To Tell Or Not To Tell

Last weekend a friend of mine and I were out birding, and not seeing the King Eider that we were looking for. On our way back home, he got a text about a Saw-whet Owl roosting nearby. We were excited to see it, and it was a lifer for him. We got very precise directions, but upon getting there, it was still difficult to find the owl in the small cedar tree that it was perched in. Saw-whets are small, and this one wasn't moving, in fact it slept the entire time we were there.

The bird was right on a road in Hope Valley, RI, and cars had to slow to pass, even though we were on the side of the narrow road, as the shoulder is comprised of several feet of icy snow. There was no way to look at this bird without drawing attention to it. I was really grateful to have seen the owl and wanted to pass on that experience to other people, but how to do it without risking the bird's safety?
The light was horrible when we were there, and I thought it would be a bad photo op for people. Other photographers have since proven me wrong!!

Sharon Stiteler, aka "birdchick" just write a blog about the same exact thing, how to view an owl without disturbing it. I didn't have internet for a couple of days which allowed me to stew on the issue a little. In the end, I decided to put the bird on the RI list serve without giving directions to the site, and requested interested parties to contact me if they wanted to see it. Only five people ended up getting in touch with me, and of those, only 3 got to see the bird before it left its roost. I know through word of mouth that more people went to look at and photograph the owl, and it's impossible to know how many, and what happened, but the owl is now gone. It turns out that the owl had actually been there since December and that other birders had known about it, and had not told anyone, which was probably why it hung around for so long.

So, am I to blame for its disappearance?? As far as I can tell, I most probably had something to do with it, and that sucks. At the same time, I know that a few people got to see a Saw-whet Owl for the first time in their lives, and I don't know the exact circumstances that caused the owl to move. Maybe it was totally unrelated. Maybe not. I imagine I will be blamed by some for this, probably the birders who knew about it initially and didn't tell anyone. It's always an issue whether or not to make sensitive bird sightings public or not. Had I not told anyone, come springtime when everyone hears about the Saw-whet Owl that no one got to see I would have been accused of keeping it to myself and not sharing, which, if harm did come to the owl because of this, is of course a much better outcome than having birders cause stress for the owl. Personally, I hope that the bird moved off of the road and a little further from the danger posed by automobiles, but I will never know for sure if I am the reason behind the bird's disappearance, and what the factors were behind it.

On a side note, I also struck out looking for a male Eurasian Green-winged Teal in Westerly, but I did get to be closer to a White-winged Scoter than I had ever been and managed a few shots in the waning light.

First Annual AWA Birdathon!!!!!

This week I had the great opportunity to participate in the Alamos Wildlands Alliance's, (AWA) first annual birdathon. With my fishing schedule, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to fit it in, so I only got two donors, so far, including myself. Either way, I had a great day, and I'm pretty sure that AWA was able to raise some funds for their very important work with other birders participating across the country and in Mexico. The Alamos Wildlands Alliance is a conservation organization based in Southern Sonora, Mexico where many of our North American birds winter or pass through on their way further south. Little is known about the very important cactus forest habitat where AWA's Navopatia Field Station is located, and AWA's research is already illuminating new and key aspects of avian ecology in the region. With decreased trade regulations and increased incentives for investment in Mexico, much of the US's need for vegetables and other industry is putting a commensurate amount of pressure on Mexico's important habitats. AWA is doing whatever they can to put the spot light on conserving a much overlooked habitat, and is even in negotiations to try and purchase a large tract of undeveloped Pitahaya cactus forest near their field station.

My day started early as I tried in vain to pick up some owl species along Rhode Island's southern coast. Nobody was calling in the frigid morning air, but I was rewarded with the experience of hearing a buck marking its territory by crashing against some nearby trees. The noise carried through the crisp air like a frenetic drum solo without rhythm.

From owling, I switched the task to finding water fowl which proved to come with its own set of problems. During the drive I hit a few roadside spots and picked up some goodies like Belted Kingfisher, Rough-legged Hawk and Purple Finch. As the weather has been consistently cold for so long, many of the normally open bodies of water were frozen over. Places where Eurasian Wigeon were reported recently were all covered with ice. My first stop was the Charlestown Breachway where I got lucky with a small group of Long-tailed Ducks floating with some Common Eider. I also got to see my first Dunlin of the year here, and over 20 Common Loons riding the outgoing tide out through the jetties and into the ocean.

After the breachway I went to the marsh in hopes of picking up some more water birds, but also both Saltmarsh and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows had been seen just a few days before. I struck out on the sparrows but got lucky with flyover Brown-headed Cowbirds, Horned Larks and one American Pipit. While in the Succotash Marsh I also got lucky with two Double-crested Cormorants in the harbor of Galilee, and increasingly difficult bird to see in RI in the winter.

After the marsh I decided to go eat lunch on the lobster boat that I work on, as there was a bunch of leftover food from the last trip that needed to be eaten. From the wheelhouse of the boat I got to see the first year Glaucous Gull that's been hanging around the port. It was a very convenient way to add another bird to the list. From the boat, I drove west toward Charlestown again and the small area known as Quonachotoag, the well known location of Mulder's summer house in the TV show the X-files. A bald Eagle had been reported here earlier in the month, and there could be a few other goodies as well. The Eagle was gone, but a few Northern Harriers graced me with their lofty flight, and again I saw many Common Loons riding the tide.

From here I went to Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge where I found all of the hiding ducks. There were hundreds of Bufflehead, Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers, and other species scattered around in the huge rafts of noisy ducks. Just as I trained my scope on one of the groups it erupted into flight and anxious voice. Not many birds can push so many ducks into such a frenzy and I immediately started searching for an eagle, which was not hard to see, though it was over 400 meters away. Only my second Bald Eagle in the state of RI, this crisply plumaged adult powered after these ducks in several flights but was not fast or crafty enough to come away with a meal. As I was watching the eagle, a Lesser Black-backed Gull flew overhead and perched out on a point, allowing scope views. It was great stop, and I was feeling pretty good about the day. It was just about then that the rain and the wind started.

I decided to travel over to Newport where Short-eared Owls and a Barn Owl have been regular, and where a King Eider had been seen recently. The weather did not cooperate however, and I missed everything, but ended the day with a great, but wet look at 14 Purple Sandpipers. It seemed that the birds had the right idea, hunkering down out of the weather, and I retreated to do the same. The idea of hooting at owls to finish off the day was out of the question! All in all I had a great time, and remembered once again why it is so important to support groups like AWA who are on the front lines trying to save the remaining habitats that our beloved birds so desperately depend on. REad more about the birdathon on AWA's blog.

Complete List of Species Seen
1. Brant
2. Canada Goose
3. Mute Swan
4. Gadwall
5. American Wigeon
6. American Black Duck
7. Mallard
8. Greater Scaup
9. Common Eider
10. Surf Scoter
11. Black Scoter
12. White-winged Scoter
13. Long-tailed Duck
14. Bufflehead
15. Common Goldeneye
16. Hooded Merganser
17. Red-breasted Merganser
18. Ruddy Duck
19. Common Loon
20. Red-throated Loon
21. Horned Grebe
22. Double-crested Cormorant
23. Great Cormorant
24. Great Blue Heron
25. Bald Eagle
26. Cooper’s Hawk
27. Red-tailed Hawk
28. Sanderling
29. Purple Sandpiper
30. Dunlin
31. Ring-billed Gull
32. Herring Gull
33. Glaucous Gull
34. Great Black-backed Gull
35. Lesser Black-backed Gull
36. Pigeon
37. Mourning Dove
38. Belted Kingfisher
39. Red-bellied Woodpecker
40. Blue Jay
41. American Crow
42. Horned Lark
43. Black-capped Chickadee
44. Tufted Titmouse
45. White-breasted Nuthatch
46. Carolina Wren
47. Northern Mockingbird
48. American Robin
49. European Starling
50. American Pipit
51. Yellow-rumped Warbler
52. Eastern Towhee
53. American Tree Sparrow
54. Field Sparrow
55. Savannah Sparrow
56. Song Sparrow
57. White-throated Sparrow
58. White-crowned Sparrow
59. Dark-eyed Junco
60. Northern Cardinal
61. House Finch
62. Purple Finch
63. American Goldfinch
64. Common Grackle
65. Brown-headed Cowbird
66. House Sparrow