Birding's Biggest Day: Replacing Sleep With Soda

Hey Readers!

For two years now, eBird has been organizing the colossal Global Big Day count.  It is held on the 14 of May as an effort to census the avian spring migration.  In Arizona, the Global Big Day count is sponsored by the AZFO and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  My good friend Caleb Strand and I were invited by respected birder and AZFO board member Doug Jenness to take on the challenging task of birding the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Pinal County for 2016's Global Big Day!  I visited the Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA) this last January and had a great afternoon of birding on a walk with my family.  I picked up 34 species such as a rare Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, an out-of-season Bell's Vireo, and a Canyon Towhee that day.  I was quite impressed by the size of the arboretum!  It was literally an oasis in the desert.  The Queen Creek flows past the park and supports a large cottonwood-dominated riparian area.  There is also a multitude of themed "microhabitats" such as an Australian eucalyptus forest, a Chihuahuan desert, a South American desert, and a Boojum forest!

Did I mention that the BTA is an IBA?

Before the count, I communicated extensively with BTA's volunteer coordinator Paul Wolterbeek to solidify certain details and to get a layout of the park.  He shared with me the locations of certain owl species that he had observed beforehand to help us along in our night birding.  I talked with Caleb quite a bit in preparation for the trip.  We decided on strategies and also came up with realistic numbers of species we could encounter.  Rarities and hard-to-find birds were also discussed at length.  BTA is further south of where I live and in a different county (Pinal).  There were also some species at the park that I hadn't seen, so I studied potentials extensively...

My desk in full bird-study mode!

Caleb and I arrived on the grounds of the arboretum around 3 pm on May 13th.  We decided to scout the area from 4pm - 12 am.  Our search was off to a rocking start with a pair of Inca Doves that flushed excitedly from the ground.  A little further up towards the gift shop, Caleb pointed out my lifer Broad-billed Hummingbird!  A brilliant male and subtly-colored female were present.  In a high snag near the gift shop, an Olive-sided Flycatcher sallied for insects and returned to its perch with a steady rhythm.  Other highlights of the scouting trip included Broad-billed Hummingbirds, Harris's Hawks, a Zone-tailed Hawk, MacGillivray's Warblers, Lark Sparrows, and some Canyon Towhees.  The Broad-billed Hummingbirds were a life bird for me!  Here are some shots of the birds we found while scouting and some photos from around the park... 

One of many Hooded Orioles we encountered

A young White-winged Dove

An Olive-sided Flycatcher

The OSFL's vest is clearly evident here

A brilliant Yellow-breasted Chat

A Zone-tailed Hawk

The Turkey Vultures gather in a big flock before roosting for the night

Caleb surveying the Queen Creek riparian area before sundown

The small, but important, Ayer Lake

The lower parking lot - seemingly mundane, but excellent for Vermilion Flycatchers

The TUVU spot

There they are...

...watching your every move!

Once it started getting dark, we grabbed water and our flashlights and headed over to the riparian area to begin our long night of owling.  We were pleasantly surprised to find a pair of Great-horned Owls in some cottonwoods.  Later that night, we encountered a family of Western Screech Owls - a parent and three fledglings.  The parent had a cricket in its mouth for a lucky chick.  We discovered that one of the youngsters already had a mouse in its talons which it pecked at leisurely.  (Great job, parents!)  

Here, an adult carries a cricket in its bill.

One of the fledglings with the unidentified slain mouse.

Here is another fledgling which remained mostly still on its exposed perch.

After spending a fantastic half hour with the owls, Caleb and I decided it would be best to move on to try for another high-profile target of the night, the Elf Owl.  Elvies are super tiny, in fact, they are the smallest owl species on earth!   Caleb and I used playback judiciously throughout the trip because we needed to locate certain species for the count.  We stopped at several spots, played recordings, and listened until we heard a faint bark...  We played the recording again and then, maybe a 100 feet away, the Elf owl started chuckling its head off!  I will never forget that sound.  We coaxed the bird to come in closer, and sure enough, it landed in a shrub nearby.  

My lifer Elf owl

The Elf flew from the shrub elsewhere after a 30 second photo shoot.  We were unable to locate the bird again after that, so we moved on through the night.  Apart from a calling Common Poorwill and some night-singing Yellow-breasted Chats, the night was dead.  When 12 am rolled in and the count had officially begun, so we turned back to try for the owls from "last night".  

We succeeded in locating the Western Screech Owls, Great-horned Owls, and Common Poorwill to kickstart our big day.  While we were trying to relocate the Elf, we heard a massive crash in the eucalyptuses above us!  In a moment of terror, Caleb and I shined our lights up to witness a large flock of Turkey Vultures flying away from their night roosts.  When you are straining to hear the world's smallest owl in the dead of night, loud sounds can be quite unnerving!  Maybe a hour after that, we heard a Barn Owl's distinctive shriek - a sound that used to frighten me as a kid!  Some non-owl species also made their way on our list during the dark morning hours.  These included Mourning Doves, Yellow-breasted Chats, and Northern Cardinals.

Just before the dawn chorus began, Caleb and I headed over to Ayer Lake and picked up White-throated Swifts, Black Phoebes, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Violet-green Swallows, Common Yellowthroats, and Song Sparrows.  Soon, the sun was beginning to rise, so we decided to watch and listen along Queen Creek.  Upon arrival, we picked up Brown-crested Flycatchers, Western Wood Pewees, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Phainopeplas, Summer Tanagers, Western Tanagers, and a rare flyover Pine Siskin!  After hiking to a secluded spot in the shade of the cottonwoods, we settled down and listened to the surrounding birds...  A Rufous-crowned Sparrow sang out from a scrubby hillside.  Ladder-backed Woodpeckers could be heard giving their sharp "peek" calls from the cottonwoods to the south.  Excitement arose as a Cooper's Hawk cruised along the riparian corridor hoping to nab any unwary songbirds.  A couple Pacific-slope Flycatchers also called periodically from different locales.  The Canyon Wrens drenched our ears with their sweet cascading songs.  Although Queen Creek was a little stretch of paradise, we knew we had to move on throughout the park to accurately record its diversity.  

A male Summer Tanager

Trekking along Queen Creek and then off towards the main entrance, we encountered typical desert species such as Gambel's Quail, White-winged Dove, Costa's Hummingbirds, Gila Woodpeckers, Verdins, Cactus Wrens, Curve-billed Thrashers, Lucy's Warblers, Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhees, and Abert's Towhees.  We also came across our first Broad-billed Hummingbirds of the day.  By now, our Big Day list had surpassed 50 species and it wasn't even 7 am yet!  

A female Broad-billed Hummingbird - a lifer only yesterday!

We met up with BTA's business manager, Patti Baynham at the gift shop at 7 am and proceeded to work our way back through the heart of the arboretum.  Patti, Caleb, and I enjoyed finding a rare Purple Martin that flew over Ayer Lake briefly before taking off into the surrounding desert.  We also added some other interesting birds to the day's list including a flock of Cedar Waxwings, MacGillivray's Warblers, a Bronzed Cowbird, and an Indigo Bunting (a lifer for me)!  Around noon, Patti parted ways with us after a fantastic morning of birding.  

           

A Brown-crested Flycatcher

My lifer Indigo Bunting

Naturally, after 28 hours without sleep, we were exhausted but determined to provide an accurate census of the arboretum's birdlife.  Caleb's catchphrase is "Bird Hard" and we did exactly that!  We pushed onward through the heat of the day to add more species to our Big Day list.  Because it is cooler in the shade, Caleb and I decided to bird along the Gum Bark Trail.  Its tall pines and eucalyptuses offered a nice respite from the mid-day sun.  Caleb and I quickly picked out a Dusky Flycatcher, Hammond's Flycatcher, Townsend's Warbler, and Hermit Warbler.  Soon after a nice rest rest on a nearby bench, I spied something moving across a palm trunk.  It was a Sonoran Whipsnake; a new reptile for both of us and certainly our favorite of the trip!  After narrowly missing a few lunges from the angry snake, Caleb managed to grab its head and we thoroughly photographed the fine creature.   

After studying this new snake, Caleb let it go into the brush at the base of the palm.  The snake took off like a rocket!

This Striped Whipsnake had enough of us!

After the herp excitement ceased, we continued birding.  In many areas of the park, we heard Black-headed Grosbeaks giving their "spik" calls which are reminiscent of your shoe squeaking on a polished floor.  Think basketball...   After a slow couple of hours, a great surprise came in the form of a Prairie Falcon which was riding the thermals out in the distance.  Throughout this whole event, we had been spending maybe 10 minutes every couple of hours in a room onsite to rest and refuel.  We headed over to the hummingbird feeder area around 3 or 4 pm.  Some good birds there included a Green-tailed Towhee and a Lincoln's Sparrow (the feeders were all dry).  We noticed a birder walking around nearby and decided to talk to him a little.  He was visiting the arboretum all the way from Louisiana!  We told the man about that Lincoln's Sparrow we had only minutes before and we were all able to relocate it - a lifer for him!        

           

Hopefully, this work of art from our room won't haunt your dreams tonight...

It was rapidly becoming dark, so Caleb and I ate a quick dinner and geared up for another night of owling!  We focused our efforts on areas that Elf Owls would prefer and eventually heard a few Elvies in the nearby wash.  After nearly an hour of hiking to try and locate the owls, we scored on a pair that had nested in a saguaro!  

In honor of the movie "Elf", we named the couple Buddy and Jovi.  Buddy soon left the area to find his mate some food so she could incubate her eggs uninterrupted.  We sat still at the base of the saguaro that the owls had nested in to wait for Jovi to pop her head out.  When she did, it was often so brief that we couldn't get any photos.  Eventually, she held the pose long enough for us both to get decent shots!  Jovi began calling with increased intensity over a period of 10 minutes.  She was calling to her mate as if to say "Honey, how long does it take to catch me a cricket?!"  Jovi was beyond hangry, so she exited the nest cavity in a silent flurry of motion to get her own meal.   

After having spent a considerable amount of time with the Elf Owls, we decided to bird other areas of the arboretum until midnight.  Since we didn't need any more owls, Caleb and I decided that it would be interesting to find birds on their night roosts.  We started out the search strong with some Inca Doves, White-winged Doves, a Wilson's Warbler, and many Brown-crested Flycatchers.  After our initial findings, we did not find anything new apart from some Gambel's Quail and a cranky House Finch.  Thoroughly exhausted and sick of drinking soda, we watched the time on our phones change to 12:00 am and that was the end of our Global Big Day.

A sleepy male Wilson's Warbler

One of the many Brown-crested Flycatchers that we awoke

Yeah, we drank all those...and over 30 bottles of water!

After rejoicing in the completion of our first 24 hour count, Caleb and I trekked back to our room.  Immediately when my head hit the pillow, I was out!  I literally can't remember falling asleep faster in my entire life.  In summary, we tallied Boyce Thompson Arboretum's all-time high count of 81 species and birded nonstop for those 24 hours (apart from several short breaks for food, water, and caffeine).  eBird later announced that 2016's count was "Birding's Biggest Day" as nearly 16,000 of the world's birders reported 6,263 species in only 24 hours.  It is absolutely incredible to think that so many of the world's bird species were encountered in only one day!  When I read that report, I realized that our contribution was only a drop in the bucket amidst tens of thousands of others.  Caleb and I both agreed that this trip was one of the best of our lives.  I really can't wait for my next 24 hour birding expedition.  It's an incredible thing to be a part of a location's entire daily cycle...to hear Brown-crested Flycatchers sing in the riparian area at dawn...to see them disperse throughout the park to feed in the day...to watch them as they sleep in the trees at midnight.  24 hours in one place offers an observer perspective and a deeper understanding of an ecosystem's circadian rhythm.  

Godspeed and good birding to you all,

- Joshua        


P.S.  This post is not the end of our 24 hour expedition - there is another untold story yet to be told...

The Slate Creek Divide

Hey Readers!

Still weary and weather-beaten from my California Coastal Tour, I geared up once again for a trip to Maricopa County's fabled high elevations!  Tommy DeBardeleben, Gordon Karre, and I set the plan in concrete while I was still in California.  We were originally hoping for early May, but the weather had been unpredictable lately and we decided to take advantage of a favorable forecast.  So, barely an hour after arriving home from my six day trip to California with no shower and no dinner, Tommy and I departed for the Slate Creek Divide armed with binoculars, cameras, flashlights, camping gear, and our anticipation of what was to come!

Our first stop was at Little Caesar's Pizza of course.  We bought 3 pizzas and threw them in the back of the truck to munch on throughout our trip.  No hassle there!  Tommy brought plenty of water knowing that it is by far the most important necessity of any outdoor outing.  We talked mostly about birds, birding, and birders on the way up to Slate Creek.  I needed over 30 species at Slate Creek in April for my Maricopa County life list (which I am particularly fond of).  Many of those species have extremely limited ranges within the county or are just simply hard to find.  Above all, I was looking forward to the possibility of various owl species; Spotted, Flammulated, Northern Saw-whet, and Northern Pygmy Owls.

Around 6 pm, we arrived the Mt. Peeley Trailhead after driving along a sketchy stretch of road that ascends the mountain.  Gordon Karre was there already waving at us as we drove up.  I had never met Gordon until then and was thrilled to meet another of Arizona's great birders!  We quickly began pitching our tents at the trailhead so we could get out as soon as we could for our night of owling.  We all agreed that our campsite looked pretty awesome when it was completed.  Tommy heard a Northern Pygmy Owl calling on a trail close by and he took Gordon and I back to hear it.  We picked it up quickly at the spot Tommy heard it.  My lifer Northern Pygmy Owl!  Soon, we were ready to head down the road, so we grabbed our flashlights and cameras and hopped in the truck.  Not long after starting back down the trail, Tommy spied a Common Poorwill in the middle of the road!  I had never seen one up close, so this was a real treat.

Here's Tommy and Gordon walking closer to the bird.

The Common Poorwill, a member of the nightjar family.

After spending 15 minutes or so with the poorwill, we decided to head further down the trail to a path that parallels a drainage on the Maricopa County side of Slate Creek.  This spot turned out to be a total bust as the wind made it impossible to hear any distant night birds.  We ditched this spot and instead, walked up the main trail a ways.  Tommy paused a moment and said "listen!"  Gordon and I strained our ears to hear a steady hooting from the forest below us.  It was a Flammulated Owl!  Unfortunately, it was on the Gila County side, but hey, who cares about that when you have such a special owl?  Tommy tried calling the bird in, but it wouldn't really come in any closer.  We decided to try to work our way down the slope to get closer to the bird.  Gordon opted out.  Tommy and I nearly tripped a few times, but remianed mostly intact.  After a lot of trailblazing, we thought we located the tree it was in, but then the calls sounded like they were coming from a different direction.  This is called ventriloquism, and the Flam is a master of it.  We had spent nearly a half hour trying to get a visual of the bird when Tommy spied it finally!  It was perched in the low branches of a Douglas Fir.  I was really excited to see this little owl for the first time!  Tommy was equally thrilled and we took tons of photos of this bird.  We didn't use flash and we tried to avoid shining bright lights in its big black eyes. several times, but we remained mostly intact.

 

Here's Tommy's owl selfie!  Can you see the Flam towards the top of the trunk?

As we stood beneath this great owl, we remembered that Gordon was waiting for us up on the trail and we both really wanted him to see the Flam.  This was a once in a lifetime experience for sure!  Tommy persuaded Gordon to come down the slope and he was able to do so with ease.  When Gordon first saw the owl I could tell that he was more than happy!  Tommy has a golden ear and can distinguish sounds that I can barely discern even after being told of them (maybe I play guitar a little too loud?).  A strange bu steady sound was coming from the forest to the east.  A Northern Saw-whet Owl was nearby.  I was really excited as the Saw-whet is an owl that I've wanted to see for a long time.  Tommy used some playback and the owl fluttered around like a moth while it floated weightlessly in the air before us for 3-5 seconds!  After this ghostly appearance, the Saw-whet perched in a dead tree nearby and we got some good looks and a couple photos before it took off.

Those eyes...

Northern Saw-whet Owls are arguably the "cutest" owl in North America.  Just look at that fluffy face!  I do think that Burrowing and pygmy owls come in pretty close though.  At one point in the night, we could heard the Flam, Saw-whet, and a Great-horned Owl all calling simultaneously!  Pretty awesome.  After spending a good few hours with those owls, we were getting a little antsy, so we decided to try some different areas.  As we were driving, Tommy heard another (?) Northern Saw-whet Owl calling this time from the Maricopa side!  I was really happy to get this bird for my Maricopa List!  A fine addition I would say.  When we got back to camp, Tommy and I decided to owl a little more in a nearby drainage.  We set out and soon I flushed a bird from the ground.  It was a Painted Redstart - my lifer to be exact!  Tommy mentioned that the bird was likely on its nest in a clump of grass on the ground.  What a way to get a life bird.  That would be the last bird of the night.  After a half hour search, it was around 1 am and we decided to get some sleep.  I didn't sleep too well probably because I was too excited for the morning!

Soon, it was morning and we all ate our breakfasts and geared up for a fun morning of drainage hiking.  Tommy thought it would be worthwhile to try for that Northern Pygmy Owl from last night before heading down the drainage, so I joined him.  I picked up several Maricopa life birds in that area including Steller's Jay, Grace's Warbler, Virginia's Warbler, Scott's Oriole, and Cassin's Finches!

The Cassin's Finches

Soon, we were at the pygmy owl spot and, after a while, the owl started calling!  We carefully traversed the slope in order to get a visual on the bird.  I was able to discern the owl's shape in the mid-level branches of a Ponderosa down the slope.  Tommy and I photographed the owl well and then just stood still and listened to it.  

       

 

Tommy taking photos of the NOPO which was in the pine at center.

My favorite thing about pygmy owls are their false eyes which you can see above.  These eyes protect the owl from predators that would otherwise attack the owl from behind.  After posting this photo to Project Noah, I received a comment from a member who lives in India who said that fishermen in the Sunderbans wear masks on the back of their heads with "eyes" that apparently discourage tigers from attacking them!  A similar ploy as the owl's indeed.  We also witnessed several massive flocks of Violet-green Swallows that flew by from further north.  We estimated 200 individuals.  Perhaps there is a big colony hidden in the Mazatzals?

Tommy decided that that we should get going so we can bird a nearby drainage for the remainder of the trip.  Gordon and I had never birded Slate Creek before, so we were hoping for Mexican Spotted Owls, Dusky-capped Flycatchers, and Mexican Jays.  For me, all three would be lifers, but Gordon had seen them in other parts of Arizona before.

Tommy kept in the lead most of the time to look and listen for any good birds.

Not long after embarking on our hike, Tommy paused, looked intently into the forest, and loudly whispered "I've got the Spotted Owl."  Swiftly and carefully walking over to him, Gordon and I laid eyes on our first ever Spotted Owl for Maricopa County.  You know, the same county in which Phoenix is located?

  

Shortly after seeing the owl, a little sprinkle of rain started falling.  It wasn't much, but we were a little concerned for our optics and cameras.  The rain forced us to move onward in search of our next targets, Thankfully, after about 15 minutes of hiking, the rain faded so we could enjoy fair weather the rest of the morning.

The remains of a deer; perhaps a Mountain Lion's kill?

There were good numbers of songbirds in the ravine.  We encountered Dusky and Hammond's Flycatchers, Plumbeous and Hutton's Vireos, all three western nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Townsend's Warblers, and many others.  I truly enjoyed getting my first ever Red-breasted Nuthatch in a mix of songbirds that were excited by our pishing.

Because I enjoy studying all living things, I couldn't help but notice that the plant life at Slate Creek was nearly as varied as the birds!  There were ferns, oaks, pines, spruce, firs, maples, boxelders, a multitude of forbs, and a variety of large shrubs.  In the ravine, we had to be careful of the abundant Stinging Nettle and Poison Ivy.  I am familiar with Poison Oak from living in California, but I had never seen Poison Ivy before and I found the plant interesting.

Poison Ivy 

Stinging Nettle

    

Some kind of fern

Lupine

A wildflower that I wish to identify

After hiking pretty far down the drainage, we came upon the confluence of our wash and another.  This area is apparently the most reliable spot for Dusky-capped Flycatchers at Slate Creek.  We soon found out that it indeed was!  We first detected them by their mournful whistles.  Eventually, we could see a few in the trees nearby.  They were not the most cooperative bird I've encountered, but I did manage some decent photos.

Because I love the family Tyrannidae, I was particularly excited to see these Dusky-capped Flycatchers for the first time.  They are small Myiarchus flycatchers with particularly dark heads.

My best shot of the beautiful Painted Redstart.  Very active!

Slate Creek's namesake

After spending some time with the flycatchers and searching a bit more for Red-faced Warblers, we decided to head back as it was approaching noon.  On our way back, we searched again for the Spotted Owl from earlier this morning.  It was still there!

Can you see the owl perched in this warped, old oak?

So tired after a long night of mousing...

After thoroughly enjoying our time with the SPOW, we hiked out of the drainage and back towards our campsite.  I looked back at the drainage one last time as we were leaving.  Such an amazing place.  

Some of the signage at Mt. Peeley Trailhead

After breaking down camp, Tommy and I bid farewell to Gordon.  Then, we made our descent down the mountain...    

Many of the drainages here are surrounded by this chaparral type habitat.

Here is Slate Creek's lower elevations.  Juniper and scrub oak dominates the landscape.

When Tommy found out that I still needed Gray Vireo for my life list, he said that we would stop when he found good habitat.  So, we stop, we walk out of the car, Tommy does some pishing, and two Gray Vireos pop out of the brush into plain sight!!!  The vireos scolded us harshly while we were taking photos.  What a cool bird.

  

I ended the trip with 8 life birds and 17 new Maricopa Co. life birds!  It was incredible.  Honestly, I enjoyed the owling most of all.  There is something very special about entering a realm foreign to the average person to find the birds that rely upon the dark to survive - the owls and nightjars.  Thank you Tommy for driving and guiding us.  You are a master of your craft!  Thank you Gordon for your excellent company and good nature.  I enjoyed meeting you just as much as I enjoyed seeing the birds (if not more so).


Godspeed and good birding,

- Joshua