Baxter State Park

What is it with people hanging dead animal heads on walls?  I'm grossed out and fascinated by it all at the same time. 

Over the years, Kathie and I had both spoken about going to Baxter State Park in Maine.  Our plans had changed.  Kathie's husband Gus suffered a stroke and was now in recovery. Our plans to drive from Maine to Wisconsin changed.  I knew they'd change when I had heard the news.  Over the years with my friendship to Kathie, I've also grown to include Gus as a friend.  He's a great guy and I am so thankful that we were able to visit longer.  But I'm not going to get all wishy washy emotional.  Neither of us like that emotion stuff:)  I'm just glad he's ok.  Kathie's got enough emotion for ALL of us:)

With my Dad's heart surgery and Gus's stroke, I knew Kathie would want to stay home.  I told Kathie not to stress because Gus was more important. He's an amazing guy. I just didn't want to intrude on their routine.  But in Gus fashion, he told us to get out of the house and have fun.  So like much of the summer, I "rubber banded" it with Kathie and my family in Wisconsin. We'd make it work and have fun with it all. It was a summer of family and friends which meant we birded close or somewhat close to home so that we could "snap" back if there was an emergency. Plus for everyone involved in both Wisconsin and Maine, we had to drive to appointments!  They're still getting their treatments/therapy!

One of the places, we decided to explore was Baxter State Park.  It was one of our splurges. Kathie's mission was to hit 500 lifebirds this summer.  Mine was to add just a few.  Our first lifer together was this beautiful Black-backed Woodpecker!

Black-backed Woodpecker

This woodpecker can be a hard one for many birders across the country.  But not because they are rare; but because they can be rather elusive and prefer dense forest areas. Kathie spotted this one and I was able to get a quick shot before it flew off. Throughout our time there, we heard many more drumming off in the distance. 

Baxter State Park is gorgeous and free to state residents!  We stayed at the Big Moose Inn which was really an iconic piece of Maine history and close to the park.  One of the things I love about Kathie is her knack for finding excellent restaurants and places to stay.  

There were birders coming through the area and had also stayed at the Inn during our stay.  I heard them in the morning but chose to stay in bed.  After they left, we went to get breakfast.  I could have sat there all day and it was Kathie who said, "Come on Rohrer, we've got birds to find."  I was hesitant because I knew it would be another day fighting blackflies and mosquitoes. My body looked like a war zone after my trek to Maine. Surprisingly though, there were NO ticks in this park. So if we had gotten rid of the blackflies, our journeys out into the park would have been even more perfect.

Philadelphia Vireo

Another bird I had to find was the Philadelphia Vireo.  I'll be honest. I'm not into vireos.  They're cool birds, but I wasn't into digging through every vireo call in the forest.  So many vireos sang and many of them were Red-eyed Vireos.  The calls are almost identical and I couldn't distinguish the two species apart. So when we found this one above, I smiled at the accomplishment and just enjoyed the rest of the scenic drive. 

Did we find a moose?  Yes but the moose was on the interstate!  There were moose sightings in the park, but we never did see one there.  We did find this cool looking Eastern Painted Turtle however!

Blackflies kept up the attack.  And human flesh was exposed.  No amount of spray would keep them off my body.  The spray worked with mosquitoes but not the blackflies.  Even writing about this memory makes me itch and cringe again. 

Black-and-white Warbler

However, with great bugs come great warblers.  So many great warblers. Baxter State Park is quite a magical place.  The habitat was just slightly different enough to have a unique sampling of birds that we couldn't find around Kathie and Gus's home outside of migration. 

Ok. I'll admit that there is one vireo I kinda dig more than the others.  The Blue-headed Vireo below is a looker.  Their slightly slower call, yet very similar Red-eyed Vireo call, makes them a tad easier to find. 

Blue-headed Vireo

And then there were eastern warbler calls galore.  Just when I thought I'd get used to a call, I'd second guess myself.  Is that a Pine Warbler or a Chipping Sparrow calling?

Pine Warbler

Who's making that short and loud vocal burst?

Magnolia Warbler

Oh!  It's a singing male Magnolia Warbler setting up a territory! But didn't they have a different call?  Yes but it wasn't making that one:)

In Arizona, visitors always ask me, "What's that hawk?"  My automated response is "Red-tailed Hawk."  Then they respond, "But that doesn't look like our Red-tailed Hawk back home." 
"It won't.  We have several subspecies here." 
Back to Maine.  I'm in the visitor spot now and I ask Kathie, "What's that warbler call?"
"American Redstart"
There are so many vocalizations for this species.  And I think I've nailed the ID on this bird now just by hearing their various calls a million times.  I had A LOT of practice in both Maine and Wisconsin.  I can officially "talk" to this bird and it's part of my bird vocabulary now. 

male American Redstart

Another bird that I've also memorized and can easily ID is the high slurred wind up zzzzzzeeeeeeet of the Northern Parula.  Easy peasy. 

Northern Parula

In short, Maine was incredible.  There are several more posts that I will write which will include birding codes and connections to the birds.  I discovered some weird things about myself there while birding.  I'll explore that during a trek to Monhegan Island with Magill in our next post. My last lifer from Baxter State Park was the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher which I have also memorized now.  It was fun finding this species but it's a birder's bird.  It's one of them flycatcher jobs, but by finding this species, I completed all of my North American flycatchers. 

In many ways, Maine birding was my "dotting the i's and crossing the t's trek" to complete my flycatcher and vireo lists.  I just need Black-whiskered Vireo now to complete all of my vireos for the US. Kathie and I both loved Baxter State Park.  We only scratched the surface. Stay tuned for more.....

Hermit Thrush In Tempe!

Prairie Warbler is super rare to the state of AZ.  Currently, it's been showing well at Saguaro Lake near Phoenix, AZ.  State bird!

People always wonder how I find rare birds.  Well, it's a little bit of me and it's a whole lot of birders working together reporting their findings around the state, country and world. We are all a big part of the "network". On a daily or hourly basis, we can receive an email with rarity reports from the AZ Listserv or ebird. 

During a rain event, we targeted the grasslands for a Short-eared Owl and we got our sights on TWO!  They are difficult birds for Arizona.  Another state bird and Arizona nemesis NO MORE!

Anyone who subscribes to the AZ listserv will recognize the title of this post. Everyone has at least one of these birders in their community. While it is significant to their backyard patch, it is not significant to the overall community.  It's a tiny piece of a larger puzzle that we, as individual birders monitor in our own worlds.

Arizona Song Sparrow has unique rufousy tones when compared to the other subspecies of Song Sparrow

I'll get a buzz on my phone. Ooooo!  What is it?  A Trumpeter Swan in Tucson?  An Eared Quetzal on the Carrie Nation Trail?  A Prairie Warbler at Saguaro Lake? Nope. Just a Hermit Thrush on private property in Tempe.  WTF!  Even if that were a rare bird for this time of year, it's on private property!  So why even post it?

It's not a Louisiana Waterthrush.  That's rare. 

I finally have excellent views of a beautiful Louisiana Waterthrush

It's not a Red-breasted Sapsucker.  That's significant. 

A Hermit Thrush is up there with a Ladder-backed Woodpecker(at least in AZ). It's one of our most common birds found around the state.

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

If it were an American Bittern at Sweetwater, one should probably mention it. That's a rarity. 

An American Bittern holds still in the reeds at Sweetwater Wetlands. 

But do you know what's not a rarity?  A Pied-billed Grebe. Or Hermit Thrush. 

A Pied-billed Grebe out of water

When an email is sent out about the Hermit Thrush in their backyard, birders give each other the look and ask the question in a most cynical tone, "Are you going to chase that Hermit Thrush in Tempe?" We have a laugh.  Don't they know that a Hermit Thrush isn't rare?  Hasn't anyone told them? S/he seems like a nice person. And I do love their excitement.  But still.......

Rufous-winged Sparrow at my work site

If it were a Red-breasted Nuthatch at Reid Park in Tucson, THAT is newsworthy. 

A rare wintering Red-breasted Nuthatch at Reid Park in Tucson

A wintering Zone-tailed Hawk in Tucson is worth a chase!

A wintering Zone-tailed Hawk hangs out at Reid Park in Tucson

Even the casual, yet still rare, Northern Parula is worthy of a shout out. 

A Northern Parula

A Gila Woodpecker in Arizona, however, is not a rare bird and should never be reported on the listerv for Tucson or Phoenix.  Now if one was found in Florida, then birders should absolutely, without a doubt, report that miraculous sighting. 

A male Gila Woodpecker feeds from pecans

And while Pyrrhuloxias are cool, they are not rare for several parts of the state.  If it was found outside of its habitat range, then THAT is news worthy. 

The Desert Cardinal or Pyrrhuloxia

A Rufous-backed Robin should always be reported. Because it's rare ANYWHERE!

Rufous-backed Robin

And while a Hermit Thrush is NOT rare in Tempe during the winter months, it *might* be a significant find during our hot summer months.  One summer, I remember finding American Robins on a green patch in Phoenix, AZ. That was rare. And do you know what else I found?  A Hermit Thrush. Unusual.  But not rare:) 

A Prairie Falcon

Now this person has been doing this for years.  I don't know if they are a man or woman.  I just know that if I see that post, HERMIT THRUSH IN TEMPE! one more time, I will scream. If you are new to an area, observe what local birders are posting as "rare".  

A Hermit Thrush NOT in Tempe

The whole purpose of this write?  Well, it makes me more conscious about what I should and should NOT post when reporting birds to the community.  Very rarely is it appropriate to report a rare bird if it's on private property UNLESS birders can legally chase the bird from the road or have permission to enter the property.  Currently, a homeowner in Tucson is ok with birders coming to her house and looking at her rare Streak-backed Oriole. On a side note, don't post your exact sightings of owls. I've watched people go crazy over owls and they do some inappropriate things. However, it's okay to post your sightings of a Hermit Thrush:)  Most people wouldn't chase it. Until next time......

The Winds of Winter

Two wintering Northern Parulas are hanging out at Glendale Recharge Ponds

As we finish out this month of December, I begin to sketch out my final works for this year. The cold winds have arrived reminding us all that winter is here in the US.

Over the past several weeks, I have just wandered random trails collecting data and enjoying our birds in Arizona. Recently I have done some counts along a rocky trail on Mt. Lemmon for a friend.  Yesterday, I went hiking 6 miles with another birder.  We watched from the distance as a winter storm blew over our desert dwellings.  The air on the mountain turned from cold to bone chilling cold.  My kind of weather. 

During a lunch break in a secluded fern forest alongside a tiny pool of water, we watched many birds come down to take a sip.  They felt the storm coming and were actively feeding in preparation for the snow that was about to fall. 

Chestnut-sided Warbler

I spoke with my birding partner about the way of the world.  The frosty winds blew through the canyon in the dark woods.  A Williamson's Sapsucker fed from a tree nearby.  

Birds are amazing.  They bring me such peace and happiness.  When I'm not with them outside, I read about them inside.  But during this moment in the shaded glen of perfection, I sat with my birding partner discussing the weight of the world .  

This Least Sandpiper is smaller than what this pic makes it out to be

So. What I am about to write is not easy.  But this is a blog about my personal reflections whilst in the process of discovering 10000 birds in this lifetime. I work with people.  I watch populations of humanity.  I listen.  I observe my surroundings.  And I feel unsettled. I know.  It's not the holiday talk you might want to hear. 

The wintering Zone-tailed Hawk hangs out at Reid Park for the winter. 

 During our conversation, we noted how the military base has been increasingly active here in Tucson.  Friends of ours have been working late nights.  Later than normal.  A sign, perhaps, that things are coming. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler

 Humanity has warred with one another since the day we came to be.  One would think that we would learn, but I have observed enough humanity on every side to know that not all things are equal or balanced.  This year has been rough on the US and other places around the world.  Fires.  Hurricanes. Drought. Bombings. Shootings. Then there are the birds. I have even noticed the changes here due to our fires in the various mountain ranges. Some of us suspect that the hurricanes have altered migration patterns of warblers which is why we've had a very good eastern warbler year in Arizona. The patterns are odd.  

Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow

 People shop and people go about their lives like they normally would. I think about all those who have lost so much this year and it breaks my heart. 

Female Summer Tanager

 I sat in that wooded glen thinking about how perfect it was. And I wish I could hide forever inside of that moment, safe and protected. 

My favorite pic of this series are these Red Crossbills, Type 2 from Reid Park.  This has been a very good year for them here in Tucson. 

 After verbally putting my thoughts together out loud with this birder, I felt sad. Is there a war coming and is there no way around it? One side pushes the other.  More innocent lives will be affected. I see between the lines. This isn't Iraq.  This is something completely different. After our trek, my thoughts still lingered on that conversation for the rest of the day. 

A Vermilion Flycatcher takes a sip from the bubbler

Anyhow, enough on this topic. I will say though that I have just shared with you some of the things that run through my head while on the trails. While you were looking at the pics(in a sense, birding with me), you were also following my thoughts.  I'm pretty sure we all do it.  Some birders will talk a lot while on the trails. Some birders talk to themselves:) I usually save my thoughts until we've found our birds. These are the things I process in my brain while playing detective out in the field. So thanks for reading through my thoughts here.  

Canvasback

 In a few weeks, my life bird hunt will take me up to Maine to visit my friend Kathie and her hubby Gus.  We will be doing some casual and fun birding around the coastal area. I'm definitely looking forward to the break.  

Ring-necked Duck

On a side note, I am ok.  I really am.  I'm just a deep thinker.  I work with so many people every day that all of their worries, concerns, and stories recycle around in my mind during my off hours.  It is why birding is SO important to me.  It's the silence from word that I crave after these busy times. The birds I've presented today in this post are from my research and data runs for Audubon.  Someone has to look over our birds:) Each of us can make a difference in their success. I'd like to encourage you to join a CBC(Christmas Bird Count) wherever you may live.  It can be as easy as monitoring your backyard bird feeder or as adventurous as a long hike on a beautiful trail. Contact your local Audubon for more information. I can't change the way of the world, but I can try and make a small difference in my own little bubble. Until next time!