The Bucket List Trip

The Bucket List Bird, by Angie DeLozier, Wake Audubon Secretary.

Western Grebes

My husband and I just came back from a 3-week trip through the northwest, which was a lifetime goal for him. As birdwatchers, we were filled with hopes of seeing some of the many pacific birds missing in our life list. I will not describe most of the regular birds we saw since we learned quickly that riding the Amtrak from Chicago, IL to Portland, OR and from Sacramento, CA to Chicago, was not an ideal way to bird watch. We did get to see some Pronghorn Antelopes, Red Tailed Hawks, Common Crows and many ULB’s (Unidentified Little Bird). All this looking out the windows of our sleeper car at 80/90 miles an hour.

The birding fun began at our stay in Glacier National Park with the presence of 3 Black Billed Magpies that were common daily, in front of the lodge. White Crowned Sparrows were seed picking the lengthy flowerbed from the lodge to the train station. Cedar Waxwings were plentiful in the area and seeing several Cassin’s Finch was a first for us. Then the Grey Jays and Colombian Squirrels appeared on our drive through the Road To The Sun. Now that is the 2^nd most spectacular scenic road we’ve ever driven. Waterfalls galore in sizes, shapes and force. The few remaining Glaciers, the peaks and depths are breathtaking plus add the wildflowers! At Lake McDonald we took the boat tour and saw a pair of Bufflehead Ducks and some Tree Swallows. Sitting to rest on the porch of its lodge we saw our first Red-naped Sapsucker and his tree hole. While visiting the Logan’s Pass Visitor Center we also saw two Mountain Goats and a doe which standing about 10 feet from my husband decided to urinate (See picture).

We saw the Black Terns for the first time too.

At Crater Lake we admired Red Mantled Squirrels, Clarks Nutcrackers, Mountain Bluebirds, Mountain Chickadees, Oregon Juncos, Pine Siskins, Pine Warblers, Brown Creeper, Red Breasted Nuthatches, Townsend’s Solitaire and our first Bushtit happened at the Pinnacles trail. Seeing Western Tanagers at the Wildflower Garden was a delight again. Stellar Jays were common.

While driving the CA coast highway, we got our Western Gulls. Saw bulls/females seals sunning. A magnificent “Unknown” Red Sea Star on a pier support (See picture). Wild turkeys, Tricolored Blackbirds, Osprey, Glossy Ibis, hundreds of Cowbirds (with cow herd), Killdeers, and Marbled Godwits. We will not forget the sight in Clear Lake of hundreds of Western Grebes with their chicks (see picture). And last but not least, we spotted two Chestnut Backed Chickadees, which my husband had wanted to add to his list before we left Raleigh, NC. And to top that, our first California Towhee, with a large whitish moth/butterfly in his beak, paraded in front of our car and from side to side in the bushes for about 10 mins.

Birding on the Lumber River: JUNE 5th!

ATTN: The Lumber River trip scheduled for June 5th-6th is now a ONE DAY event that will take place on Friday, June 5th from 7am-5pm. Please make note of this change and make sure to join us for a wonderful day of birding and paddling down one of the 10 natural wonders of North Carolina!

www.meetup.com/Wake-Audubon-Meetup/calendar/13402037

Contact Sean Higgins for more details
Departure Time: 7:00 AM from the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 West Jones Street, Raleigh

Want to go to the Dominican Republic with Wake Audubon?

THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Birds, Birds and Humpback Whales

12 – Day Birding & Natural History Trip: January 14 – January 25, 2011

Day 1 – Friday, January 14: Raleigh/Durham to our US Gateway City and on to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Our adventure begins at Raleigh/Durham International airport with our flight to Miami. Please arrive at RDU no later than two hours prior to our scheduled departure time. Dave Davenport and John Gerwin will be there to meet you and help you get checked in. Upon arrival at Miami’s International Airport we will transfer to our departure gate for our flight to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Once we arrive in the Dominican Republic we will clear customs and immigration before we meet Kate Wallace, our guide/driver, and transfer to the Hotel Palacio. The rest of the afternoon will be free to relax prior to dinner. After dinner we will return to our rooms at the hotel for a night of much needed rest. The Hotel Palacio occupies a 17^th century mansion complete with stone-walled walkways and an interior courtyard. The rooms are comfortable and the service is excellent. (D)

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Bird Banding Trip FULL

The bird banding day scheduled for March 27 is full. Cathy Fergen, the coordinator, is accepting names for a wait list in case anyone drops out.

Trip Report-December Mattamuskeet Trip

The Wake Audubon-sponsored trip to Lake Mattamuskeet took place Dec 4-6. Our group braved some inclement on Saturday as a moving weather front brought cold, intermittent rain to the area. We were able to get out for a few hours in the morning, and some in the late afternoon, and get in some decent birding in between bands of light rain and drizzle. In mid-afternoon we ate a leisurely lunch at the Hotel Engelhard, after which John Gerwin conducted a sparrow identification workshop, using specimens from the Museum’s bird collection. Thanks go to Becky Desjardins, Bird Collections Manager and Wake Audubon President, and Keith Jensen, part time Bird Collections Technician and longtime Audubon member, for pulling those specimens together – it helped fill in a rainy couple of hours with an educational and entertaining program. Much thanks go to the Hotel Engelhard staff for providing great hospitality, nice comfortable rooms, and “birder friendly” breakfasts.

Sunday dawned clear and cold, as the front had now passed. The early morning light was spectacular for viewing the thousands of Snow Geese at the Lake Landing area. The list of birds, and approximated numbers seen, are at the end. Highlights were:

Peregrine Falcon: on Friday, a few of us “early birds” were witnesses to an adult Peregrine chasing and stooping on a flying Snowy Egret over the main body of water to the east of the causeway. After half a dozen or so passes, the falcon gave up, and the Egret continued on, unharmed.

Saturday –

White Pelican – one seen by all flying west across the causeway.

Tree Swallow – we witnessed one of the most amazing congregations of swallows I have ever seen: there were tens of thousands of birds swarming overhead all day long, everywhere we went. I have never seen anything like it. Apparently feeding in advance of the approaching cold front, it was beyond any Hitchcock image, and was truly spectacular. Perhaps nearly as spectacular was the near-absence of this species the following morning, when we counted only about 25.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – one along the causeway.

Yellow Warbler – a short but good look at a female or immature along the causeway.

Prairie Warbler – one along the causeway, and another one or two seen Sunday a mile south.

Sunday –

Little Blue Heron – several immatures were seen, standing with Cattle and Snowy egrets, at the Lake Landing area.

Merlin – one seen each day but the best view was a flyover this morning.

Virginia Rail – a bird called right along the roadway we were walking, among some short vegetation in shallow water. Participant Alex Capaldi had a “Field Guide to Birds” application on his cell phone, which included vocalizations. He played the V. Rail to get the birds attention, which he did. We could see the “shadow” as the rail ran among the thick vegetation, very close to us. Board member Erik Thomas, donning rubber boots, went in to “bird dog” it, and successfully flushed it. The bird flew about 15’, into the wind, and only about 15’ in front of us, which allowed us all to get a great view.

Marsh Wren – always a piece of work to get into view, the group persisted and succeeded in doing so with one in a cattail patch at the Lake Landing area. Much thanks to Alex Capaldi again for using his cell phone to keep the bird’s attention, and coaxing it out several times, enough for folks to get a decent, albeit always brief, look.

Owls and Meteors Cancelled Tonight!

Due to inclement weather, there will be no owls and meteor walk tonight. Sorry!