[wisb] Re: WSO Wisconsin Point "Jaegerfest" field trip report
- From: Kay Kavanagh <kkav2299@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: trschultz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 13:15:15 -0500
Tom and all,
Just wanted to thank Tom for his patient, clear, and instructive help with
the indentifications of all birds on this trip. What a great asset he is to
WSO for continuing to educate all of us. I'm especially grateful for his
help in getting me on my 300th bird for 2013, the Long-tailed Jaeger.
Thanks for a great job, Tom.
I would also like to thank all those other great birders that have helped
me this year to reach my goal, especially, Bob D., Cynthia, Dan, Kyle,
Marilyn, Mike M.,Ted--and the list goes on and on. What a great ride it has
been.
Thanks to all,
Kay Kavanagh
Aurora, Florence Co
On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 10:54 PM, Tom Schultz <trschultz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
> Sorry I'm slow to get this report from last weekend finished, but here it
> is...
>
> This year once again (after an unusually slow jaeger year in 2012), the
> Jaegerfest nickname for this Superior weekend field trip really held
> true with nearly non-stop jaeger action on each of the three days!
>
> Following very promising reports of multiple jaegers (including a juvenile
> Long-tailed the day before) and other goodies on the previous days leading
> up to this field trip, there was great optimism as birders began arriving
> at
> the beach on Friday, September 20th. Our Wisconsin Point vigil began about
> 6:30 AM, with cloudy skies overhead but fairly moderate temperatures
> (nearly
> 60 degrees) despite a brisk northwest wind. The first birders arriving
> on
> the beach described having just seen a coyote trotting down the beach past
> them in the semi-darkness!
>
> The day got off to a somewhat slow start, with a flock of about 40 Canada
> Geese winging past, followed by a lone American White Pelican and three
> Blue-winged Teal. An American Pipit flew overhead, and a few wigeon flew
> past. Finally, about 7:15 the first jaeger was spotted a Parasitic and
> a small group of Sanderlings flew past. Shortly after that a Northern
> Harrier came flying in from offshore, and three Green-winged Teal flew past
> us followed by a Common Loon that was flying west well offshore, and a
> group of seven Horned Grebes was spotted on the water.
>
> At 7:35 two Parasitic Jaegers came flying in and landed to the northwest of
> us, as more and more Ring-billed Gulls began to gather nearby attracted
> by
> our chumming with stale bread. A group of four Common Ravens flew just
> over the trees behind us, and a Bald Eagle made its appearance.
>
> A larger group of 30 Sanderlings came winging past, and a group of three
> Bonapartes Gulls flew in and landed just off the beach. More jaegers
> sightings continued as they periodically flew in and chased the gulls from
> time to time. Many of these jaegers were sub-adults, and one juvenile was
> often spotted quite frequently, and there was also at least one full adult.
> We tried to total a list of identifiable individuals, and we figured we
> were
> seeing at least six different Parasitics!
>
> Around 8:10 an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was spotted on the water, and
> a quick count showed that nearly 70 birders were now present on the beach.
> Later counts and estimates of the birders that were coming and going
> through
> the day gave us an approximate attendance of around 100! A Peregrine
> Falcon
> put on a nice show as it flew past just behind us around 9:15, and an
> American Golden-Plover winged past just offshore. Birders that walked
> along
> the road were finding a nice variety of warblers and sparrows, although the
> total number of birds wasnt overwhelming but the migration had
> definitely
> picked up from the past few days.
>
> At about 11:50 there was great excitement and jubilation from the group on
> the beach when a near-adult Long-tailed Jaeger was spotted as it cruised
> past the group. Easily observed were the long central tail streamers, the
> light-colored underparts, and whitish shafts on just the outer couple of
> primaries. The back and upperwing coverts were grayish brown, and showed
> good contrast with the darker flight feathers. This was certainly a
> species
> that many of the attendees had been hoping to see!
>
> Around 3:00 some of the group headed down to the breakwater, near the
> harbor
> entrance and lighthouse to try a different vantage point. A couple of
> Spotted Sandpipers flew past and briefly landed, and a Bairds Sandpiper
> landed nearby on the beach. Around 4:45 small group that had hiked out to
> the lighthouse had good looks at a juvenile Thayers Gull that was flying
> nearby, and then several of us watched as the sub-adult Long-tailed Jaeger
> can flying in!
>
> On Saturday, Sept. 21st the northwest winds were still blowing fairly
> briskly, and the temperature had dropped to about 47 degrees under mostly
> cloudy skies although the sky cleared by later in the morning. Around
> 6:30 a couple of Red-necked Grebes came winging by, although well offshore.
> Other than that, to the eager birders on the beach, it was another slow
> start with a possible dark scoter sighting around 7:30, and a Horned
> Grebe
> and Bonapartes Gull.
>
> Finally, about 8:00 a trio of Parasitic Jaegers made an appearance,
> including a juvenile and two sub-adults. Then about 8:50 an excited shout
> rang out, and we looked up to see a near-adult Long-tailed Jaeger come
> soaring and circling right above the group! The cameras were busily
> snapping as the many photographers hurried to capture images. Once again,
> the long central tail feathers were easily seen by everyone present
> including some who had missed seeing it the day before.
>
> The day continued with many more Parasitic Jaeger sightings, and other
> species were spotted, including a group of six terns flying well offshore
> that appeared to be Forsters, and the adult Lesser Black-backed was
> spotted
> again. Two Sharp-shinned Hawks came cruising past just behind the group,
> and a few Surf Scoters were spotted during the afternoon. Some of the
> birders left to go see a Harriss Sparrow that was visiting a nearby
> campground, and after some additional jaeger sightings most of the group
> left the beach about 5:00 PM. I believe the group species total for the
> day
> was nearly 90.
>
> On Sunday morning the sky was crystal clear, and the sunrise was bright.
> The winds were ESE at about 10 mph, and the temperature was around 40
> degrees. The first Parasitic Jaeger was spotted about 6:40, but
> unfortunately it landed well offshore but there were more opportunities
> for jaeger viewing before long. A few ducks flew past, including Northern
> Pintails, Green-winged Teal, and a Redhead and a Wood Duck and a group of
> six Common Mergansers came drifting by.
>
> The group gathered on the beach was a little smaller this morning, but
> there
> was big excitement about 8:55 as a juvenile Sabines Gull came flying in
> and
> landed among the gulls about 100 yards offshore! This was a bird that many
> had been hoping to find, and there were many big smiles and cheers among
> the
> 30 or so birders that were still present. Following this sighting, many of
> the attendees started heading for home, feeling contented after having
> experienced a truly memorable weekend of birding and camaraderie!
>
> Tom Schultz
> WSO Field Trips co-chair
> Green Lake Co.
>
>
>
>
> ####################
> You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin
> Birding Network (Wisbirdn).
> To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
> //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
> To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
> //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
> Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn
>
>
>
####################
You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding
Network (Wisbirdn).
To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn
Other related posts:
