A Line Crossed

Well, I went and did it. I collected a damselfly. I hadn't set out to. It just happened. I was walking to my car and alongside the road were several small dark-winged damsels flitting about. Naked-eye damsel ID in the field with no references isn't something I'm real good at yet.

I finally took my hat and captured one. I injured one of its wings in the process. I brought it home, shot a whole bunch of pictures of it. Then I euthanized it in my freezer.





After being a birder for almost 15 years it still seems really wierd to me to catch a damsel in order to identify it. And yet, on the other hand, I kill other bugs all the time. I'm not sure what the moral delima is for me. Have I somehow elevated odes above other insects? If so, why? Granted, odes don't bite me or try to eat my food. They stay out of my house and don't eat my property.

I've crossed a line somewhere by capturing and killing this damselfly. I'm not entirely sure I'm comfortable with having crossed it. I understand that there are some species I am very unlikely to ever be able to identify or photograph without collecting a specimen. There are some birds I suppose I could say that about as well, but I obviously can't do that.

It's not that I think the act of killing is inherently bad. I eat meat. No problem. This ethical quandry intrigues me more because of the puzzle of trying to decipher my own motivations that cause it rather than the issue of one dead insect. Heady stuff to ponder as I sit at my computer drinking coffee looking out the window at the rain...

Cruise to the Bahamas

My wife, Leslie, and I sailed aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Fantasy from Port Canaveral, Florida. This was our first cruise together and, of course, not intended primarly as a nature cruise.

We sailed on 1 May and arrived in Freeport on Grand Bahama early on 2 May. We disembarked and took a 'taxi' to the Lucayan Market area. While there we looked at the same store at least a hundred times--or so it seemed--the all offered pretty much the same wares.

We also walked around some of the hotel gardens and saw many small lizards. Bird life was minimal and disappointing. The only tropical bird I saw was a Gray Kingbird. We returned to our ship in the early afternoon.



I spent most of the afternoon on deck watching the Laughing Gulls and Magnificent Frigatebirds. One oddity was a Blackpoll Warbler on deck. It hopped about long enough for me to get several pictures of it.




I finally concluded it must have flown into a wire on the ship and broke its left wing. I entertained the idea of tossing it over the side of the ship to end its misery, but decided against it. Maybe it would recover and fly off.

On 3 May we awoke in Nassau. We had a shore excursion scheduled that morning. We awoke early enough to eat breakfast and walk around the city for about an hour.

This proved more productive for birds as I added Red-Legged Thrush, Bananaquit and White-crowned Pigeon to my life-list.




We then boarded a boat and went out to the Blue Lagoon where we went snorkeling and saw a variety of fish and coral. I walked around the island some and got some good photos of Yellow-crowned and Green Herons, Wilson's Plover and Ruddy Turnstones.




After lounging in a hammock for a little while, it was time to head back. We road the boat back and went to our finished up some shopping. (Note to self—next time just give each of the kids $20 before we leave instead of trying to find stuff for them.) Leslie’s sinuses where bothering her so we picked up some antihistamine and headed back to our ship.

Leslie took a couple antihistamines and was soon ready for a nap. I headed off into Nassau again to see what I could see. I was rewarded with Cuban Grassquit and Smooth-billed Ani as well as some views of a Red-legged Thrush feeding its brood at the nest. These were all found near Fort Fincastle.





As the sun began to sink in the west, I headed back toward the ship and woke up Leslie for dinner. We awoke the next morning to find ourselves underway back toward Port Canaveral. We spent a good deal of time sitting on deck watching the ocean go by. I never did see any pelagic species. I think I fleetingly saw one bird flying away from the bow of the ship, but that was it. We did see two different kinds of dolphins, a submarine, and several other ships.



We awoke on Thursday in Port Canaveral where we disembarked and headed toward Patrick AFB to see if we could find a room for the night. On our way we saw a sign for the “Great Florida Birding Trail” at Rotary Park. We made a mental note and after securing our room and picking up some stuff for a picnic lunch, headed back to see what we could see.

We walked the boardwalk and ate lunch. Then we went over to Lake Washington at two spots and then to Lori Wilson Park. Lori Wilson is a great little patch of hammock on the beach and had more Blackpoll Warblers in it than I had ever seen. I also managed to pick up a life Worm-eating Warbler as well. Showers set in at Lori Wilson so we headed back to our room and then the next day made the drive back to Columbia. All in all a good trip and an enjoyable first cruise experience. Upon reflection, we both decided that next time we’d just as soon fly to some place and spend several days exploring it. (Sounds good to me—more chances to bird!)





Freeport, Grand Bahama Island
Magnificent Frigatebird
Turkey Vulture
Laughing Gull
Royal Tern
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Gray Kingbird
Northern Mockingbird
Blackpoll Warbler
House Sparrow

Nassau, New Providence Island
American Kestrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Laughing Gull
Rock Pigeon
White-crowned Pigeon
Common Ground-Dove
Smooth-billed Ani
Gray Kingbird
Northern Mockingbird
Red-legged Thrush
Black-throated Blue Warbler
American Redstart
Bananaquit
Cuban Grassquit
House Sparrow

Blue Lagoon Island
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Wilson's Plover

Rotary Park, Florida
White Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Semipalmated Plover
Dunlin
Chimney Swift
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
European Starling
Cape May Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Boat-tailed Grackle

Lake Washington, Florida
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
White Ibis
Wood Stork
Northern Mockingbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Boat-tailed Grackle
American Kestrel
Common Moorhen

Lori Wilson County Park, Florida
Brown Pelican
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Laughing Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Parula
Blackpoll Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow

Challenge

Spent about 2 hours at Heise Pond on Fort Jackson last night searching for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (no luck) and Odes. It was a beautiful evening out an nice just to be outside.

The Blue Corporals libellula deplanata were again plentiful and have matured enough that males and females both have their distinctive coloring now.





I also had some luck on the Damselfly front, getting some good shots of what I believe is a Sandhill Bluet Enallagma davisi.



Then there were the mysteries. Ones that I just don't have enough experience to nail down for certain (and, in fact, may not be identifiable by my photos.)

Contestant number one is a dragonfly that I think is in the baskettail family Ashy Clubtail Gomphus lividus seems the reasonable choice.--



Contestant number two is a damsel, and I am willing to guess is a female Fragile Forktail Ishnura posita.



Finally, contestant number three does get points for being the friendliest of the bunch. After I took this picture it flew up and landed on my head. A little later another one landed on my outstretched hand. Unfortunately, I had my right hand out and by the time I was close to figuring out how to take a photo left-handed, it had given up on me and flown. It seems to be an emergent something and is probably not identifiable.



On the avian side of things, my bird of the evening was a male Summer Tanager, but it was moving to quickly through too much tree for a picture.

Funny? I Don't Know, Maybe....

What did the Common Crane say when it visited Indiana several years ago and was surrounded by birders?

"I'm really getting ticked off!"

Get it? Like getting ticked off people's life list?

Sorry, I shouldn't think before the sun comes up and I have coffee....

Pack Birds

I like to be out in the woods. I enjoy nature and the outdoors. That’s part of the reason I enjoy birding. On occasions pursuing other outdoor activities has led me to birds I may not have seen otherwise. Being in the woods at night while backpacking gave me two memorable checks on my life list.

The first occurred in the summer of 1990. I was still brand-new to birding. My dad and I took a trip to North Manitou Island, Michigan. We spent 3 days and 2 nights backpacking on this undeveloped island in Lake Michigan, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The history of North and South Manitou Island is intriguing in it’s own right. South Manitou Island offering the only natural harbor for a long stretch on Lake Michigan, the islands were influenced heavily by shipping in earlier times, leading to much logging on both islands so that the wood could be used as fuel on the steamers that used to sail the waters. There are many shipwrecks in the area attributed to storms and poor navigation.

What attracted us was the promise of some isolated wilderness that was within a day’s drive of home. We booked our passage and set out. We hiked around the southern end of the island the first day and finally decided to make camp on the western side of the island. We camped high atop the dunes, overlooking the lake.

We had eaten dinner, the sun had set and we were just sitting around enjoying the cool summer evening when a ghost-like apparition passed overhead. We both looked up as it came over again and again. Making several passes mere feet above our head before flying on. It moved purposefully and yet was completely silent. In the dim illumination of the twilight, it seemed all the more ghostly.

It obviously was not a ghost, but a Barred Owl. The scene of that larger predator gliding past me without a sound was magical. It was arguably the highlight of the trip. (It certainly beat the ride back to the mainland with 3-4’ waves on the small boat. I didn’t get seasick, but I was certainly glad to put my feet back on land.)

My next nocturnal encounter also occurred while backpacking in Michigan. This time we were in the Upper Peninsula the following summer. We were at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. After birding Seney National Wildlife Refuge earlier in the day we backpacked to a site.

The walk in was a bit of an adventure in itself. We found ourselves caught in a late afternoon thunderstorm. Rain came down. Wind blew. Lightening flashed, even once hitting a tree near our trail causing a momentary fireball in the top of the tree. We were suddenly very aware of the aluminum frame packs we had on and hoped they wouldn’t become lightening rods.

The storm passed and we arrived at our campsite next to a small lake, just a few hundred yards from the big lake—Lake Superior—the largest freshwater lake in the world. We could hear Common Loons calling in the distance. As day gave way to evening, the loons mournful call gave way to the livelier call of Whip-Poor-Wills. As we were making final preparations to call it a night, one visited our campsite. I was standing up, and a Whip-poor-will flew up in front of me, hovered for a few seconds and then resumed its search for insects. The head-on-view of this nighttime hunter is another memory I will carry with me for a long time.