Front End - American Birding Association

NWR, Franklin County airport, Wenlock WMA. Species of note: Lesser Scaup (L), Spruce
Grouse (R), Fish Crow (R,S), Cedar Waxwing (M).
We made our Big Day run a bit earlier this year, hoping to pick up some lingering
ducks and early migrants. We realized we would lose out on some late arriving breeders,
but calculated a potential net gain of a few species. As opposed to the last couple
years, we ran this year’s route south to north. Nasty weather during the previous week
put a damper on migration and at every stop we seemed to be short one or two species,
wasting time with extra stops and imploring the avian Gods to bless us with ducks and
shorebirds. By 1430 we were at the north end of Lake Champlain, and pretty well resigned
to the reality that there was no chance for a record.We decided to stop at Campbell’s
Bay where every now and again there can be a few shorebirds. We scanned the
Missisquoi River from across a farm yard. No activity, but wait…a Semipalmated and
Solitary sandpiper were scrutinizing the manure pit for tasty morsels. As we pulled up
to the shoreline of the bay, we were stunned to find Black-bellied and Semipalmated
plovers, Greater and Lesser yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, and Short-billed Dowitcher
– a mad collection for spring in Vermont. Wallowing in the glory of “The miracle
at Campbell’s Bay,” we were back in the running and headed for the Northeast Kingdom.
Although we ended up with a nice assortment of boreal birds, neither the tying
species nor the record buster ever materialized. A few oddball misses throughout the
day, such as Whip-poor-will, Cedar Waxwing, and Saw-Whet Owl, left us with no opportunities
in the fading hours and we bogged down one species short of the record.
VERMONT #2 – 15 Jun 08- 1330 to 1830 – Species Totals 167/166; (Team/Shared): Pat
Ward 166, Ken Ward 167. 307 Miles by car, 2.5 miles by foot. Visiting: Champlain Valley
area with key stops at Hawk View Road,Arnold District Road, Hollow Road, Long and
Short Swamp Road, Route 73,All Brandon, and Lower Champlain Complex (Dead Creek,
East Middlebury, Forest Road 30, Shalbwane Farm Complexes, Route 22A area, Lake
Bomoseem, State Route 36, Blueberry Hill, Goshen, Silver Lake, Stony Bridge/Market
Road, off Route 30, Button Bay,West Rutland Marsh). Species of note: Peregrine Falcon
(M), Sedge Wren (V), Lesser Black-backed Gull (R), Black Vulture, Yellow-breasted Chat
(R), Eurasian Collared-Dove.
Comments: This establishes a new Big Day record for Vermont.
WEST VIRGINIA – 29 Apr 04- 0700 to 2000 – Species Totals 73/72; (Team/Shared):
Carol Burroughs 72, Ed Burroughs 73. 149 Miles by car, 3 miles by foot. Visiting: Shannondale
Springs WMA, Altona Marsh, Sleepy Creek WMA. Species of note: none.
2 0 0 8 I N T E R N AT I O N A L B I G D AY S
ANTIGUA #1 – 3 Jan 08- 0615 to 1710 – Species Totals 60/60; (Team/Shared): Simon
Buckingham 60. 65 Miles by car, 4 miles by foot. Visiting: McKinnon’s Salt Pond,
Walling’s Res., Jolly Harbour, North Sound, Fyffes Creek, St. Johns. Species of note:
Killdeer (R).
ANTIGUA #2– 24 Dec 08- 0625 to 1710 – Species Totals 64/64; (Team/Shared): Simon
Buckingham 64. 81 Miles by car, 2 miles by foot. Visiting: McKinnon’s Salt Pond,Wallings
Res., Darkwood, St. Johns, Potworks Dam, Collin’s Dam, Jolly Harbour. Species of note:
Ring-necked Duck (R), Lesser Scaup (R), Hooded Warbler (V).
ICELAND #1 – 22 Jun 08- 0700 to 2330 – Species Totals 43/43; (Team/Shared): Michael
Willison 43, Robert Willison 43. 400 Kilometers by car, 0 kilometers by foot. Visiting:
Northwest Fjords from Bjarkalundur to Isafjordur to Patreksfjordur. Species of note:
none.
After vacationing in Iceland in 2007, I realized I had to get back! Spring birding is
spectacular. Being able to see the northerly breeding species in full breeding plumage
is an eyes delight. My dad and I spent parts of seven days in Iceland and completed five
consecutive Big Days amidst taking in stunning scenery, mountains, fjords, water, sky and
24 hours of light. We observed a total of 60 species in Iceland during that trip and set
the ABA Big Day record for Iceland with 50 species on our 2nd day. We didn’t find any
vagrants, although last year I found one, a Woodpigeon, near Lake Myvatn, possibly a
first for that region of Iceland.
On 22 June 2008, we drove in and out of almost all the fjords in northwest Iceland.
It was lots of driving but well worth it! Some of the most numerous birds in Iceland
seemed to be Northern Fulmar, Common Redshank, Common Eider, and Arctic Tern. We
saw our first Northern Wheatear and Snow Buntings of the trip.
ICELAND #2 – 23 Jun 08- 0700 to 2330 - Species Totals – 50/50; (Team/Shared): Michael
Willison 50, Robert Willison 50. 550 Kilometers by car, 2 kilometers by foot. Visiting:
Northwest Fjords to Akureuri: Patreksfjordur to Bjargtangar (westernmost point in Europe)
to Budardalur to Akureyri. Species of note: Thick-billed (Brunnich’s) Guillemot.
We woke up to our first Common Redpoll of the trip. We then made our way out to
the westernmost point of Iceland/Europe (Bjargtangar) and were not disappointed with
the seabirds nesting on the cliffs.We were literally a few feet away from nesting Atlantic
Puffins, Black Guillemot,Thick-billed (Brunnich’s) Guillemot, Razorbill, Northern Fulmar,
and Black-legged Kittiwake. Shag and Great Cormorant were also exciting finds. We
were unable to find White-tailed Eagle, which is very local, as we made our way east
along the south fjords of the Northwest Fjords. Continuing on to Akureyri made for our
longest day, however we picked up Pink-footed Goose, both Divers (Red-throated and
Common Loons), Common Merganser (Goosander) and Horned (Slavonian) Grebe. Later,
we heard that the first Polar Bear in Iceland in a number of years had come ashore arriving
via an iceberg from Greenland several days before, very close to the route we
had driven on the north coast of Iceland. Subsequently, it was shot shortly thereafter as
they are deemed a danger to the locals living in the nearby area.
ICELAND #3 – 24 Jun 08- 0900 to 2330 – Species Totals 47/47; (Team/Shared): Michael
Willison 47, Robert Willison 47. 200 Kilometers by car, 2 kilometers by foot. Visiting:
Akureyri to Myravtn: Akureyri to Hrisey Island, Godafoss Falls, Circled Lake. Species of
note: Black (Common) Scoter, Merlin, Rock Ptarmigan.
We headed north of Akureyri to catch a ferry to the island of Firisey. This small island
is noted for having a vibrant population of Rock Ptarmigan. Sure enough, after
a short hike around the island, dad spotted one in a rocky outcropping. Also numerous
in the area were nesting shorebirds such as Eurasian Oystercatcher, European
Golden Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, and Common Redshank. Redwings
were about the only numerous passerine. Later, heading southeast from Akureyri, we
found our only Merlin.Arriving to Akureyri, we explored the lake.This is one of the premier
spots for breeding ducks in Iceland. It is the only place in Europe where Barrow’s
Goldeneye breeds. Divers (Red-throated and Common loons) and Horned (Slavonian)
Grebe, Whooper Swan, Greylag, Mallard, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal,
Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Harlequin Duck, and Long-tailed Duck
were on the lake and Common Merganser (Goosander) was in the nearby rivers. A
Black (Common) Scoter was a nice find on the southeast side of the lake. A Northern
Pintail was found on the following day. After a long day, a must was to pass the midnight
light in the Myvatn Naturebath, just outside of Reykjahlid. A geothermal bath,
icy blue waters, set in black volcanic rocky pools overlooking the volcanic landscape
and lake of Myvatn was bliss.
ICELAND #4 – 25 Jun 08- 0700 to 2330 – Species Totals 48/48; (Team/Shared): Michael
Willison 48, Robert Willison 48. 150 Kilometers by car, 2 kilometers by foot. Visiting:
Myvatn to Grimsey Island: Dimmuborgir, Reykjahlid,Akureyri, Grimsey Island-Arctic Circle.
Species of note: Winter Wren, Gyrfalcon.
The day was spent exploring more of the volcanic wonders of the area on our way
back towards Akureyri. We picked up the only Winter Wren (Wren) of the trip and had
a very nice Gyrfalcon at Dimmuborgir. I thought this bird was of the all-white Greenland
race, but evidently it is a bird that has been in the area for a number of years that is at
the very light end of the spectrum of the resident Icelandic birds. It was a fantastic bird
to view from close range at any rate. We made our way to the airport where we caught
a flight out to Grimsey Island north of the Iceland mainland. This is the only part of Iceland
within the Arctic Circle. Grimsey is only 5 square kilometers in size. No new species
were picked up there, however we had additional great views of Atlantic Puffins and
some of the other seabirds that nest in Iceland. There is a huge Arctic Tern breeding
population on Grimsey and they dove aggressively at our heads!
ICELAND #5 – 26 Jun 08- 0700 to 2330 – Species Totals 46/46; (Team/Shared): Michael
Willison 46, Robert Willison 46. 550 Kilometers by car, 2 kilometers by foot. Visiting:
Akureyri to Keflavik: Borgarnes, Akranes, Rekjavik, Grindavik, Blue Lagoon, and Reykjanesta
(southwestern most point in Iceland). Species of note: Northern Gannet.
This was another long driving day as we headed all the way back to Keflavik Airport
for our flight out first thing the next morning. Enroute we again observed most of the
nesting shorebirds that breed in Iceland - Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover,
2008 ABA Big Day Report & ABA List Report | 19