Exploring Maryland’s Western Shore

We just spent a beautiful weekend exploring Maryland’s western shore. This region includes the counties that are on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. This trip our second time staying in Calvert County. The first time was in 2019 when we explored Flag Ponds Nature Park, Calvert Cliffs State Park, and Battle Creek Cypress Swamp. We returned to two of these locations, however this time it was Birder Boy’s (BB) first trip to the area.

Birding wasn’t our only goal on this trip. BB loves vehicles and he’s been into military vehicles recently. If you’re an aviation fan I highly recommend the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, which was a really cool place to check out. As a birder I like how many of the planes are named after raptors such as the harrier, osprey, and hawkeye. We even saw a Broad-winged Hawk in the flight line area.

After the museum we took a quick hike at Battle Creek Cypress Swamp. Highlights include Yellow-throated Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Northern Parulas, Pine Warblers, and a Louisiana Waterthrush. We also heard many treefrogs and saw Black and Tiger Swallowtails.

Battle Creek Cypress Swamp (Image by Michelle Horowitz)

The next day we spent the morning at Flag Ponds Nature Park searching for fossils. Dave only found one small shark tooth, but BB had a blast digging at the beach. There was a lot of wildlife around: many calling tree frogs, tiger and zebra swallowtails, Ospreys, Yellow-throated Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Swamp Sparrow, a male Belted Kingfisher, and more. Two of the most exciting finds of the day were a calling Prairie Warbler and two Killdeer. The Killdeer were calling ‘kill-deee, kill-deee’ and flying around the beach. Many times I see these cute conspicuous plovers in parking lots and other suburban/urban areas, so it’s fun to see them in a more natural habitat. They can be distinguished from other plovers by their double chest bands and red eyes.

Flag Pond Nature Park (Image by Michelle Horowitz)

Killdeer (Image by Michelle Horowitz)

There were also many Atlantic Lion’s Mane Jellyfish floating in the water. The size of this species depends on its geographically location. The lion’s mane jellyfish in the warm waters of the southeastern United States usually only grow up to 5-6 inches. However, individuals in the frigid Antarctic and Arctic waters can be up to 7 feet long which makes them the largest jellyfish species in the genus Scyphozoa. While not poisonous, these jellyfish have a moderately painful sting, so you should exercise caution if you around them.

Atlantic Lion’s Mane Jellyfish (Image by BirdNation)

In the afternoon on the second day we visited the Calvert Marine Museum. While birding was not our primary purpose we did see some species such as Purple Martins, Fish Crows, Common Grackles, and Mallards around Black Creek. We also watched this large Snapping Turtle swim under the dock.

It’s always a pleasure to visit Maryland. If you’re looking for a new location to explore I highly recommend Calvert County.

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References

• Aquarium of the Pacific. (n.d.). Lion’s Mane Jelly. Aquarium of the Pacific. https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/lions_mane_jelly

2024 Great Backyard Bird Count Day 2

You can find Day 1’s post here.

Today we explored Palmyra Cove Nature Park for a little snow birding. Last night we ended up getting a few inches of snow and by mid-morning it already started melting! It seems like Palmyra got a little less snow than where I live, but it was nice to be out in the quiet of winter.

We were greeted by a number of songbirds right in the parking lot: a first-of-year Brown Creeper, White-throated Sparrows, a Northern Cardinal pair, a Tufted Titmouse, Dark-eyed Juncos, and a Downy Woodpecker. A female Bufflehead at the beaver pond was a pleasant surprise as hundreds of gulls flew overhead. We even saw a mink! We ended our walk with 4 Cedar Waxwings near the visitor center. Overall we observed 17 species.

Palmyra Cove Nature Park (17 species, 314 individuals)

• 9 Canada Geese
• 2 Mallards
• 1 Bufflehead
• 1 Mourning Dove
• 60 Ring-billed Gulls
• 150 Herring Gulls
• 1 Turkey Vulture
• 3 Downy Woodpeckers
• 1 Hairy Woodpecker
• 5 Tufted Titmice
• 2 White-breasted Nuthatches
• 1 Brown Creeper
• 3 Carolina Wrens
• 4 Cedar Waxwings
• 16 Dark-eyed Juncos
• 50 White-throated Sparrows
• 5 Northern Cardinals

Bufflehead female (Image by Michelle Horowitz)

Angry Canada Geese (Image by Michelle Horowitz)

We are halfway through the count weekend and Team BirdNation has observed 36 different bird species and 2,412 individuals. Other fun finds the last two days were a mink, deer, and a backhoe. Let’s see what the second half of the weekend will bring.

Have you participated in the first two days of the bird count? Share some species you saw in the comments below.

New Year, New Birds!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful 2022.

Today Dave, Baby Birder, and I started 2023 with our first birding trip of the year and it’s sure going to be hard to beat in the future! The NH Rare Bird List has been pretty active over the last week and I’ve been keeping my eye on two species in particular. I decided that today would be the day to pursue them since they have been observed reliably in the same locations for over a week.

So we made our way out to the Seacoast this morning with high hopes to spot two western species: the Western Tanager and Mountain Bluebird.

Western Tanager (Photo by David Horowitz)

Western Tanager (Photo by David Horowitz)

Our first rarity of the day was a female Western Tanager. She was busy feeding along the apple trees on the side of the road. As their name suggests, Western Tanagers breed in the western United States and Canada and winter in Central America. Females are yellow with black backs/wings, have two wing bars, and a heavy orange bill. Males are a brighter yellow and have flaming bright orange-red heads during breeding season. Fun fact: tanagers are actually part of the cardinal family. Our beautiful little friend was quite a delight!

Our second rarity was a Mountain Bluebird who has been hanging out with the Eastern Bluebirds at a park not far from the tanager’s location. This gorgeous male was light blue with a pale gray belly and vibrant blue tail feathers. Another western species, Mountain Bluebirds breed in western Canada and northwest United States and winter in the southwest, Mexico, and California coast. Some populations are year-round residents in the interior west. One of the fun things about this find was that I ran into one of my friends there, so we got to find the bluebird together!

Mountain Bluebird (Photo by Michelle Horowitz)

Mountain Bluebird (Photo by Michelle Horowitz)

What an amazing start to 2023! I think this is the first time we observed two rare birds in one day. I can’t wait to see what other birding adventures 2023 brings!

My first bird of 2023 was an American Crow. What was your first bird of the year? Tell me about it in the comments. Also, since it’s winter, be on the lookout for a new Waterfowl Wednesday coming soon! Happy birding!

References

• The Cornell Lab. (2023). Mountain Bluebird. All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/overview
• The Cornell Lab. (2023). Western Tanager. All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Tanager/overview

Mother’s Day Sparrows

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms! You are amazing!

This is my 2nd Mother’s Day as a mom. When Dave asked me what I wanted for the holiday of course my answer was to go birding (and get ice cream lol). Baby Birder was only a few months old at this time last year, so we took a short walk at Mine Falls Park for my first Mother’s Day. Since Baby Birder is a little older this year and travels well, we did 2 birding trips this weekend: one to Maine and the other to a smaller local park. I’m also really excited about my gift from them: a gift certificate to the Bird Watcher’s General Store in Cape Cod. 🙂

Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, Kennebunk, ME

Yesterday we explored Kennebunk Plains WMA, which consists of over 1,700 acres of grasslands and pine barrens. The National Audubon Society considers Kennebunk Plains an Important Bird Area (IBA). The Plains are significant because they are breeding grounds to many grassland species such as Vesper Sparrows, Upland Sandpipers, Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, Savannah Sparrows, and Grasshopper Sparrows. Many of these birds are considered threatened throughout their ranges and are vulnerable to climate change, so managing a native grassland like Kennebunk Plains is necessary to their survival. The forest edges support many species of warblers, Black-billed Cuckoos, Whip-poor-wills, Lark Buntings, and others.

Kennebunk Plains (Photo by BirdNation)

Notable Species Observed: American Kestrel, Vesper Sparrow, Prairie Warbler, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Towhee

We added a new species to our life list: the Vesper Sparrow! There were many of these cute little sparrows flying around the grasslands as well as Field and Savannah Sparrows. We observed a pair of American Kestrels flying around together and preening. They are super fast and we had the opportunity to watch one hovering and diving for prey. Field Sparrows and Prairie Warblers were a special treat because we haven’t seen any since we moved from NH to NJ.

Vesper Sparrow (Photo by BirdNation)

Vesper Sparrows mainly breed in the West/Midwest United States but can be found in smaller populations in the East and winter in the southern part of North America. Interestingly, this species has gone through numerous names over the years: from “the Gray Grass-bird” to “grass finch” to Alexander Wilson’s name of “Bay-winged Bunting”. Naturalist John Burroughs was fond of its pretty musical song and thought it sang most impressively during the evenings, so he named it “Vesper Sparrow” based off the sixth canonical hour of evening prayer worship. Distinctive field marks include its white-edged tail that can be seen in flight, chestnut lesser wing coverts on its shoulder, its stocky bill, and thin white eye-ring.

Field Sparrow (Photo by Dave Horowitz)

Savannah Sparrow (Photo by Dave Horowitz)

References

• Audubon. (n.d.) Kennebunk Plains – The Plains. Audubon. https://www.audubon.org/important-bird-areas/kennebunk-plains-plains
• Kauffman, K. (n.d.). Vesper Sparrow. Audubon. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/vesper-sparrow
• The Cornell Lab. (2019). Vesper Sparrow. All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vesper_Sparrow/overview
• Wright, R. (2019). Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

American Goldfinches and Coneflowers

I was looking out the kitchen window the other morning and there was an female American Goldfinch on one of the Purple Coneflowers. American Goldfinches like to eat the seeds of the Coneflower, especially in the fall. However, this female was not looking for seeds. She was pulling the petals off the flowers, but I didn’t see her fly away with them. Later in the afternoon a male was with her pulling petals off as well.

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American Goldfinches pulling petals off Coneflowers (Images by Michelle Horowitz)

I’m not exactly sure why there were doing it. I tried looking up some information about why they were specifically focusing on petals and didn’t find much, but it was interesting to watch. Anyone else see this scenario before?

The Coneflowers also attract a lot of butterflies.

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If anyone has an explanation let me know in the comments!

Cape May Big Day

Yesterday, October 6th, was the first October Global Big Day. For the past 4 years, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has held an annual Global Big Day event in May. 2018 is the first year that this Big Day event was also held in autumn. With spring now in the Southern Hemisphere and autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, the Lab thought it would be great time to track the migrations around the world.

Dave and I went to Cape May for our big day. We hiked around our two favorite Cape May locations: Cape May Point State Park and South Cape May Meadows.

It seemed like everyone had the same idea about going to the Point. It was packed with birders of all ages. Many people were participating in the fall Hawk Watch, which takes place daily during the migration. Located on a prime location of the Altantic Flyway, Cape May is one of the best birding areas in the country to catch a sight of migrants, whether they are hawks, warblers, or anything in between.

Cape May Point highlights:

• Tree Swallow massive flock!: We had the opportunity to observe a large flock of Tree Swallows gathering on the beach. It was amazing to watch them swirl around over the sand. Tree Swallows migrate in huge flocks that can number in the hundreds of thousands. They take about 3-4 months to migrate from their summer to their wintering grounds, leisurely stopping en route to forage, preen, and rest.  Sometimes the flocks are so large that they come up on weather radar as “roost rings”.

 

Tree Swallows in Flight (Image by BirdNation)

Tree Swallow flock rest (Image by BirdNation)

• Monarch Butterflies. It’s also migration time for the Monarch Butterfly. Cape May happens to be a fantastic place to experience their journey. We saw many as we walked the trails.

 

Monarch (Image by BirdNation)

Monarch on Goldenrod (Image by BirdNation)

• Palm Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Warblers are now migrating through the area to their wintering grounds. There were Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting through the trees, Common Yellowthroats skulking through the bushes, and Palm Warblers zooming across the path. During fall migration, warblers adopt more drab plumage as opposed to their bright spring breeding plumage. The Palm Warblers we saw were actually the Western subspecies. The Western Palms are more numerous on the Atlantic Coast during fall migration.

Palm Warbler “Western” subspecies (Image by BirdNation)

South Cape May Meadows Highlights:

• Atlantic Ghost Crab: Atlantic Ghost Crabs can be found from Block Island, Rhode Island south to Brazil along the coast. They are primarily nocturnal, so it was a surprising but wonderful sight to see one running along the trail.

Atlantic Ghost Crab (Image by BirdNation)

• Winter Waterfowl: The winter Waterfowl are already starting to arrive. We saw groups of Northern Shovelers and Gadwalls at the Meadows (as well as some Ruddy Ducks and American Wigeons at the Point).
• Common Buckeyes. We saw a few Common Buckeye butterflies fluttering around the paths.

Common Buckeye (Image by BirdNation)

Overall, we saw 31 species for our October Big Day (60 species for the May Big Day at Forsythe NWR. It’s always a joy to go birding in Cape May, especially during fall migration.

Tell us some of the migrants you’ve been seeing in your area in the comment section!

Misty Cape May Morning

Today we took our first summer birding trip down to Cape May Point State Park. It was a really hot day, around 90 degrees, but we still managed to see 30 species birds. On the drive down it was pretty foggy, and it was still pretty misty by the time we got down to the Point.

Misty Morning at the Hawkwatch Platform Pond (Image by BirdNation)

Bird species along the main trail included Mute Swans, Mallards, Tree Swallows, Common Yellowthroats (heard), Forster’s Terns, Laughing Gulls, Ospreys, Northern Mockingbirds, Purple Martins, Canada Geese, an Eastern Kingbird,and Red-winged Blackbirds. There were also hundreds of tiny toads hopping across the trail.

Tree Swallow (Image by BirdNation)

Purple Martin female (Image by BirdNation)

We had a few fun surprises on the beach. Two Brown Pelicans flew by over the ocean.

Brown Pelicans (Image by BirdNation)

After I took the above picture the pelicans skimmed very close to the ocean’s surface. They used an aerodynamic phenomenon call the “ground effect”. As the pelicans fly close to the water with their full wingspan, the air is “funneled” between their wings and the ocean surface. This effect allows the birds to stay aloft and increases efficiency. Eventually the bird must gain some speed by flapping and slightly ascending in order to continue its glide. Many birds use the ground effect over water, but this principal also works on land.

Another interesting thing to note about these Brown Pelicans: the bird on the left is an adult and the one on the right is immature. You can see the whitish-yellow of the adult’s head that the immature bird lacks.

We also spotted pods of dolphins! They were relatively close to the beach, and would occasionally leap out of the water (wish I captured that in a picture!).

Bottlenose Dophin Fins (Image by BirdNation)

There were also many pairs of American Oystercatchers. Some pairs were just strolling along the beach together, while others were guarding/sitting on eggs. This pair has a banded Oystercatcher, so I’ll submit my band findings to the American Oystercatcher Working Group and let you know what I find out.

Taking a stroll (Image by BirdNation)

Banded American Oystercatcer (Image by BirdNation)

This couple added some furnishings to their nest site…

Decorating the Nest (Image by BirdNation)

We were also really lucky to catch a glimpse of this couple’s two eggs (from a safe distance behind the barrier zooming in with the camera of course!) It was our first time seeing American Oystercatcher eggs.

American Oystercatcher Eggs (Image by BirdNation)

Our final beach surprised was a Sanderling in breeding plumage. It was all by itself, so I wonder where its flock mates went. Sanderlings are usually at the shore in the winter, so I think this little guy missed the memo that its summertime now.

Sanderling in breeding plumage (Image by BirdNation)

Our misty Cape May trip was a great way to start off our summer birding.

First of Season

Tonight we walked at Boundary Creek. During this walk we saw 4 “first of season” birds. “First of season”  (or “first of year”) is a term birders use to simply refer to the first time they observed a specific species in a specific season.

We were greeted by the crooning of a Northern Mockingbird from high upon a tree.

While searching for the singing Mockingbird, we discovered a male Orchard Oriole (first of season). Unlike the bright orange of the male Baltimore Oriole, male Orchard Orioles are chestnut and black.

Orchard Oriole (Image by BirdNation)

The observation platform that overlooks the creek was filled with birdsong. We saw/heard a male Baltimore Oriole and Yellow Warbler (first of season for both). Other birds included a Carolina Wren eating a worm, Red-winged Blackbirds, Downy Woodpeckers, Song Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Canada Geese, and American Robins.

This recording prominently features the Baltimore Oriole, Canada Geese, Yellow Warbler, and Red-winged Blackbirds.

At the beaver pond platform we saw a first of season Common Yellowthroat. We also observed Mallards, a small flock of Great Egrets flying overhead, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher calling, and a Gray Catbird. On the way back to the car we found an Eastern Bluebird, which is the first time we’ve seen one at Boundary Creek.

It was great to get out on a warm spring evening to experience the new arrivals.

Cape May Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! To celebrate, we spent the afternoon birding in Cape May, NJ.

Cape May Point State Park (CMPSP)

At the Ponds: Green-winged Teals, Blue-winged Teals, Northern Shovelers, Forster’s Terns, Great Egrets, Tree Swallows, Purple Martins, Mute Swans, Bufflehead, Gadwalls, American Coots, Osprey, Field Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers, Savannah Sparrows, Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, female Red-breasted Merganser. Also saw a Muskrat.

Savannah Sparrow (Image by David Horowitz)

Northern Shoveler (Image by David Horowitz)

Field Sparrow (Image by BirdNation)

 

On the Beach:

American Oystercatchers, Sanderlings, Great Black-backed Gulls, Northern Gannets, Common Loons, Forster’s Terns, Double-crested Cormorants (in V-formation flying)

American Oystercatcher (Image by David Horowitz)

Sanderlings (Image by David Horowitz)

 

One of my favorite moments of the day took place on the way back to the parking lot. There were 2 Northern Mockingbirds doing the “wing flash display”. In this display, the mockingbird will open its wings to show their bright white wing patches. Some speculate that this movement is used to startle insects. However, even mockingbird species without white patches will use the move, so people are still not quite sure the purpose of the display. I wrote about the wing flash display last year, so it was cool to see it in person!

Wing Flash Display (Image by BirdNation)

Another one of my favorite things that happened today were DOLPHINS! I saw dolphins in the wild for the first time ever! I was ecstatic to see them, as I have loved dolphins since I was a kid.

Dolphin Fin (Image by David Horowitz)

South Cape May Meadows (SCMM)

The Meadows was wading/shore bird central today! Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Greater Yellowlegs, Willets, Killdeer, American Oystercatchers, Glossy Ibis, Semipalmated Plover

Great Egret (Image by BirdNation)

Great Egret Swallowing a Fish (Image by BirdNation)

Snowy Egret (Image by BirdNation)

Great Blue Heron (Image by BirdNation)

 

Other birds included Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Mute Swans, Canada Geese, Laughing Gulls, White-throated Sparrows, American Crows, and Barn Swallows. Bonus mammals: 2 Muskrats fighting with each other

Mute Swan on Nest (Image by BirdNation)

Overall we observed 46 bird species and two mammal species (muskrat and dolphin). It was a lovely afternoon in Cape May :-).

Yellow Northern Cardinal?

There’s been quite a buzz the last few weeks in the bird world about this picture:

Yellow Northern Cardinal (Image by Jeremy Black)

Nope, that’s not Photo-shopped. That is a real yellow Northern Cardinal.

The story of this cardinal began back in January, when it was spotted by birdwatcher Charlie Stephenson of Alabaster, Alabama. She was looking at her feeder when she noticed a yellow bird, but did not realized right away that it was a Northern Cardinal.

So she contacted ornithologist Geoffrey Hill of Auburn University and her friend, photographer Jeremy Black, to take pictures of this rarity. The cardinal stuck around Stephenson’s yard for a few weeks. At the end of February the photo of the cardinal went viral on Facebook.

So how exactly did this Northern Cardinal, which is normal red, become yellow?

Pigments are found in both plants and animals. In birds, pigments are found independent of feather structure. There are three pigment groups found in birds: carotenoids, porphyrines, and melanin.

Carotenoids are responsible for pigments found in birds that are yellow, red, and orange. Since carotenoids are produced by plants, birds with these pigments get them by ingesting plant material or something that ate the plant material. The quality of a bird’s diet plays a role in how brightly-colored feathers are. Birds with a poor diet will be paler in pigments than a bird with a richer diet. A theory from some scientist and birders is that diet as well as environmental factors may be affecting this cardinal’s color.

Ornithologist Geoffrey Hill believes that the yellow cardinal has xanthochroism. This is a genetic mutation where the carotenoid pigments being drawn in by the bird’s diet are yellow instead of red. Xanthochroism has been seen in other birds such as House Finches, Evening Grosbeaks, and other Northern Cardinals.

Whether the cardinal’s color is due to genetics, environmental factors, or diet, it really is quite beautiful. It’s certainly a very special and lovely sight to see.

Have you ever seen a bird that was a different color than it was supposed to be? Tell me about it in the comments.