Category: Birding Trips

Getting out to look at the birds

Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds, Hotspots

Carlsbad: Beyond the Cave

Butterfly_RattlesnakeSprings-NM_LAH_8611-001Rattlesnake Springs is an oasis in the middle of the desert. Located 27 miles south of Carlsbad, New Mexico, it’s owned by the Nature Conservancy. You can take in the entire place in one glance—a small pond surrounded by mowed grasses and some weeds. Further back some small trees and thick brush take advantage of the water. (There’s also a caretaker’s private residence, and some off-limits desert.)

Situated as it is at the juncture of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, the species list for spring migration is awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, we were there well past that season. Well, you go when you can.

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Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds

To See a Cave Swallow

Carlsbad Caverns NP-NM_LAH_8407 (2)When you want to see a Cave Swallow, the logical thing to do is head for a cave. Since I wanted to see a Cave Swallow very much, we decided to visit the granddaddy of all caves, Carlsbad Caverns National Park. At this time of year there are supposed to be lots of Cave Swallows nesting just inside the cave entrance. Besides, I’d visited there as a child, but Pete had never been.

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Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds, Hotspots

Shark Valley Birding

Red-Shouldered Hawk_EvergladesNP-FL_LAH_5107-001My camera was aimed at a Red-shouldered Hawk perched high in a tree, diligently preening its tail feathers. The angle was awkward—too far and the bird was a mere speck in the picture, too close and I was looking at the bird from below. I slowly backed up, trying to fill the frame and still capture the action. Intent on getting the shot, I stumbled over something behind me, and turned to see what was blocking my way. Oops! I’d tripped over an alligator!

Lucky for me, it was a relatively small alligator, perhaps six or seven feet long, and sound asleep in the warm sunshine. As my adrenalin levels receded, I made a mental note to pay more attention to my surroundings. After all, I was birding in the Everglades!

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Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds

A Profusion of Warblers

Yellow-rumped Warbler_FCNC-CO_LAH_5510I will always remember this May as the month the warblers came. My Facebook feed is full of sightings. My friends are texting me from the field, wanting to share their excitement. The rare-bird lists are overflowing. It seems that warblers are everywhere.

Living along the Front Range of Colorado, we don’t normally experience quite the same seasonal torrent of these Neotropical migrant as states east of the plains. We can expect to see some species—Yellow, Wilson’s, Common Yellowthroat, perhaps an Orange-crowned, Virginia’s, or Yellow-breasted Chat, and it’s a rare summer field trip that doesn’t turn up plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers, mostly the yellow-throated Audubon’s subspecies. (The above photo is the white-throated Myrtle’s subspecies, showing off his yellow rump.) We’re too far east (or not desert-y enough) for truly western birds—Black-throated Gray, Townsend’s, Hermit, Grace’s, or MacGillivray’s.

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Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

Visitor Center_BearLakeMigratoryBirdRefuge-UT_LAH_3884Want some great birding in northern Utah? I recently discovered a real gem—the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. It’s located on the northeast corner of the Great Salt Lake, just northwest of Ogden off I-15/I-84. The day I visited—midweek in early April—I almost had the place to myself. It was just me and plenty of birds! (Don’t confuse this place with Bear Lake NWR, in Idaho, which is also well worth a visit.) (more…)

Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds, Hotspots, Nature

Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

CorkscrewSwampSanctuary-FL_LAH_6275Florida is a birder’s paradise—if you don’t count the mosquitoes, alligators, fire ants, and other hazards—and one of my favorite Florida birding spots is Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Located more or less in the middle of nowhere, just north of the Everglades, the closest place to stay is Bonita Springs, south of Ft. Meyers on Florida’s west coast.

The 13,000 acre sanctuary preserves the largest remaining stand of old growth bald cypress in North America, along with plenty of plants and animals. I arrived shortly after 7 am, when the 2¼ mile boardwalk opens, and spent the next six hours watching wildlife, taking photos, and ticking off bird after bird.

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Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds, Hotspots

Trip Report: Merritt Island NWR

It’s January. Where can you find warmth, green leaves, and lots of birds? We found all three at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Located on Florida’s Space Coast, Merritt Island shares a boundary with Cape Canaveral. You can actually see the launch pad off in the distance as you enter the refuge. Apparently launches don’t discourage the birds from hanging out nearby. Maybe that’s because they know they can fly circles around any rocket!

The day we arrived, the temperature was predicted to hit 83°. In my opinion, that’s perfect January weather! We planned to show up at dawn but we didn’t quite make it. Still, it was plenty early and the birds were out and about.

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Posted on in Birding Tips, Birding Trips, Birds

Birding in the Margins

Swainson's Spurfowl_KrugerNP-RSA_LAH_1567
A camera enabled me to identify these Swainson’s Spurfowl after I got home.

I was so excited! About to leave on a 12-day trip, I was heading to a new destination—a new continent! Our destination was Swaziland, and I was drooling over the seemingly endless possibilities. The southern tip of Africa is home to more than a thousand bird species, far more than the US and Canada. I had my ticket and my passport. My camera and binos were packed, along with a pocket guide to the more common species. I was ready. There was just one minor issue.

This wasn’t a birding trip.

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Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds, Hotspots, Media Reviews

A New Birding Site Worth Joining

birdingacrossamerica website

I was so excited—I was flying to Washington to visit our daughter and her family. Of course, the main point of the trip was to hug our baby granddaughter, but I was also hoping to do a bit of birding while in a different state. The problem was, I didn’t know a single birder near Everett (north of Seattle), I didn’t know where the good birding sites were, and even if I did, the roads were unfamiliar enough (and traffic crazy enough) that I was sure I’d get lost.

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Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds

Why I Didn’t Get the Shot

BrettGrayRanch-CO_LAH_1893-001Last spring, our Audubon chapter organized a field trip to a Nature Conservancy property, the Brett Gray Ranch. Located out on the short-grass prairies east of Colorado Springs, the ranch has widely diverse habitat. Dry grasslands, riparian cottonwoods, marsh and pond attract birds from miles around to eat and drink at this oasis on the plains.

Our group included several “power birders,” luminaries who excelled at spotting and identifying rarities. I was eager to follow in their footsteps. Lugging my largest lens and bulky tripod, I just knew I was going to get spectacular photos.

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