The tale of “Swabby” and “Captain”

Pearly-eyed Thrasher - Margarops fuscatus

“Captain”, the bold “leader” of the local clan of Pearly-eyed Thrashers hanging out around our vacation beach house at St. John’s in the Virgin Islands.

Back from the Virgin Islands!  The family vacation for the summer was on the island of St. John’s in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  We had a rental house right on the water and had a wonderful time.  Our own little private cove and beach, wonderful snorkeling right outside the door, and great food. Of course, there was also a wee bit of birding involved!  I’d never been to the Caribbean, and although the relatively small island of St. John’s doesn’t have a huge variety of bird species, there were some nice “lifers” I was able to see and photograph.

One of those species is the Pearly Eyed Thrasher.  They are a very common and very visible species in the area, but given their geographic range, they were obviously a “new” species for me.  It didn’t take long after we arrived for us to see our first Pearly Eyed Thrasher!  We flew into St. Thomas and took the ferry over to St. John’s, then driving across the island towards Coral Bay and the location of our beach house.  The owner met us and as we were being shown the features of the house, we were greeted by “Captain” (the name my son immediately gave him!), an extremely tame Pearly eyed Thrasher who the owner said “owned” the beach house! Captain certainly did act as if he owned the place!  Every time we were on the deck overlooking the ocean, Captain was there, either casually searching for food, or just hanging out on a nearby tree or the deck itself.  Captain was certainly curious, often choosing to sit and perch within just a few feet of where we were lounging.

Captain was usually accompanied by “Swabby” (again, the name my son gave him!).  “Swabby” was a bit more shy than Captain, and usually was only around if Captain was around.  Swabby generally hung out a little further away from us than Captain, but he too was often very close to us.

I knew before we arrived that they were a common species, with one local birder telling me that locals in the Virgin Islands think of Pearly eyed Thrashers in much the same way as we would think of House Sparrows or Common Grackles here.  One of the joys of birding, however, is seeing a “new” species.  No matter how common a Pearly eyed Thrasher is in the Virgin Islands, they were new to us and were a real joy to have around, particularly as they were so tame and entertaining.  Clearly Captain and Swabby were accustomed to guests at the beach house.  The owner warned us not to leave any small items out on the deck, as they would be “confiscated” by Captain and Swabby!  That certainly was the case for food items too, as Captain and Swabby could be quite bold in begging for food.  We refrained from giving them “human food”, but after noticing their love of the petals of a certain flower, we did gather a few on occasion and put them out for Captain and Swabby to enjoy.

Pearly-eyed Thrasher - Margarops fuscatus

“Swabby”, the day after an accident or attack left him with an obviously broken leg. Despite the horrible looking injury, Swabby seemed to quickly adapt to his new situation.

3 days after arriving, it was obvious that Swabby had been attacked or had some serious accident.  One of his legs was clearly broken and/or dislocated.  The leg was useless to Swabby, held at an awful-looking angle.  For the first couple of days after the leg was broken, Swabby struggled. He wasn’t around as much, and when he did come near the deck, he struggled to adapt to his new situation.  He didn’t seem to have enough strength in the one remaining leg to hold up his body, so whenever he landed somewhere, he typically would lay on his belly.  We gathered a few more flowers for Swabby, and thankfully he was still feeding normally. After a couple of days, the leg still was useless and was still held at a horrible angle, but Swabby seemed to be gaining strength in his remaining leg.  He was starting to hop around on one leg, and seemed to be able to hold his body up with the one leg.

Of course we’ll never know what happened to Swabby, but there are a couple of “unnatural” predators on the island that could have been the culprit.  Mongoose were introduced to the islands many decades ago, a misguided attempt to control runaway rat populations (another introduced species).  Mongoose have had a devastating impact on the native wildlife of the Virgin Islands, particularly on ground-nesting birds.  Another potential culprit is another introduced species, the iguana.  We ran across some extremely large iguanas during our trip, including one gorgeous, bright green iguana in a tree right outside the beach house.  My guess is that either a mongoose or an iguana managed to get a hold of Swabby’s leg, and Swabby only escaped after breaking free of whatever predator attacked him.

Green Iguana - Iguana iguana

A gorgeous Green Iguana lounging in a tree outside the beach house in St. John’s. Could he be the cause of Swabby’s broken leg?

As we left the Beach House to start the long trek back home, Captain and Swabby of course were present to give us a proper send off!  We did put out a bit of left-over bread as we left, which Captain and Swabby immediately devoured.  “Common” or not in the Virgin Islands, it was a treat to see a new species.  Birders tend to get enamored with adding new species to their life lists, and often forget to appreciate the birds that are commonly seen.  Watching their behavior at such close range, interacting with them in the way we did, was a reminder to appreciate the “common” species we have back here in South Dakota.

What kind of birder are you?

Eastern Kingbird

Are you a “Kingbird” birder, for which birding is a competitive event?

I had a conversation recently with someone about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.  She was talking the latest Sibley guide, and how either the Ivory-billed Woodpecker wasn’t listed at all, or it was listed but shown as “extinct” (I don’t remember which she had said).  Later I thought about what she’d said and it got me a little riled up.  From the moment Cornell published their materials about the Arkansas Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, Sibley criticized it.  Why does that rile me up?  This is the kind of reaction that for DECADES has dampened any kind of search for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, or restricted any efforts to save remaining habitat.  Those who have claimed to have seen an Ivory-billed Woodpecker since the 1950s have primarily been met with scorn and skepticism, rather than excitement.

Cornell had several long-time ornithologists and birders who gathered evidence about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.  No, they didn’t get any clear video or photos, but the PEOPLE who reported sighting the bird certainly have the “cred” from a birding and ornithology standpoint.  I certainly believe them, just as I believe the Auburn group who claimed they saw Ivory-billed Woodpeckers shortly after the Arkansas sightings.  What I’ve found since I started birding 15 years ago though is that birders definitely fall in certain categories.  I’ve never met David Sibley, but based on his reaction to the Cornell group and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, I can imagine what “class” he falls into in my mind.

Let’s put it into “bird terms”. If a birder were a bird, what kind of bird would he be?  Here are the general kinds of birders I’ve run across over the years:

The Peacock – Peacocks are all about appearance. How do I “look” to other birders?  What is my reputation?  For this class of birder, it’s less about the birds and more about their own reputation.  What’s that you say, non-Peacock?  You saw a rare Yellow-footed Gobbling Grouse?  Pfft…I haven’t seen one, and I’m not so sure you have either!!!  Besides, if you have, it can’t compare to the Whistling Chatter-billed Flycatcher that I have seen!

The Kingbird – Have you ever watched Kingbirds along a fenceline?  Life seems to be a never-ending competition, fighting for every inch of fenceline.  Kingbird birders view birding as a competition.  Life lists, “Big Year” lists, county lists, state lists…and most importantly…how does your list compare to MY list…these are the concerns of the Kingbird.  There are definitely many well-intentioned and friendly Kingbirds, for whom birding is a game, but a friendly and cordial game.  The birder you need to look out for though?  The Kingbird/Peacock hybrid, for which the “game” is deathly serious.  Don’t invade the space of a Kingbird/Peacock hybrid…you may not come back with all your limbs intact.

Black-capped Chickadee

The beloved “Chickadee” birder, always cheerful and willing to share their experiences.

The Chickadee – Have you ever noticed that Chickadees seem to be the “journalists” of the bird world?  They’re always letting the other birds know what’s happening. OWL!  DANGER!  Here comes a birder!  Be Alert!!  Chickadee birders are cherished because they love to share what they’re experiencing.  Hey birders!  A Broad-butted Cuckoo was spotted along Rosie’s Creek!  On the way back I saw a Pink-legged Wattlebird…here are the coordinates!  For the Chickadee, a major part of the birding experience is sharing that experience with other birders, and helping them to share the same experience.  A great class of birders, and one that we fortunately have many of in South Dakota.

The Yellow Rail – Have you met a Yellow Rail birder?  I’m sure you have while out birding.  Do you know their name?  Do you know where they live, what they do for a living, what birds they’ve seen?  Very doubtful.  The Yellow Rail birder lives an active birding life. However, they do so in anonymity, avoiding the crowd, not publicizing any birding activity they do, not reporting their sightings.  Yellow Rail/Kingbird hybrids definitely exist, birders that may obsessively “list”, but for them it’s a private activity, for which no sharing is needed.  Comparing to other birders’ lists?  Not important, because for a Yellow Rail, it’s all about leading a quiet, unobtrusive birding life.  The Yellow Rail and the Peacock are often mortal enemies, with neither fully understanding the mindset of the other.

The Coot – How often do you see a lone Coot? Not nearly as often as you see a gaggle of Coots.  For the Coot, birding is about camaraderie.  Birding is a social activity, something meant to be shared.  Going birding? It may also mean grabbing a beer or a bite to eat after.  Coots can be either quite serious or very casual birders.

While I’m sure you can easily slot some birders you know into one of the above categories, in reality I think most birders are probably hybrids.  If I had to classify myself, I’d definitely leave out the “Coot” component.  For me birding is “me” time, time to be alone with my thoughts and enjoy not only the birds, but just being outside.  In that respect I’m definitely part Yellow Rail in terms of wanting solitude, but I also have a lot of Chickadee in me, in that I do like sharing what I find.  In that respect though I admit I probably DO have some “Peacock” in me, particularly given my fondness for sharing my photos with the world!

As for the start of the post, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and David Sibley…as I said, I’ve never met the man, but the attitude of complete disrespect and disdain for the Cornell work really turns me off.

Unexpected Visitor!

Pine Siskin - North American Range Map

This is a range map for the Pine Siskin. The closest they’re supposed to be to here this time of year would be northern Minnesota or the Black Hills.

My office has been under construction for nearly 2 months now, and my temporary office is, uh…not ideal.  It’s an open cube, shared with 2 other people, 6 feet from the bathroom doors.  Lovely…and hard to work when you’re used to your own office with a door you can shut.  Because of that, I’ve been working at home most of the time.

I had an unexpected surprise today while working at home.  I went into the kitchen to get a drink, looked out the patio doors at the thistle (niger) feeder, and saw a Pine Siskin.  June 2nd?  A Pine Siskin in southeast South Dakota?  It wasn’t even something on my radar, so I had to do a double take, and check it out at close range just to be sure.  Pine Siskins are something you’d only expect in the winter around here, and even though they can be pretty locally common, I rarely get them at my feeders.

The map above shows the supposed range for a Pine Siskin.  Strange!  A nice surprise, and actually after checking my eBird list for the year, I hadn’t seen one yet this year. June 2nd…not the date I’d expect to see my first Pine Siskin here!

South Dakota Big Year (Kind of…)

Sora - Porzana Carolina

Sora, one that’s not hard to “count” around here if you go by sound. It’s another matter to see one, much less get a good photo. This is from late April.

I’ve never been a huge “lister”, at least in the formal sense. I know what birds I’ve seen, but I really haven’t ever kept a written list anywhere. Photos? Yeah, I definitely know how many bird species I have photos of. I keep a spreadsheet to organize my photos, with species, date, and location. I have photos for 415 species, all in North America (I haven’t traveled outside of North America during my time birding).

For species I’ve actually seen? I have a rough guess of around 480, just based on the number of of species photos I have. The problem is that I’ve never kept track of species that I’ve seen, but not photographed! Hooded Warbler? Check! Baikal Teal? Check! Even something as common in South Dakota as a Prairie Chicken? Check! I’ve seen them all, but have no photos.

If eBird would have existed when I started birding 15 years ago, I would definitely have an exact count. I’m not just talking my lifetime bird list, I’m talking my “South Dakota List”, my “Minnehaha County List”, my “2008 List”, etc. It’s a wonderful tool for not only contributing to ornithology studies, but also for listing. Since I really started using eBird a couple of years ago, I’ve entered 419 species, including 277 in South Dakota.

One of the interesting aspects of eBird is that you can get your “ranking”, in comparison to other birders in your area. I can see who has the most sightings in South Dakota, in my county, in the U.S. as a whole, or even who has the most “yard birds” in their life. It’s pure genius to me that Cornell includes these features in eBird. Given how (annoyingly sometimes!) competitive birders can be, seeing how you rank against others in your area is a good way to spur more eBird sightings!

This year I decided I would track how many species I see in South Dakota, for several reasons. First, I’ve never done it, and was curious how many the number might be in one year. Secondly, if you’ve birded for a while, seeing your 1,987th Common Nighthawk may not be that exciting, but I admit it IS satisfying to mentally and physically cross it off your list for the year, the first time you see one.

Ovenbird - Seiurus aurocapilla

A species that screams SPRING to me, an Ovenbird. So nice to hear them singing when they arrive in May. Another you normally hear before you see it. Ovenbird was around bird #160 for the year.

It’s May 26th, and the count for the year is (drumroll please…) 193 species seen in South Dakota. That’s many more than I thought I’d have seen by this date.  If you include every rarity ever seen in South Dakota, even if there’s only one recorded instance, there are about 435 “South Dakota species”.  Recording 193 of them in less than 5 months seems pretty good to me, particularly since I haven’t traveled at all in the western part of the state, where many species can be found that can’t be found in the eastern half of South Dakota.  It’s also good from the standpoint that I haven’t seen much in the way of “mega rarities”, which means I’ve seen a good majority of the species you’d expect to see over the course of the year.

The downside?  Well, if you’d have asked me on January 1st whether I’d take 193 species by May 26th, I’d have definitely said yes!  However, 193 puts me in a mere SEVENTH place in South Dakota right now!  SEVENTH!!! The highest totals right now are around 220 species.  Does that bother me? I admit it kind of does!  I have REALLY birded much more this spring than in the past several years, and thought I was doing pretty good!  Evidently there are even kookier bird nuts out there than me!!

CURSE YOU eBIRD, for bringing to light my birding inadequacies!!! If it weren’t for eBird, I’d be quite merry with my 193 total!!

Getting over “Warbler Neck”

Golden-winged Warbler - Vermivora chrysoptera

Golden-winged Warbler, moving through a riparian area looking for snacks. A warbler photo taken at eye-level, thanks to one of my “photo bridges!”.

It’s been a great last week for migrants.  Warblers are hit-or-miss around here, as some seasons are great for warblers, and some…not so much.  Even within a given year though it’s unpredictable, as they can seemingly be everywhere one day, and gone the next.  What’s been great about the last week is that there have been good to great numbers of warblers nearly every day, and the variety has been good as well.

The downside of a protracted, good warbler migration? Warbler neck!!  I would be that on an hour-per-photo measurement, warblers rank much higher than most other kinds of birds.  Around here, the most common place to spot warblers is up in the forest canopy.  It makes for tough photography conditions, as either the warblers are usually too far away for a good photo, or you’re shooting from directly below and just getting a shot of their bellies. It also makes for a SERIOUS case of “warbler neck”, a sore neck you get from continually having your head tilted back, looking straight up into the canopy with your binoculars as you scan for warblers.

Yesterday I just couldn’t do another trip of scanning the tree tops, so I thought I’d try some of my old tried-and-true locations for getting up a bit to the birds’ level.  Out here on the plains, trees are mostly found in woodlots, protected ravines, urban areas, and riparian areas.  If there’s a riparian area, that means roads with bridges over the water.  I have several bridges in the area that I’ve used for taking photos of birds in the tree canopy, as the taller bridge places you up towards the tree tops a bit.

It was actually slower for warblers yesterday than it had been all week, and I was a little disappointed when I came to one of my “photo bridges”.  As I pulled over at the corner of the bridge, positioning myself right next to the tree branches, I heard a thin, weak buzzing song.  I’m not the greatest at bird calls, but I knew that buzzy call..a Golden-winged Warbler.  Beautiful birds, but pretty uncommon migrants through South Dakota.  I had no photos of the species and was really hoping this bird would cooperate.  Fortunately, he kept on foraging in the riparian trees, oblivious to the guy with the camera.  When I first started to try to take a photo, he was obscured by leaves and branches, but after a minute or two of waiting, I was finally able to get some decent photos of a Golden-winged Warbler.

And all from my elevated “photo bridge”, eliminating any aggravation of my warbler neck!

Photographing a non-existent bird

Photo of Blue-winged Warbler - Vermivora cyanoptera

A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Newton Hills State Park in South Dakota. Most sources would consider it to be very rare for the area, or an out-of-range vagrant. Thanks to “citizen scientists”, I think our understanding of bird distributions is going to be much improved in the coming years.

I visited Newton Hills State Park this week.  It’s a wonderful place to bird, and rarely fails to produce some interesting birds, particularly given that its an oasis of forest in a vast plain of corn and soybeans.  While walking along a path I heard what is now a familiar song, a buzzy quiet song that sometimes sounds like half insect, half bird.  Soon the source the song popped up on the top of a nearby cedar…a Blue-winged Warbler.  I was able to take quite a few decent photos of him before I moved on to find other quarry.

What’s always interesting about that spot in Newton Hills, and that species, is that they’re generally assumed NOT to be there.  Oh, among local birders, that particular spot is well known as “the”  place to find a Blue-winged Warbler in South Dakota.  However, if you look at field guides or other sources of bird information that provide range maps, southeastern South Dakota is either on the very extreme edge of the Blue-winged Warbler’s range, or it’s outside their normal breeding range.  Despite that, most years you can find a couple of pairs of Blue-winged Warblers breeding in this corner of Newton Hills State Park.

As always, I recorded the Blue-winged Warbler sighting in eBird, along with all the other birds I saw on that day.  If you’re not an eBird user, when you report a “rare” or unusual bird, the software flags it, and makes you enter a bit a detail about the sighting.  To further verify the identification, you can upload a photo that you may have taken of the bird.  EBird flagged Blue-winged Warbler as rare and unusual for the area, so I added a blurb about the very clear sighting, and also later uploaded a photo to accompany the report.

I’m in the habit now of entering eBird sightings most of the time when I go birding, but I’m still surprised sometimes when eBird flags a sighting as rare and unusual.  It does make you realize how incomplete our understanding is for even the most basic of characteristics of a given bird species…where they can be found.  There have been a number of times where I’ve casually entered a species in eBird, and have been surprised when eBird has flagged it as rare for the area.  Many times, it’s a species I’ve found in that area quite consistently.

I’ve brought up eBird here before, but as I photographed and reported what many sources consider to be a “non-existent” species for this part of the country, it does make you realize the power of “citizen science” and what a massive database such as eBird can do to improve our understanding of bird species distributions, migration timing, etc.

F***ing, Fat, Fake Nature Lovin’ Campers – FFFNLCs

Vegetation removal at Big Sioux Rec Area - 2013 to 2015

Big Sioux Rec Area campground – 2 years ago, and today. All shrubs and trees anywhere close to the road removed, any remaining trees trimmed way up. Can’t have any scratches on those $125,000 RVs!!!

We live across the street from the Big Sioux Recreation Area, a state park here in South Dakota.  It’s a riparian area along the Big Sioux River, with many very large cottonwoods and burr oaks, among other trees.  We’ve lived in Brandon for over 20 years now, and I’ve always enjoyed the park, including the birds found within.  That enjoyment is becoming less and less as time goes by.

There’s a definite pecking order in terms of what passes for “recreation” in South Dakota.  Birds and birding, and wildlife in general, seems to be very far down that list.  “Parks and Rec” often seems to mean accommodating a few select recreational uses of public land.  Hunting definitely tops the list.  What else would you think when you get to your favorite  South Dakota State Park, and are immediately greeted with a sign that says “Warning – Hunting Season in Progress”?  Nothing says rest and relaxation more than walking a beautiful path, looking for birds, all the time with a wary eye for any trigger happy hunter that may be targeting something in your general vicinity.

Accommodating campers seems to be the second highest priority.  The Big Sioux Recreation Area has always had camping spots, but until recently, they’d been wonderfully vegetated.  There are two loops with camping spots, loops that USED to be lined with cedar trees and other vegetation.  They were wonderful for birding. The deciduous trees and shrubs around the camping sites themselves were sometimes spectacular for warblers and other migrants in the spring.  The thick cover offered by the cedars and surrounding bushes always attracted birds.  A few years ago on a beautiful November day, as my son and I walked through the park, we were surprised by 15 or more Long-eared Owls that were roosting in the evergreens.  They were incredibly tame, allowing close approach.  People came from all around the area to see this unique circumstance, a group of tame, easily seen Long-eared owls that had chosen the Big Sioux Rec Area camping loops as their winter roosting spot.

Long-eared Owl - Asio otus

From 2007, a Long-eared Owl perched in trees in the campground at the Big Sioux Recreation Area. Those trees and any other vegetation in the vicinity are GONE, largely to make way for today’s generation of Fat Fake Nature Lovin’ Campers.

Last summer, the park began removing trees and shrubs.  Ostensibly, part of the reason was due to what’s become an all out war on Eastern Red Cedar by parks in the state.  However, one of the directly stated reasons for the move?  All the increasingly large campers that use the Big Sioux Rec Area were having a difficult time backing into some of the camping spots.  Those cedar trees that held all the Long-eared Owls?  They are ALL gone.  All the bushes and other vegetation that used to line the roads of the camping loops?  Gone.  What was once a wonderful habitat for birds is now a habitat for…FFNLCs.

What is a FFNLC, you ask? My very blunt term for “Fat Fake Nature Lovin’ Campers”.  Frankly, I usually put another “F” in front of the term, and you can imagine what that stands for.  DEFINITE “Fake nature lovers”, given what passes for “camping” at the Big Sioux Recreation Area.  Last night, I was walking through the park and passed a MASSIVE RV that has been parked in the same spot all week. Despite being there for several days, I had yet to actually see someone OUTSIDE, until last night.  Last night, there was a definite FFNLC, “roughing it” in the park.  This FFNLC was massive on a grand scale, just as was her RV!  And just as massive was the huge flatscreen TV she watching in the “wild” of the park.  The RV had a panel on the outside that opened to reveal this massive flatscreen TV. This FFNLC was sitting in a lawn chair with a huge bowl of chips(?), munching away with the volume turned ALL the way up so the rest of the park could also enjoy her viewing of American Idol.

NOTHING says “Nature” more than sitting in a lawn chair, with your satellite TV hooked up, watching a giant screen and speakers belting out American Idol.  And now you see why I usually add another “F” in front of FFNLC.  Even if there WERE a bird in the general vicinity of the VERY fat FFNLC, there’s no way I could have heard it over her TV.

Fox Sparrow photo - Big Sioux Rec Area

Fox Sparrow, taken in the campground loop at Big Sioux Rec Area. Alas, this spruce tree, like EVERY spruce and cedar tree in that loop, is now gone.

I don’t want to be mean about the “fat” part of FFNLC, but…c’mon, it fits SO well for FFNLCs.  This weekend, on a GORGEOUS afternoon, I took a walk through the park with my pups.  There’s a nice, long, paved bike/walking trail through the park that we like to take the pups on.  Beautiful day…many campers at the park…gorgeous trail…and for the 1 1/2 mile walk, do you know how many people I came across on the trail?  ONE.  ONE!!!  But yet you got back to the campground area itself, and there were certainly plenty of FAT FFNLC’s “roughing” it.  “Roughing it” nowadays evidently means never moving more than 15 feet from the vicinity of your massive, air conditioned, satellite TV equipped, more-comfortable-than-most-peoples-houses, 40-foot RV.  TAKE A FREAKIN’ WALK, FFNLCs.  TRY TURNING OFF THE TV and actually enjoying the park itself.

There’s obviously no going back.  My very birdy camping loops are no more, and it’s not going to change.  EVERY change the State Parks make around here end up REMOVING habitat, and putting in MORE camping stalls.  I guess I should enjoy what habitat remains in the Big Sioux Recreation Area, because its inevitable that any bird habitat presently found there is only going to be reduced even further as time goes by.

Owl Mobbing by Songbirds

Eastern Screech Owl - Megascops asio

Red-phase Eastern Screech Owl, trying to doze. His neighbors weren’t letting him though, with several different kinds of songbirds scolding him and occasionally flying at him.

Chalk this one up under the category of “something you hear about but haven’t seen”.  You always hear about songbirds “mobbing” owls, but it’s not something I’ve personally witnessed more than a handful of times.  Yesterday after birding, on my way home, I thought I’d do one quick drive up “Spook Road”, a road east of my hometown of Brandon that follows a little creek, and has some nice riparian veg and trees.  It’s been a good birding spot in the past.

As I drove slowly down the road with my windows open, I first heard the scolding of a Blue Jay, and then a Chickadee and Robin that were joining in.  With multiple species all scolding something, I figured it was likely an owl or other bird of prey. I stopped the car and looked around, but didn’t see anything at first.  But then a Brown Thrasher came into the picture and went flying at something, banking off at a sharp angle right before it got to its quarry.  There was a red-phase Eastern Screech Owl sitting on a branch, the target of the scolding by the mob of songbirds.

Two things were interesting about it, one, of course, being the mobbing behavior.  There was also a Swainson’s Thrush hanging around showing interest, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and a few others.  It did make me wonder how much of a threat Screech Owls are to all these species.  I’m sure they will take a songbird when they get a chance, but I don’t think a Screech Owl would take a bird the size of a Blue Jay.  It didn’t seem to matter though, as it seemed like every bird in the area was intent on driving him away.  The owl, for his part, didn’t seem to care.  In fact, for most of the time he was being scolded, he had his eyes closed.

The second interesting thing was that it was a red-phase Eastern Screech Owl.  The gray phase if overwhelmingly more common in South Dakota, and in fact, the ONLY place I’ve ever seen a red-phase screech owl here is…right on Spook Road, within a mile of this same bird.  It’s been a handful of times where I’ve encountered them in this area now, so obviously the red-phase gene is sticking around in this particular spot.

A “birdy” kind o’ day…

Ovenbird - Seiurus aurocapilla

Ovenbird, one of many I heard and saw today at Newton Hills State Park.

The weather wasn’t great this morning.  Cool, overcast, and drizzling every once in a while.  The options for such a Friday in May…go to work, or take the day off despite the weather and go birding all day.

Of course option B was chosen.  May is such an incredible time to bird here, with all the migrants moving through and the summer songbirds arriving.  I spent most of the day at Newton Hills State Park, a gem of a place in Lincoln County, South Dakota.  It’s got wonderful forest habitat reminiscent of forests of the Eastern U.S., right here on the (mostly) plains of South Dakota.  With an “eastern forest” comes “eastern birds”.  Newton Hills is often one of the very few places where you can find some species of forest birds in the state.

At this time of year, the summer breeding residents are arriving and singing their hearts out.  One of my favorite species was one of the first birds I heard when I arrived this morning, an Ovenbird singing his little heart out from the top of a fence post.  Newton Hills is the most reliable spot I know of to find these guys both in the spring, and during the summer breeding season.  I saw several Indigo Buntings flitting through the big Burr Oak trees, providing momentary glimpses of a shocking brilliant blue that you just don’t expect to see flitting through the forest canopy.  Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were singing everywhere, as were Eastern Towhees.  Two of the most numerous summer breeders in parts of the park were also two of the loudest and most obvious birds today, with Yellow Warblers singing and chasing each other all over the place, and the ever-present (in summer anyway!) House Wrens found in practically every corner of the park.

Black-and-white Warbler - Mniotilta varia

An elegant Black-and-White Warbler pausing to get his photo taken.

One of the things I’m learning to appreciate is the unseen, yet heard bird.  Ok, yeah, may seem obvious, but for a guy who has focused on bird photography for so long, seeing has always trumped hearing for me.  There were several species that I heard today, but only got a very brief glimpse of or didn’t see at all.  I hear Wood Thrush in multiple spots, with their beautiful, metallic-sounding (to me) songs.  I desperately was trying to get a photo of a Scarlet Tanager I heard, but he stayed in the treetops and never even gave me a glimpse. One singing bird I REALLY was trying to track down was what sounded very much like a Kentucky Warbler.  I heard it singing at some distance, but when I walked towards the area it stopped singing and I never found it.  I’ve never seen a Kentucky Warbler, hence my excitement at hearing the bird.  I don’t know the song of one well enough for me to conclusively say that’s what it was, even though it sure sounded like a Kentucky Warbler when I got back to my car and compared to the song of one on my iPhone.

Alas, a rarity and a lifer that eluded me.  It really wasn’t a terrific day for any unusual birds, but there certainly was a really nice variety of migrants and arriving breeding birds. The birds I get the most excited for this time of year are the warblers, but other than those mentioned above, the only other species I saw today were Black-and-White, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped, and Common Yellowthroats.  Warblers are so unpredictable here though, with birds seemingly “dripping off the trees” on some May days, and seemingly absent on others.

A great day overall!  One puzzling thing though was how it was so “birdy” at Newton Hills, but so completely dead at another spot I visited. I haven’t been to Union Grove State Park very much, but in many ways it’s very similar to Newton Hills, with a lot of uncharacteristic (for South Dakota) eastern forest land.  As loud and boisterous as the birds were at Newton Hills, I was immediately struck at how quiet it was at Union Grove.  I kept listening for birds, trying to find a “birdy” spot to get out and walk, but I was met by complete silence.  After half an hour I’d driven all the roads in the small park, and the only birds of ANY kind I saw were a pair of Turkey Vultures, a Crow, and a Blue Jay.   The only birds I heard but didn’t see were a Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Chipping Sparrow on the way out.  Weird…not even a Robin, when they were all over the place at Newton Hills.

Orange-crowned Warbler - Vermivora celata

Ok, somebody tell me…have you EVER seen an actual “orange crown” on an “Orange-crowned Warbler”?

Despite the quiet at Union Grove, despite the rather gloomy weather to start the day, it ended up being a very nice day of birding. There were about a dozen “first-of-year” birds for me, which brings me up to around 160 species for the year so far, within South Dakota.  Not bad, considering we’re a frozen wasteland for 6 months of the year, and there’s not much for quantity or variety of birds during that time!

Short- vs. Long-billed Dowitcher

Short-billed Dowitcher vs. Long-billed Dowtitcher

Which kind of Dowitchers are these? Click to get a much higher-resolution version.

Alright, I admit I have no freakin’ clue how to tell apart Short-billed Dowitchers vs. Long-billed Dowitchers.  I DID find this great website:

http://www.surfbirds.com/ID%20Articles/dowitchers1005/dowitchers.html

More info than you can shake a stick at!  But I’m still not sure that it helps me.  Given that I live in South Dakota, where we’re much, much more likely to find Long-billed Dowitchers, I have pretty much always called Dowitchers I take photos of here Long-billed Dowitchers.  But over the years, I also have no doubt I’ve seen, if not photographed, Short-billed Dowitchers.

So, tonight I was birding around Newton Hills State Park, and came across a group of 15 Dowitchers.  Long- or Short-billed?  Check out the photo above.  What are they?  All Long-billed?  A mix?  Bill length, as expected, is one of the ID marks in the SurfBirds article above.  Check out the 2 birds with an “A” by them.  The one on the left has a much longer billl than the one on the right.  Leg length is supposed to be another mark, with Long-billed Dowitchers having longer bills.  Again check out the birds labeled “A”.  The one on the right has the water reach his belly, while the birds right around him have leg showing.  Same for the one bird in the back by the “B”, where one bird has water reaching the belly, and the other two don’t.

The SurfBird site has many more ID keys, such as a supposedly straighter supercillium on the Long-billed, but even on their example images I find that hard to see.  Plumage differences and shape differences are noted there as well.  Any thoughts out there? What are the Dowitchers in this photo?

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