Broken Toe Birding Part 2

In the previous blog post, chronicled how I broke my pinky toe and was birding Estero Llano Grande in the Rio Grande Valley with a bit of a handicap.

Ranger John was graciously giving me a tour of the park via tram and we picked up a few extra birders along the way. We were birding around Alligator Lake which is a known spot for anhingas, green kingfishers, herons and well...

...alligators if you can believe it! How often do see the animal a like is named for? There are a lot of Otter Lakes that have left me woefully short of otter sightings. This alligator was a huge beast--you can even see the teeth. There was a story going around that a group recently witnessed an alligator in this pond take out a nutria.  Well...I found the blog entry with the photos (warning, that link is GRAPHIC), If you are like me and like to watch a good train wreck, you'll want to see those images.  The above was a large gator, I wonder if that was the one that took out the nutria? If not...that means there are several huge ones in that lake.  Yikes.

I always manage for find people generously willing to carry my scope. Even though my scope is really light and not bad to carry (unless I'm on some insane odyssey up the side of a Guatemalan volcano) folks seem to genuinely want to help me out. Above, Bob (a new birding friend) kindly offered. I'm sure my doctor wouldn't be thrilled with me carrying things around on my broken pinky toe, so I was relieved to have some help.

There were a few herons around like the above yellow-crowned night-heron and I imagine they all fish the lake with a bit of trepidation, they could easily wind up like the afore mentioned nutria. Other birds zipping around included scissor-tailed flycatchers, green kingfishers, little blue herons and egrets. As we were watching the birds, my coffee had worked its way through my system and I needed a restroom.  I asked John if he would mind driving me back and some of the other group thought a drive to the visitor center restrooms was sensible. As we slowly made our way back, I had a text message alert. Some friends have a group messaging system they are testing for rarities. The text read, "Curlean male @ Estero by the start of the Green Jay Trail."

"Hey, John, I just got an alert about a Cerulean male at the head of the Gree..."

Before I could finish the location, he gunned it and we were on our way! Some poor aramdillo tried to crawl up on the road and as much as I would have loved to stop and get his photo, a Cerulean is a warbler I have not seen in years and waved as went by. John had us there in less than two minutes. We could see the group of birders scanning the trees and made a beeline for them. Someone from our group asked, "Hey, didn't you need to use the bathroom?"

"A cerulean takes precedence," I said. "Also, I apologize now in case my excitement at seeing this bird gets the better of me and well, I don't make it to the bathroom. This bird is worth a pee in the pants!"

We started scanning.

There mixed in with a couple of northern parulas was the cerulean warbler male. Not the best photo ever of a cerulean, but a documentable shot and I'm going to count it for my Digiscoping Big Year (the fundraiser for Friends of Sax Zim Bog is the Half Year, but I'm very curious how many species I can get photos of in a year and I'm going to take it to December). But what a treat to get a look at this bird again. I think the last time I saw one of these was before I even started blogging in 2004! I neglected to apply any bug spray before walking in the shade and ended up with some mighty fine insect welts, but it was worth it to get a look at a bird like this!

After finally hitting a restroom, John took me around to grab more bird photos at the ponds. During migration these can be filled with fun birds like black-necked stilts and all sorts of fun shorebirds from snipe, dowitchers, yellowlegs and any number of sandpipers.

Waterfowl migration was starting to shift northwards but I was still able to get some fun target birds like the above fulvus whistling ducks. Fulvus refers to this ducks color.  I learned something very interesting from John.  You can black-bellied whistling ducks at this part too.  The black-bellies will nest in cavities and nest boxes, whereas the fulvus nests on the ground.  But this is one of the species you come to valley to see.

Another favorite that I got to see was a cinnamon teal! Love that bird and loved that he was mixed with some shoverelers and green-winged teal.

John eventually had to head back to do a butterfly program and I happily spent time on the shaded deck. If you like digiscopiong or taking photos in general, the deck is best in the afternoon and the sun shifts to being behind you.  You can also grab some ice cream from the shop and watch birds to your heart's content! I had an ice cream and ibises in front of me: heaven.

While I was hanging out on the deck, I ran into a Minnesota birder named Alex.  I think because Sun Country flies direct from the Twin Cities, this is a popular and economical destination for Minnesota birders, I run into them every time I'm here.  But it was fun to hang out with Alex and watch the birds as well as catch up on each other's lives. Turns out we were both rooming at the same place for the night.

So, even though I didn't start my birding in a new place in Texas, no day at Estero Llano Grande is ever wasted.  I had only planned visit for half a day, but ended up dedicating a full day there.  I could easily spend a weekend in the Rio Grande Valley and just park on that deck...actually, I have done that with a girlfriend and we had an amazing girl's weekend.

All parks are a must visit in the Valley, but I hope if you ever come here, you'll have as much fun at this one as I do.  It has a little bit of everything.  Even Harris's hawks!

Broken Toe Birding at Estero Llano Grande Part 1

I am both incredibly excited and a little nervous about my current spring travel schedule. It is action and birding packed but wow, it's a lot. Last week I was a guest speaker at Quinta Mazatlan but you can't go to the Rio Grande Valley for just a day. If you're going to head down, you want to take advantage of the tremendous birding opportunities. However, the day before I left for the valley...I was running around my apartment tying up loose work ends, booking future travel, packing, etc when I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking and slammed my little toe into the corner of one of our many bookshelves.  Yes...I know what you're thinking. Ow. So here's a text exchange that immediately occured between Non Birding Bill and I (he was out writing at a coffee shop):

I can't believe NBB wasn't willing to watch a couple of YouTube videos demonstrating how to realign my toe.  Ha. So we went off to a clinic where my doctor said, "It's not dislocated, it's either bruised, but most likely broken.  Either way, you need to stay off it for the next four days and ice it for 20 minutes every two hours for twenty minutes."

But...but...but...I have a 5K at the end of the month and I'm going to Texas for a week tomorrow (insert stern doctor look here). So wildlife drives for me it would be. This time my goal was to try and visit places I haven't visited before in RGV...or at least in a long time.  However, I cannot visit this area without at least a day at Estero Llano Grande State Park. Just a stroll down this path to the deck instantly relaxes me--especially as winter holds on long and fast as if it's been taking advice from Ned Stark. So after months of monochrome cold white and gray, I'll gladly squee over green and a mere 80 degrees. Estero is arguably one of the best spots to start your south Texas birding adventure the  first time you visit. They have a deck with wifi and a great view of water and I thought maybe I could hang out there and digiscope. My toe wasn't too bad and I could do some walking but I knew that wouldn't be the best way for it heal.

On the deck I ran into Ranger John Yochum who I have met before on my Texas travels.  He said his school group had cancelled and if I wanted, he'd give me a personal tour. I mentioned my toe and to my surprise, he insisted on giving me a tram tour! I was Miss Daisy to his Polk and he saved my toe from a lot of hurting. Thanks to him I got to do a butt load of digiscoping, which was great for my Digiscoping Big Half Year Challenge for Sax Zim Bog.

Like I said, this is a great spot to get a lot of common valley species off your list. Many of these birds will be at several parks like the above female golden-fronted woodpeckers but Estero has wetlands too.

John took me to one of the newer feeding stations. Some of the parks are figuring out that people are coming here for photos and though I don't mind taking a photo of a bird at an obvious feeder, most photographers do not, so they set up natural perches were seed, suet and fruit can be tucked away and you can get some natural looking shots.

Here's a shot of a white-tipped dove, a specialty bird in the area. I'm sure the sun is just hitting the pupil just right, but the dove kinda looks a little methed out to me.

The great kiskadee is a specialy bird here and these sassy birds will fly in for peanut butter. I had to be fast to get photos, it was migration and following the northbound songbirds were lots of accipiters and they periodically bombed through the feeding station. But if you waited a few minutes, the birds would return.

The above Inca doves. There were some common ground doves but I alas didn't get a photo.

Here's a white-winged dove (yep, like the Heart song...oops I meant Stevie Nicks, cause Amy just lovingly yelled at me in the comments.  Love that woman).

Estero is a well known as a spot to get a great look at common pauraque and John took me to a different spot to find one in the tropical area. Yes, truly, there is a bird on the ground in that photo...though even I am having a dickens of a time seeing it and I was there and too this photo.  Fortunately, I digiscoped it.

As John was toting me around, we saw a trio of birders that I recognized as staying at the same bed and breakfast I was lodging in.  We pulled over to say hi and I asked if they had seen a pauraque yet.  They hadn't.  They were very casual birders and I was worried they may miss it so I asked John if they could join us in the tram and continue on with us towards more pauraques.  Everybody seemed game so the tram filled up and we headed towards Alligator Lake, the known spot for pauraques.

OK in this photo, I can totally make out one of the pauraques.  It's on the ground, towards the top of the photo, in the center. It's amazing how quickly someone who already knows where to find the birds like these can become a de facto guide for other birds.  But I really do get a kick out of taking people to see their first pauraque and waiting for them to discern its shape on the ground.  It's like one of those magic eye posters!

It took some fancy angling of the scope, but I was able to get it in.

Look at that giant beautiful frown eye! I always assumed these birds were like nighthawks, flying around high in the sky at night after aerial insects, but learned I was quite wrong.  Reading up on them at Birds of North America Online, I learned that they are considered a "terrestrial feeder" and flies very little during foraging. "Appears in many locations to take most of its food by 'jumping and flopping' or rarely running on the ground....When foraging on the wing, generally makes low, short, circling sallies to the air from ground or favorite low perch on rock, stump, branch, or fence post for flying insects."

Gets its food by jumping and flopping, eh? Sounds like Thanksgiving at my family's house--HEY-O! Angela, Mom, Terri, if you actually read this, I kid, I kid.

I'm going to try and divide up some of my Estero adventures in more posts.  I have too many photos for one post at this spot and I have to get  dressed and go work at the park service.

1001 Secrets Every Birder Should Know Book Trailer

If you're curious about what my book is all about, my friends and neighbors helped Non Birding Bill and I make a trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Y9nv2LM1E

Thank you to Duck Washington, Kelven Hatle, TJ Kudalis (and Ceilidh), Zoe Benston (and Vicious), Lili Taylor, Paul Cornell (and Tom) and Joseph Scrimshaw.

One Last Thing About New York

I can't believe I forgot to include this in the last post!  While running down 5th Avenue, I saw this: I paused. A man in a blue shirt, with a beard looking up at a butterfly...hey wait a minute is that Kenn Kaufman? The man does like to sport a beard and blue shirts. He wrote a butterfly guide. I of course had to tag him in that photo on Facebook to see if he had a modeling gig on the side.

Turns out that is not Kenn Kaufman. Thanks to crowd sourcing information that is Rainer Andreesen in the ad. Rainer is also partners with Victor Garber.  Scroll down on that previous look, Rainer is very handsome, well done, Victor. Here's a side by side comparison of the two:

Well, perhaps we have a candidate should there ever be a Kaufman biopic and they need a lead? Also, here's Rainer without a beard...is that what Kaufman looks like without one?

New York Birds and Art

I meet people all the time and some you can tell right away are going to be companions who are either fun to work with or good for a visit. Frequently, people will say, “Oh, I have a place in this city or country, you should visit me.”

I’m the sort of person who takes you up on that…careful what you invite me to. Chances are very good that I’ll show up. Especially if you live in New York City--I love visiting New York! Even the statues proposition you! That thing totally looks like he's saying, "Heeeey, sexy laaaady, you wanna party?"

My friend Kimberly Butler is a professional photographer, she’s been inducted into the Smithsonian and even worked for People Magazine for years—back before it was mostly a tabloid. I knew she had a studio apartment in Manhattan…what didn’t realize she meant is she has a beautiful apartment that also includes her photography studio. I was so grateful to stay with her because no matter what topic you bring up—she has a story of some crazy adventure she went on and she’s in walking distance of three of my favorite things in New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park and the Museum of Modern Art.

After going to Los Angeles, I flew to Connecticut to speak then headed up into New York City. My original plan was to film a video, but one of the people essential to the video ended up being out of town and I chose instead to use it as opportunity to visit Kim, go see the Edvard Munch exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art and go do some photobombing around 30 Rock (that’s what I’m doing in the above photo).

I’m a fan of art (that I can understand) and being a teenager, I was especially fond of Munch when I discovered his work. Google some of his stuff, you can see why a teenager might fall in love with it.  MOMA had an actual The Scream, Munch most favorite work on display.  They actually had versions of the scream. I had the woodcut version as a shirt with the caption “President Quayle” written underneath it. But as iconic as the scream is, I was more excited to have a chance to see some of his other works like the Madonna and the Storm.

This is one of my all time favorites. It’s been mistranslated to be titled The Vampire, but it was originally titled The Embrace (because what else would a redhead be doing to a guy buy biting his neck and sucking his blood). But it’s one that has always, always appealed, rivaled in my love only by Munch’s The Kiss.

But part of the fun of visiting these museums is not only having a chance to see a special exhibit, but running into celebrity art like the above Starry Night.  I’d completely forgot that Van Gogh’s Starry Night was there and what a bonus to run into it…and a welcome respite after Munch’s darkness. There’s no way I can visually and emotionally comprehend all the artwork in a large museum. I try to go in with a goal for a specific artist and then discover what I can on the way out. On my down the stairs, there was a special exhibit where a current artist got to curate an exhibit. I was surprised to see some familiar photographs.

Trisha Donnelly chose to include a room full of Eliot Porter bird photographs as part of installation.  These are incredible if you consider Porter was using photography equipment from the 1940 – 1970s to get bird shots. Some you may even recognize from older bird books. She chose to include his works because, “though Porter’s abundant body of work has often been relegated to the genre of nature photography, his reflects a deep interest in the underlying structures of the universe. He uses the act of close looking associated with the medium of photography to create studies in chaos.”

Are you kidding me? I came all the way to New York City to enjoy some modern art and I run into to freaking alder flycatcher?  Empidonax flycatchers—my nemesis, trying to identify an alder flycatcher from a willow flycatcher certainly is a study in chaos!

I was trying to see what Donnelly saw in the work. I can appreciate what Porter had to do in order to get these shots and I thought of the equipment today and some of the really beautiful and in many cases artistic shots people can get of birds now. They would outshine the works of Porter easily. Perhaps this is a nod to the popularity of photo apps that distort the natural beauty of nature that modern nature photographers work to achieve. To not only get a crisp and true color image of a bird, but to capture that bird in a particularly iconic moment. Surely Porters work would pale in comparison to some of the other photos out there?

But you couldn’t deny that in some, there was chaotic beauty, like the above barn swallow. It was fascinating and I was glad I ran into it.

I did see some actual birds while in New York.  I got the obligatory look at a red-tailed hawk with a pigeon near the nest of Pale Male. I don't think it was the actual Pale Male.  When it landed it didn't look pale. Perhaps it was his mate for this year, Octavia?

Every time a cardinal popped up, several people would stop to get a photo.  I saw this happen at least three times. And like any street performer with a great act, the male cardinals would readily pose.

I got to catch some early migrants like the above white—throated sparrow eating dog poop.  Yep, that’s what I typed, that bird was eating dog poop.

Here’s a better photo of it. I’m now at 85 species for my Digiscoping Big Half Year!  All hell is about to break loose on that.  I’m actually typing this blog entry while on a flight down to McAllen, Texas to be a speaker at Quinta Mazatlan on Thursday night. I’m willing to bet that I’ll easily add 25 species while there, if not more.

And I finish with this photo.  This little Gertrude Stein statue was in the Metropolitan Museum of Art when I visited last year. She was part of an exhibit that showed chunks that Stein and her brother had owned: it was crazy to be in rooms chock full of so much Matisse and Picasso. She was a frequent subject for many of her artist friends and I thought this statue of her as a sort of Buddha was adorable. She’s now residing in Bryant Park (along with a few woodcocks).

I've  had at least 2 people ask who is on the end of the extendable leash in my hands...

Marley, one of Kim's two dogs.  He and I got along very well. Her dogs are hilarious.  One morning I standing in the kitchen and her dog Max (not pictured started barking) and then Marley joined in and began spinning wildly.  The looked at me expectantly.  Kim came in and said, "Oh, it's time for treats!"

Which turned out to be their vitamins.  I've never seen dogs beg for vitamins before.  She later showed me how they love to eat bananas, to the point she peeled one, held it to the dogs and they ate it like an every day thing. I have to get her to YouTube that.

A Little Connecticut Birding

I had a great time speaking Connecticut Ornithological Association last week.  I was honored to be part of a Cornell/Birdchick sandwich.  Marshall Iliff from eBird spoke before me and I was followed by Steve Kress of Project Puffin. I was kind of the cheesy filling that brings the sandwich together.  I tested out some new material for my talk Today's Office (it's a bunch of stories of all the crazy things I do to get paid to go bird watching). Non Birding Bill and I discovered a nude beach in January and well...let's just say that I really needed a photo of a sandwich tern and I regret nothing and it's now part of my talk.

One of the fun things about the Internet is that I have friends EVERYWHERE. When I mentioned on Twitter that I was going to be speaking in Connecticut,  some friends that I've communicated with via the blog and Twitter mentioned that they would come. We have a friend in common and after checking with him, "Yo, Ari, Rick isn't an axe murder, or anything," and getting confirmation from Ari that Rick and his lovely wife Delia were not crazy murderous types, I made arrangements to do a little birding with them. I was anxious to see an oystercatcher again and they knew a spot. American oystercatchers are such iconic looking birds for me. Even though I have them on my list, I will always seek them out when

We got the oystercatchers at Milford Point which was a lovely beach on an early spring day. I was hoping that we also might get piping plovers which were just returning to the area but was content to settle myself with the oystercatcher. My friends aren't hardcore birders, but they know enough out birds to point me in the direction of birds I don't normally see.  We heard a peep and as it was barely registering with me, Rick said, "I hear a piping plover."

And sure enough he did hear piping plovers. What a treat to see these cuties again.  I know some people get bent out of shape about beaches being closed off for their nesting season, but how can you get angry at a tiny little bird like that? They are too adorable for words. It's amazing how well they blend in, even when their running.  At a casual glance, they look like a piece of fluff rolling away on the sand with the wind.

Rick and Delia were happy to help me in my quest for the Big Half Year, even helping me get monk parakeet photos.  They nest in the surrounding neighborhoods at Milford Point. There's a nest in this pine tree.  All the pine trees in the neighborhood were turning brown.   Since this area would have been flooded from Hurricane Sandy, I wonder if that is causing problems for the trees?

Cute little snoozy parrots in their nest! Wonder if in the next year or so if these birds will have to find a different tree to use for nesting?

Early migrants were just returning, I saw an osprey checking out the nesting platform and lots of ducks working the backwaters. And I was able to add some common birds we don't get in Minnesota, like the above Carolina wren.

There's a visitor center at Milford Point and people leave notes of what's been observed...this is a hot spot, there have been some very unusual sitings recently.  Ah, Humanity.

Birdchick Podcast #139 Eagle vs Hawk, Ted Williams Back At Audubon

Bird JobsUnbelievable (and graphic) footage of a red-tailed hawk's fatal mistake--attacking a bald eagle nest

Get it now while supplies last: owl skirt!

Hairy Woodpecker

Playtex is using a hairy woodpecker to advertise "intimate wipes."

Audubon and Ted Williams: reunited and feels so good.

If you like this video, share it.

Birdchick Podcast #139

Random Hummingbird Nest

While in a backyard in Los Angeles, we were watching Anna's hummingbirds zipping around. One bird landed and one of my colleagues said, "Oh hey, that's a nest." And looking closely, you could see that had a nest on top of a pine cone. Cute!

Also, this was a western scrub-jay visiting a feeder in the yard.  I just liked this photo and wanted to post it.

Birding In The Arena

Watching as much tv and movies as I do, I frequently find myself in places that are practically celebrities from being used so much as sets so much. My recent project was last minute and I didn't realize where all we would be working and one morning as I was being driven to my daily office, I gasped when I saw something familiar:

Any Star Trek (original series) worth their salt knows exactly what this is and perhaps even hears music.  For those who do not, here's why it's iconic:

It's the set of Arena or as many know it as: the famous Kirk vs Gorn battle! Lots of other movies have used Vasquez Rocks, check out what's on its Wikipedia Page. But the birds were off the hook on this spot. Also, note the little cave directly above Captain Kirk's head? Check out what's really in there:

It's a raven nest! I know for sure because I saw ravens in there several times, but every time I aimed my scope at them, they took off.  Clever birds.

But Vasquez Rocks has some classy looking birds. Up until last year, this was a bit of a nemesis bird for me, but now that I've seen it, it has since been very obliging every time I visit its habitat. As if this silky flycatcher didn't have a cool enough name, you can add some colorful metaphors right in the middle of its name making it cooler. It think that's my new favorite profanity now. I did manage to digiscope it with my iPhone and one of my colleagues asked, "So is that an iPhainopepla?" So much fun wordplay with such a great bird.

But I loves me some brown birds and Vasquez has those in abundance.  This California towhee was a treat, lovely dull brown with a few splashes of pumpkin coloring to add a bit of snazziness. These birds were tucked all over around the rocks and they lacked color wise compared to some of the other snazzier towhees, allows them to blend in well with the terrain.

There were some splashes of color like this male Lawrence's goldfinch. I got a female at a bird feeder in Las Vegas a few years ago, but to get great views of a male was a real treat. Another fun thing about visiting different parts of the country is that you get to see different versions of common birds.  I'm used to the American goldfinch and though that is an uber colorful bird in breeding plumage, there's something classy about the minimalist use of yellow on this particular goldfinch.

We found a homestead at Vasquez rocks and that allowed me to get views of a lot of backyard birds like the goldfinch abut also Anna's hummingbird.

And here's a western bluebird...hm...do you think this bird likes to perch on this roof a lot?  Who knew such a small bird could accumulate so much poop?

All in all a great time full of western species and fun to get to bird around a former Star Trek set.