Varied Thrush | Birding for Life

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NC Rare Bird Alert

Posted in North Carolina Birding, tagged Ash-throated Flycatcher, Common Eider, Evening Grosbeak, MacGillivray's Warbler, North Carolina, Outer Banks Varied Thrush, Rough-legged Hawk, Varied Thrush, Vermilion Flycatcher, White-winged Dove on December 17, 2020| 3 Comments »

North Carolina is best known in the birding world for its mid-Atlantic pelagic species. The past couple of weeks, though, NC has been in the national spotlight for a different reason – an astounding number of rare birds. The most notable of these are NC’s fifth Varied Thrush, fourth MacGillivray’s Warbler, and seventh Vermilion Flycatcher. Not quite as rare, but still notable, are a Bullock’s Oriole, two Black-chinned Hummingbirds, two Rough-legged Hawks, and reports of Evening Grosbeaks all over the state. Evening Grosbeaks haven’t been seen in such numbers in North Carolina for nearly 40 years. That’s not all, but I can’t keep up, so I’ll just share my personal experiences with a few of these fascinating visitors.

On December 5, I made a day trip to Cary to see the gorgeous Varied Thrush. Well over a hundred birders have now seen this beautiful bird and no one tells its story better than Maria de Bruyn. See her lovely story, Serendipity in a stressful year, to learn more about the species, this particular individual, and his generous and welcoming hosts.

Varied Thrush in Cary, NC. The normal range of this species is the Pacific Northwest.

I’ve had only one overnight trip since February and I’ve been itching for a little get-away. I decided that I’d go to North Carolina’s Outer Banks for a few days and do some county birding on the way out and back. I had to work around appointments and was able to start my little trip on December 9. Amazingly, the MacGillivray’s Warbler that was found on December 3 at the Duck Park Boardwalk was still there. Also, the day before I left, a Vermilion Flycatcher showed up in Martin County, conveniently located between my home and the Outer Banks. My county birding plans were quickly scrapped to allow more time to chase these rare birds.

Information about whether birders were welcome at the farm where the Vermilion Flycatcher had appeared was not yet available when I left on Wednesday morning, so I drove straight to the coast. I had just enough time to stop at Alligator River NWR to look for the Rough-legged Hawk that had been there for several weeks. Despite an hour and a half of searching, I was unable to find the hawk and went on to my hotel in Nags Head.

Ash-throated Flycatcher at the Duck Park Boardwalk. Another western species that is rare in NC, but occasionally appears here in winter.

On Thursday morning, I met my friend Kerry Eckhardt at the Duck boardwalk. There were reports of the MacGillivray’s Warbler being seen at all times of the day, so we didn’t rush and got there after 9:00 AM. The park was very birdy, but we couldn’t find the warbler. However, we did quickly find the Ash-throated Flycatcher which had not been seen since December 4. I was thrilled to see this pretty bird because I needed it for my North Carolina list. It was especially satisfying that we found it on our own. After four and a half hours, we gave up looking for the warbler and went to Bodie Island lighthouse to see if we would have better luck with a White-winged Dove, another rare bird for NC, which had been seen recently.

I wasn’t fast enough to get a photo of the Bodie Island White-winged Dove. I photographed this bird in Texas where they are much more common.

Just as we were about to give up on the dove, a couple of other birders found us and said, “We’ve been looking for you. We have the dove.” And, then they showed us the White-Winged Dove on the side of the entrance road. This helpfulness was typical for the entire trip. I may be biased, but I think that birders are the nicest people in the world.

I was determined to see the MacGillivray’s Warbler, so while Kerry went to Pea Island to enjoy the spectacle of Tundra Swans and ducks on Friday, I went back to Duck. I wasn’t able to get there at 7:00 AM as Jeff Blalock had told me that I must do, but I did get there before 8:00 AM this time. I joined a nice group of birders and it wasn’t long before someone found our target bird. He doesn’t make it easy to get a good look, but I got lucky and even got a photo. Did the nearly six hours of searching make finally seeing the warbler sweeter? Birding can be an emotional roller-coaster with despair quickly followed by unbridled joy. Can you have the latter without the former? I don’t know, but I guess not.

MacGillivray’s Warbler, yet another western species. Only the 4th NC record.

After seeing the MacGillivray’s Warbler, I joined Kerry for a little birding at Pea Island and then we went to Alligator River to look for the Rough-legged Hawk. Another hour and a half of searching produced no sighting of the hawk, although we did enjoy the Northern Harriers cruising low over the fields and a few other raptors.

On Saturday morning, Kerry headed home and I returned to Alligator River for the third time to look for the hawk. In nearly four hours of searching, I still could not find the bird. My check engine light came on and my car shuddered like it was on its last breath every time I started the engine. Sadly, I decided that I couldn’t put off getting the car checked out any longer and I left. On my way out, I ran into Dwayne Martin and a friend and we chatted a bit. Five minutes later, I was several miles down State Road 64 when Dwayne called me. “We’ve got the hawk.” I did a u-turn in the middle of 64 and raced back. They still had the Rough-legged Hawk in their scope. I got it in my scope and had distant, but diagnostic, views of the bird and even saw it hover a few times, a characteristic behavior of Rough-legged Hawks. This bird had required even more effort than the MacGillivray’s Warbler – seven hours on this trip plus several hours a couple of weeks ago with my friend Derek looking for the other Rough-legged Hawk at Pond Mountain. Again, I was elated.

My only photo of a Rough-legged Hawk, one seen in Colorado. The Alligator River bird was much too far for a photo. Note that the feathers on the leg go all the way to the foot, which gives this bird its name.

I went to Advance Auto Parts and got the codes read and cleared on my car. Fortunately, the shaking stopped and the check engine light has not come back on. After dealing with that, I had just a bit of daylight left, so I stopped at Jennette’s Pier and didn’t see much but did enjoy the two young male Common Eiders.

A young male Common Eider at Jennette’s Pier, Nags Head

And just like that my three full days at the Outer Banks were gone. On Sunday, I left for home, but had one more bird to see on the way – the Vermilion Flycatcher. Many birders had seen this beautiful bird while I was at the coast and the owner of the farm had been very welcoming to birders. The flycatcher moved up the hill to the farm next door and these folks, too, seemed pleased to host this gorgeous bird and welcomed birders.

The friendly folks who put up this sign also had a guestbook for birders to sign.

I pulled up behind the other cars and was greeted with “He’s right there.” And indeed the Vermilion Flycatcher was perched on a post in the horse pasture. Even though I saw the bird right away, I stayed nearly two hours because it was a beautiful day and it was fun to watch the flycatcher and visit with the other birders. I could not have asked for a more pleasant end to my trip.

The Vermilion Flycatcher was right at home with the horses.

Vermilion Flycatcher in Martin County, NC’s 7th record of this species.

Now I’m home waiting for Evening Grosbeaks to show up. It would be thrilling to see these beauties in my yard.

An Evening Grosbeak that I photographed in Colorado last year

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Alaska 2015: Hello America!

Posted in Travel for Birding, tagged Alaska, American Dipper, Arctic White butterfly, Bald Eagle, Birding, Birds, Bonaparte's Gull, Kenai, Kenai Peninsula, Northwestern Crow, Seward, Trumpeter Swan, Varied Thrush on November 7, 2015| 3 Comments »

Diane and I headed to Kenai after a couple of wonderful days in Homer. This area is the heart of salmon fishing country. At a couple of river crossings, the fishermen were standing shoulder to shoulder in the river in their hip waders. We took a short detour through Anchor Point SRA on our way to Kenai and we found these gulls on the river beside Slidehole Campground. In Alaska, Glaucous-winged x Herring Gull hybrids are common and I suspect that at least one of these birds is a hybrid. Regardless of their identity, the birds were beautiful on their nest on the rock in the middle of the river.

Nesting gulls at Anchor Point SRA

We found this Northwestern Crow when we stopped for gas. It looks just like an American Crow, but it’s a different species, so it adds to a birder’s life list.

Northwestern Crow

We also had time that afternoon for a stop at Kenai NWR and a walk on the trail behind the headquarters in Soldotna. This part of the state was quite different from Homer and we found the wooded trail just beautiful. There was much lush mossy vegetation like that in the photo below.

Along the Kenai NWR headquarters trail

Early the next morning, July 1, we met our guide for the day, Ken Tarbox. Ken and his wife Connie are largely responsible for the Kenai Peninsula Wildlife Viewing Trail Guide. Ken is also one of the friendliest and most generous people we have met. He told us that he likes to go out with visiting birders whenever his schedule allows. Ken took us to all the birding hot spots around Kenai and Soldotna – the river flats, viewing platforms, the landfill, and even his yard and a friend’s yard. We felt like we’d made a new friend and hope to go birding with Ken again.

Bonaparte’s Gulls were one of my favorites that day. We watched this adult swimming and foraging by plunging into a little stream. Here it is with the little fish that it caught.

Bonaparte’s Gull

And, I saw my first juvenile Bonaparte’s Gull.

Juvenile Bonaparte’s Gull

One of our target birds for this part of the state was Spruce Grouse. On our way to Seward the next morning, Diane and I drove Skilak Lake Road and enjoyed Pine Grosbeaks on the side of the road and Common Loons and Common Goldeneyes on the lakes, but we failed to find a grouse. We decided that this was another good reason to go birding again in Alaska.

Ken had given us several tips on where to find American Dipper. We did not find any at Tern Lake, but we found this cooperative bird at the next location we tried, Ptarmigan Creek Campground.

American Dipper

Diane had found the adorable and comfy Abode Well Cabins for our stay in Seward. In addition to being clean and cute, birds were literally right outside our door.

Our Abode Well cabin near Seward

Just a couple of blocks away was a yard with juvenile Varied Thrushes. They were fairly easy to see with our binoculars, but they hid in the grass just well enough to make getting a photo a challenge.

Juvenile Varied Thrush

There were also beautiful butterflies and wildflowers near our cabin. This is an Arctic White butterfly on fireweed.

Arctic White butterfly on fireweed

On July 3, after a little birding near our cabin neighborhood, we ventured into town. Seward’s population of 2,500 swells to about 30,000 for the Independence Day festivities. Main Street is completely blocked off to traffic and the streets fill with people. Most come to run in or watch the Mt. Marathon Race, which has quite an interesting history. According to legend, it began with two old guys arguing about whether it was possible to run up and down the rather steep Mount Marathon in less than an hour. The first official race was in 1915 and it has since become an important part of the July 4th celebration in Seward.

Seward Harbor

We drove Lowell Point Road, which runs along the edge of the harbor, where we enjoyed dozens of gulls, a couple of Harlequin Ducks, and Pigeon Guillemots. We drove the road a couple of times, hoping to get close enough to the Marbled Murrelet to get a photo. We had stopped at the end of the road closest to town and were watching the gulls. And, then things started happening so fast that I’m not entirely certain exactly what happened, but here’s how I think it went.

Bald Eagle

A group of about eight young people were standing about 20 feet from where we were, also watching the birds. Suddenly there were two Bald Eagles right in front of us. One of the eagles caught a fish, the other tried to steal it, and the fish was dropped. One eagle flew away. One of the young men picked up the fish and threw it for the eagle. The eagle swooped in to within 10-20 feet from all of us, but missed the fish. This happened several times, the young man throwing the fish and the eagle attempting to catch it. Excitement and enthusiastic shouts filled the air. With one throw, the eagle came in especially close and the young man shouted “Hello America!” And, we couldn’t imagine a more American place in the country than Seward, Alaska, on that gorgeous sunny Independence Day eve.

Shelley and Diane enjoying a seafood dinner

After a delicious dinner with a view of Seward Harbor at Ray’s Waterfront Restaurant, we ended the day with a drive on Nash Road to see the family of Trumpeter Swans that are regulars there.

Trumpter Swan family

The next morning it was time to head to the Anchorage Airport again, this time to fly home. I will forever be grateful for 28 summer days in Alaska, truly the “trip of a lifetime.” And, I’m especially grateful for the last week with Diane on the Kenai Peninsula.