In the Final Days of Summer: Birds

It seems like forever since I've written anything for posting, but it sure has been busy! The final days of summer have been a "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" kind of thing for me, with school starting back, birding trips, family trips, and more on my plate than I should probably have, but I love every bit of it. My August wrapped up with several good trips squeezed into a week's time before school started. Before the bird talk starts, here's a shot from a hiking trip during this time period. Several friends and I clocked nearly 15 miles along the Buffalo River in Newton County, AR.

Early morning along the Buffalo at Steel Creek Campground.

Another trip was across state to Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge. A funny name, I know, but don't be too quick to laugh! This refuge sits in eastern White County, AR and has a special place in every birder's heart here…especially if you're into shorebirds and waders.

An eastern Arkansan by birth, but now situated in the hilly northwest, I don't get to the refuge near as much as I used to. However, a special trip was made this year by several northwestern buddies and I. They had never been to the refuge. To be at Bald Knob for the day's prime time, we had to leave our cooler northwest during the early hour of 4:00am. It was rough, but we trooped along and 4 hours later made it to the refuge that has made birding history several times over in the state. As the morning progressed, so did the heat (I believe it was 101° when we left that afternoon). We, along with many other birders, stuck it out for the better part of the day. Our group of three counted 39 species, including 17 species of shorebird. That's pretty good considering we weren't on either the taiga or the coast and it was only late August. Still, those hundreds of individual birds we saw that day weren't anything like the thousands the refuge is known for producing on a REALLY good day. Matter of fact, as I write this, there are 4 Roseate Spoonbills, 2 Hudsonian Godwits, and a Piping Plover sitting among hundreds more at the refuge. It's funny how standards can change when you live in different parts of such a diverse state as Arkansas. In the northwest, even these hundreds of birds (that were few for BKNWR) would be darn near impossible…there's just no habitat for it!

Among the best birds were Black-bellied Plover, Western Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, and both Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers. Unfortunately the BBPL was WAY out on one of the mudflats so no photos of this striking and uncommon fall migrant. Many more birds were at close range, though. Here are a few to tickle your fancy: 

Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)

Compare the Western to its doppelgänger cousin, the Semipalmated Sandpiper below. At first glance, they're the same bird, but wait…look closer. Check out the difference in the bills! It really is striking. The Western has that long, thick-based, decurved bill, while the Semipalmated has one that is comparatively shorter and stubbier. That wasn't so hard, right?

Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)

You wouldn't know it from this photo, but the Semipalmated Sandpiper is named for the partial webbing it has between the toes. Moving on.

Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)

To many birders, shorebirds are just downright intimidating, but over time one learns to cope; not just cope, but master. Hear that? Shorebirds don't scare me. Gulls, on the other hand, give me chills.

Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia). A not-so-spotted juvenile.

Moving forward a day, I'm back in Northwest Arkansas and out with a birder from the central part of the state. Our goal for the morning was to find him a Swainson's Hawk for his AR list. This was a species I saw in Benton County way back in 2011 during my state big year, but I hadn't seen one since. I'm not around for much of the breeding season in their extremely limited range in the state and I figured we'd be lucky to see one at all. We sat at a podunk Benton County crossroads for half an hour, scanning the treeline in all directions for the striking raptor with no luck. Vultures upon vultures. Patience running thin, the decision was made to drive south from the intersection. Rounding a line of trees, we saw a buteo sitting in a snag. A look in the scope showed its backside, but it was a promising backside! It looked over its shoulder just long enough for us to see a possible white throat. It was a juvenile, but almost surely a Swainson's. Jumping back into the car and speeding off, we headed west on a dirt road to State Line Road; of Oklahoma, that is.

We stopped about 100 yards short of where we thought the snag was and walked…more like stalked…or crawled. Either way, we made it to the bird and I'll be darned if it wasn't on the lucky Arkansas side of the road! Both being photographers, we took photos. Eventually it decided it was done playing and took off to make several low passes over us and the road, officially making it an Arkhoma Swainson's Hawk.

Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)

As a birder and a Christian, here at the eastern frontier of a Swainson's Hawk's range, I can't help but know that our creator has a hand in all I see. Especially out in nature, it's back to the basics. Do we as birders sometimes have to bust our butts (literally and figuratively) to find something we're looking for? The answer would be a resounding yes, but I suppose it's all in the plan. This Swainson's was an easy bag compared to some, but if we saw all the awesome critters of the Earth easily, all at once, what fun would be left for later? I like for things to stay spicy.

Swainson's Hawk.

Going back to the ID of this bird, pay particular attention to the "hooded" appearance that will be even more obvious in an adult. As with the bird in flight, note the bicolored wings; a dead giveaway.

Fall migration is ramping up here in the Natural State. Birds like this Swainson's Hawk are headed for warmer climes, though with our temperatures they may as well stay a spell longer. The Scissor-tailed Flycatchers (and their Stubby-tailed juveniles), among others, have been spotted facing the setting sun. Are they simply taking in the majesty or gathering all that mind-boggling navigation info to shove off sometime in the night? I vote the latter. One might ask, is it really time for them to go? Even just a few rungs down the latitude ladder? The happy House Wren seems to think so. They must've read the almanac.

House Wren, Woolsey Wet Prairie, Fayetteville, AR