Buffalo River and the Spotted-Eastern-Hybrid Towhee

After a couple weeks of rest (hard to believe you can actually rest when trying to hit every state park in a year) I got on the road on Saturday morning June 9th nice and early. I pulled into Buffalo River SP just a few minutes past 9AM, though I was hoping for earlier than that honestly.

I see a Greater-Prairie Chicken on the sign, though I didn't get one on this trip it is very high on my get list for the state soon.

 

I had heard great things about Buffalo River SP in the sense of it being a western edge park with rarity potential (Western Wood-Peewee last year) and some outstanding prairie space bordered to the south by Bluestem Prairie SNA just to bolster those creds even more. In the shade of the Buffalo River segment not far from the parking and swim pond I picked up plenty of American Redstart and Yellow Warbler staking claim to prime sections of habitat. The same area had an active Scarlet Tanager and the area acted more like a nice forest than anything resembling prairie.

That changes very quickly though as you cross the river and pickup the segments of the Prairie View Trail that runs a couple large loops out to the west and south edges of the park property.

The prairie masters quickly made themselves known as Western Meadowlarks perched and Grasshopper Sparrows issues their insect-like calls. A few Bobolink let out their robotic calls and chased around the open spaces. This is true prairie space that began to heat up very quickly on the day and made the open area feel several degrees warmer than it might actually have been at this point in the morning. I really needed that extra hour or more of morning time to avoid the high heat of the day.

Several low areas had Alder Flycatcher claiming their own space as thickets of bushes dotted the moist areas. As I arced around towards a river overlook I heard a call I did not recognize and my heart jumped. This happens less and less these days and I was keen on figuring out what new single phrase call I couldn't immediately identify...

I got closer and closer to the woodline and the call was repeated the entire time. I soon made the treeline just south of the river and still it persisted. I was having trouble finding the bird that seemed to be calling from the tree tops so I circled the area even cutting into the brush line hoping to change my viewing angle enough to pick up the bird.

After nearly 10 minutes of this I finally set eyes upon a Towhee! Well, I knew for a fact this was not an Eastern Towhee call note. Even with their tendency to issue several calls and also modify/shorten their signature "Drink-Your-Tea" call I knew this voice was not an Eastern voice. I immediately jumped to Spotted Towhee. A rarity, I was almost ready to send out alerts for any that might happen to be in the area and want such a bird. I paused though wanting to snag a photograph showing the spotted wings and eventually was able to do so.

My angle finally shows me a spotted wing pattern I had hoped would be the final clincher for Spotted Towhee and a new rarity to report for my State Park big year.

As soon as I got my photo, confident I had gotten my bird even though I'd never heard this call before, the bird did something that was at once amazing and disheartening. It began to sing...the entire normal "Drink-Your-Tea" song of an Eastern Towhee. This bird had I not seen it would have gone down as an Eastern on this song alone and if the song had never started would have been an easy call for Spotted for me with an assumption that I just didn't know all of their call notes.

Now I knew where I was and that was bird limbo. I had found an Eastern/Spotted Hybrid that all at once was super cool and a bit sad since it would not have an official count on my life list. The educational value though far outweighs the indeterminate tick of finding a hybrid. I popped out to Facebook after a Google search showed me an article on the hybrids and I even found a short description that indicated such hybrids often have a call type not matching either bird, but a song matching Eastern Towhee. In my post I made short joke of "That moment when" meme of thinking you have one thing, but it turns out to be another. Not long later Bob Dunlap (MOU President) commented that the same bird was present last year as well playing the same games with birders.

I was happy to have not completely fallen for the ruse and worked through the identification using my own skills, some quick article research on hybrids, and photographic evidence. It was a great education and a story I won't soon forget.

A nice White-Admiral butterfly that I was able to photograph while hiking one of the trails.

The Great: Finding a unique hybrid and getting to work on the identification was as special moment that lasted for nearly 30 minutes. The park has a great section of prairie and being bordered by an SNA helps to make it an even bigger preserved natural space. The river valley helps to ensure this area has some diversity of species and I certainly look forward to keeping this location on my NW MN tour stops for birding.

The Meh: Beyond the Hybrid I wasn't astounded by the birding I encountered, but I was already into June at this point and finding some additional unique prairie natives likely takes a lot more than a couple hours in a single loop. One area I hiked had a recent burn so a swath of my effort was basically a bird dead zone. The park seemed to have a huge influx of humans by the time I finished my first loop showing dozens of cars in the lot looking to use the swim area, making the park seem more crowded than I would have expected.

The Verdict: Getting native habitat like this is a thing to treasure. Were I closer to this park it would be an easy monthly or more visit type of place looking for errant rarities. I'd also expand efforts into the adjacent SNA and the regional science center land to the east. I'll be back at some point I'm sure when I want to expand my park or county life list or simply look for things I've never seen before in the state.

Code 10 - Roseate Insanity

It was going to be an off day. I was going to spend most of my time working on an upcoming presentation for the MRVAC monthly meeting, kicking off their fall speaker series by talking about finding more rare birds and goal setting. My wife and I rolled into Starbucks around 10AM and I snagged on of the few remaining tables, while she got in line to order for us.

Seconds later my phone started ringing. I get very few phone calls these days simply because messaging is the way things are typically done, but my friend Pete Nichols and I have a system. If it's a serious find, it's a phone call and the one getting the calls picks it up ASAP.

Pete: Dude!
Me: What's Up?
Pete: Are you ready for a code 10 in our county?
Me: Uh, yes?
Pete: Dude, Kevin Smith just found a Roseate Spoonbill at the sandbar!
Me: ....what?
Pete: Yes.

Me up at counter in line with my wife.

Me: We need to go, now!
Her: What?
Me: Roseate Spoonbill at the sandbar.
Her: I'll get it to go then.

I quickly told Pete we are on our way. He was getting a pickup from Larry Sirvio and would be in bound also. Not only was this a big deal for Washington County, but it would be a first state record for Minnesota. We raced down to Hastings crossing the river and I could see gulls and one big light/white bird on the sandbar. It would turn out though that shortly after getting the word out the bird had lifted along with the gulls. The gulls returned, but the Spoonbill did not as it flew north over the lock and dam.

Talking with Kevin Smith now and a few others that started to trickle into the boat launch parking a plan started forming. Greg Jahner was already working from the lock and dam along with Kevin's wife Cindy. Pete and Larry showed up and did the same along with looking at Lake Rebecca and the dike area. Soon Tom Bell showed up as well looking to add this State Record. Jenn Veith arrived with her husband on her birthday no less and they plotted a possible boat trip from their home to the backwater areas around Spring Lake to search.

Alex Sundvall arrived and we agreed that Schaar's Bluff would be a good place to look as well now with plenty of backwater areas to observe from high up on the river bluffs. The group dispersed quickly with Greg noting he was going to be checking Hazen P. Mooers Park as well as the gravel pit on Grey Cloud Island. The hunt was on.

I talked my wife into a run to Schaar's Bluff and she was game as we pulled in and starting looking at the river in various locations. Kevin had noted the bird likely would be looking for more Great Egrets as it had been associating loosely with the one I had seen while crossing the bridge. The river from Schaar's Bluff had plenty of Egret's and hundreds of Ring-billed and Franklin's Gulls, but nothing remotely pink could be found. Liz Harper showed up as well at this point while 7 or 8 of us scanned various sections of river without luck.

Many of us dispersed at this point while others like Liz Harper stayed in the area searching various locations. My wife and I ended up getting lunch and returned home. I started working on my MRVAC presentation again and figured the day would end with Kevin Smith notching a first state record in 2 counties along with his wife and nobody else would have the fortune of seeing such a great bird. At 2:45PM I got a message from Pete the "likely bird" was refound at Old Cedar Avenue in Hennepin County now, 20 miles away! Had someone searched this whole time and thought to check another section of river 20 miles away from the first sighting?

Pete was keen on another run at this bird and offered a ride if I made it down to his place. I thought for a few seconds and realized state records don't show up every year so this might be my only chance in MN ever. I got in the car with my gear and got to his place. We jumped in his car and quickly made our way towards Old Cedar.

The effort wasn't drama free as we arrived to find Old Cedar Ave in the worst shape I've seen it to date. The city/county has continued at a glacial pace in rebuilding this area for 2 years now. I used to go to this place regularly and finally stopped when they started the pedestrian bridge project. Now the road itself to the new parking area was utterly destroyed. This hill down is daunting and certainly wasn't something Pete should be hiking in the oppressive heat and humidity of the day. So we drove down the single choppy dirt lane the last stretch of navigable road and turned around. Pete jumped out with the gear and I drove it back up the hill and rushed back down on foot. It was then at least a half mile further down the road and out to the boardwalk. Signs were good though as we ran into Greg Jahner fresh from seeing the bird and rushing back to his daughters softball game. Birders will find a way to wedge a chase into any personal/family event possible when it is this singular in nature.

Once on the platform the sleepy Roseate Spoonbill was easy to spot just a couple hundred feet away. Kevin's comment from earlier resonated as I eventually counted 25 Great Egret in the area and it became pretty apparent this bird was looking for rest and food and wanted to associate with a bird species as similar to itself as possible.

The next hour became a who's who in birding as people streamed in from all corners of the metro and even state to get a sight of this wonderful rarity. Off the top of my head I talked with or recognized, Dana Sterner and her mother, Michael Sack, Bob Jansen, Julie Winter-Zempel, Tony Lau, Amit Kulkarni, Richard Gotz, Travis Bono, John Jonas,  Bill Litkey, Erik Collins, Becca Engdahl, Alex Burchard, Bob Dunlap, William Marengo, Alex Sundvall, Joe Lindell, Liz Harper, Brad Abendroth, Larry Sirvio, Joey Sundvall, a large contingent of the Hosch family (Ezra, Isaac, Jackie, and I think Caleb).

On the way out Kevin Smith and Alex Franzen were coming in giving Kevin a wild 3 county ticks in one day for the first state record bird. Unreal and super awesome. While hiking up the hill I ran into Karl Isley and even Kim Eckert whom I assume had driven from Duluth. Many more beyond those I knew were coming into the platform area and streaming down the rubble of a road to add this bird to their list. Rare bird chases are something of a wonder of human nature. I had noted on a Facebook post that birders "flashmob" better than almost any other group in existence. With todays light speed reporting avenues the word gets out so insanely fast that even leaving immediately upon finding out you are likely to be the 30th or so person to arrive when it's near the heart of the cities such as it was yesterday.

I later saw reports of the bird out to 8PM with more names I recognized like Josh Wallestad having been in the cities by some stroke of amazing luck with his wife for a conference starting on Monday. Jenn Veith was able to get the bird as a birthday bird and this time her son Vincent was with to see it as well.

From the highest high of a morning call from Pete to the lowest low of heading back home after a fruitless search, to the redemptive chase at Old Cedar, the day was an awesome rollercoaster to get a sighting and picture of a first state record. In the end it will stick with many of us how many friends we quickly got to see and talk with over this bird. Conversations of congratulations in person for other birds people had found recently like Dana Sterner finding a first county record Blue Grosbeak in Ramsey County. These moments in time can be critical to reinforcing friendships and making new birding contacts with friends of friends. The birding melting pot is as diverse as our quarry and always exciting to see again. Soak it in everyone, life is good.

"Relaxing" Local Birding

After an insane 20 park circuit with over 70 miles of hiking and touching the southwest corner of the state and the northeast corner I arrived back home on 5/18, went to bed and promptly got up at 5AM for the Grey Cloud Dunes Big Watch event. This event, now in it's 3rd year, is an all day event coupling a stationary count along with guided efforts on the properly for small groups. I have guided all 3 years and always enjoy the opportunity to see what migrants are present and how many sparrow species we can check off on the day.

For 15 and a half hours I watched, hiked, counted, and socialized at the event. It is a true endurance test that brought us all the day to dark when we moved to another parking lot to pickup the call of at least 3 Eastern Whip-poor-will. I checked off 82 species during the day (10 sparrow species) and guided multiple groups around the property helping to identify birds and even a few flower species.

A nice Grasshopper Sparrow, one of the regular breeders of Grey Cloud Dunes SNA.

Eastern-wood Peewee from Grey Cloud Dunes SNA also. This one must have been tired as it sat on this log just 8 feet away while we observed.

After the Grey Cloud event it would be hard not to admit I was gassed and in dire need of some relaxation time. I mostly birded locally all the way until 6/9 giving me plenty of time off from longer distance travel. I visited Afton State Park along with William O'Brien State Park multiple times each to keep myself in State Park mode and good hiking condition. Afton State Park can really hold the fort pretty well on quality birding options as is evidenced from my pictures of Hooded Warbler and Yellow-breasted Chat. The first has been a summer breeder in the park for several years now making it one of the few reliable spots in the state for this species. The second has shown up at Afton State Park 2 years in a row and been one of the few individuals identified in the entire state each year.

My first run in with this bird was shrouded in foliage and tough shots. I came back after a long hike and it decided to set up shop above me and sing for a few minutes. My best looks and pics of Hooded Warbler ever.

This was my first confirmed Lark Sparrow for Afton State Park so it was nice to see potential nesting efforts for the species that is very tough to find breeding in Washington County.

I had this bird on my radar to track down in 2018 hoping for a redux on the bird found last year by Kevin Manley. Another birder beat me to it and refound the bird in the exact same spot. I would go on to see this bird in 4 different months of 2018 trying in vain to call for a mate.

Mostly I wanted to get this post together so I retain knowledge of what I did between large birding trips for the big year. It was important as I finished large circuits to take some time off, but still get quality birding efforts in during the weekdays. Afton is such an amazing place considering it is bereft of any swamp spaces or lakes/ponds it brings an amazing diversity of birds that can rival most other state parks. Being only about 15 or 20 minutes from my home it is a great place to go after work and get a nice strenuous hike or setup for a sky watch in the spring/fall for migrants.

Finding Migration - Part 18 - Jay Cooke and the BTBW

I started my "follow migration" trip on May 10th by driving to Kilen Woods SP and then hitting Blue Mounds SP. In the week that followed I birded and hiked in 20 state parks with Jay Cooke being a toss in final stop on my way home as I wanted to see it in multiple seasons as opposed to my first visit at -16 degrees on January 1st.

Just wanted to add this Rose-breasted Grosbeak to the post. As common as they are to find, they are a wonderful bird to have visit for the summer months in MN.

I had some target birds for this trip, but most of all I thought I was going to be lining up for my favorite warbler, Black-Throated Blue. My first sighting of this species was a wonderful adult Male I found at Afton State Park while hiking. This turned out to be the bird that connected me and Pete Nichols as he needed it for a State life bird and contacted me soon after I reported the bird. Within 40 minutes he was on the bird having hiked down to the river and up to the valley I had found the bird in earlier. He later invited me over to his home to chat and bird watch and we found ourselves to have many similar interests and goals in birding and we've been friends ever since.

This particular bird resonated with me and I was keen on seeing it at Tettegouche SP during this trip sequence, but if you've been following the blog post titles I went from "Following Migration", to "Outrunning Migration" as I got to the north shore. I had not estimated the progression of warbler migration properly, not realizing that the Black-throated Blue might be lagging behind as much as it was. So during my entire Northshore run I found copious amounts of Black-Throated Green, Ovenbird, and Northern Parula, but my target was missing in action.

Fast forward to the end of my trip and May 18th I had felt that Black-Throated Blue just wasn't going to be a thing on this trip and that I would likely need to come back soon for another shot at the bird in Tettegouche SP.

My target trail "Ogantz Trail" is closed on a longer term basis from the massive flood a couple/few years back. I really liked that as a possible hike and was soon just sitting in the parking log staring at my map wondering what I could do that would still allow me to get back home and rest a bit from such an arduous hiking schedule. I then remembered making a note to myself that I wanted to check out the trails near the Hemlock Ravine SNA at some point in the future, and this was indeed the future. I moved to that dirt parking near Forbay Lake and found some trail space for Greeley Creek and soon found myself on the Willard Munger paved space as well. I did a couple loops along this stretch and had some nice thrush species singing in the ravines along the way. As I was nearly wrapping up I walked the Willard Munger trail back towards county road 151. Only about 100 yards short of the road intersection I caught sight of some warbler movement just off the trail.

I've had some nice chances to see migrant and breeding Chestnut-sided Warblers this year and really enjoy them both in breeding and juvenile plumage since they are so different.

As I locked on a Chestnut Sided Warbler I also heard an interesting buzzy "I'm so lazy" call that I knew immediately to be my target bird from much further north. I finally locked on an adult male feeding along the trail edge and was able to snag a few pictures of this amazing bird. I had travelled the entire north shore for 4 days only to come back south and find the bird working his way north still. You truly can outrun migration for some species and timing is everything as I've no doubt demonstrated very well at this point.

What a stunner. I love this bird and finding one is always a treat.

It was super cool to have one in nice light I could enjoy without having to try viewing it in a dark woods while bouncing around the tree canopy.

It was an outstanding way to finish my week long, 20 park circuit.

Outrunning Migration - Part 17 - Chasing Waterfalls (Temperance River)

For any park I visit my ultimate goal is to find an adventure or at the least create memories that will stick with me for a long time. When I rolled up to Temperance River State Park and found some roadside parking along the highway I knew I was in for yet another outstanding round of water falls at peak flow rate. What I didn't know is that the pair of Common Raven I immediately heard were going to be some of the most cooperative I've ever seen in my life.

My energy stores were low, but moral was high. This was my 8th north shore park in 4 days! Man what a trip to be able to do them all and hike them in the same span of time.

Once I donned my full gear and jumped on the trail that would hike up river I quickly became aware of this Raven pair circling the area as they eventually settled mid-way up a Spruce tree and began issuing a number of fun vocalizations to each other. After a short period of time they started picking pieces of the branches off and dropping them to the ground, raining spruce needle clumps down onto the trail and river below. I still don't know precisely what I was seeing as they did this as different levels of the tree from one another. If they were creating better perch points for themselves with a nest near by or something else completely, it was fascinating and afforded me outstanding photographic opportunities at close range using my Nikon P900 camera.

For the first time my photos were able to show me the nice extra shaggy throat feathers, the massive bill with robust nasal bristles and just the overall size and unique features that make them Ravens instead of the smaller American Crow. As I noted at the start it is these type of situations I'll remember for a long time. The chance to hang out and get a true feeling for how a pair of Ravens behaves and interacts is a wonderful lesson and was totally unexpected as I started my hiking.

Under appreciated, the Common Raven is a legend if you ask me. They bring such an amazing vocal range to their calls from hoarse croaking to a near liquid gurgle and many elements in between the two. I love their size and habits and how you most often find a pair spending time together.

Look at the throat feathers and size of that bill.

Man that side profile really shows off the bill size and how elongated the face seems on a Raven. The sleek feathers on the head and neck show very different from the shaggy throat.

One more, because damn that is a beautiful bird.

Of course it was very quiet in the morning and I had the trail to myself as I made my way up river over ancient water fall rocks that led the viewer to realize the size of the falls had been much larger in the distant past. The smooth rocks showed imprisoned agates that had been built by mineral deposit in the air bubbled volcanic rocks.

The hiking path showing smooth rock that was long ago all part of a large waterfall during glacial periods.

These white spots show mineral deposits in the volcanic rock are the birthplace of agates.

As I followed the river trail I was shown cauldrons of roiling root beer colored water forced into a narrow canyon of falls running down towards Lake Superior. This park immediately evokes thoughts of Cascade River State Park though they each have a different character or vibe to them, I can feel them starting to merge together in my memories a month or so later. Many excellent photographic opportunities were available along the river and the birding was very quiet with the running water drowning up much of the adjacent bird song.

Low key day and hike, but always beastmode.  What a beautiful place to visit.

As you can see the river presents a multitude of views and intriguing roiling pools of water.

Looking back on my pictures I realize how little many of the trees were leafed out at the time. Spring is very different on the north shore from the twin cities area and it was very educational to see it first hand.

This type of view shows that in mid/late May you still don't have a ton of vegetation in place this far north. Leaves are still trying to get out and open on the trees and the understory is still starting to develop the first plants of the year.

As much as it pains me to say I was running out of juice at this point in my trip circuit. I had hiked over 2 marathons of distance in 10 days while visiting 20 state parks (20th was my next stop at Jay Cooke) and driving a lot of miles. I had guided a warbler walk at Frontenac during this time as well and still had to return home and do guide work all day for an event held in conjunction with national park service ranger Sharon Stitler at Grey Cloud Dunes SNA. I would likely guide 2 or 3 times during the day and put on up to 10 miles. All of this being the case I knew I had to cut short this park outing so I could give myself some measure of recovery time. I hiked 2.5 miles in just under 2 hours moving relatively slowly during that time and really enjoyed the water falls and beauty of the park.

Looking at the map again now I see many great distance hikes off river that beg for discovery. With Carlton and Tofte Peak being connected via Superior Hiking Trail I can see another single park full day of hiking in my future. This place with the terrain could really put together some outstanding and memorable hikes for those more interested in that aspect of the outdoors. I get the feeling making a point of doing those hikes will make me one of the few to do so while primarily birding.

As noted I cut short my hiking for the day and started the drive south so I could make a stop at Jay Cooke and still get home for some much needed rest and relaxation prior to doing the Grey Cloud event that has already become a fixture in my life in it's 3rd year.

The Great: The river canyon and falls is straight up amazing and even with just 19 species of birds I truly enjoyed the birding with Common Raven stealing the show for me. I can't imagine a future in which I don't come back to hike this park in serious beastmode in the future.

The Meh: A section of trail spaces are very near the river or highway 61 so you should be prepared to still get some noise that will limit birding for those less mobile and able to seriously hike the space. This is likely why from a birding community standpoint the park is very under appreciated. I will seek to change that over the coming years as I feel I'm the right person to attack big hikes and birding at the same time.

The Verdict: Easy return park for me. Great scenery for anyone that wants to see slot canyon style falls in the spring and wonderful natural space. Couple that with the prospect of quality elevation hikes and I'm ready to go back right now. I had virtually never heard of this park for birding and now look forward to building my park life list and maybe even do some snowshoeing in the future.