We Heart Spring Migration!

There’s just nothing like migration time. It seems especially fun in the Spring as the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and there is the sense of twitterpation in the air. One of the many reasons that we haven’t been posting as often is we’ve just been birding hard – every weekend (as long as it’s not raining), before work, during our lunch break, and after work. It’s been an intense migration season, to say the least. 

American Lady

Checkered White

Little Wood Satyr

One little gem out in what seems in the middle of nowhere is the Solomon Tract of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. This is not a place where “usual visitors” go. This side plot of land is nestled behind an industrial area, and it is mostly explored by birders and driven through by the occasional hunters. It can be super buggy, riddled with mosquitoes and high probability of ticks, but it’s totally worth it for migrant birds and other creatures and critters.

Prothonotary Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler singing

 In late April, Nick and I ventured out there and had quite a flurry of activity. As soon as we stepped out of the car, we could hear a number of Prothonotary Warblers singing along the watery forest edge. Each one was out to stake their claim on territory and woo the ladies. Some got into some intense fights, but looking beautiful all the while. These warblers are some of my favorites. These little beauties are so intensely yellow all over their entire bodies except for their boldly contrasting slate blue wings. And their song is so sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet.

Prothonotary Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler singing

Prothonotary Warbler

A couple of other warblers that we only get to enjoy during migration vocalized and showed themselves off nicely, although maybe not as showy as the Prothonotary Warblers. We could here the sweet, choppy song of Hooded Warblers amongst the dense patch of trees. These little bandits wearing their black ski masks are also some of the prettiest warblers.

Hooded Warbler

The other special treat we saw was a Worm-Eating Warbler. Although it is not as flashy as some of its other warbler kinfolk, it is still a very nice warbler to see, using its impressive, long bill to pick through the dead leaves in the trees to find juicy little grubs. These guys have usually been difficult to get good looks at for us since they typically are digging around in dense vegetation. But this one in particular allowed for some decent looks and for a good amount of time.

Worm-Eating Warbler

Worm-Eating Warbler

There is a curious part of the trail at the Solomon Tract. Out of nowhere, about 20 feet from the main path, there is a type of wooden cage/crate in the woods that looks like it’s set up to trap a slightly large animal as there is a door that could be triggered to slide down with the yank of a string. I’ve always suspected that it may be some kind of hog trap since we do have feral pigs sprinkled around the area. But even more curious is that along the path directly in front of it is hanging a long, thick rope with a knot at the end. It was probably more secure at some point, but it still remains hanging ever so tenuously on the smallest bit of a branch. In my wild imagination, I picture a couple of guys waiting for a hog to be lured into this trap, but should their plans fail, they had this rope to climb up if the target hog gets angry and comes after them.

Feral Hog

Feral Piggies running

This past trip, as we stopped near the hog trap to look around, we did in fact see 3 feral pigs rooting around on the opposite side of the path about 20 yards away. I admit I was a little intimidated because I know they can be quite aggressive and very strong. But these three little pigs (well, not that little) were far enough away, and there was enough vegetation to hide behind as we snuck in looks and got photos of them. And they seemed way too into looking for food to care about anything else. 

A grass skipper of some sort

Little Wood Satyr

 

A grass skipper of some sort

To round out our eventful trip, we encountered a number of other creatures, winged and otherwise, including many butterflies and dragonflies. Some of them posed very nicely and allowed for great looks. But even so, the identity of some of them proved to be difficult to narrow down for us novice butterfly watchers. But they were still pretty and nice to photograph.

American Lady

A Duskywing of some sort

Green Darner dragonfly

One creature that really intrigued us was this BIG spider – about quarter sized. It was running around in the grass along the bank of a canal. Its size alone was impressive, but what really got our attention was what appeared to be a large egg sack clinging to its belly. Nick was creeping closer and closer to it trying to get pictures of it, but I, again with my wild imagination, was slightly worried about him accidentally stepping on it or something else happening causing that egg sack to pop and then hundreds of little creepy baby spiders would run out in all directions. Eeek! I actually saw this happen once when I was a kid and my mom stepped on a much smaller spider and tons of tiny babies scurried out, and I squealed as we tried to step on all of them. I don’t mind spiders in general, but the scrambling of tons of little babies spiders coming out freaks me out a bit. But luckily the spider and egg sack stayed intact, and we ended the day creepy-spider-incident free and hog attack free. Winner!

Large Spider with what seems to be an egg sack on the belly

Another look at the large spider and egg sack

Thrushed with Excitement in Forsyth Park!

I've written about about taking my lunch break in Forsyth Park before. During migration, it's one of the go-to spots for warblers, and lately I've been careful not to leave home without my bins in the morning. I'll spend an hour strolling the same route every day, and take as meticulous a count for eBird as I can manage. During April alone I racked up 13 warbler species, and today made 14 for the year (Yellow Warbler) for the park alone.

As remarkable as the warblers have been this spring, the thrushes have been stealing the show this week. On Monday, I spied what I thought was my FOS Swainson's Thrush. The last of the wintering Hermit Thrushes left weeks ago, and seeing my bird from behind, I noted the absence of any rufous on the tail. The only other Catharus thrush we've seen in the county is Swainson's, and so I nearly took it for granted that I had one in front of me. The lack of a buff eye-ring, however, immediately tipped me off that this was either a Gray-cheeked or a Bicknell's Thrush. Either one would be a lifer, but which one was it?!? Plus, my lunch break was ending, and Maureen wasn't around to share it with me. It looked like I was going to have to let this one go. Or would I…?

Gray-Cheeked / Bicknell's Thrush

Gray-Cheeked / Bicknell's Thrush

Tuesday, it started raining as soon as I stepped out the door for lunch. I wasn't going to get any birding in that day. And so this afternoon I took my usual route, which ends with the spot where I'd seen the thrush. Assuming it would have flown north by now, I took my sweet time in getting there. Big mistake. Not only was it still around, but it was in the wide open dirt patch where the Chatham Co. Parks department recently mowed down their azaleas. And it was cooperative! People buzzed past every minute, and neither bikes nor dogs fazed it in the least.

Gray-Cheeked / Bicknell's Thrush

After work, Maureen ran home to pick up her camera while I staked out the bird. It was waiting for me from the second I stepped foot in the park. It was still out in the open, and just as cooperative as it had been earlier. It was another hour before Maureen was able to join me, and the whole time I was super anxious that she was going to miss the show. Indeed, it flew up into a tree and hid in the foliage just a couple of minutes before she arrived, nearly breaking my heart. However, after only a short wait it came back out, to our great relief.

Gray-Cheeked / Bicknell's Thrush

Gray-Cheeked / Bicknell's Thrush

Formerly considered the same species, all of our guides emphasize the challenges in differentiating between them in the field. As amazing as our looks were, we were still at a loss. At least there was no question of it being a Swainson's -- a second thrush joined our mystery bird, and the eye-ring on this one was unmistakable. Almost side-by-side, the difference between the Swainson's and our mystery thrush was evident.

Swainson's Thrush 

Swainson's Thrush

Swainson's Thrush

Swainson's Thrush

While it seemed more responsive to a Bicknell's call, it seems that, looking over Maureen's photos, the field marks are more consistent with a Gray-cheeked, overall. The mottled gray face, olive flanks, and lack of any red on the tail all point to the latter. But the thing I'll remember most about it is the little wiggle dance it performed in between foraging, subtlely swaying from side to side. Thanks to this super cooperative Gray-cheeked Thrush I now had ample reason for doing a celebratory wiggle dance of my own.

UPDATE: We're told that, based on distribution, Bicknell's is actually more likely, as they migrate along the coast. We're also told that Bicknell's and Gray-cheeked most assuredly are indistinguishable in the field, except through vocalization. Although the thrush was seen again all day today, it still has yet to make a peep.

Gray-Cheeked / Bicknell's Thrush foraging

Gray-Cheeked / Bicknell's Thrush

Cedar Waxwing Frenzy!

I have had the pleasure of witnessing flock after flock of Cedar Waxwings feeding on the numerous berry-filled trees that are sprinkled throughout the college campus where I work. It's usually your typical waxwing scene - hearing that distinctive hissy whistling as you see tight-knit but whimsical groups of waxwings fly in and out of trees. I enjoy knowing this little secret that goes on above me as most passers by pay no mind to anything that's going on around them, especially if it's not on the screen of their smart phone in front of them.




But the other day, I witnessed a whole new level of Cedar Waxwing craziness. In the trees in front of me, the leaves that are usually still or casually sway in the breeze started to take on new life.  I stopped dead in my tracks as I stood there in amazement as I watched what seemed like 150-200 waxwings swarming the trees in a frenzy! I had never seen Cedar Waxwing activity like this before. It was almost surreal and quite magical. You can watch this berry bonanza for yourself in this video. Be sure to watch the whole thing to get the full effect. And you have the lovely background sounds of a Pine Warbler and choppers to keep things even more interesting. Enjoy!

Würdemann's ist Wunderbar

Saturday morning, Maureen and I led a field trip at Maureen's old stomping grounds, at Skidaway Island State Park, where she worked as a naturalist throughout much of last summer. With migration in full swing, we were hoping to grow our county lists with some Neotropical visitors. Waking up to an ominous weather forecast, we moderated our expectations a bit, but fortunately, we needn't have. 

 

Before we even got past the nature center and onto the main trails, we had already ticked a flyover Whimbrel and picked up a FOTY Painted Bunting, along with a brilliant male Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the hummingbird feeder.

  

A little farther along we came across a singing male Summer Tanager. Initially, he was hidden in the foliage of a short, dense tree right off the path, but as our group crowded around for better looks he was happy to oblige us. He came out a bit to a more open area, and gradually came closer and closer until he was practically right above us. Talk about a soul-satisfying view!

Walking through a particular marshy area, it's common to hear Clapper Rails all around. The first call we heard, though, sounded to the lot of us like its regal cousin, the King Rail. After some patient waiting, and after enticing it out with some playback, it finally appeared at the edge of the grass. It was definitely drab all over, and lacked the more heavy streaking that you'd expect more of a King Rail. Maureen's camera had died by this point, but I was able to record the call on my phone. So, what's more likely, a Clapper Rail that sounds like a King Rail, or a King Rail that looks like a Clapper Rail?

 

These were all good birds for the day, and we were already pretty happy with ourselves, but we were about to come upon a real show-stopper. The Skidaway Narrows, a waterway that runs alongside Skidaway Island, is a good place to pick up shorebirds, loons, and waders. We arrived at low tide, and along the exposed mud of the riverbank was a Great Blue Heron. The heron immediately struck us as being like no other GBHE we've seen, what with it's extremely pale/whitish head and neck, including a long white crest plume instead of the typical dark blue crest and plume. and brownish-gray neck. Our impression: Würdemann's Heron, the rare form of Great Blue that's intermediate to Great Blue and "Great White" Heron. These are rare enough in south Florida (we'd never seen one while living there), so seeing one in coastal Georgia was quite a surprise. 

I hadn't thought it would be worth bringing the scope along (big mistake!), so I left everyone waiting while I ran nearly a mile to the car and back, desperately hoping against all hope that the heron would stay put for the duration. By the time I returned, out of breath, but with scope in tow, it had moved to a less open area, after getting spooked by a series of passing speedboats. Nevertheless, it was good enough for some quickly digiscoped photos before it disappeared behind a muddy bank. It would briefly reappear a half-hour later, allowing some friends of ours to hightail their way to the park in time to see it, before it flew off for good. 

  

It may not have been a new species for anyone, but it was certainly very exciting to see an exceptionally uncommon variation of an otherwise common bird. It's also notable for producing the following effect: Next time to see me, wherever it is, expect to see me carrying a spotting scope.

When Two Birders Get Engaged

So what happens when two Hipster Birders get engaged? Well, something magical happens. Ok, it's not that dramatic, but it is a very special thing. As you may already know, Nick and I didn't start out as birders early in life. We actually became birders together after we had been dating for about 4 years. We discovered our love of the outdoors and exploring as much as possible. And most significant of all, we fell in love with being together and sharing our experiences and adventures.

So when we got engaged back in October last year, as we mentioned in a previous post, I knew that our engagement photos had to involve birding somehow. We didn't want to just pose by a fountain or just stare into each others eyes (which I guess we did a little bit), but we really wanted to capture our outdoorsy spirit and birdiness. So what better way to do that than to photograph us in action in a place we love?!?!

                 



We picked out the very talented Jade + Matthew to photograph our engagement shoot, and they were immediately excited to take pictures of us funky, young birders. We decided that the best setting would be one of our favorite and very picturesque birding spots - Skidaway Island State Park. The scenery is lush and green and there are spots where the curtains of spanish moss above you are just truly majestic.

When we woke up in the early morning of our engagement shoot mid-December, my mouth fell to the floor and I almost had a panic attack when I saw one of the densest fogs I had ever seen. I just couldn't believe that as far as I could see over the marsh behind our apartment, it was just a blanket of gray. "What do we do?!?!" I called out to Nick. We were just hoping that the fog would lift some by the time we got to the park. Well, it didn't really, but it turned out to be a truly awesome photo prop that was completely unplanned for and worked out beautifully.

This one we call our "catalog shot." I hope Nikon, Kenn Kaufman, and David A. Sibley sponsor us for this pic ;-)

If we were really out birding, the fog would be cause for us to just call it a day and go home, most likely. But for photos, the fog created an erie sense of woodsy mystery. And the backdrop of those gorgeous oaks, pines, and palmettos just brought it all together. So, I know that we're revealing a little bit of intimacy here, but I think these gorgeous photos were just too fun not to share. So please enjoy!

All photo credit goes to © Jade + Matthew Take Pictures