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.....

Warblers

Black-throated Green Warbler

When I say the word "warbler", I groan.  It's an intimidating word.  They are not easy birds to observe. Nor do they like to pose for the camera.  

Yellow Warbler

And it's not just me.  There are a lot of people out there who feel the same way.  They take time and patience.  A LOT of patience. 

Kirtland's Warbler

In Wisconsin, we took on the difficult task of finding nesting warblers.  We missed migration and we knew our job would not be an easy one. 

American Redstart

And to make things even trickier, we arrived at a time when most warblers are silent.  Nesting birds are often secretive as there are hungry birds and mammals out there wanting a little protein.  

Kentucky Warbler

Cowbirds eye up nests as adults collect nesting material.  They wait patiently so that they can lay their own eggs in another bird's nest.  This is the way of the brood parasite.  

Cerulean Warbler

Warblers in the birding world are considered gems.  They are beautiful but that is true about a great many other birds. And yet warblers are held to a higher standard.....

Red-faced Warbler

Over time, I've listened to other birders speak of warblers in a way that can only be described as reverence.  No other bird group gets that recognition except maybe hummingbirds, Birds of Paradise and the Resplendent Quetzal. I'm sure I'm missing a few other groups;)

Blue-winged Warbler

I think of warblers as impossible.  Always doing their own thing and not really having a care about the other birds around them. Hop under the leaf and feed....always hiding in the shadows.  

Grace's Warbler

Rarely sitting long enough for a photo. There isn't any secret way to find them.  It's all about luck and being in the right place at the right time. 

Golden-winged Warbler

The one thing that gives a warbler away is its chip note or call.  

Townsend's Warbler

There are so many similar calls that it can often be difficult to get your eyes on the right bird.  For example, I think I hear a Pine Warbler call and it's really a Chipping Sparrow!

Pine Warbler

And I think for that reason, warblers can be one of the most difficult bird groups to find. 

Mourning Warbler

So when a birder finds a warbler, it's always a celebration. 

Until next time......

The Emerald Green and Sapphire Blue

With such views, people often forget where they are standing.  Is it the Caribbean sea?  Or is it Central America?  There are times when I think I finally understand why warblers migrate to the US during the summer.  Wisconsin, during the summer, is humid and rainy. There's lots of forest area for nesting. No different from Costa Rica or Panama. 

Winter Wren

Almost embarrassing to admit but I hadn't ever seen a Winter Wren before.  So I spent an afternoon on this one species in a dark wet forest. Just to give you a "real" picture of what I was working with here, I've included the actual lighting of this forest. Personally, I think this photo below is much more magical and true to form.  When one speaks of a perfect moment, this is what I envision.  An emerald green background, a calling wren, no one around and a magical birding moment.  Perfection.  

When I finally located a Winter Wren calling, I observed the bird for about an hour absorbing the call and behavior. I watched the bird move from one patch to another. Photography is sometimes about prediction.  I saw a spot that was good for this bird to perch and the gamble paid off. It's naturally mousy, fast and difficult to see!

We hiked through a lot of forest.  Sometimes we had little people on the trails with us. 

And sometimes I was alone with no one around for miles.  I had an entire forest to myself!   Well, and the deer:)

One of the places I monitored nearby home was at a preserve known as Woodland Dunes.  In fact, much of my work was done here while I was home for the last week. It's quite a large area and unfortunately, I did not have the time to cover it all.  

White-throated Sparrow

I did, however, find several rare nesting birds in this area.  There is nothing more beautiful than the song of the White-throated Sparrow.  During my hike for the Winter Wren, I came upon 3 of these sparrows in the forest.  As one sang, his melodic voice carried over other bird song. The song was both haunting and beautiful at the same time.  I write haunting because I also imagine a serial killer coming along the trail to take me out.  And I imagine that it's the last bird song I'll hear.  Of course none of that happened.  If you haven't figured it out yet, I would like you all to know that I have a VERY healthy and active imagination.  The only blood spilled on this day was from the mosquito activity on my legs. 

Osprey

I did some other work at the "Dunes" with director Jim Nickelbine.  One day we took the pontoon out and surveyed nesting Sedge Wrens, Ospreys and Bald Eagles. That was a fun and relaxing way to bird.  Plus the company was wonderful. 

Cindy Lupin and husband were just a few of the characters I kept bumping into while birding.  They were really nice people and her hubby made a delicious apple pie!

 I met up with my owling mentor Bernie and his wife for lunch.  The Lupins brought the pie and invited me to have a piece with them.  That is the beauty of Wisconsin birding right there.  People mix food, socializing and birds together.  That's what birding is all about!  There are some great conversations that come from it all!  I learn so much from everyone on the trails.  

Bernie trained us several years ago about banding owls.  He joked and called me the paparazzi:)  Maybe he wasn't joking....:)  In any case, this guy is the main reason why the Woodland Dunes exists.  Today it's home to hundreds of species and becoming an international destination for birders.  He is retired now but his legacy lives on.  This guy is another major player in the Two Rivers/Manitowoc area for preserving important lands.  With a lot of work and I'm sure stress, he saved the Dunes from becoming a factory wasteland.

During our conversation, I find out that at least 12 or 13 warbler species nest in the Woodland Dunes area. That is amazing considering that some of them should be nesting further north.  But for years, these warblers have relied on the Woodland Dunes as their preferred nesting area.  I also found out that Bernie needs a Hermit Warbler. I invited him down to go chase this warbler and I think it will happen!! It's the least I can do for all the stuff he's taught me. So after lunch, it was back into the woods to try and find another one of those sneaky warblers. 

Mourning Warbler

Sure enough.  There were Mourning Warblers.

Ovenbird

And the loud, yet secretive, Ovenbirds. There were lots of them! They are also considered warblers.  

Pine Warbler

And by the gods, if there weren't Pine Warblers.  Somehow, these warblers flew under my radar!  Now I know.  I dipped on two other warblers, the Canada and Hooded Warblers.  They aren't supposed to nest in the area but they do.  They are not as common, but they are there.  It just means I'll look for them again when I'm home during the summer. 

So many of you are probably thinking, Where is Gordon?  Well, he's coming up.  We spent several months putting this bird expedition together and I have been organizing those photos and blogs into a coherent line of thoughtful writing:)  I was home alone for a week after Gordon left so that I could spend time with the family.  It worked out really well.  Anyhow, there are some funny tales to be told.  A post titled, The Kingsguard, is by far the most memorable experience this year.  Stay tuned.  There's lots more reporting and storytelling to do from the beautiful state of Wisconsin.  Until next time.....

To the Canadians out there, hope you had a wonderful Canada Day! And for the US readers, Happy 4th tomorrow! Be safe and remember to be careful where you shoot those fireworks:) Arizona, let's keep the fires down to a minimum. Like 0 minimum:) We're just about done putting out the ones started in June!