I'll have snake please...

Every once in awhile, when birding, you see something that you don't see everyday. Not that this bird is rare or anything. Its what it did next that was so intriguing. I was walking up the hill from a pond on my way back to my car in the Timberlakes area of Miami-whitewater Forest when I noticed a Red-shouldered Hawk sitting on the branch of a large oak tree. When I first noticed the bird, my vantage point was such that I had to look up through leaves of a nearby sapling. So I moved up the trail a little further and stopped to get a better view. I was able to view it for a few seconds more before it flew from the branch. When it first flew, I thought I had startled it and it was trying to get away. I thought I would lose it in the trees, but to my surprise, the hawk swooped down very low to the ground. I followed it through the branches and leaves of the saplings, until I found the hawk on the forest floor, some distance away, seemingly struggling with something. I first thought the bird had gotten entangled in something man made near the ground.

A lot of commotion ensued, and I saw a gray squirrel on a tree trunk near the ground close to the hawk, scolding it furiously. I saw the hawk with its wings spread on the ground, a typical posture when a hawk captures its prey. My assumption was that the bird had caught a squirrel. Then the bird hopped up with a snake, a very long snake, and settled on the branch of a fallen tree. I watched the hawk with dead snake in talons, nearly the entire body of which dangled down from the tree branch, as it proceeded to eat the snake. It was a very tranquil moment, predator and prey, one had to die so the other could live. As I stood there, just me and the hawk and the snake, and of course the scolding squirrels, chipmunks, Carolina wrens, tufted titmice, etc., I had wished I had a camera, or another observer to share in the moment. But then again, I thought, this is just me and nature, the two intertwined, inseparable, serendipity at its best.

As I watched the hawk take bites out of the snake's flesh, beginning with the lower jaw (snake's head was upside down), I tried to identify the snake. It had a light yellowish belly, and a dark (brown or black?) and yellowish striped pattern on its upperside. I concluded that the snake was most likely a garter snake, a very, very large, and long garter snake. I estimated the length of this slithering beast at 2.5-3 feet long!!!

The majority of my viewing was spent in the crouched position, as the hawk was very low (sitting only about 2 feet off the ground when it settled with the snake on the fallen tree), looking through branches and leaves of saplings.

A lesson I want to share with my readers is this: take time to watch. When the hawk flew from the branch, I could have very easily decided, oh well, it has flown away, I'll just move on and see what else I can find. But I assure you that if you are birding just to check off species on your day list, you might miss something that comes along only every once in awhile. I'm glad I took the time to follow the flight of the hawk. What a treat to watch predator and prey in action.

Note: For my non-birding readers, you can see a picture of a Red-shouldered Hawk and read about ongoing research on the species by clicking here. Truly a remarkable bird, with a voracious appetite!

Happy Bird Day!

Today is my 48th birthday. I began reminiscing about all of the birds that I've seen on or around my birthday.

There seems to be a certain nostalgia when it comes to seeing birds on your birthday. On some birthdays I've gone out seeking unusual birds, and have even gone after rarity reports. I've missed seeing some birds on my birthday by one day, but no less special to see them on the day after. I think seeing special birds on a birthday is a gift of nature to us. I looked through my e-bird records for specific years and species (because at 48, my memory isn't what it used to be) and this is what I found (list in forward chronological order):

• One day after my 23rd birthday, on August 26, 1988, I documented 7 Western Sandpipers at the Oxbow in Lawrenceburg, IN.
• On my 32nd birthday, in 1997, I went to Tanner's Creek in Dearborn county, IN to see and photograph a continuing Swallow-tailed Kite. What a great bird to see on your birthday!!!
• The best bird that I've ever seen around my birthday, was the one gem that showed up in Taylor Mill, KY in 1999. I went to see it on the day after my 34th birthday, on August 26, 1999. It was a Green Violet-Ear, a large hummingbird that is more at home in the tropics of Central and Latin America, but does wander on occasion into the United States. This was Kentucky's first record. I'll take the birthday gift even if it is not on my birthday. Woo-hoo!!!
• In 2001, my wife and I decided to go to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, get security clearance, and go to the location where a WESTERN KINGBIRD had been reported on 8/23. I have seen Couch's and Tropical Kingbirds, two other yellow-bellied species of kingbirds, in Texas and Mexico, respectively, but have not yet seen the Western. This was my 36th birthday. We searched for quite a while, but we were unable to find the Western, even looking in the vicinity of a family group of Eastern Kingbirds. We went on to Englewood Reserve, while we were in the area, to see if we could find anything of note. We heard a Wild Turkey, and I noted a flock of 80+ Chimney Swifts, but nothing else noteworthy on my birthday, unless you count a beautiful Wood Duck, and a flyover Common Nighthawk.
• On my 38th birthday in 2003 I went to Gilmore Ponds in Butler county, OH to see what I could find. Best birthday bird I guess on this day would be the Great Egret, with Wood Duck being a close second. West Pond water was drawn down, lots of exposed mudflats. I only had my binoculars with me that day, no scope. I saw a shorebird in the distance that I could not identify, my notes say it was either a Dunlin or Pectoral Sandpiper.
• In 2005 on my 40th birthday, I went to Miami-whitewater wetlands, and then to the visitor's center and lake. Northern Harrier and Sedge Wren were excellent birthday birds that day at the wetlands, as were 200+ Purple Martins swarming and perching around the visitor's center and parking lot.
• Last year, on my 47th birthday, I stayed home and heard a Red-shouldered Hawk, and saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
• Today, on my 48th birthday, I heard but could not located, probably high-flying, a Red-shouldered Hawk and saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird land in my bush honeysuckle in my backyard while I was grilling hotdogs and cheeseburgers for the kids and my wife, while she was inside baking me a cake. As I write this, another hummingbird visiting my feeder.

Maybe one of my birthdays I will be able to get a digital camera suitable for bird photography. Right now I have to rely on an old Minolta camera that takes film that requires developing. I know, I'm behind the times but what is a poor birder to do?

What is the best bird that you have seen on your birthday? I know I'll still be waiting for another Western Kingbird to stray into our area. Its that time of year where they should be wandering out of range on their way to their wintering grounds. I know that some westerns winter in Florida but stray off course on their way there.

Until next time, happy bird day!!!

Beyond the Lifelist: Birding from a Different Perspective (published in 1994, rewritten here)

What do you think of when you think of the word "birding?" For most of us, we think of the active pursuit of lifebirds. Many of us have fallen into the trap of "ticking" off a sighting of that species as a so-called "trashbird." For others, birding is a competitive sport. Each one of us tries to see how many birds we can find in a year, or in a day, or to add to our lifelists. Yet for others, birding is nothing more than a hobby. Birding can be an enjoyable, pleasurable experience if we take the time to look around us.

I enjoy birding mainly for the thrill and excitement it brings, lifebirds or not. The number of species on my lifelist doesn't matter to me anymore. Whether I reach #400 in the near future isn't as important as pursuing those species that I call "prime target" species. These are birds that I've always wanted to see but have never been able to find, or are hundreds or thousands of miles away from home. Last year (1993) was an exceptional year for me, since I found 6 "prime target" lifebirds that I have spent most of my 15 year birding career pursuing. It was a great thrill to find the Connecticut Warbler at Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus last spring, a "prime target" that I have been searching for for eleven (11) years! And who can soon forget the Yellow-headed Blackbirds that put on quite a show for some very lucky birders along Lake Erie last May? It is always nice to be able to share these experiences with someone else, as when Hank Armstrong and I stumbled upon a White-winged Scoter at the Oxbow last March while searching for the reported Red-throated Loon, or when we specifically pursued the Chuck-will's-widow in Adams county last summer and got it! Hank is a great guy to bird with, and we always exchange "High-Fives" when we get a great find! Other great finds last year were the three Red Crossbills in Great Smokey Mountains National Park, and the Sabine's Gull at Caesar's Creek that has led me on "wild goose chases" many times before.

 Hank Armstrong and me at the site of a Red-shouldered Hawk nest at East Fork State Park in 1998. The nestlings were banded by Jeff Hays as part of his ongoing research on the species. Sadly, Hank passed away in October 2007. He will be missed.

But, aside from life listing, there are many other aspects of birding that are just as rewarding. Of course, all of us enjoy spring and fall migration, when we can easily approach 100 species on a good day, but what about bird behavior? How many of us really take the time to observe behavior, which oftentimes in the spring and summer can lead us to a nest? Nest-watching is one of my favorite activities because there are so many fascinating things to be learned and discovered, even with everyday common species such as cardinals and chickadees. For example, how many of you knew that the male cardinal takes care of the first brood of young while the female goes off to build a new nest for a second brood, or that during the summer cardinals will feed on insects, not just sunflower seeds?

Finally, in our present day of conservation needs, it is important that we monitor our bird populations. We must not lose focus in our pursuit of life birds and let populations of our favorite birds dwindle toward extinction. Therefore, I suggest participation in population studies. There are several programs available to amateur and advanced bird enthusiasts such as bird-a-thons, Christmas bird counts, and Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes. This perspective of birding is not entirely new, but draws our attention toward the more practical aspects of birding.

I look forward to the surprises that birding has to offer in 1994. I have yet to find that Red-throated Loon, and who knows, maybe one of you will be standing there with me when I do! Happy Birding in '94 and I hope to see you in the field.

[Author's note: This article was published in the Cincinnati Bird Club's newsletter, The Passenger Pigeon, in 1994. The citation is below.]

Brinkman, D. (1994). Beyond the lifelist: Birding from a different perspective. Passenger Pigeon 30(2), February.

Beginnings

I was only about nine or ten years old when my family made annual visits to Sylvania, Ohio to visit family members there. My maternal great grandparents lived on a farm along a road that dead ended at the Ohio/Michigan state line. My great uncle, who lived two houses up the road, would walk down to the end of the road with me and I would get a kick out of standing at the state line with one foot in Ohio and the other one in Michigan. I would hop back and forth, proclaiming my new discovery, "Ohio, Michigan, Ohio, Michigan, Ohio ...!" Little did I know at the time that I would lean toward Ohio when it came to college football. Another reason we walked to the end of this street was to feed the horses. Uncle Joe, my great uncle, would show me how to lay my hand flat so that my fingers wouldn't get bitten, and feed apples from the nearby apple orchard to the horses. There were small birds flying around the pasture, metallic blue above, rich creamy to orange undersides, red faces and long forked tails. I asked him what they were. He told me they were Barn Swallows. I don't remember the date, but when I began keeping detailed records of birds about four years later, this was one of the first birds I had added to my life list.

Uncle Joe also used to impress me with his whistling of "Bob-white!" The birds nearly always responded to his calls, but it wasn't until the early 1980's, when I lived with my grandparents in Cincinnati, Ohio that I actually got to see one. The adjacent half acre woodlot behind our backyard, owned by a neighbor on an adjacent street, was rarely mowed. He had left it overgrown and it attracted several species of birds. However, as of this writing, it is owned by my grandparents, both of whom just turned 90 years of age, and is mowed continuously. I was only able to enjoy bobwhite quail in our yard and adjacent woodlot through the mid to late 1980's, and then my grandparents decided they wanted to clear the brush and tidy up the woods. There is no longer an understory. It looks more like a lawn now, interspersed with walnut, hickory and maple trees. Once I had an American Woodcock in the yard.

These were the beginnings of my interest in birds. Yet, I wasn't hooked on the hobby of birdwatching until the winter of 1977-1978. You see, this was a special winter. We had some of the more expected winter visitors to our feeders on a daily basis, such as Pine Siskins and Purple Finches. However, what really got me hooked on birding were the large flocks of Evening Grosbeaks. We had them coming daily to our feeders, sometimes in flocks of 20 or 30 birds. These are gorgeous birds that look like overgrown American Goldfinches. The males are bright yellow with large white wing patches, and a rich dark brown hood, yellow eyebrow stripe and large cardinal-like beak. The females are a drab version of this, but no less intriguing. Couple this with daily visits by Red-headed Woodpeckers, Cardinals and Yellow-shafted Flickers (I like that name better than Northern Flicker) and we had a colorful array of birds to enjoy that winter. Little did I know, as a fledgling birder, that the grosbeaks were not a species to be expected here annually. Had I known, I would have kept better records, with exact dates of occurrence and numbers.

It wasn't until May 9, 1979, shortly after the passing of my great grandfather, whose binoculars I received as my first set, that I began keeping a life list with dates and locations of each species I had seen. I do not have specific dates for first sightings of the Barn Swallows and Evening Grosbeaks, and I did not record a date for Northern Bobwhite until I actually saw one in my grandparents' backyard. On May 9, 1979 I recorded Killdeer and Northern Mockingbird on my life list. Since then I have traveled extensively throughout the eastern United States, and three states west of the Mississippi River, to accumulate a life list of 420 species for the ABA (American Birding Association) area. Moreover, I've seen a combined total of 441 species in the world, with my only travels out of the ABA area coming from a western Carribean cruise with stops on Isle de Cozumel, Mexico; Georgetown, Grand Cayman; and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Even though I keep a life list, I still enjoy birds that I've seen many times. I'll never tire of seeing Evening Grosbeaks, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Barn Swallows and other interesting birds. Look for a future post about an article I wrote in the Cincinnati Bird Club's newsletter, The Passenger Pigeon, in the 1990's, entitled, "Beyond the Lifelist."