Updates

I know it's been awhile since I last posted, but life has been pretty hectic. Between multiple trips to Ohio and moving into a new house- I just haven't had the motivation to sit and write (or the time!). So, to recap my last month or so of birding:

Thousands of Sandhill Cranes and a handful of Whooping Cranes have arrived at Wheeler, and are easily seen from the Visitors Center Observation Building. I have been over several times to attempt photos, but shooting in a dimly lit building through tinted windows doesn't do my camera or photography skills any justice. So here's the best I can give you:

Whooping Cranes with Sandhills

Besides the Cranes, many other birds have been arriving in northern Alabama. I was fortunate enough to find a Black-legged Kittiwake over at Wilson Dam in November, bringing my year list to 296. Only four away from my goal.

I moved south of Huntsville, to the Morgan City area. This puts me directly between Guntersville Lake and Wheeler NWR. However, I haven't made a trip to Wheeler in a couple of weeks now. Guntersville Lake is quickly becoming my favorite waterfowl birding spot. I've seen just about everything there so far this fall. Dozens of Common Loons, Red-breasted Mergansers, Gulls galore, Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Redheads, and lots of Canvasbacks (among others). The causeway along Route 69 is my favorite place to pull over and get photos... though with the cars whipping by, it doesn't exactly feel safe.

Common Loon

Ring-billed Gull

Red-breasted Merganser

My new home sits atop Brindlee Mountain. My four and a half acres is surrounded by mountain woods... which so far, has made for some excellent birding. In my first week of birding here, I have seen 44 species. Unfortunately, my yard is full of holes, which has contributed to two falls while out shooting photos. Now, the calibration of my lens is off, which means no great photos to contribute to the blog until I upgrade my glass in February. Until then, you will just have to suffer through sub par photos like I do! Ha.

My second night at the house, we had an unexpected visitor somehow make it into the mudroom/laundry area. I snapped off a few shots before opening the door to let him out. He hangs around the porches at night, but hasn't come back in... yet.

Eastern Phoebe

Another busy night ahead of me... so will keep this post short. Hopefully I will be heading north in the next month to see a Snowy Owl. Stay tuned!

Until next time...

Happy birding to all of you!

Owling at Salt Fork

Took a trip to Ohio yesterday, albeit a short one. I had an entire morning to kill, once arriving in Cambridge around four in the morning. I was able to catch some z's along the way, so I wasn't sleepy once I arrived. I decided to drive over to Salt Fork State Park to do some owling. I've always wanted to do this, but I'll be frank: Waking up that early and birding when you can barely spot the trail at your feet has never been my idea of a good time. Well, I was wrong. It was a great time! Equipped with my iBird app, and my camera flashlight... I set off to try to coax some owls out from where they might have been hiding.

First, I decided to hit the dog park area... here I would have a Short-eared Owl vocalize in response to the calls... but I would not see him perched in the fields whatsoever. I decide to wait, knowing he's in the area... and move on to the horse trail area. Here, I parked, and went walking the trails... at 6:30 A.M. It was pitch black, and I can't say that a million different frightening scenarios weren't running through my head. I am a wuss when it comes to heights, and the dark... imagine if both were an issue at the same time! I shudder to think!

Anyways, about a quarter mile into the trail, I start playing Saw-whet and Screech-Owl calls. It doesn't take long... maybe 10 minutes as I continue walking, for a Saw-whet to respond. As close as it sounded, I start scanning the trees and shining my flashlight, hoping to catch a glimpse. In the crook of a tree right along the trail, I spot him- as the reflection of his eyes to my light give him away. I spent all of this past winter searching for one of these guys, but all along I was doing it wrong. I sit for about ten minutes, him and I checking each other out. I know I don't have a lot of time left until full on daylight, so I walk back to my van. Here I would drive back over to the beach and dog park area.

As I drive into the parking area, I look out across the larger field and see the Short-eared Owl hunting, his moth-like flight unmistakable. I always assumed, since it took me awhile to see a Short-eared this past winter, that folks often mistook Harriers as Owls. But, once I saw the flight of a Short-eared, I realized that it was distinguishable so much so that I couldn't see anybody mistaking them for something else. 

Over in this area is a lot of field, and a beach... and some trees, but not dense enough for me to search for a Screech-Owl. I decide to try one other area near the marina while I waited for the sun to come up.

Somehow, luck was with me. As I drove the road leading to the marina, I heard him- a Screech-Owl! I pull to the berm, park, and play the vocalization. By this point, it's light enough to see with the naked eye, but still not bright enough for good photos. He was pretty bold, flew right out into the open to check out that odd bird that was calling back to him. All this time I've looked for owls and never once used playback... ethically I've questioned the use of it. I went against my former thoughts and tried it out, and the results I got may have changed my mind on the subject.

Since the beach is close to the marina, I decide to drive back there and check it out again. I'm mostly looking for shorebirds and waterfowl, as I broke my toe and hiking long distances wasn't really something I wanted to endure. Sparrows were present in the thickets and fields, and once I got to the beach, I saw a group of Canada Geese and about fifty Ring-billed Gulls hanging out. Running the shoreline were several Killdeer and a group of three Dunlins. By the time I'm finished walking this area, the sun has come up and I can see the beauty of an Ohio fall surrounding me.

I bird a little while longer, seeing a fine assortment of species. Activity is high as the front that came through overnight grounded the birds. No rarities, but definitely a lot of species I never get tired of seeing. Fifty four to be exact- a wonderful morning spent again at Salt Fork State Park. If any readers in eastern Ohio are looking for a nice spot- I cannot recommend this park enough.

Until next time...

Happy birding to all of you!

Sparrows, Waxwings, and Wrens... Oh my!

So, a front came through Wednesday evening. Unfortunately, yesterday was busy for me, so I couldn't get out to see what migrants might have been grounded. But this morning, I decided to go for a walk at my new favorite place: Harvest Square Recreational Preserve.

The air was brisk this morning, but comfortable. Around forty five degrees. I arrived at 9:30 and first started by walking over to Terry Pond. There's a group of Muscovy Ducks that hang out here. I don't know if they're "countable" in Alabama, but I won't count them regardless. Looking out over the pond, from a distance I see some shapes on the water. There were three Pied-billed Grebes present and a male Ruddy Duck. I work my way over to the Beaverdam Trail, as last time I walked here this area was the most active.

Along the trail, I would see sparrows darting in and out of the grass and shrubs. I would probably miss identifying about seventy five percent of the sparrows I saw, simply because they hid so well in the undergrowth. However, Song and Field Sparrows were in large numbers. The Field Sparrows sang as I continued to walk. They are more bold than the other sparrows, often perching right out in the open to investigate who was coming down the path.

As I'm walking the trail right along Terry Pond, I see a small bird flittering about through the cattails. I am in desperate need of wrens for my list this year (as by this point I've only gotten House and Carolina for the year)... so I stalk the bird, and patiently wait for it to become visible enough for an ID. My patience pays off, because it's a Marsh Wren: The black and white markings on its back unmistakable. Oh, this day is already shaping up to be awesome.

I continue on, and suddenly out of the corner of my eye, notice a bird taking out on the water. I turn and do a quick photo snap and see an American Coot.

Among this surprise bird, a few others flitter about: Eastern Bluebirds, a Gray Catbird, a Hermit Thrush, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, White-throated Sparrows, a couple Dark-eyed Juncos... Blue Jays chase each other as a Red-tailed Hawk soars overhead. At this point, I have almost finished the Beaverdam Trail, but not before seeing a Lincoln's Sparrow. He flew into the tall grass, and paused to watch me, allowing great looks with the binoculars, but not a great spot to get a photo.

Once I finish this trail, I walk the one back to Turner Pond. But nothing to report really along that trail. It was eerily silent and no birds were present on the pond.

I spent two hours, and walked a grand total of 1.5 miles. Forty-one species in two hours makes for one fantastic fall day!

Until next time...

Happy birding to all of you!

Big Day at Dauphin Island

As I posted before, I would be featuring my blog post about my Big Day at Dauphin Island on Birding Across America. It's now posted! Huge thanks to Josh Wallestad for asking me to do a guest spot on his site. If you haven't been there- please sign up! Once it really gets rolling, it's going to be a great place to get information about birding across the United States!

Until next time...
Happy birding to all of you!

A Big Day!

So, I'm too broke to do a Big Year (and most people are, haha)... with that being said, this Sunday, I'll be doing the next best thing: a Big Day! Locations not entirely public yet, but keep an eye out at http://www.birdingacrossamerica.com for a guest blog post about the trip.

Until then...
Happy birding to all of you!

Happenings...

Have a lot of new ideas for the blog, so stay tuned. There may be interviews, articles about local Alabama parks (and maybe some other states I travel to), rare bird chases, etc. I am pretty excited what the future of this blog holds. I am open to other ideas, so if there's something you'd like to read or see here, shoot me an email: underneaththecanopy@gmail.com

Happy birding to all!

-Amber

Birding in Ohio

This past Thursday and Friday, I spent time in Ohio dealing with an urgent family matter. To pass the time when I had nothing else to do, I decided to hit a couple spots to bird. First spot was Phillips Park in Beavercreek, where I met up with a friend and spent three hours walking short, mowed trails through trees and brush field/marsh areas.

I arrived at 8:15 A.M. to be greeted by three Mallards, a drake and two hens, who then proceeded to follow me around the front of the park near the pond. I sat in the gazebo and they came over and foraged in front of me, waiting on me to make it easier on them to find breakfast. I watched the pond and the trees surrounding, while waiting on my friend. Saw mostly city birds: Starlings, Cardinals, House Sparrows, a Mourning Dove, Robins, and a few Blue Jays. Then a flock of birds perched high in one of the trees, and looking through my binoculars, I watched some Cedar Waxwings hopping around in the branches. A short time later, my friend pulled in and we hit the trails.

Birds were plentiful this fine fall morning. Chipping and chirping filled the air around us. At our first stop, mostly we saw Tufted Titmice dancing through the trees, about six which seemed to be following us on our walk. It took another fifty feet or so to find the next cluster of birds, which so happened to be a few species of warblers- notably Tennessee and Magnolia. Throughout our walk we would also find Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, Cape May, and plenty of Common Yellowthroats.

(My eBird checklist )

It was a nice morning walk, catching up, laughing, and watching birds. Nothing is better than getting to share a passion with another person, that not too many people you know share. We walked about two miles, tallied up our sightings (over 40 species), and said our goodbyes. My next stop would be Pickerington Ponds right outside of Columbus.

Drive drive drive. I'd already spent about 8 hours on the road, plus the three hours hiking... I was getting kind of tired, but I don't get to bird a ton on my trips to Ohio and this day, I had plenty of free time. I arrived at Pickerington Ponds around 2 P.M. Water levels were super low, which made for plenty of shorebirds. Egrets, Herons, and several waterfowl were hanging around the Wood Duck trail area. I had to hike through the tall weeds to get closer, but with my binoculars, I was able to identify a Baird's Sandpiper, and a Western Sandpiper- both new birds for my Ohio list this year! I didn't spend much time at the Ponds because I had to get out to the Cambridge area to see my daughters.

Pickerington Ponds Checklist

I would spend the evening in Cambridge, and the next morning, make my trek over to Salt Fork State Park.

The fog was heavy around the lake. I drove clear back to the dog area, parked my van, and watched through the fog and was able to pick out a Greater Yellowlegs through the fog. I couldn't see much else (even though I could hear it)... and I knew I was just going to have to wait for the fog to lift. It only took about thirty minutes. That's when my checklist exploded with species. This was an open area, full of sparrows. White-throated, Song, Vesper, Savannah, and Lincoln's. Watched two Palm Warblers flying from the ground, up onto the fence, and back down again. The beach had a bunch of my gulls walking around. (My gulls are Ring-billed Gulls... I call them my gulls after a friend affectionately deemed them to be "Amber's Gulls") Ospreys soared over Salt Fork Lake, and Killdeer ran the shoreline. I spent a couple hours walking, and driving, through the park and got several other species.

Salt Fork Checklist

All-in-all, though the family issues made the trip somewhat somber, I was glad to see a dear friend and get to bird while I was up there.

Until next time....
Happy birding to all of you!