NM - Three Longspurs at Three Sisters - 02/03/13

What appeared to be 'just' a decent sized flock of Horned Larks turned out to contain plenty of gems. The more we looked at the flock, the more we discovered. The best method was just to sit back and let the birds come to us as the flock was easily flushed and could often take a while to settle. We ended up with about 15 each of Chestnut-collared and McCown's Longspurs and a single, rather unexpected, Lapland Longspur. This session provided a rare opportunity to see multiple species of longspur alongside each other in their rather challenging non-breeding plumages.

As it happened, unknown to us at the time, one or two Lapland Longspurs had already been reported from this exact location. The site was at the end of Three Sisters Road on the western shore of Elephant Butte Lake, just south of South Monticillo Point, Sierra County, New Mexico.

Chesnut-collared Longspurs - Three Sisters Point, Elephant Butte Lake, Sierra Co., NM. February 3rd, 2013. 
Digi-scoped shot using Panasonic Lumix FZ7 and Swarovski scope.

 Lapland Longspur - Three Sisters Point, Elephant Butte Lake, Sierra Co., NM. February 3rd, 2013. 

Digi-scoped shot using Panasonic Lumix FZ7 and Swarovski scope.



McCown's Longspurs - Three Sisters Point, Elephant Butte Lake, Sierra Co., NM. February 3rd, 2013. 
Digi-scoped shot using Panasonic Lumix FZ7 and Swarovski scope.





NM - Short-eared and a white crane! - 02/04/13

Short-eared Owl - Columbus, Luna Co., NM. February 4th, 2013. Panasonix Lumix FZ7. After the disappointment of a very parched and barren Pancho Villa State Park, our Birdfinders group found more success in the agricultural fields to the east of Columbus. This Short-eared Owl was one of several pleasing finds less than two miles east of town.

Sandhill Crane - white, leucistic bird left of center in the above three images. Columbus, Luna Co., NM. February 4th, 2013. Panasonix Lumix FZ7. Another extremely interesting bird. We wondered, if seen poorly or at distance on migration, if this white Sandhill Crane might be an identification pitfall for Whooping Crane? However, there appeared to be no size or structural differences compared to the surrounding Sandhill Cranes. Just for fun and comparison, here's an image of a genuine Whooping Crane photographed a week earlier at Aransas Bay, Texas on January 25th, 2013.



NM - Glaucous Gull - 02/03

Glaucous Gull - adult (center bird in all three images), Rock Canyon Marina, Elephant Butte Reservoir, Sierra Co., NM. Digi-scoped shots using Panasonic Lumix FZ7 and Swarovski HD scope. Birdfinders tour participant Barry Batchelor first drew our attention to this large pale, gull which we quickly established as being an adult Glaucous Gull. Initially discovered bathing on the shore on the north side of the marina, it then moved closer to rest on the 'black tires' with Ring-billed Gulls where we had the best views. The bird was in full view when we left to take a break a 15:30hrs but was nowhere to be seen when we returned an hour later! We didn't hear of any subsequent reports of this bird from Rock Canyon Marina thereafter.

 



Lesser Black-backed Gull - third-cycle, Rock Canyon Marina, Elephant Butte Reservoir, Sierra Co., NM. Digi-scoped shot using Panasonic Lumix FZ7 and Swarovski HD scope.

 

 

Thayer's Gull - adult, Rock Canyon Marina, Elephant Butte Reservoir, Sierra Co., NM. Poor digi-scoped shots using Panasonic Lumix FZ7 and Swarovski HD scope. An unfortuante miss for our Birdfinders group - I'd just noticed this as a 'bird of interest' as soon as we arrived at the marina. In the same moment, Barry Batchelor called a large, pale gull which turned out to be the adult Glaucous. By the time I came back to the Thayer's candidate, the bird had gone and wasn't seen again despite a very thorough search by our group.

 

 

 



MA - Barton Cove Gulls again - 02/16/13

This evening I made a quick pass by Barton Cove whilst running some errands. It was good to notice a few new individual birds including a party of six drake Ring-necked Ducks, my largest group at the site since early December and perhaps early spring migrants? The gulls, intriguing as always, numbered about 400 individuals including two similarly plumaged Kumlien's Iceland Gulls and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Images below, all taken in fading light with a Panasonix Lumix FZ7.



AZ - Elegant Trogon - 01/10/13

Elegant Trogon - male, Patagonia Lake State Park, Santa Cruz Co., AZ. January 10th, 2013. Panasonic Lumix FZ7. Seemingly always rare and exotic, this stunning male was feeding no more than a meter above the ground right beside the main footpath along Sonoita Creek at the north end of Patagonia Lake. Earlier, our group had invested a good deal of time in trying to view a female trogon further up the same river bed, so finding this male on the way back was especially sweet. 

CA - What's this?

This curious looking teal was first noted by Birdfinders tour participant Howard Broughton as we searched for Thayer's Gulls at Salt Creek Beach on the north shore of the Salton Sea. It looks like a near certain hybrid between Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teals, a hybrid pairing that seems to have been well documented in other cases - check out this great post on hybrid teals on 10,000 Birds;

http://10000birds.com/hybrid-teals.htm

Presumed hybrid Blue-winged x Cinnamon Teal (center) - with Blue-winged Teals, Salt Creek Beach, Riverside Co., CA. January 16th, 2013. Digi-scoped using Panasonic Lumix FZ7 and Swarovski HD scope.

CA - Sprague's Pipit - 01/15

Sprague's Pipit - Calipatria, Imperial County, CA. January 15th, 2013. Panasonic Lumix FZ7 and Swarovski HD scope. 

Venturing out to the fields north of Calipatria Prison, I would admit to being a little apprehensive concerning our chances of finding a Sprague's Pipit in the same fields where we'd met with success the previous year. However, my Birdfinders group remained upbeat and some 45 minutes later we were enjoying excellent views of a Sprague's Pipit in a field of Bermuda Grass close to the road. Rarely have I seen a Sprague's show quite as well as this bird did, and for such a long period. We left it in peace resisting the temptation to get even closer!

NV - Common Crane - 01/21

 Common Crane - (2nd from right) with one 'Greater' and four Lesser Sandhill Cranes, Overton WMA, Clark Co., NV. January 21st, 2013. 

 Having caught up with the previously mentioned Nutting's Flycatcher early in the morning of Jan 21st, I had the rest of the day open. Rather than scour Lake Havasu for loons and grebes, I decided to head north to chase a previously reported Common Crane in southern Nevada. Despite a general reluctance to tackle yet another long drive, I was at the site by lunchtime and watching the Common Crane just twenty minutes after that. The day turned out to be much more than a blatant 'twitch' as Overton WMA in Clark County, a mere 75 minutes north of Las Vegas, proved to be exceptionally 'birdy'. The place seemed to be full of Gambel's Quails, Abert's Towhees and Black-tailed Gnatcatchers, species that I'd typically associate with being much further south. In addition, other gems such as Trumpeter and Tundra Swans alongside each other and a beautiful Prairie Merlin made for a thoroughly rewarding day. 

AZ - Nutting's Flycatcher - 01/21

 Nutting's Flycatcher - Mosquito Flat, Bill Williams NWR, La Paz Co., Havasu, AZ. January 21st, 2013. All images taken using a Panasonic Lumix FZ7.

Missed on our Birdfinders tour of AZ and CA in January, this Nutting's Flycatcher put on a fine, though rather brief show next to Planet Ranch Road during the early morning of January 21st. Despite its mega-rarity status in the US, I was surprised to find myself alone at the site enjoying quality views of a top quality bird. It called several times - a head-turning "wheeep". Assumed, quite naturally I think, to be the same returning bird from last winter when we had a lot more company on our visit on January 13th, 2012;

http://pioneerbirding.blogspot.com/2012/01/az-nuttings-flycatcher-0113.html

MA - Barton Cove Gulls - 02/09/13

Finally back home after back to back tours out in the south-west. A huge winter storm brought 15 inches of fresh snow combined with a stiff north-eastern wind that never eased all day. Barton Cove was 90% frozen this afternoon but the few pockets of open water held c300 Canada Geese, 27 Mute Swans and a drake Ring-necked Duck. About 200 gulls hunkered down on the ice and amongst them, 1 Kumlien's Iceland Gull and 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull.

A Winter Wren in our yard in Gill was also a nice surprise this morning.

Lesser Black-backed Gull - adult (center), Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA. February 9th, 2013.

Kumlien's Iceland Gull - first-cycle (left), Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA. February 9th, 2013.