Thoughts of Arizona

It got up to 97 here in the Philly area today. With humidity. I worked and spent most of the day outside in this heat and thought that jeans were a good idea. They were not. So when I came home, I immediately changed into shorts and lied down for a two hour nap. Heat does that to you, especially when you are working in it with jeans on. It is a special tired that working in the heat does to you, and one I’ve known many times over the years, especially since I used to live in Arizona.

What, you didn’t know I lived in Arizona? Yep, Paul and I both did; in fact that is where we met as young, idealistic grad students (time has long since beat out the youngness and the idealism in both of us). If you think the birding is great around here, you should have seen Arizona.

Except I never did.

Damon vs. Paul, a Head to Head Birding Day Matchup, part 1: Memorial Day Sunday

How was the birding this past weekend? It wasn't quite as good as when migration was in full swing a few weeks ago, but all in all Damon and I both had pretty good birding days on Saturday (May 25). He reportedly saw an American Oystercatcher being eaten by a Swallow-Tailed Kite. I asked for photos but all I heard about was a "malfunctioning memory card". Anyways, we both saw a good sampling of birds in our respective regions (Damon- the greater Philadelphia region, but Saturday was mostly southern New Jersey; Me- eastern Toronto and Peterborough) on that day. I thought it might be interesting to compare our lists to see which birds were found in both places and what each of us saw that the other didn't.

Damon's Birds for the Week of May 19 - May 25

Ok, just as I finally get my house set up and the computer all working I get ready to get some posts up and....my camera refuses to recognize any memory card put in it (they all work, I swear!). So I have no photos for this post, but I'll be busting out the trusty iPhone to get the amazing shots that you are used to for my posts. You remember, shots like "Fuzzy Outline of Bird that Damon Claims is a Black and White Warbler" and "Distant View of Hunting Kestrel".

Week 21 Paul's Update (Shorebirds and Warblers)

Yet another week of birding is complete. You know, it didn't really seem like I saw a lot of birds this week, perhaps because I only really got out in the field three times? There was a Sunday morning trip to Presqu'ile Provincial Park. This is a place on Lake Ontario where I went several times to see waterfowl, though most of the waterfowl is now gone with the exception of a few mallards and some mute swan. The focus now is on finding shorebirds and warblers, which are arriving from the south and stopping over before continuing farther north.

Point Pelee Pilgrimage

Point Pelee, Ontario. This is supposed to be a 'you have to go there' birding spot during spring migration. I have heard this from multiple people on multiple occasions. Point Pelee sticks out into the middle of Lake Erie and the birds like to stopover on their way further north and, because it has this narrow tip, it concentrates the birds into a small area, which makes seeing them easier. Point Pelee also concentrates something else: birding tourists. This was partly the reason for my hesitancy to make the pilgrimage down there, but then my wife encouraged the trip by pointing out the number of warblers and other birds I could pick up in a single day of birding there. And so we decided to take a weekend road trip down to Point Pelee.

Damon's Birds for the Week of May 12 - May 19

Whew, what a week! I finally got my computer up and running, I totally finished moving by clearing out the straggler boxes from my old rental place (I am NEVER moving again), worked a bunch, and actually got some birding in on Saturday. And, oh, it was a damn good day for birding.

Week 20 Paul's Update (Another week- Another bird)

The birding continued this week with 11 new species added to my list, with two of these birds seen at Long Point Provincial Park (on the eastern end of Lake Erie's north shore). We drove there on our way home from Point Pelee and packed a lunch as we planned to spend a couple hours looking for birds. The birds were there and it seems like a nice enough place, but maybe next time we can choose a day without the gale force winds and perhaps a bit warmer than 45dF? I didn't seem to notice (what with trees full of warblers), but everyone else was complaining about being cold so all I picked up there was the Bank Swallow and the Black-Throated Green Warbler (quite a mouthful, I know).

Birding by Old Photos: To Life List or Not?

I was looking through my electronic photo albums the other day. I have most of my digital photos organized by year and then sub-categorized by month or event, which is handy as long as I can remember that we went to Oregon in 2004 or Maine in 2012. Otherwise, I click through windows and folders like a madman until I find the photo I want.

Recently I was browsing through these folders and I saw one for our trip to Prince Edward Island in the summer of 2008. That was a great trip- we ate seaweed pie, took the Harbour Hippo tour where you cruise through town and then onto the harbor, ate lots of lobster, and went for an evening of deep sea fishing. The fishing trip was quite memorable as we caught a bunch of mackerel, briefly saw a whale, and generally enjoyed being out on the relatively calm Atlantic Ocean. I also remember the ruckus that ensued when the deckhand started cleaning some of the fish that we had just caught. Seemingly out of nowhere a huge flock of birds appeared and grabbed the fish gut tidbits being thrown overboard. It was so loud and chaotic that I even took a photo of the birds.

Damon's Birds for the Week of May 5 - May 11

Ok, remember how I was hoping that I wouldn't be without internet for a long time? Well, my internet was turned out right away, but my computer and its desk was surrounded by boxes for a good week and only finally got cleared away and plugged in today.  Moving sucks.

I will make it up to you with a pretty damn good week of birding. Actually, it was only a pretty good day of birding, but dammit that was a good day.

Week 19 Paul's Update (Warblers and More)

I picked up the pace of my bird sightings this week. There has been an explosion in terms of number and types of birds arriving in Peterborough, which helps, and also Damon is starting to pick up steam himself, which is a strong motivator to get out and see new birds. Most of the week had me picking around behind my house and I saw several new birds back there including a few warblers, a Warbling Vireo, and a Baltimore Oriole.

Week 18 Paul's Update (Nearly Skunked)

I would never have guessed that I would be flirting with seeing no birds during the last week of April. The spring migration is in full swing and millions of birds are flooding into Ontario. Yet, last week I had a fairly poor week of birding and only saw 1 new species. That's right, I wasn't held to the big zero and my list continued to grow, albeit by only a single bird species. My new bird of the week was the Gray Catbird, which was number 127 for the year.

Damon's Birds for the Week of April 29 - May 4

Have noticed the dearth of posting on the blog lately? Paul has noticed that I haven't emailed him much at all the past week too, but he already knew why. You see, I am in the middle of moving and, while it isn't quite like the drama that skirted close to disaster that my move from Kentucky to Pennsylvania was, it is still a lot of work. Add onto that that I also volunteered for Earth Day at my kids' school (yes, they celebrated a week after everyone else) and also have worked a bunch lately plus whole bunch of other things and that leaves you with one exhausted and overwhelmed person with little time to go birding and even less energy to write about it.

But what is Paul's excuse?

So that is why I haven't written much lately (and probably for a couple more days, the official internet transition to the new house goes on today, so wish us luck!), there is good news! Now that I have a house and yard of my own again I can start a house list!

Damon's Birds for the Week of April 21 - April 28

While Paul has been having some pretty good weeks lately, I'm just trying my best to keep up. Luckily, this week I had a better week than him and even passed the 100 bird mark. Yay! Now, I knew I would get 100 birds, just like I know I'll get 150 birds. I'll probably get 200 birds, though that is not a given if I stay put in my area the whole time. But give me a couple little trips and 250 is easily reached. I would need trips to Florida, Texas, Arizona, or anywhere on the west coast if I wanted to have a larger count, but who knows?

Good news? I no longer fear the warblers! Sure, they flit along the trees and move behind branches all the freaking time, but the more I get to know them the more comfortable with them the less I fear them. I think I also read that on an online dating advice column. It also helps when they are around to get familiar with.

Week 17 Paul's Update (With More Photos)

I had a fairly slow week of birding. While it is definitely spring here now, the migration seems to be only slowly arriving. There are reports of new birds everyday and even some rare bird sightings (a Worm-eating Warbler...really?) but I always seem to be day late and a dollar short. Oh well, I am getting out and enjoying nature! I have had several recent walks around the woods/swamp behind my house before 7 a.m., which is a really nice way to wake up and I can't believe how many different species can be found back there. On a typical morning I can see 20+ species with the occasional new bird.

A Philly Area Big Day: A Test Run

I don’t really have a Big Day in me quite yet. Don’t get me wrong, I have the energy and absolutely have the desire, but I just don’t have the time. Yet. So until then I will just casually write down the birds I see during a whole day without going out of my way to make it a big day.

Hey, that actually fits within the whole idea behind this blog! We are casually counting birds for the year without going out of our way, and my ‘big day’ is me casually counting the birds for the day without going out of my way. That’ll work!

Damon's Birds for the Week of April 14 - April 20

Holy shit, I am not even going to comment on Paul's bird count this week. I took a trip down to New Castle, Delaware to find the Brants that were posted there every day for over a week, but I did not see them. Again. Listen, Battery Park in New Castle is pretty much a walking trail with some trees on one side (sometimes), grass around it, and a small beach on the other side. It isn't much of a park, but it does skirt the Delaware Bay so it gets some water birds. Shore birds? Yep, but only Greater Yellowlegs and the damn Killdeer that always get my hopes up that they are some fun plover. But while there were no Brants to be found, I did see a group of Bonaparte's Gulls floating near the shore and being harassed by Fish Crows.

Week 16 Paul's Update (With Photos)

The spring migration is in full swing here in southern Ontario, but you might not know it by the winter weather we've been having. Today's (April 20th) high was a chilly 4 degrees C (that's 39 degrees F for the non-metrically inclined) with a snow/ice pellet/rain mix and a brisk 30 mph wind. Not especially great birding weather. Despite this, I've been getting out a bit and have new birds to report and, as I now have possession of the household camera, I am also making a concerted effort to capture more bird sightings on film. This week's update will feature a few of these photos interspersed with a few notes about my birding efforts.

A Spring Trip to Heinz Wildlife Refuge: A Photoessay

I like the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge a lot. I know, perhaps this is just because it is the newest and shiniest place I've found and that I always get at least one new bird there, but the real reason is that it is just a nice place to walk around. So even on days like last Saturday when I only get one bird (a Blue-Winged Teal and that was only right as I was leaving), it is still a good day just to be out and be in nature. I like birding, but I feel a certain spiritual happiness when I am in natural areas that just makes everything better. Also there are warblers.

Leaving birds in the field

I went birding with my family this weekend on the shores of Lake Ontario. I chose two spots on the lake partly because its been a cold spring in Peterborough and I figured we would have a better chance of seeing more birds if we went even a little bit further south. That and both of the chosen birding locations (Second Marsh and Presqu'ile) frequently have extensive bird lists posted on eBird. With the knowledge that many bird species were could be seen, my expectations were perhaps a bit lofty as we headed off. Would I add 5, 10 or even 15 new birds to my list? It was certainly possible. Would I see the elusive Northern Pintail, a mythical bird- I've only seen drawings- that reportedly frequents the marshes of Lake Ontario? Perhaps a new shorebird or one of a half-dozen potential gull species? The sky was really the limit!

Avian-Style Baby Names

In a previous life, I would write in my spare time about baby names. I had fun and would sporadically write missives that ranged from “funny” to “probably too bitterly sarcastic” concerning people’s ideas of ‘good’ names. Not your kids’ names, of course, because those are all good. I mean those other kids’ names. All of those suck.

Ok, not all names suck because names all have meaning. It is the ignorance or misapplication of that meaning that makes names suck. So, with that as my vaguely general guidelines for good and bad names, I present to you:

Popular Avian-Influenced Baby Names