Spring Migrants in the Yard

 Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5-12-14

Once the snow melted and the birds started arriving it was just plain chaos around here. I had so many new birds in my yard that I often submitted 3 to 4 bird counts a day. I found it hard to get anything done, including blogging, because I was often out watching birds. It started with American woodcocks in early April. I hoped to get a photo but since they are most active at duck, that did not happen. Still, for a few night you could find me out on my front lawn, head tipped back and mouth open as I watched them fly overhead and I listened to their calls. Being new to Maine birding, I had hoped this would be a nightly display for the rest of the summer, but alas, it only lasted a couple of weeks, and then it was over. While the woodcocks may still be around, they are a lot harder to find nowadays!

Brown Thrasher 5-9-14

Waves and waves of sparrows moved through my yard with White-throated, Savannah, and White-crowned sparrows. fox sparrows were here for about two weeks, then they were gone. Eastern Towhees passed through as well, but I only saw them once or twice and I have not seen or heard any since. I was wondering if I would get to see a Brown thrasher, and I asked Don Smith, a birder I recently met and went birding with. he told me they are here in Maine, but a bit hard to find as they are so secretive. However, on the same day I asked him I found one in my yard under the pine tree by the back door after I returned home! It was here for about two days, then it, too, was gone. It was my first Brown Thrasher in Maine and I saw it in my own back yard!

Gray Catbirds arrived on May 10th and have been here ever since.

 

 Black-throated Blue Warbler 5-15-14

I was stunned the day I looked out and saw a black-throated Blue warbler in my yard. Can you see it in this tree?

 Baltimore Oriole 5-15-14

The orioles were around for about two to three weeks on a regular basis, but now I only see or hear them occasionally.

 Female Common Yellowthroat 5-21-14

I loved having the Common Yellowthroats in my yard. I saw them here for several days working their way through the low bushes. They have now moved across the street to the boat launch and I see and hear them over there almost every time i visit and count birds.

 Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5-21-14

I was not sure If I would get hummingbirds out here on the point or not but they did arrive and a few have stayed around. I set out three feeders at first, but they do not visit them enough to make it worth maintaining them all. In fact, this is the only one of the three they seem to like, so I took the others down, including my pretty blue glass feeder, which they have never used. I usually see at least one hummingbird a day, sometime two or three. The most I ever saw was four birds, but that was only once. Still, I will take what I can get, but it does make me miss the four to five species that would visit my feeders in Tucson!

 Black-throated Green Warbler 5-21-14

I am still seeing and hearing this warbler species in my yard and all over Maine.

 American Redstart (male) 5-21-14

 Indigo Bunting 5-21-14

The Indigo Buntings arrived on May 15th and stayed around for about a week. I only saw a female once at the top of a tree with a male. The males were the only ones I ever saw at my feeders and I have not seen one in the yard since May 28th.

 

 White-crowned Sparrow 5-28-2014

I had a couple of White-crowned Sparrows move through at the beginning of May, but when once showed up on May 27th it was flagged by eBird. I set out to get a photo and shot this photo through the picture window the next day as the bird nibbled on dandelion seeds beneath the feeder. It stayed around for two days and then it was gone. These photos are my proof I saw it! Notice the bold black and white stripes, the lack of a white throat, and the pinkish-brown bill!

 White-crowned Sparrow 5-28-14

 

 Willow Flycatcher 5-31-14

I think this was a Willow Flycatcher from the call I heard it make. I am still learning my eastern empids and I know I have a ways to go, but here is proof they did pass through my Mere Point yard! May was an exciting month on Mere Point. Below is a list of all 35 bird species I added to the yard list during that month.

Mere Point Cottage New May Yard Birds:

1. Red-bellied Woodpecker 5-5-14
2. Yellow-rumped Warbler 5-5-14
3. Yellow Warbler 5-5-14
4. Black-and-white Warbler 5-5-14
5. Pine Warbler 5-5-14
6. Chimney Swift 5-6-14
7. Lincoln’s Sparrow 5-7-14
8. Northern Parula 5-7-14
9. Rose-breasted Grosbeak 5-8-14
10. Brown Thrasher 5-9-14
11. White-crowned Sparrow 5-9-14
12. Mallard 5-10-14
13. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5-10-14
14. Gray Catbird 5-10-14
15. Broad-winged Hawk 5-12-14
16. Black-throated Green Warbler 5-12-14
17. Common Yellowthroat 5-12-14
18. Baltimore Oriole 5-12-14
19. Red- Shouldered hawk 5-14-14
20. Great Crested Flycatcher 5-15-14
21. American Redstart 5-15-14
22. Black-throated Blue Warbler 5-15-14
23. Indigo Bunting 5-15-14
24. Chestnut-sided Warbler 5-16-14
25. Wilson’s Warbler 5-19-14
26. Red-eyed Vireo 5-22-14
27. Swainson’s Thrush 5-22-14
28. Pileated Woodpecker 5-23-14
29. Eastern Bluebird 5-25-14
30. Mourning Warbler 5-28-14
31. Black-billed Cuckoo 5-28-14
32. Blackpoll Warbler 5-28-14
33. Magnolia Warbler 5-30-14
34. Rock Pigeon 5-31-14
35. Willow Flycatcher 5-31-14

 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5-21-14

Yellow Fever Creek Preserve

 Sign at the gate to the Yellow Fever Creek Preserve

On March 5 I took a drive to the Yellow Fever Creek Preserve. Ever since the day I arrived in Cape Coral, FL I had wanted to visit this place. We passed it on the way to my brother’s house when we arrived and frequently during the next two weeks as we drove around town doing OTHER THINGS. But all I wanted to do was get out and explore and find out what species of birds were found there. Finally, on the morning of March 5th I had my own car to drive and I went right there. I had barely pulled into the crude and empty parking lot when another car pulled in behind me. There were 2 young men in the car and I thought to myself, “Oh great!,” for I did not know if they would be loud and obnoxious or even hunters. I do not know what the hunting laws are in Florida and it was not until I got out of the car that I saw the "NO HUNTING” sign. I decided to put my fears behind me and get out of the car anyways and say Hi. It turned out I had nothing to fear. These young men were very polite and pleasant and they told me this preserve just opened a couple of months ago and they were here to do geo-caching! After a brief chat they went on their way and I never saw them again. After gearing up I soon passed though the gate and into the preserve.

In this part of Florida there are more Fish crows than American crows and I watched as a few mobbed a Red-tailed Hawk and chased it into the top of a pine tree. It watched me warily from the treetop before flying off to parts unknown. Meanwhile I was distracted by the loud and varied song of a bird singing.

I searched the scrub for the mysterious singer and finally spotted him in a small tree. But who was he? It didn’t take me long to realize I was looking at and listening to a Brown Thrasher! I was thrilled since I had not seen one yet on this visit. He continued his bright song as I walked slowly down the primitive path.

The air was moist with humidity and the sky a hazy blue-gray. It made the lighting flat, and diffused as I snapped away with my camera. All along the trail I saw and heard birds. Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers flitted through the trees. After searching for the Florida Scrub Jay yesterday I could not help but think how similar this habitat was to that one. Why couldn’t there be Florida Scrub jays here? I decided to keep my eyes and ears open, just incase.  Yellow Fever Creek Preserve was not yet an eBird Hotspot, but I soon came to believe it should be. I like the primitive feeling of it and the solitude. There were no maps of the trails and no arrows or signs to point one in the right direction, so I just had to figure it out for myself, which was alright with me. It put all my senses on alert and made me pay attention to my surroundings. I liked it that once I walked just a brief way in I did not hear or see anything manmade other than a utility line that rain along the edge of the property.

Trail through the scrub at Yellow Fever Creek.

I found a Gray Catbird hiding in some of this scrub!

 Gray Catbird 3-5-2014 Yellow Creek Preserve

I was also surprised by the numerous Cardinals I saw and heard. While I am used to finding them around houses, or up north in the woods, but it was kind of funny to find them in the palm scrub of Florida! With my northern sensibilities they seemed out of place, though I don’t know why, since they are found in the Sonoran Desert around Tucson! I guess cardinals are quite adaptable and can make any place their home! Then I heard a bird scolding loudly from the ground near a small palmetto. I was delighted to find first one and then two House Wrens! The House Wren was a new species for my Florida Life List, while the Brown Thrasher was new for my Florida Year List.

A pair of Black Vultures warmed themselves in the morning sun before lifting off to hunt for the day. Turkey Vultures were also seen soaring overhead and on a different part of the line I spotted a Eurasian Collared-dove. A few unidentified sparrows flew across my path and disappeared into the grass before I could see who they were, while I heard the laughter of a Pileated Woodpecker and saw a pair of Downy Woodpeckers in a nearby tree.

I was thrilled to find an Eastern Phoebe hawking for insects from the top of a sapling. All the while the Palm Warblers continued to flit about wagging their tails in the process and yellow-rumped warblers seems to dot every tree!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though I saw a couple of trails cross the one I was on, I stayed on the main trail but finally turned around as the sun burned through the haze and started to cook my already sunburned skin which was red and sensitive from yesterday’s hunt in the blazing sun for the Florida Scrub Jay. I was hot, thirsty and hungry by now and I had needed a restroom break, so I turned around and headed back towards the parking lot and my car. I noticed that the bird activity was dying down, so I did not think I would miss seeing too many birds. However, as I walked back towards my car I met a park ranger in a truck on the trail. Laura was very friendly and helpful as I asked her a few questions. She told me that historically Florida Scrub Jays were found in this location, but none had been seen or documented lately. She also told me that periodically a group of volunteers called the Florida Bird Patrol comes out and counts the birds in this area. I had seen their name on an eBird report from 2004, but there was no recent data on this site. I hope that maybe others will come and count bids here so that we can get a better picture of the bird species in this area as the land continues to be developed around it, which I know will impact the birds. I am glad, at least that this little bit of Florida Scrub has not only be preserved for the birds but is open to the public.

Birds seen at Yellow Fever Creek Preserve March 5, 2014:

1. Black Vulture, 2
2. Turkey Vulture, 11
3. Osprey, 1
4. Red-tailed Hawk, 1
5. Eurasian Collared-dove, 1
6. Mourning Dove, 3
7. Red-bellied Woodpecker, 1
8. Downy Woodpecker, 2
9. Pileated Woodpecker (heard only), 1
10. Eastern Phoebe, 1
11. Blue Jay, 6
12. Fish Crow, 2
13. House Wren, 2
14. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 1
15. Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 1
16. Gray Catbird, 5
17. Brown Thrasher, 1
18. Palm Warbler, 5
19. Yellow-rumped Warbler, 25
20. Eastern Towhee, 1
21. Northern Cardinal, 6
22. Common Grackle, 6

Birding Notes: I started at 8:20 a.m. and counted birds for 1hour and 46 minutes. I walk approximately .7 miles and heard many more birds. I also think I saw a few vireos but they were too quick for a picture or a positive I.D. I would definitely come back to bird here again if given the opportunity.

The Yellow Fever Creek Preserve can be found on North Del Prado Blvd, in Cape Coral, FL just past the Publix Shopping Center and McDonald’s North of Kismet Parkway. Click on the link below for more info. McDonald’s has the closest restroom.

• Yellow Fever Creek Preserve
• Wildlife List for Yellow Fever Creek Preserve (click on this link and scroll down to see the official bird list)
• Florida Scrub Jay Day

Zebra Longwing Butterfly seen at Yellow Fever Creek Preserve

AFF 18: Portrait of a Thrasher

Curve-billed Thrasher in Portal, AZ 10-4-2013

A Cave Creek Adventure Day 2 Morning

 Cave creek Ranch, Portal, AZ 10-4-2013

Back in October of last year I took a trip to Portal, AZ to spend some time with friends and bird one of my favorite places in Arizona. I was only able to spend one night with these gals but I had a great time. Early on the morning of October 4th donna and I woke early and were out the door watching birds as the sun rose, but soon we had to pack things up. Cynthia had to get one the road and soon bid us all good-bye, while Donna, Linda and I went back over to Cave Creek Ranch to watch birds together one last time. For $5 you can sit and watch the birds and wildlife to your heart’s content! Here is just a bit of what we saw.

 Linda watching birds and ready with her camera.

 

 Donna keeping her eyes and ears open.

 A Northern Flicker

 A Mexican Jay

 A juvenile male Cardinal

 Red-naped Sapsucker

 Magnificent Hummingbird

 A baby-faced juvenile male Cardinal being coy!

 The javalina herd came back to eat.

 Rufous Hummingbird

(This is the 2014 ABA Bird of the Year!)

 Blue-throated Hummingbird

 Juvenile female Cardinal

 

 A pair of lingering White-winged Doves

 Curve-billed Thrasher

One Magnificent Hummingbird!

What a good time we had! After this morning at Cave Creek Ranch Linda also left, but Donna and I were not done yet! I didn't drive all this way just to turn around and go home, so Donna and I drove up the canyon to see what we could see. It was so quiet there. This was during that wonderful (sarcasm) government shut down, so all the campgrounds were closed. Autumn is not the prime birding time in Cave Creek Canyon as most of the specialty birds have migrated south, but Donna and I hit pay dirt as you will see in my next post!

• A Cave Creek Adventure Day 1
• ABA 2014 Bird of the Year

A Drive Through Box Canyon

 Greaterville Rd. 3-20-13

After a day of rest, Chris and I continued our birding adventures on his week off from work. I had been telling Chris about Box Canyon ever since I met him. Today seemed like the perfect day to take a drive through. Box Canyon is a canyon that cuts through the Santa Rita Mountains from the Sonoita Highway on the east to Madera Canyon on the west. While you can drive through from either direction, we decided to go from east to west since that would put the sun behind out backs and make photography and bird identification much better. I pulled off Highway 83 onto Greaterville Road and slowed down. There is very little traffic on this road and one can drive slowly with their windows down to look and listen for birds.

The first part of the road is paved and meanders past ranches and pasture. Much of the land is Savannah-like with a few scattered trees. Sometimes it is possible to see antelope in this area, but we did not see any today. With hazy blue skies overhead and mild temperatures we were quite comfortable as we watched for birds outside our windows. The scattered trees become a refuge and a lookout for all kinds of birds and we were seeing and hearing thrashers, meadowlarks and sparrows. We found a shrike atop a different tree, and blackbirds around the barns. Sparrows flitted up from the grasses causing us to stop and try to find and identify them. We scanned the sky for raptors and kept a look out for anything different. It was amazing how time just slipped away as we were lost in observing birds. It was the first day of spring on this day but there was not much in bloom yet. Box Canyon starts out at a lower elevation but slowly climbs up to greater heights. At the higher elevations in the oak montane sometimes Montezuma Quail are found. While we were both aware of this possibility, we did not hold out much hope of actually seeing one, though I actually did see my first ever Montezuma Quail on this road back in 2008.

 

 Curve-billed thrasher on barbed wire 3-20-18

As we left the grasslands behind the Santa Rita Mountains came into view. In some of the creases and crevices the last of the winters snow still held on tenaciously. Soon it would all be melted away for good.

 Santa Rita Mountains 3-20-13

I cannot view these mountains without thinking of the impending mine that could go in here and destroy all this habitat. So much is at stake. So much beauty and wildlife will be affected if that mine goes in. A few greedy people will make their money and walk away, leaving the rest of us to deal with the aftermath and devastation. The Santa Ritas will never be the same. I shook these gloomy thoughts away and tried to enjoy the day before me. Today there is beauty. Today there are birds!

Pavement now gave way to dirt as we entered Box Canyon proper. We were now within the boundaries of the Coronado National Forest. Any time we heard or saw a bird we stopped and tired to identify it and add it to our list. I found one place to stop along a wash where I pulled off the road and parked. Chris and I were hearing birds all around and the spot looked promising. He went one way and I another. while he wandered down the road, I went down a steep bank into the wash. While I found pyrrhuloxias, he found a Rufous-crowned Sparrow! It was a life bird for him!

Chris with a look of triumph after having found and photographed a Rufous-crowned Sparrow.

This was the upper part of a nearby hill.

 

 Waxwings and Robins 3-20-13

A bit farther along the road we pulled off again and watched as flocks of birds flew over our heads. At first we were not sure what we were seeing, but then we realized that we were seeing a mixed flock of robins and Cedar Waxwings! Chris and I had been searching for waxwings all year with no luck. I’m not sure who said it first, but one of us commented, “So this is where they have been hiding!” We were quite happy to get them on our list for the year. There was a huge flock here feeding on hackberries.

 Canyon Towhee and Arizona Woodpecker on agave 3-20-13

As we stood there discussing the robins and waxwings I heard a light, tap-tapping which sounded like a woodpecker to me. I trained my binoculars in the direction of the sound and soon found its source. at first I thought it was a Ladder-backed woodpecker, but soon realized it was an Arizona woodpecker! It was not only a First of the Year (FOY) for me, but also the first time I had seen this species since moving back to Arizona last summer. And there at the base of the plant on one of its broad, spiky leaves was a Canyon Towhee to boot!

Since this is open range, we did see a few cattle as well.

Cattle Guards and fences are used to keep the cattle in certain areas.

Much of the drive through Box Canyon is just about the scenery.

 

 

 

 

Eventually the road emerges onto the bajada of the Santa Rita Mountains and the Santa Rita Experimental Range. Here the land opens out before us once again and we start to see and hear Cactus Wrens and Black-throated Sparrows.

I pulled the car up quickly when I spotted this Red-tailed Hawk and a Loggerhead Shrike on these utility wires. We watched as the pair stared each other down. At one point the shrike actually dive-bombed the hawk, but the hawk was not impressed and the shrike went back to its position.

Farther down the road I pulled up sharply when we saw a couple of small birds in some ocotillo. They turned out to be Black-throated sparrows. By now we were passing Florida Canyon. We had been on the road since 7 a.m. without breakfast or lunch. I was quite hungry and ready to eat but Chris seems to be able to push himself much farther than I can without eating. As we drew nearer the paved road that lead to Madera Canyon, Chris suggested we take a quick detour there to see what we could see before heading into town to eat. By now it was nearly 1:30 PM, but I agreed. We are both such obsessive birders and we know it! I was nearing the pavement when I noticed an idiot light on in my car. It said one of my tires was losing pressure. Well, this has happened before when I have changed elevations. I thought it was from being higher up in the mountains and coming down, but as I turned onto the road I heard a sound that was unfamiliar for my car. Chris rolled down his window and looked out. “Pull over,” he said, “You have a flat tire!”

And sure enough, I did!

Well that was the end of birding for this day. I felt so awful but Chris quickly took charge. My cell wasn’t working but Chris’ was. We made a few phone calls, then soon realized we would have to change the tire ourselves. As usual, we worked as a team and though I had never changed a tire on my vehicle before we soon located the spare underneath the back of the car. Chris was quite the gentleman and crawled underneath to dislodge it for me. Thankfully I had a big old towel I keep in the back so he did not have to lay in the dirt. Then, after getting the stupid 3 piece jack set up, I kneeled on the same towel and worked the jack since it was hard for Chris to bend down that far. Still, Chris was my hero on this day. I cannot thank him enough. In the end it all worked out. We got the flat tire off and the gimpy spare on and drove into town on all back roads going only 50 mph, the supposed speed limit for the spare. The closest Firestone was 30 miles away in Tucson but we made it. A friend came to pick us up and we all went out to eat together before Chris dropped me at home and picked up his car. However, obsessive birders that we are, we were still counting birds along the edge of the parking lot at the tire store when we thought we heard and saw an oriole. We never did find it.

Links:

• Las Aventuras 
• Out on a Limb-(Chris’ photo of the Rufous-crowned sparrow)
• Sunday Birding on the Greaterville Road- (my 2008 post)
• Box Canyon- Coronado National Forest info
• Save the Scenic Santa Ritas 

Note: Since this was such a long drive, we broke the count into three sections of 5 miles or less:

Birds Seen on Greaterville Road on 3-20-13 (Start 7:45 AM; 3.2 miles; 1:17 hours.)

1. Turkey Vulture
2. Northern Harrier
3. Red-tailed Hawk
4. Eurasian Collared dove
5. Mourning Dove
6. Gila Woodpecker
7. Ladder-backed Woodpecker
8. American Kestrel
9. Say’s Phoebe
10. Loggerhead Shrike
11. Common raven
12. Northern Mockingbird
13. Curve-billed thrasher
14. Canyon Towhee
15. Rufous-winged Sparrow
16. Chipping Sparrow
17. Vesper Sparrow
18. Lark Sparrow
19. Lark bunting
20. White-crowned Sparrow
21. Eastern Meadowlark
22. Brewer’s Blackbirds
23. House Finch

Birds seen in Box Canyon on 3-20-2013 (Start 9:25 AM; 3:23 hours; 4.8 miles)

1. Turkey Vulture
2. Northern Harrier
3. Cooper’s Hawk
4. Ladder-backed Woodpecker
5. Arizona woodpecker
6. Northern Flicker
7. Cassin’s Kingbird
8. Mexican jay
9. Common raven
10. Verdin
11. Rock Wren
12. Cactus Wren
13. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
14. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
15. American Robin
16. Curve-billed thrasher
17. Cedar Waxwing
18. Canyon Towhee
19. Rufous-winged Sparrow
20. Rufous-Crowned Sparrow (seen only by Chris)
21. Chipping Sparrow
22. Black-throated Sparrow
23. Northern Cardinal
24. Eastern Meadowlark
25. Lesser Goldfinch
26. Dark-eyed Junco

Birds seen on the Santa Rita Experimental Range on 3-20-13 (Start 12:45 PM; 39 minutes: 6.1 miles)

1. Gambel’s Quail
2. Turkey Vulture
3. Red-tailed Hawk
4. Loggerhead Shrike
5. Cactus wren
6. Northern Mockingbird
7. Black-throated Sparrow
8. Lark Sparrow