Long Island Herps and Birds

For the week of August 12th, Shawn and I kicked back and relaxed at his Long Island home. We had planned on heading to the Jersey Pine Barrens for herping with friends, but those plans got cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. (See this fieldherpforum thread, where they found just about everything we wanted to see). Shawn's Monk Parakeet, Roger, was delighted to have us as company for longer:




Our first birding venture was out to Brooklyn. We stopped to see the Western [Little] Reef-Heron [-Egret], Egretta [garzetta] gularis, which is still sporatically occuring in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and nearby Jersey. We didn't find it, so we headed over to Jamaica Bay to look for shorebird migrants and terns. Pickings were slim in terms of the rare terns and shorebirds, but there were plenty of the more common Forster's Terns (and a few Least), as well as Semipalmated Plover and some peeps.

A trip out East with Shawn's friends Drew and Trudy, to Dune Road, Ponquogue, and nearby locations, yielded much of the same.


Of course I had to stop and play with the Green and Spider Crabs in the retreating tide.


After this bit of birding, we carried on with the part of our failed herping plans that involved Long Island. We headed out to visit Brookhaven National Lab, which Shawn has contacts with. We were able to get visitor's passes and a tour of some of the good Pine Barrens habitat, which is known to contain NYS rarities like Tiger Sallies and Hognose Snakes. On the way there, we stopped at a pond and had fun ID'ing various variable Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta):


We also found several Eastern Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta picta), a different subspecies than back at home (Midland Painted Turtle, C. p. marginata). In Midland, the central scutes along the carapace are alternating with the two outer rows, whereas in Eastern the scutes line up across the carapace.


This big one swam over to a log where a very small Painted and Slider were basking innocently...


and rose out of the water to reveal A GLOWING NUCLEAR ORANGE MONSTROSITY!!


Well, I'm exaggerating a little, but it was extremely brightly colored...

We also turned up this Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus):


At Brookhaven, we ended up having very little time to herp, but we turned up great species, three lifers in quick succession:

Fowler's Toad (Bufo fowleri)

Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus)

Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)

After this herping adventure, we rested at Shawn's uncle's house in the Barrens, among a bounty of orchids, houseplants, chickens, and his neighbor's guineafowl:


Of particular notice among the plants, was this Passionflower (Passiflora) vine in bloom:


After this week of rest and relaxed herping and birding, Shawn and I headed back to Ithaca to face the new school year.

Trip Report Part 10: The End

Well, I finally reach the end of my western journey. Shawn, Ben, Scott, and I flew out of Denver on Sunday the 12th, parting ways. Shawn and I would continue birding and herping Long Island for another week before school, but thats another trip report (coming soon). Here I present the total trip list for Shawn and I, from Aug 4-12, followed by overall commentary.

My lifers are in caps. Shawn's lifers are in bold. X's indicate no counts.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - 75
Gadwall (Anas strepera) - 3
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) - x
CINNAMON TEAL (Anas cyanoptera) - 17
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) - 3
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) - 3
GREATER SAGE-GROUSE (Centrocercus urophasianus) - 25
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) - 2
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) - 10
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) - 11
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) - 6
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) - 7
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) - 19
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) - 21
MISSISSIPPI KITE (Ictinia mississippiensis) - 9
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) - 3
Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) - 42
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) - 17
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (Buteo regalis) - 9
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) - 3
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) - 9
PRAIRIE FALCON (Falco mexicanus) - 2
American Coot (Fulica americana) - 20
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) - 12
AMERICAN AVOCET (Recurvirostra americana) - 1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) - 2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) - 2
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) - 5
Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) - 3
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) - 3
Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri) - 7
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) - x
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) - 12
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) – x
BARN OWL (Tyto alba) - 2
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) - 1
BURROWING OWL (Athene cunicularia) - 21
Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) - 18
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) - 3
WHITE-THROATED SWIFT (Aeronautes saxatalis) - 3
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD (Archilochus alexandri) - 1
CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD (Stellula calliope) - 1
BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD (Selasphorus platycercus) - x
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD (Selasphorus rufus) - 6
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) - 1
RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER (Sphyrapicus nuchalis) - 2
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris) - 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) - 4
WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE (Contopus sordidulus) - 2
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) - 1
GRAY FLYCATCHER (Empidonax wrightii) - 6
SAY’S PHOEBE (Sayornis saya) - 9
CASSIN’S KINGBIRD (Tyrannus vociferans) - 6
WESTERN KINGBIRD (Tyrannus verticalis) - x
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) - 4
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE (Lanius ludovicianus) - 1
PLUMBEOUS VIREO (Vireo plumbeus) - 1
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) - 4
Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) - 8
STELLER’S JAY (Cyanocitta stelleri) - 16
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) - 15
PINYON JAY (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) - 1
CLARK’S NUTCRACKER (Nucifraga columbiana) - 12
BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE (Pica hudsonia) - 33
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) - 10
CHIHUAHUAN RAVEN (Corvus cryptoleucus) - 14
Common Raven (Corvus corax) - x
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) - x
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW (Tachycineta thalassina) – x
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) - 1
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) - x
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) - x
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) - x
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) - 2
MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE (Poecile gambeli) - 30
JUNIPER TITMOUSE (Baeolophus ridgwayi) - 7
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) - 4
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) - 3
ROCK WREN (Salpinctes obsoletus) - 3
CANYON WREN (Catherpes mexicanus) - 9
BEWICK’S WREN (Thryomanes bewickii) - 4
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) - 2
AMERICAN DIPPER (Cinclus mexicanus) - 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) - 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) - x
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD (Sialia currucoides) - 26
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) - x
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) - 4
SAGE THRASHER (Oreoscoptes montanus) - 17
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) - 1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - x
American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) – x
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) - x
VIRGINIA’S WARBLER (Vermivora virginiae) - 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) - 12
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER (Dendroica nigrescens) - 1
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) - 1
MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER (Oporornis tolmiei) - 1
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) - 16
SPOTTED TOWHEE (Pipilo maculates) - 14
CANYON TOWHEE (Pipilo fuscus) - 4
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) - x
BREWER’S SPARROW (Spizella breweri) - 26
Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus) - 14
Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) - x
LARK BUNTING (Calamospiza melanocorys) - x
BAIRD’S SPARROW (Ammodramus bairdii) - 1
Lincoln’s Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) - 3
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) - 4
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) - x
MCCOWN’S LONGSPUR (Calcarius mccownii) - 9
CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR (Calcarius ornatus) - 16
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK (Pheucticus melanocephalus) - 7
BLUE GROSBEAK (Passerina caerulea) - 6
LAZULI BUNTING (Passerina amoena) - 2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) - 1
WESTERN MEADOWLARK (Sturnella neglecta) - 25
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) - 5
BREWER’S BLACKBIRD (Euphagus cyanocephalus) - 33
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) - x
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) - 3
Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii) - 7
BROWN-CAPPED ROSY-FINCH (Leucosticte australis) - 1
PINE GROSBEAK (Pinicola enucleator) - 3
CASSIN’S FINCH (Carpodacus cassinii) - 6
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) - 20
Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus) - x
LESSER GOLDFINCH (Carduelis psaltria) - 10
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) - 7
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) - x

Total Species = 130
Total lifers = 55!

Needless to say, I am going to be very hard-pressed to find another trip of this magnitude of lifers in North America. It's going to have to be Arizona, California, or Alaska. I am, of course, still THRILLED and a little overwhelmed with how much I saw in so little time. Overall though, I got good looks at almost everything I wanted to, and didn't miss too many birds.

Grouse: What can I say? I was pleased to see one Sage-Grouse, thrilled to see almost 30, and well, too! We missed White-tailed Ptarmigan after two tries (Mt. Evans and RMNP), but that just means we'll have to go back.

Hawks: Very pleased to get several lifers. The Mississippi Kites were easy, we saw multiple pairs low overhead in La Junta. Ferruginous had me worried, because my first look was terrible and distant. However, persistance resulted in a bunch more, with plenty of good looks. We even encountered a dark morph bird, and I got to see the dark morph fight with two lights on the ground. Prairie Falcon was my 50th lifer of the trip, and I was lucky enough to see two.

Shorebirds: Did poorly here, but we were almost never in appropriate habitat for most shorebirds. We missed a chance to get to some reservoirs and hopefully see some Snowy Plovers and more. We did get my life Avocet in a small pond near Laramie, but not much else. We also missed Long-billed Curlew, and we missed one of the top trip targets: Mountain Plover.

Owls: My first two lifers on the trip were owls. We had no more new owls after that (except for the Great-horned on campus), but we simply were too tired at the end of each day to get out into the field and hoot.

Hummingbirds: Four lifers, which is pretty much everything I could get in Colorado! The only one I saw very well was Broad-tailed, saw many females and got to see one male with a flashing gorget - a very pretty magenta color. I saw the others less well, but only because of short looks, rather than distance or other factors.

Woodpeckers: Did relatively poorly here. We got two targets: Red-naped and Ladder-backed, but missed Lewis', Williamson's, Three-toed, etc, despite targeted efforts.

Flycatchers: Did well! I was very pleased. Thankfully, the only Empidonax we saw were easily identifiable, including the excellent Gray Flycatcher.

Vireos: I accomplished my goal - I got brief but diagnostic looks at a Plumbeous Vireo. Combined with the Cassin's I saw last year in Mexico, I now have seen every member of the former Solitary Vireo complex.

Corvids: We were one species away from a Corvid Sweep! We missed Blue Jay, of all things, but saw EVERY OTHER species in Colorado and Wyoming.

Wrens, Parids, Nuthatches, Dippers: Did pretty well here. Only regret is that I missed Pygmy Nuthatch. But seeing Dippers at close range makes up for that. What awesome birds.

Sparrows: Did very well. The Baird's was an unexpected hit. We missed a few species in southern Colorado, but otherwise saw nearly everything we could. We got great looks at McCown's Longspur (not-so great on the Chestnut-collared). This means I've seen all four longspurs this year - I chased a vagrant Smith's on Long Island this past winter.

Finches: All I need to say, is ROSY-FINCH!!!


Well, that about wraps it all up. I'm already planning next year's trip. The 2008 AOU meeting is in Portland, Oregon. Oh, the Pacific Coast possibilities!

Trip Report Part 9: Snowy Range, WY (Aug 11)

I'll keep this one short and mostly let the photos speak for themselves - in part because it was short - for around three hours on Saturday, our group left Laramie and drove into the Snowy Mountains to the west, to get another one last shot at alpine habitat.

Golden-mantled Ground-Squirrel

My life Pine Grosbeaks

Left to right: Me, Ben, Scott, Erin, ShawnSame faces as above, minus Erin, plus Brian:
My lists. My lifers are in caps. X's indicate no counts. TMTC = too many to count.

Mammals

LEAST CHIPMUNK (Tamias minimus) - 3
Colorado/Uinta Chipmunk (Tamias quadrivittatus or T. umbrinus) - x
Golden-mantled Ground-Squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis) - x

Birds

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) - 3
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) - 2
Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) - 3
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) - 1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) - 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) - 2
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) - 9
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) - 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) - 1
Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) - 3
ROCK WREN (Salpinctes obsoletus) - 2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) - x
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) - x
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) - 1
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerine) - 3
Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus) - 1
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) - 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) - x
Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus) - 2
LAZULI BUNTING (Passerina amoena) - 1
Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) - 2
PINE GROSBEAK (Pinicola enucleator) - 3
CASSIN’S FINCH (Carpodacus cassinii) - 6
Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus) - x


Part 10: The End

Trip Report Part 8: AOU (Aug 8-11)

This part will be short: the 125th Stated Meeting of the American Ornithological Meeting, the whole reason behind the big trip. It was, in short, phenomenal. Not much to write about, as I have no pictures, and can't replicate the work of all the great talks I saw. I did a lot of networking and grad school prospecting. I met many fascinating people, including but not limited to (be sure to check these people out for some great research!):

Darren Irwin (U British Columbia), working on hybrid zones between Eastern and Western bird species in British Columbia, including Winter Wrens, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and some newly discovered contact zones.

Kevin J. Burns (San Diego State U), working on California phylogeography and the phylogeny of Tanagers.

Robert Moyle (U Kansas), working on systematics and biodiversity in Southeast Asia.

Sara Morris (Canisius), working on songbird migration.

Jed Burtt (Ohio Wesleyan), working on feather structure.

Mara McDonald (U Wisconsin), did her Ph.D dissertation on the same birds I'm working on - the Hispaniolan Palm-Tanagers (Phaenicophilus).

Scott Lanyon (U Minnesota), working on the Icterid phylogeny.

Zac Cheviron (LSU, grad), working on variation in Zonotrichia capensis.
Matt Carling (LSU, grad), working on the Lazuli/Indigo Bunting hybrid zone.

If any of you happen to read this - thanks again for being so generous with your time and responding to all my grad school questions! I had a great time and look forward to seeing you in the future.

In addition to the conference staple of talks, talks, and talks, there was the Student Quiz-bowl. Team Ergaticus Major (Big Red Warblers, anyone?), consisting of Scott Haber, Shawn Billerman, and myself, were there representing Cornell undergrads. Cornell was also present in two other teams: the Red-cockaded Nighthawks, with Cornell alum Erin Hewitt and Cornell grad student Rebecca Lohnes; also the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory Menials, with Cornell alums Colby Neuman and Pete Hosner, as well as friend Nick Block. There were nine teams in all, competing in three rounds of three teams before the winners go on to the championship round. Ergaticus Major won the first round, knocking out in good sport the Red-cockaded Nighthawks. LSU's team the Van Remsen's, consisting of Zac, Matt, and James Maley, won the second round, and the Menials won the third. These three heavyweight teams came together for the finals in a rough slugging match of ornithological wit and wisdom - but always in good humor. It came down to final jeopardy, neck-and-neck. We were barely ahead, thanks to Scott's lightning-quick buzzer-finger. Final jeopardy question - What bird is on the Mexican Flag? Our answer of Golden Eagle, and some good brinksmanship number-crunching, landed Ergaticus Major the victory. Of course, there was much discussion during the celebration later that night with the other teams whether it was actually a Golden Eagle or it was meant to be a Caracara (the "Mexican Eagle").

Over-dramatized quiz-bowl shenanigans aside, we had a great time at the meeting. We also racked up a decent campus list:

Mammals

Fox Squirrel

Birds

Turkey Vulture
Great Horned Owl
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Common Nighthawk
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
American Robin
House Finch
Pine Siskin
House Sparrow

Two final notes: Laramie has some of the funniest gas station names ever, including Loaf 'N' Jug, and Kum & Go ("We Go All Out!"). The campus also has a really cool, detailed sculpture of Chief Washakie:


Part 9: Snowy Range