On this episode Ezekiel and I talk while he Zooms in from his car somewhere near San Diego, California where he was continuing his lower-48 U.S. big year. He saw #700, a Flame-colored Tanager in SE Arizona, and is in SoCal awaiting a pelagic trip. HE is currently at 702 for the year, adding the provisional species Burrowing Parakeet while awaiting the pelagic trip.
I love San Diego as a base for birding the area as well as the place for great pelagic birding. I’ve had an episode about the Searcher 5-Day pelagic which I highly recommend.
Follow Ezekiel on his Instagram page and support him on Go Fund Me if you feel motivated.
I’ve had lots of big year and life list birders on as guests.
Liam Hutcheson and his recent record Washington State big year
Peter Kaestner and his lifelong quest to see birds of the world.
Victor and Ruben Stoll on their record breaking Lower-48 big year.
Doug Hitchcock and his record breaking 400th species in the state of Maine (now much higher)
Raphael Fennamore and his King County WA big year.
Tiffany Keersten and her at the time record Lower-48 big year.
Matt Bartels and his quest for finding 200+ species of birds in every Washington State county.
Lynn Barber talks about record big years in the biggest states of Alaska and Texas.
And the craziest of all, Dorian Anderson’s bicycle big year story.
Thanks for listening, stay tuned to learn about Slow Birding and more.
Good birding and good day!
Tag: big day
Pierce County 5-15-2022 Big Day Report
by Ed Pullen
Start Time: 4 AM
Estimated Miles driven: 190
Weather: Mostly light rain in the early morning, heavy rain from about 10 AM until 2 PM, then cleared
eBird checklists: 28!!
Drivers: 2 cars Ed Pullen and Peter Wimberger (with some sharing)
What a Day
This big day was a significant change from recent annual big day attempts, in that it is a few days to a week or more later in May, and the route was new. It worked great as it was the highest big day recorded in the 20+ years Bruce has been doing these efforts. The prior record of 137 species was in 2011.
We debated about changing the date or cancelling based on the weather report, but decided to go for it as individual schedules didn’t allow a change for everyone. We pretty much followed ABA big day rules except for using 2 vehicles, as cramming into one vehicle for the super-long day effort seemed unwise and uncomfortable.
We started the day meeting at the lower Puget Park at 4 AM, in light rain and well before the 5:36 AM sunrise where we quickly saw and heard the expected pair of Barred Owls. Will, Max and Peter stopped at the top of the park before meeting us and heard migrating Swainson’s Thrushes, a sign of the great young ears on the trip to come.
From there we drove to JBLM, starting our list at the end of Chamber’s Lake at 4:51 just as dawn approached. Will pointed out Cinnamon Teal in the dark, that most of us recognized over the next few minutes as the sun approached the horizon. Wood Duck, PB Grebe, Sora, Virginia Rail, and Olive-sided Flycatcher calling distantly were highlights, and really active singing birds gave us 37 species on the 49 minute stop there.
We drove across the back road to Muck Creek, adding MacGilvary’s Warbler, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and lots more at a quick stop by the small pond there, and at Muck Creek missed Bobwhite, but added California Quail, Hairy Woodpecker, House Wren, Purple Martin, American Kestrel as part of the 34 species at Muck Creek.
At Story Road, the next stop we got remarkable close looks at a Vesper Sparrow that flew to a bush right beside the car near Range 72, and added Western Bluebird, Western Wood Pewee, and then dashed for the Hermit Warbler stop. The Hermit sang loudly for us straight overhead in a tall fir tree, and we kept it to a 3 minute stop.
At the Thirteenth Division Prairie area we added the hoped for Western Kingbird and Lazuli Bunting along with a Bullock’s Oriole female and several other species.
Driving through Lakewood Will made an incidental list for the obligatory Rock Pigeon as we dashed for the Chamber’s Creek/Bay area. At the area by the fish ladder/dam in a very quick stop we were really pleased by a late Greater Yellowlegs, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser and Osprey. At the stop across the road from the railroad tracks scopes turned out to be terrific, with a single unexpectedly late Red-necked Grebe spotted by Peter, the only Common Loon of the trip, along with Marbled Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet, a single Surf Scoter, Greater Scaup, all three cormorants, Bushtit close enough for everyone to hear, and American Wigeon. This was an “exceeded expectations” stop by far, and set us up for a great total species number, as at the late date finding salt water species that had mostly left for breeding grounds was a risk.
We got to the McNeil Trail in Dupont at 8:41, but fog descended making viewing really difficult, but Will got us onto a Nashville Warbler in the bushes right in front of our viewing point, and we made it a quick stop as we could barely see the mudflats. No Ringed-bill Gull, shorebirds or really much else made the stop unfruitful otherwise.
Next stop was Titlow Park, where a brief seawatch was not fruitful, but we added Pileated and Downy Woodpecker, Cedar Waxwing, and heard and saw lots of passerines for a species total there of 31.
Hutton’s Vireo was a miss at Titlow, so we stopped at two place on the periphery of Pt. Defiance park, finally hearing two at the turn at the top of the hill by the Vassault entrance.
We were undecided about stopping at Dune Peninsula Park, but were running well on time so decided to make a quick stop. Bingo- Will initially picked out a flock of 45 shorebirds that landed on the water far offshore, to add Red-necked Phalarope, and then three Brown Pelicans flew down the channel from in front of Brown’s Point, a California Gull flew by, and remarkably Will was able to identify 5 distant ducks flying by as Barrow’s Goldeneyes. Another great stop.
A quick stop at Thea Park added a late Short-billed Gull (previously Mew Gull) and we headed for the Frank Albert Farm fields as light rain steadily became not so light at all. We slogged through the heavy rain out into the muddy fields, and I quickly looked at two small plovers with a ring on their neck that I wrote off as Killdeer without setting up my scope. Peter scoped the first ponds and identified them as unusual for spring Semi-palmated Plovers. The start of a great stop. Max used his 6’5” height to point out Amerian Pipits over the berm at the end of the field that we all got on, and we hit the dabbling duck jackpot in the ponds in the back, with the hoped for remaining 3 Blue-winged Teal, plus Cinnamon Teal (in the daylight this time), Green-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, Gadwall, and Mallard. On the walk back out as we neared the cars, Will excitedly shouted out Lark Sparrow as he and Max spotted a sparrow fly quickly in front of them only to disappear into the hedgerow, and not be relocated.
A stop at Levee Pond was not productive for Green Heron, but the 56th St Stormwater ponds added the expected American Coot, Ruddy Duck and a high-flying calling Belted Kingfisher, and an unexpeted Long-billed Dowicher.
Drive by new birds on Hwy 162 near Spooner Farms were Brewer’s Blackbird and Eurasian Collared Dove as we drove to the West Orting Farm Fields hotspot. Miscommunication about the direction to travel the loop led Bruce and me to be a minute late at where Will, Peter and Max had just seen a Peregrine Falcon (not to fear we all saw one later in the day) just as Will explained to Max that finding a Northern Harrier here at this time of year was not likely, only to have one leisurely fly by really obviously about 1 minute later. Vaux’s Swift, another Western Kingbird and a nice flock of 75 American Pipits along with a small group of Least Sandpipers were highlights of Orting. We tried at 178th Street quickly for Lesser Goldfinch, but it was a miss for the day.
We tried to recover Green Heron at the Voight’s Fish Hatchery, but no luck on the way to the foothills areas off Hwy 410, so settled for a single Turkey Vulture finally getting up as the rain cleared and we drove on.
I upset Bruce by running an eBird trip report, but he was less disappointed to hear the we had 125 birds already. At FR 70 it was really quiet, and we added no new species there. Chrystal River Ranch Road gave us American Dipper that Bruce spotted upstream from the first bridge. It also gave the older participants a chance to hear and see some species that younger ears had found in the lowlands, like Black-throated Gray, Townsends and Orange-crowned Warblers, Evening Grosbeak, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and we added no new species but excellent looks at three Lazuli Buntings at the corral area, including a nice female bunting.
We went on the FR 73 where we missed the hoped for Red Crossbills, and failed to add hoped for lingering or moving unusual Empidonax flycatchers. We also surprisingly missed Townsend’s Solitaire, which Will reminded us is never predictable anywhere, though at visits earlier this week were numerous in many of our stops that afternoon.
We made two stops near Crystal Mountain Ski Resort, missing Sooty Grouse near the ski lift area, but at some beaver ponds off the main road driving out we added very distant booming grouse, and had a lucky Hermit Thrusht close range.
We made owls nice bookends of our trip, with N. Pygmy Owl tooting at a known place off the Crystal River Ranch Road to wrap up our birding for the day. We planned a celebratory dinner in Greenwater at the bar (closing early on Sunday Night, or Enumclaw, also closed up tight) but did enjoy a wrap up beer and burgers at the Parkway Bar in Tacoma, where Peter ordering an Impossible Bacon Cheeseburger make this vegan laugh, as did Peter’s story of the t-shirt exchange. Ask him if you see him.
Overall a great way to celebrate Will’s 24th birthday, getting to know Max, and bird hard all day.
Birdathon and Pierce County Big Day May 7, 2020
What a treat to get out birding with a group of birders yesterday for my Tahoma Audubon Birdathon and for a Pierce County Big day. I knew I missed the fellowship and camaraderie of birding with friends, but the reality of the lack of sharing the excitement and energy of finding birds with a great group of fellow birders really dawned on me as I headed out with Bruce LaBar, Will Brooks and Peter Wimberger on a Pierce Big Day yesterday May 7th. Birdathon is the primary fundraiser for the Tahoma Audubon Society each year, and interested readers can contribute on the TAS Birdathon Donate Page Here.
We made an effort at social distancing, driving 2 cars instead of 1, Bruce and I in his Corolla and Peter and Will in Peter’s Forester. We met at 4 AM at Puget Park, and saved about 13 of the allotted 15 minutes when a pair of Barred Owls called immediately and flew to us hooting and calling right overhead when I played a recording for about 5 seconds. From there we took a very different route than we have used in past May Pierce big day efforts.
In the past we have started the day in the Purdy/Fox Island area at the crack of dawn to look for seabirds. By this time in May most of the waterfowl, looks, and winter gulls have departed the south Puget Sound for their breeding areas. This year it seemed to us that they have departed a bit early and on scouting we had really struggled to find these species. That combined with great success in the last week in the foothills of Mt. Rainier near Greenwater prompted us to start there instead, hopefully adding more mountain species there than we might miss by skipping the early AM Fox Island bridge and DeMolay Spit stop. A nice side benefit was that it sounded like a lot more fun.
The mountains did not disappoint, driving up in a and the extraordinary birding skills of Will were at the leading edge there as they were all day. At the first stop on the bridge over the White River on FR 73 Will and I heard an American Dipper singing in the dark on a very quick stop. Moments later Bruce and I saw a Hermit Thrush on the road in the headlights, and the race to find species was on.
We made stops at the Elk Compound off FR 73 with highlights being a distant Pygmy Owl tooting, fly-over Red Crossbills and generally the dawn chorus. ON the way out we all got looks at the dipper by the bridge in daylight. The next stop was two clearcuts and a horse ranch on the Crystal River Ranch Road. We wracked up on woodpeckers, which can be challenging on a big day including Downy, Hairy, Pileated, Red-breasted Nuthatch, N. Flicker all seen easily, as well as swallows, flycatchers, several Townsend’s Solitaires, and just a nice variety of singing passerines. On at least two spots the more palpable than audible drumming of Ruffed Grouse were heard, and later on FR 70 more solitaires and a very distant booming Sooty Grouse interrupted the many MacGilvary’s Warblers and Townsend’s and Black-throated Gray Warbler songs.
We then raced back down Hwy 410, quickly listing Bank Swallows at the known sandpits just across the county line in Buckley. Stakeout birds generally cooperated. Will heard Lesser Goldfinch before we parked on Riverside Drive in Sumner, and we all got looks at several after stopping. Will also pointed out a Bullock’s Oriole that flew over giving most of us a brief glimpse of bright orange.
We missed Green Heron at the expected stop at Levy Pond in Fife, even taking time to walk all around the pond, but three flew across the Puyallup River and back while we were stopped at the traffic light there for a quick recovery of that tough to find species.
The storm water ponds on 56th Street in Puyallup largely disappointed, but we managed to add American Coots there, and then the flooded fields off Frank Albert in Fife came through nicely, adding Western, Spotted, and Solitary Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowicher, Cooper’s Hawk, Cinnamon Teal (a species that though usually difficult to find in Pierce County seemed everywhere on this date- with a high count of 7 later at the Mountain View Cemetery in Lakewood), Green-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, Gadwall, another singing oriole and three Lazuli Buntings singing and hiding in a small tree at the end of the hedge row. The Gog-li-hi-ti Mitigated Marsh didn’t add much on a quick stop. We missed the Tacoma Peregrine by the nest box downtown, and began our largely frustrating search for seabirds at the mouth of the Puyallup River, Thea Park, Ruston, Titlow, and later Steilacoom and McNeil Trail Overlook in Dupont. For all these stops we settled for Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet and Rhinoceros Auklets all at Titlow, Western Grebes, a single very distant Pacific Loon seen only by Will in Steilacoom, along with Caspian Tern, Ring-billed Gull and little more.
A stop at the Mountain View Cemetery added Lesser Scaup, Mourning Dove, and maybe the surprise of the day a Sora doing its whinny call near the back of the marsh while we scoped for ducks.
We finished the day on JBLM by really finding almost everything we targeted and more. A distant singing Vesper Sparrow was seen and heard off Story Road as an estimated 200 Vaux’s Swifts flew behind us overhead, Western Bluebirds flitted all around, and our only American Kestrel of the day looked on. Last stops on the fort yielded a spontaneously calling Northern Bobwhite at Muck Creek, a Western Kingbird conveniently perched on a roadside building that Bruce and I drove by but Will and Peter stopped and called us back to see, a Hooded Merganser at a hidden pond beside a cutoff road that Bruce knew about, and Ringed-neck Ducks and were found at Chamber’s Lake. Bruce and I called it a day there, but Will and Peter managed the energy to go back to the far end of Chamber’s Lake and add their species #133 for the day, Western Wood-Pewee.
Overall this was a really spectacular day in many ways. The #133 species tied for 2nd in Bruce’s history of most species in a Pierce County Big Day. He has been doing them for about 3 decades. Only one day with 137 species by an all-star group years ago topped this total.
The what-if’s had us all thinking as the day ended. What if we had better luck on the sound. No Common Loon, Surf Scoter, Red-necked or Horned Grebe. Few alcids, few gulls… Maybe doing this route a week earlier would have added a few more migrants, got a few more lingering seabirds but missed only a few later arriving songbirds.
These are the thoughts that only a true birding fanatic can savor.
Anyway, I want to offer many thanks to all of you who donate to TAS in support of this effort. Stay safe, but find a way to get out birding.
May Pierce County Big Day Delayed
Today Bruce Labar (see The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #3) and I did a low elevation Pierce County Big Day. Our goal was to try to see as many species as we could in one day without going to the mountain (Mt. Rainier) and with a level of effort such that we could enjoy ourselves. We understood that for a May Pierce County Big Day we were at a disadvantage by waiting until May 18th. By this date most waterfowl, gulls, loons, alcids and shorebirds have already left for their breeding grounds, and in the past we have tried to time our May Big Day a week or so earlier to catch the lingering species in these groups of birds while delaying long enough to get many of the returning breeding birds.
We waited until today because last weekend we were at the WOS Conference in Moses Lake, and a combination our schedules, weather and convenience had us wait until today. We feel we had a great day all things considered, and at 101 species identified we feel good about our results.
We started the day at Puget Park, where a Barred Owl flew right in for a look after our first playing of a recorded call.
We made many stops, with 24 eBird lists, and the route was from Puget Park to Point Defiance to Fox Island with a stop at Adam Tallman Park, to Titlow Park, Chamber’s Creek, Steilacom Park and then McNeil Overlook, to JBLM including Spanaway Marsh, Range 72, Muck Creek, Areas 15 and 13, then back to Tacoma and Fife to wrap up the big day about 5:15 PM.
Best birds were the Barred Owl, lingering Pacific Loons and Common Murre at Fox Island, Marbled Murrelets at Titlow Beach and also in Steilacom, Vesper Sparrow, Western Kingbird, Lazuli Bunting and Sora at JBLM, and a Peregrine Falcon in downtown Tacoma. Here are some photos from the day.
Good Birding. Good Day!