Watching a Birdwatcher Watch Birds

If you have never been bird-watching with Bill Thompson, III, editor of Birdwatcher's Digest, you have missed a great experience. Bill is generous to a fault, always being sure everybody on his field trip gets to see every bird he does, and bending over backwards to serve you up with Life Birds, target species, or just a grand buffet of birds.

As much fun as it is to be on a trip led by Bill, I found it was even more enjoyable to watch him bird for fun. Bill has been everywhere and seen birds you and I only dream about. Despite all his travels and the great birding he has done, I was surprised to find he had never been birding at Magee Marsh on a "good" day.


"I have been there before peak migration, after peak migration, or on a bad day during spring migration," Bill said, "but I have never had a good day birding Magee Marsh."

Sacrilege! For an Ohio birder, or a mid-west birder for that matter, to have missed out on the unique experience that is the Magee Marsh boardwalk in mid-May, when the treetops are filled with neotropical migrants and the branches are dripping with warblers, is a sin. So, I was glad to be a witness to Bill's Good Day during the OOS annual meeting.

Bill prepares to step onto the
boardwalk at Magee Marsh.

Walking with Cheryl Harner,
Bill looks ready for anything.

Is Bill musing on what he has seen so far, or
searching for his first Ohio Connecticut Warbler?

The well-equipped birder - binoculars, spotting scope, camera (with the big lens), miscellaneous gear bags, and cell phone = Bill of the Birds in action.

For a sample of what Bill saw, click here.

Wordless Wed: Not all that glitters is gold

but this is!

Prothonotary Warbler,
Magee Marsh boardwalk
May 18, 2009

Ain't
he
sweet!

More birds from Magee Marsh

Baltimore Oriole

House Wren

Great Egret

Gray-cheeked Thrush

And the warblers:

Magnolia

Bay-breasted

Prothonotary

Identifying Birders

I will either get a lot of laughs, or a lot of hate mail after this post. I hope for the former, as I have nothing but love and affection for those whose photos illustrate today's theme, "How to Identify Birdwatchers by their Field Marks."

If you see person's face, you know instantly who he or she is. But, can you ID the following birders when presented with, shall we say, less than their good sides?

(post your guesses in the comments section)

For example, can you ID someone by his feet?

Bill Thompson, III

Or by his hat?

(especially when he rarely wears one?)
Jim McCormac
(This photo is a bit of a cheat;
it was taken at the OOS meeting, not at New River,
and is the only time I have ever seen Jim wearing a hat.)

By what he holds his hand?

Bill Hilton

Or her hand, for that matter?

Susan

How about from above?
Tim, aka TR

Or from behind?

Nina

How about when her face is hidden behind a camera?Kathleen

Does it help if the camera lens is really, really big?

Richard
(Get a blog, dude.)

Can you ID a person who is camouflaged?Kathy B.

Or in her nat'ral hab'tat?Julie Zickefoose

How about by the company she keeps?

photo by Susan
me and Chet Baker

I told the following birder-blogger that I wouldn't
make him the butt of my jokes.
I lied.

Jeff Gordon

The End

"It's all about the dog."

My posts for the past two weeks, and those of the other Flock members whose blogs you will find on my sidebar, may have led you to believe that we went to West Virginia to see birds, people, wildflowers, newts, and other forms of nature. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In all honesty, there was only one inexorable force that pulled us all to the New River Gorge, and his name is

Chet Baker

aka Bacon, aka "Offisa Pup," or the Tennessee Turd-tail, Chet is a dog among dogs. I have to be careful how much I rave, since my sweet Grace is in her usual spot, under the computer desk in the place where my feet would go, if there wasn't an 85 pound Rottweiler there. Still, present company excluded, I can't think of a nicer, sweeter, funnier, more wonderful dog than the Baconator.

While Chet has been known to shred a toy or two in his time, he is discriminating.

"I see someone has left a dog toy here.
Let me examine it closely."

"No, I don't think that I care for this one, thanks anyway."

Offisa Pup, the Mayor of Opossum Creek, takes his duties seriously. Any rogue chippitymunks in the area know that the Boss Dog is back in town.


Getting a photo of Chet in motion is difficult for amateurs like me. Julie's camera must have an extra-special shutter setting, called "Chet-speed."

not even close

still a blur, but you can
see his little pink tongue

getting better

Got him!

Of course, Chet has his Fan Club, or rather, his loyal minions, whose duty it is to cater to his every whim.

"Miss Mary, you may now give me that toy. I know you brought it for me, Chet Baker, so hand it over."

"Thank yew."

"I will now proceed to destroy your offering. It is by this action that you will know your gift was acceptable."

"Mether, please hold me a little closer. I cannot reach Miss Nina in order to kiss her. Of course, she wants Baker kisses. All the ladies want to kiss me."

"She plays hard to get, but I know KatDoc likes it when I stick my tongue in her mouth. Not many people would put up with that sort of thing, but KatDoc is all right. Except when she trims my toenails."photo by Susan

"I love it when Mether sings that pretty pretty song. Mr. Tim, you may continue to massage me while Mether sings to me and only me."

"In fact, I think I will now sing, too. The Swinging Orangutangs are a good band, but they would be better if they would let me sing lead."
"Please hold that microphone closer for my solo."

"Thank yew.
Thank yew verra much.""

"Hello, Jeff Gordon's Mom. You are a new person, but I will allow you to admire me, Chet Baker, while I hold court here on the back of Geoff's couch."
Saul and Irene meet Chet Baker, completely unaware of his star status.

Irene: "Hello, little dog. I do not think you are allowed on tables."

CB: "Hello, Mrs. Irene. Yes, indeed, I am allowed on tables, for I am Chet Baker, little CatDog, and my Mether allows me to do pretty much anything I like."

"You may now sit there, supporting me, while I inspect this table for random crumbs of food that need to be eaten."

All good blog posts must come to an end, and this one is no exception.

Bacon 'tocks. Extra-pinchable

The advantages of an unkempt yard

Last year, I decided to create a "meadow" on my property by letting a one acre section of my yard go unmown. I was hoping to get Eastern Meadowlarks and other ground birds to nest here.

Here is part of my meadow. You can see a dead weeping willow tree in the distance.
A close-up of the dead tree. Last year, it was looking pretty bad, and this year, it became obvious that it was a gonner.
Because it is along the road in front of my house, I had just about decided to take it down this year. Maybe I shouldn't. Here's why:

Last week, I heard a Northern Bobwhite calling from somewhere near my house, and didn't have time to track him down. Today, one week later, I heard him again. This time, I had time to search. I would wait to hear a whistled "bob-WHITE" call, then move toward where I thought it was and wait again. Gradually, I crept up on it. When I got near the dead willow tree, I studied the high grass around it. Suddenly, from above my head, I heard him again.

"bob-WHITE!"

Here he is! Isn't he a handsome brute?

Look how the barring of his breast blends in with the bark.

When I got too close, he became restless, and stopped calling. He began making little clucking noises that seemed to be answered by smaller peeping sounds in the grass below the tree. I looked for a minute or two, then walked away. I would love to confirm bobwhites breeding on my property, but if they are there, I don't want to spook them.

Updates to follow.

(MaryAnn, this post's for you.)

Lifers at Magee Marsh

I got two Life Birds (birds I've seen for the first time in my life) at Magee Marsh this weekend. The first one, I got with the help of Bill of the Birds, aka BT3, Bill Thompson, III, editor of the birding magazine Bird Watcher's Digest, book author, trip leader extraordinaire, vice-president of the Ohio Ornithological Society, and all-around great birder. It was a Philadelphia Vireo, and here is the photographic evidence:

The second one I saw without Bill.

Kirtland's Warbler*

Now, you be the judge - is it better to go birdin' with Bill, or without him?

[Did I mention that Bill is also a really good sport?]

* * * * *

*For the non-birders who read this blog, the Kirtland's Warbler is an extremely rare bird, which only breeds in one small place in Michigan and which is very, very difficult to find anywhere but on those breeding grounds. To see one in Ohio is a really, really big deal. The expert trip leaders who help get us on this bird have concluded that he is a young male, so he isn't quite as showy as a full adult male would be. I'm still very, very happy to have seen him, and to have gotten a definitive photo.

The Philadelphia Vireo, in contrast, is much more common, has a much wider distribution range, and is much easier to see. I am no less happy to have picked up this bird. This brings the total number of Life Birds Bill has gotten for me to four. Thanks, Bill!

A picture of a bird in the hand ...

... is worth a thousand words about the two in the bush.

Random photos from banding at Springville Marsh this morning. Words to follow.

Least Flycatcher

Brown Thrasher

Swamp Sparrow

male Common Yellowthroat

male Baltimore Oriole

female Tennessee Warbler

female Canada Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Swainson's Thrush

male Northern Flicker

Warblers at Magee Marsh

Palm Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

My original plan for today was to bird alone at Oak Openings, maybe catch some banding or a guided nature walk at Kitty Todd. Instead, I had the opportunity to visit Magee Marsh with some of OOS's top birders including Bill Thompson III, Jim McCormac, Cheryl Harner, Jen Sauter, and Peter King, among others. (It pays to know people!)

The above birds are two of the 17 species of warblers I saw, out of a total of 72 species. (The group had about 120, including 24 or 25 warblers, but I missed a few.)

Gotta run - the buffet dinner is starting!

Did you want some wine to go with that?

Then, you've come to the right place.


The Farmhouse Flockers sure knew how to party. There was wine everywhere.

in the fridge...

on top of the fridge ...

on the counter beside the fridge ...

And of course, we recycled the empties!

Here and blogging already

Birding venues run the gamut when it comes to locations and facilities. Just two weeks ago, I was sharing a cabin with 7 other women (and only 2 bathrooms!), traveling from point A to point B in a crowded van (driven by Geoff - horrors!) or bone-rattling buses (driven by pros, Thank God!) up and down twisty mountain roads, where the bathroom stops were few, far between, and governed by men.

Tonight, I am comfortably ensconced in a private room, with a king-sized bed, functional Internet access, and the freedom to plan and execute my weekend birding trips at my own convenience.

Guess what? I'm lonely for the loud, crowded, goofy chaos that was New River. Luckily, the forecast is for rain all day Saturday, so I will feel right at home.

Just to make you all jealous, here are a few photos of my current digs:

My home-away-from-home - second floor center

Couch, desk, phone, Internet and TV that works = 21st century style.

Too much bed for one person. Wonder if this hotel provides a cabana boy?

Yes, the Over-packer strikes again! And, this isn't all of it. My bins, spotting scope, field guides and other gear are in the trunk. For the record, I brought pretty much all the same stuff I took to West Virginia, just less clothes. I NEED all this stuff, I really do.

Of course, I brought wine.

Harmony Hill goes to Toledo.

Eat your hearts out, Flockers. My own personal potty. No shower schedule. I may shower three times a day.

And here are the courtyard views, just outside my door.


A hotel with a duck print in the lobby is a good omen.
Off to dinner and then the "Shade-grown Coffee House." More later ...

KatDoc is birding Ohio's North Coast

And, if the "free Internet" is actually available, not imaginary, I hope to post from the OOS's annual meeting in Perrysburg (Toledo suburb) this weekend. We have a "Shade-grown Coffee House" get-together Friday night, with music by BT3 and poetry readings by others, including an original work by yours truly. (No, it isn't "Birdin' with Bill.") Saturday morning is birding on my own - I plan to visit Oak Openings (a Toledo metropark) and Kitty Todd Nature Preserve. Saturday afternoon will be talks by Kenn and Kim Kaufman and by Jim Berry. The evening banquet features keynote speaker and OOS President James McCormac ("Jimmy Mac.")

Early on Sunday, I plan a drive down to Springfield Marsh for bird banding with Tom Bartlett. (He sets up his nets at sunrise, as in 5:30am. And it is a one hour drive from my hotel. Guess who won't be there at sunrise?) Monday morning, I'm visiting Black Swamp Bird Observatory and birding the famous Magee Marsh boardwalk. I have an outside chance of some Life warblers, like Connecticut, or maybe even Kirkland's, there - wish me luck! I may take a run over to Ottawa NWR, especially if the boardwalk is slow and the auto tour happens to be open.

Maybe it will rain and I will get to go snailing, too.

Watch this space for photos of birds, birders, and bloggers in NW Ohio, birding capital of the world.

People

What memories of the New River trip will I cherish the most? Birds, wildflowers, moths, efts, snails, rain, or even bear poop? Nope. It will be the memories of the people I traveled with, lived with, learned with, birded with, laughed with, cried with, fought with, and celebrated with during that whole glorious, crazy, wonderful week. People like these:

Mary

Wren (Jane)

Kathy B.

Susan

Laura

Beth and Lynne

Kathleen (with Helen, pointing out a bird)

Zick and TR

Nina

And others I don't have individual photos of. (Sorry)

The Flock's first night at the Farmhouse -

eating lasagne

and investigating our back yard.

Don't we look like a fun bunch?

West Virginia Wildflowers

Spring wildflowers - those too-quickly passing beauties one finds in the woods in the eastern USA. I love them, and am always excited to see them, both my old friends and the new species I haven't met before. We had plenty of both on our field trips during the New River Birding and Nature Festival.

While walking down the hill on the Sugar Creek trail, I kept my back to the trees and my ears open for bird song and the excited calls of birders: "Yellow-throated Vireo nest! Worm-eating Warbler!" My eyes were on the opposite bank, scouting for wildflowers I had seen on my previous trek. I was not disappointed.

A sweet violet. I don't know the exact species, violets usually stymie me. I tend to group them into three categories: White, yellow, and blue. This one, as you can see, is blue.

Perfoliate bellflower. Perfoliate means "through the leaves" and you can easily see how the flower stalk pierces the leaf. Cool!

I have a special place in my heart for trilliums. (trillia?) This one is Trillium grandiflora, Large Flowered Trillium, the state wildflower of Ohio.

I don't remember ever seeing this trillium before. Depending on what source you read, it is alternately called "Red Trillium," "Purple Trillium," or Wakerobin, which I prefer.

Trillium erectum is usually dark red, but rarely may be found in yellow or white. The flower is said to have a bad smell, just like the similar-colored Sessile Trillium, Trilliuim sessile, also called Toadshade, with which I am much more familiar.

Sessile Trillium,
Cincinnati Nature Center

We also saw a creamy-yellow flowered trillium, but I didn't get a decent photo of it. I found a "Yellow Trillium," Trillium luteum, in one of my field guides, but I don't think that was what we found. The photos I found on line showed the flower on a short stalk, with mottled leaves, similar to Toadshade. What we saw was taller, with an erect flower. Someone on the trip said "Nodding Trillium," but I'm thinking maybe they meant Drooping Trillium. Any ideas?

One of my old friends, Jack-in-the-pulpit.
Like Mayapple, Jack-in-the-pulpit plants come in male or female. If the plant has one leaf, it is male and will not flower. Female plants have two leaves, to provide enough energy for flowering. "It takes a lot of energy to be female." Harriet Clark, retired CNC naturalist

On our Granberrry Glades trip, we got to see some unique bog plants.

Marsh Marigold

Bog Rosemary

Pitcher Plants

Definitely worth a close-up, Pitcher Plants are carnivorous. Attracted to the necter-like bait, insects are trapped when they slip below the upper lip. This part of the flower is covered in fine hair-like structures which point down, preventing insects from crawling back out. The hapless victim is then slowly digested in the liquid at the bottom of the pitcher.

click to enlarge to see the fine "hairs"

These leaves were all over the bog.

Do you know the name of this plant?

I thought perhaps we were too late to get the flower, but we lucked out.

A bud and emerging leaf.

Fully in flower.

This is Skunk Cabbage. This plant blooms in late winter, and it can generate enough heat to melt the snow above the emerging flower. Skunk cabbage blooms stink like rotting meat, in order to attract the ground beetles it needs to pollinate its odd flower.

I only got one wildflower on the Muddlety trip. I was too busy looking at birds, and photographing efts, dew-coated cobwebs, and my fellow birders to do much botanizing.

Golden Ragwort

During our High Country trip, we were a bit too early to catch Painted Trillium in bloom, but I took plenty of photos of it in bud.

Trillium undulatum

A new friend that day, Halberd-leaved Violet.
We were introduced by a mutual friend, Laura. Isn't that what travel is all about? Seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

Snailing

What do birders do when it is too wet and rainy to bird? They look at other things, like snails. I am trying to start a new hobby, called "snailing." We snailers will look at snails and slugs, anything that leaves a slime trail.


Here are some beauties that I found in West Virginia. Don't ask me their names; we weren't introduced.

snail with lichen

snail on a stem

an ex-snail

snail on a step

snails with scat

Yup, it's what you think it is.

Red-spotted Newts/Red Efts

I went to West Virginia for the birds. Instead, I was completely blown away by the newts and efts. On my last trip two years ago, we found some in a puddle by the side of a road, but the group I was with that day was all about the birds, so we weren't able to hang around and study them as I would have liked to do. This trip, I had more all-round naturalists with me, both as my trip leaders and as fellow participants, so I could take the time to study these cuties.

*Just a bit of natural history: Salmanders and newts are amphibians. Though they superficially resemble lizards, with their front and back pairs of legs being approximately equal in length and having long tails, they lack scaly skin, claws, and external ear openings.

Red-spotted Newts are a subspecies of the Eastern Newt, Notophthalmus viridescens. Newts differ from salamanders in that they have a rough-textured skin, not a slimy one. Red-spotted newts, N. v. viridescens, are 2.5" to 5.5" long. They have a wide distribution, and can be found in virtually the entire eastern half of North America. Despite being widespread, they are not around every bend. You have to look a bit to find them.

The first ones I saw were courtesy of Nina, who spent the week teaching me to look down while I encouraged her to look up. Together, we make a good team. She discovered a pair of adult Red-spotted Newts in the creek behind our Farmhouse, doing the deed.


I have shown this photo before, but I tweaked it a little to enhance the colors, and besides, it is too sexy, so it is worth repeating. As breeding season nears, male newts develop the swollen vents visible in the above photograph. Fertilization is not internal, however. Instead, the male releases gelatinous spermatophores, little pyramids of DNA, which the female retrieves. The eggs are fertilzed as they pass through the cloacal opening and are deposited in water.

After the eggs hatch, they spend some time in a larval form, complete with external gills. The next stage of development is called transformation, when they become Red Efts. The efts live a terrestrial life for 1-3 years before returning to the water and assuming adult characteristics.

The first eft I saw was this guy, on the sidewalk at the picnic area at Hawks Nest State Park, on Rt. 60.


Nina didn't have her camera, having decided to leave it on the bus to keep it dry, and I was only able to grab two quick shots. This is the only one which was worth keeping. I really wish I could have gotten something in the picture for scale.

Eft #2 was found on our Muddlety trip. We were standing in the road, listening and looking for birds, when I happened to glance down. This little guy was inches away from a great big hiking boot worn by a great big guy. I yelled a warning just in time for us all to enjoy this little beauty. Another time I wished for a ruler - this mite was much, much smaller than the Hawks Nest eft I saw a couple of days before.

click to biggify

Face it: If you are soft and tasty and spend 2 or 3 years walking around a forest floor without the benefit of teeth, claws, or scales, you need some kind of defense, and in the case of Red Efts, poison is the answer. They are toxic, and their bright red color is probably a warning to potential predators. "Don't eat me, or you'll be sorry!"

This is Red Eft #3, also seen along the Muddlety road. In this case, the eft in question was larger and browner than the other two. In my Junior Naturalist way, I hypothesized that this one was older, and on his/her way to becoming an adult newt, returning to the water and completing the cycle of life.


I hope you enjoyed this post, and that you are encouraged to keep looking down for salamaders, newts, and efts. For more on amphibians, please visit Nature Remains and follow Nina's vernal pool study.

*Information about newts/efts from the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians.

When's the next bathroom stop?

A van or bus load of people have a lot of differing ideas on how long is too long between potty breaks. It doesn't help the situation when it has been raining all week, and every body of water you encounter is flowing rapidly, sending subconscious messages to your brain: "gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee RIGHT NOW!"

falls below the grist mill,
Babcock State Park

Kanawha Falls

waterfall on SR 60,
between Hawks Nest and Gauley Bridge

babbling brook,
somewhere in West Virginia

Motorized Mascara

Last November, Mary wrote a post about the most ridiculous purchase she had made in quite some time. The Lancome saleswoman convinced her that she absolutely had to have "motorized mascara." Mare wrote about it and had us all in stitches, each one of us confessing to buying some goofy, useless item in a moment of weakness.

We begged her to bring the mascara to the New River Birding and Nature Festival, and she did. Not many of my fellow Farmhouse roomies got to see the demo, since Mary was up and doing her make-up at the kitchen table every morning at 4:45am, but I was lucky enough to witness the Big Event of the Week - Applying vibrating mascara.

The Preparation:

Mary withdraws the motorized wand
from the tube of mascara.

The Inspection:

I examine the tip of the mascara wand.
(Please note the spotting scope in the background.)

The Close-up:

Hmmm - looks like an ordinary mascara brush to me.

The Application:

"Careful, Mary! Don't poke your eye out with that thing!"

The Results:

Mary, the birder with the best make-up ever

Birds- Did we see 'em?

With all the posts about the hilarity and humor of last week, you might think we forgot to look at birds during the New River Birding and Nature Festival. Nope, we got 'em! Have a peek.

First, sparrows, 'cuz you gotta love the Little Brown Birds:

White-throated Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Eastern Towhee, female
Yes, she's a sparrow, too

Next, the warblers. Small, fast, hard to shoot, and very colorful (mostly):

Blackburnian Warbler

Let's see that one again.

Blackburnian Warbler,
full frontal bird

Black-throated Green Warbler

Ovenbird
also a warbler, tho it looks like a thrush to me

And, we saw bird nests, some of them occupied, some not.

surely the most elaborate Carolina Wren nest ever
The Meadows House at Opossum Creek

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in a lichen-covered home
also at Opossum Creek

4 eggs of an Eastern Towhee,
along the roadside on the Muddlety trip

an annoyed Broad-winged hawk,
giving us the hairy eyeball on our High Country tour

Finally, my favorite bird photo of the week:

Indigo Bunting, male
Click to enlarge. I double-dog dare you.

Everybody, breathe in the blue. Breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. How can you not be made whole by this incredible color?

The magic of bobolinks

The New River Birding and Nature Festival is famous for many things - uncountable warblers and other returning neotropical migrants, top of the line trip leaders, the joy of making new friends and getting re-acquainted with old ones, rain - but the thing that always gets everybody talking is one simple hay field. Or maybe, a magical one.

At the top of a mountain in West Virginia, there is a rolling grassy field destined to be mowed and baled and sold as hay. The owner could make more money by harvesting his hay when it is at its peak, in the early flowering stage. This would yield a higher value per bale, but at the expense of the grassland birds who nest here, most notably, the Bobolinks. Sacrificing profit for nature, he opts to delaying mowing until the birds have raised their families. Graciously, he allows the New River birders to visit his field and admire his birds.

In the past, the bobolink field has been the first stop on the High Country tour, but on Thursday, the trip leaders decided to flip the order of things and visit the field last. I'm not sure which experience was better - listening to bobolinks singing in the misty fog of morning, or actually seeing the singers midafternoon.

If you see a bobolink from the front, you might not be too impressed. He just looks like another blackbird, half-hidden in the tall grass.


But, wait until he starts to turn. You might glimpse a flash of color from behind. Think of a bobolink as a guy with his tuxedo on backwards. The starched white shirt is in the rear, and all that faces you is the black of his wrong-way jacket.


If you see him on a wire, the effect is not too stunning, since he is hiding his best features.


From far away, it is hard to appreciate his beauty. His fluffy yellow head looks like another dandelion in the field.


However, if you are lucky enough to be able to get close, if you have a spotting scope or a big, big camera lens, you might get to see this:

(For full effect, click to enlarge)

Seeing bobolinks is only half the experience. Hearing them sing is the other half. The short (approximately two minute) video below only gives you a taste of our experiences at the Bobolink Field.

Things with wings

Not everything that has wings in West Virginia is avian. And, good naturalists that we were, we looked at more than just birds while we were there. Here are some of the beauties we found.

Luna Moth

Rosy Maple Moth

edit 5/19: Tulip Tree Beauty
(see below)

West Virginia White on Foamflower

American Painted Lady

(all photos enlarge with a click)

Edit, 5/12: Hap of New Hope has e-mailed me that he didn't think my "Black Witch Moth" was really that species. I agree. I was given that ID by somebody in WVa. who should know, but in my reading, the Black Witch is a huge moth, as big across as a man's hand, and this guy wasn't that large. Color and wing markings don't match up, either. So, if there are any moth experts out there, sing out and help me ID the moth in the third photo, currently labeled "unknown." ~Kat

Edit, 5/19 Hap did a ton more research for me, and here's what he sent me about my Tulip Tree Beauty moth (which I had wrongly called a Black Witch moth in my original post.):

Epimecis hortaria, the Tulip Tree Beauty; "A large moth (wingspan 4.3-5.5 cm.) with very broad

wings; outer margin of hindwing scalloped. Pattern variable; typical specimens powdery whitish with black zigzag lines across wings. FOOD: Pawpaw, poplars, sassafras, and tulip tree. RANGE: Mass. and s. Ont to Fla., west to Ill., Mo., and Tex."

Thanks, Hap! ~Kat

Bonus Birds

We interrupt your scheduled New River Birding and Nature Festival posts for these bonus birds, the first things I saw when I pulled into the parking lot at work on Monday morning. Since my photography gear was in the trunk, I pulled out the Canon Rebel and went on a mini-photo safari in our asphalt jungle.

Isn't he a sweetie?

Mom (or Pop?) wasn't too happy to see me pursuing the youngster with a telephoto zoom lens. Probably thought I was a stalker, or a molester.

First I got the "hairy eyeball"

click to enlarge and see the
terrifying red ring around that eye!

then I was told off but good.

"Damned paparazzi!"

Junior wasn't too impressed, and just scurried off to find more trouble somewhere else.

"Buh-bye for now!"

Naming the stone chicken

Birders use lots of clues to help them identify birds.

Migratory patterns can be helpful.

Habitat is an essential tool when making your ID.

Get into the habit looking at the back side of birds. Undertail covert patterns are valuable, especially when that may be all you can see of a bird high in a tree.

Field marks vary from bill color to wing bars to notched tails. Personally, I find central breast dots, often referred to as "stick pins," necessary.

Finally, many birds will form loose associations or communities, and will flock with others. Use the birds you know to help you ID the unknowns.Beth "the eggs would have been tacky"

with the stone chicken

Can anybody name that chicken?

The Sweetest Bird

Serendipity.

Isn't that what they call it when a confluence of events gels to create a magical moment?

It's 5:00pm and I arrived home only two hours ago, from a week of "bird camp" at the New River Birding and Nature Festival in Fayette County, West Virginia. It was a week that ran the gamut from excitation to exhaustion to exaltation, a week when emotions and energy ranged from the lowest point in the Kanawha River valley to the crest of Sewell Mountain. I'm hungry and tired and I ache in every muscle and joint of my body. The laundry is piled around me, the cats are demanding my attention, and I really need a hot bath, but I can't rest until I share this tale with you.

I was driving west on I-64 through Kentucky this afternoon, heading home. Less than one mile from exit 137, the one which will take me north to Ohio, I pulled off into the rest stop. Every good birder knows you never pass up a bathroom, especially when it has flush toilets, hot water, and soap. Numb and functioning on auto-pilot, I missed the entrance to the car lot and instead parked in the trucks-and-trailers lot. (Fellow Farmhouse Flockers can tick off yet another instance of KatDoc missing a turn when she is tired and not thinking clearly.)

I pulled under a sweet gum tree and visited the ladies'. As I walked back, I was vaguely aware of the bird songs around me. Robins and starlings predominated, but slowly I began to recognize a different tune. As the repeated notes took shape, I thought to myself, "vireo." Then it struck me. This is not a Red-eyed. Hmmmmm - interesting. But, I am not birding. I'm taking a break. My ears are full and my brain is leaking. The sum total of knowledge I have accumulated this week is percolating up through my scalp and showering about me like dandruff. I am not birding today. I'm done.

As I reached the car, I saw a flash of yellow. Yellow in spring is good. Yellow means warblers and vireos and newly-minted goldfinches. A brief glance and I know this is no finch. Despite all my best intentions, I am compelled to bird. I unpack the binoculars, all capped and cased, yet still traveling beside me in case of a birding emergency. Surely this qualifies.

The bird sings again. I find him with my eyes and raise the bins. Yellow-throated Vireo. It has to be. I follow him with my glass and he meets and greets his young wife, shy and less showy, but still a joy to behold. I'm on the bird. I have him in my sights, and I ache to call out directions in order to share him with the birder beside me. "In the sweet gum tree, near the top, 9 o'clock and slightly in towards the trunk. No, move - you're blocked." Alas, I am alone, just me and the mated pair above me.

Suddenly, the unthinkable happens. He drops down and to the right, fetching up in a maple. Now, he is four feet above my head and twelve feet away. The angle is right, the light is better and I am missing the photo op of my week. I can't help myself. I unpack the camera and switch out to my 70-300mm zoom lens. Let's see, can I get it right? Camera on, lens cap off, Av mode f5.6, continuous drive and auto-focus to servo. Now, where's the bird?

I can see him in the evergreen tree across the road, but he is too high and poorly lit. I pull out the heavy artillery, dialling up "Yellow-throated Vireo" on my iPod and blasting it in his vicinity. It only takes a few repetitions before he shows, and I switch off to avoid harassing him. I start shooting away, "click, click, click," following him with my eyes when I lose him in the viewfinder, and calling him once more when I think he is gone.

Two dozen or more blurry, out of focus, back-lit, leaf in the way, "bird just flew" shots later I am about to give up. Taking a pause to breathe deeply, I hear it. Another male bird is calling across the valley.

My guy is on instant alert for the second intruder. I'm sure he can tell the difference between a Pod-bird and a real one. He freezes for an instant, for once not too high and in good light. "Bam!" I've got him.

I do my own crazy version of a victory dance in the truck-and-trailer parking lot and send mental "Thank You's" to the birding gods. Packing up my gear, I pull out, all the while marvelling at the series of cosmic coincidences that led me to this one moment of pure bliss.

In gratitude, I send my appreciation to all who have molded me into the birder I am today. First, to the uncounted, unnamed and unsung heroes who have been my birding mentors over the years, those who taught me to see and hear and find birds wherever I am.

To Denese, who I met at the New River festival in 2007 and who introduced me to the iPod, the Stokes birding CDs and to birdJam software. And to Charlie, who helped me fix my iPod when I accidentally erased all the bird songs while trying to add my own music, making it even better than it was before.

To Paul Shaw, one of this week's trip leaders, who showed me the power of the iPod to call in birds, even those you only think might be there. To the incomparable Jeff Gordon, who helped me understand and learn to predict when and how a bird would respond, and where he would appear when he did. To Connie Toops, who reminded me to always use the Force for good, and to respect the birds when you wield that power. (It'll be OK, Connie. I don't think anybody ever Podded that bird before, and I doubt they ever will again.)

To my good friend and soul sister, the lovely, talented, and generous Nina, who graciously shared her photos tips this week and patiently coached me in the use of my new Canon Rebel. Without your help. I would never have gotten this shot.

Finally, and most especially, I send my thanks to Yellow-throated Vireo #137, for his cooperation and for bringing back my birding spark. You're on the 'Net, dude!

For all you do, this bird's for you.

Yellow-throated Vireo
Vireo flavifrons

(For the record, I birded the rest of the way home.)