Upcoming Events including Info on Noah Stryker's Talk

 

The Ocean State Bird Club has a few events in the upcoming couple of weeks that we are really excited about. The highlight is Noah Strycker coming to Rhode Island in September. More on that below. Our upcoming events are the following...

Birds And Beer-

   This is a get together at a local brewery that we do a few times a year. A bunch of us will get together and talk about birds over a pint or two. We usually spend a couple of hours talking about what we have seen and where we will be going. These events are for members only. They are very well attended as they usually have more people show up than do our walks. Members have received an email with the date and time of the next one. If this is of interest to you, consider joining the club.

Ocean State Bird Club Pelagic-

   We are planning on chartering one of the Francis Fleet boats this fall for a dedicated pelagic. Unlike the above event it will be open to non-members, however, members will get a discounted price. We are tentatively looking at the last week of September for this. Payment will have to be in advance because chartering a whale watch boat (with crazy fuel costs) is not cheap. Once we get a date set in stone, I/we will post the information as soon as possible. Stay tuned. I love pelagics and am very excited we are doing this.

Noah Strycker- 

   Bird Club President Tom Younkin worked really hard to get Noah Strycker to come to Rhode Island to do a talk and a walk. Other board members worked just as hard to help find a venue to host the seminar. I personally have seen Noah's talk when the Brookline Bird Club had him as a guest speaker. I can tell you honestly his talk is great. He is funny and he is well spoken. He details his trip around the world eloquently. I really enjoyed it. When Tom said there was the possibility of booking Noah, I was one hundred percent all for it from the get-go. The event is FREE to members. As a board, we are really excited to give this presentation to our members as a thank you for sticking with us through Covid. 

   Below is Tom's write up about the upcoming event. Since I cannot improve on the information I copied and pasted it from his email. The Key Date to Remember is September 10!

 

  In 2015 Noah Strycker recorded 6,042 bird species in a single year across the planet! At the time he established a new record for the number of species seen around the globe in one year!  He is widely regarded as one of the foremost birders in the world.  In 2017 he published a best-selling book entitled “Birding without Borders” detailing his adventures on this epic quest.  

   The Ocean State Bird Club is proud to announce that we are hosting a special event with Noah Strycker! On September 10th, he will be recounting his incredible journey in his "Birding without Borders" presentation.  We are very excited that he has agreed to come in from the West Coast to speak with our Club and additional guests. OSBC members can attend the event at no cost. Please spread the word to your friends and family, they may attend this event by simply joining the OSBC for $15 or they may purchase a ticket at the door for $20. This event will take place at 2pm at Gaige Hall on the campus of Rhode Island College in Providence.  Bring your copy of "Birding without Borders" and he will gladly sign it!  You can learn more and register on our website, www.oceanstatebirdclub.org.  We hope to see you there!

Filling the Gap between Spring Migration and Shorebirds coming back

   

My lifer Black Racer

   Before I even start, I need to address two things. The first, this post isn't about birds. Secondly, if I would have thought about it, I should have wrote this post a month ago. The thought came to last night so I am writing it today. Everything that I am writing is still relevant but could have been useful for over a month now. I truly apologize. Now that is out of the way...

   I will be the first to admit that after migration is over I can get into a funk. I get such a high from seeing all of the warblers that June can be a letdown for me. I get "seasonal depression" worse after migration than I do when it gets dark at 4:30 in December. Despite glorious weather the first couple of weeks of the month I find myself inside the house feeling like there's nothing "worth the drive". To combat this annual phenomenon for the last few years I have taken my vacation in June. This year and last I went to the Outer Banks. 

   However, once I get back from vaca, there was still a lot of time before shorebirds show up on their way back home. This year, I have had no problem keeping busy.  

  Herping...

 

Northern Water Snake devouring 
a bass twice its width

    For the past month I have been looking for reptiles and amphibians. I really haven't been birding but have spent a lot of time in the woods, fields and by freshwater ponds. I think I caught the bug when I was in Florida and saw Cottonmouths last November. Then in March I actively looked for Spring Peepers. Since then, every chance I get I've been looking at the ground for herps as much as I've looked in trees for birds. 

   All summer (from June 1 on) I've been looking for snakes and rarer turtles and frogs. My first big find was seeing a Northern Water Snake eating an eight inch Largemouth Bass. Along with Sue Palmer, we watched the snake take forty five minutes to turn the bass and swallow it. Later that day I came across my lifer Black Racer.  

  This new hobby has had many moments of discovery so far. I've seen Fowler's Toads on three separate occasions. I found a second Black Racer and many more Northern Water Snakes. Yesterday I was walking along the water's edge and came across no less than nine Pickerel Frogs. 

   Seeing Bullfrogs, Green Frogs, Painted Turles, and Snapping Turtles is easy. All four of those species are very common. I've been concentrating on finding the harder species. This includes all species of snakes. Even common Garter Snakes are a challenge. When I find a snake of any species, I consider it a great day. This is also true of any frog or toad that isn't a Bullfrog or Green Frog. When I saw the Pickerel Frogs, I watched them for over a half hour. 

Northern Red Bellied Cooter and an unfortunate
branch

    I've made special trips to find herps. Just like we do for rare birds, I "chased" a turtle last week. While I was in Virginia, on my way to NC, I took photos of what ended up being Northern Red Bellied Cooters. I had to ask someone the ID. Later on when I was researching them I found out there is a population of Northern Red Bellied Cooters in Plymouth County, MA. There are no other Red Bellied Cooters for 200 miles. The next closest population is in New Jersey. They are an endangered species in Massachusetts. There happens to be a national wildlife refuge in Plymouth specifically to protect the Cooters. However, it off limits to the public. I looked at a map of the area and saw multiple ponds just outside the refuge border. I took a trip to scout for public access. It turns out those ponds were very private, but I did end up seeing the cooters on state property in Plymouth. Needless to say, I felt very accomplished. 

   I'm pretty much addicted to chasing herps now. I'm keeping a list of species I've seen and where I saw them. Even if I only have an afternoon after work, I'll go look for a roadside lily pad filled pond or look for snakes along a wooded trail. Finding herps is challenging. I think it is much harder than finding birds. Finding snakes can feel like work. It took me almost four hours of walking through the woods and along a canal before I found my one and only snake yesterday (Northern Water Snake) but what a treat when I saw it.

Two photos of
Baltimore Checkerspots

Butterflies

   Okay, now that I bored you with herps, let me bore you some more with butterflies. That's right, when I haven't been herping ( and even when I have) I've been looking for butterflies. I enjoy seeing butterflies and trying to ID them. As far as I know, the best place to see butterflies in RI is Francis Carter. A walk through the field will get you multiple species. I went there a couple of days ago and it was loaded with Eastern Wood Nymph, American Coppers, and I saw my first Monarch of the season. 

   Last month I "chased" a butterfly species. Yes, I have a sad life. Anyway, I drove to Crane Wildlife Management Area in Falmouth, MA and looked for Baltimore Checkerspots. This is a species I've wanted to see for a long time. When I was there in May, there were Checkerspot caterpillars everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they morphed. My friend Mike Tucker lives close by and he sent me a text that the butterflies were everywhere. That afternoon I took a ride down with my friend Laurie. It was awesome to see so many of such a beautiful butterfly. 

   Knowing myself, I can feel myself getting more interested in butterflies, so I invested in an adult butterfly net. It got delivered today. I can only imagine all of the ways it is going to change my life. 

   I have friends that catch dragonflies and damselflies. They are very good at IDing them. As of now, I still have so much to learn about herps and butterflies that I just don't have the time to try to add dragonflies as a hobby. However, if it something that interests you, there is another option to keep you busy over the summer. 

   I really do apologize for not writing this sooner. However, even though shorebirds will be here soon, the snakes and butterflies will still be around all summer. If you go out herping, you may fall in love with it like I did. If you are grossed out by snakes, maybe it isn't for you. But there are still plenty of species of butterflies to discover.

    As for the shorebirds, The day I went to Carter, Saturday, I also went to the mudflats behind the Breachway. There were very few birds. Maybe twenty peeps, ten Least Terns, and three Common Terns. I have friends that went to Napatree this morning and they said it was very slow. The shorebirds aren't really here yet, but they will be soon enough, until then, you can find me chasing snakes, frogs, and butterflies channeling my inner Tom Swayer.

More photos below

Lifer Fowler's Toad

Pickerel Frog from yesterday

Northern Water Snake 

The cutest thing I have ever seen...
A baby Diamondback Terrapin yawning
minutes after being born.