HIGHLIGHTS FROM RECENT TRIPS
AND
THE TOP 10 SPECIES SEEN
Top 10 lists are voted upon by the participants at the completion of
each tour.
DAUPHIN ISLAND, ALABAMA
8-14 April 2007
Trip report by Dan Watkins, Tour Leader
This year's trip began with lunch at Bayfront Park on the west side of Mobile Bay. While we ate, a Red-headed Woodpecker entertained us with its antics. While unpacking at the beach house a scope was set up on the back deck. The scope produced four types of terns, with Sandwich (# 3) and Gull-billed being counted among the many Royal Terns. A quick trip to the Shell Mound gave us our first Northern Parula, but very few other warblers. What was unexpected was a Black-chinned Hummingbird mixed in with the many Ruby-throats.
Day two was reserved for a ferry ride to the east side of Mobile Bay. We headed for Bob Sargent's banding station. On this day the banding station was sensational! Many different types of birds were being banded, but it was the warblers that stole the show. We saw Prothonotary, Prairie, Yellow-throated, Hooded (# 5), along with Ovenbirds and a Northern Waterthrush. However, for Judy the star was a Worm-eating Warbler (# 7) that she saw for her first sighting. While at the station a flock of swallows was flying overhead. CAVE SWALLOWS (# 4)! This is one of the very few times that this bird has been recorded in Alabama. We soon headed for Lambert's and the “Home of the Throwed Roll” for a down home southern meal. Returning back to Dauphin Island we stopped for a first of several trips to the airport to see Clapper Rails and the secretive Sora.
Day three was set aside for a trip to the Blakeley Waste Management Area and the Delta Region. En route we stopped at Degussa Nature Trail that produced Wood Duck and Black Vultures along with the expected woodland birds. Just before entering BWMA we came across a small pool right next to the highway. This little 30-foot pool of water had six Black-neck Stilts (# 10), both types of Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Least Sandpipers, and three Semipalmated Sandpipers. Inside BWMA many of the same birds were seen along with Dunlin, Cedar Waxwings, Solitary Sandpipers, and Mottled Ducks. That night a thunderstorm shut down the power for 30 minutes.
Day four --- FALL OUT --- FALL OUT! The thunderstorm from last night set up conditions just right for a fall out. So, after a very quick stop at the airport to see our regularly occurring Clapper Rails, herons and egrets, we drove to the Shell Mound. Where yesterday there were no Summer Tanagers, today they seemed to be everywhere. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds seemed to be on every flower. There had to be more than 30 Worm-eating Warblers. Scarlet Tanagers (# 7), Prothonotary, Hooded, both Waterthrushes, and Yellow-throated Warblers were all there in good numbers! In one tangle of driftwood we counted over 80 blue birds, 71 were Indigo Buntings (# 4) and the other 9 were Blue Grosbeaks. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Orchard Orioles were among many other birds. We took a break and had lunch at Cadillac Park with the Tennessee Warblers. After lunch we headed for the west end of the island. We found a little space of water with a nice mudflat that was occupied by Reddish Egret, Piping Plover, Wilson's Plover, Red Knots, Dunlin, and several peeps. Common Loons (# 10) were seen in several locations.
Day five was a short boat trip to Sand Island with “Bubba and Fuzzy”. We walked on the island for a little while and had seen nothing new, when a little pale bird was found on the edge of the grass and sand: A SNOWY PLOVER (# 2). Actually it turned out to be a pair. In looking out to the Gulf from Sand Island two Northern Gannets were seen flying overhead. While drifting along the edge of Sand Island we came upon a school of Manta Rays and Sting Rays. This provided us with an unexpected non-birding experience. Back on Dauphin Island we found a Sora. Swamp Sparrow (# 9), Eastern Phoebe, and a Marsh Wren were added to the list.
Day six was a trip into Mississippi to the National Seashore National Park, Peaceful Swamp, and to drive the coast that was decimated by Katrina. This day produced the most favorite bird of the tour. While everyone in the group had seen the tremendous flocks of Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska and Arizona, the Sandhill Crane became our # 1 bird as we were driving near the area of the Sandhill Crane Refuge. I was explaining that the refuge was closed for repairs and that our only chance of seeing one was in the pastures along the road, and a poor chance at that. At precisely that moment Dutch said, “Like those two over there?” The Peaceful Swamp gave us a very quick look at a bird that we had whiffed on earlier, SWALLOWTAIL KITE. Other birds of the day included, Black-bellied Plover, Cerulean Warbler, Black Skimmer, and Marbled Godwits.
The last morning of the trip we said goodbye to our beach house that produced twenty-five birds from the back deck!
Next year's tour will follow the same itinerary and is scheduled for 6-12 April 2008. Please consider combining it with a week in Southwest Louisiana for a Gulf Coast birding extravaganza. The Louisiana Tour begins 13 April 2008.
DAUPHIN ISLAND, ALABAMA
2-8 April 2006
Trip report by Dan Watkins, Tour Leader
"Oh, the weather outside was . . . wonderful"? Unfortunately that was not what we wanted. As we waited for that front to come in and bring down the birds after their flight across the Gulf of Mexico, the weather remained clear and in the seventies and eighties--much to our frustration.
Day One. The day began with picking up the participants in Mobile, Alabama and birding our way to Dauphin Island. As we were coming onto the island, one of my contacts called and said he had a pair of Black-necked Stilts (favorite species # 4) along his beach. So, we added a quick stop for these birds and several others that would be our constant companions throughout the week, such as American Oystercatcher, Willet, both dowitchers, Royal Tern, Sanderling, Black Skimmer, Laughing Gull, and Brown Pelican.
We arrived at our beach house, moved in, and then set out to do some birding. Later in the afternoon we joined this same fellow as he took us to nearby Sand Island. This location produced a large number of birds, including four Gull-billed Terns at close range. We made our first stop at the Airport Marsh for easy viewing of Soras and Clapper Rails. While there one of our participants got a quick view of a Wilson’s Phalarope. We got our best view of a Reddish Egret with its magnificently colored bill while it did the feeding dance.
Day Two. On our drive to the ferry to cross Mobile Bay, we came upon a Cattle Egret in full breeding plumage that gave us very good looks. While waiting for the ferry we found two surprise birds: a Loggerhead Shrike and a pair of Purple Sandpipers. The Purple Sandpipers were far out of their normal time and range. While ferrying across Mobile Bay we saw Northern Gannets and Black Terns. Next stop was the Fort Morgan Banding Station where we watched our first of many Prothonotary Warblers (favorite species # 5) being released after banding. While there we got the closest view of a Swainson’s Warbler (favorite species # 3) that you will ever get. This secretive warbler was bird-in-hand for our participants. We then went on a long walk through Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge that unfortunately produced relatively few birds. Afterward we took a much needed lunch break at Lambert’s (Home of the Throwed Roll) to enjoy some down home southern cooking. One of the participants even had "Hog Jowls." A pair of Caspian Terns awaited us on our return to Dauphin Island.
Day Three. We were up bright and early to be at the Airport Marsh at first light. Our efforts were rewarded with great looks at Sora and Clapper Rails, plus Black-crowned Night-Heron and Tricolored Heron. Our next stop was Goat Tree and Shell Mound. Goat Tree had a Prairie Warbler that allowed us to check him out from every angle. Shell Mound gave us our first look at an Orchard Oriole (favorite species # 6). We would see this bird numerous times over the next few days. They were particularly interesting because of the color differences between adult male, female, and first year birds. We birded a broken pier that allowed us a great study of Forster’s, Common, and Royal Terns. These birds were lined up next to each other and the differences were easy to observe. We searched for Sandwich Terns at the Coden Pier to no avail. On the way out, we found a tree that was just loaded with birds including Kentucky Warbler (favorite species # 8), Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Bluebird, Common Yellowthroat, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Day Four. I enlisted a local birder to help us gain entry into the Blakeley Waste Management Area, a location that is only accessed by special permit. Mottled Duck, Black-necked Stilt, Marsh Wren, Northern Shoveler, Greater Yellowlegs, and Spotted Sandpiper were among the birds we spotted. Our next destination was Hurricane Landing to search for Swallow-tailed Kite. We were rewarded with a brief but great look as one flew twenty feet above us--favorite species # 2. At Meaher State Park we observed a simply brilliant Yellow-throated Warbler. Our walk on the boardwalk produced a distant flock of small sandpipers that caused us much debate. We finally identified them as Baird’s Sandpipers (favorite species # 10).
Day Five. This day was set aside for our excursion into Mississippi. First stop was the Sandhill Crane Wildlife Refuge. This was like a walk in the hills back in New York, where all of our participants live. The only birds not a normal part of the New York landscape were a Brown-headed Nuthatch and a meadowlark that sounded strangely like a Western Meadowlark, a true rarity in this part of the country. We saw a Palm Warbler whose colors were fantastic. At the refuge there was a field of yellow flowers that turned out to be one of the biggest fields of Pitcher Plants I had ever seen. Peaceful Swamp yielded a Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, and Anhinga. Great Crested Flycatcher and Orchard Oriole were flying about very close to us. At National Island Seashore we saw our largest of several American Alligators, always a treat for folks from up north. We also saw four Ospreys flying overhead and one in a nest. What a great sight! We had our first distant looks at Least Terns. We would get a much better look at Moses Pier, our next stop. We also had nice close-up looks at Black Skimmer, Black-bellied Plover, and Marbled Godwit. Leaving Moses Pier in Gulfport, we drove the heavily damaged Route 90 to Biloxi. Seeing the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina was a mixture of awe from the force of the storm and a feeling of sorrow for the lives turned upside down by this devastating natural event. That night we dined at a seafood place on a bayou and watched terns, herons, and Snowy Egrets while eating our shrimp and scallops--very nice!
Day Six. We made a trip around Dauphin Island in the hope that a slight change in the wind direction would bring the warblers that make Shell Mound famous. While it was still not up to Shell Mound standards, the mound did produce Northern Parula (favorite species # 9), Prothonotary Warbler, and the # 1 bird of the tour, Summer Tanager. It was a brilliant two-toned red male that kept our attention for quite some time. All week long we had searched the Barn Swallow flocks looking for a different swallow, but with no luck. As we pulled into the beach house a swallow flew by that turned out to be a Cliff Swallow (favorite species # 7). We drove to the west end of the island and found several small tidal pools that were just full of birds. Besides the peeps, the pool contained both species of dowitchers, and Black-bellied, Semipalmated, Piping, and Wilson’s Plovers.
While packing and loading the car the weather front came through in full force. That afternoon would be outstanding birding, but the folks on the tour had to get to the airport for their flights home. It was the end of a great week, our first Dauphin Island Tour that will now be an annual event.
PS: I saw Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 14 different warblers, and four species of vireos later that afternoon, the best being a great look at a Black-whiskered Vireo.