Eagle River, Alaska: One and a Half Years Ago

Trumpeter vs. Tundra Swans at Canandaigua City Pier, Canandaigua, New York

I made a stop down to the City Pier in Canandaigua this afternoon to try and catch up with some previously reported  trumpeter swans. Last month I saw a couple swans at the City Pier in Canandaigua.  I believed them to be tundra swans due to the lack of a V on the forehead, and I neglected to try and get closer for a better view, and of course did not have my camera. One of them had a yellow wing tag, which after investigation, I learned that trumpeter swans are commonly tagged in Ontario with yellow wing tags not tundra swans. Well, that was last month. I am still curious about this wing tag thing and would love some input as to whether or not tundras are tagged in this manner as well. 

Anyway, so today at the pier I saw 6 swans...all sleeping with their heads tucked in ...so I waited. Eventually they began to stir and I was able to determine that the group of three situated on the ice within the channel to the boat docks were trumpeters, with one dark and lovely juvenile. The three swans at the end of the rock break wall further from the pier are the tundras. You can just make out the presence of a yellow lore on the  tundra swan on the right, the other two appear to have no yellow lores. It was fun to watch them awake, preen, drink water and then slip in to the icy water to feed. Seeing both species together gave me a nice opportunity to compare and contrast their differences. 

Trumpeters awakening 

Trumpeters preening 

Tundras on the other side of the opening in the ice beginning to stir as well

Trumpeter in foreground with tundra swans in the background at the end of the breakwall

Tundras 2 and 3

Out in the Water: Buffalo's Mega Rarity, The Brown Booby

Last Monday, Birder Jim Pawlicki spotted a Brown Booby in Buffalo. Word spread like wildfire throughout the birding community and even got a top news spot. For more on the story, see the Buffalo News story here. My husband was able to rush right out there the day it was located to catch a sighting of it but I, on the other hand, because of work had to sit day after day hoping that it would stick around until I could get out there to try for it myself. 

Much to my relief, five days later the bird was still being spotted and had actually established a routine by then, giving everyone a good idea when the best time and place would be to locate the bird. Consistently it had been seen hanging out with hundreds of Double-crested Cormorants, roosting on a decrepit lighthouse, and relaxing on a concrete break wall known as Donnelly's Pier from Lake Erie and up the Niagara River a little ways.

So Saturday I headed to Buffalo, but had a prior engagement to attend first. After that, I was off to the Erie Basin Marina around 4pm. Due to the enthusiasm and number of eyes out looking for her, combined with regular updates from the rare bird alert text messaging service, emails, and phone calls from my husband who had been staked out since dawn, I was able to get on it easily. All I had to do was schlep my 38 1/2 week pregnant body up four stories to the top of the Observation Tower at Erie Basin Marina. 

As soon as I got to the top of the tower and caught my breath, Birder Alec Humann graciously pointed the bird out to me and offered his spotting scope for me to look through. And there was the Brown Booby, hanging out on the tip of the lower level of the lighthouse out on the lake. Basically, this was the view. Okay, maybe it was a little better since you could watch her stand up and move her head and such. Enough to get an ID based on size and shape. Not to mention, I digiscoped this image by holding my Droid Razr up to the scope. Utter failure. 

The fun did not stop there though. It was a beautiful Fall day in Buffalo with temperatures in the mid 70's, so relaxing in the tower for a few hours was actually a pleasure. Certainly a far cry from the experience one has when seeking refuge there in the dead of winter in search of exotic gulls. A few days earlier, some people we knew had the opportunity to flag down a boater who kindly took them out onto the water to get close up views and amazing photographs (see Buffalo News story for details on that). All of us had wished we had that kind of "right place at the right time" kind of luck. That is when Alec took matters into his own hands and went to seek out a similar experience for all of us in the tower. We got lucky. Really lucky. He found someone who was not only willing, but sober, who offered to take us out there in his boat. Of course, his generosity did not stop there and after seeing how many of us there was, he offered to go get his ship, that would accommodate all of us at once. He took a small group out to the lighthouse, then went down river to switch out his boats. 

 Aboard the Alexandria

We anxiously awaited their return, boarding the ship literally minutes before sunset. It was a thrill riding out there, and the weather was still perfect. We were able to get close enough to see the bird wonderfully with only binoculars, and those with their bazooka sized camera lenses tried to get some good photos in spite of the lack of proper light and movement of the boat. Armed with only my small lens, I was restricted to landscapes and snap shots, but seeing the bird in the first place, and the adventure that followed was more than enough for me. I can not offer enough thanks to both Alec for finding us a ride, and the kind man who went above and beyond to take us out there. There sure are some really great people in the Buffalo area and I was with a great group of them, plus a few really nice new faces from out of state. 

Fellow Booby enthusiasts boding us a farewell from the top of the 
Observation Tower at Erie Basin Marina

From the ship, a view looking at the Reef Lighthouse where the Brown Booby has been roosting along with the Cormorants. City of Buffalo in the background.

Photo of the Brown Booby on concrete base of the Reef Lighthouse 
as seen from the boat. Photo courtesy of Brian Morse. 

Some birders like this guy, set up vigil for the booby, arriving before dawn to see her off in the morning and sticking around until she roosts at night. Alright, he stuck around for me to make sure that I was able to see her when I could get there, but sitting here with the fresh lake air blowing through his beard, I know he is glad that he did. 

The City of Buffalo.
On the far left you can see the Observation Tower where there has been a steady stream of birders daily from dawn to dusk trying to catch a glimpse of the bird. 

Captain Moeen (left), and Birder Andy Guthrie as Skipper

Alec Humann, our hero who found us someone willing to take us out, and Greg Lawrence, give the thumbs up after a successful trip to see the Booby at the roosting site. 
We owe you one Alec. 

Saluting our Captain of the Alexandria
Thanks aren't enough for this man.

For more from our trip out on the water visit:

• Andrea Burke's Flickr Photo Set
• (Boris) It's a Bananaquit 

Or these articles and photos on the web from: 

• American Birding Association
• Buffalo News
• Jim Pawlicki's Flickr Photostream
• Nemesis Bird
• Wall Street Journal

Adirondacks, Labor Day Weekend 2013

We finally got in a camping trip to the Adirondacks Labor Day weekend. We stayed at Lake Harris in the town of Newcomb, NY at camp site 89, which was located right off of the trail to the Santanoni Preserve. It rained off and on the first day up there and we got caught in a few downpours while out on short hikes to Ferd's Bog and a stop at Grassy Pond 

Our first stop once inside the park was at Ferd's Bog to try and pick up some boreal bird species 

Bog Bilberry 

Was lucky enough to see some Pitcher Plant with blooms at the bog

After our escape from a downpour at the bog and a fresh shirt, we made a stop at Grassy Pond, where we got caught in an even worse downpour. It was very humid and not the weather I am accustomed to when camping in Adirondack's in September. Being pregnant doesn't help either...either way, it was still beautiful.

 

Buttermilk Falls just outside Long Lake, New York

Banks of Raquette River at Buttermilk Falls

Cladonia (Cup Lichen) 

Hudson River head waters on road to Harris Lake Campground

Harvestman on Alder at our camp site.

A nice cluster of Turkey Tail Fungus

The remains of Frontier Town

Atop Whiteface Mountain. The only mountain climbing we would be doing for this trip would have to be by car, so to get out alpine fix, we took the Honda Fit up the Veteran's Memorial Highway in Wilmington to the top of Whiteface Mountain. And yes, the little Fit was a trooper. 

 

 

On the last day we took a short hike along the Northville-Placid Trail south from Route 28N in Long Lake

 

Coral Fungus 

 

 

A few peeks at the Fall colors to come

The Trail

Some moss heads in the bog.