[TN-Bird] Re: (Offtopic) East coast birding
- From: jameswbrooks@xxxxxxxxxxx
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:14:35 +0000
Mike -
Thanks for the great trip report. My feeling is that when a Tennessee birder
goes farther afield and reports on it, the subject is on topic. We need to be
less parochial in our viewpoint. For instance Tennessee borders 11 other
states, and we here in East Tennessee can bird five of them with less driving
distance than going to Knoxville. Should they not be reported? Our companon
newsgroup, Bristol Birds has no such hangup about state lines.
I was talking with the editor of Winging It about an article on Jamaican
birding and butterflying and then asked about other Caribbean articles, and
discovered there is no shortage of Caribbean coverage but he is really
interested in me doing articles about birding Asia, so even the ABA is
spreading its wings outside the AOU area.
I did a similar trip to what you described several years ago, flying to Maine
and then driving up into New Brunswick in winter. It's a real crapshot with the
weather when you buy plane tickets 60 days in advance, but we got lucky - tho
not as lucky as you.
Here's for Tenn-birds and birders.
James Brooks
-------------- Original message --------------
From: <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> I apologize for this off-topic post (feel free to delete)
>
> If anyone happened to be considering an east coast trip in the near-future,
> I would highly recommend it. Hap Chambers and I just returned from an
> abbreviated, whirlwind tour from Long Island to the coast of southern Maine.
> We spent 4 full days and 2 half-days birding. It's been a great winter for
> rarities up there, which got me thinking about this trip. We cut off trip
> short a day or so, after barely beating the blizzard off of Cape Cod. This
> is the only potential monkey-wrench in a trip this time of year. It was
> cold, (very cold at times) but tolerable with the right clothing.
>
> It took 2 full days of birding, but we finally got the Slaty-backed Gull at
> Gloucester, MA. This bird has several locations it frequents, thus can be
> either very easy or very hard to find. We talked to several people who had
> made 5 or 6 trips looking for it unsuccessfully. Many others got it on there
> 1st try. The Gloucester/Cape Ann is excellent birding, we had 25 Iceland
> Gulls on frozen Niles Pond at one time (with a hockey game going on nearby).
> Glaucous Gulls are also numerous. We had 10 species of gulls on the trip,
> including a Black-headed, and numerous Black-legged Kittiwakes (all seen in
> flight over the ocean).
>
> Both Barnacle and Pink-footed Goose have been pretty easily found near
> Montauk on eastern Long Island. It took a little searching and luck, but we
> had great looks at both. The Slaty-back, and both geese were still being
> seen as of today.
>
> Otherwise we had most of the coastal specialties of the region, including
> thousands of Common Eiders, and a single female King Eider off the coast of
> NH. Montauk, NY was quite the spectacle, with easily 15,000-20,000 Eiders
> and Scoters riding the waves off the point. We had 4 species of alcids, with
> Thick-billed Murre 3 times, and Dovekie once, along with the more common
> Razorbills and Black Guillemots. Harlequin Ducks were also numerous in the
> northern parts of our visit.
>
> It took some looking, but we finally found at least 4 Bohemian Waxwings in a
> large flock of Cedars and Waxwing, just off the NH coast. Other highlights
> were Snowy Owl, 3 Northern Shrikes, Eared Grebe, breeding-plumage Great
> Cormorants, flocks of 100+ Purple Sandpipers, and the list goes on.
>
> I will have a number of photos posted soon. If anyone happens to have any
> questions feel free to ask.
>
> Good Birding, and hope to some of you at KY Lake!
>
> Mike Todd
> McKenzie, TN
> birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> www.pbsae.com/mctodd
>
>
> =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
>
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> You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
> you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
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> TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
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> by the members of this discussion group.
>
> Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
> wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> ------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
> Cleveland, OH
> -------------------------------
> Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
> Rosedale, VA
> __________________________________________________________
>
> Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
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>
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> EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES
> Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
> Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
> Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com
>
> _____________________________________________________________
>
>
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
Cleveland, OH
-------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
Rosedale, VA
__________________________________________________________
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ARCHIVES
TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/
EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com
_____________________________________________________________
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