Quivira NWR 5-27-15

Bryant and I went to Quivira this morning and hoped to meet Anthony, Michael, and Joseph.                                                                                                                       

 We got to the refuge right around sunrise and went to the rail field after a few quick stops.  People had been hearing Black Rails calling there lately in the early mornings.  At our first stop, we were not able to hear much of anything, which was largely due to lots of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Yellowthroats, and cows.  We moved several hundred yards east and heard two calling almost right away.  Joseph then called and said that their plans had changed and they were unfortunately going to go to Cheyenne Bottoms first.  Too bad!

Least Tern in the early morning light: Photo by Bryant

Next, we went to check on the spot where Barry Jones had found a Black-bellied Whistling Duck about a week ago.  It had been seen several more times, but Barry was unable to re-find it again yesterday. The marsh was alive with the songs of Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  Unfortunately, the Duck was a no-show, so we decided to go around the Wildlife Drive.

The water levels around the Drive are very high right now.  This hurts shorebird habitat some, so most of the shorebirds are either very far away or very close.  At one of the low water bridges there was a Black Tern that sat on a post and let us get close enough to get some nice pictures.

Black Tern: Photo by Andrew

 We continued around and found three juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons along with the many other Egrets and Herons.  As we drove along NE 170th street scanning the birds, we managed to find a gorgeous Red-necked Phalarope mixed in with the other shorebirds.  One interesting thing about Phalaropes is that the females are the brighter colored birds, whereas the males are drab and dull!

Female Red-necked Phalarope: Photo by Andrew

We thought that we would turn around and try to go with the light to in hopes of getting some good pictures of more common birds.

American Avocet: Photo by Bryant

Black-necked Stilt: Photo by Bryant

Mixed flock of Sanderling and White-rumped Sandpipers.  The Sanderlings are the second and third ones from the right.  Photo by Andrew. 

It was a beautiful day to be out!

Andrew

Backyard Birds

Since today was one of the first sunny days after a couple weeks of rain (yes, rain in Kansas), I got out and photographed some of the common birds in my yard in the nice evening light.

I was a bit surprised when this Cedar Waxwing teed up nicely. They are becoming more common in the summer these years, last year I saw them in every month but July.

Oh no, he's looking at me!

This Barn Swallow posed nicely in front of the moon.

A pair or two of Blue Grosbeaks have been hanging around this year as well. This pair was hanging out with some Dickcissels in our (unfortunately) weedy field.

The male Blue Grosbeak

And the drab female

A female Orchard Oriole flew in briefly and allowed a few shots.

And lastly, the much despised European Starling, surprisingly good-looking if you actually take time to notice one.

Joseph

Alder Flycatcher

This morning I found a 'Traill's' type Flycatcher in one of our shelter belts. 'Traill's' Flycatcher is a term birders use to describe Willow and Alder Flycatcher's, which used to be one species.  Even though they are now split , they are still often referred to as 'Traill's' because they are inseparable unless heard. This has caused birders much frustration (this does not exclude me) because neither of them is very vocal.

The one I found was no exception and did not call or sing once.  This bugged me greatly, and this afternoon I decided to check the spot again.  Upon arriving, I thought I heard an Alder Flycatcher call.  This is definitely the rarer of the two around here, and I had never seen one.  As I got closer, I heard the call several more times.  It was definitely an Alder!  I then stalked it around for several minutes and managed to get some pictures.

Alder Flycatcher

Now I'm off to see if I can re-find it again with Bryant!

Andrew

Piratics on the High Plains

News broke on Friday that a Piratic Flycatcher (an ultra rare vagrant from Central America) had been found at Scott State Park in western Kansas. We wished we could chase it on Saturday, but had already had our "big day" at Quivira planned for several months. We decided to check after church on Sunday, and if it was still being seen, entertain chasing this first state record.

The bird was still being seen late Sunday morning so Anthony, Andrew, Bryant, Myron and my dad headed out that afternoon. We entertained ourselves along the way with county listing from the road, trying to rack up as many county "ticks" as we could, (I'm over 1,500 now!). By the time we were in Lane county the bird life had a distinctly western feel, with dozens of Lark Buntings skylarking along the road.

Scott State Park

We arrived at the park a little before six o'clock in the evening. We headed straight up to the flycatcher spot, where several people were strolling around rather aimlessly; a bad sign. We asked them and learned that the bird had not been seen since the last report we had heard at about 11:30 that morning, AARGH. We stayed in the area and re-found the Western Wood-pewee (a very good bird in it's own right) that had been found the day before.

Western Wood-pewee: Photo by Andrew

After standing hopefully near the low water bridge for a while -and reaching the conclusion that the flycatcher was nowhere around- we decided to make a few circuits around the park. We soon found this oriole, which we first thought was a Bullock's. Since we're back I've noticed that the eyeline was incomplete and that it had a bit of orange in the scapulars and lesser coverts, both pointing towards a Baltimore X Bullock's hybrid. So much for that Kansas lifer.

Not quite a Bullock's Oriole: Photo by Andrew

Anthony, Andrew and Bryant, birding hard

We waited for the flycatcher until about dusk, when we went to a nearby canyon to listen for Common Poorwills. We got very cold and did not hear any poorwills, although we did hear a few Rock Wrens. As we were leaving the park, Myron suddenly screeched to a halt. I was in the back seat and couldn't see what was going on, but gathered that there was a poorwill in the road. It flew across the road before circling back and landing in front of us again, casually flopping up and catching a bug every once in a while. We bailed out and crawled up to it, trying to get good pictures. It let us get within a few yards, but before we could get any really good shots, a honking vehicle came along and scared it (and us) off the road. The driver was no doubt slightly mystified by the sight of four guys belly-crawling down the road in the glare of our vehicle's headlights.

Common Poorwill: Photo by Andrew

The Piratic Flycatcher hasn't been seen since the last report Sunday morning, but Andrew Burnett, a birder from south-east Kansas, was successful in finding it on Saturday. He has some great shots on his Flickr album.

All in all, it was a great day birding despite the elusive flycatcher. Maybe the next big one will show up closer to home.

Joseph

Big Day: May 9

For the last two years, Barry Jones, the public relations person for Quivira, has let us come along with him on the second or third Saturday in May to do the North American Migration Count.  We try to get as many species as we can in one day.

This year Dad drove Joseph, Anthony, Michael, Bryant and I up there early so as to be there at first light.  It was a very overcast morning, and when we met up with Barry it was still quite dark, so we decided to head up to the rail field first thing.  We stopped to listen along the way, and when it got light enough we stopped at a grove to pick up some passerines.  We found an Eastern Wood-Peewee, several Swainson's Thrushes, and a singing Tennessee Warbler among other more common birds.  We stopped along NE 170th street to check out shorebirds and found a lot of the common shorebirds and managed to see a Short-billed Dowitcher, a pair of Sanderling, and two Ruddy Turnstones, all good birds.

Short-billed Dowitcher: photo by Andrew

We continued toward the Rail field and Barry started playing rail calls on his ipod.  At the second stop we heard two Virginia Rails, but we never got any Soras to respond. We continued to a spot where there are reliable Barred Owls.  Barry can do an amazing vocal impression of a Barred Owl and in three tries he got them to respond.  One even flew into the tree right above us!

There is a Prairie Dog town up north of the Big Salt Marsh that has had Burrowing Owls in the past, so we decided to check it.  We picked up many common birds, but never saw the owls.  It had started to drizzle by then, which was a little discouraging, but we thought that maybe it would force the migrating birds down.  We hadn't done much woodland birding yet, so we thought we should tromp into some of the groves and see if there were any birds in there.  The first one was the Bur Oak Grove and the soaking grass soon transferred its moisture to our pants and shoes.  But at least there were swarms of Mosquitoes there to provide some excitement.  The grove also turned out to be swarming with birds, and Anthony managed to pick out a Philadelphia Vireo, a lifer for Bryant, Anthony and Michael!  There were many other new birds to add to the list, including Blackpoll Warbler and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  When we got out of the grove we had 109 species and it was only about 10:30.  We made a brief stop at the Catalpa Grove, but there wasn't much activity, so we went to the Deadhorse Grove after a short look around.  Deadhorse turned out to be hopping with birds, and we soon found another Blackpoll Warbler.  We were working our way along an old shelter belt when Joseph yelled "Chuck-will's-Widow!"  We looked over and sure enough, a Chuck was flying away rapidly.  Wow!

Chuck-wills-Widow; photo by Bryant

As the cameramen were photographing the Chuck, Barry and I heard a strange song, and when we found it we were surprised to see a gorgeous male Magnolia Warbler!  The cameramen quickly abandoned the Chuck and raced our way.  On the way out, we flushed a second Chuck.

By then it was about lunch time, so we headed back the Environmental Education Classroom to eat lunch/ dry our soaking socks.  On the way back we picked up a Black-headed Grosbeak and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.  After lunch we had to put our wet socks back on (the dryer did almost nothing) and headed out.

After lunch, we really hit the wetlands hard and had good success, largely due to  the fact that we could go back into the restricted areas.  We found several Willets and Hudsonian Godwits to add, and also found a lone Piping Plover.

Piping Plover: photo by Andrew

There was a large flock of Ibis sitting near the road that we stopped to check for Glossy.  Sure enough, I soon spotted a lone Glossy among the White-faced.  This is probably one of the most overlooked birds in Kansas because of their similarity to White-faced Ibis.  It was one of my main nemesis birds and I was glad to finally see one.

Glossy Ibis: photo by Andrew

We quickly went around the Wildlife drive because Barry had to leave soon.  We saw several Forster's Terns flying around and two Least Terns on a sandbar in the Big Salt Marsh.  At our last stop on the loop, Bryant found three Dunlin out with the hundreds of Wilson's Phalaropes.  Our last new bird on the refuge was a Belted Kingfisher at a spillway on the way out, giving us 140 for the day!

We went by some puddles and marshes on the way out, going out of the way to find some stakeout birds. Our last bird of the day was a Cooper's Hawk, giving Bryant and me 154 species.  Joseph finished with 153 and Anthony finished with 151.  This broke last years record of 146 birds!  Maybe next year we'll get even more!  One can always hope.

Andrew

May 5: Quivira and Elsewhere

We hitched a ride to Quivira today with our birding friends Jay and Verna Miller.  It's Verna's birthday and the excursion was Jay's present to her.  They were kind enough to let us go along, and the birding was amazing.

We arrived at about 6:30 and hit the Big Salt Marsh first.  It yielded its usual suspects.  A total of twenty-two species of shorebirds swarmed the flats. Highlights were three Long-billed Curlews, two Snowy Plovers on their nests, a Piping Plover, a Sanderling, a large flock of Willet, eleven Hudsonian Godwits, and more than a dozen Semipalmated Plovers.  The Snowy Plovers put on a show for us as they tried in vain to lead the van off the road and away from their nests (if you can call them that) with a fake broken wing tactic.  I also spotted a Northern Waterthrush near the hay barn on Hay Barn Road north of the marsh, but it flitted back out of sight before the other members of the party could glimpse it.

A Snowy Plover nest which consists of a shallow depression in the gravel: photo by Bryant

A Snowy Plover incubating its eggs: photo by Andrew

This Solitary Sandpiper sat still long enough for us to stop and snap a few pictures before it flew: photo by Andrew

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This Turkey Vulture, if not a gorgeous bird, was considerate enough to let us get decent pictures of it: photo by Andrew

We spotted this Long-billed Curlew along the Wildlife Drive: photo by Bryant

Apparently the Snowy Plover (flying) was somewhat annoyed by the presence of its close relative, the Piping Plover: photo by Bryant

I managed to capture this photo of an active Sanderling as it scurried back and forth along the shoreline: photo by Bryant

As we worked our way toward the south end of the refuge,  we picked up a few more notable birds, including a Black Tern and vibrant male Rose-breasted Grosbeak- both year birds for Andrew and me.  I also snapped a few pics of this beautiful Forster's Tern as it flew past.  By the time we left Quivira, we had tallied 104 species.

Forster's Tern: photo by Bryant

On our way home, we stopped at a few places along the way and picked up a few birds for our day list, as well as two for our year list: Blue Grosbeak and Western Sandpiper.  

Western Sandpiper: photo by Andrew

This Eastern Kingbird posed on the fence, giving us great picture opportunities: photo by Bryant

When we got home, Andrew and I birded around our place and in Irish Creek to add a few species to our day lists.  We found an excellent variety of migrants, most notably Blackpoll and Wilson's Warblers (which were year birds).  My final day bird, a White-throated Sparrow, put me at 129 species.  That's my third day over 100 within a span of three weeks!  This is certainly the time of year to be out!

Bryant

Quivira on 4-30-15

Bryant, Anthony, and I decided to go to Quivira today for a day of birding. We got there at about 6:30 and went straight to the Big Salt Marsh to listen for Rails. Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats were singing loudly all the while and we even heard a couple American Bitterns doing their unique call.

After a little bit we met up with Barry Jones, the Public Relations person for Quivira, and birded together for two hours.  We made one pass around the Wildlife Drive and saw the following: 6 Dunlin, 2 Sanderling, 3 Black-crowned Night Herons, 2 Bonaparte's Gulls, 15 Hudsonian Godwits, and about 15 Forster's Terns.  Barry then had to go, so we walked up to scope some shorebirds on the flats north of NE 170th street.   People had been seeing a lot of Piping Plovers in the past week, so we thought we had a good chance of seeing one too.  I started to scope the flats with Anthony's spotting scope, but didn't see anything of interest, and we were just about to leave when Anthony said," I think I have a Piping Plover!" Sure enough, I had missed it with a spotting scope, and he found it with binoculars. Sharp eyes!

Sanderling: photo by Bryant

    

Snowy Plover: photo by Bryant

Piping Plover: photo by Bryant

Black-bellied Plover: photo by Bryant

We then proceded to go around the Wildlife Drive a second time a little more slowly, and were surprised to find a breeding plumage Black-bellied Plover and lots of Willets among the many shorebirds.  We were just finishing the second loop and getting very hungry (lunch time!) when I saw a large buffy shorebird with a VERY long bill sitting right across the ditch twenty feet away!  "Long-billed Curlew!" I yelled.  It just sat there as we backed into position and got great pictures.

Long-billed Curlew: photo by Andrew

We decided to recover from the excitement by eating lunch and parked in a nice shady spot beside the road to eat.  During our repast, I happened to glance up and saw a small hawk flying straight north at a fairly brisk pace.  I put my Binoculars on it a was shocked to see that it was a Broad-winged Hawk!  Anthony looked up and saw it, but Bryant could not find it.  Bummer!

We finished eating and went to bird some of the woodlots.  There weren't many interesting birds to be seen there, except a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that only Bryant saw.  We  had seen about 110 bird species by then and so we thought that it would be to fun to see if we could hit 130 in a day, which would be good for April.  We kept working our way down to the Little Salt Marsh, picking up birds as we went.  By the time we got to the Refuge Headquarters, we had a combined 120 species.  We were now really thinking we could get 130 species, so we went out of the way on the way home to pick up some birds we had missed at Quivira. By the time it got dark, I had seen 134 species. What a day!

This Killdeer gave us great looks and picture opportunities as it tried to lure us away from its nest: photo by Andrew

Killdeer: photo by Bryant

Andrew