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Posts Tagged ‘Red Squirrel’

Heading North: Day 5 – “And they will eat right out of your hand”

Posted in Travel for Birding, tagged Adirondacks, Bloomingdale Bog, Bottle Gentian, Canada Jay, Canadian Bunchberry, Indian Pipe, Paul Smith's College Visitor Interpretation Center, Red Squirrel on August 17, 2019| 1 Comment »

Black-backed Woodpecker is one of the most highly desired birds in the Adirondacks. These woodpeckers are boreal specialists with most of their range in Canada. They feed mainly on the larvae of wood-boring beetles which they can actually hear in the depths of the tree. Their long bills allow them to reach deep under the bark to reach their prey. Bloomingdale Bog has many reports of the woodpecker and it is also a good place to see other boreal species like Boreal Chickadee and Canada Jay.

A Canada Jay surveys the area.

Derek and I spent all morning in this area on Wednesday. It is nice easy birding with dirt roads and well-maintained wide trails. We were not successful with our search for Black-backed Woodpecker, but we thoroughly enjoyed birding this area. We saw Canada Jays and other northern breeding birds – Sharp-shinned Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Hermit Thrush, and Black-capped Chickadees.

Canadian Bunchberry, a member of the dogwood family, was abundant along the roadsides in the bog.

We also saw pretty Bottle Gentian along the roadsides.

Canada Jays may be one of my favorite birds; they certainly rank high on the list of birds that are fun. These jays are naturally inquisitive, but 20 years of hand feeding at Bloomingdale Bog has resulted in especially tame birds. At this location, Canada Jays will eat out of your hand. Here is Derek with an offering of raisins, a favorite food of the jays.

Offering accepted

After we finished playing with the Canada Jays, we headed north on the trail towards a small wetland. We ran into our first warbler wave of the day, which was a mixed flock of birds ranging from Black-capped Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches to a Nashville Warbler, Blue-headed Vireos, and Magnolia Warblers.

We then had a quick lunch and checked out nearby Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC). The hiking trails were gorgeous.

Along the Boreal Trail at Paul Smith’s Visitor Interpretive Center

An interesting woodland wildflower we saw there was Indian Pipe, also called Ghost Pipe or Ghost Plant, which grows in mature moist shaded forests throughout most of North America. This plant is unusual in that it is entirely white and able to survive without the green pigment chlorophyll. Instead of generating energy from sunlight, it is parasitic. Its hosts are certain fungi that are mycorrhizal with tree roots.

Indian Pipe

The Boreal Trail at Paul Smith’s VIC leads to a lovely bog where we saw Pitcher Plants.

Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia purpurea, at the VIC

The friendly folks at the VIC identified several wildflowers that Derek photographed. We enjoyed chatting with them before and after our walks about the local birds, plants, and the Adirondacks and found them very helpful.

Derek and I really liked this area of the Adirondacks and we were happy that we would have two and a half more days here.

Red squirrel at Paul Smith’s Visitor Interpretive Center

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Prairie Road Trip: Days 9-11 – Cypress Hills Provincial Park

Posted in Travel, Travel for Birding, tagged American Avocet, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Canada, Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Golden Eagle, McCown's Longspur, Mountain Bluebird, Red Squirrel, Richardson's ground squirrel, Saskatchewan, Shooting Star, Upland Sandpiper on May 27, 2018| 1 Comment »

Well, friends, I knew it would happen some time. I just accidentally hit an unknown shortcut key and published a post with only one sentence. I apologize for any confusion. So, back to my story… I left The Crossing at Grasslands in Val Marie late in the morning on Thursday, May 24. It could have been a short 2-1/2 hour drive to Cypress Hills, but I detoured to Eastend to look for Prairie Falcon, which would be a sure thing at Jones Peak (yeah, right). It was another of those long dirt and gravel roads, but it did lead up and up to a spectacular view of the valley below. I believe that Prairie Falcons do breed there, but I should have known by the zero photos in eBird for that location that not many people get a really good look. It was so windy that I could barely keep myself upright. I did not set up the scope because I knew it would blow over. So, I did not add Prairie Falcon to my life list, but I did see some pretty Tree Swallows and Mountain Bluebirds.

Mountain Bluebird

I arrived at The Resort at Cypress Hills that afternoon and walked around the lake before settling in for the night. The park is beautiful and the trees are a lovely change from the prairie. However, I headed out to the prairie again the next morning. On Friday, I drove over 1-1/2 hours towards Wild Horse, Alberta, to look for McCown’s Longspur again. I loved the first 11 miles of the gravel road and did not encounter another vehicle. Nor did I encounter any McCown’s Longspurs. I did, however, see a few American Avocets in breeding plumage, the color of dreamsicles, a friend used to say.

American Avocet

The next 10 miles were pretty good, too, and I met another birder coming from the opposite direction. He greeted me with “What do you need?” I replied, “McCown’s Longspur.” “I just pushed three of them your way. Just wait here five minutes and they will be here.” Well, we talked 10 or 15 minutes and another truck came by. Birds don’t always keep hopping straight down the road, either, so I missed them. I continued on down the road and was at the border station before I realized that my target road had ended. It was good fortune, though, because they have rest rooms at the border station (travel tip). Plus, I found the most cooperative Upland Sandpiper just before the end of the road. I think this bird would have let me look at him all day.

Upland Sandpiper

I could have made a loop back to Cypress Hills, but I liked the first 11 miles of the road I was on so much that I decided to return the same way. I don’t know what changed, other than my luck, but I found EIGHT adult male McCown’s Longspurs on the way back! My mediocre photos make me happy, proof that I finally found these little beauties.

McCown’s Longspur

Yesterday’s mammal of the day is Richardson’s ground squirrel.

Richardson’s ground squirrel

Today’s highlight happened when I went out to get in my car. Yesterday, I had discovered a woodpecker nest on the edge of the parking lot and got a photo of a nestling poking his head out of the hole. I suspected it was a Three-toed Woodpecker, but I wasn’t sure.

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Today, I saw Papa Three-toe leave the nest and fly to a close tree, where he preened for five minutes. It was such a privilege to watch these birds, a species that I have not seen often.

American Three-toed Woodpecker (adult male)

I drove to the West Block of the park, over the roughest gravel roads yet. I did not see a lot of birds there, but did enjoy the scenery and had a nice walk. I finally saw the first significant prairie flowers of the trip.

Update: One of the two Shooting Stars native to Saskatchewan, genus Dodecatheon, but I did not measure the leaves or petals, so cannot determine which species.

On the way back, I stopped on the side of the road to watch a Golden Eagle. Another raptor was attacking it, so I started taking photos. When I looked at them, I realized that the eagle had stolen the Swainson’s Hawk’s lunch. There is nothing like a little raptor drama to liven up the day.

Golden Eagle and Swainson’s Hawk

Today’s mammal was this red squirrel who did not want me to take his picture. He didn’t even want me in his woods.

Red Squirrel

Tomorrow, I’m on the road again, heading to Waterton Lake National Park.

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Panama 2017 – If It Were Possible to Pick a Favorite (Part 3 of 4)

Posted in Birding, Travel, Travel for Birding, tagged Black-faced Antthrush, Blue Morpho, Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth, Canopy Lodge, Common Morpho, Dusky-faced Tanager, Flame-rumped Tanager, Panama, Red Squirrel, Silver-throated Tanager, Social Flycatcher, Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Spectacled Owl, White-bellied Antbird, Yellow-green Vireo on August 17, 2017| 2 Comments »

Danilo Jr. greeted us warmly when we arrived at Canopy Lodge just in time for lunch on April 25. He had been one of our favorite guides at the Tower and we were happy to see him again. After lunch, we had a little time for birding on our own and exploring the grounds of the lodge. A beautiful creek provided the perfect place for for Mrs. Flame-rumped Tanager to have a nice bath.

Female Flame-rumped Tanager

I also had just enough time to find a life bird for myself before Danilo took us out on our first birding trip from the lodge. I really liked the Dusky-faced Tanagers, who looked quite different from the other tanagers to me. A few weeks after I got home, I learned that the latest taxonomic changes moved this bird to a new family, confirming that it really is different from the other tanagers like the Flame-rumped Tanager above.

Dusky-faced Tanager

While I was photographing the tanagers, Diane relaxed on our room’s lovely balcony and found herself a life bird, too, a Bay-headed Tanager in the tree tops, which was particularly exciting because it’s a species that does not come to feeders. I would eventually see one a few days later.

Our first guided trip was a walk from Canopy Lodge to Canopy Adventure, where more adventurous (and younger) folks can climb to the top of the ridge and then soar through the treetops on a zip-line. We took a different path, easier, but still steep and slippery, to look for Mottled Owls, which we did not find. When I teased Danilo that I wanted something for our efforts, he found a nice Orange-billed Sparrow. We also enjoyed seeing the gorgeous stream and waterfall. And, we got two wonderful life birds on the walk there, Lance-tailed Manakin and the very shy Bay Wren. Sorry, I wasn’t able to get photos of either.

Diane in front of the beautiful waterfall at Canopy Adventure.

Danilo also introduced us to the compost pile, a big heap of rotting fruit just a short distance along a little path by the creek at the lodge. We had seen our first Black-faced Antthrush on Pipeline Road just the day before, but here we really got to know the bird. He was shy like so many of the birds in the rainforest, but not so skulky that we could not see him at all. With just a little patience, nearly every trip to the compost pile was rewarded with views of this adorable little bird strutting through the open area by the rotting fruit, holding his tail erect and singing his “happy” song. I thought that he would be a great character for an animated movie. Of all the birds that we saw in Panama, this was the one who stole our hearts.

Black-faced Antthrush. A poor photo, but you can’t hide that “personality.”

We had a larger group the next morning with Danilo Sr. guiding us for our first full day of birding at the lodge. We were only a couple of hours from Canopy Tower, but the habitat was sufficiently different that we saw many new species. I got 13 life birds that day, my favorite being this gorgeous male Silver-throated Tanager.

Silver-throated Tanager

The following morning was much like the previous with our group of 7 and several more life birds. One that cooperated for a photo was this White-bellied Antbird.

White-bellied Antbird

We also had nice looks at a Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth.

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth

That afternoon we had a special treat. Diane and I needed to see the Spectacled Owls that were nesting nearby. The others had already seen them, so Tino, a bird and butterfly guide and the manager of Canopy Lodge, took Diane and me on a private tour. We had incredible looks at both an adult Spectacled Owl and a recently fledged juvenile.

Spectacled Owl (adult)

Spectacled Owl was on my most-wanted list and I was thrilled to see these birds.

Spectacled Owl (juvenile)

Other wonderful sightings that afternoon included a Tody Motmot and a Yellow-green Vireo on her nest.

Yellow-green Vireo on her nest

The following day, Diane and I explored the lodge grounds by ourselves. We had scheduled a couple of extra days so that we could relax and do whatever we wanted part of the time. I attempted to photograph a blue morpho butterfly, which turned out to be impossible, even with plenty of time to work on it. I was able to get a fairly clear photo of the butterfly with its wings closed, but as soon as it opened them, the butterfly immediately became a blue blur. “Blue Morpho” refers to a group of butterflies, not a single species. The one I photographed is a Common Morpho, Morpho helenor.

The Social Flycatcher by the natural pond with the treehouse was more cooperative. One of the guides told us that a pair was nesting in that area.

Social Flycatcher

A Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet also posed for a photo.

Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet

And, just as at home, no bird feeder is complete without a squirrel. Red Squirrels did not monopolize the feeders, but we saw them frequently.

Red Squirrel

Canopy Lodge was a great place to explore a little and rejuvenate ourselves. We thoroughly enjoyed the free time and we were looking forward to more guided trips the next day as our Panama adventure continued.

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An Owl A Day

Posted in Travel for Birding, tagged Barred Owl, Birding, Birds, Black-capped Chickadee, Bohemian Waxwing, Boreal Chickadee, Common Redpoll, Erik Bruhnke, Great Gray Owl, Hoary Redpoll, Iceland Gull, Minnesota, Naturally Avian, Northern Hawk Owl, Partnership for International Birding, Pine Grosbeak, Red Squirrel, Sax-Zim Bog, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Snowy Owl on January 31, 2013| 1 Comment »

Great Gray Owl hunting in the Superior National Forest. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

The Great Gray Owl was actively hunting in a bog in the Superior National Forest as we watched it from the side of Minnesota Highway 2 north of Two Harbors. It sat in the tops of trees surveying the ground below in the early morning light. Every couple of minutes the owl flew to a different tree, always alert, but not seeming to care that we were watching. The fifteen minutes that we stood there in the serene beauty of the north woods was a wonderful start to the five-day trip. This owl was not in a known location, but Erik had found it simply by knowing the habitat and carefully watching. The Great Gray Owl is the tallest North American owl with a height of 24 to 33 inches. It has the largest wingspan of five feet, but it is just a big ball of fluff. It preys mostly on rodents with its small feet and talons. Both Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much and have larger feet and talons allowing them to capture lager prey.

Our group of birders – Gary Ludi, Shelley Rutkin, Myrna Harris

Myrna Harris and I had flown to Minnesota the day before where we met our guide, Erik Bruhnke, and Gary Ludi from Atlanta, for the Partnership for International Birding trip. On the first day, we birded a little in Minneapolis and then headed north where we saw the first owls of the trip, two Snowies at the Superior airport in Wisconsin. We learned that it was definitely not an irruption year, but that owls were actually rather scarce. Still, we could not stop ourselves from teasing Erik that we expected an owl every day.

After our Great Gray Owl flew deeper into the woods and out of sight, we continued north. There were long stretches without any birds at all, but the ones that we did find were the northern specialties that had motivated us to travel to northern Minnesota in January when sane people were heading south.

Myrna – warming up in Isabella. The temp outside was -9 degrees F.

In Grand Marais, we found a flock of Red Crossbills and Common Redpolls with one Hoary Redpoll and one White-winged Crossbill. Four finch species in one binocular view! An even more exciting find was a flock of about 30 Bohemian Waxwings.

Bohemian Waxwings. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

They were close enough to see well with our naked eyes, but with bins and scopes we could see every feather. These are BIG birds! Bohemian Waxwings are only one inch longer than Cedar Waxwings, but they weigh almost twice as much (56 grams vs. 32 grams). Their breasts and bellies are gray rather than the gorgeous bronze of Cedar Waxwings, but their classic waxwing head and face, intricate markings on the wings, and Rufous undertail coverts make them just as beautiful.

Bohemian Waxwings eating snow. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

Day three of the trip was spent entirely in Sax Zim Bog.

Sax Zim Bog

I recorded only 21 species that day, but three of them were lifers. Our owl for the day was an extremely cooperative Northern Hawk Owl who allowed us excellent looks.

Northern Hawk Owl. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

A common bird in the bog, but exciting for me was Ruffed Grouse – seven of them! This grouse was close to becoming a nemesis bird, but I can now claim it as a lifer. Most of them were adeptly clambering around in the tops of shrubs or trees, foraging on buds. We also had a wonderful view of a Sharp-tailed Grouse.

Sharp-tailed Grouse. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

One of my favorite new birds is Pine Grosbeak – big, lovely, easy to identify, and very cooperative.

Male PineGrosbeak. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

Boreal Chickadee – an adorable Minnesota specialty. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

Next it was time to look for gulls. But first we wanted one more look at a Snowy Owl, so we headed back to the Superior airport early on our fourth day. This time we found a Snowy perched in the top of a tree. This is not common behavior for a Snowy, but it allowed us to get the scope on it for a quality view. Crows harassed the poor bird and we could see the Snowy hiss at them.

Snowy Owl being harassed by American Crows. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

Satisfied, with our Owl encounter of the day, we headed to the Superior landfill and Wisconsin Point to look for gulls. We found only Herring Gulls and fly-over Glaucous Gulls. But back at Canal Park in Duluth, we walked to the water’s edge and discovered a beautiful Iceland Gull right in front of us. This is the kind of gull that makes gull watching fun. Erik also found a Thayer’s Gull, another lifer for Gary, Myrna, and me.

Iceland Gull. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

We celebrated our life gulls with one last visit to Sax Zim Bog where we found Redpolls everywhere, including five Hoaries. We also saw Pine Grosbeaks, two Northern Shrikes, and other bog birds including Bald Eagles, which we saw four of our five days in Minnesota.

Black-capped Chickadee and Hoary Redpoll

A Black-capped Chickadee checks out a Hoary Redpoll. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

Common Redpolls were the most numerous feeder visitor. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

Minnesota’s Red Squirrels were much cuter than our Gray Squirrels at home.

The last day of our trip came all too quickly, but we had seen most of the expected birds. The Boreal Owl just wasn’t meant to be for this trip. Ironically, they started showing up as soon as we returned home. So, our main target for the drive back to Minneapolis was Rough-legged Hawk. We finally found a distant dark morph Rough-legged Hawk at Crex Meadows in Wisconsin. The distance was too great to see detailed field marks, but we could see the characteristic hovering behavior. The Rough-legged Hawk is one of only two large raptors that hover regularly when hunting. The other large raptor that hovers is the Osprey. Although the bird was not close, it was exciting to see the special hunting behavior that makes it unique. On that last day, our owl for the day was this beautiful Barred Owl.

Barred Owl. Photo by Erik Bruhnke.

We boarded our plane for home with happy memories of winter in Minnesota and dreams of returning in the warmth of spring. This trip was January 16-20, 2013. Partnership for International Birding sponsored the trip and Erik Bruhnke of Naturally Avian was our guide. Many thanks for Erik for a wonderful trip and for granting permission to use his beautiful photos in this post.