If this is Magee Marsh, that must be a Magnolia Warbler ...

... or a Bay-breasted Warbler, American Redstart, Chestnut-sided Warbler and others too numerous to count.  In all his years of birding, this was my friend Steve Sanford's first visit to Magee Marsh, also known as Crane Creek.  Now he thinks he will make it an annual affair.  Of course, following his move from Baltimore to Sharon, Pennsylvania earlier this spring, he also lives six hours closer.  But, a ten hour drive did not deter other birding friends from Baltimore.  On the boardwalk we unexpectedly ran into Gail, Georgia and Dan.  It was great to have this surprise meeting.  The Washtenaw Audubon Society field trip lead by Karen Markey also took place this day.  No matter who you were or where you came from, no one went home disappointed.  I wanted to leave by 4:00 pm so I could get home for the Preakness.  Conditions were so birdy, I did not meet my deadline and missed Rachel Alexandra beat the colts.    

When I got home, I downloaded 230 photos and then immediately went through and deleted about 200 of them.  I think the survivors can make a respectable showing here, but not in taxonomic order.  Of note, most of the day was deeply overcast and it did rain for at least an hour in the afternoon.  The dark appearance of many of the photos can be attributed to this gray overcast light.  Much later in the day the sun finally did come out.

Oops, that's not a bird.  It's a baby bunny.  Amidst hundreds of birders, this little bunny was trying to find a place to nibble.  It's making its retreat under the warbler sign platform.

A perched Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) spent the day sleeping in a tree behind the warbler sign.  This is the first perched nighthawk I have ever seen.  After viewing this photo, some might argue that I still haven't seen one perched.  However, we did get great views of the bird through Dan's scope.

Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens).

Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata).

Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica).

Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia), the most numerous warbler of the day.  I overheard one birder comment that the Magnolia Warbler is truly under-appreciated.  I'm inclined to agree with her; perhaps because on days like these they are so common. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).

Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea).

Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendroica castanea), arguably the star of the day for photo opportunities.

Here's the Bay-breasted pretending to be a Black-and-White Warbler (Mniotilita varia).

These snuggling Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio), one red the other gray, were perched up high on a leafy branch.  They remained here all day.  We also got scoped views of a young Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) at its nest.  The parent bird, undoubtedly nearby, was not seen.

Female Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica caerulescens).  I had one great opportunity to also capture photos of a male, but none were in focus enough to meet even my minimal standards.

This silent empidonax flycatcher went unidentified until I got home.  I am calling it an Alder (Empidonax alnorum).  If anyone wishes to disagree, please let me know.  We also got great looks at Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris) but none of my three photos could make the cut.

White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophyrs);  probably my best photo of the day.

Veery (Catharus fuscescens).

Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus).  We also had terrific looks at Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus).

In all, I believe we saw 24 species of warblers which included just one each of Cape May (Dendroica tigrina), Nashville (Vermivora ruficapilla), Louisiana Waterthrush (Seiurus motacilla), Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora pinus) and Mourning Warbler (Oporornis philadelphia).  A bird identified as an Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata) was probably a female Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) despite the fact that it did have an orange smudge on its forehead.  Perhaps it stuck its face in pollen or something.  

In all we saw and or heard at least 84 species (not including starling, pigeon, or house sparrow) without really even trying.  After a more careful review of the photos I have, I may add (or delete) some.  Despite very so-so weather (charitable description) Steve and I had a great day.

Michigan North American Migration Count, 05/09/09

As I do each year on the second Saturday in May, yesterday I participated in May count, birding three distinctly different areas in Wayne County.  I started out at Belle Isle around 6:30 am. This early in the morning I was greeted by Canada Geese (Branta canadanesis), Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis, American Robins (Turdus migratorious), Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) and a few Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula.)  These are the usual birds to open early morning at Belle Isle.  The park was busy with people, too. In addition to the walkers, runners, bikers and fisherman there was a sponsored walk to bring people out.

This is my best songbird photograph of the day.  This female Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) only gave me one chance, so I am very happy with the way this photo turned out. 

I counted four Black-crowned Night-Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax).  This one posed nicely for its overexposed photo.  The sky was bright cloudy gray and I think this plays a big role in photo exposure.   The weather then turned partly cloudy to sunny.  Around 10:00 am or so, the wind really picked up and the clouds left - at least for awhile.

In about 5-1/2 hours of birding at Belle Isle I found 74 species, none unexpected, but there were a couple of nice surprises .  A Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) was a surprise.   A bathing Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) was a surprise.  A single Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) was a surprise and nearly went uncounted as I saw it floating close to the shore just east of the bridge.  I was leaving the island and my sudden stop in this precarious location caused a few horn blowers to express their irritation.  A Bobolink (Dolicyhonyx oryzivorus) was a surprise in the weedy field just west of the Belle Isle bridge.  Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) at this same location were not a surprise.  If you must find a pheasant, the best place to do so in Michigan is in the city of Detroit.

I never considered that one day I might see a Peregrine Falcon bathing in the Detroit River. This is probably one of the "hacked" birds that nest in downtown Detroit.  The bird remained here for quite awhile and appeared to be really enjoying the water.  It was very windy by this time and the water was choppy.

The other places I birded were William Holliday Preserve in Westland. I got a little lost trying to find the place and did not arrive until around 1:30 pm.  Shortly after that it began to rain for a half hour or so.  I added Spotted Sandpipers (Actitis macularia) and Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo Olivaceus) to the day's species total but in all found just over 30 species here.  I don't think I'll do this area again next year.  A few years ago I atlassed this area for the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas and I had not been there since.  I thought it might be good.  Also, the time of day and the weather change probably had something to do with the slow birding.

Perhaps the best thing at William Holliday Preserve were the trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) that were in peak bloom throughout the woods.

Finally, I went to Willow Run Airport.  Even though I have been here many times - I believe this was my third year counting here - I got lost trying to get here, too.  I wound up in the GM plant that is near the airport.  That was scary, like a ghost town, and the place was huge.  I had a hard time finding my way out.  The reason for going to Willow Run each year is to add Upland Sandpipers (Bartramia longicauda) to the species list.  Fortunately,  two were present yesterday.  Again, the weather - windy in this large open space - probably had a lot to do with it, but other birds typically found here were also present in lower numbers.  I always find several kingbirds, but this year there were none.

My nicest photo from the airport.  This White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is being buffeted by the wind while perched on the airport fence.  The White-crowned is one of the larger sparrows, but it looks tiny here on the fence.

I think I finished up the day finding 85 species.  Not bad and it made for a good day of birding. 

First United States record of Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher ... in the name of science RIP

The following was copied from Surfbirds:

I collected the bird. I knew it wouldn't be popular, but I considered it important. I could go on at great length about why I feel that's so, but clearly this issue is deeply emotional and philosophical, and in such instances, we're as likely to change our minds as we are to breathe underwater.

I am on the LSU permit, but the focus of anger in this thread against LSU is unfounded. The bird was collected in Louisiana, and LSUMNS was simply the recipient of the specimen. They learned of the collection like everyone else, after the fact.

If I had it to do over, I would. I believe in what I did, just as strongly as many of you believe against it. My intentions and reasons were honest and clear. Some of you will find fault with that; you have that right.

Paul Conover
Lafayette, LA

This article came in my mailbox via North American Birds, Vol. 62: No. 4, 2009, page 638.  I wanted to write about this from the moment I read the article. I didn't know of the Surfbirds thread until I began to do some research for my blog entry.  I'm not a member of Surfbirds so I cannot read all of the, apparently unfavorable, posts written on this topic.  Clearly the comments were strong enough to compel Mr. Conover to reply; in my mind, inadequately.

I am going on record to say that I strongly disagree with Mr. Conover's actions.  He states that he "could go on at great length about why it was important that he collect the bird." He could also go on at very short length, because it was not important for these two individuals (his collaborator was Buford Mac.Myers) to collect the bird for any reason other than self-importance and profound selfishness.  The most egregious thing about their action is also the most disturbing- they collected the bird because they could. Mr. Conover, at least, is named on the Louisiana State University permit to collect birds, and the two collectors carried with them the means to do so.  A review of the AOU guidelines on bird collection suggests that they collected the bird as a museum voucher specimen.  Of note, a member of the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science (LSUMNS), Robb Brumfield, is also a member of the AOU Bird Collections committee.  This seems to me a significant conflict of interest.  Mr. Brumfield should consider stepping down from the AOU committee.   

Without summarizing an article that can be found and read on-line, the event in question occurred on June 3, 2008. Several things stand out about the collectors' actions.  They got photos - good photos - of the bird.  Furthermore, they heard the bird vocalize.  They did not know definitively, but they had a strong hunch, that the bird was a Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher (Empidonomus aurantioatrocristatus) but in the field could not recall the scientific name.  They went into the field with a camera and also with a gun of some sort.  After killing the bird they called the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science and spoke with the collections manager who was able to confirm the bird's identity by comparison with specimens of the same species already in that collection.  Apparently, LSUMNS has one of the largest (the largest?) collections of South American birds.  They took the bird to LSUMNS and it was immediately prepared as a study skin (LSUMNS catalog No. 180361).  The bird was an adult male and was in peak migratory condition.

Given the actions of these two men, I believe the AOU needs to reevaluate its bird collection and permit granting guidelines carefully.  Additionally, consideration should be given to removing the two men who killed this bird from the LSU collection permit, and LSU should be censored and or fined for allowing and supporting the action of the collectors.

Each day I am besieged with mail solicitations to join and donate money to organizations whose mission it is to conserve birds and other wildlife.  As I write this, I have the American Bird Conservancy form on my dining room table waiting for me to renew.  On the other hand, we have "scientists" among us who behave as if they live in Audubon's time.  (It is generally accepted knowledge that Audubon also killed birds just for the sport of it).  

J.J. Audubon's contribution to bird art and bird identification is beyond measure.  In the days before optics and camers, I'm sure he felt that his gun was his most valuable tool.

The Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher is dead.  There is nothing to be done about this now. Arguments that suggest the bird would have died anyway or would never have found its way back to its breeding grounds are empty and shallow.  The Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher is housed in a dusty museum drawer with a tag on its leg.  What have we learned about this bird?  We know that it made an extremely unlikely and amazing migration to become the first record for its species in the United States and only the second record in all of North America.  The collectors knew this before they killed it.  What else do we know?  The answer to this question is the most discouraging.  We know nothing.  For me, the presence of this bird in the LSUMNS taints their organization and that collection.

  

Mr. Conover closes his Surfbirds response with, "my intentions and reasons were honest and clear."  To this statement I would add that they were also misguided.  He goes on the write, "some of you will find fault with that; you have that right." We do indeed have that right and we are expressing it.  This bird was far more important to science alive and the actions of the collectors take us back to the bleak times of Audubon, Alexander Wilson and other early naturalists, not to mention the plume hunters who shot birds and sold the feathers to decorate women's hats.  

 

Alexander Wilson (top) and an early 20th century plume hunter.  It is generally thought that Alexander Wilson was not an accomplished artist.  When it became apparent that plume hunting had caused a dramatic decline in numbers of birds, there were forward thinking citizens who put a stop to killing birds for the sake of women's couture.

Wilson wrote of an injured Ivory-billed Woodpecker he captured and imprisoned in his inn room for three days while he drew it. The bird died while being held captive by Wilson and he wrote, "I witnessed his death with regret." One could surmise that Wilson felt regret because he had not yet completed his drawings, but at least he was regretful. 

Texas: a Melospiza lincolnii morning and love is in the air at Hemisfair Park

Another 6:00 am conference session this morning - this one on chronic myeloid leukemia and not as good as yesterday's 6:00 am session. Following this I headed back out to Hemisfair Pair to see if I could find last night's migrants.

I like sparrows.  Every time I write a blog entry featuring a sparrow, it's always one of my favorite sparrows.  Yesterday it was the extremely cute Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida.)  Today it's the Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii.)  I saw four or five this morning.  

In Michigan and for me, at least, I don't often find a Lincoln's Sparrow in a tree.  I like the above photo for this reason.  Migration creates circumstances where we see birds in places we are not accustomed to seeing them.  This reminds me of the female Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus) I found at Tawas Point State Park in April, 2005.  My MBRC report of that bird was not accepted.  In my report, when I described the bird's behavior, I wrote that it occasionally flew into a tree. When I received the scant feedback on my rejection, apparently one of the records committee members asked, "why would a Smith's Longspur be in a tree?" When a records committee member asks a question like this, it's not going to be good.  Of course, I did not have a photo of the Smith's Longspur either.  Another lesson I've learned.

Without any scrub to hide in, this Lincoln's is still out of habitat, but at least it's on the ground.

Trying to hide without much success.

Overall I did not find it as birdy this morning.  It's cooler here this morning so perhaps there was a wind shift.  The Yellow-breast Chat (Icteria virens) was still here.  Other warblers included a female Northern Parula (Parula americana), American Restarts (Setophaga ruticilla) and Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas.)  There was also a female Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena) in the flower garden. Not a single butterfly presented itself.

You've heard of Central Park's Red-tails in Love; perhaps Hemisfair Park should be known for its White-wings in love.

Copulating White-winged Doves (Zenaida asiatica.)  There were doves trying to attract mates, doves building nests and doves on nests all over the park.

Another close photo of this attractive dove.

Unless something remarkable happens, this will probably be my last blog entry from San Antonio, Texas.  The birding has been spectacular and I've enjoyed a great conference.

Historic St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Commerce Street - photo taken from the riverwalk.

Texas: birding the Riverwalk and Hemisfair Park

Still in San Antonio here and the conference has been great.  During conference downtime I have continued birding around the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and the Riverwalk. The riverwalk is quite green as is the Hemisfair Park; both with tall and mature trees and, after all, it is migration here, too.

Yesterday afternoon I was seeking lunch along the riverwalk and I didn't have my camera.  I was completely stunned when I saw a medium-sized wading bird hunting on a "waterfall," of sorts on the other side of the riverwalk - a bird I have not seen since leaving Maryland.  Now I was torn; lunch or return to hotel for camera.  The camera trip won out, but the bird was not at the waterfall when I returned.  I left to attend another conference session.  Later I returned to the riverwalk for dinner and found the bird again, this time hunting from the edge on the opposite side. 

Peering into the murky waters of the river.  

Hmmm, let me get a closer look.

Reconsidering.

Giving it another look.

This bird actually did catch something here, although it is entirely unclear what.  From across the river it appeared to be something black.

In this photo the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) is choking down his meal.  Why he selected the riverwalk for his meal search is unclear.  The water is completely filthy and visually impenetrable.  From the Sibley range map this bird appeared to be slightly too far west on its migration path.  After he found this meal, whatever it was, he flew off down the river and I did not see him again. Later I emailed Mark Lockwood, Secretary of the Texas Bird Records Committee, and he told me that Yellow-crowned Night-Herons nest in San Antonio and can be quite common in some places like Breckenridge Park near the zoo. 

The White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica), a beautiful bird, is possibly even more common here than is our Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) in Michigan.  In flight the bird is very attractive when its white wing patches flash and its tail spreads out revealing its wide white band with central rust spot.

This morning I attended a 6:00 am breakfast meeting on multiple myeloma.  Following this I headed over to Hemisfair Park.  It was quite birdy with migrants.  I saw a couple of empidonax flycatchers and several warblers that I'll see again when I return home but which were all first of the year for me here in Texas.  Possibly the best of these was Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens.)  Additionally, I found a couple of Clay-colored Sparrows (Spizella pallida).

One of the two Clay-colored Sparrows I saw this morning.  Texas is exactly in the middle of their migration path and I saw several this trip. One of my favorite sparrows;  I love how they reveal themselves with their buzzy vocalization. These guys still have a way to go before reaching their breeding grounds.

During migration Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) can be found in the unlikeliest of places.  This is probably the only Common Yellowthroat I will ever see on a park bench.

Even though Hemisfair Park has a large central flower garden, butterflies were scant.  Less than scant.  It was cloudy this morning, (as it has been every morning thus far) but very warm and it still seems like there should be more butterflies.

This Texan Crescent (Phyciodes texana) is a beautiful butterfly but its beauty is not revealed in this photo.  The straight line of spots along both hind wings were yellow as were the edges of both wings. Unfortunately, all that color is lost here possibly because of the glare of the gray, overcast sky.  The white blob at the edge of the lower hind wing is the flower the butterfly is nectoring on.

Another image of the Texan Crescent with the same color problems, but with the flower in view. 

In flight this fast-flying butterfly superficially looked like a Viceroy. When it landed to nector it did not open its wings and then revealed itself to be a Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae).

 

It was sunny, hot and humid this afternoon and when I could not find more butterflies I did find a couple of other birds to photograph.

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), first of the year for me.

Readers of this blog know I am fond of this common bird, Inca Dove (Columbina inca), a small and cute dove.  Earlier in the morning I heard their plaintive no hope call and saw two copulating on the windowsill of the convention center.  I wonder if anyone else noticed?

I took about 50 photos to get the following three of this Black-throated Green Warber (Dendroica virens), cousin of my target bird Golden-Cheeked Warbler, busily feeding. 

 Too bad the photos are not in better focus., but any warbler is much faster than my camera shutter.  The bird's bill looks funny in this photo because a leaf is obscuring it.

Tomorrow is another day in Texas.