I am heading home for a few days, but had time to stop at the backyard feeder of a nice woman I met on a beach looking for a Royal Tern. We didn't exchange names, just that we were both "chasers."
That was Monday.
Yesterday evening a received an e-mail from a birder named Catherine from Goulds. She couldn't sleep and while cruising the Internet found this blog. She sent me an e-mail with an offer of help if I were still around. Alas I was leaving today, but asked her if there might be somewhere I could snag a Purple Finch on my way to the airport. She replied this morning with pretty good info: her backyard feeder!
We drove there from Branch and the little purple guy was at the feeder the moment we arrived and returned a few minutes later for some photos.
That was number 53 for the trip.
And if you haven't guessed by now, Catherine was the woman I met on the beach. How cool was that? A Big Year is about a lot of things. Of course there is the chase. The list. Finding the birds. Surviving the travel. Being away from home. But, in the end, it is about the people you meet along the way. So, even though I didn't meet you in person, thanks Catherine. No one can really do a Big Year in isolation. Without the people I've met along the way and without Sue putting up with all this craziness, I'd have never seen even 300 species of birds, let alone 446, so far this year.
54 from 500. But I am not stopping there. I am a little too crazy and there are still too many birds to find and, I hope, lots of people to help me find them.
When I hit 300 I, rather jokingly talked about starting on the second 300. So, throwing caution to the winds of fate, and at the risk of driving everyone I know and love crazy, I will keep going until day 366 of 2012, and try to see my 600 birds. It might not be probable, but Impossible is not an option.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Puffinland
Yet it is really called Gull Island. Go figure. Yes, it is home to thousands of Herring Gull, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Common and Thick-billed Murres and some token Razorbills, but the true stars of the show are the adorably cute, Atlantic Puffins. Hundreds of thousands of them. The largest colony of puffins on the east coast, yet only 3% survive annually because their neighbors on the small island of the coast of Witless Bay, the Herring Gulls and Kittiwakes find their babies to be a nice, light snack. If that weren't bad enough, they also steal fish right from the beaks of the adult Puffins, who are just trying to survive and live peacefully in the company of these not so neighborly seabirds.
We went out on O'Brien's aptly named Atlantic Puffin, and thanks to the knowledgeable guides, who could not only belt out a good Irish Folk tune to rival anything by the Irish Rovers, but also knew their birds, we were able to see Greater and Sooty Shearwater, Common Murres, Herring Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes, but most notably, Thick-billed Murres and Razorbills, in addition to the most lovely Atlantic Puffins.
The rest of the day has been spent driving to the Cape St. Mary's Echological Preserve, with a stop at Chance Cove Provincial Park where we found a Ruffed Grouse with a baby, and later at St. Vincent's, thanks to some other birders, a small colony of Arctic Terns with their own baby.
And we are still on the road, even as I type this, racing the sunset to our accommodations for the evening and hopefully a good dinner before retiring for the night.
July 9
Witless Bay -
O'Brien's Atlantic Puffin
Gull Island
443. Thick-billed Mure
444 Razorbill
Chance Cove PP
445. Ruffed Grouse
We went out on O'Brien's aptly named Atlantic Puffin, and thanks to the knowledgeable guides, who could not only belt out a good Irish Folk tune to rival anything by the Irish Rovers, but also knew their birds, we were able to see Greater and Sooty Shearwater, Common Murres, Herring Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes, but most notably, Thick-billed Murres and Razorbills, in addition to the most lovely Atlantic Puffins.
The rest of the day has been spent driving to the Cape St. Mary's Echological Preserve, with a stop at Chance Cove Provincial Park where we found a Ruffed Grouse with a baby, and later at St. Vincent's, thanks to some other birders, a small colony of Arctic Terns with their own baby.
And we are still on the road, even as I type this, racing the sunset to our accommodations for the evening and hopefully a good dinner before retiring for the night.
July 9
Witless Bay -
O'Brien's Atlantic Puffin
Gull Island
443. Thick-billed Mure
444 Razorbill
Chance Cove PP
445. Ruffed Grouse
Sunday, 8 July 2012
Newfoundbirding
Just a quick update from The Rock.
I did, finally make it to St John's, through rain and fog and dark of night.
We had only a little time to bird yesterday and a full day today, but it was at times so foggy a bird could have landed on my nose and I wouldn't have seen it. It was cold and raining all morning and became nice in the afternoon and then over the course of an hour the weather change a dozen times. Humid, warm and sunny, then suddenly gale force winds, dense fog and and a quick drop in temperature . Within minutes it would warm up, fog would clear and then we'd get a repeat performance.
Still I managed 31 species including:
July 7
Newfoundland
La Manche Villiage
439. Pine Grosbeak
July 8
Renews-Bear Cove
440 Greater Shearwater
Million Dollar View - Ferryland
441. Atlantic Puffin
442 Black Guillemot
With more to come!
(I hope)
I did, finally make it to St John's, through rain and fog and dark of night.
We had only a little time to bird yesterday and a full day today, but it was at times so foggy a bird could have landed on my nose and I wouldn't have seen it. It was cold and raining all morning and became nice in the afternoon and then over the course of an hour the weather change a dozen times. Humid, warm and sunny, then suddenly gale force winds, dense fog and and a quick drop in temperature . Within minutes it would warm up, fog would clear and then we'd get a repeat performance.
Still I managed 31 species including:
July 7
Newfoundland
La Manche Villiage
439. Pine Grosbeak
July 8
Renews-Bear Cove
440 Greater Shearwater
Million Dollar View - Ferryland
441. Atlantic Puffin
442 Black Guillemot
With more to come!
(I hope)
Friday, 6 July 2012
Newfoundland or Bust!
We got "bust."
So, as I continue to discover, a Big Year is not always about being in amazing birding locations, it is actually, more often than not, trying to get to said locations. I am writing from about 10,000 feet above Halifax, Nova Scotia, rather than St. Johns Newfoundland, where we were actually headed.
Now, I am sure the birding is fine Halifax, and there is a 14 hour ferry boat over to Newfoundland, on which a large variety of Pelagic birds can be seen. In fact, I read just yesterday in Sandy Komito's chronicle of his 1998 Big Year, how he took that very trip.
Breaking news!
We are not going to Halifax after all, as they are not equipped to get us on our way to St Johns. Instead we are detouring to Montreal! How lucky for me. A Little Egret was reported to NARBA in the Montreal area, just yesterday. This could be good news after all. If we are forced to stay overnight we will go for the egret this evening or early tomorrow morning, and then catch our flight to Newfoundland and perhaps even arrive in time for lunch.
Or, the captain will come on the intercom just before we land and alert us that we are making an about turn and heading to Quebec City for Summer Carnivale!
Perhaps I should have taken the window seat and looked for sea birds in flight, as that, right now, at 6:17pm on Friday July 13, ahm, July 6,(wouldn't have been cool had it been Friday the 13th), would have been my best chance of seeing any birds today.
And now it's dark and we are just arriving at a Holiday Inn for the night and the flight tomorrow is too early to chase the possible Little Egret. Not worth staying a full day here without it having been confirmed. Who knows, it might have taken off and is headed right to St Johns.
Who knows? Right now we need dinner and sleep as we have a very early shuttle to the airport in the morning. Turns out the 6am shuttle is full so we have to leave at 5:25 for a 8:10 flight. So we won't even get into St Johns until noon tomorrow
Good night ;)
So, as I continue to discover, a Big Year is not always about being in amazing birding locations, it is actually, more often than not, trying to get to said locations. I am writing from about 10,000 feet above Halifax, Nova Scotia, rather than St. Johns Newfoundland, where we were actually headed.
Now, I am sure the birding is fine Halifax, and there is a 14 hour ferry boat over to Newfoundland, on which a large variety of Pelagic birds can be seen. In fact, I read just yesterday in Sandy Komito's chronicle of his 1998 Big Year, how he took that very trip.
Breaking news!
We are not going to Halifax after all, as they are not equipped to get us on our way to St Johns. Instead we are detouring to Montreal! How lucky for me. A Little Egret was reported to NARBA in the Montreal area, just yesterday. This could be good news after all. If we are forced to stay overnight we will go for the egret this evening or early tomorrow morning, and then catch our flight to Newfoundland and perhaps even arrive in time for lunch.
Or, the captain will come on the intercom just before we land and alert us that we are making an about turn and heading to Quebec City for Summer Carnivale!
Perhaps I should have taken the window seat and looked for sea birds in flight, as that, right now, at 6:17pm on Friday July 13, ahm, July 6,(wouldn't have been cool had it been Friday the 13th), would have been my best chance of seeing any birds today.
And now it's dark and we are just arriving at a Holiday Inn for the night and the flight tomorrow is too early to chase the possible Little Egret. Not worth staying a full day here without it having been confirmed. Who knows, it might have taken off and is headed right to St Johns.
Who knows? Right now we need dinner and sleep as we have a very early shuttle to the airport in the morning. Turns out the 6am shuttle is full so we have to leave at 5:25 for a 8:10 flight. So we won't even get into St Johns until noon tomorrow
Good night ;)
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Withdrawal
It's been 10 days since I added a new bird to my year list, let alone saw anything more than backyard feeder birds and some swans and gulls down by the lake. Of course, I've been working every day since I returned from Texas. There has been one good bird in the area in the last week, a wayward Magnificent Frigatebird, but I've already seen them in Florida and though it would be a nice addition to my Ontario list, too much time would have been involved in chasing it.
One thing I've learned is to plan a Big Year way in advance so you aren't chasing a difficult bird in Ontario when it would be an easy bird in, say, Florida. Case in point, the White-winged Dove. It was a rarity here in Ontario. I knew it was a bird that could be seen in Florida, so I didn't make the long drive up to North Bay to chase it. However, I wasted too much time chasing it in Florida, since it's almost as easy to find in Arizona and Texas as Robins and Starlings are in Ontario.
Now it is off to Newfoundland tomorrow, so we can start a week of non stop birding again. Hopefully there will be a rarity or two appear there while we are birding. I am excited about the Atlantic Puffins and all the other pelagic birds we could see, and I will once again be will be well medicated before getting on the boat. Hopefully it will be warmer and dryer than it was on the Alaskan pelagic trip.
So, after nearly a week of restless anticipation, and birding withdrawal, which has led to some bizarre birding dreams the last few nights, I am ready to head out on the road again, or in this case, out to sea, so to speak. If I were doing an unrestricted Big Year, and money wasn't an issue, I'd be making a pitstop in Quebec for a possible Little Egret, but not, alas, this Big Year.
And if anyone out there has tried my iPhone Digi-scoping idea, from yesterday's blog, I'd love to hear how it worked out for you.
One thing I've learned is to plan a Big Year way in advance so you aren't chasing a difficult bird in Ontario when it would be an easy bird in, say, Florida. Case in point, the White-winged Dove. It was a rarity here in Ontario. I knew it was a bird that could be seen in Florida, so I didn't make the long drive up to North Bay to chase it. However, I wasted too much time chasing it in Florida, since it's almost as easy to find in Arizona and Texas as Robins and Starlings are in Ontario.
Now it is off to Newfoundland tomorrow, so we can start a week of non stop birding again. Hopefully there will be a rarity or two appear there while we are birding. I am excited about the Atlantic Puffins and all the other pelagic birds we could see, and I will once again be will be well medicated before getting on the boat. Hopefully it will be warmer and dryer than it was on the Alaskan pelagic trip.
So, after nearly a week of restless anticipation, and birding withdrawal, which has led to some bizarre birding dreams the last few nights, I am ready to head out on the road again, or in this case, out to sea, so to speak. If I were doing an unrestricted Big Year, and money wasn't an issue, I'd be making a pitstop in Quebec for a possible Little Egret, but not, alas, this Big Year.
And if anyone out there has tried my iPhone Digi-scoping idea, from yesterday's blog, I'd love to hear how it worked out for you.
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Digi-scoping with iPhone
Happy 4th of July to all you Americans who have made my travels through so many states easy as hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet!
Two more sleeps until we head off to Newfoundland. Yippee.... Another adventure awaits.
A zoomed in image from the scope:
Two more sleeps until we head off to Newfoundland. Yippee.... Another adventure awaits.
So, do you want to digi-scope and save money too? Sure, we all do!
In that regard, I have been trying to find a good and inexpensive way of digi-scoping with my iPhone and discovered a product on line that looked like it had potential, except for the fact that I'd have to order and pay for it, and it looked ridiculously simple to make on my own. And, best of all, in 15 minutes, I produced a finished, nearly ready for market product, with very little effort.
Here is how to make your own iPhone digi-scoping adapter:
1: Find a juice bottle lid, or spice bottle lid or any kind of lid that has a flat back that matches the external diameter of your scope. Mine happened to work perfectly with a Dole Juice bottle lid I had saved just for that purpose. I drilled a half inch hole in it.
2: Go into your junk drawer or to the Apple Store and get yourself a iPhone case that covers the back and sides. A soft rubber one will work best.
3: Set the lid on the scope and line up the camera on the iPhone with the scope so the lens is centred on the scope to get you the full image in the iPhone screen. Use a marker to scroll around the phone on the back of the lid and then glue the lid to the case.
Once dry you can start digi-scoping and don't have to bring a separate camera with you, since you're probably already carrying your iPhone. And of course we all want to save money. If you make one, please let me know how it worked for you.
Here are some photos to give you an idea:
Through my back window into the back yard:
A zoomed in image from the scope:
Sunday, 1 July 2012
Halfway Home
July 1: Canada Day and 200th anniversary of The War of 1812.
A chance to look back at the first 6 months.
In the first half of the year I have seen 438 ABA Species(440 overall), 400 of which are life birds for me, as my only experience with birding prior to this year was a love of photography and nature and I had photographed birds more than any other wildlife.
In 6 months I have counted birds in 8 States and 2 Provinces: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Texas, West Virginia, British Columbia, and of course, right here at home in Ontario.
I have traveled thousands of miles by air, sea, bike and on foot and have been to places I'd have never traveled to if not for my Big Year.
I have met wonderful people and discovered that birders are amongst the nicest, if not the nicest people you will ever meet. I have exchanged e-mails with Sandy Komito and John Vanderpoel, and a few other birders from around the country, who have offered advice and encouragement.
I have discovered that goals can change rather quickly. I had a modest goal of 300 when I decided to do this, late in 2011. After I passed 300 I decided that I would have a good chance of 500. Now with 162 to go, I do not believe that 600 is an unrealistic goal with 6 months to go. Call me crazy, but with trips to Newfoundland, Arizona, Nevada, California, Florida, perhaps New Jersey and with fall migration looming, I think I can aim for this number. Why not? I may never have another chance to see 600 birds in a year again. Then again, 10 years from now, I may be going after 700 plus.
Friday we head to St. Johns Newfoundland, and over the following 3 weeks I will be in Michigan, Nevada, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Florida for work,(and a little birding), and Arizona, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota,(including the Sax-Zim Bog), and Illinois for birding.
Now to wrap up my Texas trip. My favourite bird of the trip was the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher,(a very good substitute for the elusive Fork-tailed Flycatcher I have yet to get), yet I didn't include any photos. I intend to make up for that with lots of Scissor-tail photos, plus a few more from my last day in Texas.
A chance to look back at the first 6 months.
In the first half of the year I have seen 438 ABA Species(440 overall), 400 of which are life birds for me, as my only experience with birding prior to this year was a love of photography and nature and I had photographed birds more than any other wildlife.
In 6 months I have counted birds in 8 States and 2 Provinces: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Texas, West Virginia, British Columbia, and of course, right here at home in Ontario.
I have traveled thousands of miles by air, sea, bike and on foot and have been to places I'd have never traveled to if not for my Big Year.
I have met wonderful people and discovered that birders are amongst the nicest, if not the nicest people you will ever meet. I have exchanged e-mails with Sandy Komito and John Vanderpoel, and a few other birders from around the country, who have offered advice and encouragement.
I have discovered that goals can change rather quickly. I had a modest goal of 300 when I decided to do this, late in 2011. After I passed 300 I decided that I would have a good chance of 500. Now with 162 to go, I do not believe that 600 is an unrealistic goal with 6 months to go. Call me crazy, but with trips to Newfoundland, Arizona, Nevada, California, Florida, perhaps New Jersey and with fall migration looming, I think I can aim for this number. Why not? I may never have another chance to see 600 birds in a year again. Then again, 10 years from now, I may be going after 700 plus.
Friday we head to St. Johns Newfoundland, and over the following 3 weeks I will be in Michigan, Nevada, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Florida for work,(and a little birding), and Arizona, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota,(including the Sax-Zim Bog), and Illinois for birding.
I will need a lot of help and would be appreciate any advice and suggestions.
Now to wrap up my Texas trip. My favourite bird of the trip was the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher,(a very good substitute for the elusive Fork-tailed Flycatcher I have yet to get), yet I didn't include any photos. I intend to make up for that with lots of Scissor-tail photos, plus a few more from my last day in Texas.
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