The Rubberband

Oh trouble was brewing at the Rohrer household.  A little demon child known as J-man kept his Uncle and Grandparents busy. His ailing grandfather needed some quiet time to heal after his heart surgery. And so his uncles and grandma kept both he and his adorable baby sister busy. 

Baltimore Oriole

Birding with family can often be difficult. Still, it can be done, but it requires careful planning.  Here are some things I've learned from over the years to accomplish my birding goals while spending that quality family time that is much needed. 

Family fun at Bay Beach.  Also near the site of secret breeding Piping Plovers!

1. Find ways to include light birding while spending quality time with family.  My personal goal is to blend birding into the outdoor activities.  We have to begin somewhere and teaching our young minds is important to the future of birding. It starts off with curiosity.  A trip. A pair of binoculars and some hands on experience with birds. Toddlers are tactile.  So are Canada Geese. 

Over a hundred Canada Geese overtook J-man and one gave him a little nibble. The child who caused terror to others was terrorized himself, for a moment. There was a scream and then some crying involved. He flew up to Grandma for protection and for fun, I threw a little more corn around Grandma's feet to hear her yell out. I'm terrible.  I know:)

2.  Stay close to home. You never know when you will be needed for.....
a. family pictures  b. family dinner  c. babysitting
d. running errands or e. all the above:)

A fledged Chipping Sparrow

3.  Be clear on what you want to accomplish.  You can't do it all, BUT you can knock off some birds from that much wanted list. 

So many nephews and nieces

During my trek home, I was only focused on warblers and sparrows.  There was a possibility of adding two new lifers to the list. The Hooded Warbler was one of those warblers.  It was only 10 minutes away from my parent's home. 

Hooded Warbler

4.  Do your birding in the morning or early afternoon.  Birding is best in the morning, but sometimes there are errands that have to be run.  Most people work during the day.  Family generally meets at night or on the weekends.  If you can't go in the morning, try for the early afternoon when the grandkids or nephews/nieces are down for their nap. 

Family photos are NEVER easy. 

But they are always memorable and a necessary evil:) Never take those moments for granted because you don't know if you'll get the same opportunity again.  So much can change in a short time. 

My lifer Hooded Warbler in the dark forest of Point Beach State Forest

5.  Challenge yourself and stay within your own county.  You may have seen a Wild Turkey a million times in a million other places, but did you see one in your hometown? Be a kid again and play detective working on hunches.  

Wild Turkey

6.  Remember to stop birding as well. I speak to the choir here when I say it's hard to turn off the birding gene, but try and do it.  I was proud of myself this summer when I could completely let it go and not keep looking at every bird flying past my radar. 

I feel like Cambrie in this shot.  Trying to get that perfect family pic is NO easy task. 

7.  Carefully choose the places you'd like to bird. Keep the family in the loop where you plan on birding.  Keep it a half hour or so, no more, from home. 

American White Pelicans hang out near the Manitowoc Marina

8.  On occasion, treat yourself to a full day of birding.  Don't feel guilty.  It's your holiday and you deserve some quiet time away from the family. 

Cerulean Warbler

Even though I had seen the Cerulean Warbler once before, I wanted to see it again.  It's one of my favorite warblers.  And it was on my short list of birds I wanted to see while back home. 

Purple Martin

9. Let yourself just flow with the family plans.  Ebird wherever the family goes.

My brother Adam bought a pontoon and it allowed us to count birds along the river in his backyard.  We discovered several new bird species breeding along the river like Spotted Sandpipers. 

10. Create new hotspots for the public. You know your hometown best. 

When I was home, I discovered this beautiful rare Horned Grebe(below) near my brother's cabin.  There was no ebird hotspot so I created one. We can discover new birds by just paying attention.  This Horned Grebe completed an atlas block for someone. They were thrilled. 

A rare Horned Grebe!

I am more aware now of the world around me. Birders can make anything work with a little ingenuity. I use the word "rubberbanding it".  I'm never too far from home and if I'm needed back home ASAP, I am able to "snap back" in a second. I don't see it as limiting in any way.  It just makes me a little more creative with my birding. 

Who added the dog?!  

Hope you found these tidbits useful. Everyone has a different situation so do what's best for you.

Until next time.....

A Time For Study

Before everyone in Wisconsin had vacation, I had a little time to hang out with my friend Nancy.  She lives on this beautiful farm FULL of cool critters.  So on this day we spent time with a hummingbird banding team from Milwaukee at her place.  Also joining us was new friend and birder Travis.  He brought his kiddos to help with the banding project of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. 

Chimney Swift

Nancy helped record data while the rest of us carefully trapped hummingbirds for banding. "Trapped" makes it sound terrible but I assure you that none of the hummingbirds were harmed for this very important tracking project.  The team members banding these little birds are professional and excellent at what they do. 

During my time in Wisconsin, I ran surveys for my hometown helping several organizations for our 5th and final year of the Wisconsin Bird Breeding Atlas.  

Canada Goose

Wisconsin in June is lovely.  It wasn't too buggy nor was the bug population quite the same as it was in Maine:)  The birding challenge? Water levels are rising and swallowing up land around the Great Lakes and have affected the piers, shorelines, and road systems which normally allow for easy access to birding hotspots.

I wore water shoes on several of the trails at Woodland Dunes because the boardwalks were submerged under river water. 

The end of this boardwalk at Woodland's Dunes was completely submerged. 

It was crazy.  In some areas, I wasn't able to access platforms!

Blue-winged Warbler

I focused my energies on warblers and sparrows.  Two Rivers and Manitowoc are unusual cities in that northern breeding Canadian warbler species can sometimes be found breeding in our area. 

I'd monitor the rivers and lakes as well for that breeding information. 

American White Pelican 

I'd do stationary counts for 15-20 minutes each day and collect data. 

May, June and July are especially important months in regards to breeding birds. 

female Red-winged Blackbird

For example, if I saw this female Red-winged Blackbird carrying food, I'd enter that this bird was carrying food. 

Clay-colored Sparrow

During my sparrow surveys, I'd mark down if these birds were in their normal territories.  For example, I'd check areas from years past where I've seen these birds before.  In the case of the Clay-colored Sparrow above, I marked "singing male". 

Everyone in the state of Wisconsin was working around the clock to collect the data to complete their data blocks on this last year.  I could only give a couple hours a day. 

Red-bellied Woodpecker

At Nancy's place, we found so many incredible things. 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

While our hummingbird banding was happening, we were also making an inventory of all the birds she had on our property.  Nancy's property covered an "atlas block".  Normally birders who live in their "blocks", because it's close to home, like to cover their area. Some adopt other blocks around their areas. 

White-crowned Sparrow

Once a birder has found enough breeding evidence on 40 species of birds in their block, they've completed their area. That block will go dark. While home, I helped complete some of the blocks and/or add more information to those blocks. 

Purple Finch

In Manitowoc county at Nancy's place, we discovered a RARE, for the summer, White-crowned Sparrow.  And I was able to confirm a pair of breeding Purple Finches for the atlas.  I was not able to see a nest, but food was being gathered.  Historically, Purple Finches used to breed during the summer in Manitowoc. 

There were a lot of people managing records and checking areas for birds.  

Back home, where I could stay close, I watched Purple Martins feed their young.  This can be a tricky species to find.  They depend entirely on people to provide homes on the eastern half of the US.  

Purple Martin populations on the eastern side of the US are declining.  And if you don't know where to look for the colonies, they can be very difficult to find.  I found 2 breeding colonies in my town.  A third colony had collapsed and the population for that area had completely disappeared. 

It was fun watching these fast birds snatch butterflies and other insects out of the air and then swirl down to feed their young. 

I took notes and lots of documentation. It was an absolute thrill to be able to contribute to the count.  Next week, we'll explore the idea of birding near family.  Do you document your birds in your area when you find evidence of breeding? Until next time.....

Reunion

The moment I arrived home, I knew I'd be going to a lot of family events. One of those events was the family reunion up in the northern part of Wisconsin.  Many years ago, my father searched for his biological mother and found her in the forested little town of Antigo.  During times of ignorance, it was expected a woman go "visit her Aunt" up in the North if she found out she was pregnant out of wedlock. In my Dad's case, a woman by the name of Lorraine gave birth and gave up her first born, my Dad, for adoption. Because that is what you did. The biological father didn't want to have anything to do with Lorraine or my Dad. She was put in a difficult place. My grandparents couldn't have children and desperately wanted a child. It was here that they found my father and adopted him in the forests of the northern woods of Wisconsin. It was all "hush hush" back then. 

After a year of investigation, my father and his biological mother eagerly agreed to meet.  It was a very happy reunion. When it happened, he was exposed to a much larger family.  They embraced him as one of their own. This time around, I'd finally get to meet that side of the family.  And from a birding point of view, I knew I'd find some great birds around the cabins of the northern woods of Wisconsin.  

Swamp Sparrow

The forest surrounding the cabins was a lovely emerald.  I saw my first American Beaver and heard the nightly calls of Common Loons on the lake. 

Between family, I went off into the woods and watched the loons call to one another on the water.  It was beautiful. 

Common Loon

This was the first time that I've actually birded in the northern parts of Wisconsin. So I added many new birds to my Wisconsin state list. 

Night would arrive and we'd break piñatas full of adult beverages. 

My sister tries her hand at the piñata. 

My mother hits the piñata with a whack. She is a pro.  I mean, she did raise 6 kids:)

My mom hits the piñata with a resounding crack! and small bottles of liquid fire fall out.  Adults rush to the ground for these delightful beverages. 

I wonder (and worry!) about the immature American Robin nestlings that are a little too close to the main cabin.  Over 30 people sit around the nest while the adult robins try to feed their babies. In fact, there are baby birds everywhere. 

immature American Robins

This fawn is alone and cries for his mother. Humans freak out as the baby animal follows everyone to the campfire.  What the humans don't know is that the mother didn't abandon her baby, she was only feeding herself so that she could feed her baby later on.  Apparently, we were just babysitting:) It's a number one human "no no". Leave the fawn alone. The little deer will be okay. 

I watch helplessly as J-man discovers a nice chocolate doughnut. 

7 ways of attacking a chocolate covered donut

Then I see what the sugar has done to him.  A Sith baby!

All around us, the forest is alive with young birds leaving their nests. 

Black-capped Chickadee

And nearby, their human counterparts are chasing bubbles. 

 As I grow older, I find myself understanding some of my siblings better than others.  The distance and time have changed us all.  Each developing and defining their own lives in their own worlds.  If I am not careful, I could lose touch with each of them.  For the first time during my trip home, I felt a disconnect.  It was a bizarre feeling.   

Family is everything.  I wish I could fix and make everything better for everyone, but it is not mine to fix. I love them all. But ultimately we live our own lives.  I guess the most important part is to let them know that I am there for them.  I've always been an independent person so when I got home, I discovered new family dynamics. I find myself thinking about my family more than my birds which is how it should be.  But for the first time in my birding life, birds do not distract me from this visit. 

Eastern Kingbird

I've always tried to understand my grandparent's and parent's relationship with their own siblings. The idea of losing the familiar bond with a sibling is a scary thought.  I'm not a talker on the phone nor do I live near my family so the first several days home is like an overload of information.    

I had a blast with the nephews and nieces.  Some are growing up too quickly.  I was able to spend some time with quite a few of them, but there's never enough time to spend quality time with all of them. 

My nephew goes for a bird walk with me. We explore feathers, bugs, fish and birds. 

This trek was good and necessary.  Mixing birding into the mix was a fun challenge.  Over the next several weeks we'll explore some excellent areas for birding in Wisconsin while catching up with the family. Until next time......