Summer bird searches still are not yet upon us–a good thing since new species seem to be added on a daily basis to this year’s impressive list of vagrants. With a house full of company for Marin’s dance recital this weekend, I still managed to sneak away this morning (at 4 AM) with Randy Frederickson to nab the pair of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks that showed up in Le Sueur County.
This was a lifer for me and a state bird for Randy. Technically Evan and I have seen this duck before–we once spotted a pair in a monkey exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo. However, the docent told us they had their wings clipped and of course did not “count”. That sighting was good enough for Evan but not me. I did try for some wild ones last year in Rio Rico, AZ but came up empty. Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are mostly found in Texas and limited parts of Arizona and Florida but occasionally stray into the Midwest. It was a nice treat to see them right here at home.
These birds were quite content to gorge themselves in this mucky drainage right by a cow barn and then fly to a nearby lake to loaf for the day.
While many of the regular migrants have been AWOL or shown up in pathetic numbers, I don’t recall a better spring for figurative and literal odd ducks. While I have gotten some nifty additions to my life list this spring, the misses have numerous and sometimes painful. Nevertheless, I’ll enjoy the gifts I get. What’s next?
To a non-birder this is pretty drab bird, but it can be quite flashy when it flies revealing a striking white and black pattern. I watched the bird for over a half hour hoping to catch a glimpse of it flying, but it never did. Eventually I had to get back to the house. Flashy wings or not, the Willet never fails to impress Minnesota birders because it is such an uncommon migrant. As such I posted Joel’s sighting on FB. I love posting birds like this because we are such an underbirded county–good birds may attract a few visitors who in turn could find something great in the home county.
As I was Teal-gazing, though, someone answered the Willet ad in the classifieds. Visiting birder Brad Abendroth struck out on the Willet but instead discovered a whopping 23 American Avocets at that pond!
The birding fun doesn’t end there. Later in the day I took the kids on a short hike at my Gray Partridge spot. As we walked a fence-line in 20 mph winds we got lucky and kicked up a single Gray Partridge from just 2 feet away! It startled Marin pretty good; she wanted to walk behind me after that. Evan enjoyed seeing this lifer. Based on the deep rusty color of the outer tail feathers, it must have been a male. When I saw the two the other day, one had bright rusty outer tail feathers like this and the other had lighter-colored ones, possibly indicating a pair. If that’s the case, perhaps the female we didn’t see today was sitting tight on a nest. We can only hope.
So the Long-eared got Evan caught up with me on Owls at 14 Species. Then there was that Northern Saw-whet I went to see, which for reasons I still cannot figure out, Evan opted out of that easy, guaranteed, short chase and instead went to his sister’s dance practice. Once again the Owl numbers were askew. However, our whole family recently made a stop at the Saw-whet location so my coworker, Brad, could collect the pellets for some science students to dissect. Evan got his lifer and tied me once again. A bonus was that we saw it with an un-pelletized deer mouse.
Evan and I both now stand at 15 Owl species apiece. Here are the species we have seen listed in the order that Evan saw them:
The Saw-whet is not much bigger than a pop can. I don’t think I’ve seen an animal that’s cuter. Jeremy’s friends pinpointed it for us right away. That was probably a good thing…
Occasionally it looked at me.
But it was mostly captivated by Steve.
What was fascinating to me was how sloth-like this Owl was in moving its head. The movement was almost indiscernible. The fact that we were finally looking at a real Northern Saw-whet Owl combined with a close encounter with a tame bird makes this one of the best Owl experiences I’ve ever had.
After taking last looks at the Owl and admiring the massive pile of pellets and all the whitewash from an Owl that has sat in this same spot every day for the winter, Steve and I thanked the homeowners and headed home feeling good…or evil. Steve called up his twin brother who is also a birder and rubbed in his new lifer. I went to the liquor store.
Something even more amazing happened while we tried to lure out this guy–a second Black-back showed up! There was a male and a female! Unfortunately I never did see that classic field mark of the yellow crown on the male, but Tommy and Gordon each got to see it. I will continue to search for these birds until I finally see that and finally get good photos of this species.
Willmar, of course, sent its own small delegation of eager birders to the Great Birder Assembly. Joining me in the pursuit of a shared, epic lifer were Randy Frederickson and Joel Schmidt. The gathering also gave my yearly and life birder lists a boost.
Here’s what all the fuss is about:
Conditions for viewing the IVGU were awful: wave action from Lake Superior had created a thick glaze of ice over every place an observer might stand. Never have I feared a concussion or wished I owned cleats more. It was downright dangerous. Even the Ivory walked with trepidation.
At one point a birder next to me didn’t really know how to proceed off the icy knoll on which we stood. I was getting annoyed with his prolonged hesitation. Then I felt like a complete jerk when the older fellow asked me if I would take his arm and help him down. As I gripped his quivering arm, I realized that this could be me in 30 or so years. It was a reminder of how quickly life moves and why events like this are so important, why we need to experience the phenomenal while we can. Going with friends, like Randy and Joel, make it even better, especially when celebratory beers are had at a place like Bent Paddle Brewhouse.
Here was an immature bird that is Thayer’s/Iceland intergrade. The local Larus Jedi call him Stumpy because of his missing tail.
We did see a couple of adult Thayer’s but no Glaucous Gulls this time. Since I got the full Gull smorgasbord a month ago, besides the Ivory I was most excited about all the American Black Ducks. I counted well over a dozen among the 300 Mallards. They really do stand out and the proximity and sunlight made them especially photogenic on this gorgeous day. This is a duck I just don’t see enough, so this was quite enjoyable.
We lingered around Canal Park for a couple hours hoping to find Joel a Great Black-backed Gull lifer, but it just wasn’t in the cards. What was in the cards was the arrival of the longest ship known to the Great Lakes, the 1014-foot long Paul R. Tregurtha:
An accidental rare species from the Arctic and the largest ship on the Great Lakes coming in to port made for a most exciting outing. We had one more errand that would put this day completely up and over the top–crossing the Blatnik Bridge to Superior, Wisconsin to pick up a 2016 Gyrfalcon! In less than a year’s time I have seen three Gyrfalcons, which still is not enough because like Jello, there’s always room for Gyr. Photos at this distance were practically impossible, but I’m okay with 
The next stop was for Milt Blomberg’s Varied Thrush at Oakland Cemetery in Marine on St. Croix. It was also a no show. I did not spend more than a few minutes looking for this bird which would merely be a year bird; there was bigger game at stake. We needed to get down to Afton State Park in time for the evening show of some Short-eared Owls. This would be a much hoped-for lifer. We made it by my target time of 4:00, but barely. As you can see, the heavy snow in the first picture had transformed the eastern portion of the state into Hoth. The kids were prepared.
The kids and I walked around the border of this entire prairie area, hoping to spot a Short-eared Owl flying at any moment. I should say that I was hoping to spot an Owl; they were happy to be out of the car and frolicking in the snow. Despair–for me–was sinking in as it looked like this would be strike three for the day’s agenda. But then on the walk back toward the car, a voice boomed from the other side of the prairie, “Hey! Short-eared Owl!” God? No, it was Pete Nichols, moderator of the MN Birding Facebook Group. This was his turf, and he had come to check up on the Owls and give us an assist. Thanks, Pete!
1 for 3 isn’t bad especially when that one is an Owl lifer. More important, though, was that I had a good day out of the house with the kids seeing a beautiful part of the state and exploring some great state parks together. The lack of birds may have even been a good thing as it forced me to pay more attention to the kids, to photograph them. After all, the Owls aren’t changing and will always be there.
The Lovebirds have adapted well to the oases of the water-filled landscaping in the greater Phoenix area. They especially like palms which have proven useful for nesting.
These birds are truly cute. Melissa agrees.
Here’s an important public service announcement for those of you not acquainted with the Lovebird. It is safe to say that despite this being an “easy” bird, I don’t think I would have found them without Gordon’s help. Here’s why: my sense of this bird’s scale was way off. Since all you ever see on blogs are impressive close-ups of this crushable bird, I was looking for something that I thought was Pigeon-sized. I guess I was wrong. 
It’s hard to stop taking pictures of such a cute bird, but that’s mostly because Kiwanis didn’t offer up much more than Neotropic Cormorants and Pigeons. A pair of Gilded Flickers at our feet was a nice bonus.
With the Lovebird lifer out of the way, we made the short trek up to Tempe Town Lake. The Brown Pelican was a bird I’d like to think I could have found on my own. Gordon wasn’t taking any chances. He led the way and spotted it out in marsh section of Tempe Town Lake.
Finally the Pelican/Lovebird anxiety was no more. After saying our goodbyes to Gordon, we had much of the day to do whatever, like check out the impressive collections of potted cacti and caged Macaws at Leaf&Feather in Maricopa. I had no idea so many species of Macaws existed. Might have to put Brazil on the bucket list.
We also spent time playing in one of the most impressive rain storms I have seen, in Arizona no less.
Some children were not as enthused about the deluge and were downright grumpy.
Another AZ trip is on record, full of many new birds and great memories. It’s time get back to MN though with some good winter owling. Stick around, these posts will be coming out fast.
The famous Paton House–hard to believe I was actually here.
No, we didn’t come for the common White-winged Doves, though they were dapper and only the second time we’d seen one.
Nor did we come for the WWDO’s cousin, the much less abiding Inca Dove.
It was nice to see a Black-headed Grosbeak even if it was a bit scruffy looking, but that’s still not why we came.
We came for the Hummingbirds. But not for the Broad-billed.
Ain’t it a beaut?
It knows it too. Like Orcas or Dolphins, it pandered to its gawking audience.
So that was that. Tommy DeBardeleben and Gordon Karre had told me about a much rarer Hummer, the Plain-capped Starthroat, that had been seen regularly somewhere in Patagonia. Not knowing exactly where to go for it and not feeling I could make yet another birding stop with the non-birding family, I didn’t even bother to check into it.
Scanning a residential pond in the low light of the evening, I was excited to see the brilliant pop of color of the male Vermilion Flycatcher in my binoculars. They never get old.
We also saw a Jackrabbit of some sort which was a cool experience.
The Arizona fun isn’t over. Next up is the final post and arguably the ugliest and cutest birds you will see.
Gull identification is hard, especially if one is only looking at pictures or studying field guides. Learning them from books is even kind of boring which I proved by falling asleep one night studying Gulls in Sibley. To study Gulls and get to know them, one must learn Gulls through immersion–get yourself up close and in person among the Gulls and go with someone who knows more about the Gulls than you do. Though I didn’t add any lifers on this try, my confidence and excitement for Gulling increased under the tutelage of John.
The Iceland was cool, but I was really itching to make my way to that Great Black-backed for some photos. But, you don’t rush down the pier and get out in front of a birding Jedi like Peder Svingen. Patience, young Skywalker. Many Gulls to go through have you.
While I waited, a Thayer’s was begging to be crushed.
I love how this HEGU is checking him out.
The Great Black-backed Gull is the largest of the Gulls; it dwarfs the Herring Gulls.
With the Glacous, I now had all three hoped-for lifers and got all my northern Gulls in one tidy outing. The only thing left to do was to photograph my favorite of the three lifers, the adult Great Black-backed Gull, a stand-out bird.
