Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Join the Editor for Weekly Birding Highlights

An American Bittern on the hunt provided a photo opportunities as it moved from one shallow marsh to another.
Only the second American Bittern sighted to date, these birds are usually quite common in the Prairie Pothole Region.
The prize of the week was the chance to observe and photograph rarely encountered Buff-breasted Sandpipers during a migration stopover between southeast South America and far northern Canada.
Although only documentary photos were possible, the Buff-breasted Sandpipers represented the first sightings by our editor in a couple decades.
Always attractive, Cedar Waxwings were the most recent, and possibly among the last migrating songbirds to stopover at Melody’s Grove.

Arctic-nesting shorebirds surprised me in a big way Thursday, one species after another. I stopped to take a closer look at some sandpipers – 2 species, Baird’s and White-rumped Sandpipers, when a couple larger tan sandpipers with yellow legs caught my attention – Buff-breasted Sandpipers? As I hesitated and questioned if that was possible, a pair of Black-bellied Plovers flew low above the far side of the shallow wetland – considering I had only seen Black-bellies once before in the area, Buff-breasted were possible too I figured.

I reached into the back seat for my field guide, which verified my hunch – Buff-breasted Sandpipers! A rarely encountered species that I have only seen twice before in my life, most recently 22 years ago, about 22 miles away. These Buff-breasts were lively, as they drank and bathed. And that’s when a Ruddy Turnstone flew into my view nearby, continuing to the far side of the wetland’s shore; that’s another species I have only seen once before in the region, but never within 4 miles of my office – very exciting.

The Buff-breasted Sandpipers continued to hold my attention; how I wished I could photograph them at close quarters. I already took a few documentary photos, but darn, this could be that big chance I have been envisioning during many May migration periods. In the meantime, the Ruddy Turnstone was drinking wetland water time and time again; then switched into a long bathing session. The other sandpipers were quite unsettled, taking flight in flocks of 20ish, and the flock of 8 Buff-breasts took flight too, all settling back with me hoping one or some would land nearer to my end of the small water body.

Gosh, how I wish I could get some closer photos of the Buff-breasted Sandpipers! Maybe tomorrow? Would they still be around tomorrow? Ya never know; who would have guessed I’d see these impressive shorebirds tonight?

Shorebirds weren’t the only rare sightings Thursday; I also added another new species to my yard list – a Say’s Phoebe! I regularly have Eastern and Western Kingbirds in my yard, along with Least Flycatchers during migrations, but I’m located on the eastern edge of the nesting range of Say’s Phoebes, so they are far less likely to show up. I also caught sight of a Yellow Warbler and heard a House Wren in my yard Thursday.

Strong south winds buffeted Melody’s Grove Friday morning, where I didn’t see or hear any indication of migrants, so I drove to the sandpiper wetland to check it for Buffs, Ruddys, and Black-bellies – ha. I figured they were likely in Canada by now, but there were 4 Franklin’s Gulls on hand. I decided to take an extended drive to see if I could find other shorebirds during their local migration stop, which produced White-rumped, Baird’s, and Semipalmated Sandpipers at 2 small seasonal wetlands a couple miles away. Thereafter, the highlight was finding a Red-necked Grebe, this one less than a mile east of home; then I retired to my office with continuing hopes of finding more Arctic-nesting shorebirds later.

That evening I checked back to the Buff-breasted Sandpiper pond, and to my delight, a few of the rare Arctic-nesting shorebirds were present – 4 Buff-breasts and 3 Ruddy Turnstones in separate areas. All the birds were too far away for photos, but that evening I had a chance to observe and understand their behavior more. The Buffs would continue to show for the next 2 nights, and I share that information in this issue’s Bird Photography article.

Red-headed Arrivals

Saturday morning offered more strong south winds, which unfortunately didn’t bring migrant songbirds to Melody’s Grove, but there was a Red-headed Woodpecker evident on a tall snag, making low “churring” calls. It was the second Red-head sighting at the grove, the first arriving the previous Tuesday (May 23rd). I also observed a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers Thursday evening a few miles before finding the Buff-breasted Sandpipers.

It’s always exciting to see Red-headed Woodpeckers in the area, and it will be fun to see how many I can find in the area, and just how close they may nest to my office. With warblers and shorebirds on my mind lately, I’ve kinda downplayed the advent of Red-headed Woodpeckers this week, but they are among my favorite birds, and they have been a more and more common nesting species in this area during recent years.

Well, the peak of the third wave of warblers and other songbirds should have been happening during the past week, but with the super-windy Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday, I’ve become a bit concerned about whether the female American Redstart I observed Tuesday at Melody’s Grove might be the last of the spring songbird migration – but I certainly hope that’s not the case!

Parade of Orioles

I’m still getting an impressive and much appreciated variety of ages and sexes of Orchard and Baltimore Orioles, including the white-winged male. Even though the white-winged wonder hasn’t been vocal like it was previously, I speculate that may be because he has paired and is involved in nesting now. Another male Baltimore is the vocal one now, identifiable by its more yellow-orange plumage in contrast to the deep orange colors of other males.

A couple Orchard Orioles are also vocal, including an adult male and a yearling male. Both of these birds sometimes arrive (separately) in the company a female, and even “share” the jelly feeder, leading me to believe they are pairing or paired, with local nesting in mind. Considering the variety of birds coming for a grape jelly snack periodically, including several females of both species, this could be a banner nesting season in my neighborhood – hooray! Gray Catbirds continue to share the grape jelly and add their songs to my yard chorus, but the American Goldfinch action has ebbed and ended this week, probably as they began to move to nesting areas, locally or beyond.

Cedar Sunday

As I turned the corner to parallel the east side of Melody’s Grove on Sunday morning, there appeared to be a new level of activity among an array of birds, and the first bird I focused on was an Olive-sided Flycatcher, a relatively rare species in these parts. Next I saw a Cedar Waxwing, and that’s when I was sure a new group of migrants had arrived. That proved to be true, but almost all the new birds were Cedar Waxwings – more than 30 for sure. That’s fine, I enjoy these impressive birds and don’t get to see them enough frankly, so I settled in and photographed a few as they fed on insects and flower parts.

There was also a Red-eyed Vireo and a few regulars like a first-year male Orchard Oriole, a male Baltimore Oriole, a couple male Yellow Warblers, Gray Catbirds, House Wrens, Eastern Kingbirds, and Western Kingbirds. Monday morning, after an overnight rain, I thought there might be more new migrants, but lots of Cedar Waxwings and a few kingbirds were the only inhabitants I noted during a short stop. Tuesday morning was pretty bleak birdwise at the grove, with only a few Cedar Waxwings left, a Least Flycatcher, and a singing Baltimore Oriole. Is it time to refrain from morning forays to Melody’s Grove? I’ll give it a few more days – usually the end of May is the cutoff for migrant songbirds in this area, but I have had some June surprises during the first couple days of the month – you never know.

Windy Drive to the Capitol

Actually, I started the week off last Wednesday with a super-windy drive to Bismarck, which provided a few avian insights: I checked on the 2 Ferruginous Hawk nests I’ve found and verified an adult incubating at both locations. Along the way, I questioned why I wasn’t seeing American Bitterns yet, especially considering that some years the area surrounding my office has been “bittern central.” But about halfway to Bismarck I found and photographed my first bittern of the year, although the background of dried cattails wasn’t very pleasing. Later, I found another American Bittern on the hunt surrounded by new green grass, which provided some better photos that I share here.

I checked in to my 3 favorite stops along the way, Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge, McKenzie Slough, and Dogtown Marsh, but the strong wind made the waterways unpleasant for the water-oriented birds I tend to find in these locales. However, I was glad to see a group of 8 Canvasbacks and a pair of Redheads at Dogtown Marsh, and I spent some time parked near 4 pairs of Western Grebes at McKenzie Slough. Several Eared Grebes and a large displaying group of Ruddy Ducks were also fairly close to my parking spot, and overhead there were occasional Franklin’s Gulls and Black Terns, making it a great location to eat the Thai takeout I picked up is Bis.

The plants and landscape have been changing fast day by day, with leaves filling out and flowering chokecherries, plums, apples, and lilacs adding color and fragrance to the fresh air. It’s a relief to be in the green season now, surrounded by singing birds on the go, making the most of the short northern flush of plants and insects. Hope you are enjoying the rewards of your personal landscaping as well as nature’s landscapes in the great outdoors. Enjoy an extra dose of birding this week too.

Article and photos by Paul Konrad

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