To Live's to Fly

This past weekend after attending the Ohio Young Birders Conference (more about this later), I was able to go on a Lake Erie pelagic trip along with many other birders. Usually at this time of year, a boat trip onto Lake Erie is a very cold experience, but we lucked out with some mild temperatures. The boat left from Cleveland and traveled east before cruising out into the lake then heading back west and inland to dock.

Juvenile Herring Gull

After cruising out of the channel and into Lake Erie, we followed a very long breakwall where we were able to watch a cooperative Peregrine Falcon. Knowing that a Purple Sandpiper was probably somewhere along this breakwall, I scanned with binoculars for about 15 or 20 minutes. Soon after, I got lazy and stopped scanning - and then somebody spotted one. I'm just lucky there were people on the boat that were not as lazy me. We were able to go back to the area it was spotted, and everyone got good looks. While still cruising east along the shore, we were able to spot a White-winged Scoter to go along with 4 Black Scoters we had seen while birding before getting to the boat.

Adult Herring Gull

For most of the time the boat was on the water, we chummed for gulls with very modest results. The numbers of gulls was impressive but the diversity was low with only four species seen. While heading north on the lake, we were able to spot a Pomarine Jaeger resting on the water. It didn't stick around long and took off flying past the boat. Not everybody was able to get good looks, but luckily I was able to see it well in flight.

When heading back in to dock we learned that there was a problem - a drawbridge over the channel that we needed to pass under to get back to the dock was stuck and the boat would not be able to get under it. So we docked somewhere else and had people taxied back over to where all the cars were. There positive side of this was spotting a Merlin. This was one of the most cooperative Merlins I have ever seen, and it stayed sitting on a pole in a parking lot while many birders stood below watching it.

It was a great trip and if you are ever able to go on one of these pelagics, don't miss the opportunity.

-Eric

Ohio Young Birders Conference and Lake Erie Pelagic

This weekend Eric and I will be heading up to northern Ohio with our friend Chad and his son to attend the Ohio Young Birders Conference on Saturday. Since we have been working on putting together an Indiana Young Birders Club, this should be a very interesting and educational experience for all of us.

The Ohio Young Birders Club was started a few years ago by young birders in northern Ohio under the leadership of Kim Kaufman and the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. It has grown exponentially in its first few years of existence and is the most well-known club in the county. It has also become the model for many new Young Birders clubs in other states, including our own. The Indiana Audubon Society is the primary sponsor the Indiana Young Birders Club, and we hope that someday it will be as beneficial to young birders in Indiana as the OYBC is to young birders in Ohio.

While this is only the second conference that the OYBC has hosted, they have managed to get an amazing young birder to give the keynote speech. Malkolm Boothroyd is a 17 year-old from Canada that did a Big Year by bicycle. He and his parents travelled 13,000 miles and raised $25,000 for conservation. I am sure he has many exciting stories to tell about his experiences.

It just so happens that BSBO is also sponsoring a pelagic trip on Lake Erie on Sunday. The trip leaves from Cleveland and cruises along some of the most well-known birding areas in the region. The best part is that instead of standing on the shore and scanning with a spotting scope, we will be out there on the lake with the birds! In addition to many common ducks and gulls, we are hoping to find a few rarities. You really never know what you can find out on one of the Great Lakes.

Hope you all enjoy your birding adventures this weekend! If anyone else is attending either the Ohio Young Birders Conference or the pelagic trip on Lake Erie sponsored by BSBO, please let us know!

-Rob

A Storm Brewing in the Black Hills - SkyWatch Friday

This photo was taken in the Black Hills of South Dakota shortly before a summer storm last year.

Check out more great SkyWatch Friday posts here.

- Rob

Clingmans Dome - Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Skywatch Friday

This photo was taken from Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in April 2009. It is the hightest point in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi. Definitely worth the climb!

Check out more great SkyWatch Friday posts here.

-Rob

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on Halloween

A good Halloween day quickly turned into a great Halloween day with just one bird. In the morning I headed to Yellowwood State Forest and Lake Lemon in Brown County, Indiana. I was able to find my first Fox Sparrows of the season and finally got my first Hermit Thrushes of the fall. I also had a late Gray Catbird (most have left the state by now). On Lake Lemon I had my first diving ducks of the fall with a large flock of Lesser Scaups. There were also many Pied-billed Grebes, Northern Shovelers, and some Gadwall.

I then returned home to watch the Indiana University football game which started very well but quickly became Iowa's game in the second half. Luckily while the game was starting to go Iowa's way a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was reported about 5 minutes from where I live. When I arrived there was a group of about 10 people with a spotting scope on the bird. It can't get much easier then that. This Scissor-tailed showed up at the IU Cross Country Course, a place I had never birded. The habitat is great for many sparrows and is also a nice location for the flycatcher (it had multiple successful flycatching attempts). This was my first Scissor-tailed for Indiana. I rarely get state birds away from the Lake Michigan shore let alone 5 minutes from where I live.

Gray Catbird-It's getting a little late for Catbirds in Indiana but most years a few overwinter.

Indiana Fall Color - Watery Wednesday

This picture was taken at McCormick's Creek State Park in south central Indiana. With lots of rain in the past week the creek was much higher than usual and the waterfall just downstream was inaccessible.

Check out more great Watery Wednesday posts here!

Miller Beach - SkyWatch Friday

This photo was taken at Miller Beach near the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in early October.

Check out more great SkyWatch Friday posts here.