SERGIO BRINGS HIS RAPTORS TO ABC, February 5, 2019

Mike Walker introduces Sergio Seipke of Raptours to the ABC group on Feb 5, 2019

Sergio Seipke brought his stories of raptor-watching all over the world to ABC on February 5. His enthusiasm for these species led him, with famous raptor guy Bill Clark, to start Raptours. Our own Mike Walker had been on two of his trips and knew Sergio would be in the northwest about now doing the Skagit winter raptors with Bud Anderson, so he grabbed him to do a presentation for us!

Letter-winged Kite, one of many slides of various kites of the world

We were all astounded at Sergio’s experience and deep knowledge of these birds, not to mention his super photos and videos!

Vultures inviting us to the Himalayas!

His opening slide was of the most iconic raptor in the world, the elusive Harpy Eagle, along with Harpy stories, of curse. His slides also included one of his Argentinian riverside home which he described as Eden, with Raptors flying along the river right in front of the house. When he showed a slide of the gorgeous Black and White Eagle (or Hawk-Eagle to some), he admitted this was his favorite bird.

His many slides of Kites included Swallow-tailed Kites (featured on Raptours’ logo), which many of us have seen in Florida. Upon questioning, Sergio revealed his deep knowledge of the species, saying there are 5 separate populations which completely different ranges and migration patterns.
Sergio’s love of vultures led him to the Himalayas! His joy in this area planted a few seeds among ABC’ers. Then to Madagascar with its famed endemics!
Interestingly, Sergio wasn’t as keen on Veracruz, the Mexican migration bottleneck that many of us were hoping to visit. Apparently the birds fly very high there, making it difficult to see them well, let alone photograph.
It was also fun to see Mike and Bud in photos of some of the Raptours groups that Sergio spearheaded, and then to see a bunch of northwesterners in the Skagit census groups that Sergio joined. At the time of this posting, that event may have been canceled this year due to Snowmageddon, but we hope they were able to get some good figures anyway.

Sergio with some of his biggest fans, the Willettes!

In the question-and-answer time at the end, Sergio was asked about and showed his current equipment, although he apparently uses others as well. He is currently using Zeiss binoculars and Canon cameras. Upon Faye’s question about photographing with a smartphone, he let us know that most of the little videos were digiscoped with a smartphone!
Check out Sergio’s website: http://www.raptoursllc.com/
Thanks, Sergio!

I’m starting a new birding podcast, The Bird Banter Podcast, and guess who is my first guest? None other than our mentor, teacher and bird trip leader supreme Ken Brown. Check out his podcast episode at The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #2- Ken Brown

Subscribe to get future episodes on the iTunes store, Google Play podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or whereever you get your podcasts. If you don’t listen to podcasts, consider doing so, it is a great way to control what you hear and hear what you enjoy while driving or whenever you’d listent to the radio or music.

I hope you enjoy. Tell your friends on social media and in person.
Thanks.

Ed Pullen

Lunar Eclipse from the parking lot of the Omak Inn on Saturday night.

When Kay and I took the kids on any kind of trip, one of our family traditions was that we tried to “finish strong.” On this trip the group did just that. At about 1:50 PM, after not finding Bohemian Waxwing anywhere, including the usually reliable Central Ferry Canyon Road, I got a text from Shep Thorp that his group had located a Snowy Owl on Heritage Road on the Waterville Plateau. After brief discussion we decided to go for it, though not on a direct route home.

A cropped photo of the Prairie Falcon.

As Fred led the 60 mph plus dash there we spotted a distant bird on a large erratic in a field off Hwy, 172, and presto, our only Prairie Falcon was added to the list.

Snowy Owl distant photo.

We did a dance and continued to the spot for the SNOW. As we got close to the described spot, our eyes in our back, namely Ryan and Bryon in the back car who all trip had been picking up great birds we drove by, radioed that they may have the owl. Sure enough, a very white, mile-distant Snowy Owl was perched on a small pile of rocks in a wheat field, and we all got nice scope views and some distant photos.
The ride home was uneventful.

We one time used the color of cows as a location landmark. I like this rear-end shot of these cattle.

Now the rest of the story. We met at the Snoqualmie Rest stop, and headed for Confluence Park in Wenachee. Birds on the water were few, but we did make the eBird alert with a single Greater White-fronted Goose mixed with a large flock of Canada Geese and a few Cackling Geese on the lawns.
Up on the Waterville Plateau we found the expected large flocks of Horned Larks, good numbers of Snow Buntings, Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks, but no Gray Partridge, no Prairie Falcons, Gyrfalcons, or Snowy Owls. At the Heritage Road site we found the flock of American Tree Sparrows, but they were very skittish and good looks were had by only a few. No Long-eared Owl was found.

Coopers Hawk

We finished day 1 looking for raptors, especially the SNOW on the plateau and headed for Omak as darkness settled. Dinner at the Breadline was as expected, good.
Day 2 we headed up to the Okanogan Highlands, and the first major stop was indicative or our success this trip on gallinaceous species. No Chuckar, no Gray Partridge, and not even the usually present Golden Eagle. We did hear a Canyon Wren calling.

On Siwash Creek Road we missed Sharp-tailed Grouse again, and settled for nice looks and listens to both Type 2 (Ponderosa Pine) and Type 4 (Douglas Fir) Red Crossbills.
The rest of the day in the highlands was a bit of a struggle. We managed lots of Northern Shrikes, brief but exciting looks at an adult Goshawk, initially perched, and then actively hunting among the clearings and trees. A Northern Pygmy Owl was spotted by our ace back-car crew on Bolster Road, and great looks and photos were enjoyed by all.

Northern Pygmy Owl

Dinner at our usual Mexican place was delayed as the New England Patriots went to overtime to defeat Fred’s cousin’s (Andy Reid) Kansas City Chiefs.
On Sunday we drove across Cameron Loop Road. At the usual “flag” stop we managed Pygmy Nuthatch and more crossbills, but at best heard a White-headed Woodpecker drumming, but none of us were confident enough to list it. At the cattle pen off Cameron Lake Loop Road we again found Snow Buntings, but Ryan and Bryan spotted Gray Partridge both on the ride in and the ride out. We all got on them on the road out. While stopped to see the partridge, a flock of American Tree Sparrows flew behind us, and from there the trip down the hill was uneventful.
Next stop was at Bridgeport State Park, for Northern Pygmy Owl. Bruce found on in the usual trees, and Bryan then found another, so close we could only see if in dense branches if we looked from about 18 inches below.

The first NSWO found by Bruce. The second was too close and too obscured for a photo.

From there we looked many places for Bohemian Waxwings. A nice try by our ace spotters again found a flock of Cedar Waxwings, with a nice mix of other passerines, but no BOWA. The rest of the story is at the lead of this post.

The wrong (Cedar) Waxwing on Central Ferry Canyon Road.

Varied Thrush

Another wonderful winter trip led by our faithful mentor Ken Brown, featuring perfect weather, and the bird mentioned above.
Good birding.

February 5, 2019, 6:45 PM, University of Puget Sound, Thompson Hall, room 175, suggested $10 contribution for expenses and for room use.

Join us to welcome Sergio Seipke of Raptours, who is in the state with Bill Clark to enjoy the raptors of western Washington, hosted by Bud Anderson of Falcon Research Group, whom we all know.

Bill Clark and Sergio Seipke at the Platte River (courtesy RapTours)

Sergio will talk discuss “Five Years Hawkwatching Around the World.”  He says, “I will share raptorial highlights in our tours from 2014 to 2018. This talk features a number of raptor photographs, landscape pics, anecdotes and some funny facts of the destinations Raptours has been to as a company. In other words, a collage of raptor images taken in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Nepal, Panama, South Africa, Thailand, and the USA.”  Sergio will also discuss the 19 diurnal birds of prey of Madagascar briefly, where he will lead a tour next November/December.

World raptor expert and wildlife photographer Bill Clark founded Raptours in the 1990s to cater to birders who have a particular interest in birds of prey. In 2006 Bill co-led a tour with Sergio Seipke in northern Argentina. Bill then suggested to Sergio that he should offer raptor tours as a means to help fund his Raptors of South America field guide project. The idea was an appealing one: small tours would be perfect to be in the field and collect data for the book. So, Sergio started offering raptor tours himself to destinations in South America following Raptours’ guiding style and philosophy.

In February 2013 Sergio formally organized Raptours, L.L.C., in Lincoln, Nebraska, and now owns the company. Sergio says, “This resulted in a new and very exciting phase of my raptor career. Since 2005 to date I have designed, organized, and led or co-led raptor tours in eight countries in four continents.

“Raptors have inspired me to travel. I’ve watched, studied, photographed and enjoyed raptors in 13 countries including Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Germany, Panama, South Africa, Thailand, the U.K., and the U.S.A. While mother taught me to speak Spanish, raptors made me fluent in English and Portuguese. I have met many inspiring individuals in my travels ranging from superstar international raptor experts to impressively knowledgeable local naturalists. Not that I am counting, but as of March 2015 I have seen 192 species of raptors. OK, maybe I am counting them, after all.”

SPRING BIRDS OF ISRAEL

Bird Migration map by Yossi Leshem of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel

The ABC meeting on November 13, 2018, featured birding travels in Israel by two sets of the WIllettes. Carol Smith and Laurel Parshall traveled there in April 2017 in a small tour group. Faye McAdams Hands and Diane Yorgason-Quinn went in March 2018 in connection with the International Swift Conference and the Eilat Birding Festival.

Click to enlarge maps and photos.

Willettes’ travels in Israel

First shown was the migration map showing that the migration route through Israel is huge due to its being a bottleneck. Then a map was shown of points of interest covered by each twosome. We actually covered different areas in the north half, then many of the same points getting down to Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea). Interestingly, Israel is only about the area as one-third the state of Washington.

Carol Smith starts out the Israel bird show (photo/Diane Y-Q)

The difference of a month made a big difference in species seen. Spring migration continues pretty strong for March and April as different streams flow through. The Med, the Dead, and the Red sea were covered well between the two groups, as well as the huge Negev Desert in the center. Jerusalem was a high point for March this year as the Common Swifts returned right on time to places holy to all three of the monotheistic religions.

Faye IDs a Steppe Buzzard (photo/Diane Y-Q)

Carol and Laurel saw and photographed all 5 species of Sandgrouse in April, while the March twosome had only three species which were very hard to find that early. Carol and Laurel also saw the rails and crakes, while the March trip only had Coots and Moorhens.

Hoopoe, national bird of Israel (Photo/Laurel Parshall)

Palestine Sunbird (Photo/Diane Y-Q)

Raptor migration was going on over the cliffs above the Dead Sea and of course at the world-famous Eilat Mountains. The March group rubbed shoulders with teams prepping for the Champions of the Flyway, a huge international bird contest that took place soon after our trip, which raised funds for tackling illegal killing of birds in Croatia and Serbia for 2018. They choose different projects for the funds each year.  Faye and Diane had the good fortune to have Jonathan Meyrav as a leader at the Eilat Birding Festival, who founded the Champions of the Flyway project, keeps the Israel Bird List, and is birding tourism director of the Israel Ornithological Center.

Carol Smith & Laurel Parshall model the Birds of Israel shirts from their April 2017 trip to Israel (photo/Diane Y-Q)

The iconic birds for all were the Hoopoe (national bird of Israel), four species of Swifts, Wryneck, Tristram’s Starling, White-spectacled Bulbul, Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Black and White Storks, and lots of different Buzzards and Eagles!

Diane Yorgason-Quinn and Faye McAdams Hands model their Swift Conference shirts & regalia from March 2018 (photo/Adam Trent)

A web article that describes the incredible migration: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-israels-500-million-birds-the-worlds-eighth-wonder-1.5485176

A Virtual Pelagic Trip!

10-23-18 – Opening slide. Thank goodness it wasn’t a quiz!

On October 23, 2018, ABC’ers delved deep into Pelagic birding with presentations by Ed Pullen and Ryan Wiese, as well as additional information by Bruce LaBar and Art Wang.

Ed Pullen starts his slides

Ken Brown opened the meeting by recapping upcoming ABC events, and then Clarice Clark presented information on an upcoming guided tour of SE Arizona for Tahoma Audubon this coming spring featuring guide Chris Chappell, formerly of Pierce County. There were only one or two spots left open by the end of the evening! For more info on those spots, contact Clarice or Jerry Broadus at jbroadus@seanet.com.

Ryan Wiese gets into his slide presentation

All pelagic bird species occurring off the coast of Washington were discussed in depth including likelihood of seeing, world populations and scarcity, life histories, etc. The slides were extremely informative and are now available to ABC’ers here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CkekblylR_ufUXRB-FS-DCNJgRiXBOs2/view

Bruce LaBar discusses the underwing patterns of Sooty and Short-tailed Shearwaters

Pelagic trips discussed included Westport, Monterey Bay, Maine, Cape Hatteras, and Hawaii. The concepts of going onboard in shorts and flip-flops (Cape Hatteras) or in swimsuits and then jumping in the water to swim ashore (Hawaii) were happily contemplated!

Art Wang, wearing his Stormy Petrel Hatteras shirt. discusses various pelagic trips

Chumming was discussed. Bruce, a longtime spotter for Westport Seabirds, explained that one reason chumming didn’t happen on their trips until the furthest point was reached was to get accurate counts of the birds. Westport Seabirds has the best data available for this reason. Other trips chum all the way out and have a parade of the same birds following the boat the entire ride. It was revealed that Monterey Bay has banned chumming altogether with the exception of Debi Shearwater’s trips, which should end soon with her retirement. The alternative to chumming is to get chummy with fishing boats.

Fine points were discussed, such as the recent split of Xantus Murrelet into Scripps and Guadelupe.

Some highlights included the fact that Rhino Auklets are OUR birds with approximately 90% of the lower 48 population breeding in Washington waters. Also, Short-tailed Shearwaters, rare as they might seem here, are actually the most populous shearwater species on the planet! Red Phalaropes like to feed in the spume of whales! And yes, those South Polar Skuas really are the thugs you thought, guilty of all possible crimes and some even unimaginable.

Red Phalarope

The very interested group asked excellent questions and kept the meeting going until we got kicked out and all the cookies were gone (thanks, Faye)!

Maine pelagic birders reunited! Presenter Ed Pullen flanked by Carol, Diane, and Faye, wearing Atlantic Puffin shirts

The sentinel calls the troops

On October 14, 2018, Adam and I proceeded to the UW-Bothell campus, north parking garage roof at 6 PM, which Tweeter Scott Ramos had described as a major crow roosting route. Two other carloads of people showed up to see the big show, but had left disappointed when nothing much had happened before sunset (6:23 PM), just a few small streams of birds in the distance. The roof looked out over the North Creek Wetlands. We stuck it out and were rewarded, or possibly punished, by crows!

Adam told me to turn around slowly

Five minutes after sunset the nice evening got horrendously noisy, and suddenly we were surrounded by crows. We did in fact feel like we were in the eye of a crow cyclone, as they closed in on us from every side! We took lots of pictures, but truly a much wider-angle lens and possibly a drone would have been needed to give the true feel of the onslaught!

Sunset at UW-Bothell

I just wouldn’t have been a bit surprised had Alfred Hitchcock made one of his famous walk-ons at the height of the cawcaphony! As it got darker, they started landing on the floor next to us, blocking our exit from the roof. In fact, they were pushing ever so relentlessly closer to us and covering every tree and building top. Just when my fight-or-flight instinct started to turn on, very suddenly it all stopped almost as if a clock had chimed at 7 PM! The silence was deafening, too, as every bird suddenly dropped into the nearby trees and faded away.

Air traffic controller

They noticed our car and moved to block our exit!

We put down 5000 on eBird, but there could very well have been 10,000, as Scott had estimated. Just couldn’t tell which birds we’d already counted, as they were on all sides of us, seeming to circle us. We drove away feeling a little relieved that we weren’t the center of their universe after all.

Diane’s crow shirt attracts attention

Adam has to wave away the crows

No Halloween Haunted House could compare to this real experience. There was definitely a ghostly vortex on this rooftop with no one but the two of us and thousands of crows on a lonely Sunday night in October.

Just before they suddenly departed a full dark

See more of our photos and short videos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/76552838@N03/albums/72157702433592684