needs a hip, enjoys birds but can't chase them. I don't want to be in that position where I could have, I should have, but I can't now. Life is too short. There is too much to do and too much to see.

If you start a sentence with I hope to (fill in the blank) someday, and it is something you can do now either because you have the time or financially, JUST DO IT, even if it is to see a bluebird. What are you waiting for?
 

Making the Most of my Time

   Unlike many people, I am still working. So despite writing a post about making use of my time, I don't really have more free time. What I do have is less things I can do with my free time. Although birding is not out of the question it is getting more difficult as more and more places shut down. There is a grey area in the rules where I can go to RI. You are supposed to quarantine if you plan on staying in the state (like if you have a summer house) but obviously a daytrip does not qualify. I have to work in Cumberland and Woonsocket anyway almost daily, so it is frustrating that I'm not supposed to go do the things I love, but am considered essential.

Anyway, this leaves me free most afternoons and it is getting nice out. Somehow, I am managing to stay busier than ever. I will tell you how I've kept busy, not because you care a rats ass about me cleaning out my shed, but hopefully some of these ideas motivate someone to try something new.

Lets face it, most people do have more free time because of their life being turned upside down over the last month. If nothing else, you're definitely not going grocery shopping as much. As someone mentioned, we may never have this opportunity again to be told to stay home for an extended period of time (again, not me, I'm "essential"). But since I can't go do what I want, I have had to get creative.

As you saw in the previous post I signed up for the Streaming Service called Curiosity Stream. I also signed up for a website called Great Courses. The site for $30 a quarter of the year (first month is free) you can take online courses. You don't get college credit but you do get college lectures by real college professors. It is a great place to self learn.There are a ton of courses to choose from. Although I haven't explored the entire site, the ones I've seen have between 12-24 lectures and you can download a course book. I signed up specifically so I could learn more about Astronomy. I've watched  7 lectures so far. Some of it is above my paygrade, so I sometimes have to go back and watch a topic a couple of times, for example how stars are charted. This is what I wanted, I know high school astronomy. I know where Orion's belt is, I wanted to be challenged academically.  After I am finished with this astronomy  course I will probably take another. However, there are all kinds of courses from every subject. Even fun ones on travelling to state parks or Paris. I don't see how these qualify as college courses, but you will learn something.

  Between Great Courses and CuriosityStream that can keep me busy all day when the weather isn't nice out. But since the weather has been great the last couple days there was no way I was staying in the house, I did what I do when not chasing birds, I picked up my fishing pole. I went fishing the past two nights after work. I caught two trout last night. Tonight I got a decent pickerel and crappie, but I did go troutless. Still, being on the water (I used my kayak) was great. I'll be going fishing a lot more often. So maybe, just maybe, there will be a few posts on how to catch fish instead of where a White Pelican was seen.

Besides the fishing, I did clean out my shed. Whether you care a rats ass or not, it needed to be done. I have been trying to force myself to do a small project a day or a bigger one in fifteen minute increments. My goal each day was to fill up two boxes with crap I will never use. If it took me five minutes that was fine, but as I got near the end I had to go through stuff to see if it was worth keeping.

I also started my garden. The last couple of years, all I've had for a garden were tomato plants my friend Dave gave me. But this year I'm going to grow lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. I also bought some flowers that should attract hummingbirds.

   In case that weren't enough,  I started jogging again. I figure it is best to be as healthy as possible just in case. So the last four nights I've went for a run. The last three of those were 2 miles each. As long as my foot holds up I'm going to keep doing it. Though once I am in shape, I only plan on going 3-4 nights a week to rest my foot, but I'll throw in a four mile run once a week.

   Lastly, and this has been the hardest thing to do, I've been forcing myself to read a chapter of my book every night. Right now I'm reading a book by Hemingway about his time in Paris. I really can't get into it, but it is short and I plan on finishing it instead of putting it on the shelf.

   I got home from work around 3 pm yesterday. I ate a snack and then went fishing a little before 4 pm. I did have to put the kayak on my car. I fished until about 6:30. I filleted my trout and cut up some potatoes to  roast for supper. I put them in the oven and went for a run. Took a shower ate my potatoes while watching two lectures about the night sky. After that was over I read a chapter before finally going to bed. It was a little too much and not relaxing. It would have been more relaxing if I didn't go for the run, but that really is the most important thing. No matter what, keeping busy has kept me from looking at social media all day.

   So there you have it, in the course of a week, I started watching documentaries, a garden, jogging, an astronomy course, small house projects, and fishing.  Other than fishing, it may not be what I'd like to be doing (birding) but I have been productive.

CuriosityStream

   A few days ago, I was reading a post by my friend Mike. He mentioned that he signed up for an online streaming service called CuriosityStream. The service carries all kinds of educational programming of many different topics. The topics range from science. history, technology, nature, and more. There are hundreds of programs to watch.

   Browsing for something to watch is easy. For instance, if I wanted to watch a historical documentary,  I click on history then subcategories pop up. I can choose from military history, modern history, ancient history, etc.. Form there I can scroll the subcategories and choose my show.

The awesome thing about this service is it only costs $12/year, or 11.99 to be exact. I think regular price is $17.99 but they are having a 40% off sale. Considering a Redbox movie is $1.75 and Netflix is about ten dollars a month, even at full price it is an awesome deal.

So far I have watch a two part series on Yellowstone and a two parter about the Galapagos Islands (because that is who I am). The Yellowstone doc was done by the BBC. The Galapagos show was narrated by Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. I enjoyed both. I plan on watching some shows about space and ancient Europe.

Since it is still chilly and my options of places to go are dwindling literally by the day, I'l  be home far more than normal this spring. If nothing else, watching Curiosity Stream will make me smarter by the time this is over. If you are interested in checking it out, the link is below. As a reminder, I got nothing to sign up for this site. It would be nice if they paid me to plug the service, but they are not. It just seems like a good deal for many reasons and a good way to keep busy.

https://curiositystream.com/

Vacationing in the USA

Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park are only two hours from
Denver International Airport.

As many of us realize, the longer this goes on, the more businesses will be on the verge bankruptcy. I think some of the hardest hit will be those that depend on the tourist dollar. I believe that when we start to recover, many people will have lost a lot of their savings and will be reluctant to go on vacation. This will affect the tourist industry long after people stopped getting sick. Furthermore, I think we all learned to keep a little more money in our savings.

   When we recover from this, maybe we should as a country reconsider where we go on vacation and spend our money. For example, instead of going to Jamaica or the Dominican, it would help create jobs and help the economy to go to the Keys or Hawaii.

Key West sunset

   I'm not saying that it is my place to tell you where to go. It is just a suggestion that we vacation in America to help out our fellow citizens. If you know me, then you know I dream of going to the Louvre and an African Safari. They are high on my bucket list for sure, but there are plenty of places in the US that offer absolute great opportunities to vacation.

When buffalo block the road, you don't go until they go
Badlands National Park

I'm spoiled by beaches. I go to them pretty much weekly from August through May. Truth be told, and shame on me, I don't even notice the scenery at all. All I care about is if there are stripers feeding under the waves or if the Red Knots are still hanging at Napatree.  However, for the rest of you, I do understand the allure of a beach vacation. Yet, there's no need to go to the Caribbean. There are great beach towns up and down the Atlantic Coast. They have all the food you could eat. They have boardwalks and entertainment. Literally from Old Orchard Beach in Maine down to Key West, the coast is covered with great beach towns such as Ocean City, MD, Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach, Daytona, Miami Beach and my favorite town I have ever been in Key West. I suspect the West Coast is no different.

Yellowstone Grizz

   I have been to Yellowstone and I've been to South Dakota and I can tell you, you feel like you are on Safari at those places. Of course, this is why I want to go to Africa, but the wild animals in America are just as awesome, and I suspect the scenery is far better. Many people take the stupid ass tour bus to Yellowstone. They go to the highlights (Old Faithful, Artist Bluff, and a couple other spots). They spend a day and they are off to the next park on the circuit.  Because Yellowstone is so full of wildlife, even the people on the bus are gonna see some of Yellowstones fauna. But, if you spend a few days there, maybe take a couple hikes, you will fall in love with the place. A few days in Yellowstone pretty much guarantees seeing a couple bear, massive elk, and of course bison. If the wldlife in the lower 8 aren't enough for you, it doesn't get more exotic than Alaska.

The Tetons

   Just south of Yellowstone lies Grant Teton National Park. It has the same wildlife as Yellowstone with the addition of far more moose. It also has the most majestic scenery in the lower forty eight. One could easily do a week to ten day vacation exploring both parks. If you are one of those that like luxury accommodations then Jackson Hole would make a nice base for the Tetons.

Gettysburg

   This country is full of so many great places. We have amazing historical sites and battlefields. We have mountain ranges and two oceans along with the tropical Gulf of Mexico.  We have awesome world class museums and and art galleries.We have fun cites (my favorite is Philly) and obviously great food pretty much everywhere.

   So when this is over, maybe consider taking the family on a road trip or to a beach town and be Jimmy Buffett for a week. Maybe a trip to the Space Needle n Seattle or the Alamo in San Antonio is up your alley. As for me,  want to see it all.

The Thinker outside the Rodin Museum
Philadelphia, PA

Fun fact- The Thinker is looking down into Hell