Dawg Daze

It's that time of year. 

I'm outside and at first light the only bird I hear is some neighbor's chicken. It's the time of year where all the birds pause,  molt and fatten up for migration. 

I guess that's what's happening. 

-oooo-

A Red-shouldered Hawk just called. 

And there's a cardinal!

Finally,  signs of bird life. 

The other morning,  a mixed flock of small birds delighted me,  so migration is coming. 

I need to go find a Louisiana waterthrush. 

Some birds are still breeding. I found nests for the local "Poule d'eau", Common gallinule, and Purple gallinule.

there's two eggs on this little gallinule nest. 

Two eggs in this Mourning dove nest,  the 4th brood in this parking garage this season that i know about. The Carolina wrens are showing off another brood of recently fledged young. 

Fall is almost here,  so I remember the world changes. 

Lifer Pie

Willet!

this is a Willet, and while, yeah, it's a cool pic, it's not a life bird, I've seen many.

 I'm a little excited right now because I got to enjoy a slice of Lifer Pie! 

    Lifer Pie is a tradition among some birders. Once you see a new species of bird for your life list, you get to eat a piece of pie! I saw two new species today, and a third new species for eBird. One, Bonaparte's gull, is a bird that has eluded me for a long time. I've been places to see it, and it didn't show. I've chased it in my current county of residence (Polk , FL) at least 10 times, and haven't seen it. Today was my lucky day! My first look was a diagnostic one, where you know what you're seeing, but it's short. While it whets your appetite, it doesn't assuage the hunger! I kept my eyes peeled, and soon spotted a group of Bonaparte's out over the water. Mesmerized by the beautiful dancing they did over the water, I completely forgot to record it using my scope and phone. Fortunately, they were kind of hanging around, so I was able to get some video of a couple, and took a screenshot.

Bonaparte's gull scampering across the water.

I couldn't believe my good fortune, it took entirely too long to see this bird!

Somewhere between groups of mobbing Laughing gulls, and the Bonaparte's, a couple of Herring gulls flew by. One was still a brown juvie, the other a winter adult with some streaking around it's head, but a red spot on its bill. I didn't manage to get any pictures of them.

The something MEGA happened. Over the waves, something very light appeared, an aberrant gull. Nothing should be that light! Probably a leucistic Herring... wait. There's other gulls than that. watch it, no record it! I quickly attached my camera phone to my binocular lens. Earlier in the day, I discovered that i could attach my phone to my binocular with my digi-scoping adapter and still use the other side of the binoculars as a sort of aiming spotting scope. I had just used my camera to take a wide angle shot of my family, and couldn't tell if the shot was 100% in frame. I decided to trust the previous setting, and hit record. In all, I got around a 30 second video that was not the best recording, but did show all the markers I needed to confirm my suspicions, this was a Glaucous gull! Not a bad bird for a family trip to the beach.

Poor screenshot picture of a Glaucous gull.

I shot some more pictures of various birds around the area, practicing this new way of "digi-scoping". I think I'll use this method more, especially when hauling around a scope doesn't make sense.

Finally, there is the matter of Lifer Pie!

Lifer pie can be any Pie. In my rules, it's best when you can share with friends, but you can have it yourself. It should also be local made, unless the need for alternative eating strategies outweighs that. Then, you may sub out a hand-held pie, or McD's apple pie!

This time, we went as a family to get Keegan's for a late post lunch. They have excellent specials and great desserts, including the best key lime pie. Just feast your eyes on the pie below!

Best kind of day for lifer pie ever!

Come and Get it!

Memento Mouri

I have to warn you, I get mildly philosophic in this post. There is biking, there is birding, but there is also  call to action, to be aware of what's going on in the world around you.

Part of my Worldview states: "Everything is connected". Every moment I experience can teach me something that can profoundly impact me later.
One such moment came recently in my preparation for a trip out west to see Yellowstone. Driving the car to the service station, I saw a bird dart in front of me. In the time it took to think "Oh NO!", the bird bounced up from my grill, over my grill, across the roof, and onto the road behind me.

Dead.

I killed  bird with my car. I saw enough black and white and red to know that it was a red-bellied woodpecker. I've watched this species in all aspects of its lifecycle. I've seen them excavate cavities for nesting, feed their young in their homes, bring them to feeders, exist around the neighborhood, and now, I've seen one die. I continued to the auto service place, and dropped my vehicle off to be serviced. Because servicing would take a while, I brought my bicycle to ride home. I rode by the place where I hit the bird, and took this picture.

Memento Mouri

It had already been hit at least once since I killed it. Later that day it had been obliterated to the point where there was nothing left but a stray feather hanging onto the gutter. Waiting for a strong wind.

Memento Mouri.

I regret playing a part in the bird's final moments. I do not seek to take life unintentionally. We live in a world where such accidental destruction takes place and is quickly swept up and forgotten, tossed aside in the name of Progress, Convenience, or Survival. Yet, because I was there, I can remember, I am as much flesh as this bird is flesh, as are we all.

It's a Major Award!

I won, I won, I won!
It's not Italian.
It's Japanese!
It's binoculars!
AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I won!
Bird Watcher's Digest is a great magazine that I've subscribed to for a very long time. It started when a lady from church gave me three years worth of issues, I think they were for 1985, 1986, 1987. Somewhere in that mid 80s range. I read and re-read each issue six times at least. Finally, I got a subscription as a gift, and have usually maintained it. One thing that the magazine does every couple of months is have a give-a-way, usually from a company that sponsors the magazine in some way.
Opticron is one such company. They make a variety of binoculars from beginner to advanced. The give-a-way they most recently had was for a pair of Savanna-R 8x33 binoculars.

Let's see what's in the Box!

Nice! Real Binoculars.

Highly portable, perfectly sized.

I've been using them since March 20th. Here's my quick take on them:
Pros:

• Weight to quality is amazing. Pretty light!
• These retail from around 140 - 160. Great price for the quality.
• Incredibly sharp image for binoculars this price. These produce the clearest image of any binocular I've ever owned.

Cons:

• 8 x 33. I'm a big fan of bins where the Objective lens is 5xs the magnification. Granted, lens coating have come a long way since I first started buying binoculars on my own, and these have the brightest, truest color image of any binocular I've owned, I can't help but wonder, how much better would an 8 x 40 be?
• No locking eyecup position. I'm constantly having to make sure they are adjusted correctly.
• Diopter adjustment is weird. Every pair of Binoculars has had an easily adjustable diopter on the right lens. I've always been near the limit on the + side. with these, I'm not, I'm close to the middle, but on the negative side. I'm sure that's just how the diopter is calibrated, but I've also noticed that the adjustment is really stiff. That's good in some ways because it means it will hold true, bad because it's hard to dial in. I won't be loaning these out for sure.

These things are a perfect example of why it's important to try before you buy. I've only ever seen this brand and model online, and nothing said really suggested that these things are must haves. It  took a chance drawing to put them in my hand. I'm so thankful to have them! They've become my first choice for binoculars to carry when I go birding, and until I get a pair of 10x50s, they will remain so.

Here's the takaway:

1. Bird Watcher's Digest is a great magazine, if you are a birder in North America, and you don't subscribe to it, you really should. They give great reviews, interesting species profiles, and all the latest environmental and birding culturally relevant news. In addition to that, their give-a-ways are legit, I know because I won!

2. My days of being a porro-prism guy are over. Technology has advanced, and these roof prisms are just too comfortable to hold and use. I love my Bushnell Waterproof 8x40s, but they are old in every since of the word. Old design, old prisms, old coating tech, and just plain old. 

3. The Opticron Savanna-R 8x33 binocular may be the perfect intro-to-birding binocular that a young birder could get. It's perfectly sized for smaller hands. It's not crazy expensive, I've seen some specials as low as $120. 

I hope you give Opticron a chance. The Lebron James of Birding Optics Ben Lizdas recommends having a compact binocular for quick trips. These are better than adequate for that task. There's also several models to choose from at Redstart Birding.

Q1 in Review, Spring is Here, The Rest of the Year at a Glance

****NOTE:
all four letter codes should conform to the latest ABA list located here:
http://listing.aba.org/aba-checklist/
****

January!
The Year List resets, everything you see is new on a macro enough level to notice.
I started this year thinking about the first time I saw many of the birds I saw last year. In 2018 I ramped up my birding activity, getting eBird lists submitted every month, closing out some gray bars on some of favorite local places. I even did a sort of Big Day on my birthday!
I've already told a little bit about my adventures on New Year's day. I did have other sightings though, including some really good birds around Lake Morton.

A nemesis bird from last year was Green-winged Teal, One had been spotted on Lake Morton late in December, and a birding buddy said he thinks it's the same female that's been there over the last three years. On New Year's eve I went and tried to find it. No Joy. I did find other birds, but the GWTE was not one of them.
That changed New Year's Day! I found her hanging out on the southwestern side of the lake, looking all tiny in a group of domesticated "muddled ducks". Further around the lake, I found a couple of Blue-winged Teal, which was nice too. Those were the highlight birds of the day, but Q1 has given me many species at Lake Morton. American White Pelicans and Double-crested cormorants abundantly filled the lake in crazy numbers throughout the winter, especially for the DCCO. Immature AWPE persists so far this year. While fewer in number (usually between 3 and 9), they are on the west/northwest side of the lake, along the wall bordering the lake. Sometimes I see them on the east edge too. Some water birds have been conspicuously absent from the lake this winter, notably Northern Shoveler, and the BWTE have been sparse. Also, no Gadwalls near me. I've made up for it in Passerines though, adding Blue-headed vireo to the Lake Morton list, as well as spotting several in other places around town. One songbird I've noticed an uptick in observances (especially on my part) has been House finch. I've noticed a flock of 6+ birds running around downtown, and it seems to have broken up into pairs. I hear males singing almost daily, and several have been hanging around females, gathering bits of spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) for what seems to me to be nesting purposes.
Another goal I've had, especially since receiving a spotting scope from my parents for my birthday, is to find something besides a Laughing or Ring-billed gull on Lake Morton. Other reported gulls include Herring and Bonaparte's. So far, no dice. I've seen HERG at Lake Hollingsworth, but I've never seen a BOGU, not even at the beach.The search continues.
Migration is heating up locally. A Summer tanager, and pair of male Indigo buntings appeared on a recent morning foray to Holloway Park. Reports from Ft De Soto are amazing too. Check out the picture of the Chestnut-sided warbler Polk county Local Roberta Blair took on 4/16: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55061821 
Another one of Polk Counties finest birders (and nature photographer) Ed Rizer also had some great pictures, but you have to go to facebook and find them.
I hope to hit the local patches again this weekend, we shall see.
I leave you with the following two photographs, both are of the same nest of Brown thrashers in my yard. I feel honored that this family is being raised here. There was a bit of a scare Tuesday with a Cooper's hawk, and there's the constant threat of neighborhood cats, but I hope these birds make it! Just look at how fast they grow!

April 15th

April 13th