Birding with AB

AB and I drove around to some old birding haunts today and had such a wonderful time! We went out to Penns Valley, though we didn't stop at the old marsh (which was still choked with purple loosestrife).

We drove to Long Road, a place I used to bird a lot, and found a very willing Chipping Sparrow:We also saw Song Sparrows, American Goldfinches, an Eastern Kingbird, a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, a Killdeer, American Crows, Turkey Vultures, Common Grackles, and European Starlings, though the bright midday sun made photography difficult.

We then went out to the Coburn Rail Trail and saw some more Song Sparrows, a couple of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a Baltimore Oriole, and a bunch of American Redstarts like this one:AB had a great time with the BirdJam, keeping the bird close while I snapped photos. Again, the midday sun created some terrible backlighting, so this was the best picture I got. We also followed a Red-eyed Vireo but didn't get photos; AB is still learning how to use the binocs, and she was getting a bad case of Warbler Neck. Still, it was a lovely time; we heard Wood Thrushes, Eastern Wood Pewees, and Eastern Phoebes too.

Strangely, we also saw this little brown bat, in the middle of the day!I thought they only flew around at night, but this one was flying over Penns Creek for several minutes, hawking for insects.

A few more photos:

Sorry this pic isn't better, but what is this strange sort of fly?


There were dozens of Red Admirals everywhere.


Yarrow (I think)


There are so many kinds of violets; I think this one is a Sweet White Violet, according to my studies of my copy (a gift from AB) of A Guide to Common Pennsylvania Wildflowers and my National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers (Eastern Region).


Swamp Dewberry (pretty sure)


a lovely swallowtail (pretty bitten up, though) on some Dame's Rocket


Greater Celandine, featuring the bright yellow-orange "ink" from its stem forming a D on the back of AB's hand


Black or Field Mustard (I think)


some strangely variegated Dame's Rocket


Golden-Alexander! I confirmed with the leaves on this one:

American Dog Violet (I think--again, violets are tough)


Daisy Fleabane

It's so much fun showing AB some of my favorite places and birds; she loves being outside and in the woods, and she's such a good sport, getting enjoyment out of my excitement over birds.

Pileated!

This past Saturday was our state's official migratory count day, so Gretchen and I went out with my friend Roana and a couple of other great birders to nearby Scotia Barrens, an Important Birding Area on the north side of State College.The highlights for me were this Pileated Woodpecker, spotted by Gretchen, and a Black-throated Blue Warbler I spotted but didn't get a picture of. Roana and Jim, one of the pro-level birders on the team, heard and counted about fifty million species for the count, but Gretchen and I were more content to just slow down and observe the birds we saw. Gretch saw her first female Wood Duck, who had 12 (yeah, 12!) babies in tow; we also saw a Greater Yellowlegs, which I've now come to regard as a no-big-deal bird because I've seen them every time I go out to Julian Wetlands.

We also saw a beautiful little American Redstart, but again I wasn't fast enough with the camera. I think those weeks without the camera (not to mention the long winter with too little birding) have made me a little slower photographer. I'll just have to practice more.

The day was pretty terrible, with very strong winds and low temperatures, so Baby G and I left Roana to the count and went to Julian. Sadly, we saw no Wilson's Phalarope--and the winds were even stronger out there. We lasted about fifteen minutes before it was just too much weather. We're supposed to get temps in the TWENTIES tonight (WTF, May?), so I don't know how the birding will be over the next few days.

Friday Night Nibble in advance

Hey Nib! Check out this weird dandelion flower!
See how it has two heads on the same stem? Crazy!

Oh--hey wait! No!

Oh gees, Nib! There's nothing left!
I think you have pollen on your nose, little piggy bun...

But how could I ever be mad at you?Love you, Nib!

Update on Update

So the eBird folks say I had a Lincoln's Sparrow in the disputed Sparrow School photographs (see a couple posts ago). Their comment: "Thanks much, it's a Lincoln's Sparrow. The ground color of the breast is buffy, it lacks the central large dot of a Song Sparrow. Lincoln's Sparrows are common here in winter."

I sent John's rather convincing argument for Song Sparrow back to them, but I don't know what they'll say. John's comment: "the buffy colors on the flanks and neck might suggest Lincoln's, but other aspects rule that out. The breast streaking is not as fine or as dense as one finds on a typical Lincoln's. The buffy areas are not as extensive, and the bill is too thick. The cheek patch on a typical Lincoln's is also a lot more brown than this bird's and contrasts more with the gray supercilium. Buffy flanks are a common variation in Song Sparrows; I probably see as many Songs with them as without them."

Don't know how or whether I'll get a response, but in the meantime, I have either a rare sighting (Song) or a lifer (Lincoln's). Not too bad a choice there!

WILSON'S PHALAROPE!

A bunch of people on the local listserv were emailing about a Wilson's Phalarope who's been hanging around the Julian Wetlands near here. Because it was on my way to my sales territory, I stopped there for lunch and saw the bird!

I didn't get pics, but a guy with a Peterson's was also there and he and I patiently observed and confirmed the Wilson's. What a thrill! I also saw and ID'd a Cliff Swallow as my second lifer of the trip.

Woohoo! Not many people will get to see one of these guys (the phalarope, I mean), especially not in PA, so I'm really glad I went and looked.

I also heard a Sora for the first time since I left the Marsh House, which by the way sold recently. I found out today, and I'm a little sad. I really loved that house. Someone's gonna get an awful lot of blood, sweat, tears, and birds out of that place, and I wish them well.

List for Julian Wetlands:
Canada Goose
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Great Blue Heron
Sora
Greater Yellowlegs
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Red-winged Blackbird

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Flashback to Texas Sparrow School for an eBird request

So I got in late tonight after a hard day pounding the pavement in my sales job, and I'd received an email from an eBird volunteer -- how exciting!

First, a little backstory: Back in late January/early February, my sister Mary and I went to the Rio Grande Valley and birded at Estero Llano Grande State Park near Weslaco. What a beautiful place! If you're ever down there, don't miss this amazing place! Anyway, I had seen many sparrows (and non-sparrows which I mistook for sparrows), so I put together a post subtitled "Sparrow School" and posted a bunch of photos of sparrow-like birds I couldn't ID for sure.

If you read the comments on that post, you'll find that the second bird was ID'd as a Song Sparrow by a birder I highly respect, John from A DC Birding Blog. Another birder whose ID skills are top-notch is Hap in New Hope (who doesn't have a blog, dangit!), and he thought the bird was a Lincoln's Sparrow. Here again are the photos, for reference:


So--John argued mightily for Song Sparrow, and though it looked awfully gray and didn't seem to have a hatpin spot on the breast, I figured, hey, what the hell do I know?!

Now, as you know, I recently started entering my birding trip lists into eBird, and I thought it would be a good idea to go back and enter all my lists from 2010. When I entered my Estero Llano list, however, I had to add Song Sparrow as a "rare species." Turns out that the Rio Grande Valley is a bit farther south than the Songies like to go, even in winter.

So a volunteer, Mary Gustafson, requested that I send her the photos (I made a note regarding the "rare species" that I'd taken photos and that John had confirmed Song.

I'll let you know what happens. In the meantime, it's kinda funny to me that a Song Sparrow, such a freakin' common bird up here in PA, is causing a bit of a kerfuffle down south.

Old-school birding (kinda) and a lifer!

I am still without camera and binoculars, so I went birding old-school style today, using mostly my plain old eyes and ears as well as my spotting scope. I've determined it's tough to bird with just a spotting scope unless you're looking at water birds.

I'd been seeing local listserv reports of Vesper Sparrows out in the fields and farms south of State College, so I drove out there despite an on-and-off drizzle. A Vesper Sparrow would be a lifer for me, so I was really anxious to see one. There were also reports of American Pipits, but as I rolled along Nixon Road I heard only Northern Cardinals, American Crows, Bluejays, Killdeers, and... wait -- yes, indeed! I heard that crazy "two slurs, then a warble" (as described on the Stokes CDs)! I knew I was in the right place!

It took a while, but I was finally able to find one in the scope. This guy came right up to me, giving me gorgeous views; they're really beautiful little birds. Here's an online image I found at a beautiful site by South Dakota photographer Terry Sohl:That's lifer #265!

Here's a list of birds I saw:
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Killdeer
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)
Blue Jay
American Crow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Vesper Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

It was frustrating trying to find birds without binocs; one of my good birding friends Hillel went without binoculars for a long time, and I really don't know how he did it! Like I said, when you're checking out shorebirds or marsh birds, who stay relatively still for long periods, it's great having the scope to really zoom in. But try finding a warbler or a sparrow in a tree with a big old scope? Boy howdy, it's tough. Maybe with practice it gets easier. But I miss my Leupolds! And if I'd had my camera, I'd have gotten a great photo of that little Vesper Sparrow, posing for me and singing his little song.

You've gotta see this!

hee hee hee!

New (to me) Toy: eBird

Hey, gang; I just filed my first-ever birding report on eBird! I had looked at it a long time back and thought it was a little slow and not so user-friendly; I don't know if I was just impatient back then or if I'm just that much smarter now, because I was able to get in, check off the birds I saw with my BFF Gretchen this morning, and be done. I emailed the report to myself with the checking of a box, and here's my copied-and-pasted report:

Location: Bald Eagle SP
Observation date: 4/25/10
Number of species: 27

Mallard X
Common Loon 1
Turkey Vulture X
Osprey 1
Ring-billed Gull 2
Mourning Dove X
Eastern Phoebe 1
American Crow X
Common Raven X
Tree Swallow X
Bank Swallow X
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 6
Eastern Towhee 4
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 10
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

The Xs indicate that I saw the species but either didn't or couldn't count (or remember) the number I saw. It was a very dreary morning with a constant drizzle/sprinkle, but we had a good time.

I'm going to get into this whole eBird thing; it looks cool! Wish I'd gotten pics (we saw a lot of these birds at very close range!) but I still don't have my camera back. Had to use Gretchen's binocs, even. But it's coming soon.

Baby bird pics

Sleepy little me, about 8 years old, at one of my Tia Chelo's big parties.

Dorky me in fourth grade. I could fly to Cleveland on those collars, baby!

I'm probably 4 years old here, wearing my favorite green cordoroy dress and struttin' my stuff.

Well, baby ME pics, anyway!

I have been in Harrisburg all week at a sales training class, so I still don't have my binocs and camera back yet, nor have I had time to bird. I'm going birding this weekend with Baby G, though, so I'm excited! Hoping to see some good birds--my friend Hillel emailed and said he'd seen his FOY Yellow-rumped Warbler, so I'm hoping that the rest of the migrants aren't too far behind. We've had such mild weather that the trees are already starting to leaf a little bit, which means we won't be able to see the birds if they don't hurry up and get here.

I'm also planning to do the migration could on May 8 with my birding pal Roana, with whom I used to go atlassing all the time. I can't wait, because she can pick out birds I would never see on my own. So birding updates and pics are coming; I just have to be patient.

Dangit, dangit, dangit!

I should have a beautiful post here with amazing pictures from our trip to Baltimore! But I forgot my bad-ass birding bag there!

It's in the mail somewhere, so I will soon have some cool pics -- though I think they're all of little flowers! We didn't see many birds, but we DID have some amazing food and fun and friends so stay tuned!

Early spring birding at Millbrook Marsh

Millbrook Marsh is a beautiful little natural area just north of Beaver Stadium. Spring Creek flows through it, providing a wonderful little habitat within city limits.

I was hoping to see at least an early Yellow Warbler or something, but I neither saw nor heard any warblers. I did see some good birds, though:
Northern Flicker
Tree Swallow (they're back!)
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Red-winged Blackbird (they've been back for a while now)
Northern Cardinal
Mallard
Song Sparrow
Eastern Phoebe
Swamp Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Carolina Wren
Red-tailed Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Crow
Turkey Vulture
Tufted Titmouse
Northern Mockingbird
Bluejay
House Finch
American Goldfinch
European Starling
Rock Pigeon
House Sparrow
Common Grackle

I saw some evidence of maybe a Green Heron, or a very small Great Blue:It's hard to tell without anything for scale, but it was only a medium-sized marsh-dweller's print. Way too small for a Great Blue.

I also saw this cute little raccoon hand-print:Otherwise, I included all the bird pics with my spring post down below.

It was so nice to get out into the field again! I can't wait for more migrants to return; the Tree Swallow was a good one, but I've yet to see any of the hundreds of Chimney Swifts that usually fly over Bellefonte. It's still pretty early for us, though. Migration usually doesn't get going until late April/early May.

We've been having unusually warm (like +20 over normal temps) weather here, but I'm not sure that winter is quite done with us. It'll be interesting to see whether we get some more early migrants (or, god forbid, snow). AB and I are going to Baltimore this weekend to see some friends, so no birding (probably), but I plan to hit it hard when we get back. My new job starts Wednesday after next, so I'll have Monday and Tuesday to play around.

Until then, I hope you're seeing some good birds!

Niblet update

For the last couple of months, I've been noticing that Niblet's face looked a little strange:My mom noticed it first and asked me why his mouth looked crooked. I worried that he might have developed another abscess.

So when we got back to Pennsylvania, I knew we'd better go see Dr. Ellen Scholz, the Wonder Vet who took care of Nib when he had his ear abscess. Turns out, Niblet might have Bell's Palsy!

I've known people, including my dad, who've been hit with Bell's Palsy; Ellen the Wonder Vet said she'd seen it in dogs, but this was the first time she'd seen it in a bunny. We'll be going back for a head X-ray next month (after I start my job and start getting paid) to confirm that he doesn't have anything more serious wrong with him, like an abscess that can't be seen in an external exam.

Sometimes, it's not that noticeable:

But sometimes, it's pretty obvious:
unless you imagine that he's doing his Elvis impersonation:

Thank you, thank you very much.

In humans, it's temporary; I hope it's the same in bunnies. He is otherwise fit as a fiddle, strong and weighing in at a trim 4.2 lbs. (hee hee!)

On the bright side, his disapproval powers have become devastatingly potent!Don't say I didn't warn you!

Spring is sprung!

In case you hadn't noticed,spring is here!

Pussy willows are now in flower:

Trees that were just a bunch of twigs last month are now in full display:

Little shoots are sprouting from the ground:

Yards are full of flowers:




and trees are leafing out:
Bulbs planted last fall are fulfilling hopes:

And the birds are feelin' it too:
this sparrow was trilling his little heart out, sounding like a Swamp Sparrow but bearing a hatpin mark on his breast that confused me.

House Finches are looking for girlfriends and good nesting spots

and Eastern Phoebes are saying their name for all to hear.

Autumn's plants, bloated and picked apart, are busy providing nesting material and food for prospective families:
The ice has melted, and clear cool water is flowing all around us:
Twittering buzzing conversations fill the air:
And even the doleful cooing of Rock Pigeons makes my heart swell with springtime happiness:
Has spring sprung itself on you yet?