A Travellerspoint blog

Chautauqua & Niagara in the fall!

New York

rain 54 °F

MONDAY, OCTOBER 16:

My friend Jiabao and I hit a few sites near Chautauqua, NY today on our mini-vacation; the first of them being Lilydale, NY known for its mediums and rich mystical history. The dreary, rainy day added an especially eerie atmosphere to the mainly-deserted village.
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Next, we headed to Chautauqua Gorge in this beautiful part of New York — the fall colors were amazing:
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Augmented by birds of course, here is a male EASTERN BLUEBIRD:
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CEDAR WAXWING:
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Distant TURKEY VULTURE:
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Visiting Chautauqua itself was great and very nostalgic for me as I spent three summers here:
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The beloved Marlena Malas voice studio-
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As usual, EUROPEAN STARLINGS abounded:
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And there was a huge flock of mainly RING-BILLED GULLS at the vacant docks:
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Bird-of-the-day to the Eastern Bluebird.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17:

Today it was great to visit the beautiful Niagara Falls with Jiabao!
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We even took the beautiful Maid of the Mist boat adventure:
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Niagara is always incredible to visit, a reminder of nature’s awesomeness.

Overall, it was an enjoyable trip!

Happy birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1156 Species

Posted by skwclar 04:24 Archived in USA Comments (0)

Quick stop in Buffalo!

Buffalo, NY

rain 50 °F

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15:

Well, to put it lightly, I have recently been busier than ever — as evidenced my lack of birding, and blogging. I was curious about this (since I have always been busy), and looking back on my records, to give you an idea of just how busy I have been - September is the first month I have missed posting on this blog since February 2018 (!), when I was a senior in high school and honestly a less-dedicated birder (I found my birding took on a “Renaissance” of sorts when I moved to NYC, and again during the pandemic). Among all that I am up to these days I have made some singing videos (primarily for audition purposes) but wanted to share this music with you here as well!
https://youtu.be/_FWYB1K1Yhs?si=T1Jn830hG7t38fsp
https://youtu.be/GL1oWo0-iLk?si=v6qGhlWcHlzS6r5x

Thankfully, today changed my recent dearth of birding. My friend Jiabao and I, as part of a road trip we are taking, hit Woodlawn Beach State Park in Buffalo, NY since it looked like the best hotspot along our itinerary that was open on a late sunday afternoon, and thankfully the intermittent rain throughout the day had stopped for a bit.

A bit of spishing, sure enough, brought up a number of sparrows from the swamp, including, you guessed it, SWAMP:
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SONG:
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And a nice WHITE-THROATED:
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The surprise of the day came in the form of this first-year male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT which should be gone south well before now. Maybe it being a confused first-year bird explains this…
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It was a bit blustery and chilly so we just had a quick stop at the beach to scan.
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TURKEY VULTURE:
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RING-BILLED GULLS:
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And a HERRING:
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Nothing else out of the ordinary so bird-of-the-day will go to the unseasonably-late Common Yellowthroat. Just great to be out in the field again, if only briefly! Stay tuned: tomorrow we will be based out of Chautauqua, NY (for my first time since Aug 2022!) and will see some sights, and hopefully some birds too.

Looking further ahead — another Sax-Zim Bog trip is starting to be in the works for after Christmas, so there are thankfully avian things to look forward to through a busy, busy fall for me!

Happy birding,
Henry
World Life List:

Posted by skwclar 01:10 Archived in USA Comments (0)

One day to bird the UK

Waldhamstow Wetlands, London

all seasons in one day 77 °F

MONDAY, AUGUST 14:

I took advantage of our one free morning here in London, England away from chaperoning the children’s choir, to bird the Waldhamstow Wetlands in northeast London off the Victoria tube line.

I was greeted by introduced EGYPTIAN GEESE:
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Flyover EURASIAN SHAG:
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There were many rafts of primarily TUFTED DUCKS out on the Reservoir:
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Shag and a duck:
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A few COMMON TERNS flew over:
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CANADA GEESE, I believe an introduced species over here:
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EURASIAN COOT:
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COMMON POCHARD:
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GREAT CRESTED GREBE:
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Juvenile:
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BLACK-HEADED GULL (basic plumage):
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COMMON MOORHEN:
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Juvenile:
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EURASIAN MAGPIE:
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EURASIAN ROBIN:
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COMMON WOODPIGEON:
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LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL:
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I stopped at a bird blind on the south pond where I was stopped in my tracks: there, flying from branch to branch, was my life bird COMMON KINGFISHER, or as I sung in my Ravel this summer, un Mârtin-Pècheur!!! Not only is this an awesome lifer, but perhaps it is one of the most beautiful birds in Europe and one I have been waiting on seeing for a number of years. Absolutely awesome!!! They are also tinier than the Kingfishers back home; perhaps about the size of a Catharus thrush.
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A beautiful LITTLE EGRET was also in the vicinity:
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There were a number of nice songbirds on the way out like WILLOW WARBLER:
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And LONG-TAILED TIT, a species I have only seen once before, at London Wetlands with my dad in 2014.
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Later in the evening after Evensong, I hit a location much closer to the hotel: St. James Park in central London. Many Woodpigeons were about:
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As well as GRAYLAG GOOSE:
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COMMON POCHARD:
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GREY HERON:
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MUTE SWANS:
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My best bird here was a heard-only TAWNY OWL right after the sunset, another species I have only ever had once before: in Urbania, Italy back in 2018 with Ann (who I coincidentally recently saw in Idaho!).

And here are a few photos from singing in and touring the cathedrals and other great spaces here in England; it is truly all magnificent:
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Bird-of-the-day to my life bird Common Kingfisher with runner-up to the Tawny Owl.

A great day of birding nestled among incredible experiences singing Evensong and other services in the greatest cathedrals in England. It has been an amazing summer, for sure! Here are all of the lifers I have gained since may:

May 21: Greater Prairie-Chicken, Bartel Grassland, Kinmundy, IL
July 4: Common Chiffchaff, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Yellow-billed Chough, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Ring Ouzel, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Fieldfare, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Northern Wheatear, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Water Pipit, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Rock Ptarmigan, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Wallcreeper, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Alpine Accentor, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Bearded Vulture, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: White-winged Snowfinch, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Eurasian Nutcracker, Mürren, Switzerland
July 4: Common Firecrest, Mürren, Switzerland
July 5: Lesser Whitethroat, Mürren, Switzerland
July 5: Willow Tit, Mürren, Switzerland
July 5: Spotted Flycatcher, Mürren, Switzerland
July 6: Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker, Mürren, Switzerland
July 7: Eurasian Crag-Martin, Verbier, Valais, Switzerland
July 8: Goldcrest, Verbier, Valais, Switzerland
July 25: Crested Tit, Mauvoisin, Valais, Switzerland
August 3: Pinyon Jay, Barton Rd, Pocatello, ID
August 4: Greater Sage-Grouse, Rinker/Rock Creek Canyon, Blaine, ID
August 14: Common Kingfisher, Waldhamstow Wetlands, London, UK

Happy birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1172 Species (1 life bird today: Common Kingfisher)

Posted by skwclar 15:50 Archived in United Kingdom Comments (1)

Idaho Day 8: Dollar Lake & goodbye!

Ketchum, ID

semi-overcast 70 °F

TUESDAY, AUGUST 8:

This morning was my last one here in Idaho before my flight back to NYC (and eventually onwards to London), so I took Caroline and Ann on a walk out Warm Springs Rd. A few birds were present such as WILLOW FLYCATCHER:
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We made it to Dollar Lake which was gorgeous as always and a delight for them to see:
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A GRAY CATBIRD was also present at the lake:
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This male LAZULI BUNTING, my bird-of-the-day for today, was a pleasant sighting on the walk back to the condo and it was great to get Caroline and Ann on this beautiful bird, as well.
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Then, it was time to drop off Caroline and Ann at the ski lift for their day on Mt. Baldy and my turn to get to the airport. It was wonderful to have you with us this year, you two~

Thankfully, my flights to Denver and Laguardia ran smoothly and I was able to net window seats on both which is a necessity for my sanity on airplanes.
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Next stop: NYC for a night to record with a composer and former professor of mine from MSM, and then off to the UK to sing on tour in the great cathedrals of England: Westminster Abbey, Ely Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, and Liverpool Cathedral!

Hopefully, I will fit in one or two mornings of birding there and will eventually get around to updating on here, haha!

Happy birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1171 Species

Posted by skwclar 04:36 Archived in USA Comments (0)

Idaho Day 7: West Pass, second time’s the charm?

Boulder Mountains, ID

overcast 69 °F

MONDAY, JANUARY 7:

My mom and I awoke at the crack of dawn to hike up to West Pass in the Boulder Mountains, a hike that my dad and I tried twelve years ago but didn’t make it to the top, so we wanted to give it a go this year. Target birds for today include Black and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches, high alpine species of which the latter would be a life bird and the former an awesome year bird.

We were on the trail around seven in the morning, following a brief lost phone scare that was resolved when I found my phone wedged deep in the crevasse between the center console of the car and the driver seat. Alas…

Our first impressive sight, of many along this trail, was a collapsed glacier that had slid down the mountainside, over our trail, and onto the river below. It was covered in dirt and debris from the resulting landslide but there was a thick layer of ice below. Impressive to see this late in the season:
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Following that sighting, we were treated with some of the most scenic valley and wildflower views of any hike we have ever taken:
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Birds abounded, too, including male WESTERN TANAGER:
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And a FOX SPARROW, a great species that we missed yesterday so I was happy to clean this one up:
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SWAINSON’S THRUSH:
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HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHERS abounded along the hike:
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As well as their long-tailed cousin, the DUSKY:
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The views kept getting better and better:
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CHIPPING SPARROW:
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Along with a female Tanager:
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WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS were omnipresent for much of the subalpine part of this hike:
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As well as YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, in Audubon’s form:
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BREWER’S SPARROW:
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We flushed a couple DUSKY GROUSE which proceeded to omit a cacophonous whirring with their wings clumsily barreling through the dense spruce saplings and shrubs adorning the trail. A great F.O.Y. bird:
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After a few hours of relentless climbing, the trees opened up into a snowy alpine meadow where the views were nothing short of astonishing:
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A couple GOLDEN EAGLES drifted by:
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And the alpine wildflowers and butterflies did not disappoint:
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CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, the quintessential alpine hummer:
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As we got nearer and nearer to the treeline and the summit of the hike, the flora and fauna trended increasingly alpine. We were treated to views of rare high-elevation mammals such as the cute Pika:
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And Yellow-bellied Marmot:
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Finally, I heard what I had been waiting for: the “cheep! cheep! cheep!” call reminiscent of the House Sparrow, but reverberant among the alpine rocks and amphitheaters: that of the denizen songbird of the Rocky Mountain West, the BLACK ROSY-FINCH! Absolutely awesome to hike up this bird on its breeding grounds, yet another incredibly difficult species to get in Idaho (this time of year).
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I have only seen it twice before; Old Hyndman Basin and the basin above Profile Lake, both locations also being high alpine cirques adorned with snow and above the treeline. This species, along with the other two rosy-finches, truly have a peculiar affinity for the most windswept, inhospitable locales of the intermountain west.

Though inhospitable, the surrounding views were nothing short of legendary. One side looked high above the cirque from which we had just climbed, and the other direction gave an overarching view of the Boulder & White Cloud Mountains to the north. We hunkered out of the wind and took in the beautiful surroundings. At nearly 10,200 feet above sea level, this was the highest elevation we had ever hiked in Idaho.
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That is, until I got distracted by birds. These MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were my F.O.Y:
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Flyover RED-TAILED HAWK:
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Soon, it was time for the descent where we once again soaked up the incredible montane views:
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The standout avian highlight from the downslope section was my F.O.Y. TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE, a species of high Rocky Mountain woodlands that I seem to always find in low numbers on my highest hikes here in Idaho. Absolutely awesome:
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Following the hike, the many morel mushrooms from yesterday were enjoyed by Caroline, Ann, mom, and I — on top of steak!
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It was a terrific end to the day, capped off by a few hilarious episodes of Arrested Development with Caroline.

Bird-of-the-day to the Black Rosy-Finches with runners-up to the Fox Sparrow, Golden Eagles, Calliope Hummingbird, and Townsend’s Solitaire. Fantastic mountain birding!

Happy birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1171 Species

Posted by skwclar 20:27 Archived in USA Comments (0)

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