Say's Phoebe, First State Record for NH!

It was way far away and had flown

behind the other side of the buildings and the chain link fence. Don is looking for it.

Just got back from seeing New Hampshire's first state record of a Say's Phoebe, a bird from the West, far out of it's usual range here in NH. It was found by Chris Borg at the Penacook, NH wastewater treatment plant. Pardon the photos, when we got there it had flown farther back into the wastewater treatment plant, too far for decent photos with my usual high end Canon gear which I had with me. So I did what I could with the Canon SX 40 HS camera, the little superzoom point-and-shoot which zooms out and can magnify things up to 140x, albeit with grainy photos at that distance. In this case having that camera with me meant the difference between getting less than ideal record shots, or no photos at all. It was a very cool little bird to see.

Pine Grosbeaks, plus video, Wow!

For most of yesterday we had two female Pine Grosbeaks (the males are mostly red) hanging out in our "Prairie Fire" crabapple trees chowing down. I was amazed how many apples they ate and they seemed to continuously eat for most of the afternoon, like a kid going through the Halloween candy. They were really very tame, not at all bothered by us or the Corgis who ran under the trees. The hardest part of photographing them was to get a clear show through the tangle of apple branches and also to every get a photo of them without applesauce covering their bill!

This is a more northern species who usually is found throughout Canada and up into AK. In irruptive years, such as this one, when so many northern species are coming down into the U.S. due to lack of food in their usual area, Pine Grosbeaks can join the exodus. Pine Grosbeaks are now being reported from numerous locations around our state of NH.
Thus far this fall we have had these irruptive species visit our yard; Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls, Purple Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatches, White-winged Crossbills, and no, Pine Grosbeaks.
We try hard to landscape our property for the birds, using lots of berry and food producing shrubs and trees. It pays off when we get to see such a beautiful species. Let us know if you see any.

Video (handheld) and photo number two shot with the Canon SX HS, the rest with my Canon 1D Mark IV.

Yellow-breasted Chat in NH!

There's a Yellow-breasted Chat in New Hampshire, a surprise bird, out of it's usual range. We went to see this cool warbler Sun., in the backyard of some birders lucky enough to have this avian celebrity. Yellow-breasted Chat is classified with warblers, but it doesn't seem like a warbler. It's big and slow and large-billed compared to tiny, hyper, delicate warblers. The backyard had just what Chats like, lots of tangled growth of brambles and shrubs to hang out in. The Chat was being pampered with oranges and dried mealworms, which she scampered out happily to consume. 

This NH Yellow-breasted Chat is a female (the male has black lores with black bill and gray lower base to bill, female has gray lores and brownish bill with yellowish-pink base to lower mandible.) She is the virens subspecies which occurs from e. SD-e. TX and east and these birds have  a white moustachial stripe that is small and narrow and stops below the eye.  Below are photos of a bird I photographed in GA in winter and it is the auricollis subspecies which occurs from s. SK-w. TX and west, vag. to GA and has a white moustachial stripe that is large and white and extends to behind eye.

Red-breasted Nuthatches are irrupting too! Are you seeing them?

Red-breasted Nuthatch, female, has a gray cap

Red-breasted Nuthatch, male, has a black cap

Another bird we are getting at our feeders is Red-breasted Nuthatch. Very cute bird! We are hearing reports that they are being seen far down from their usual winter range, a sign that they, like Pine Siskins, Evening Grosbeak,s and others, are irrupting, or leaving their usual winter range because of food scarcity there. We are in the permanent range of this bird, so we do see them regularly, but we heard from birders that they are being seen as far south as GA.
Though I would share these photos.
Tell us if you are seeing any Red-breasted Nuthatches
For information on where to see the most updated winter, summer, year-round ranges and migration routes of all the bird species see our new The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America.

Video of Birds At Suet in Snowstorm Athena, cool!

Snowstorm Athena is here today in NH and the birds are chowing down on the suet feeder. Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches and Black-capped Chickadees all take their turns. Suet is a great food for winter because it of its high fat content which provides lots of energy for calorie hungry birds trying to stay warm in colder temperatures.
I like the antics of the White-broeasted Nuthatch who hangs upside down. This agile behavior enables it to feed on the underside of tree limbs.
It's fun to just watch how birds feed.

Red, White and Blue Bird, Please Vote!!

When I saw 6 Eastern Bluebirds in our field this morning I was struck by how their red, white and blue colors are our patriotic colors, like a reminder that this is the day to vote. Please go vote!!

Vote Tomorrow!!!

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Voting is a privilege and your right, please everyone, go out and vote tomorrow. When you do, consider voting for officials whose policies will benefit birds.

Which Birds Are Most At Risk and How You Can Help!

Reddish Egret

Loggerhead Shrike

Snowy Plover

Red Knot

Painted Bunting, these are all on the lists of birds most a risk.

There's an amazing new list of the Conservation Assessment of Total Bird Diversity in the United States Including a Complete List of Birds of the United States with Conservation Rankings. The list is based on a study by the American Bird Conservancy, the first ever study to include the full range of bird diversity in all 50 U.S. states and U.S. dependent territories. Alarmingly the study found that one third of these birds need conservation attention. 

Here's the list of the most At-Risk birds in the 50 U.S. States. 
Gunnison Sage-Grouse
Sitka Sooty Grouse (ssp)
Lesser Prairie-Chicken 
Black-capped Petrel

Pink-footed Shearwater
Ashy Storm-Petrel
Hawaiian Storm-Petrel
Reddish Egret
Yellow Rail
Black Rail (both ssp)
Gulf Snowy Plover (ssp)
Alaskan Marbled Godwit (ssp)
Eastern Red Knot (ssp)
Kittlitz’s Murrelet
Guadalupe Murrelet
Scripps's Murrelet
Craveri’s Murrelet
Red-crowned Parrot
S. CA Olive-sided Flycatcher (ssp)
S. FL & Is. Loggerhead Shrikes (ssp)
S. CA Pinyon Jay (ssp)
Kauai 'Elepaio
Hawaii 'Elepaio
Eastern Bewick’s Wren (ssp)
Bicknell’s Thrush
SF Bay Common Yellowthroat (ssp)
Mangrove Prairie Warbler (ssp)
Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow (ssp)
Eastern Painted Bunting (ssp)
Maui 'Alauahio (Maui Creeper)

What can you do to help conservation? Here are some things,

- Look at the list and familiarize yourself with what birds need help

- Join and participate in national, state and local organizations that are working to conserve bird populations.

- Educate others about the importance of conserving birds

- Share your love and knowledge of birds with others, including kids. People will be more ready to conserve the things they know and love

- Become a better bird identifier and get involved in citizen science projects such as,

ebird

Christmas Bird Count

North American Breeding Bird Survey

ProjectFeederWatch

- Drink Shade Grown Coffee

- Plant a bird friendly yard with native trees and shrubs and eliminate the use of pesticides, get our Stokes Bird Gardening Book

- Prevent window strikes 

- Keep cats indoors it's safer for them and birds.

- Donate your old binoculars to conservation through Birders' Exchange

- Reduce your carbon footprint 

If we all don't help conserve birds, who will?

Feeder Birds in Hurricane Sandy Video

I took this video, with my Canon SX 40 HS point-and-shoot superzoom camera,  from inside the house, through the slightly open glass slider, during Hurricane Superstorm Sandy here in southwest NH. It was really interesting to see how the feeder birds coped during the storm. Birds need to eat, so they tried to come to the feeders when they could. The winds were blowing at 20-30 miles an hour during the day, getting much worse, gusting to maybe 50 mph, at night. The birds stayed low in the shrubs and were most protected the lower down to the the ground they were. The Blue Jays had difficulty landing on the feeders and one was able to feed on the lee side of the biggest feeder. The Mourning Doves, Juncos, White-throated Sparrows and one first winter White-crowned Sparrow (big sparrow with plain face and 2 brown stripes on crown), prefer to feed on the ground and thus were most protected from the wind. 

By morning, the bird feeders were knocked down to the ground from the wind. The birds seemed fine and were hopping around waiting for us to upright and fill the feeders.

Luckily we had no other damage, and we still had power. Sending positive thoughts for a fast recovery for all who sustained losses due to the hurricane. Take care.

Birds in Superstorm Sandy, what happened to them?

Magnificent Frigatebird

First of all, our hearts go out to the many who suffered losses and are without power due to Hurricane Sandy, renamed Superstorm Sandy. We here in NH were mostly spared some of the most severe effects felt elsewhere, although many tens of thousands are still without power (luckily, we are OK).

For birders, the first rule is to stay safe during a storm. Many birders did venture out at the end of the storm to see what happened to birds. Such a large storm can effect birds by pushing them into coasts, or some actually get caught up in, or entrained, in the storm itself and carried far away from their usual areas. Monster storm Sandy deposited many, many birds in unusual places, including Magnificent Frigatebirds reported from Little Compton, RI and South Dartmouth, MA (possibly the same bird). 

Phil and Don scan the gray sky for unusual birds

Here in inland southwest NH we ventured out yesterday with some other birders and found 2 Laughing Gulls, usually a coastal species, on our lake.

Laughing Gull, winter adult

Henry helps scan also

We joined with Henry and went to a big lake in our town and found 10 Black Scoters  far out on the lake. These sea ducks are usually off the coast of NH.

White-winged Scoters are another type of sea duck that could be effected by a storm.

This is a Wilson's Storm-Petrel, the more commonly seen one from the NH coast. The more rare and similar looking Leach's Storm-Petrel, still in migration, was more a victim of this storm and many were found displaced throughout the storm area. In our state of NH a Leach's Storm-Petrel was seen at big Lake Massabesic, only to be eaten by a Herring Gull!! 

For photos of this amazing event go here.

Many other storm blown birds are being found. Large numbers of Pomarine Jaegers have been reported from NJ, NY and PA. For excellent coverage of the storm displaced birds throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England Area see John Pushcock's reports on the American Birding Association blog go here

and here.

Also see the live blog updates of storm birds at Nemesis Bird website here.

If you find any unusual storm blown birds in your area, try and document them and report them to your local birding listserve, birding organization and also ebird

Leucistic Pine Siskin

Leucistic Pine Siskin, bottom left, had a whitish head and is paler than the normal Pine Siskins above it. Female Purple Finch is on bottom right.

Here it is at the bird bath next to a more normally colored Pine Siskin.

Another view, it only stayed a short time.

We just had a strange Pine Siskin at our feeder with a very light head. This is what is called a leucistic bird. Leucisim in birds, is a genetic mutation that prevents pigment, especially melanin, from being deposited in a normal way on a bird's feathers. Usually the leucistic areas are noticeable on birds with black or brown feathers, as in the above cases. Leucistic birds may have white splotches, or look paler or bleached. This is different than albino birds. Albinism is a genetic mutation that prevents the production of melanin in a bird's body. Albino birds usually appear all white with a pink eye. Scientists are still working out what these two conditions are and how they affect birds.
It is rare to find leucistic birds and even more so to see truly albino birds. With all the Pine Sisikins
showing up this year, people are sure to find some unusual ones.

We often get sent photos of leucistic birds that people find in their yards, to see the photos go here.

Let us know if you find any leucistic birds or unusual Pine Siskins. We have also had a Green Morph Pine Siskin at our feeders in 2009.

Gray Ghost Meets Chocolate Falcon

This Northern Harrier, male soared by here yesterday, very thrilling for us. Dubbed the "gray ghost" by some birders, the male Northern Harrier is beautifully pale gray above, whitish below. We seldom see males here, we're more likely to see females and juveniles, which are brown with warm tones below.
Harrriers course over fields looking for voles, so the fields in front of our house attract them.

Meanwhile. recently over our local hawk watch site, Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory, Peterborough, NH, sailed this Merlin, aka the "chocolate falcon." Adult male Merlins are gray above (in the subspecies found here), females and juveniles are brown above. Merlins are faster than a speeding bullet, if you blink you miss them. Being falcons, they eat other birds.

So many cool raptors still being seen here. On Pack Monadnock this weekend they will be looking for Golden Eagles, come join them!

Wood Sandpiper rarity fun plus video with Canon SX 40 HS

Wood Sandpiper 1

Wood Sandpiper 2

This is how far we were away from it when viewed through the camera.

Wood Sandpiper 3 same photo, cropped so you can see the bird.

Wood Sandpiper 4

Here we are standing out in the marsh with scopes, cameras and binos, in muddy water. (Thanks to Chris Powell for taking this photo of us.)

Wood Sandpiper 5

This video (shot at 140x hand held) of the Wood Sandpiper I took shows its interesting bobbing behavior. (Once it plays, click on the lower left return arrow to replay the video and do not click on the other images that show up, they are other youtube videos)

We went to see the rare Wood Sandpiper that showed up at Marsh Meadows Wildlife Preserve in Jamestown, Rhode Island and first discovered on Oct. 13th by Carlos Pedro. Although it is found somewhat regularly in western Alaska, this was a first state record of that bird for RI and only the seventh record for the lower 48 states. So there was much excitement and many other birders went to see it.
We were thrilled to have made the drive from NH and then actually gotten to see it, which is not always the case when you chase a rarity!! It could have flown off by the time we got there! Thanks to Chris Powell who led us out into the marsh and helped us and the other birders locate the bird.

When we were there the Wood Sandpiper was quite a distance from us and backlit. So for me this was a photographic challenge. For other lucky photographers at other times, evidently the bird came quite close and in excellent light. So, many people have great photos, much better than mine.
I had my Canon 1D Mark IV with the 300 mm lens and 1.4 teleconverter. I also took my Canon SX 40 HS, a little point-and-shoot superzoom camera that has an amazing 35x optical range and can even go beyond that into the 4x digital zoom, which adds up to 140x!!

Some of these photos were shot with the Canon 1D Mark IV and some with the Canon SX 40 HS, at the 140x digital zoom, can you tell which is which? Answers at end of post. Given that the Mark IV costs more than ten times what the SX 40 does, in this situation, the SX 40 did pretty well given I had pushed it to its limit. I like to experiment with my different cameras and see how far I can push them in challenging situations to see what I can get.

In terms of the video, it was shot at the 140x zoom and hand held, so it's ridiculous that I got any viewable video whatsoever. Tip: I was holding the camera as steady as I could, holding my breath, and had my elbows braced against my body.

Photos of the Wood Sandpiper 1, 2, 3 were shot with the Canon ID Mark IV and photos 4 and 5 were shot with the Canon SX 40 HS.

Have fun chasing rarities, and, if you are a photographer, when the photo situation is less than ideal (i.e. it sucks), try pushing your gear. Most of all, have fun!

For more info on the Wood Sandpiper, see our The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America.