On The Coast - Again

Semipalmated Sandpiper @ Chincoteague NWR

Lesser Yellowlegs @ Bombay Hook NWR

Ruddy Turnstone Portrait

Ruddy Turnstone @ the Ocean City Inlet

Ring-billed Gull @ Assateague Island State Park

Dunlin @ Assateague Island State Park

Sanderling @ Assateague Island State Park

This past weekend found me birding a number of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia venues.

Delaware venues include: Bombay Hook NWR, Cape Henlopen State Park, Port Mahon Road, Prime Hook NWR, Woodland Beach, and the Aquatics Nature Center.

Maryland venues include: Assateague Island State Park, Fishing Bay WMA, Ocean City Inlet, and Pokomoke State Park.

In Virginia, I birded Chincoteague NWR.

Highlights from all venues include: Common Loon, Brown Pelican, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Snow Goose, American Black Duck, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Surf Scoter, Ruddy Duck, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Common Moorhen, American Oyster Catcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, Wilson's Snipe, Royal Tern, Forster's Tern, Belted Kingfisher, Golden Crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Pipit, Pine Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, and Eastern Meadowlark.

Favorites moments:

Beginning the day (at first light) photographing Sanderling on the beach at Chincoteague NWR, while watching Brown Pelicans foraging offshore with a couple of Bald Eagles soaring overhead. Photographing a great looking Snowy Egret in pristine light. Ending this same day photographing Sanderling and Dunlin shortly before dusk at Assateague Island State Park.

Doing some owling in Pokomoke State Park. No owls seen or heard, but I have a great time all the same. Birding is a lot more fun than listing, so far as I am concerned.

Taking some time to watch nine Common Loons foraging in Fishing Bay. Killing time, hoping that one of these birds will end up inside the reach of my camera lens, which does not happen. Finding an immature Common Moorhen at my favorite Moorhen spot along Elliot Island Road.

Photographing Ruddy Turnstones at the Ocean City Inlet, only to turn around to find an American Oystercatcher perching on the jetty behind me. This bird is in great light, and as I try to bring my camera around, I put the Oystercatcher up.

While photographing the Turnstones, a man comes over to me and says, "man you really have my attention with that rig." We talk cameras for a few minutes before this guy goes back to his world, leaving me to mine.

A few minutes later, a building on the nearby Ocean City Boardwalk goes up in flames, and with sirens blaring in the background and thick black smoke filling the sky, this same man comes running over to me. "Fire will make some great photos, he says" "Not interested," I reply. "You mean you are just gonna photograph birds," this guy wants to know? "Yup," I say. Guy looks at a boat coming up the channel and says, "boat might make a nice shot." "Birds," I reply.

A few minutes later this man tells me that he lives in nearby Hebron, and he has a pair of Bald Eagles breeding near his home. "Bet you'd be interested in them," the man tells me. "Ever get out to watch the Eagles," I want to know? "Sure, all the time, whenever they are around," the man says. "See you are already birding," I say. "Yeah, I guess so," the man replies. LOL!

Finding and photographing a group of six Pectoral Sandpipers along Port Mahon Road. A real treat for me. Watching a couple of Red-tail Hawks at Bombay Hook NWR bombing around together. Photographing a nice looking group of Lesser Yellowlegs at the refuge.

Seeing a dark phase Rough-legged Hawk near the Aquatics Nature Center. I don't know what the early date for this species might be in DE. Here in Virginia's Coastal Plain, the Virginia Gold Book has an early date of October 30. Always a great bird to see. I have this hawk inside the reach of my camera lens, but try as I might, I just cannot get my lens to lock-up this bird.

Spending as much time as I can doing some sparrowing up and down the coast. See some nice looking White-crowned sparrows, and I had what I thought was a Clay-colored Sparrow get away from me before I can actually confirm the ID.

Dunlin

Fowler Beach, October 09

Photoshop Processing

Black-bellied Plover

Portrait

Birders trying to learn Photoshop may be interested in seeing the basic workflow I used to process this Plover photograph. Workflows may vary, and my own continues to evolve. I threw the portrait in for kicks.

Workflow

Camera Raw:

Crop Image

White Balance - As Shot

Set black point - 15

Set white point - (-.30)

Recovery - 10

Fill - 3

Brightness - 40

Contrast - 25

Clarity - 10

Vibrance - 5

Saturation - 5

Masking - 35

Luminesence - 25

Photoshop:

Proof colors for web

Levels adjustment

Exposure adjustment

Nik filter to reduce noise

Quick layer mask to apply background blur

Tonal adjustments (contrast, hue, and saturation)

Selective color adjustment to bring up blacks

Nik Sharpening filter (bird and foreground only)

Resize image

Nik filter to colorize image

Final sharpening using Nik filter

Final levels check

Save image for the web

While I have included some camera raw processing values here, your own workflow and processing values may be quite different from mine. Learning Photoshop is all about finding workflows that work for you. Processing time, about 20 minutes, using Photoshop 4 and third-party Nik filters.

A Must Read

Falcons of North America by Kate Davis. By far, one the best birding books I have read. Really, "a must read." Well organized, and features a complete species account of the six falcon species that can be found in North America. Subjects discussed include conservation, morphology, behavior, nesting, feeding, and movements. This book has 200 plus falcon photographs by photographers Rob Palmer and Nick Dunlop.

Reading is a great way to improve one's birding skills. Besides field guides and species accounts, look for things to read that discuss birders and birding, with an emphasis on the history of American birding.

Match Box Analysis

This from a recent Long Branch Nature Center VA-Bird post: "Carolina Chickadees were busy in the area as well - numbers coming back up, slowly, after West Nile Virus hit. Tufted Titmouse etc, also."

What West Nile Virus "hit" would this be? Was this "West Nile Virus hit" taken at the Long Branch Nature Center, elsewhere in Virginia; where? Where is the data that suggests Carolina Chickadee numbers are "coming back up, slowly." Do these numbers reflect actual data collected at the Long Branch Nature Center, elsewhere in Virginia, or for that matter anywhere else?

The writer of this post states that he was surprised to find Hermit Thrush at the Long Branch Nature Center. The date of this ridiculous post is 12 October. The Virginia Gold Book lists the early date for Hermit Thrush on Virginia's Coastal Plain as being 10 October, so why this birder would be surprised to find Hermit Thrush at Long Branch this time of year is a mystery to me.

It is not uncommon to find veteran birders pontificating like this on VA-Bird. Why we raise birders to do this is a mystery to me. This type of "match book" analysis might look good in a VA-Bird post, but all too often, it is either misleading or suspect.

Below find a link to an article that suggests recent fluctuations in Carolina Chickadee numbers may not have anything to with West Nile Virus. This article says, "The presence of declines doesn't confirm that West Nile Virus was the cause. The Virus has not yet been directly linked to high mortality rates of many species."

When and if West Nile Virus is directly linked to declines in Carolina Chickadee numbers, it will be a while before this birder will be able to claim with a straight face that "numbers are coming back up." LOL!

Be helpful if veteran birders would stick to birding. Be even more helpful if birders discussing things like distribution, abundance, and related topics would cite actual references for the claims they make in their VA-Bird posts. This would reduce the amount of pontificating on this List Serv quite a bit.

Declines of Chickadees and Corvids: Possible Impacts of West Nile Virus

Columbus Day Weekend

Savannah Sparrow @ Hopewell Recreation Area

Semipalmated Plover on Fowler Beach

Black-bellied Plover

Forster's Tern on Port Mahon Road

This past weekend I was birding Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania venues.

Maryland venues include: Conowingo Dam, DNR Trail, Cromwell Valley Park, Elkton Marsh, Soldier's Delight, and Swan Harbor Farm.

Delaware venues include: Bombay Hook NWR, Cape Henlopen State Park, Dupont Nature Center, Port Mahon Road, Prime Hook NWR, and Savage's Ditch.

In Pennsylvania, I visit the Hopewell Recreation Area.

Highlights from all venues included: Pied-billed Grebe, Snow Goose, Brant, Wood Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Black-bellied Plover, American Golden Plover, Semipalmated Plover, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Royal Tern, Forster's Tern, Eastern Screech Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, Horned Lark, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-corwned Sparrow, and Eastern Meadowlark.

Favorite moments:

On Fowler Beach Road, spending a couple of minutes with an elderly couple. "We're amateur photographers too," Bob says. "Great," I reply. "What are you shooting?" We talk cameras for a few minutes, and Bea tells me about the hundreds of bird photographs she and Bob got at Ding Darling recently.

Bea says, "you like to photograph Bald Eagles?" My reply: "whenever I can." "You know, someone was telling me about a good place to shoot eagles in November," Bea continues. "Now, where is that place, Bob?" "How about Conowingo Dam," I suggest. "Yeah that's it, "Bea says. "You ever go there," Bea wants to know? LOL! Delightful couple.

Photographing Semipalmated Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, and Dunlin on Fowler Beach.

Dumb As A Stump: Doing some sparrowing at Prime Hook NWR, I hear a Screech Owl vocalizing from a nearby wood line. I go looking for this bird. Near the area where I heard the owl vocalizing, I bump into a couple of birders. Right away, I know what is going on. "You all playing an Eastern Screech Owl tape," I ask? After a moment of uncomfortable silence, one of these birders breaks into a silly smile and says, "yeah, I am." The days where one can reliably bird by ear are fading fast. Prime Hook prohibits "taping" without benefit of a permit, something that does not bother these birders.

Spending twenty minutes at Prime Hook trying to turn a female Common Yellowthroat into a Connecticut Warbler. "Hey, I got a Connecticut Common Yellowthroat," I finally conclude. Oh yeah, while working this ID challenge, I actually hear an Eastern Screech Owl vocalize, one that I am able to locate.

On Port Mahon Road, I talk briefly with a carload of birders. "Seeing any good sparrows," I ask? The driver replies, " well, we are seeing a lot of brown birds flying back and forth across the road. I assume that these are Seaside Sparrows, right?" "Sounds about right to me," I reply.

Putting some distance between myself and these birders, I am thinking, "Well how about that. All these little brown birds are Seaside Sparrows. Who knew? Meanwhile, I keep right on looking for something other than a Seaside Sparrow. LOL!

Birding Soldier's Delight, which is always a treat. This 1900 acre venue hosts the largest remaining piece of serpentine oak savannah on the East Coast.

Photographing Savannah Sparrows at the Hopewell Recreation Area.

At Conowingo Dam, listening to a couple of nature photographers talking about how they are beginning to photograph other birds besides eagles. One woman tells me that she just purchased a field guide and a pair of binoculars, is taking a birding class, and has just visited Bombay Hook NWR.

Another photographer tells me that he has just returned from Cape May where, among other birds, he photographs an American Bittern and a Tennessee Warbler.

With good reason, many of the nature photographers at the dam do not think much of birders and birding. It is always nice to see some of these photographers broadening their horizons, especially since so many of these "shooters" know their way around a camera.

Maryland DNR Trail

Soldier's Delight

Medium Size Terns

Forster's Tern, Port Mahon Road, Summer 09

The thumbnail of the Forster's Tern pictured here is pretty small. Click into it to open this photo.

I have a lot of trouble sorting out medium terns, one from another. These would be Roseate, Common, Artic, and Forster's Tern. To begin with, these birds often share similar plumage and structure. This problem is even more complicated for me because I have never even seen a Roseate or Artic Tern.

Bill Thompson in Identify Yourself suggests learning to sort out medium terns this way. Because Common Tern and Forster's Tern are more common and widespread than are Roseate and Artic Tern, begin by learning to sort out Common Tern and Forster's Tern from one another. This makes a lot of sense to me. I approach this problem by using what I know about Forster's Tern as a starting point to sort out Forster's Tern from Common Tern.

Identify Yourself discusses 50 common birding identification challenges. Besides being a good read, I often find myself returning to this reference for some much needed help.

Bill Thompson's Birding Blog

The Things We Know - The Things We Don't

Here in Virginia, some months ago, a birder photographed what he thought was a hatch-year King Rail in the central impoundment at Huntley Meadows Park. This caused some excitement because it was thought to be something like 10 years since this species was last known to be breeding at this park.

But, was the photograph actually diagnostic for King Rail? Virginia Rail has been breeding at the park for a couple of years now, so there there was some discussion about this photograph as it began to make the rounds in the local birding community. Was the photo diagnostic for Virginia Rail, King Rail, or perhaps the quality of the photo was such that it was not diagnostic for either species? I did not see the photo at issue, but I do know something about the larger discussion that was taking place at the time.

Huntley Meadows is a popular birding venue, and some asked how it was possible that King Rail could be breeding at the park without having been seen or heard throughout the entire breeding season. One birder answered this question by suggesting that perhaps King Rail bred in some other less well travelled corner of the park, someplace other than the park's central impoundment. The theory here was that the chicks were hatched in some other corner of the park and that the entire family eventually made its way to park's central impoundment.

This theory does not make much sense to me, but it got me thinking about the things we see and hear in the field and the things we miss altogether. To be sure, asking how King Rail could have bred at Huntley Meadows without being seen or heard prior to the time that a chick is photographed is a fair question. But can the answer to this question truly be known and, if this answer is known, can it truly be dispositive?

I sometimes hear veteran birders talking as if they miss nothing in the field. It seems to me that for all the things we do manage to see and hear in the field, we obviously miss other opportunities to see and hear things all the time, regardless of our time in the field and/or skill level. I know I do.

I am thinking now about a breeding bird survey that I worked on some years ago. This particular year, I did not join this survey until it was about to end. At that time, Red-eyed Viero still had not been confirmed.

As I stepped onto the only trailhead that leads into the heart of this venue, I looked up into the first tree I came across. What did I see but a Red-eyed Vireo feeding a fledged bird outside a nest. The nest was clearly a Red-eyed Vireo nest. It was in in plain sight, perhaps 15' above the ground and situated well below the crown of the nest tree.

Scads of veteran birders surveying this venue walked by this very tree for weeks on end, but these breeding birds went unnoticed. Territory formation and courtship went unnoticed. Among other behaviors, during courtship male and female Red-eyed Vireos face each other and engage in simultaneous "wing quiver."

Nest construction takes about 5 days to complete. No one saw the female gathering nesting material or carrying it to the nest. Male Red-eyed Vireos often perform "escort" flights as a female gathers nesting material, and this too went unnoticed. Actual nest construction was missed altogether.

Incubation takes place over something like 11-14 days, and still these breeding birds were missed. Young fledge in about 10-12 days, and no one saw or heard young begging for food. No one saw parents carrying food to the nest or feeding young at this nest.

Given the number of observers, nest location, and its obvious visibility, how is this possible; if not because we often miss opportunities to see and hear birds as they go about their natural lives.

Of course, a pair of King Rail could have bred in the central impoundment at Huntley Meadows without being noticed. To believe otherwise suggests that veteran birders see and hear everything that goes on around us, which is just not so. Birders who carry on as if their birding skills and field craft are so finely tuned that they miss nothing are usually living in birding la-la land, population one.

Huntley Meadows Park

"Dumb As A Stump"

It's Wednesday, so it must be time to play another round of "dumb as a stump" with the Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO).

Here in Virginia, the Center For Conservation Biology (CCB) publishes an excellent e-newsletter online, entitled Conservation Cornerstones. This publication is really well done. It is one of the best newsletters of its kind; more proof that here in Virginia birding life exists outside the four corners of the VSO.

The VSO publishes a newsletter too. The VSO could learn a thing or two from the CCB. To begin with, the CCB is publishing stories that matter, something that continues to be a problem with the VSO.

Moreover, unlike the VSO, the CCB has the common sense to use VA-Bird to let others know whenever the latest edition of its e-newsletter is available, presumably because the CCB wants its newsletter to get the widest possible distribution.

The VSO sponsors VA-Bird, yet somehow this crew can't gin up the enthusiasm to use its own List Serv to let the rest of us know whenever the current edition of its newsletter is available. This makes no sense. Obviously, the CCB gets it, while the VSO continues to flirt shamelessly with mindless mediocrity.

One of these days, perhaps the VSO will wake up. Until then, I'll be playing "dumb as a stump" with the VSO more often than I would otherwise care to.

Meanwhile, as near as I can tell, no less than nine VSO chapters are currently publishing club newsletters online. This is a remarkable achievement, especially since a few years ago some clubs were reluctant to even put their newsletters online, believing that newsletters are a benefit of membership. Fortunately, this kind of defective thinking found its way to the birding dustbin where it belongs.

Today, the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads Bird Club, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Northern Virginia Bird Club, Richmond Audubon Society, Virginia Beach Audubon Society, Virginia Blue Bird Society, and the Williamsburg Bird Club all appear to have club newsletters online for the benefit of Virginia's larger birding community and others.

Some of these newsletters are nicely done. And, there can be no doubt that a lot of hard work goes into publishing them. So far as I am aware, none of these clubs are currently using VA-Bird to announce the publication of current newsletters. Perhaps, if the VSO can see its way clear to follow the CCB's common sense example, other Virginia bird clubs will eventually begin announcing club newsletters on VA-Bird too.

After all, like the CCB, presumably Virginia's bird clubs want their newsletters to get the widest exposure and distribution possible. Using VA-Bird to announce the publication of these newsletters is a step in this direction, especially for those who are lurking on VA-Bird without benefit of a club membership. Point these folks to birding newsletters being published in Virginia. Get them reading these newsletters. And, some of these folks will eventually join a Virginia bird club.

The VSO has now been sponsoring VA-Bird for almost two years. How much longer it will take this crew to figure out how to use VA-Bird to its best advantage remains to be seen.

Conservation Cornerstones

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Port Mahon Road, Summer 09

Portrait

Great Blue Heron

Bombay Hook NWR, Spring 09

North America's largest Heron, about 4' tall. Here in the mid-atlantic, common year-round.

Bombay Hook NWR

"Mud Hen"

Clapper Rail, Spring 09

Taking a break from hammering the Virginia Society Of Ornithology (VSO), something that is way to easy to do.

Clapper Rails are common along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Sometimes, these birds are called "mud hens." Here in the mid-atlantic, usually found in saltwater marshes with lots of cord grass. Often found foraging along edges, which is where I usually try to photograph them.

More Than A Game

Greater Yellowlegs Portrait, Spring 09

Dunlin, Spring 09

Short-billed Dowitcher, Spring 09


While I am still in the mood to hammer the Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO), no one should be confused, especially since I keep such good company.

Roger Tory Peterson writes in his 1947 edition of A Field Guide To The Birds, "Field birding, as most of us engage in it, is a game - a most absorbing game. As we become more proficient, we attempt to list as many birds as we can in a day..."

Fast forward to November 6, 1988 when Peterson, in an interview with the The Daily Reflector, has this to say about birding. "Birding is just a game. Going beyond that is what is important."

What do you suppose Peterson learned about birders and birding between 1947 when he is writing that birding is a "most absorbing game" and 1988 when he clearly understands that birders have to get beyond listing and birding by game? When do you suppose that the VSO is going to understand just how little listing and birding by game has to do with real birding?

Anna Botsford Comstock, Cornell University's first woman professor and an ornithologist, had this to say about birders and birding. "The reason for studying any bird is to ascertain what it does...To hear some bird devotees talk, one would think that to be able to identify a bird is all of bird study. On the contrary, the identification of a bird is simply the alphabet to the real study, the alphabet by means of which we may spell out the life habits of a bird."

I will be taking a long look at the VSO's so-called conservation partnerships and its conservation record. But, really, what is there to say about a statewide ornithology group that endorses a limited "taping" construct but cannot be bothered to tell its membership and others that many public land venues actually prohibit this practice without benefit of a special use or research permit? The answer to this question is: "not much."

Memo to the VSO:

Forget about listing and birding by game. This is old news, very old news. Listing and birding by game is a mostly private endeavor. Beyond this construct, too often listing becomes a form of self-robbery. Listing and birding by game will not grow Virginia's birding and conservation community. One of these days, perhaps the VSO will wake up. Then again...

Do the things that matter. Tell the stories that matter.

Greater Yellowlegs, Dunlin, and Short-billed Dowitcher are all birds to be appreciated and studied, not listed and forgotten about.

Portraits - Why I like them

Osprey With Prey

Osprey Portrait

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt Portrait

I have discussed portraits here in the past. All of the elements appearing in a true nature photograph are native to it. Portraits, on the other hand, contain elements that have been introduced to a photo, courtesy of Photoshop.

The Osprey and Black-necked Stilt photographs pictured here are true nature photographs. I photographed these birds on Elliott Island Road in Maryland's Fishing Bay WMA in the spring of 09. I just got around to processing these captures today. Obviously, my Osprey and Stilt portraits contains elements that have nothing to do with the original captures.

I know nature photographers who do not have much use for portraits, but I enjoy them. And, the more I fool around with portraits, the more I like them. Portraits are cool because they amuse me and are fun to do, because they give me an opportunity to practice my processing skills, and because they can be used to help ensure that a bird is the central feature in a photograph. Rather than art, I often think of a portrait as being an electronic Photoshop doodle.

In Bird Sense, I devote a fair amount of time discussing birding subjects of interest to me in what I hope is a serious way. Some of these topics do not have much to do with simple birding pleasures. Portraits don't take a lot of skill to gin up, and they are my constant reminder that birding is indeed great fun, first because birds are incredibly interesting and beautiful, and because they bring us so much closer to the natural world we live in.