August 2019

The day I moved into my new dorm room here at the Manhattan School of Music, I heard the familiar noise of an AMERICAN KESTREL outside. Peering out of one of the windows, I was treated to a beautiful view of this female just sitting right on top of the school of music!

Too cool — a great omen for the year! Stay tuned, I will go definitely go birding before the school year starts up September 9.

Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 975 Species

Between rounds of packing for my flight back to Manhattan tomorrow, I was luckily able to write up a quick report for this morning’s Oak Park Bird Walk. The birding was slow, but there was great conversation and it was a beautiful day to be out and about.

Once again, for the most part we were forced to observe common species because it seems like the migrants really haven’t started coming through Oak Park yet. Here is a male DOWNY WOODPECKER:

And a CHIMNEY SWIFT, one of the individuals that probably roost up at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church in their chimney:

A single RING-BILLED GULL flew over:

Once again, we found the BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS. Nice! And this time, it was a family group — we saw at least one juvenile begging & being fed from multiple adults. Very, very cool to prove their breeding status in Oak Park, something I have suspected for quite a while now.

MOURNING DOVE:

Towards the end of the walk, I spotted this interesting-looking insect caught in a cobweb. What is it?

And the walk ended with a female AMERICAN GOLDFINCH posing high in a large Elm tree across the alley from my house that unfortunately seems to have died. Too bad; the stand of elms across from my house is the single most productive place for migrants in my neighborhood, so I really hope the other trees won’t follow the same fate.

Bird-of-the-day to the Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, now officially breeding birds in Oak Park. Stay tuned — tomorrow I fly to Manhattan, and I will surely go birding there within the next week!

Happy birding,
Henry
World Life List: 975 Species

Today, my second full day back in Chicago, I led a morning Oak Park Bird Walk! It was wonderful and I had such a blast with both veteran & new bird walkers.

At first, the birds were few and far between, so we settled on watching this female DOWNY WOODPECKER for a little while:

A while later, I spotted a bird perched on a tree all the way at the end of the alley and it turned out to be a CEDAR WAXWING:

Another larger bird spotted from far away was this adult COOPER’S HAWK (my spark bird!)

Then, we had a nice surprise in the form of a warbler — female/young male type AMERICAN REDSTART:

And an immature CHIPPING SPARROW — these guys apparently bred in Taylor Park this summer.

In the Taylor Park Fen, I spotted an extremely-cooperative Black Swallowtail! It was my first time ever photographing this beautiful butterfly species:

The next treat came in the avian form of a cooperative BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER!

There were actually two of them:

Then, a few falcon-like birds came whizzing through the canopy, calling and playing with each other, and they were soon identified as two young COOPER’S HAWKS. Probably, they were the offspring from the adult seen earlier since they were in the same general area!

To end the walk, we admired the gorgeous eye ring of the commonly-overlooked MOURNING DOVE:

It was a fun walk!

Later in the morning, I noticed AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES were enjoying the Purple Coneflowers in my front yard. Here is the bright (but ever-so-slightly molting) male. His bright feathers will be gone within a month, replaced by the drab winter plumage of this species.

Not to forget the more modestly-colored but still handsome female of the species:

As well as an immature bird — this was most likely a family group.

A great day! Bird-of-the-day goes to the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher with runners-up to the American Redstart & Cooper’s Hawk.

Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 975 Species

Yesterday, my final full day in Idaho, I rode the gondola up Bald Mountain in Sun Valley and hiked down, like I do every year. This route never ceases to deliver great birds for me, and it sure didn’t disappoint yesterday, either!

On the ride up, a WESTERN TANAGER posed for me:

The views, as usual, were amazing. Some ominous-looking clouds and light rain showers did worry me, though.

Immediately, DARK-EYED JUNCOS proved to be common throughout the hike:

As did the ubiquitous CHIPPING SPARROW:

After some spishing, an immature HOUSE WREN popped out:

MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES were everywhere:

The most common bird on the hike was the YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, which gave great views at one point:

WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE:

All the sudden, I came out into a ski run and i noticed that the trees on the other side of the run were absolutely crawling with birds. Immediately, I noticed a profusion of fast-moving RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS:

DUSKY FLYCATCHER:

Then, the intensity of bird activity grew to an astronomical height, with songbirds such as warblers, kinglets, and sparrows literally swirling around me in the mist. They were foraging insects off the trees, sallying forth to catch gnats, and constantly flying in to join their other avian comrades. It was a true fallout! Definitely one of the most impressive birding spectacles I have ever witnessed. An exciting find was this NASHVILLE WARBLER, an uncommon find for Idaho:

The warblers were extremely common in this mixed flock. Here is a YELLOW-RUMPED & a TOWNSEND’S together.

And 2 TOWNSEND’S WARBLERS together:

I found an unbelievable 26 birds of this species, an extremely high count since this is usually a harder-to-find migrant in central Idaho:

HAIRY WOODPECKER:

Probably the most surprising warbler species up on the mountain was this brilliant male WILSON’S WARBLER, which is usually a species of lowland willow-dominated riparian habitats in Idaho. Yesterday, he was at almost 9000 feet of elevation in a douglas-fir forest!

There were a heck ton of RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES in the mixed flock, as well:

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS showed beautifully a few times throughout the day:

A single RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD flew by:

As well as a WARBLING VIREO:

I was able to capture a young Mule Deer bounding away:

Female LAZULI BUNTING:

It was truly an amazing pocket of birds. Throughout the rest of the hike though, I still found a good number of birds including CASSIN’S FINCH:

A few CLARK’S NUTCRACKERS were nice:

As well as a Mule Deer with a full rack of antlers:

WESTERN TANAGER:

A soaring RED-TAILED HAWK:

I flushed an uncommon MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER from the trail, and true to form, it hid in the bushes for a few slightly-obstructed photos:

Then, as I was almost at the bottom of the mountain, I heard a woodpecker softly tapping in the Lodgepole Pine trees above. It took me a few minutes to track down exactly where this tapping was coming from, but lo and behold I then laid my eyes on possibly the most prized avian species that breeds on Bald Mountain: the BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER! I spent forty-five minutes photographing this beauty from various different angles, and though the lighting and its constant tapping for insects underneath the bark made photography challenging, it was still gratifying to spend such a large chunk of time with this rare species.

When I finally made it to the bottom of the trail where it crosses Warm Springs Creek, I spied a YELLOW WARBLER in the shrubs:

And a female BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD visited a nearby feeder:

Wow! What an amazing last day to an absolutely incredible trip. Bird-of-the-day of course goes to the Black-backed Woodpecker with runners-up to the Nashville & MacGillivray’s Warblers. Such fun! I want to thank several people for helping make this trip extra-special for me: Kathleen Cameron, Jean Seymour, Poo Wright-Pulliam, Brian Sturges, and of course, my parents. And shout-out to Gary Stitzinger for tipping us off to the Spruce Grouse the other day — THANK YOU! Birds are not the only thing that makes the hobby gratifying; enjoying other birders’ company is an extremely positive element, as well.

Some exciting news: the rest of my family is flying to China right now to present a chamber music concert tour of the country, while I will have a few days in Chicago where I will lead a few Oak Park Bird Walks. Following that, on August 28th I return to Manhattan for the school year! Much further ahead, over winter break my family will be taking a cruise around the southern tip of South America, and then we will spend a few days in Patagonia, Chile. SO excited — I believe my life list will exceed 1K!

Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 974 Species (3 life birds this trip: Virginia’s Warbler, Black Rosy-Finch, & Spruce Grouse)

Yesterday, Kathleen Cameron, Poo Wright-Pulliam, and I had our last shot to find the elusive Spruce Grouse or “foolhen!” This would be a lifer for all except Kathleen, and she had never even seen it in the state.

We started the day at 7am and birded our way up the Sawtooth Scenic Byway, state highway 75.

We started off by birding Baker Creek Road, where we quickly picked up two RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS including this one:

A western race of FOX SPARROW was a great surprise to see, here posing with an immature SONG SPARROW:

Next, we stopped at Billy’s Bridge to see if we could spot any Mountain Goats climbing in the Boulder Range. Although we didn’t see any goats, we did find this beautiful male WESTERN TANAGER posing in the morning light:

As well as a nice OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER:

Next, we birded a road north of the Galena Lodge in search of Spruce Grouse, since we knew they have been sighted in that area in the past. We immediately found a huge flock of sparrows and other passerines, including this VESPER SPARROW:

“Whoa!” This immature RED-TAILED HAWK didn’t expect its sibling to make such a close landing!

Unfortunately, no Spruce Grouse.

After a few quiet stops over Galena Pass, we birded Forest Road 199 in the Sawtooth Valley. BREWER’S SPARROWS were nice:

As well as a WARBLING VIREO:

And many MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, including this pale one:

My favorite bird there was this GRAY FLYCATCHER, an uncommon find this far north in Idaho!

Seeing a herd of Antelope was also nice.

A flyover PEREGRINE FALCON was a great surprise:

Then, it was off to Pettit Lake because the Spruce Grouse have been seen at the campground there recently. This Red Squirrel was cute:

As well as this DUSKY FLYCATCHER:

But once again, no grouse. Next stop: Little Redfish Lake! It sure was beautiful there:

A couple COMMON MERGANSERS resting on a log close to shore were nice to see:

Then, we birded near the Redfish Lake Visitor Center where Poo pointed out some uncommon orchids to us — these are called “Lady’s Trusses,” and they grow strictly along streams and water bodies in mountainous areas.

Kathleen shouted, “I’ve struck gold!” and she pointed out a SOLITARY SANDPIPER, a fairly common migrant out east but definitely uncommon for Idaho.

Poo and I discussed the difference between a spruce cone (left) and a pine cone (right).

A RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET put on a nice show for us:

As we were driving out of Redfish Lake, Kathleen received a text from one of her friends, Gary, and he said he had heard a report yesterday of a family of Spruce Grouse on the other side of the lake. So, we accordingly raced over to the appropriate boat launch area where the Grouse had been seen just a few hours earlier.

We walked into the appointed trail, and within a minute, Kathleen pointed and said “there it is.” Sure enough, this fluffy, black, chicken-like bird was sitting underneath — you guessed it — a spruce tree! SPRUCE GROUSE! An unbelievable life bird for which I have been waiting for years! Poo had been trying to find this bird for 25 years, and it was a life bird for her too! Kathleen, as well, had never seen the bird in Idaho before so it was a first for her. How absolutely incredible!

Here is a photo Poo took of Kathleen & I photographing the Spruce Grouse with our matching Nikon P900’s:

And Poo’s excellent sketches of the grouse:

With high spirits, we continued on to Stanley Ranger Station Sewage Ponds, which also did not disappoint! This LEAST SANDPIPER posed splendidly for us:

As did a WESTERN SANDPIPER:

Female LESSER SCAUP:

NORTHERN SHOVELERS:

BUFFLEHEADS:

BLACK-NECKED STILT:

GREEN-WINGED TEAL:

The views of the majestic Sawtooth Mountains and their snowfields throughout the day were spectacular.

At the end of the day, we birded Cape Horn Road northwest of Stanley in search of Great Gray Owls, which we have seen there before. Here is a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, a common breeder there:

And we were overjoyed to finally find an AMERICAN DIPPER, a bird all of us were wanting to see today:

Unfortunately, no owls were found but we saw dozens (I believe near forty!) SANDHILL CRANES, with young! So great to see these as they definitely had some successful breeding this year. (no photos since I was saving my camera battery for possible owls)

Bird-of-the-day fo the Spruce Grouse, of course, with runner-up to the Fox Sparrow. Such a joy to bird with Kathleen and Poo — thanks Kathleen for driving!!! The full species list from the day is attached below. Stay tuned: I have a great report coming for today’s birds!

Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 974 Species (1 life bird today: Spruce Grouse)