Welcome August, and fall migration

 

Rain, rain, go away

As July came to a close, a large part of me was happy to see it go. It was a hot, rainy, smoky month and the birding was less than stellar. Needless to say, air quality alerts and temperatures in the high 90s don't make for exciting birding, so I didn't get out on my bike at all the entire month. While it was fun to watch bird families around the yard, the end of the month found me excitedly watching swallows flock up, and hints of "zugenruhe" amongst the summer breeding species (look that word up for some fun). 

Round after round of storms have brought lots of damage and flooding

I've had Friday, August 1 circled on my mental calendar for some time as a good day to take some leave and get back on the bike. A decent forecast for milder temperatures sealed the deal and I decided to make a run over to my favorite green birding location, Louisville Swamp. I was hoping the flooding wouldn't be too bad, and maybe there would be some mudflats with some migrant shorebirds, or maybe even an early migrant warbler. 

While the ride over was a pleasant one, my hopes of shorebird habitat were quickly dashed by flooding signs. The area where I got some good shorebirds in the spring was now a bathtub - zero shorebird habitat. Disappointing, but there is still some time, and I remain hopeful that with a break in the rain, maybe I'll still get a shot at a few more shorebird species. 

No mudflats here. Note the wildfire smoke haze. Yuck!

Still, the weather was nice (despite continuing smoke from wildfires in Canada), so I decided to take a walk along the bluff to the bottoms. Indigo Buntings were still actively singing, and lots of birds were moving around, often with noisy juveniles trailing behind them, pestering them for food. A Baltimore Oriole family was particularly enjoyable to watch. 

Male Balitmore Oriole, catching a quick breather as his offspring begged just outside the frame

I walked a mile or so down to the causeway hoping for maybe just a little bit of shallow water along where the trail goes along a causeway through the wetland. Nope...totally flooded out. The highest water I'd seen there for some time. While that was disappointing, a familiar cooing call from the trees along the wetland edge quickly lifted my spirits - Black-billed Cuckoo! I had written this species off since there weren't many around this year, and finding these sneaky birds when they are quietly migrating through in the fall is difficult. So that was a great find! I was pumped. I turned around and started the trek back. 

While the rain hasn't helped with birding, the wildflowers are lovely, like this wild bergamot

Nothing new on the walk back, other than more buntings. The trail down by the water hadn't been mowed in a while which made for some wet feet and pants - apparently they haven't been able to get down there like normal with the flooding/mud. Oh well. It was a great trip and I was thrilled about the cuckoo. 

Later that day while relaxing on the back porch, I saw some black-hooded gulls up high - Franklin's Gulls! Not something that I was really worried about per se, but nice to check that one off. I spent a lot of time on the porch hoping for some flyover shorebirds, but haven't been successful there - yet. 

Once this "trail" is dry - I'll be back...

The rest of the weekend and following week was fairly busy and didn't leave much time for birding. However, I made a somewhat last minute decision to take a trip to southeast Arizona with a friend of mine to do some birding. A much needed break from the day to day, one of my favorite birding spots (although a little far for a bikeride!). 

I had to get up early for my flight and the dogs were restless, begging to go outside. I wanted to get going but decided I'd better let them out just in case, given Birch was having digestive issues. All was fine with them - AND - I was treated to a new green bird - Eastern Screech-Owl! An adult trilled from the wetland/tree edge nearby, and a young owl screeched on the other side of the yard - begging for food. These birds aren't easy here and getting them in the yard was another unexpected bonus, and my 210th green species! While 250 is seeming out of reach right now, hitting 210 species is nice, with migration yet to really get going. 

So, stay tuned for more updates. I'll definitely be getting out again to check the water levels at Louisville Swamp, and hope for shorebirds to show up maybe somewhere else nearby. Warblers will be here soon too! Until next time...

Thanks to Birch for getting me outside at 400AM!