Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush ~ July 23-24, 2010

Friday, July 23rd

We headed back to the spot to get more looks at the Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush and hopefully get better photos. The bird showed itself several times but didn't stay very long during each sighting, so I was never able to improve on the previous night's photos.

Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush site near Savoy in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota.

Other birds noted while there included Cordilleran Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow, Red-eyed Vireo, Canyon Wren, Swainson's Thrush, and American Restart.

We left there and headed up nearby Forest Road 222 where we found Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Townsend's Solitaire, MacGillivray's Warbler, Pine Siskin, and my first-ever looks at "White-winged" Juncos. These birds are noticeably bigger than our "Slate-colored" version and the white underneath the tail appears to block out all of the darker central tail feathers.

Happy with the looks that we had of the Nightingale-Thrush, we left Spearfish Canyon and headed for Mount Rushmore. We stopped there and at Crazy Horse Mountain long enough to take some photos and then continued down Highway 385.

Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota.

Crazy Horse Mountain near Custer, South Dakota.

Just south of Wind Cave National Park, we came upon a herd of Bison. While taking photos of them, we also noticed a few Prairie Dogs and several Burrowing Owls feeding young.

A herd of Bison along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park.

Bison along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park.

Burrowing Owl along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park.

Burrowing Owl along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park.

Burrowing Owl dropping in to feed its young along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park on July 23, 2010.

Burrowing Owl with its young along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park on July 23, 2010.

A small pond farther along the road held Northern Shovelers, a Blue-winged Teal, a Solitary Sandpiper, and several Wilson's Phalaropes.

We followed '385' into Nebraska, another new state for me, and turned east onto Highway 20. Near the town of Harrison, Jason spotted several Mountain Bluebirds at a small corral beside the highway.

Mountain Bluebird near Harrison, Nebraska.

While there, a pair of Red Crossbills briefly landed on the side of the highway and then took off to the north. Other Nebraska birds included Eastern and Western Kingbirds, Horned Lark, Lark Bunting, and Chestnut-collared Longspur.

The Wyoming section of Highway 20 produced Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Upland Sandpiper, Horned Lark, and Lark Sparrow.
Practically every fair-sized town that we passed through in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming held noticeable numbers of Eurasian Collared-Doves.

Finally back in Denver, we spent a short night at a Motel 6 near the Denver Airport.

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Saturday, July 24th

We headed to the airport, turned in the rental car with an extra 930 miles on it, and flew back to Harrisburg by way of Atlanta. Among the 59 species were my 'life' Nightingale-Thrush and my 'life' "White-winged" Juncos.

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Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush Trip ~ July 22-24, 2010

1) American White Pelican----(WY)
2) Great Blue Heron----(WY)
3) Great Egret----(WY)
4) Trumpeter Swan----(WY)
5) Canada Goose----(WY)
6) Mallard----(SD)(NB)
7) Blue-winged Teal----(SD)
8) Northern Shoveler----(SD)
9) Turkey Vulture----(WY)(SD)(NB)
10) Northern Harrier----(WY)
11) Swainson's Hawk----(CO)(WY)
12) Red-tailed Hawk----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
13) American Kestrel----(WY)
14) Killdeer----(CO)(WY)(SD)
15) Solitary Sandpiper----(SD)
16) Upland Sandpiper----(WY)(NB)
17) Wilson's Phalarope----(SD)
18) Ring-billed Gull----(WY)
19) Rock Dove----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
20) Mourning Dove----(WY)(SD)(NB)
21) Eurasian Collared-Dove----(WY)(SD)(NB)
22) Burrowing Owl----(SD)
23) Common Nighthawk----(WY)(SD)(NB)
24) Cordilleran Flycatcher----(SD)
25) Western Kingbird----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
26) Eastern Kingbird----(SD)(NB)
27) Horned Lark----(WY)(SD)(NB)
28) Violet-green Swallow----(SD)
29) Cliff Swallow----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
30) Barn Swallow----(NB)
31) Blue Jay----(SD)
32) Common Raven----(SD)
33) Black-capped Chickadee----(SD)
34) Canyon Wren----(SD)
35) Mountain Bluebird----(SD)(NB)
36) Townsend's Solitaire----(SD)
37) Swainson's Thrush----(SD)
38) American Robin----(WY)(SD)(NB)
39) Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush*----(SD)
40) Cedar Waxwing----(SD)
41) European Starling----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
42) Red-eyed Vireo----(SD)
43) American Redstart----(SD)
44) MacGillivray's Warbler----(SD)
45) Spotted Towhee----(SD)
46) Chipping Sparrow----(SD)
47) Lark Sparrow----(WY)
48) Lark Bunting----(WY)(SD)(NB)
49) Song Sparrow----(SD)
50) Dark-eyed "White-winged" Junco----(SD) 'Life' Subspecies
51) Chestnut-collared Longspur----(NB)
52) Red-winged Blackbird----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
53) Western Meadowlark----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
54) Brewer's Blackbird----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
55) Common Grackle----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
56) Cassin's Finch----(SD)
57) Red Crossbill----(NB)
58) Pine Siskin----(SD)
59) House Sparrow----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)

* Denotes "Life Bird".

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Young Spotted Sandpipers at Green Pond ~ July 4, 2010

On my way home from my daughters', I made a stop at Green Pond's flooded fields. The area is quickly drying up. Only the area to the east of "the island" still has water. As it neared sunset, I spotted five little 'fluffballs' that turned out to be young Spotted Sandpipers. I watched them as one of the parents closely followed them around. At one point, the adult called and all five young sought protection underneath the parent bird. As it turns out, it's the male (not the female) who does the incubating and parenting as in the phalaropes. I was unaware of this until Augie Mirabella wrote and informed me about it. I was amazed that all five could just about disappear underneath 'his' partly-spread wings.

Adult Spotted Sandpiper with young at the flooded fields by Green Pond, Northampton County. The last two birds are scrambling for cover underneath the parent bird.

Also seen there were the male Blue-winged Teal, 35 Killdeer, 15 Spotted Sandpipers, a Solitary Sandpiper, and 2 Least Sandpipers.

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Many Killdeer and Waxwings at Green Pond ~ June 28, 2010

As some of you know, my other hobby besides birding is ice hockey. Well, last night, I got another 'lifer' when our team won the Geezer Hockey League championship! Photos of that can be found at my Ice Hockey Adventures Album.
I continued last night's celebration by taking the day off. I made a mid-day stop at Green Pond. The main flooded field's water level is dropping. The half to the west of the island is now mostly a mudflat, but the eastern half still has a good amount of water in it. As I scanned across the area, I made as accurate a count as I could and came up with 73 Killdeer! It's the highest number I've ever seen there, but I would imagine it's not unprecedented. As has been the case for about a week now, about 20 Cedar Waxwings were taking off from the eastern shoreline, 'flycatching', and returning to the muddy shore.

Cedar Waxwings at the flooded fields by Green Pond, Northampton County. Eight of the waxwings are visible in this photo.

Cedar Waxwing at the flooded fields by Green Pond, Northampton County.

Cedar Waxwing 'flycatching' at the flooded fields by Green Pond, Northampton County. Note the red, 'waxy' tips at the trailing edge of the secondaries.

The injured male Blue-winged Teal continues to hang in there.

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Black-bellied Plovers at Green Pond ~ May 22, 2010

This afternoon's stop at the flooded fields by Green Pond at around 1:45 produced four Black-bellied Plovers. Two were in breeding plumage, one was near breeding plumage, and the other was still in the drab non-breeding garb. At around 2:30, they flew off to the south. I was able to get some long-distance 'documentation photos' of them.

Black-bellied Plovers at the flooded fields by Green Pond, Northampton County. This long-distance photo shows the four that were present.

Black-bellied Plovers at the flooded fields by Green Pond, Northampton County. This long-distance photo shows three of the four that were present.

Black-bellied Plovers at the flooded fields by Green Pond, Northampton County. This long-distance photo also shows the male Blue-winged Teal with an apparently-injured left wing.

Other birds seen there included 4 Semipalmated Plovers, 6 Spotted Sandpipers, a Solitary Sandpiper, 13 Least Sandpipers, and one Blackpoll Warbler that was singing near the pond.

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Bar-tailed Godwit at Brigantine N.W.R.! ~ May 17, 2010

Since I already had the day off, I made a late morning decision to head to Brigantine (Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge) in search of the Bar-tailed Godwit that had been there since Thursday. As luck would have it, I drove to the area of the dike where it had most often been seen and found another birder already on the bird. It was a long way out in the Danzenbaker Pool. After about 30 minutes, it started taking short flights, moving closer to us each time.

Bar-tailed Godwit at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.

Bar-tailed Godwit at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey. This photo shows the conspicuous white rump, dark wrists, and lack of any wing stripe.

Bar-tailed Godwit at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey. This photo shows the conspicuous white rump, dark wrists, and lack of any wing stripe.

At 3:00, it flew across the south dike and out into the bay, landing in the direction of the Atlantic City casinos. It was a new 'Lower 48' bird for me, bringing back great memories of the ones I saw near Nome during my 2007 trip to Alaska.

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Black Tern at Green Pond ~ May 14, 2010

I made one of my afternoon stops at the flooded fields by Green Pond at around 1:00 and was surprised to find a Black Tern flying back and forth behind 'the island'. I called a few friends, watched it for about a half-hour, and then had to head home. A little after 3:00, I was able to return with my camera. The bird was still there, occasionally diving to feed. I managed to get some long-distance 'documentation photos' of it.

Black Tern at the flooded fields by Green Pond, Northampton County.

It was only my second sighting of Black Tern for the county. Also present there were 7 Dunlin.

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Willets in PA! ~ April 27, 2010

I finally got to put my binoculars on Willet in the state today! A group of 15 that were reported earlier in the day were still present when I arrived at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area at about 4:30. And, they were still there when I left at 6:00. The birds were a couple hundred yards away but were in good light, meaning it wasn't raining. It was one of those state birds that had eluded me for years, until today.

Willets at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, Lancaster County. Note the bold, white wing stripe on the extended wing.

Willets at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, Lancaster County.

Thanks to Jim Binder for finding this group and Randy Miller, Dave Wilton, and Jason Horn for letting me know about them.

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