Open water

Open water is a critical ingredient in winter birding; without it, your birding repertoire will be limited to a few dozen passerines. The recent deep freeze has concentrated waterfowl in the ice-jammed Ohio River. I took a cruise along the river this afternoon and found decent numbers of ducks (a flock of over a hundred Canvasbacks was a clear highlight) to reward my numbed toes.

The only birds close enough to photograph was a small pod of scaup near downtown Cincinnati. Greater Scaup were more numerous today, but I did see two Lessers. One of them is in the photo below. Can you find it?

The two scaups are so similar that I'm sure many novice birders have smashed their binoculars in frustration. At close range, the fine differences are easier to notice. In the top photo, the Lesser is leading the pack; below, it is the topmost bird.

I became curious about scaup distribution--thank goodness for eBird! As I drove along, all I could remember was that Greater Scaup occurs in both the Nearctic and the Palearctic, while the Lesser lives only in North America. These maps are for winter (December through February).

Greater Scaup range--generally, it seems to stick a bit further north and seems more strongly associated with coasts.

And the Lesser Scaup. It ranges farther south and is spread more evenly across the continent.

After completing my river circuit, I made a detour on the way home to check the lake at East Fork State Park. This is a massive lake; I had a hunch there might be some open water. There was--just one small patch that was peppered with Mallards, mergansers (all three species), and goldeneye. They appeared unnerved by the pair of Bald Eagles standing vigil nearby.

 Bald Eagles are certainly majestic, but after hearing several dozen breathless accounts from nonbirders about that time back in '87 when we saw an EAGLE at the cabin, they can become annoying.  I'm sure these eagles are enjoying the deep freeze as much as I am--it makes hunting duck easier, a welcomed supplement to a diet of roadkill and dead fish. With temperatures predicted to rise next week, the eagles will have to go back to their carrion and I to my chickadees and White-throated Sparrows.

Surprise, Surprise!

I'll admit it - before Tuesday, I was a bit down on birding in Orange County. I was stuck in a sort of birder's hell; some nifty birds were being reported from other areas that I couldn't visit, and my local patches were practically dead. However, I managed to turn that around and find a couple nifty birds of my own this week.

On Tuesday afternoon, I finished up my schoolwork fairly early, so I decided to ride over to Peters Canyon Regional Park to search the lake for something out of the ordinary. I've utterly lost hope of ever finding a Baird's Sandpiper in Orange County, much less Peters Canyon, but I was holding out for a Pectoral Sandpiper. To make the Baird's situation even worse is the fact that a certain friend of mine seems to take delight in recounting all his Baird's Sandpiper sightings he had over the summer in certain parts of Los Angeles County. Ugh.

I was training my scope along the edge of the mudflats at the lake's edge when a gigantic black and white bird flashed through the field of view. Huh, that Osprey looked weird, I almost said aloud. This goes to prove how horrible I am at birding; adult Bald Eagles are considered to be unmistakable by just about everyone. Wait, Bald Eagle?! It swooped across the lake and landed in some trees for several minutes before dropping down to the edge of the dam to take a drink. Way cool! A truly majestic bird... I know everyone says that, but there's a reason why. Back in the Midwest, Bald Eagles weren't that exciting, since they were all over the place. Here in Orange County, however, they are quite rare. It was a new Bigby bird for me.



This unexpected sighting inspired me to bike over the Irvine Regional Park on Wednesday to see what was around. I coasted down the hill into the park at an alarming speed, locked my bike to a tree, and promptly spotted a Chestnut-sided Warbler hopping around on the grass nearby (see photo at top of post). Stunned, I watched as it grabbed an unlucky Fiery Skipper and barely managed to swallow it.



I followed it around for several minutes as it associated with a swirling mass of Yellow-rumped Warblers before loosing it high in the trees. A very nice surprise! Additionally, it was another new Bigby bird for me. Chestnut-sided Warblers are rare, albeit annual vagrants to Orange County. Interestingly, I saw one last October in my neighborhood... I guess I'm just talented at locating Chestnut-sided Warblers.

These two interesting birds were a nice break from the monotony of the general lack of migrants that I've experienced this fall. I haven't even seen a Black-throated Gray Warbler this fall... last fall by this time, I had seen dozens. Still, I won't complain. I guess the moral of the story is to get out and look for birds, even if the birding is slow!