The Last "1"

At the outset of the year, I gave each bird a code from 1 to 6 based on likelihood of me seeing it in Kansas this year.  "1" meant that I was sure to see it without much difficulty.  "6" meant that there was basically no way in the world that I would see it.
Yesterday, I saw the last bird on my list that was given a "1" at the beginning of the year: Western Sandpiper.  Apparently they are not quite as abundant here as I thought.  That perception was probably generated by the fact that they are not rare in Kansas, and I saw my first Westerns last year not long after I moved here, so I thought I would get them easily this year.  In fact, when I made a calendar of when I predicted I would get each of the birds I had a decent shot at, I only listed them in the Spring because I thought I wouldn't have to wait until the Fall.
Well it didn't quite work out that way.  I have spent the last month scouring peep flocks, trying to turn Semipalmated Sandpipers into Westerns.  That's the funny thing about perception.  When you are looking for a specific bird you can almost convince yourself that you are seeing your target when you are looking at a similar bird.  I've had this with Semipalmated/Western Sandpipers, Warbling/Philadelphia Vireo, Herring/Thayer's Gull, Forster's/Common Tern, and a slew of others.  The thing is, when you actually see the target species, you know very quickly (usually) that you've got what you are looking for.
That was definitely true yesterday.  I saw of Semipalmated/Western Sandpipers and immediately checking the bill length.  Most of the birds' bills were obvious: just way too long for Semipalmateds.  After that, everything else fell into place, namely the rufous wing coverts and crown, which make the id obvious.
Anyways, the Westerns make it #235 for Kansas for 2012, and it is #213 for Rooks for 2012.  I'm optimistic that I can make my goal for 245 for Kansas.  I didn't really set a goal for Rooks (that I can remember), but it will be fun to see how many I can get.

Two (More) New County Birds

I love living in a county that has not been birded heavily for quite some time.  Most easy birds have been seen in Rooks, and the total number of bird species seen before I got here was 256, which is quite respectable for how little it gets birded.  Spending the entire year here, though, allows me to pick up some of those birds that are rare but annual in the county, species that haven't been seen in Rooks before.
Two of the species which are probably rare but annual are Red-necked Phalarope and Common Tern.  I found both of these birds in the past week or so.  One of them (the phalarope) was an easy identification practice.  The other required me to take 2 hours of my birding time to zig-zag back and forth to get close enough to a group of terns in order to confirm the identification.  The medium sized terns are a pain in the butt to identify except in pure alternate or basic forms, forms in which they are rarely seen in Kansas.  It was very rewarding then when I confirmed the identification of at least two of the terns as Common.

Rooks County's first documented Red-necked Phalarope

I now sit at 234 Kansas birds for the year and 212 Rooks birds for the year.  I'm getting excited.

The Hummingbird Dilemma

Back in Michigan, the only hummingbird I could realistically expect was Ruby-throated.  Granted, they were plentiful there and a delight to watch.  The way hummingbirds defy the laws of physics is awe-inspiring.  Here in my part of Kansas, there are no hummingbirds that breed.  During migration, there is a chance at a few different types of hummers, though.  The most likely is still Ruby-throated followed by Rufous and then Calliope, Broad-tailed, and Black-chinned with a few other really rare hummers seen once or twice in the state.  However, no hummingbird is a given here.  Take this year for example.  I put Ruby-throated as a Code 1 bird, meaning I would be guaranteed to see it with relatively little effort expended.  Guess how many Ruby-throats I've seen so far this year.  Yeah-zero!
So today as I was birding with Caid, I saw a hummer flitting here and there on the side of the road.
"Awesome!" I thought.  My next thought was, "It's probably a Ruby-throated."  Usually, this would be followed by some let down, but this year, even a Ruby-throated in August is a year bird.  However, as the bird landed and I creeped the car forward to get pics, I noticed that this didn't look like a Ruby-throated; in fact this is what I saw:

  Now I want you to notice a few things about the bird:
1.  It has a buffy wash on the sides of its body.
2.  Its tail is very very short, not reaching past the wingtips.
3.  The bird looks very chunky.
4.  The second picture appears to show the beginnings of a gorget appearing.
All of these clues lead clearly to the conclusion that this is a Calliope Hummingbird and probably a young male bird if there is indeed a gorget appearing.  Anyways, it's a year bird, a county bird for me, and a new Rooks County record!
P.S. Although not quite as exciting of a find, I also got my first Rooks County Least Flycatcher.

It's Baaaaack!

I took Caid out birding this morning, and Webster was hopping!  The highlight was having the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck back.  I decided to get some pics to record my sighting.  They are distant, but I believe they are diagnostic:

 Notice the white stripe on the wing coverts, the black belly, the brown upperparts, the pink/red bill and legs, and the gray face.  No other bird has these features together.

There was also a small group of Buff-breasted Sandpipers (8) around.  I took some photos just to record there presence:

There was also a bird that I first thought was a Black-bellied Plover because two other birders had seen one this weekend.  However, after closer study, the bird was a American Golden-Plover.  The bird's bill was too dainty, the black on the flanks extended all the way to the undertail coverts, and the eyebrow and supercillium was more ditinct than I've seen on a Black-bellied Plover.

Progress

There are four-and-a-half months left in 2012, four-and-a-half month for me to see 15 more Kansas birds.  Here are some likely suspects:
-Ruby-throated Hummingbird: I've had the feeder up for over a month now, no hummingbirds!
-Western Sandpiper: The trick for this bird will be to get a good view; I'm hoping for a decent number of juvies because they are pretty easy to id.
-Western Grebe: I saw a decent number last year; it was in a fairly small time frame, though.
-Bonaparte's Gull: I saw small numbers last year at Webster.
-Common Loon: This would be a state bird for me, but I should pick one up sooner or later, right?
-American Golden-Plover: With CB/Q being so dry, this bird may be quite a bit tougher for me this year.
-Short-eared Owl: I think I should pick one of these babies up this Winter.
-Blue-headed Vireo: Not common around here, but certainly a possibility.
-Sedge/Marsh Wren: Both are possibilities.
-Warbler: Will there be a warbler migration this Fall?  Anything but the following would be a year bird: Parula, Yellow, Yellowthroat, Tennessee, Wilson's, Louisiana Waterthrush, Chat, and Kentucky.
-Le Conte's Sparrow: Supposedly they pass through in good numbers; the trick is finding them.
-Waterfowl: I'm hoping for a scoter or Long-tailed Duck this Winter.

Sometimes you get lucky

The other day at Webster, I saw a duck flying in a group of ~20 other ducks.  This bird was noticeably larger than the others and had what I recall as having a large white stripe in the middle of the wings.  I immediately thought, "Black-bellied Whistling-Duck," but was not 100% about it, so I did not count it.
Today however, I got views of the bird that were indisputable.  I viewed the bird from ~200 yards away.  It was sweet to be able to confirm that my initial suspicions were correct.  And it's always nice to be absolutely 100% sure about a new life bird, which the Whistling-Duck is.

Sometimes it's just that easy

You can really make birding into a difficult task, making lists, traveling all over the place at all times of the day, getting frustrated at near misses when you've put hours into planning, traveling, and searching. Then again, birding can be simple.  Take yesterday morning for example: my wife, son, and I sat on our porch, Tiff and I drinking coffee.  This has become a nice routine for us before Tiff goes off to work.  I've seen some nice birds in the county (and yard) just by doing this very ritual.  Yesterday the new bird turned out to be one that has frustrated me for awhile because they breed in good numbers just 30 miles south: Mississippi Kite.  We were sitting on the porch, drinking our coffee, conversing with our neighbor Shellie, when a flock of songbirds got really agitated.  I noticed a medium/small raptor soaring and new what it was almost instantly.  I raced into the house to get my binocs and was lucky that the bird decided to perch on a nearby telephone wire.  So here it is, a new county bird the easy way:

Buffies

Buff-breasted Sandpipers are one of my favorite shorebirds.  They look cool, they are relatively rare, and they are not seen as often in "typical" shorebird habitat.  All of which make Buffies cool birds to see.  Their main migration route takes them right through the heart of the country, but even in my county (which lies in the migration route) they had not been seen before.  Well today I just added them to the Rooks County list.  I was at Webster Reservoir, checking out a large mudflat that has appeared because of the drought conditions.  This particular place is going to be on my watch list for the rest of the season because it's great habitat for shorebirds that like mudflats, shorebirds that like a bit drier terrain, and gulls/terns.  I went out there hoping to find a Caspian Tern or something like that...no luck. So I scanned the area of the mudflat that is drier and contains short vegetation.  There were quite a few Killdeer around, so I was hopeful, and sure enough, I spotted 4 adult Buff-breasted Sandpipers!

Night Birding

Birding at night is one of the forms of birding I do the least.  I'm not entirely sure why that is the case.  So my sightings of nightjars are notoriously low.  I have encountered Common Nighthawks thousands of times, but that's because they are out during the day.  I think I have heard an Eastern Whip-poor-will once, and that was a staked out bird that someone else found.  I've been in a location where Chuck-will's-widows were common but didn't get them because I didn't go out at night.  Therefore, I have procrastinated big time on going after Common Poorwills.  I have found some great territory for them in the county, mainly along the southern border, but until yesterday, I had not gone looking for them.  I told Tiff that I was going to go as conditions were nearly perfect.  Aug. 1 was a full moon, the sky was mostly clear, and there was virtually no wind.  I told her I was going to check the small hills just south of town and would be gone for no longer than an hour.  I would not say my hopes were too high.
My how I was wrong!  I pulled off US-183 and found some appropriate habitat.  I pulled out my wife's iPod and played the poorwill call.  To my astonishment, I immediately heard a bird respond.  I drove another quarter of a mile down the road in the direction in which I heard the bird call.  I played the tape again and heard clear "poor-will-up" calls from at least two different birds.  It just goes to show you sometimes birding is just that easy.