The Easiest Way To Bird

Glossy Ibis Flying Over Morris Arboretum. Watercolor Sketch by Ken Januski.

The easiest way to bird, and to see unusual birds, is to arrive somewhere, state that such and such a rare bird might be around and then find it. Of course this method is not guaranteed to work all of the time, or even most of the time. But it's nice when it does.

When Jerene and I arrived at the wetlands of Morris Arboretum on Sunday we saw a very high soaring bird. It turned out to be a Great Blue Heron, not an unusual bird for the wetlands. But it reminded me that someone had recently reported seeing some Glossy Ibis in Pennsylvania. So I said to Jerene that we should keep our eye out for them.

We've never seen them in flight here but they are a common sight in Cape May, NJ this time of year. We've seen a lot of flyovers over the wetlands. I'm not sure if this is because it's just a large open space, with plenty of room to see what's above you, whether it's due to the appeal of the pond, or perhaps something else. Morris is very close to the hawk watch at Militia Hill in Fort Washington State Park. Perhaps it's just a particular flyway. In any case it made me think that a Glossy Ibis was a possibility, though a rare one.

Soon after we saw the Great Blue we ran into some birders and I repeated the idea that we'd never seen a Glossy Ibis there. But it didn't seem unreasonable. Less than an hour later, while I was trying to find what I thought was a singing Yellow Warbler Jerene said 'I think that's a Glossy Ibis.' Sure enough very high above us, but still clear enough to see, was a Glossy Ibis.

I tried to get some photos but found it very difficult to focus at such a distance. Still I did get one that was good enough to serve as the model for the small watercolor study above.

The second easiest way to bird, and one that is a bit more reliable, is to just sit still, perhaps start talking to someone or sit down and just look around. That was the case yesterday at Carpenter's Woods. As I talked to someone about local birding and other things first my first of year Black and White Warbler appeared nearby and then my first of year Yellow Warbler appeared. The Yellow Warbler also solved a mystery. Earlier I'd seen a strikingly yellow bird high in the canopy. I was sure it was a warbler but I couldn't figure out which one. The visual clues didn't add up to a specific species. Once we saw the Yellow Warbler I was pretty sure that's what it was, even though it was far higher than I'm used to seeing them. When I got home a distant photo confirmed it.

Numerous times I've seen late fall Ospreys, a fairly unusual bird, fly by while I was talking to someone along Forbidden Drive in the Wissahickon. The best look we've ever had at a Golden-winged Warbler occurred as we sat and had lunch on a log near a Witch Hazel at the Pocono Environmental Education Center.

Many birders know this but it often looks like few practice it. But we continue to practice and enjoy the Sit Still method of birding.

Because it's such a busy time of year, between newly arriving birds, newly flowering wild flowers and a garden that needs planting I'm not doing much art now. But inspiration is accumulating every day. Eventually it will appear in my art.

A Narrative of Disappearing Magic

Semi-palmated Plover. Conte Sketch by  Ken Januski.

Through stories such as these, the decline of migratory birds becomes personal to us: the first time we saw a new species, the last time we saw a rare species, the best warbler day. We accumulate these stories over a lifetime. It is a narrative of disappearing magic, fantastic memories now denied our children. Worse, for following generations, is the fact that you cannot really miss what you never knew.

George H. Fenwick, in the Summer 2013 issue of Bird Conservancy, the publication of The American Bird Conservancy,

I was struck by the above essay in my newest issue from American Bird Conservancy, an organization we joined more than 10 years ago I think when the lecturer at a Warbler Weekend at Pocono Center for Environmental Education said it was the best thing we could do to help protect wablers and other migrants.

Though it might sound as though it's a lament for lost birds, which it is, it's also something more hopeful,  as the essays full title, "Reverse Magic" for Migratory Birds indicates. The entire issue is dedicated to migratory bird decline in the U.S., what has been learned, and more importantly what might be done to help prevent it. I'd encourage everyone to read it and also to join ABC.

But what really struck me about the essay was the notion of moments and memories denied others because the birds have disappeared or are disappearing. I think it is the great pleasure of such moments and memories in my life that are a large motivation in both birds as subject matter for my art and in personal  support for conservation, particularly bird conservation. It is only those who truly appreciate what is here, birds or otherwise,  who can do something to try to share it with others, both because we think that they might also enjoy it if given the chance, and because they might also realize that it is something worth preserving. In an age where job creation is used as an excuse for anything it seems necessary to stand up for those things that can so easily be cast aside and thoughtlessly destroyed in the interest of jobs( I put the word in qoutes because it's doubtful just how many lasting jobs are really created).

I don't want to go on about jobs. It is always a very hard choice and I'm never in favor of anyone losing their jobs. It is a traumatic experience. But throughout history those who want to exploit nature have always used it or some other populist notion, for which they really couldn't care less, as an excuse for pillaging resources.

Short-billed Dowitcher. Watercolor Sketch by Ken Januski.

I really am only writing this post because of the essay quoted above and how it reminded me of why birding is such a powerful part of my life and that of my wife. Moments and memories explains it well. They are quite different from individual to individual I think but for those who spend their time in and with nature I think they are truly powerful experiences and ones that most people are willing to fight for it necessary.

With those thoughts in mind I thought it worthwhile to show some recent studies. At top is a Conte drawing of a Semi-palmated Plover seen at the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ a few years ago. Immediately above is a watercolor sketch of a Short-billed Dowitcher seen at Nummy Island, just down the road from the Wetlands Institute.

Rusty Blackirds And Cardinal. Conte Sketch by Ken Januski.

Above are a number of Conte sketches of Rusty Blackbirds along with one Northern Cardinal for scale. We rarely see Rusty Blackbirds, a species that I believe is in decline, and so I wanted to do some sketches of it. When we first saw them in early 2012 I did a quick watercolor sketch of one along with a nearby Carolina Wren. It didn't really work out but it's still rolling around in my head as the possible subject for a color linocut.

All in all I've loved seeing all these species and the fact that I can remember where I saw each one(based on the photos I took) I think attests to that. The sights you see while birding, or any other nature oriented activity, can be both powerful and lasting.

Fieldsketching Shorebirds around Cape May

It's been quite awhile since we took a birding workshop. We learned to bird taking them at Pocono Center for Environmental Education about 15-20 years ago. The last we took was at least 8 years ago, a week long course on Spring Migration at Cape May Bird Observatory.

But we've been getting more and more interested in shorebirds and CMBO was offering a course, 'Shorebirds With the Man Who Wrote the Book' last week. The 'Man' is Michael O'Brien, and the book is 'The Shorebird Guide.'

We couldn't have made a better choice. Michael, along with his wife, birder and artist Louise Zemaitis, is a wonderful and extremely knowledgeable birder and teacher. At the end of our three day course we finally feel somewhat comfortable with shorebirds. More than that we both feel that we've learned how to look at them, so that we can figure out what something is when we see it.

That said almost as soon as the course was over we were faced with a bird that looked exactly like a dowitcher, more likely Short-billed than Long-billed, but behaved much more like a Pectoral Sandpiper. Last night as I looked at my guides, photos and field sketches I still wasn't sure and started to lean more towards a Long-billed Dowitcher. That's really not important though. What I think we both find so exciting is that we are now able to look at a shorebird and figure out how to decipher what we see. The sketch above includes the mystery bird below and a Common Tern above. One bonus about this week was that terns were included free. Everywhere the shorebirds were we seemed to see some terns as well. They are also pretty unfamiliar to us so I spent a lot of time sketching them.

At top are some of the first birds we saw: two American Oystercatchers, a Piping Plover, and a Long-billed Dowitcher, facing away but with his head turned 180 degrees and buried in his mantle. As you can see I spent much of my time trying to sketch and annotate diagnostic field marks of the various birds.

We did see a wealth of birds. I'm amazed that I was able to sketch so many of them during the course. Below two sketches of a distant Marbled Godwit with a Least Tern in between.

Next a very small Osprey which seemed it must be an immature, except that his plumage indicated adult. And with him a Caspian Tern, that stayed just long enough for this sketch.

Next an immature Great Blue Heron drying his wings. I skipped most herons and egrets I saw this trip but this pose was too striking to pass up.

Now some young Piping Plovers, almost invisible on the sand of Stone Harbor. One of the surprises of this part of the trip was the discovery of Loggerhead Turtle tracks, seemingly there to lay eggs. A naturalist with the group recognized them. The local naturalists said they had no knowledge of any sea turtles ever trying to lay eggs in this area. I've not yet had time to read up on them or to find out whether this is a real nest or a fake nest, which is always a possibility with Loggerheads I guess. Local naturalists are pursuing this.

Moving from sea turtles to a Ruddy Turnstone with his head stretched out looking for food, and a juvenile Western Sandpiper, complete with notes as to why this is a Western and not a Semi-palmated.

A Short-billed Dowitcher with Least Tern below.

Two of my favorite sketches: a juvenile Semi-palmated Sandpiper with bright, fresh plumage and a distant Whimbrel who raised his wings momentarily. One of the things I love about field sketching is being able to capture moments such as this. The only way to do it though I think is with constant practice. The more you sketch the better you get AND the more chances you have to see something like this. As I've said before it can easily become addictive.

And finally two White-rumped Sandpipers and a Sandwich Tern, both birds we've never seen before.

Our vacation was short, just three full days and two partial days. But it was one of the best ever. Fresh, invigorating ocean breezes, new birds, a very knowledgeable and effective teacher and many field sketches. It's hard to ask for anything more.