June 19 - Sax and Zim
We met Kim in Floodwood, MN before heading to the Sax/Zim roads; primarily dirt roads through farm lands, outstanding grasslands, and prime tamarack spruce forest.

Our first Mourning Warbler delighted all. The day included much searching for Great Gray Owl (none allowing a visit) and short hikes into bogs and long the dirt roads. Olive-sided Flycatcher, Lincoln's Sparrow, Boreal Chickadee, Palm Warbler, Alder Flycatcher, a spectacularly plumaged Blue-headed Vireo, and the impressive wildflowers and plants all made for a fabulous north woods experience.



















Oh...and I forgot to mention the close encounters with Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray Jay, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Leconte's Sparrow, Sedge Wren, and more.




















Kim was an unequalled source of information on the local plants, geology, history, and of course bird ecology. We vowed to keep in touch.

June 18 - Minnesota Forests

Just got airborne before the weather arrived on our way from Houghton Lake, MI to Grand Rapids, MN (forgot the Magnolia Warbler at breakfast!). Nice flight with a stop in Rhinelander, MN for refueling. Horned Lark and Savanna Sparrows graced the tarmac.

Arrived in Grand Rapids and checked into the very nice Timberlake Lodge and were joined for lunch by John and Doug.

Headed off after to meet-up with Kim Risen, clearly one of MN's top two birders. He showed us a Connecticut Warbler in the first hour of birding near Savanna Portage State Park.

The afternoon included many warblers and superb habitat for Great Gray Owl along a road I had visited on the 2005 MN/ND trip.

We stopped at Minnesota National Golf Club for dinner before heading out for an attempt at Yellow Rail. Lightning and heavy rain ended any chances at seeing the bird. The King Air spent the night in the hanger to stay out of the way of any hail.

June 17 - Kirtland's Warbler

Kathy, the inn keeper, did a great job with a 6AM breakfast so we could depart at 630AM. Made the meeting spot in Grayling just in time for the 7AM briefing for the USFW tour of the nesting grounds of the Kirtland's Warbler. The friendly guide had the three cars caravan along the "4 Mile road" to the junction with Stephen Bridge Road where we turned west to a sand road running through the Jack Pine habitat which is so specific to the warbler. We immediately could hear the warbler singing but it took some effort due to the overcast and cool conditions to get us all a look at this so sought after target of North American species. My recent purchase of a laser pointer helped incredibly in getting people to quickly see the target. The warbler was actively feeding.

(not my photo - too bad!)

From here we went to Hartwick Pines State Park which had a wonderful visitors center and fine hardwood and hemlock forest. Birds included great looks at Evening Grosbeak, Purple Finch, and nesting Pileated Woodpecker.

Not too far away was Wakly Lake, east of Grayling. Nice walking trails along the lake with a loon pair and young.

We enjoyed a great dinner at our hotel; nicely done!

A Little Birding Around Here

Went out the other day with friends and fellow birders Jim D., Nick B., and Glenn W., on a mid-Long Island Sound search for pelagic species. Lately, there have been many storm-petrels, shearwaters, and jaegers reported from Block Island Sound as well as a few reports from Connecticut waters.

We traveled to deep water out near Bell 4 and into about 200 foot depths where we were able to attract a lovely group of Wilson's Storm-Petrels right up to the side of the boat. I hope you enjoy my photos.

More on my Northern Tier adventure to come.

AG

June 16 - RTPI and on to Michigan
Great breakfast at The Oaks and then over to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute for a maxi tour with Mark Baldwin. Stupendous tour of artwork, archives, and artifacts. Peterson has some great art from other artists, received as gifts, which was mostly archived. Turns-out that Mark and I have many mutual acquaintances including Liz Gentile, Paul Spitzer, and Bill Burt.

Mark kindly took us over to the airport and after farewells, off we went across Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Nice weather and views of Canada. John gave us a fine landing on our shortest runway (4,000ft). After a bit of a wait for the car, we went to the hotel in Prudenville on Lake Houghton. Very commercial area with many lake houses and pontoon boats. Nice hotel with large, clean, rooms. Very nice owners (Matt and Kathy - Springbrook Inn).

Went to lunch on the lake and then birded the many marshes up the west side of the lake. Many Black Terns cruised the wetlands. Great views of t his stunning tern. Highlights included three Trumpeter Swans, Least Bittern, two Bald Eagles, Northern Parula, Least Flycatcher, and countless Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Hairy Woodpeckers.

Back at the hotel, we had a nice dinner at the Tiki Bar with burgers, fish sandwiches, and more. Very kind locals took care of us and were happy to talk and share wildlife stories and locations. Off for Kirtland's Warbler tomorrow!

Northern Tier Adventure

I recently returned from an outrageous adventure across our country's northern tier, including stops in New York State, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin on the way home. The following postings are from my journal.

June 15 -

My good buddy and fellow traveler Jim Denham picked me up at home at 645AM; not too bad a starting time considering the many 6AM flights I have had to make connecting from Bradley through Miami. We drove to Stratford's Sikorsky Airport after a coffee stop along the highway. Landon and David Storrs and Kathy and George Van der Aue had just arrived at our private King Air 200 aircraft for our 830AM "wheels-up" departure. The King Air is truly the Ferrari of the sky. What a way to travel!

Light rain gave way to clearing skies before too long. A short jump of about 50 minutes brought us to Ithaca, New York and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Literally three minutes from the landing, we were at the doorstep. Our host, Scott Sutcliff, Director of Individual Giving, gave us a grand tour of the new facility. The Sound Library, Bio Acoustics Lab, Collections, and so much more were truly impressive, not to mention the unprecedented art collection.

We were able to see rare skins of Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, and Bachman's Warbler. The Fuertes paintings were a treat! The whole four hour visit was a bit surreal.

At lunch, we had a visit with ivorybill author Tim Gallager (The Grail Bird) my eighth encounter with someone who has said that they have seen and ivorybill. I certainly have completed the grand triangle of modern day Ivory-billed Woodpecker hunters now having visited with Tim, Bobby, and Gene. Tim was very kind of take our questions and ice the cake of our grand tour.

Scott took care of us from top-to-bottom including providing lunch. He returned us to the airport by about 2PM where we bid farewell and were back in the very able hands of our talented pilots Doug and John.

Again in the air and about 45 minutes to Jamestown, NY we were met by our hosts from the Oaks B & B. After checking in, Mark Baldwin from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute was kind enough to give us a tour of the town and area including lovely Chautauqua. Not many (live) birds today but that was not really the focus.

We had a fine dinner and view of the setting sun along the lake. Back at the hotel, we all retired with anticipation of the adventure to come. Other highlights of the day included seeing Lucille Ball's birth house, a call home and talk with Sam, and the good company of friends.

Farewells - May 3

Some final farewells and a short panga ride to the port of San Cristobal, Baquerizo Moreno. We had some time to search the local shops after visiting the Interpretation Center. Sea lions entertained us as we waited for the bus ride to the airport. Efren and Janet (crew and guide) were on the same flight and departed when we stopped in Guayaquil. Miguel (crew) too.

It was cold when we arrived in Quito and actually a nice change from the heat of Galapagos. Our group dined together and talked about our favorite birds, locations, food, crew members, and more. Some had early flights so we said more farewells with vows to keep in touch.

I can clearly see why the Galapagos are "The Number One Natural History Destination." Being the home of evolution, Flightless Cormorant, the most northern penguin, an opportunity to swim with sea lions, geologically outstanding, uniquely scenic, and so much more... it is understandable. This is a true "bucket list" top five! I hope the experience will be something Sam will draw on for the rest of his life. I suspect it will be.

Espanola and the "Blow Hole" - May 2

We arrived at Espanola Island abut 330AM. I awoke to find the boat sitting calmly and quietly. After our usual grand breakfast, Sam and I kayaked to the cliffs nearby and were thoroughly mesmerized by the antics of four sea lions who were cautiously curious about us.

From here, we paddled back to the boat, took a short panga ride to the beach which has the best collection of sea lions we had seen so far. Stacked together like logs, the sea lions where up to their usual antics of voicing their opinions on everyone one else, lots of lounging, and insistent playfulness directed at humans. These islands are truly the best place to swim with these energetic and character rich pinipeds.

From the beach, we could see Letty and two other boats not far off. Sam and I did some sand sculpting, first starting out to do a castle, but ultimately ending up with a Giant Tortoise.


Back on the boat, we motored to one other stop on Espanola for a 3km hike over to the well known "Blow Hole" which was preforming famously. The spray greeted us even before the "Hole" was in sight. Albatross, boobies, frigatebirds, tropicbirds, Swallow-tailed gulls, and Galapagos Hawks hung in the wind by the "Blow Hole." Albatross had just set-up for nesting season, our group finding the apparent first egg to have been layed. The expectant mother looked exhausted.

Blue-footed Boobies walked the path, marching with raised feet in courtship and territorial battle. We watched very closely (six feet) as two females argued over the accommodating male stuck in the middle. Comically fascinating and fascinatingly comic!


With a four hour motor back to San Cristobal and about one third of the way there, I figured this was a good time to catch a quick shower. With soap in my hair, the announcement came from the captain (Pablo) that we now had a whale off out bow. Nice timing! I got Sam to go off by himself to see the whale and he came back within a couple of minutes to report that the mighty beast was at 30 yards and giving great views. I managed to finish my buffing and polishing in a personal best, get out to the bow, and see the Bryde's Whale just as it crossed the bow for our best look. I think I may still have some soap that needs some rinsing.




















We arrived in San Cristobal harbor at about 9PM and started a fine "Farewell Ceremony" that for some went on to midnight. Dancing, certificates for crossing the equator (four times!), lots of joking, smiles, and appreciation were expressed. We will certainly miss our friends and hope that our paths may cross again.

Darwin Center and Tortoise - May 1

A short panga ride to the town's pier followed by a 40 minute bus ride put us in the highlands. We stopper to see "The Twins," side-by-side magma chambers where the roofs had collapsed and left the towl massive craters.

Down the road, a magma tunnel was, as one traveler put it, "something right out of Indiana Jones," where you were expecting the giant stone ball to come rolling through at any moment.

A few minutes from here, we visited a finca that had one of the most accessable populations of Giant Tortoise. Our first encounter was with a large male, slowly moving through the woodlands while stopping occationally to graze on guava fruit on the ground. Truly impressive!

The tourist welcome center was tasteful and offered icecream and some gift itiems.

In the afternoon, we stopped at the Darwin Research Cenater and saw many totoises includint the very famous "Lonesome George," last of his subspecies. The young tortoises were very cute, the giants (old ones) impressive in their size, lumbering behavior, and pre-historic appearance. Wonderful to see an animal that so defines the work that Darwin did and that so captured my immagination since I was a child.

Sam and I did some gift shopping in Puerto Ayora; many nice shops. The highlight was the open-air fish market with the sea lions entertaining us and others, including the locals.