Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Yard Bird 194 5/18/2023

 

  A slight Eurasian invasion is taking place around my yard this week.  On Sunday, a Eurasian Collared Dove got my attention as it briefly landed in under my feeders.  Just after I got my binocs on it, it took off and landed in one of my ash trees.  I was able to get a few photos of it before it again took flight only to disappear in my neighbor's yard.

  This was only the third record of this species in Mason County . The second record occurred two summers ago.... also in my yard.

   This morning on my daily bird rounds, I was making my first lap of my property and noticed an odd sparrow on my firepit bricks. I took a couple quick photos and forwarded one to Brian Brosky, who confirmed my suspicion that it was a Eurasian Tree Sparrow,  This was not only a new bird for my yard list (#194), according to Dave Dister it is also a first for Mason County (#317). 

   Besides the new yardbird I also had a nice assortment of warblers here today.

Blackburnian

Blackpoll

Cape May

Common Yellowthroat

Chestnut-sided

Magnolia

Wilson's

  Other birds that posed for photos were

Indigo Bunting

Lincoln's Sparrow

  Lastly, over the weekend the annual Mason County Spring Migration Count took place.  I again covered Riverton Township. The target bird at my first stop on Conrad Rd is always the Blue-winged Warbler. They did not disappoint as I totaled 3 singing males.

  When I got home I noticed that a little raptor migration was going on.  Besides Turkey Vultures and Red-tailed Hawks, 10 Broad-winged Hawks also flew over.

  Most surprising of all was a flock of nine American White Pelicans that joined the thermal-riding party.

Lark Sparrow Yardbird 190

 

   Shortly after 2 pm this afternoon I noticed a light-colored sparrow in an ash tree across the driveway.

 A quick look through the binoculars revealed a Lark Sparrow, a species of the grasslands and prairies of the West and Great Plains.  

Lark Sparrow Range Map 

    Despite being off course it has made itself at home by cleaning up under my feeders often enough to allow half of Mason County's top 12 ebirders to stop by and add it to their year and/or life county list.

Surf Scoter, Yard Bird #177 1/13/2022

 

   The mission that I've been assigned (by Dave Dister) since I moved to the lakefront two years ago is to find a Barrow's Goldeneye among the thousands of Common Goldeneye that overwinter on Lake Michigan near Ludington.  That search had me out at the edge of my bluff this morning taking advantage of the calm winds and 30 F temperature scanning flocks of ducks with my scope.  I struck out on a Barrow's but I found an adult male Surf Scoter hanging with a couple White-winged Scoters at quite a distance offshore.  Even with my 500mm lens plus 1.4x converter I couldn't see it through the camera, so I just aimed in the general direction that my scope was pointing.

  After the Scoter discovery I notified the proper local bird authorities and invited them to come take a look.  Dave came by around noon, he was also enticed by promises of White-winged Crossbills.  Once Dave arrived it took about 10 minutes of scanning the flock to locate the Surf Scoter.  While he was looking through my scope I used his scope to hone in on a flock of White-winged Crossbills that landed in one of my spruces.

 

   A little while after Dave left and I had put my scope away, Brian Brosky texted that he'd be in the area in about an hour, I told him that I'd try to relocate the scoter before his expected arrival.  It took me 2 complete flock scans and about 45 minutes to refind the duck that was now mixed in with 20 White-winged Scoters.  Brian arrived shortly thereafter. During that search I found a single Black Scoter which completed the Scoter Trifecta.  

 Other winter birds of interest....

Pine Siskin

Common Redpolls

   

Mourning Warbler 8/28/2021

 

     A dozen or so warblers swarming around my mulberry tree prompted me to search for a possible rarity among the tree debris left by a windstorm earlier in the month.  I was rewarded with good looks at Bay-breasted, Chestnut-sided and Wilson's Warblers.  But the highlight definitely was a Mourning Warbler.  The first year female was a little challenging to identify but it stood still long enough for me to get some photos. Shoot first ID later.  It is a new addition to the yard list which now is up to 171 species.

 

Here are some of the other warblers that were present today.

Ovenbird

Wilson's Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

   Also seen today but not photographed were Magnolia Warbler and American Redstart.  Pretty good day for August.
 

Olive-sided Flycatcher v. Monarch 8/21/2021

 

   Yesterday I added the 170th bird to the yard list when 3 Olive-sided Flycatchers stopped by to feed on the local flying insects.  Dave Dister says that 3 represents the high daily count for the county, breaking the old record of 2. 

    This morning the Monarch that formed a chrysalis on the exterior of my basement wall, broke out and grew some wings.

   The newly emerged butterfly left the local Monarch population with a net zero gain for the day, as a lingering Olive-sided Flycatcher started the day by taking a taste of one of the newbie's unwary brethren.

       As caterpillars, monarchs only eat milkweed which contains toxins that give the insects a bad taste throughout their life.  Therefore it came as no surprise that flycatcher ended up dropping the Monarch after mouthing and mangling it for a couple minutes.   

   On a happier note, warblers have been migrating through my yard this week.  Today's Cape May Warbler shown below beat the county's old early fall date by 8 days.

  The Magnolia and Nashville Warblers were seen on Wednesday.

Eurasian Collared Dove, Wasn't Expecting That. 8/8/2021

   On the short list of birds that I expected to add to my yard list one day, Eurasian Collared Dove was not on my radar.  Nonetheless, I noticed the rather large pale dove fly across my yard and land on my neighbor's shed.  By the time I sent a group text to a few Mason County birders the bird had moved on.

Yard bird 169

  According to the searchable database on the Michigan Bird Records Committee website, the species had only been recorded in the state 31 times through November 2020. That would make it my rarest yardbird ever, besting the Rufous Hummingbird that visited my Southgate house in 2011.  Rufous Hummingbirds have been recorded at least 50 times in the state.

  Moments later, this young Bald Eagle stared me down as it flew over my deck.  But it didn't intimidate me....

....well maybe just a little.