THIS IS US!

 

It’s hard to know where to begin a birdathon report, but if you think birds dance then let’s call it the “beguine” because in a way that is what’s going on the bird world now. (The beguine is a waltz and it was brought to my attention by the late Artie Shaw and his big band orchestra… but I digress.)

Spring Awakening is carefully timed Dance when trees and flowers are synced with migration. It’s pretty awesome come to think. For instance, in Maryland Honey Locust Trees and native Honeysuckle Vines are opening up just in time for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds' return from its winter grounds in Mexico’s Yucatan region.

But really, the Bloomin’ Birdathon is a fun marathon, whereby we are chasing birds and counting as many species possible to raise funds for Nature Forward and support environmental education and conservation in the Capitol region. (https://natureforward.org/)

For the 43^rd Annual Bloomin’ Birdathon, This One’s For Jane decided to take our 24-hour chase to Tucson, Arizona. 

Normally the Birdathon is 24-hours, including sleep, but if we relax the rules, then we can chase birds over multiple days as long as we don’t go over 24 hours of birding. And that’s what we did -  for 5 days, we scouted birds in the desert, valley, mountains, at the corner of Main Street and even snuck onto a community college campus where word on the bird was Burrowing Owl. Our final count was 117 birds and a number of mammals and reptiles rounded out the fun. (All photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fEpHu4HFuKvHwdQh8)

And now for the official faces and places of this year's Birdathon!

APRIL 19, 2023 (First Day: 24 birds in 3 hours)

FIRST STOP AT THE CORNER OF MAIN STREET – WALGREEN’S

GREATER ROADRUNNER

After landing in Tuscon we headed straight to Walgreens for sunscreen and Smarties. When we walked out, the sounds from the parking lot and nearby culvert gave us pause for a moment before each of us flew off in different directions chasing a “Woot Woot” here and a “Whoooop” there. In 30 minutes we snagged our first nine species.

1.       Gambel’s Quail (Woop)

2.       White-winged Dove

3.       Greater Roadrunner (Kelly wins! for being the first to see it.)

4.       Gila Woodpecker

5.       Verdin

6.       Curved-Bill Thrasher

7.       Phainopepla (We nick-named it Pepla; it was easier that way.)

8.       House Sparrow (It still counts!)

9.       Cactus Wren

Great Horned Owl

Vermillion Flycatcher

SECOND STOP: CATALINA STATE PARK

Catalina State Park is located half way between Tucson and the Phoenix Airport; it is an E-Bird Hotspot; and it is our first official destination. Once again the parking lot was bustling with birds and full of low-hanging fruit if I can mix metaphors. First bird, a red Vermillion Flycatcher directly overhead. Then Mike pointed towards the Parking Lot Tree where a Great Horned Owl was tending two owlets while keeping a steady eye on the paparazzi. I still can’t believe I had to fly all the way to Tucson to get this Life Bird.

1.       Vermillion Flycatcher

2.       Great Horned Owl

3.       Turkey Vulture

4.       Northern Harrier

5.       Red-tailed Hawk

6.       Bell’s Vireo

7.       Woodhouse Scrub Jay

8.       Lesser Goldfinch

9.       Rufous-winged Sparrow

10.   Black-throated Sparrow

11.   Green-tailed Towhee

12.   Lucy’s Warbler

13.   Pyrrhuloxia (We never did learn how to say this one’s name.)

14.   Lazuli Bunting

15.   Black-headed Grosbeak

 

DAY TWO: APRIL 20, 2023 (29 birds in 4 hours)

MADERA CANYON – OLD BALDY TRAIL and STREAMSIDE TRAIL

On the road to Madera Canyon Eric saw a several people pulled over on the side of the road with huge camera lenses. That can only mean one thing – it’s a bird. Of course we pulled over too and to our delight saw a Red-tailed Hawk perched in a very large nest with three babies. It was there we met a delightful Scotsman who introduced himself as Richard Fry. It turns out Richard Fry is Arizonabirder.com and someone who would be a great bird guide for hire if we pass this way again.

ELEGANT TROGON

 We had two reasons to go to Madera. The first was that we would see many, many species of Hummingbirds; we saw four. (We will see more later.) The other was called the Elegant Trogon. The Elegant Trogon is a reclusive bird that mainly resides in Mexico and Central America but sometimes wanders to Arizona.  We got very lucky and spotted Trogon close to the trail snacking on caterpillars right away.  It also helped that several people lined up on the trail with big cameras indicated this handsome bird to us.  Note to yourself: If you see someone with a big camera pointed towards the woods, ask the person what they are looking at. You just might get a Life-time bird!

BUT wait – there’s more highlights.

When we returned to the Hummingbird feeders, someone said, “Did you see the Lewis Woodpecker just up the road?” It was too easy… Lewis practically threw himself at us.

LEWIS WOODPECKER (CLARK LEFT)

1.       Wild Turkey

2.       Black-chinned Hummingbird

3.       Broad-billed Hummingbird

4.       Broad-tailed Hummingbird

5.       Rivoli Hummingbird

6.       Elegant Trogon

7.       Acorn Woodpecker

8.       Arizona Woodpecker

9.       Ladderback Woodpecker

10.   Lewis Woodpecker

11.   Northern Flicker

12.   Hutton’s Vireo

13.   Cassin’s Vireo

14.   Mexican Jay

15.   Bridled Titmouse

16.   Ruby-crowned Kinglet

17.   White-breasted Nuthatch

18.   Brown Creeper

19.   House Wren

20.   Grace’s Warbler

21.   Townsend’s Warbler

22.   Black-throated Gray Warbler

23.   Painted Redstart

24.   Mourning Dove

25.   Swainson’s Hawk

26.   Chipping Sparrow

27.   Northern Cardinal

28.   Western Kingbird

29.   White-throated Swift

 SWEETWATER WETLANDS (18 birds in 1.5 hours)

BLUE-WINGED TEAL

VERDIN NEST DECORATED WITH FLOWERS

  

AND VERDIN, THE ARCHITECT

Sweetwater Wetlands is a nature sanctuary and not too far from Madera Canyon. We chose this location hoping to see many winter ducks that flew from our region over a month ago and we did – 6 common ducks plus 2 more ducks that don’t swim our shores. We also noticed lots of nesting going on - particularly Verdin birds who weave a kind of cave and then decorate it with flowers.

1.       Blue-winged Teal

2.       Cinnamon Teal

3.       Mallard

4.       Mexican Duck

5.       Ruddy Duck

6.       Pied-billed Grebe

7.       Common Gallinule

8.       American Coot

9.       Cliff Swallow

10.   Marsh Wren

11.   Song Sparrow

12.   Lincoln Sparrow

13.   Abert’s Towhee

14.   Red-winged Blackbird

15.   Common Yellowthroat

16.   Yellow Warbler

17.   Yellow-rumped Warbler

18.   Costa’s Hummingbird fighting

 

DAY THREE – APRIL 21, 2023

ASH CANYON (15 birds in 3 hours)

CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD (MALE)

CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD (FEMALE)

 

DAY THREE – APRIL 21, 2023

ASH CANYON (15 birds in 3 hours)

Ash Canyon is a private residence.  The folks living there set up several hummingbird and other bird feeding stations and then place chairs all about for total strangers to drop in and watch birds on one condition. One must sit. If you do stand up, don’t linger long otherwise one of the volunteers will politely offer you a seat nearby.

TWO OF US

We spent three hours there watching hummingbirds and other birds feed close by and enjoyed chatting with like-minded people who shared their knowledge and joy of birds with us.

1.       Lucifer Hummingbird

2.       Anna’s Hummingbird (female)

3.       Calliope Hummingbird

4.       Gray Hawk (Heard and Confirmed by other Birders so we are counting it, but you don’t have to.)

5.       Plumbeous Vireo

6.       Bewick’s Wren

7.       Cassin’s Finch

8.       Pine Siskin

9.       Lark Sparrow

10.   White-crowned Sparrow

11.   White-throated Sparrow

12.   Rufous-crowned Sparrow

13.   Spotted Towhee

14.   Bullock’s Oriole

15.   Scott’s Oriole

RAMSEY CANYON PRESERVE, a Nature Conservancy sanctuary (2 birds in 1.5 hours)

There was ONE reason we went to Ramsey and we came away with two: Northern Pygmy Owl and a Violet-crowned Hummingbird.

NORTHERN PYGMY OWL

 

DAY FOUR – APRIL 22, 2023

MOUNT LEMON (5 birds in an hour of hiking.)

I am afraid of heights so the drive up Mount Lemon was a little dizzying and reminiscent of State Highway 1 in California, but it was well worth the effort. Many Hermit Thrushes bounced around our feet when we disembarked our car and the Red-faced Warbler greeted us at the trailhead. So easy.

1.       Red-faced Warbler

2.       Hermit Thrush

3.       Yellow-eyed Junco

4.       Dusky-capped Flycatcher

5.       Stellar’s Jay

LAST DAY IN SCOTTSDALE

4 birds in hour

I’M TOO SEXY

On our way to Phoenix, we stopped by Scottsdale the night before and chased not one but three Burrowing Owls. Truth be told, we didn’t need to chase them because they chose to pose. One perched high on a sign, while another sat amidst yellow flowers; I suspect the second one knew what he was doing because his eyes matched perfectly. And the third owl was happily minding his own business in another nearby prairie dog hole.

1.       Great Blue Heron

2.       Burrowing Owls at Community College

3.       Says Phoebe

4.       Anna’s Hummingbird

  

 

WILSON WARBLER

TOWNSEND WARBLER

APRIL 19-25, 2023

AT THE HOUSE, ON THE ROAD AND ON THE TRAIL BEHIND THE HOUSE (18 for the count)

Kelly could not have picked a better location for our stay in Arizona.  Our little Air BnB had a lovely deck shaded by a warbler-magnet mesquite tree. And when we weren’t looking at birds, one of the resident collared dragons impressed us with the number of push-ups he could do in the blazing sun.

1.       Rock Pigeon

2.       American Robin

3.       Cooper’s Hawk

4.       House Finch

5.       European Starling

6.       Boat-tailed Grackle

7.       Wilson’s Warbler

8.       Nashville Warbler

9.       Virginia’s Warbler

10.   Mississippi Kite (Seen flying on the way to Ash Canyon in Sierra Vista)

11.   Brown Crested Flycatcher

12.   Hooded Oriole

13.   Raven

14.   Wilson Warbler

15.   Northern Mockingbird

16.   Ash-throated Flycatcher

17.   Gilded Flicker

18.   LAST BIRD: Canyon Towhee

19.   ONE BOBCAT!

20.   Two Ring-tailed Coati Mundi

21.   Mule Deer

22.   And a flock of Ostriches by the side of the road.

The story doesn’t end here. Back in Richmond, Anna was helping THIS ONE’S FOR JANE and gave us 5 birds:

1.       Eastern Bluebird

2.       Tree Swallow

3.       Brown-headed Cowbird

4.       Canada Geese

5.       China Goose

And during my cross-country drive with Tommy between Colorado and home we snagged 7 more!

1.       Black-billed Magpie

2.       Killdeer

3.       Bald Eagle on its nest

4.       Brown Thrasher

5.       Eastern Towhee

6.       Rough-winged Swallow

7.       Ring-necked Pheasants in lieu of Sandhill Cranes at the Rowe Bird Sanctuary in Kearney, NE

That should be a wrap but our story doesn’t end here. We have decided to get out the count one more time because we missed doing the Bloomin’ Birdathon here where we live. So folks, THIS ONE’S FOR JANE WILL RIDE again on May 20^th.

THANK YOU TO MY FELLOW TEAMMATES - ERIC, you do it all for me, I know. MIKE, your photos are second to none - we're gonna win this photo contest this year, I just know it! KELLY, Thank you dear sister-from-another-mister! TO Female Solidarity!!

BIRD ON.

 

 

BIRDING: LESSON ONE: COMPARING SPECIES

Let’s compare confusing birds with NO pictures!

I don’t take pictures when I am birding. That is what my husband is for – he has the camera and he knows how to use his camera. I stay away from photography for the simple reason that by the time I grab the camera, aim and shoot the bird in question is gone. Eric, on the other hand, is accustomed to catching birds on the wing.

So, how does one tell birds apart especially when the two in question look like kissing cousins?  For starters, bird with friends.

 

Mike: How do you tell a Canvasback apart from a Redhead?

              Me: Canvasback has a beak shaped like a ski jump.

 

Me: I don’t think there are Greater Scaups here. I looked it up – Greaters like greater, bigger waters like the ocean.

Mike: Both Greater and Lesser Scaups have been seen in the Bay. One has a purple head and one has a green head.

Me: (Looking in Kaufman’s Field Guide) Got it! GReen for GReater.

 

Mike: Ruddy’s have blue bills.

Me: Lots of ducks have bluish bills.

Mike: Ruddy’s have a perky tail.

              Me: Right on! Cute perky tail.

 

See how that works? Bird with your friends.

(Photo credit: Eric Voit)

 

2019 BIRDATHON

Dickcissel.

That’s a funny word. Say it ten times fast and try not laughing.

Dickcissel may not have been the last bird we counted but it was the last word on the 2019 Birdathon.  After hours of chasing birds across the beaches and wildlife preserves in Cape May and Brigantine, NJ, it was the Dickcissel we spent the most time trying to identify from Eric’s photo when we returned to our hosts house. No matter how old one is (15, 55, or 75,) some words bring out the sophomore in all of us. I forget how we concluded this little bird is a Dickcissel, but it is the last box that we checked on the American Birding Association official bird checklist.

You could ask what are we doing and why, and the explanation is simple. We are birders and last weekend we counted birds to raise funds for the 39^th Annual Bloomn Birdathon for Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase, MD.


The rules of play are to count as many birds (or wildflower species) in a 24-hour time frame and to have fun while doing so. There are lots of highlights, but I will limit myself to Mikes original question when the weekend was over: What were your three favorite birds? And I said:

One. The little Common Yellowthroat.

He throws back his head and then sings his heart out! Witchy-witchy-witch


Two. The Juvenile Hawk

Poor little thing looked like he was screaming MOM, the crows wont leave me alone!

Three. The Laughing Gulls.

It is hard to believe that these regular gulls can be interesting but they are. They return to Cape May in March marking the start of Spring.  By mid-May, they flock in the tens of thousands to feast on horse shoe crab eggs along the shoreline.  Put this all together and it is what I call phenomena – Thousands of birds (or any species for that matter,) congregating and behaving according to their biological heritage.

Unbeknownst to me, the second Saturday in May is the World Series of Birding sponsored by the New Jersey Audubon. Everywhere we went, we met people doing the same thing we were - raising funds to support Birds.

At Coral Beach we ran into Vince and his gang who were in the middle of a Big Stay which started at 4 in the morning.  The premise is if you stay in one place long enough, all the birds will eventually fly to you. Apparently, they did because by 2PM, Vince and his gang counted 138 species including the Chuck-wills-Widow calling in the pre-dawn hours.  Thanks to Vince, our team saw the Northern Gannet and Mississippi Kite during our 20-Minute Stay. 

At Higbee Beach we picked up Arthur who confirmed via the bird interweb that Mike really did see the Swallow-tailed Kite that flew overhead during the 15 minutes we all got separated.

When Eric made an unintentional turn onto the Ocean City causeway, we decided to stop at the visitor center where we ran into a group of Happy Campers who flew in specially to participate in the World Series. It was here that we saw these Yellow-crowned Night-Herons building their nest.

I asked my fellow teammates what were their favorite birds and here is what they said:

KELLY

It’s hard for me to pick just one…

but I’m always delighted to see and hear Indigo Buntings, and we saw so many!

Also, I loved the flock of Skimmers standing facing the rain and wind, and flying en masse then suddenly a few would break off and do their skimming thing.

MIKE

I love Indigo Buntings and seeing their rust-colored wing against his iridescent blue body.

Second was watching the Field Sparrow sing with his whole body that 

his tail feathers were quivering.

And I really liked seeing the Otter take off with a fish in his mouth, BUT

if has to be a bird, then it was the Clapper Rail skulking around the mud flats.  

ERIC

Tree swallow peeking out from nesting box!

Starting Saturday, May 11 at 11AM to Sunday, May 12, 11AM, we snagged 95 birds breaking our first record of 87 species in 2018. We were hoping to spot 100 of course but that just means we have even more incentive next year to learn our Warbler songs before we get out and count! 

If you haven’t already donated to the 2019 Bloomn Birdathon for Audubon Naturalist Society then I invite you to do so. Just follow this link and be sure to mention our team name: THIS ONES FOR JANE HUFF – who was an extraordinary birder and naturalist herself and my beloved mentor.  Here’s the link: https://anshome.org/birdathon-sponsor/?_sf_s=Birdathon 

For more photo out-takes like Mikes Otter,

visit: http://www.voit.org/pic-x/Birdathon2019/index.html You will be glad did!

And now for the List of Birds which are grouped by name and phylogenic sequence according to the American Birding Association.  They are all there – count them!

DUCK, GEESE, SWANS

Brant

Canada Goose

Mute Swan

Gadwall

American Wigeon

Mallard

American Black Duck

PIGEONS & DOVES

Rock Dove

Mounring Dove       

SWIFT & HUMMINGBIRD

Chimney Swift

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

RAILS, GALLINULE & COOT

Clapper Rail

OYSTERCATCHER & STILT

American Oystercatcher

PLOVERS & LAPWINGS

Black-bellied Plover

Semipalmated Plover

Killdeer

SANDPIPERS, PHALAROPES

Whimbrel

Ruddy Turnstone

Curlew Sandpiper

Sanderling

Dunlin

White-rumped Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Short-billed Dowitcher

Long-billed Dowitcher

Lesser Yellowlegs

Willet

Greater Yellowlegs

GULLS, TERNS & SKIMMERS

Laughing Gull

Herring Gull

Black-backed Gull

Least Tern

Common Tern

Forsters Tern

Black Skimmer

LOONS

Common Loon

BOOBBIES & GANNETS

Northern Gannet

CORMORANTS

Double-crested Cormorant

BITTERNS & HERONS

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Green Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

IBIS

Glossy Ibis

VULTURES

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

OSPREY, KITES, EAGLES & HAWKS

Osprey

Swallow-tailed Kite

Mississippi Kite

Bald Eagle

Broad Winged Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

WOODPECKERS

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

TYRANT FLYCATCHERS

Great Crested Flycatcher

Eastern King Bird

JAY & CROWS

Blue Jay

American Crow

Fish Crow

SWALLOWS

Purple Martin

Tree Swallow

Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow

CHICKADEES & TITMOUSE

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

NUTHATCHES & CREEPER

White-breasted Nuthatch

WRENS

Carolina Wren

Marsh Wren

GNATCATCHERS & GNAT WRENS

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

THRUSHES

American Robin

MOCKINGBIRDS & THRASHERS

Gray Catbird

Brown Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

SHRIKE & STARLING

European Starling

OLD WORLD SPARROWS

House Sparrows

FINCHES

House Finch

TOWHEES & SPARROWS

Field Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

BLACKBIRDS & ORIOLES

Bobolink

Orchard Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Boat-tailed Grackle

Common Grackle

WARBLERS

Common Yellowthroat

Northern Parula

Magnolia Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Palm Warbler

CARDINALS, (GROSBEAKS) & TANAGERS

Northern Cardinal

Blue Grosbeak

Indigo Bunting

Dickcissel

For more photo out-takes visit: http://www.voit.org/pic-x/Birdathon2019/index.html You will be glad did!