September through December Bird Count

I definitely started off the year pretty gung-ho about birding and listing and what-not. As the year progressed, though, and particularly as I met a variety of different "bird people" in California, I began to tire of the listing idea. For one, I'm not a fan of actual BIG YEARs as I mentioned previously. The idea of jumping on a plane at the drop of a hat to check a species off a list is incredibly unappetizing: it does nothing to benefit the environment and there is no appreciation of the actual awesomeness that is that bird that you went to all the effort to go see in the first place. Midway through the year, I kind of wanted to distance myself from this kind of birding, so I got pretty lax about the listing.

During a hike through Point Reyes (on October 28), however, the very first bird I saw was a juvenile ferruginous hawk, sitting in a field. It was awesome! And I instinctively got out my notebook and wrote it down. Then I proceeded to follow this hawk for nearly a half-hour as it hunted in the fields surrounding the trail. And that was an experience I'll never forget.

Birds are more than just a list of species on a page to me. That list serves a purpose beyond keeping a tally. I can now look back at my list of birds from that hike and remember the awesome experience of following a Ferruginous Hawk, watching a Great Blue Heron intently hunting in the water, or stumbling onto 125 American Coots floating on the lagoon. The list is just some words on a page, but it is representative of something greater: an series of unforgettable experiences, a journal of my discoveries.

And the list serves an important scientific purpose too. In fact, half of my internship, hawk watching, was essentially standing on a hill and creating a list. That list serves to inform biologists about the population trends of nineteen significant species.

I will probably not keep a year list in 2014. I may keep track of raptors or warblers or some of my other favorite bird families. However, I will continue to keep track of my observations and make lists of what I see. Those will forever serve me as both scientific records as well as a record of personal and memorable experiences.

09/03/13
164. Western Tanager (L): Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill
165. Lesser Goldfinch: Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill

09/04/13
166. Vaux's Swift (L): Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill
167. Broad-winged Hawk: Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill
168. Sharp-shinned Hawk: Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill (And then I proceeded to band ~20 over the course of the migration season).

169. Band-tailed Pigeon: Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill

09/11/13
170. Bewick's Wren (L): Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill

171. White-throated Swift: Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill

09/18/13
172. Rock Wren (L): Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill

09/30/13
173. Say's Phoebe (L): San Francisco, CA: San Bruno Mountain

10/01/13
174. Long-billed Curlew (L): Lagoon off of Highway 1, CA

175. American Avocet (L): Lagoon off of Highway 1, CA

10/13/13
176. American Wigeon: Los Gallenas Nature Preserve, CA
177. Eurasian Wigeon (L): Los Gallenas Nature Preserve, CA
178. Cinnamon Teal: Los Gallenas Nature Preserve, CA
179. Northern Pintail: Los Gallenas Nature Preserve, CA

10/18/13
180. Purple Martin: Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill

10/19/13
181. Golden-crowned Sparrow (L): Marin Headlands, POAK Blind

10/23/13
182. Bonaparte's Gull (L): Marin Headlands, CA: the lagoon
183. Wilson's Snipe: Marin Headlands, CA: the lagoon

184. Semipalmated Plover (L): Marin Headlands, CA: the lagoon

10/28/13
185. Ferruginous Hawk (L): Point Reyes, CA: Trail to Abbott's Lagoon
186. Ruddy Duck: Point Reyes, CA: Abbott's Lagoon
187. Eared Grebe (L): Point Reyes, CA: Abbott's Lagoon

10/30/13
188. Orange-crowned Warbler (L): Marin Headlands, CA: Bottoms Drive Front Yard

11/04/13
189. Savannah Sparrow: Point Reyes, CA: Trail to Tomales Point
190. Snow Goose: Point Reyes, CA: Flying overhead on trail to Tomales Point

11/06/13
191. Rough-legged Hawk: Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill
192. Western Meadowlark (L): Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill

11/09/13
193. Horned Lark (L): Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill
194. Varied Thrush: Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill

11/12/13
195. Wrentit (L): Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill

(photo: Anna Stunkel)

11/13/13
196. Bushtit (L): Marin Headlands, CA: Hawk Hill

11/18/13
197. Mute Swan: Los Gallenas Nature Preserve, CA

198. Blue-footed Booby (L): Pacific Ocean, Mile Marker 10.2 on Highway 1

12/21/13
199. Laughing Gull: Naples, FL: Barefoot Beach



12/22/13
Our first birding trip to Corkscrew Swamp outside of Naples, FL, provided me with a nice final boost to my year bird list:
200. Wood Stork
201. Red-bellied Woodpecker
202. White Ibis

(photo: Mike Pirtle)

203. Gray Catbird

(photo: Mike Pirtle)

204. Tree Swallow
205. Great-creasted Flycatcher (L)
206. Anhinga

(photo: Mike Pirtle)

207. Little Blue Heron
208. Yellow-crowned Night Heron (L)

(photo: Mike Pirtle)

209. Limpkin (L)
210. Black Vulture (L)
211. Tricolored Heron

12/27/13
And our second birding trip to Corkscrew (see previous blog entry) provided me with my final bird of the year!
212. Palm Warbler

Corkscrew Swamp: Family Birding

7:11AM: Departing Longshore Lake neighborhood, Dad spotted two rabbits on someone’s front lawn. He correctly identified them as rabbits, and was quite proud.

7:15AM: Grandpa makes a pun about bats.

7:19AM: Dad spots an anhinga on a pipe and attempts to pronounce the bird’s species.

7:22AM: Dad correctly identifies a pelican on a billboard.

7:30AM: We inquire about why our desitnation is called “Corkscrew Swamp.” Katy uses her smarty-phone to discover that it is because the swamp is a part of the “Corkscrew Watershed.” Very helpful.

7:43AM: Arrive at Corkscrew Swamp. Greeted by a large group of common grackles.

Ready to go see some birds (photo: Mike Pirtle)

8:01AM: After walking the Corkscrew Swamp boardwalk for nearly fifteen minutes without seeing a single bird, Katy spots a great egret. Dad still believes this bird is called a great “in grit.”

Great egret (photo: Mike Pirtle)

8:04AM: We spot a yellow-crowned night heron, sitting contentedly on a branch above the water.

8:11AM: Between the four of us, we finally figure out how to get Grandpa’s spotting scope assembled and pointed at the night heron. We are able to get a great look at this bird, funny-feathered crown, expressive red eye, and all. Katy perfects the art of digi-scoping in one try.

Yellow-crowned night heron (photo: Katy Pirtle)

8:17AM: Dad identifies another egret flying overhead. When asked what it was, he says it was “the white one.”

8:18AM: Apparently this perch is quite desirable, because a second yellow-crowned night heron flies in and after a brief scuffle, displaces the one we were watching.

8:25AM: Further down the boardwalk, we see a white ibis, contentedly grazing in the water, close enough that we could touch it.

White ibis (photo: Mike Pirtle)

8:27AM: Just beyond the ibis, we see three female anhingas perched above one another on a branch. There are also three males scattered throughout the trees in this area. The only think more awkward than watching these birds try to get up out of the water and onto a branch is listening to my dad try and pronounce the word “anhinga.”

Two female anhingas (photo: Mike Pirtle)

8:28AM: Katy swears she saw a water snake.

8:29AM: A red-shouldered hawk (the Florida subspecies of course!) bursts noisily through the vegetation with something long and skinny in its talons. Was it a snake or a stick?

8:30AM: Katy notices two vultures perched in a distant tree. One has a red head, clearly a turkey vulture, and the other has a dark head. I am unsure whether this second vulture is a black vulture or a juvenile turkey vulture. After a brief consultation with David Sibley about the shape of vulture heads, I decided that it is indeed a black vulture!

Turkey vulture and black vulture (photo: Katy Pirtle)

8:37AM: Katy identifies an alligator. Grandpa confirms that it is not actually an alligator, but a stump, or as identified by him, a “stumpigator.”

8:50AM: After nearly 25 minutes in the same spot, Dad reminds us that we should probably move on, since we have a flight to catch at 6.

8:52AM: Just past the anhingas, we see a little blue heron. It is intently staring into the water, carefully taking steps so as not to disturb whatever it is that it’s watching, much the same way we act when watching a bird. After a couple minutes, it strikes, pulling a small fish out of the water. Yum.

Little blue heron (photo: Mike Pirtle)

8:56AM: Katy notices a pretty flower.

9:05AM: Dad notices some leaves with a lot of white splotches on them. He wonders why the birds seem to be leaving droppings on these few particular leaves and we postulate that there is a nest above them. Shortly thereafter, we notice an anhinga perched over a similarly whitewashed leaf. Grandpa postulates that this anhinga has an upset stomach.

9:06AM: Our second little blue heron sighting, this one with a giant crayfish in its beak. We watch as it picks it up, puts it down, picks it up a different way, and tries to figure out how its going to consume its prize catch.

Little blue heron with a crayfish (photo: Mike Pirtle)

9:14AM: At Lettuce Lakes, we see a juvenile white ibis, beginning to molt into its adult plumage.

9:17AM: Dad notices another great egret (“ingrit”) in flight, calling as it flies over our heads. With each call, the bird extends its neck all the way out.

9:21AM: Our first mammal sighting! A raccoon balances along the handrail of the boardwalk, before jumping into the water in search of anything edible.

Raccoon (photo: Katy Pirtle)

9:22AM: Am I hearing sandhill cranes or am I going crazy?!

9:39AM: Another mysterious sound continues to elude me, a soft, whining. After much searching, I discover the culprit – a squirrel! I’ve never heard a squirrel sound anything like this – this is a weird place.

Squirrel (photo: Mike Pirtle)

9:45AM: Grandpa spots a stump that looks like a partridge. It is not in a pear tree.

9:52AM: Five white ibis, three adults and two juveniles, all grazing together!

9:54AM: We see another (or the same?) red-shouldered hawk perched in a tree, making loud screeching calls. We watch as it grabs a branch and proceeds to pull it right off the tree. Then it takes off and perches in a nest in a nearby tree. Why are red-shouldered hawks building (or maintaining?) a nest? Seems a little early.

The underside view of a FL subspecies red-shouldered hawk (photo: Mike Pirtle)

9:59AM: We notice a second red-shouldered hawk doing the same thing – it grabs a stick, flies to a nearby branch, and then just chills for awhile before dropping the stick, which falls all the way to the ground below. We imagine this hawk’s mate being quite disappointed as it comes home with no stick.

Red-shouldered hawk with a stick (photo: Mike Pirtle)

10:10AM: The number of tourists on the boardwalk are increasing steadily. Our choice to go birding as early as the swamp was opened was clearly a wise decision.

10:16AM: Dad notices a mysterious, small bird in a dead tree. I can tell it is a warbler and take careful note of its fieldmarks: yellow eye-stripe, subtle streaking on the chest, bright yellow undertail coverts, with black and white rectrices. A quick flip through Sibley yields no suitable results for me.

Lookin' at a warbler (photo: Mike Pirtle)

10:25AM: Back at the visitor center, I peek into a Peterson Warbler field guide at the gift shop and, thanks to the unique undertail coverts and rectrices, identify our mystery warbler as a palm warbler! Our last bird of the day and, quite possibly, the last new species I will add to my 2013 bird list.

11:04AM: Driving back into Longshore Lake neighborhood, we see some Muscovy ducks on the lake. Grandpa articulates what we’re all thinking: “they’re ugly as sin!”