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.

250 Birds in 5 Months

Not a great photo
Laughing Gull,
Bird #250 in 2020

   As I've said ten thousand times since the end of last year, I didn't have any birding goals for 2020. I did my "RI Big Year" last year and didn't plan on repeating it. I had plenty of other things I wanted to do this year. I had multiple getaways planned and knew I would miss some birds because of them. But, as we all know, the world turned upside down this spring. I didn't get to go to Race Point to see migrating Right Whales in the beginning of April. At the end of April I planned on backpacking to wilderness waterfalls in NH swollen by snowmelt. Lastly, I had a trip to Plum Island for a weekend in May that of course didn't happen. Not to mention many more to come. My only real hope was to hit 250 species for the year. If I didn't reach that goal, it didn't matter since I had so much other fun planned

   So I did what I always do on my days off, I birded. That said, Mother Nature was not kind to me this winter and spring. If we had two days a week of bad weather, they fell on my days off. None the less, I persisted. There really isn't much else to do in the winter, so I chased birds. I had a fantastic January. I ended up seeing 125 birds by the end of the month.

Last year I chased every single bird I could. If a good bird was reported while I was at work, I'd go as soon as I got out. That was great, but I didn't need the stress of that pressure this year. Not to mention I went through  a set of tires in a year and put tens of thousands of miles on my car.  I realized, that if I just birded on my days off during the first four months and birded like a banshee during May I should see most of the birds. I figured by not chasing birds after work and only on weekends I'd still see 90%of the species seen.  I stayed true to this experiment. From January to April I only chased 3 species after work, a White Pelican, Blue Winged Teal, and Wilson's Plover

As of April 30 I had 171 species. May is the big month for migration so that number was going to sky rocket just like all of the other birders. May is a whirlwind for birders. It is filled with color, excitement, and exhaustion (you can sleep in June). On May 24 I had seen 246 species. I realized I could get 250 if I got lucky before the end of the month. I got my 250th bird last year on June 1, and it sort of aggravated me that I couldn't have gotten it in May. Two hundred and fifty species in the first 5 months (50/birds/month) has a nice ring to it.  

Looking at my list, there were two easy birds I could get. They were Seaside and Saltmarsh Sparrows. I set up a kayak trip with a couple of friends for Wednesday night at the Charlestown Breachway. We had fun and saw a bunch of birds. Happily, we saw the two species of sparrows. This meant I only had two to go and gave me a fighting chance.

   Well, Mother Nature or the Weather Gods did not make life easy. There weren't any more easy birds left to chase. But I knew where two hard birds were. There was a Least Bittern at Trustom. It had been seen or heard the last few days. I woke up Friday morning to some heavy rain. None the less, I went to Trustom. For two hours I stood soaked from sporadic rain showers until the Bittern finally decided I suffered enough and made a grunt call as I was about to leave...one to go. I tried the rest of the day to find another new bird. I went to Great Swamp with my friend Sue among other places. 

   The other bird I knew about was a Mississippi Kite. This is a really rare bird in New England. For some reason, one pair decided to nest in Rhode Island last year. They were the first known MS Kites to nest in the state. They are back again this year. Unfortunately, the nest is on private property and can not be seen from the road. Still, when they soar or fly, you can see them. Most of my friends had seen them already. I tried multiple times to see these Kites. In the last week I tried three times for a total of six hours hoping for a glimpse of them. Nada.

All was not lost, Sports fans. A Laughing Gull had been seen at Brenton Point State Park Thursday and Friday. I was looking for the Kite on Friday when I found out it was still there. I couldn't bring myself to drive from Richmond to Newport at 5 pm. So, when I woke up at 5:30 am today, that is where I went. When I got to Newport the fog was so thick I could see maybe fifty feet. I walked up an down Ocean Drive, but the gull wasn't on the rocks. If it was out to sea, there was no way I could see through the fog. After two hours I gave up. 

I headed to Napatree where some of my friends were birding. I decided my best bet for one more bird was to make the long walk out. You never know whats out there. Sue and I were fifteen minutes behind some other good friends.  When we got out to the lagoon we saw our first of the year Laughing Gull. Bird #250 (and 259 for Sue).

Wilson's Pharalope

After Napatree we walked the mudflats of the Charlestown Breachway. I found a Wilson's Pharalope that was very cooperative and walked almost right up to us. After we left the Breachway, Jess Bishop talked me into stalking the Mississippi Kite again. I had no desire to spend any more time in the neighborhood. Plus I has hungry and tired. Instead of arguing, I took the path of least resistance and went along. About 30 minutes into our stakeout the Kite made three passes over us. One of them, it was quite low and we had a great look at its tail pattern and could see all of its colors. It was incredible. Bird #251

Usually I end a post like this with "what's next". Truthfully, I don't care. I'm not going to guess how many species I might end up with. I'm not going to look over the list of species that haven't been seen and try to figure out how many I could see. Now that May is over, I'm not going birding after work unless it is a close walk in the woods for exercise. I'm not going to South County to chase birds after work.  

As for my experiment to see if I could still see 90% of the birds only going two days a week, and going hard in May here are the stats (these are based off of Paul L's site and not ebird).

The leader to this point is Sue Palmer she has seen 259 to my 251. So I have seen 97% of the birds the leader has.

There have been 264 species seen so far in 2020. I have seen 95% of them. 

All that said, even though I am only 8 species behind the leader. I have absolutely zero chance of catching up.   The birds that she has that I don't are what are known as"blocker birds". These are birds that are very rare and won't show up again this year. They could potentially block me from taking the lead. So I really have no chance of finishing in the top 3, nor do I care. I'm not shooting for forth, or fifth, or whatever. I just want to  have fun, which is what I'm doing. Today was awesome!

  Lastly, as always, I am truly awestruck that I have fallen into a group of fantastic birders way better than me, that are so unselfish caring people. It blows me away they consider me a friend. One of them is celebrating a birthday today. Happy Birthday Jan.

Photo stolen without permission, but I'm in it
so oh well. Me, Jan, and Sue
smiling under our masks. 

Rose Breasted Grossbeak Upgrades and Warbling Vireo Life Photo

   I went to Cumberland Monastery today to find Mourning Warbler. I didn't find it, but I did get a life photo and a photo upgrade. The life photo is of a  Warbling Vireo. They are a fairly common bird but always seem to be up in the top of the canopy.

Below are pictures of Rose Breasted Grosbeak. This is another common bird. However, it has been sort of a white whale for me. When I try to get a photo its in bad light or behind a leaf. The best photo I had before today was of one right in the open, but it was molting and looked like hell. Despite the bad sky, this one stayed low enough for upgrades. 

Life Photo of Warbling Vireo

Two photos of male Rose Breasted Grosbeak

My previous best photo of this species