The friendly hummingbird

Today a young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird visited the backyard early in the day while the girls put out a different patio table. It perched on top of a chair, mere feet away, and patiently waited for them to finish their task. After that it ate from the feeders throughout the day. When I returned home I heard the above story as soon as the hummingbird returned and perched on the same chair I was sitting on. I asked them a simple question, "Do you want to take its picture?" Below is what happened as it sat on a tomato plant.

Grab the tripod and pick an angle focused on its favored perch...

....and start shooting.

Move the tripod and take some more photos.

Lower the tripod and share the camera with Danielle.

Who had a slightly different angle....

 

...and flipped the camera vertically. Micheaela's vertical photo (right) is cropped.

Michaela even had a Monarch land while she was taking photos....why not take this one too!

Other names considered for this post included:

• 15 fall warbler species get upstaged by yard bird!
• Gold family succumbs to peer pressure and shares yet another hummingbird photo on FB!
• The girls still think dad's hobby is cool. I wonder how long that will last.
• RTHU, be thankful this was written before you peed on the author.

Thoughts on Owls

Owls seem to have intrigued and have inspired many. Perhaps it is because Owls are cute and curious, perhaps it is because they are awesome hunters, perhaps it is because they are seen less frequently than their diurnal raptor relatives, or perhaps it is just because Owls are awesome! They are used as education birds often after they get injured or imprint illegally to humans as babies and cannot return to the wild. A quick search on Google returned 132 million pages for "owls" whereas "warbler" returned less than 2% of that many.  There strong opinions on Owls seemingly disregard respect for others and completely ignore science. I realize there is still much to be learned, but I have a hard time believing that any personal opinion (without support) is more likely to be correct that scientific projects.  Yes I am biased toward science and data; if you don't know what bias is please look it up rather than ask! Anyways, this blog focuses on my personal thoughts toward owls as a birder rather than as a scientist.

Personal Opinion: Owls bring out craziness! 

The Good!

Owls are often spark interests in birds and nature. A kid seeing a white Harry Potter owl, also known as a Snowy Owl, may result in them caring about nature and birds the rest of their life!  I can remember the Snowy Owl that landed in a branch mere feet above my head while deer hunting one November in Minnesota; it was magical. I met an elderly gentleman that shared how he saw his first Short-Eared Owl just a month ago. I suspected his smile has not diminished in size upon telling the story.

The Bad! 

Owls spark an insane desire to see them that can be bad for the bird. The guilt is on many levels and should not be unfairly put on only one group. As a birder I suspect we have all been guilty of driving a car close to a perched bird only to have it fly off.  When I had a camera in my hand I was too often tempted to walk closer to perched birds, often resulting in them fly. I've unfortunately seen others do far worse; trespassing, repeatedly harassing the bird for a photo, and yes even baiting. It is my opinion that we should minimize any stress on birds.

My Takeaway

I share locations of owls to individuals because I still believe that people are good. Sometimes their actions afterwards result in my unwillingness to share any further information with them unfortunately. I don't post specific locations of owls publicly to eBird or to ListServs unless it is already there; thus I don't add more locations. I realize how tough this is for others to follow up on reports. Even in Olaf Danielson's big year he expressed frustration that the only ebird report for Northern Hawk Owl was at the county level (yes it was mine). That story had a good result because he went to the same location we saw it at anyways, he was the one that shared the location with us in the first place.  Alas I read repeated reports of ^$$%@&*s stressing birds in the north-woods to get their shot. It would seem that the value of a photo is much higher for the person taking the photo than for anyone else. Many of the best bird photographers offer travel trips (7 times as many results on google compared to warblers!) to pay their bills because making a living selling photos is very tough. If you read this far in the blog you likely already know my personal opinion; take a snapshot to remember the moment from a respectful distance. Celebrate any good fortune if a bird flies toward you and offers the perfect photo but be willing to go home without the money shot. Share the photo we love seeing them. Lastly, don't pretend that you found a bird without help of others if you relied on them. That last one makes you seem ungrateful, personally I am quite thankful that others have kindly shared locations to check and I hope that I have respected the birds.

2 of 7 Short-eared Owls seen tonight in Miami County. 

Northern MN Birding: Sunday January 8th 2017

After three remarkable days there was one target bird remaining for our return trip to Kansas City on Sunday. It was the previously reported Slaty-Backed Gull in Des Moines. This is a bird I potentially saw a week earlier with my wife and kids, but it was too far away to tell for certain and never spread it's wings while we were watching.  I wanted another chance at this vagrant.  

Before we got too far into our drive we saw a couple of Rough-legged Hawks. One of these birds was a dark adult male. Below are some photo of Rough-Legged Hawks I saw over the Christmas break. The dark male on the left hand side was the same bird we saw on Sunday.

By midday we read a report of a Brambling in Nebraska. Unfortunately it was too far to arrive before dark and we continued as planned. Two days later we would drive to Nebraska only to arrive at the house five minutes after it was last seen. Back in Des Moines we stopped at the locations the Slaty-Backed Gull had previously been reported around Saylorville Lake. At the fourth stop we finally found gulls, but there were only a few there. None of the gulls were Black-backed but I grabbed the scope none-the-less and focused on each bird. One stood out from the handful of Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls. It was an adult California Gull! While this bird is common further west, it is tough to find in the Midwest. My hopes were so high that the rare bird did not compare to the hopeful vagrant and I failed to take any pictures of it. Alas it wasn't even a bittersweet consolation for dipping on the Slaty-Backed Gull again. 

Even with the last day miss the trip was absolutely amazing. During the massive road-tour Jennifer added 13 lifers, Micky 10, and I added one! Below is a complete list of species and the daily number of birds of that species seen on the trip.

Fortunately planning the trip was not as challenging as visiting an area for the first time since I've been on these roads and searched the areas multiple years before. Realistically anyone could search recent reports on eBird, the MOUNet Listserv, and Facebook groups to have a decent idea of where to start looking for their target species. Volunteers at the Bog Welcome center are amazingly kind and often share recent information for visitors. 

If I've learned anything from the past three years of showing KC birders around northern Minnesota it is to make sure everyone has cold-weather clothing. We were fortunate to see all the species we did from the comfort of a vehicle this year. It is nice to have a reliable car and being prepared for the worse case scenario. Respect private property and remember that others call these areas home. Don't be a bad steward of the land, block the road, or represent birders as anything other than grateful guests. While I could give driving suggestions for snow packed icy roads, I suspect no matter what I write here won't change your tendencies anyways. Instead make sure to add AAA, your insurance, and tow-company contacts to your phone as you may be lucky enough to have coverage if something happens.  Good birding.

Northern MN Birding: Saturday January 7th 2017

After a successful Thursday at Sax-Zim Bog and Friday in Lake County we had a few misses from our target list.  We had missed Sharp-tailed Grouse Thursday, Black-backed Woodpecker both days, and dipped on the Golden-Crowned Sparrow in Duluth on Friday. With reports from Friday of Northern Hawk Owl we decided on three targets for Saturday: Golden-crowned Sparrow, Sharp-tailed Grouse, and Northern Hawk Owl. We knew the plan would require quite a lot of driving for the odd mix of species, but it was the best chance to get as much as possible with the last remaining day in case this trip was not one that would be repeated in the near future for either Jennifer or Micky.

We checked out of the hotel bright and early and started the morning before first light at the Golden-crowned Sparrow stakeout. Shortly after 7:20 am the bird appeared with two Dark-eyed Juncos! It was quite dark and we could barely see any field-marks, but the golden crown between the top of the head and the bill of the adult bird was visible!  It was not great views and too dark for photos, but it was enough to be identified. 

Three grouse species in three days: Ruffed, Spruce, and Sharp-Tailed!

From there we headed northwest to Sax-Zim Bog with hopes of finding Sharp-tailed Grouse. We drove directly to the lek and as luck would have it, we saw three of them out in the field! Two target birds with almost no time spent searching for them, it would be one of those days! 

More Ruffed Grouse and Pine Grosbeaks were seen along our drive, but with the amazing speed at which we found our first two target birds we quickly headed further northwest with hopes of finding a Northern Hawk Owl. 

Not the Hoary Redpoll we saw, 
but it is similar in appearance.

The Northern Haw is an

awesome looking species!

We passed Grand Rapids on the way and stopped for a Curve-Billed Thrasher. This species is regular in Kansas but quite tough in Minnesota. We had no intention of spending much time for this species, and left before it was refound. Fortunately the Minnesota birders found it a half an hour after our departure. I said hi to the ones I recognized and met a few new faces, but we had another species in mind. 

We drove to Washkish Minnesota and grabbed lunch from the convenience store. It was full of people going to Red Lake for icefishing, which was evidenced by the small town that we could see out on the ice as we drove by.

In the middle of the road were large flocks of Pine Siskins with a few Redpolls mixed in.  As we stopped along the busy road we watched the flock, which was too slow to fly away with each passing car. A Siskin was hit by each car we watched. In the carnage we also noticed a white fluff-ball mixed in the flock. It was a male Hoary Redpoll with. It really stood out from the other hundred birds! While this species may be lumped together with Common Redpoll in the near future, it was an unexpected lifer for the trip. With fewer Redpolls seen this winter, I figured we would miss it.

Shortly after we found a Northern Hawk Owl along Highway 72. I was actually talking on the phone with Christine when we spotted the bird. I could hear here say, "You must have spotted your bird", but only faintly as my phone was somewhere on the floor. It was the second time I reacted to a bird and dropped/put-down the phone with her on the other end. Thankfully she is amazingly understanding and was not mad when I called back. We had been searching at a slower pace for only 15 minutes when the bird was spotted. With amazing luck, we had seen all three target species by early afternoon!  

This is my only action shot that was in focus, taken shortly after the bird flew from one perch to another.

With plans of staying in central Minnesota at my parents we made a quick decision to head further west in search of Gray Partridge. We had been prepared to drive north to Roseau if needed for the Hawk Owl, but fortunately that time could now be spent on a species that was not on our target list a week earlier.  Our basic strategy was to get in the correct region of the state and drive back roads at slower speeds searching windbreaks and fields following up on a sighting almost a week old!

Approximately 500 miles!

After an hour of nothing and light starting to fade we found a flock of snow buntings in the road near a conservation area southwest of Terrebonne, Minnesota. They had flown into a harvested corn field and I jumped outside hoping to relocate them for Jennifer and Micky. As luck would have it, a handful of Gray Partridge decided to fly from that field of corn stubble over to the conservation area and crossed the road right in front of us! For the second time in three days we added a lifer at last light.

It was an AMAZING day! 

We made it to my parents by 8 pm, saw the three target birds for the day and did not have to drive to the Canadian border to do so, and added two lifers more than we had dreamed at the beginning of the day. I'm very fortunate to have parents that not only open their house up to us and friends but they even listened to our stories and were curious of our adventures.

Sunday was a travel day back to KC and the last day of this trip, but we had one more target bird to try for. The next blog post will detail the last search and an overall summary of the trip.  Here is a list of lifers from Saturday.

Northern MN Birding: Friday January 6th 2017

After a wonderful day at Sax-Zim Bog on Thursday where we only missed one target species we decided to head north along Lake Superior to Lake County with hopes of finding Spruce Grouse, Boreal Chickadee, Black-backed Woodpecker, and Three-toed Woodpeckers. The other target for the day was a Bohemian Waxwing.  

We left early in the morning from Duluth and made our way north along Lake County 2. We were in the appropriate area at first light but did not have any luck finding a Spruce Grouse. Our basic strategy was to drive slow along the road and hope to find one along the road gritting. We tried Lake County 1 for a few miles but turned around to give County Road 2 a second attempt. Within 4 miles of the intersection, and almost exactly where the Sand River eBird hotspot is, we found a single male Spruce Grouse in the middle of the road. A lifer for all of us!

The bird seemed to have no worries toward us.

Click here for entire map.

We took pictures as it casually walked in front of us. Two other cars came from the other direction that were birders as well, elated to see this species also. From there we headed north to Tomahawk Road. I did not know the condition of the road but had hoped it would be open to attempt to find Black-Backed Woodpecker, Three-Toed Woodpecker, and Boreal Chickadee (the north east points on my map).

The road was only plowed for a couple of miles and we had to turn around before reaching our desired locations. We stopped at a small black spruce Pete area where someone had walked with snow shoes. I suspect it was one of the northern birding guides or birders in the area, as a Boreal Chickadee was right next to the road and gave us all decent looks of a fairly skittish species.

We tried a couple of spots for woodpeckers but were unable to find any. It was quite cold outside and if you do not have adequate winter clothing it gets downright uncomfortable. Luckily for us the van stayed out of the ditch and started the entire trip. There were a couple of locations along Lake County 2 that had Black-backed Woodpecker reports, but instead we went down Lake County 1 and tried for them instead. In hindsight we could have tried the other, as we only found more Gray Jays, Pine Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, and Common Ravens as we made our way back to Highway 61 along Lake Superior. This species is the closest thing we had for a miss during the entire trip, but it is hard to call it a miss considering the little time we actually put forward on it.

 

We didn't find any Moose, just a Moose sign! The trees were covered!

We did not find anything scoping the lake at a couple of stops and made our way back to Two Harbors in search of Bohemian Waxwings. Pine Grosbeaks were throughout the town and a flock of house sparrows that contained a Eurasian Tree Sparrow. We were able to relocate the Bohemian Waxwings fairly quickly stopped to take pictures.

 

A single bird landed close while the flock was often perched up high.

Mixed in with the Bohemian Waxwings were Pine Grosbeaks. This is the first instance that I can remember taking pictures of this species with any sun. Often winter is dominated by overcast skies.

 

Male and female Pine Grosbeaks (left) and male on the right.

Agate Bay did not contain any waterfall but did have it Thayer's Gull mixed in with the Herring Gulls. Leaving Two Harbors we had the decision similar to the week before with Kathy and Diane. Should we go after the Townsend Solitaire, the Golden Crowned sparrow, or Canal Park and gulls. This time we decided to try for the Golden Crown Sparrow and Canal Park. Just like last week we missed the Sparrow. Moreover there were no gulls at Canal Park. Micky and Jennifer got wonderful close views of American Black Ducks for comparisons with similar looking Mallards.

We ended the day a bit early and went out to eat with Kristina and Clinton. We talked for hours and it was wonderful to catch up with an friend. As much fun it is for me to watch birds and get others on life birds I value the memories shared and close friendship even more. During the conversations we were made aware of Northern Hawk Owl north of Red Lake. We had some planning to do that night. Little did we know that the next day would be perhaps the luckiest any of us have experienced with chasing birds.

Here are the "lifers" from our second day! 

Northern MN Birding: 2016 One-Day Visit

An  adult male Pine Grosbeak

Between Christmas 2016 and New Years 2017 we had friends from Kansas City visit northern Minnesota in search of birds. Christine and I went over to Duluth from central Minnesota and spent the night with anticipation of searching the area with Kathy and Diane the next day.  Due to treacherous road conditions from an ice storm two days earlier we decided to search for Bohemian Waxwings together around Duluth. We spent the first couple of hours searching Duluth where they had been seen before but we were successful. We tried for an overwintering Golden-crowned Sparrow in Duluth as well, but again were unsuccessful. After trying a handful of locations in Duluth we decided to drive north to Two Harbors and chance the icy roads. Diane is an exceptional driver and we did experience any troubles along the way but did drive a bit slower.

We searched each and every road in Two Harbors. We started along the south edge of town at Agate Bay and drove back and forth, east to west, working our way through the town one street at a time from south to north. After an hour and a half Christine spotted a few Bohemian Waxwings. We saw them at quite a distance and shortly after we saw them they flew away. We continued our search and after another half an hour we found a small flock near the northern edge of town. These birds were more receptive. With overcast gray skies we did not get many pictures, but we sat in the car and watched the Bohemian Waxwings and Pine Grosbeaks feed together on the mountain ash.

A Bohemian Waxwing (left) with an immature/female Pine Grosbeak (right).

We decided to check Agate Bay before stopping to get a bite to eat. The parking lot and trails were glare ice and we were careful not to slip and fall. Kathy spotted a Red-necked Grebe out in the harbor, it was a species that neither of them had seen before. After searching over half the day for the Waxwings we were fortunate they could add a second life bird in 10 minutes. The wind off the water had given us all a chill so we ate a relaxing lunch at Culver's to warm up and determine our next course of action. We took scenic 61 along the lake back to Duluth and saw more Pine Grosbeaks and a Northern Shrike. With the remaining light we followed up on a previous report of a Townsend's Solitaire rather than heading to Canal Park.

On our first pass we did not find the bird, rather we found a flock of 150 to 200 Bohemian Waxwings. I guess we should have started the day out here instead. The Solitaire was found near the dog park and gave us wonderful views. It was the third lifer of the day for Kathy and Diane!

Townsend's Solitaires are a member of the thrush family, just like bluebirds!

While we did not find any of the northern specialties like a Boreal Chickadee, Black-Backed Woodpecker, or Spruce Grouse we were successful in the day. Perhaps the biggest success of the day was navigating the treacherous roads, as later that night on our way back to central Minnesota we drove 45 miles per hour on the thick snow/ice, snow pack, black ice, and uneven lanes. It was a wonderful day sharing conversation and searching for birds with friends. I enjoy watching others see birds for the first time and helping them fine them, but am even more thankful that Christine decided to lend her eyes and ears in our search. She is my favorite person to go out in the woods to search for birds, animals, and take pictures. I hope we are able to do it again soon even if our daughters lives have us starting to go in many different directions.

Collared Lizards

On June 29th our family packed up and traveled west a couple of hours to Mt. Mitchell Heritage Prairie in search of Eastern Collared Lizards. The Prairie is an Audubon of Kansas Wildlife Sanctuary and property. Friends have been sharing their photos and I was truly excited for our girls to see the lizards.  Here is a short video detailing their visit. The video was taken a couple days later on July 1st.

As you heard in the video, we were able to see Eastern Collared Lizards and everyone got in on the photo taking. Click on any of the photos to enlarge and see greater details.

 

Collared Lizard Fans and Paparazzi!

We came home with over 1,900 digital files, most of them being of the Eastern Collared Lizards.

 

 

The lizards are quite tolerant of humans, giving photo opportunities to everyone. These are Danielle's photos!!

With three DSLR cameras being utilized there was a premium on the lighter 70-300mm ED lens.  It is quite a bit lighter than the 300mm F4 AF lens which quickly tired the girls with its weight.  Luckily the girls share.

 

 

These are Michaela's photos!!

We walked around the prairie picking up the chigger bites and saw a few other animals as well.

 

The Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher is large and flashy and captivated everyone's attention. Danielle's photo is on the right.

 
A few insects such as this Common Checkered Skipper (Left) and Giant Robber Fly (right)

We also saw Variegated Fritillaries and Little Yellow butterflies and an unidentified caterpillar that somehow escaped decent photos from our lenses.

 

We even took a few photos of ourselves.

Danielle took videos of the lizards also. We pulled out the tripod and both girls had creative input in the video below.  Click on the settings in the lower right to change to HD for more detail.

Below are photos that Christine or I took.

The lizards are calm enough to take the above photo with a 50mm lens (approximately the size of eyesight)!

We took a few composite photos, which reveal more details if viewed at original size or as a massive sized print.

 

For a short while two of them were next to each other.