Birds In My Bins & Lens

White Wagtail. Monroe County, Michigan

2011-04-10T19:02:00.013-04:00

The White Wagtail is a small, attractive bird found mostly throughout Europe and Asia, as well as part of north Africa. This species is predominately a permanent residents within their range, but northern birds will migrate to Africa in winter months.

Worldwide distribution of the White Wagtail. Yellow denotes summer range, green year round range, blue winter range.

There is some speculation, discussion (debate?) that this bird might be the race that breeds in NE Siberia. No matter it's orgin, it is interesting and some what mind boggeling that a tiny little bird from far away lands made it here to Michigan.

So when Adam Byrn found one at Pointe Mouillee (Monroe County, Michigan)Saturday, April 9, 2011, I knew I had to make plans to go and chase this cute little guy.

Since this would be Michigan's 3rd record of this species and given the high scale rarity of this bird, I was rather excited at the prospects of seeing it and making this bird the 371st species for my Michigan list and a new lifer to boot.

I had to work all day, Saturday, so my plans would have to be for a Sunday morning chase, hoping th bird would not be yet another "one day wonder."

I did not take my camera gear due to the fact that the bird was being resported as "skittish" and"staying quite a ways out from people." Given these two factors and knowing there would be terrible heat distortion, I left my gear home to make my long walk to the bird a lighter one.

Cozumel, Mexico. February 6, 2011

2011-02-08T17:18:00.024-05:00

A map of Cozumel. Unfortunately, we didn't have a whole lot of time to explore this island. We rented a Jeep and covered some area on the south of the island and in the middle. I wish I had about three days to bird here. The people are very friendly and I never felt unsafe in the least. I will go back soon and bird the island intensively

Cozumel still has much vegetation left and much is begining to recover after being battered by two huge hurricanes in the past. This view is from my 10th floor balcony on my ship as we docked into port on Cozumel. I sat here scanning for birds as I waited for the "ok" to debark and explore the island with my three friends 2/6/2011.

This is the sunrise I awoke to as we entered "Mexican Waters" We were still quite a ways from docking in Cozumel, but the sunrise was absolutelty beautiful

This is my first bird for Mexico. This female Magnificient Frigatebird was an hour and a half from the port in Cozumel. It was fun watching her cruise by our ship, sailing effortlessly on the wind, so far out from land.

The incredible blue waters of Cozumel. This photo does not do it justice by any means. This was taken looking into the water from my 1oth floor balcony on the ship

I would personally like to thank Tonia, Kim and Lori for a fun vacation and allowing me to bird at a handful of stops, while they shopped. I got to explore the jungle, jungle edges, mangroves, ponds, mudflats, beach and other "birdy spots'. Also, thankyou for allowing me to be a passenger and not the driver while we raced around the island in our rented Jeep, while I birded at 75 MPH. You did a fine job with the Jeep, "Cabbie" Kim!

74 species. 26 lifers. Not outrageous, but not bad considering I wasn't doing any hardcore birding and that I have never been to Cozumel before. I imagine if I "knew" where to bird there, my list might be a bit more impressive. Nonetheless, I did very well. Two stopsin particular, were bonanza stops, yielding a majority of my birds.

One stop at the small village of El Cedral, on the outskirts, was just extremely loaded with birds. I could have spent hours there. Instead, I birded there for 90 minutes, coming away with great looks at Short-tailed Hawk, Cozumel Emeralds, Breen-brested Mango, Yuctan Woodpecker, Yellow-faced Grassquits, all of "our Michigan" warblers on this list, most of the doves, the Yucatan Amazons and a host of others. The people at this village were exceptionally friendly.

The following is a list of birds I saw on Cozumel Island, Mexico on my non-birding trip with three friends. Then again, when is a trip a "non-birding trip" for a birder?

"THE LIST"

Birds in BOLD and with an* are lifers

Black-bellied Whistling duck
Blue-winged Teal
Least Gebe
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Boat-billed Heron*
Magnificent Frigatebird
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Black Vulture (many, many, many...)
Turkey Vulture
Short-tailed Hawk (with a vulture kettle)
Roadside Hawk*(subspecies endemic to Cozumel)
Ruddy Crake*
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Northern Jacana*
Black-necked Stilt
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Sanderling
Rock Pigeon
White-crowned Pigeon
African Collared Dove*
White-winged Dove
Zenaida Dove* (almost dismissed it as a Mourning Dove)
Common Ground Dove
Ruddy Ground Dove
Caribbean Dove*
Yucatan Amazon*
Mangove Cuckoo (much easier to see here than in Florida!)
Smooth-billed Ani*
Vaux's Swift*
Green-breasted Mango
Cozumel Emerald* (endemic to cozumel)
Yucatan Woodpecker*
Golden-fronted Woodpecker*
Greenish Elaenia*
Caribbean Elaenia*
Tropical or Couch's Kingbird. (sorta hard to ID it at 75 mph and only getting a faint view of it. I am voting for Couch's)
Yucatan Flycatcher*
Bright-rumped Attila*
Tropical Pewee*
Rufous-browed Peppershrike*
White-eyed Vireo
Cozumel Vireo* (endemic to Cozumel. A very nice looking bird IMO)
Yellow-green Vireo*
Yucatan Vireo*
Mangrove Swallow* (a solo bird)
Rough-winged Swallow
"Cozumel" House Wren (subspecies endemic to cozumel)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (subspecies endemic to cozumel)
Tropical Mockingbird*(very, very abundant bird!)
Black catbird* (common)
Swainson's warbler
"Golden" Yellow Warbler (subspecies endemic to Cozumel)
"Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
American Redstart
Great-tailed Grackle
Hooded Oriole*
Bananaquit* (this subspecies is restricted to Cozumel and islands off the Yucatan peninsula)
Rose-throated Tanager* (subspecies endemic to Cozumel)
Western Spindalis* (subspecies endemic to cozumel)
Yellow-faced Grassquit* (subspecies endemic to cozumel) one yard had 8 pairs-quite common on the island
Northern Cardinal (subspecies endemic to Cozumel)

This is the small village of El Cedral. It has a small shop/market. There is also a small Myan Ruin here as well. This was our first stop outside the main city. The birds were absolutely thick here. I picked up a majority of my birds here. Our green, rented Jeep is parked outside

This small shack and yard was right across from the market. This yard and the two neighboring homes was just absolutely incredible. This yard has some running water, flowers, feeders and great cover. Some of the great birds I picked up here were: Yucatan Amazon, Road-side Hawk, Yucatan Woodpecker, quite a few of the doves, Cozumel Emerald, Green-breasted Mango, Short-tailed Hawk, a handful of the flycatchers and Yellow-faced Grassquits to name just a few

I am sure if I had more time on the island to hit other locations and srounge through the areas I birded, I would no doubt have picked up more, intersting stuff. All in all, I am very pleased with my results and believe I came away with a healthy list on this non-birding trip.

Without a doubt, the most abundant bird I saw on Cozumel. Kettles of these birds were every where you looked.

A friendly and courious Palm Warbler, who played and foraged at my feet. I had one do the same thing to me the day before on Key West. I shared my bottled water with both birds.

A terrible picture of a Tropical Mockingbird. These guys were every where!

Yellow-faced Grassquit. One of my favorite birds from the trip. They were real common at the "birdie" house across from the market.

Yellow-faced Grassquit.

A small part of the coast of Cozumel. I picked up Yellow-crowned Night Heron here and across the street,in the mangroves and wet area, I picked up Great Egret, Boat-billled Heron, Mangrove Cuckoo, Ruddy Crake and a few others.

Cuba in the haze as seen from my balcony of the ship

Coming back into Michigan...leaving the sunny coast for this, crap!
Taken from my plane window as we're coming into Metro Airport.

More Pictures and video coming soon! My camera malfunctioned on the trip, so I have few pictures, but will post what I have as soon as I process them

Whooping Crane. Jackson County, Michigan.

2010-10-24T22:50:00.006-04:00

In the picture above, you can see the satellite transmitter on this bird.

Long-billed Curlew. Van Buren County, Michigan

2010-07-22T23:53:00.006-04:00

The long-billed curlew is the largest shorebird species and one of the most threatened on the North American continent. The summer range of the long-billed curlew includes much of the western United States along with the southern portion of the Canadian prairie provinces. It winters primarily from central California and coastal Texas southward through Mexico.So, when this bird was found at the South Haven Airport in Van Buren County (Michigan) on Tuesday, July 20, 2010, I knew I had to do a road trip to see this great bird.

I have seen this species before in Colorado, but never here in Michigan. There is good reason for this, since this is the first "documented" record for the species. I got word of this bird this morning, but I was at work and really could not just "skip out" unnoticed. Therefore, I started to conjure up a plan to get this bird, which if I were successful, would be my 368th species for my Michigan list.

All my plans to steal away from work kept falling apart and I was beginning to wonder if I would have to wait until the weekend to chase this thing. Several hours past and I was giving up hope until my friend Lyle Hamilton called and asked me if I wanted to go with him and Sean Bachman to see the curlew? I said, "yes, of course!"

I had less than an hour to gather up my gear and meet them at a predetermined meeting point for the 2 1/2 hour drive to the airport were the bird was hanging out. The ride to our rendezvous point was un eventful. However, our drive to the bird was not. The excitement came as torrential rain. A rain which the windshield wipers could not keep up with. That, coupled with the limited sight ability of the car ahead of us, made for some excitement.

We arrived unscathed to the airport, where several birders were gathered, peering at the curlew through their scopes. Scopes were needed seeing the bird was 150 yards or more away. Nonetheless, nice, clear views of this bird could be enjoyed as it feed nonstop.

Lyle, Sean and myself spent an hour watching the bird and discussing how the bird seemed ill. We could see what we believed was the bird's breast bone protruding through the birds feathers. It was encouraging seeing the bird feeding so much.

We started to get hungry ourselves and left the bird around 7:20PM. We arrived at Pizza Hut to gorge on Pizza before our ride home. While waiting for our orders to arrive to our table, I received and email stating the bird was seen flying away at 7:32. It headed in a NNE direction and was watched until it flew out of sight.

The three of us felt lucky that we left to see this bird an hour earlier than planned. If we hadn't, we would have missed it. Amazing how sometimes things all come together and work out. This was a life bird for Sean and a state bird for both Lyle and myself. In fact, this was the 366th species I have seen here in Michigan.

Dickcissels. Washtenaw County, Michigan

2010-05-31T15:40:00.014-04:00

After spending five straight days sick at home, I NEEDED to get out of the house. I woke up early, dragged my tired, weak butt out of bed. Grabbed my camera and went out the door in hopes of finding singing Dickcissels in Washtenaw County.

I immediately went to a location that I have had them before last year. Unfortunately, last year, the farmer who owns the field mowed that field down just after the birds set up territories.

I had a feeling that this field would produce these beautiful grassland birds once again. When I arrived at "my" field and immediately heard three males singing. Thankfuly, one of the birds was close to the road and offered a chance to photograph him.

I'm glad that I went when I did. Once again, the farmer is harvesting the field, and has already mowed down a significant portion of this bird haven. Again, these birds and many other species nesting here will loose their nests and young.

Other good birds were on hand. Including Bobolink, Eastern and Western Meadowlark and Grasshopper Sparrow. However, the only other bird close enough to photograph was this Eastern Meadowlark.

In my short time at the field, I heard 8 singing male Dickcissels. Too bad that they will once again not to be able to nest at this great location. Nor will all the other birds (Savanah Sparrows, Grasshopper sparrows, Eastern Meadowlarks, Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows just to name a few)who have territories there.

Yellow-billed Loon and More. Chippewa County, Michigan

2010-01-01T21:55:00.015-05:00

My friend, Chuck Owens and I, made a whirl-wind trip from SE Michigan to Sault Ste Marie, Michigan with hopes to see and photgraph the state's first Yellow-billed Loon that was located there the previous day.

We met up with our great friends, Scott Jennex, Charlene and Calvin Brennan that night for dinner and set out early in the morning to do some birding. Our first stop was to look for the loon, which was hanging around the power plant. We woke up to an air temp of 3 degrees and a 20 mph north wind. A nice windchill, indeed! It was so cold, I couldn't move my hands (I didn't bring gloves) or feel the shutter button on my camera. Nonetheless, here are a few shots from that great day.

Yellow-billed Loon

Bohemian Waxwing

Pine Grosbeak

Sharp-tailed Grouse

ANCIENT MURRELET, PARASITIC JAEGER, LITTLE GULL, WESTERN GREBE AND MORE. BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN

2009-11-22T23:33:00.004-05:00

Not the greatest pictures of the ANMU, but it does document that I did indeed see this little sea bird. The second photo is an enlarged and cropped image. These photos were taken on the next day (11-22-2009)when I went with scott Jennex and Sherrie Duris, hoping to get photos of the bird, since I was unable to get any on Saturday.

The above range map shows the range of the Ancient Murrelet This bird represents the 7th state record for Ancient Murrelet for Michigan.

Chuck Owens and myself made an early trek to Berrien County (Michigan) on Saturday, November 21, 2009 to try and see and potograph the Ancient Murrelet that has spent the last week at the north end of the pier of Tiscornia Park. The bird in the past, had given incredible views and photographic opportunities. This of course interested me greatly. Also, this would be a life bird for me (and Chuck as well) which gave even greater justification to make the trip.

I woke up at 3:30 am. Ate a small breakfast. Packed up all my needed gear (camera, binoculars, spotting scope, Garmin GPS and a couple of protein shakes. I picked Chuck up at his house at 5:00am.

We arrived at Tiscornia Park just after sunrise to find about five birders who were also looking and waiting for the Murrelet. Unfortunately, the bird wasn't seen yet and hasn't since two days prior.

Several hours past, with many more birders gathering on the pier. Upwards to 30 birders with scopes and binocuars scanning the water. Still no sign of the Murrelet. I had no doubt the critter was still around and would show up eventually. I had all day and was in no hurry.

As time went on, I had to use the rest room. So I walked the 400 plus yards down the pier back to the parking lot to use the porta-john. I was half way back up the pier when iI received a text message from Chuck. It simply read, "Ancient Murrelet now." I sprinted the rest of the way. Parked myself behind my scope and found the bird rather easily. He was out several hundred feet. He wouldn't stay above the surface very long, as he would dive in search for food.

Nonetheless, I had great scope views of this handsome little bird. He was unfortnately too far out to photograph, but seeing him and getting a new life bird was good enough.

Other great birds however were flying around the pier, which made waiting for the Murrelet to show up rather enjoyable. Some of the great birds seen were: Little Gull, Parasitic Jaeger, White-winged Scoters, Surf Scoters, Black Scoters, Red-necked Grebe, Horned Grebe, and Northern Pintail. While scanning the lake, I saw a bird flying in from the north. It was quite a distance away, but I could make out it was a grebe. It landed in the water and realized it was a Western Grebe. Nice!

In all, I picked up the lifer Ancient Murrelet and two additional year birds- Parasitic Jaeger and Western Grebe.Photos of the Parasitic Jaerger can be seen below

Below are two of my favorite photos taken on Sunday

This cooperative common loon was just off of the pier catching fish. Unfortunately, one of the fisherman on the pier ended up hooking him with a lure. It was aweful to watch. The fisherman's line ended up breaking, leaving the loon thrashing, diving and splashing in the water trying to dislodge the hooks. Not only did the loon have this lure attatched to him, but also several yards of fishing line to boot. Obvioulsy, the chances of this bird surviving this ordeal are low. The bird ended up swimming and drifting way out into the lake.

One of many Bonaparte's gulls that were fishing out beyond the pier

White-winged Dove. Washtenaw County, Michigan

2009-11-10T21:31:00.003-05:00

The above map shows the typical range of White-winged Dove.

I located a White-winged Dove this morning while making a propane delivery to a customer in Saline, Michigan (Washtenaw, County). The bird was located on Schill Road just off of Austin Road (south of Saline).

The bird was in the company of two Mourning Doves. The three birds were in the road, which is a dirt road in a farming community. Habitat was cultivated corn fields separated by wooded hedgerows.

When I turned onto Schill Road, I noticed three doves sitting in the road. One dove stood out being a bit different than the other two. This dove was slightly larger, chunkier. What stood out most, was the white boarder at the edge of the wing. When the bird took flight, almost bouncing off my windshield, the birds wings had very prominent brilliant white crescents in the wings with darker flight feathers in the tips. The bird's tail was also not pointed like Mourning Dove tails, but was more roundish to almost squarish with a white band near the tip.

The bird was relocated the following day by other birders, but was never seen again after that. I submitted written documentation to the Michigan Bird Records Committee two days after my initially finding the bird.

Mississippi Kite. Wayne County, Michigan.

2009-09-20T19:27:00.004-04:00

NOTE: The following photo is courtesy of Darlene Friedman. Thank you Darlene for so kindly allowing me to use your photo of this awesome raptor for this blog entry.

On Sunday, September 20, 2009, those of of who were at the Detroit River Hawk Watch (formerly Southestern Michigan Raptor Research)was rewarded with a very rare sighting of a fall Mississippi Kite. This is the second record of this species for this hawk watch. I recorded the first one on September 7, 1997.

The day started out fairly slow, which is typical for the morning. Roughly 30+ people were anxiously waiting and hoping for big kettles of Broad-winged Hawks to materialize.

As the morning waged on, small groups of Broad-winged Hawks could be seen rising above the tree tops on the other side of the Detroit River. Sharp-shinned Hawks would pass one at a time. Still, no big groups of hawks could be found and some (including myself) were getting antsy.

Around 11:30am, I had to answer the call of nature...which I dreaded, because once you leave the site, something rare or uncommon is assurendly to pass by and you will miss it! The running joke is, that whoever leaves, is the "sacrificial birder". And it was gonna be my turn--or was it?

As I made my way to the rest room, I ran into my buddy Mike Kielb. We chatted a few moments and I hurried on to my destination--the call of nature was getting much louder. middle age is a pain! As I was almost into the restroom building, some several yards away from the count site, I heard Mike yell out to me in an excited voice,"Jeff, look behind you"

As I looked to my right, I was shocked to see a Mississippi Kite coming straight at me. It stopped a few times to flap and circle...glide a bit more and ended up circling right above me at tree top level! I could have hit the bird with a rock it was so low. This was a good thing, seeing I left my binoculars on the picnic table at the count site. unfortunately, my camera was there as well. Go figure! Nonetheless, I got awesome views of this magnificient raptor. killer looks in fact!

As I said earlier, this is the second ever Mississippi Kite at this hawk watch and I was fortunate to be able to see both of them.

This was a state bid for many of the observers on hand. For many others, it was a lifer! This was my fifth time seeing this species in the state.

Twenty seven days prior to this, I saw my first Swallow-tailed Kite for Michigan. This bird was in Chelsea near the property of the Cassidy Lake Corrections Facility. Not too shabby getting two kite species for the state in the same season!

Thanks again to Darlene for allowing me to use her pictures, since I was unable to photograph the bird myself. That will teach me to carry my camera and bins with me at all times...even on the way to the restroom. Sure, I will probably get strange looks holding a camera in the bathroom, but I'll risk it.

Kirtland's Warblers. Crawford County, Michigan

2009-07-05T23:48:00.012-04:00

Male Kirtland's Warbler wondering what I am doing pointing a big lens at him

Scott Jennex and I went up to Grayling, Michigan over the 4th of July weekend to visit our good friends Calvin and Charlene Brennan. Their Birthdays are both on July 2nd while mine falls on July 5th. We decided to celebrate our Birthdays together with some birding.

My main target bird was Kirtland's Warbler, because it was the only regular occuring warbler for the state of Michigan I was missing for the year. Scott was also missing this species for his year list. What better way to get it while visiting friends. especially friends who had some "special" place to find this great bird.

As you can see from the photos, we found our Kirtland's. It was a nice way to spend my Birthday, photographing this very cooperative pair amongst the many that were in the Jack Pine plot. Even though my photos of these birds are by no means anything great, it was fun.

Male Kirtland's Warbler singing from one of his "look out" points.

Male Kirtland's Warbler getting ready to chase off another male who has entered his territory

Female Kirtland's Warbler

ADDITONAL PHOTOS FROM THE TRIP. Typically, I do not post many "nonbird" photos here on this blog. However, since purchasing my Nikon Coolpix P6000 camera, a whole new world has been opened up to me photographically. Below are some shots taken with this camera.

Red-spotted Purple Butterfly

Northern Pearlyeye Butterfly

Least Skipper

Crab Spider with fly

Spittlebug

Chalk-fronted Corporals

Halloween Pennant

Dickcissels. Washtenaw County. June 13, 2009

2009-06-13T15:12:00.010-04:00

These photos, most of which are of a male Dickcissel, were taken on Luckhardt Road In Washtenaw County (Freedon Twp). This bird had five perches he would sing from. I parked my car near one of the perches and waited for him to fly in and sing away. I shot all these photos standing up through my sunroof. This guy paid no attention to me whatsoever.

There were 10+ birds at this field. Unfortunately, I do not think they will be there too much longer. It appears that the farmer who owns the land is harvesting his hay and has a big portion of the field mowed down already.

SE Arizona Trip May 9 thru 15, 2009

2009-05-15T01:30:00.026-04:00

Scott Jennex and I did a whirl wind birding trip in Southeast Arizona from May 9th to may 15th 2009. We had a total of 216 species. I had nine lifers, as did Scott. Some of the highlights (big ticket items) are: Sinaloa Wren (first US record), Crescent-chested Warbler, Rufous-capped Warbler (see pictures below), Blue Mockingbird, Buff-collared Nightjar, Five-striped Sparrow and Flame-colored Tanager.

This Rufous-capped Warbler is one of a pair that we saw on our first day. In fact, this was our first target "rareity" we wanted to see. Typically, these birds are not seen in the United States. They are actually citizens of Mexico.

We also had 12 species of Hummingbird: Broad-billed Hummingbird, White-eared Hummingbird, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Blue-throated Hummingbird, Magnificient Hummingbird, Lucifer Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Anna's Hummingbird, Costa's Hummingbird, Calliope Hummingbird, Broad-tailed Hummingbird and Rufous Hummingbird. Some photos of a few of these can be seen below.

Female hummingbirds, as a whole, can be fairly difficult to tell apart from one another. I believe this is a female Blak-chinned Hummingbird.

This female Blue-throated Hummingbird is a very large bird when it comes to hummingbirds. I like this shot, since you can see how cool these birds are and also you can see the inverted image of the mountain inside the bottle of the feeder.

This beautiful male Broad-billed Hummingbird posed nicely for me. As did the male Black-chinned Hummingbird in the series of photos below

Photographing hummingbirds in flight is not really easy. I managed to get a few decent frames of a couple species other than the Black-chinned.

One of my favorite humingbirds for the trip was the White-eared Hummingbird. Below are three photos of this great bird.

Flycatcher diversity in Arizona is astounding! They are also everywhere!! In the six days we were there, we saw 20 species of these beautiful and often times, difficult birds to identify (since seveal can look a like).

The list of those we tallied are: Northern Bearless Tyrannulet, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Greater Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Gray Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Vermillion Flycatcher, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Sulfer-bellied Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Cassin's Kingbird, Thick-billed Kingbird, and Western Kingbird. Some of my favorite flycatcher photos are below.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Vermillion Flycatcher

Vermillion Flycatcher

Thrashers are another group of birds that Arizona has a variety of. We have only one species that is seen here in Michigan (Brown Thrasher). Arizona has six. Scott and I saw only three, since they are "common" during the time of year we were there. We tallied Bendire's Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher (see photos below), and Crissal Thrasher.

This posting will be a work in progress as I downlad and process images from the trip. I filled twelve 2 gig flash cards and also used two other cameras. Which means I have boat loads of images to edit.

I won't bore you with a long drawn out trip report. Instead, I will continue to post some images and maybe give a brief account of the bird, location and other tidbits. Keep an eye on my blog as I put together the Arizona photos. Until then, above and below are a few teasers.

Scott Jennex

Sign at sunset with a cactus shadow

Mountain scenery

Another Mountain Scenery

Arizona Sunset

Scott Jennex Photographing a Displaying Turkey

Scott Jennex Photographing a Sign to Show We Were Here

A Picture of Me. Boy, I Need to Get Back Into the Gym!

A Selfportrait. Man, am I Getting Gray. Ugh!

A BIG Hole in the Ground. Really, a Copper Mine

Another Sunset

Yet Another Sunset

Cactus

White-faced Ibis. Wayne County (Michigan)

2009-05-01T20:27:00.013-04:00

This White-faced Ibis has camped out at the Lake Erie Metropark in Wayne County for several days now, if not for a week or more. I really can't remember when he was first located there.

I made two attempts to see this bird and failed on both counts. Late this afternoon, my buddy, Chuck Owens and I made plans to meet at the park at 5:00PM. We hoped that we would find this great bird and get more than just "documentation' photos.

When we arrived, it was dark overcast, threatening rain and worse...the bird was not at his "usual spot" in one of the picnic areas of the park.

Chuck and I were there for only five minutes before we spotted him flying in with some Canada Geese. He landed several yards away from us, much to our disappointment.

Chuck and I slowly worked our way towards him, stopping now and then to take some shots. Eventually, we managed to get close enough for some decent photos while he was feeding.

At one point, he picked up a stick and took flight. This rather shocked us, wondering what he was doing. Was he interested in building a nest or was this something else?

This great bird eventually ignored Chuck and I, allowing us to get some rather nice images of this beautiful bird.

Black Vulture. Washtenaw County (Michigan)

2009-05-01T14:17:00.021-04:00

This is the only photo out of the ones I took, where you can without a doubt, see it is indeed a Black Vulture. Most of my other shots are of the butt of the bird heading away from me. I cropped this photo big time!

Just before 10AM while taking some cardboard boxes to the dumpster at work, I saw a Black Vulture in the sky just to the west of my office building on Dexter/Lewis streets in Milan.

I quickly ran to my car to grab my bins and camera. The only reason I had the camera in car, is because, I was meeting Chuck Ownes after work to go photograph the White-faced Ibis that has camped out at the Lake Erie Metropark (see the posting above). I always keep a spare set of bins in th car, for obvious reasons.

Between fumbling in the camera bag for my camera and a flashcard and trying to put that card in the camera, I wasted too much time...allowing the bird to drift farther away. If I'd learn to be more prepared and keep a flash card in my camera at all times, I might get better photos when something like happens.

Despite the above mentioned set backs, I managed to get one decent frame of the bird a he was drifting away. Most of my photos are worthless and out of focus distant specks in the sky as it was heading away from me. Despite the poor image, there is no doubt to the ID of this bird!

If I am correct, this would be Washtenaw County's first Black Vulture. This is my third for the state of Michigan. My other sightings of this species were in Monroe and Wayne counties.

Cattle Egrets. Monroe County (Michigan)

2009-04-30T19:49:00.028-04:00

There were 12 Cattle Egrets on Victory Rd in Luna Pier(Monroe County). Mark Wloch had originally discovered these birds. At that time, he had located 22. The other ten must have wandered off to some other location.

I read Mark's posting of these birds while I was eating lunch. I was hoping that the birds would stick around until 4:00PM so I could photograph them. This is a species I've always wanted to get shots of, but just never seemed to work out for me. I was excited that maybe this time I would have a decent chance.

Its amazing how slow time goes when you're watching the clock...I texted my good buddy Charles Owens to tell him about the birds. He was just walking out the door where he works. Fortunately, he only works 10 minutes from where the birds were.

Chuck arrived at the location and informed me that the egrets were still there and they were close to the road. I high-tailed out the door at work, flew home to grab my camera gear and bolted south. Chuck gave me directions to where they were. I also used my ONstar. They are amazing people there.

The result of good locating by Mark, Chuck informing the birds were still present, my speeding, and the kind lady from ONstar--all resulted in a few decent photos. Below are some of my favorite images from the hour I was there.

A Cattle Egret comes in to visit.

A new kind of superhero. The wind was blowing this birds feathers around, almost making him look as if he was wearing a cape. The birds are just stunning in breeding plumage. Pictures can't do them justice.

The over cast sky, the seemingly unrelenting rain and the green grass made for some nice photo possibilities. The birds basically ignored me as they foraged in the tall grass for crayfish and whatever other morsels they could find.

SMITH'S LONGSPURS. BERRIEN COUNTY (MICHIGAN)

2009-04-28T00:10:00.017-04:00

*NOTE: Once again, I was unable to get pictures of these birds. It was just too "dark" to handhold a camera and lens. Therefore, I will just have to try again next time.

The above range map shows the breeding, nonbreeding and migration routes of Smith's Longspurs. This species is not seen here in Michigan very often. In fact, before the locating of these birds, there were only 14 accepted records (all but one are U.P. records, I believe)...which makes seeing these birds a big deal IMO. Although, I am willing to bet, that this species is in our state far more than we realize!!

Upon hearing several reports of Smith's Longspurs in Berrien County (Michigan), (initially discovered by Alison Világ and Rhoda Johnson), Lyle Hamilton and I made a fast trek over there late this afternoon.

Amongst the off and on rain and the hoards of state police cars (no less than 10) working I-94 with a vengeance, we made it to Berrien County unscathed...until we hit the dirt roads, which were actually mud bogs (but that is another story).

We found the location of the birds on Buffalo Road (between Avery RD and Beaver Dam Rd). There were loads of Horned Larks singing and displaying. We also heard a Western Meadowlark call, but only once.

When we arrived, there was a single birder walking the road. He said he was there for over an hour and didn't see a single Smith's Longspur. Lyle and I aren't ones to easily give up or claim defeat, so we marched on down the road, stopping occasionally to scope out the corn stubble for our intended targets.

Within the first half hour we came up empty. I eventually located a single male perched ona "stalk" but he was bumped off by a Song Sparrow before I could get Lyle on the bird.

We never relocated that bird, so we continued on down the road. We stopped and checked both the north and south sides of the road without success. While we were stopped, I eventually heard the familiar fly notes of two Smith's. I yelled out to Lyle there are two right here. They almost flew over us, but the lighting was crap. I could tell that one was a male. We both decide to try and "pish" them in. As we did, they immediately turned around and dropped to the ground less than 50 feet away from us in the corn stubble.

We search for an hour to try and find them, but for some reason, they seemed to just be swallowed up in the corn.

In the meantime, several birders arrived. They asked if we had any luck. Lyle and I told them about the two we pished in and pointed to where they landed. We all searched for almost another 45 minutes, never finding them.

One of the new arriving birders asked us if they had "white in the face?" I said, "YEAH!" he replied, "well, I had about 6 birds flying over here." Sure enough, when I put my bins on the birds--you could see that they were indeed Smith's Longspurs.

Lyle and I immediately put our scopes on the birds when they landed. I found a female right away while Lyle found a male. I then found two more males. Lyle and I helped a few people locate the birds and gave others views through our scopes. These birds were lifers for everyone there, including Lyle.

We got exceptional looks at some absolutely stunning males. Far better looks than I had 10 days ago with my lifers in Mercer County Ohio (see the posting below).

Completely satisfied with our success, Lyle and I headed home. I am glad Lyle asked me to come along, since this species was my 356Th for the state of Michigan.

The light had faded and there was no way (yet again) for me to get photos of these birds. oh, well...nonetheless, I got wonderful looks at these great birds.

SMITH'S LONGSPURS. ROCKFORD, OHIO MERCER COUNTY

2009-04-18T18:56:00.042-04:00

I had no luck getting photos of these birds. They were just too far out in the corn stubble. I could have walked out in the field (trespassed) and stressed or pushed the birds, like some birders did earlier in the week. However, I do not play that game. Therefore, this pirated illustration will have to suffice for this posting.

Early this morning, Chuck Owens and myself, made an early trek from our homes here in Southeastern Michigan to extreme wetern Ohio hoping to see and photograph some Smith's Longspurs that were discovered there by some Amish birder friends of mine.

We ran into my friends at the Mountain Bluebird location in Whitehouse, Ohio(Lucas County) last Saturday. They told me that their next stop was to head to the western side of Ohio in order to find Smith Longspurs. Sure enough, they found some. I never doubted they would.

Smith's Longspurs are probably the most sought after of the four species of Longspurs and the hardest to locate. They may even be the rarest of the four or this may just be because they are so difficult to detect, since they usually stay so far of the road and like to hide among the vegetation in the fields.

Anyway, my friends discovered a group of these birds in Mercer County, just a couple miles outside the village of Rockford Ohio. The birds were in a large corn stubble field that had several large patches of grass, which I assumed was foxtail.

With the news of their discovery, Chuck and I made plans to go see these birds for ourselves. Afterall, they would be a lifer for the both of us.

Within our first 15 minutes, we had three groups of Longspurs numbering about 50+ birds, take off in front of us. Several Smith Longspurs could be heard calling loudly as they passed overhead, only to fly away out of sight.

We found many other groups of Longspurs in the field. With much patience and several observers, using our spotting scopes, we located handfulls of Smith's scurrying among the rows of corn stubble and patches of foxtail and grass. Occasionally, one or two (some nice males) would perch on top a corn stalk, but only to jump off and disappear again.

Additonal groups of 15-25+ Longspurs would take off, zig-zag the field, gathering some altitude as they flew over-head--also disappearing in the distance. Many groups did this in the couple of hours we were there, much to the amazement, delight and disappointment to the handful of birders present. Again, many Smith's could be heard calling as they passed over head.

Chuck and I were there for over just two hours. We enjoyed the company of a few dozen or so other birders. Some of which were more Amish birder friends of mine from Holmes County, Ohio. It was great seeing them, since I don't see them very often.

After much searching and patience, I was able to get excellent looks at a handfull of Smith's. Several nice males were in the lot. Despite not getting any photos, I was happy to get dececent looks at this bird which was a life bird for me.

All in all, we figured there was no less than 100+ Longspurs in the field, many of which were flying back and forth from other fields. The exact ratio between Smith's and Lapland could be debated. Nonetheless, Smith's were nicely represented with no less than 50 individuals.

Other noteable birds we saw while there were: Vesper Sparrow, Savanah Sparrow, Horned Larks, Eastern Meadowlark, American Golden Plover, Killdeer, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, Red-winged Blackbird, Great Blue Heron and Eastern Bluebird to name just a few.

MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD AND GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW IN OHIO

2009-04-11T16:48:00.006-04:00

Mountain Bluebird. Lucas County, Ohio

This bird was at the junction of Wilkins Rd. and Rtes. 295/20A at the west end of the Toledo Express airport in Whitehouse, Ohio. This represents the second state record of Mountain Bluebird for the state of Ohio.

Golden-crowned Sparrow. Hancock County, Ohio

This bird represents the first state record of Golden-crowned Sparrow for the State of Ohio.

* Regarding the Golden-crowned Sparrow. This bird was at a private residence east of Findlay, Ohio. The homeowners requested that the location of this bird not be disclosed. They are some of the nicest, kindest and friendliest people I have ever met. They also love their privacy. I don't blame them...I do too!!

It is the homeowner's property, their home and they found the bird. Therefore, they have the right to invite and allow whom ever they wish to see the bird.

I was able to go see and photograph the bird, only because I was personally invited, as was Chuck Owens. Basically, Chuck was comissioned to paint a water color painting of this bird specifically for the homeowners.

The only place to view and photograph the bird, was through the homeowner's kitchen window. Shooting through the double pane glass made for less than sharp photos. Nonetheless, they with out a doubt, prove the bird's idenity.

I am thankful to the homeowners who graciously opened their home to me and invited me to see and photograph this bird.

WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS. ICELAND GULL & GLAUCOUS GULLS. WAYNE COUNTY MICHIGAN

2009-02-01T19:07:00.023-05:00

I went out to photograph White-winged Crossbills today at the cemetery on Tyler Road by the Visteon Headquarters with my buddy, Chuck Owens. Above and below are some of the images I came up with.

The images are by no means great, but they are currently some of the best that I have at this time

At the Visteon Pond behind the cemetery, was a nice assortment of gulls, including: Iceland, Glaucous, Herring, Ring-billed and Great Black-backed.

BOTH CROSSBILL SPECIES. WASHTENAW, COUNTY MICHIGAN

2009-01-18T19:07:00.023-05:00

I got up early this morning to head from my home to the MUCC property on Pierce Road in Chelsea Michigan. I was hoping to get some shots of the White-winged Crossbills that have been spending the winter there.

The numbers there seem to keep growing with each passing day. When I got there this morning, I immediately saw had heard several small flocks flying around. The largest group at first was 25-30 birds. I tried to "pish" them in, but they kept going.

I just stood in one spot with my camera in my hands and my bins hanging around my neck. While I was there, I saw between 150-200 White-winged Crossbills winging by me in many different sized flocks, the largest group being 70-80+ birds.

There was hardly a lull in the crossbill activity. Sometimes it was only a single bird, other times it may have been 3-5 birds. What impressed me most were the multiple flocks that raced by one afer another.

After about 15 minutes of standing in the snow, I heard the familiar "jip-jip" of two distant Red Crossbills. Their calls kept getting louder and louder, which meant they were coming towards me. I located the two birds just above the trees as they were winging towards me. I tried to "pish" them down, hoping to get some shots of them too, but like the earlier White-winged Crossbill flock--they just kept going.

Well, about 5 minutes later, the sound of "jip-jip" was heard again. The Red Crossbills were coming back. I tried one more time to "pish" them down, but they didn't want to stop. Even though I didn't get any photos, I did manage to get a recording of their calls as they flew low over head. The recording quality sucks, but there is definitely no mistaking their identity.

I managed to stay out in the MUCC property for about 45 minutes hoping to relocate and possibly photograph the Red Crossbills. Unfortunately, they were not seen again. I then centered my efforts on trying to photograph the white-winged Crossbills.

Thankfully, the abundant White-winged Crossbills were more than willing to be "pished" down in the trees around me. Some of the photos are posted above. I wish I had better quality pics, but these will have to do for now. Maybe next time?

255,641 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS AT THE DETROIT RIVER HAWK WATCH (FORMERLY SMRR)

2008-09-18T21:48:00.017-04:00

Today at the Detroit River Hawk Watch, many of us were treated with an amazing hawk flight. The picture above of a small group of Broad-winged Hawks is just a very small idea of what it was like.

Today’s Total : Turkey Vulture 108. Osprey 1. Bald Eagle 8. Northern Harrier 25. Sharp-shinned Hawk 248. Cooper’s Hawk 27. Red-shouldered Hawk 1. Broad-winged Hawk 255,641. Swainson’s Hawk 3. Red-tailed Hawk 42. American Kestrel 53. Merlin 2. Peregrine Falcon 4 Total 256,163

70+ RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS AT MY FEEDERS

2008-09-17T20:24:00.020-04:00

I came home from work this evening at 6:45. When I stepped out of the car, I saw hummingbirds zig-zaging all over. The 10 feeders in the front yard and many of the flowers in the garden were literally alive with hummingbirds. Their chattering could also be heard from many of the trees surrounding the house.

I was stunned, because I have never heard them calling so much like that before or seen that many before all at once. I sat down on the bench on the back porch to watch them and get a head count. It was amazing, mind-blowing and awesome seeing 15-20 at this feeder...20+ fighting at that feeder...5 here...10 over there...2-3 here..etc.

On two occassions, I counted 50+ and another time, I counted 72 hummingbirds. These totals do not include the birds that could be heard chattering from the trees. I never checked the backyard's 5 hummingbird feeders to see how many were there, but its probably safe to assume that there were birds there too.

Today's mass of hummingbirds is a new record for my yard. My previous record of 38-40 from just last week was amazing enough, but tonight's experiencw was simply astounding! Apparently, I must live in an area that for some reason is attractive to migrating hummingbirds.

Interestingly, I stopped home for lunch earlier in the day and had my typical 20 or so at one time. Apparently, given this evening's total, there must be a good numer of birds moving through my neighborhood right now.

The night before, I restocked the feeders with a total of 16 cups of sugar water. When I came home tonight, all 15 feeders were just about empty. I typically put up 30 feeders, but I am finding it to be a chore to maintain that many. Speaking of which, I have to gather up the feeders from the yard, wash them out and restock them again for the hoard! This time, I am putting out 20 cups of sugar water.

WOODSTORKS. LIVINGSTON, COUNTY MICHIGAN

2008-08-12T21:05:00.006-04:00

Today was an interesting, surprising and rewarding day as far as bird sightings go. I know that many will frown and roll their eyes...

While heading to meet with a new gas customer in Howell, Michigan-- my brother, Steve and I had 3 Woodstorks heading south-southeast. The birds were clearly visible with the naked eye.

The distinctive white bodies with all black primaries/secondaries (lighter colored beaks--which should make these birds juveniles) were seen as well. The bird's extended necks and long legs and black tail were also very clearly and easily seen--easily eliminating them as White Pelicans and Whooping Cranes.

I am planning on writing up documentation for these birds and plan on submitting the write up to the MRBC. I know the lack of photos will no doubt be against me, since it has been a long time that this species has been seen in our state, but I have work to with what resources I have at the time. I guess I should keep my camera gear with me at all times!

LITTLE GULL & SABINE'S GULL IN OHIO

2007-11-26T21:40:00.000-05:00

Little Gull. Huron County, Ohio.

The above Little Gull was among thousands of Bonaparte's Gulls in Huron, County Ohio. He was very coopeative, as he would fly up and down the sea wall at close range, offering great photo opportunities.

Sabine's Gull. Huron, County, Ohio

The above Sabine's gull was also very cooperative, sometimes flying by at close range. Unfortunately, the bird appeared to have an injured leg. This bird was a life bird for me.

Below are some shots just to show how many gulls were actually here. There were literally thousands.

Finch Invasion

2007-11-18T21:16:00.005-05:00

What an amazing moringing at the feeders. I woke up early to restock the feeding station. I then made breakfast for myself. An hour or so later, I looked out the french doors to see what kind of activity was at the feeders. Among the 27 Blue Jays, 22 Northern Cardinals, and loads other birds was an amazing groups of Pine Siskins.

In all, there were over a 150 Pine Siskins. Other finches were noted as well. This included 2 Purple Finches (one male and one female), 15 House Finches and 37 American Goldfinches.

I have a photo blind set up in close proximity to my feeding station. I was excited to see all of the Pine Siskins, so I got dressed, gathered my three cameras, tripod, and lots of compact flash cards. This is one of my favorite shots from this morning.

SAGE THRASHER. LUCE, COUNTY MICHIGAN

2006-07-01T21:35:00.003-04:00

My good friends, Calvin & Charlene Brennan, Scott Jennex and Shawn Bachman and myself made a whirlwind trip to the Upper Peninsula to see this Sage Thrasher that was found by another birder doing some breeding bird surveys.

When we arrived in Newberry, Michigan to get some gas, before moving on to get this bird. Dark clouds were looming over head and looked like a big storm was coming. Thankfully the rain held off.

We found the bird immediately when we stepped out of the car. It was singing away with all of its heart.

This bird (the fifth state record) was in Luce, County from June 28, 2006 thru July 13, 2006

Weaver Bird (Escaped from Binder Park Zoo) Battle Creek, Michigan

2006-06-25T21:08:00.001-04:00

I visited the Binder park Zoo today. I had just gotten my camera back from the repair shop and wanted to run some test pictures. I figured that the zoo would be a great place to do so.

On my way through the zoo parking lot, a bright yellow bird flew by, catching my attention. The bird looked strange, so I walked over to the group of trees where it had landed. When I got to the spot, I could see it wasn't anything that I have seen before.

I came to the conclusion that it was some sort of Weaver Bird, which must have escaped from the zoo's aviary. I took a few pictures and went to try and report it to some people at the zoo's aviary. Unfortunately, no one was very interested in my discovery. Oh, well.

So, the above photo is my favorite from the series. I imagine if someone from the zoo didn't come and recover this little guy, that he would fall prey to the Cooper's Hawk I saw there or eventually the elements would get him.

Tufted Duck. Lake Erie Metropark

2006-04-16T21:38:00.004-04:00

While trying to blow off some stress, I decided to go to Lake Erie Metropark and Point Mouillee to do some photography. Ducks were pretty numerous on the river in the park. I decide to see if I could walk the Cherry Island Trail and "sneak up" on some ducks or photograph some gulls in flight from one of the bridges on the trail.

While walking the trail, I noticed and flushed several ducks that were foraging along the shoreline. Many were hard to make out and identify through the branches of the trees that line the shoreline. I saw this duck and shot through the branches of the tree, knowing that the photo would suck.

I managed to get three shots off, before the bird flushed and headed out towards Lake Erie. the bird never stopped. To my amazement, the bird ended up being a Tufted Duck. Talk about dumb luck.

A week or so later, someone found a Tufted Duck near Saginaw. Same bird? Who kows?

One Footed Great Egret

2006-03-30T21:42:00.004-05:00

One never knows what you will see when you are out birding or taking photos. One day, while I was out trying to photograph ducks at the Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, I ran across this Great Egret missing one of it's feet. He/she was successful in catching prey, but I wonder how long he could continue with such a handicap?I also wonder how he lost his foot. It looks like there is something foriegn just above where his foot would have been.

GULL-BILLED TERN. POINTE MOUILLEE STATE GAME AREA. WAYNE/MONORE COUNTIES, MICHIGAN

2005-09-17T20:49:00.004-04:00

This is Michigan's first documented record of a Gull-billed Tern. I photographed this bird at the Pointe Mouillee State Game Area in Wayne County, Michigan.

This bird spent a few days at this location, but was originaly spotted during our hawk migration count when an amish birder came up to me asking if I knew my terns. I sad, "yeah." He asked, "is that a Gull-billed tern?" I looked at the bird he was pointing out and said, "why yes it is!"

This bird was compliments of Hurricane Katrina. Two other birds, a male Anhinga (Michigan's first ever documented) and an adult male Lesser Frigatebird (a second North American record) was seen a few days earlier as well.

LESSER FRIGATEBIRD. WAYNE, COUNTY MICHIGAN

2005-09-11T20:06:00.006-04:00

The link to the article below, written by Calvin Brennan and I, documents the occurrence of Lesser Frigatebird, formerly Least Frigatebird (Fregata ariel), that we observed at Lake Erie Metropark, Wayne County, Michigan on 11 September 2005.

This bird was the second North American record for this species.

Copy and paste the link below to your browser to read the article which appeared in North American Birds. http://www.wildtangentphotography.com/Articles/NAB%20Article.pdf

BARROW'S GOLDENEYE. WASHTENAW, COUNTY MICHIGAN

2005-03-14T21:45:00.012-05:00

This bird was on private property. Unfortunately, this landowner did not want other people "ram-rodding" around his property to see the bird.This bird was here from March 6, 2005 thru March 15, 2005

This bird represents the 12th record of this species for the state of Michigan and the first Washtenaw County record.

Mississippi Kite. Milan, MIchigan

1999-05-21T19:13:00.005-04:00

This adult Mississippi Kite was in Wilson Park in downtown Milan, Michigan on May 21, 1999. An aquaintance of mine told me about the "strange hawk" he saw in the park. His description of the bird sparked my interest, so I grabbed my binoculars and cheap camera and high-tailed it to the park, which was just 3 minutes away from my house.

Thankfully, the bird was where he said it was. The kite spent quite a bit of time flying around the park and up and down the river at tree top level.

* Note: this photo is scanned from a slide, which is why its so grainy.