American Oystercatchers...

I always am in awe of Oystercatchers. Though they are found in India too - the Eurasian Oystercatchers - that travel all the way from Europe to India. Unfortunately for me - I was yet to see them here.

Though this bird was clicked during my visit to Sandy Hook, I post it first as I think this is my finest snap...

The closest I ever got to them was during a cruise for spotting whales while on my trip to Australia and that too seemed like from a million miles away. When I was preparing and packing for my trip to the USA - this bird was one of the must-see birds. During my stay at New-York - as we were driving along the coast - I thought I saw a pair fly in the far distance. Unfortunately - from the moving car, though my heart was excited, I refrained to log my sighting lest it gets a tick on my life list and there remains a small doubt in my mind that would nag me forever. But having got a glimpse - I was sure that these birds are around and will eventually show themselves one way or the other. 

The wait was killing and I was on a lookout when I visited the Great Kills Park, New York. I saw a pair flying off in a distance - and though they were close enough for me to see and observe - they denied me the pleasure of the great picture that I wanted.

It was my visit to Sandy Hook that I could hunt them down. Once again I saw a pair in the distance and I plotted the track that I thought will take me to the beach where they were headed. The walk was just about a kilometre or so but first few hundred meters took me through the thick bush that gave me ample diversions with birds chirping here there and everywhere. I looked around the track - marked the tree where the birds seemed to be in a feeding frenzy and without wasting any time continued forward - I just did not want to miss the oystercatchers. 

In case you were wondering why the sightings I had till now were in pairs - the reason was perhaps simple - the birds are 'monogamous' - taking one partner at a time (or even for the entire lifetime - if some reports are to be believed) - hence the sightings are two birds at a time or even numbers generally other than when they are with chicks. 

Birds flying around me keeping a keen eye...

...and yes they were calling too - that is what made me retrace my steps and go back.

Coming back to the story - as I neared the beach - the sand dunes blocked my sight to the shore and I virtually rushed up the dune to peer down - and there in the far distance I could see a pair by the beach. That was still about 500 yards to go before I could see and photograph them. I started walking the walk - typical of birders - don't walk directly towards the bird, do not look or stare at it. Stop every few yards and do nothing - especially pointing the Bazooka of a camera towards the bird till it shows a certain comfort level in your presence. It would have taken me not less than 40-45 minutes to approach them and then - when I was close enough I had a time of my life clicking pictures of my dream birds. I sat down near them and soon they were all around me - they flew around many a times, keeping an eye on me only to land back where they were - and this was the time - I suspected that I might be near their nesting site - as nest that is nothing but a depression in the sand with eggs laid in centre. I got up and slowly walked back, following the footsteps in the sand that I had made coming to this point. As I entered the thick bush - either I was lost or the birds that I heard in the trees had moved on - and thus ended my best ever sightings of American Oystercatchers. The birds with hypnotic eyes.

Celebrating the Twelve hundredth bird of life list: Painted Bunting

Some milestones are special and there is no parallel one can draw. I hit the One-Thousandth bird in Europe (Italy) this year and the celebrations lasted a month. Now another milestone with logging the Twelve-hundredth bird - Oh! and what a bird...

Let me start from the beginning. I came to the US for birding primarily and bird I did. There were two places that I had intended to cover in a four-week stay - New York and the area around and Houston, Texas. One of the bird I marked up while I was studying the birds of US and making a list of 'wanna see' birds, was Painting Bunting. It is not a rare bird really - but just simply shy and hard to find. And here I am today I am pounding my keyboard to share the bird that I logged as my Twelve-hundredth bird in my life - the Painted Bunting. Painted Bunting is also sometimes called 'Nonpareil', meaning 'unrivalled' - a way to describe the unbelievable colours the male bird has.

These birds are shy, secretive and often difficult to observe though at times can be very approachable especially around the feeders.  It displays an interesting behaviour in which that the male migrates about a week earlier and establishes a small territory. They then advertise themselves - wooing the females to breed with them.

The bird has moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened due to habitat loss due to development, especially in the coastal swamp thickets and woodland edges in the east and the riparian habitats in migration and Southeastern United States and Mexico. This was a very popular cage bird and it is hard to wonder why - currently it is illegal to hold and capture this bird but it is speculated that the trapping still takes place in Central America. This bird is also protected under the US Migratory Bird Act.

I had seen the pictures so many times but to see it in person was an experience I will carry with me for a long time. I had requested services of a Bird guide whom I had come across and became good friends with, Mr Bill Goloby of Penfeathers Tours (contact details are given at the end of write-up). I was toiling hard as my list of birds seen during the trip of US was hovering at around 168, that was below the 174 I saw during the Ugandan bird trip and way below the 192 birds that I saw during the Australian birding. While I was struggling and penning down the birds, moving one bird a time to improve my American sightings, I saw my list and exclaimed to Mr Bill, I am with 1199 sightings worldwide and was about to hit the figure of 1200. He asked me - what do you desire the 1200th bird to be and without hesitation, I replied - Painted Bunting - a bird that I was on the lookout from the first day I came to Texas. We had just halted listening hard for warblers and were coming across them far and between. Seeing and hearing nothing we moved a bare 10 m when Mr Bill shouted - Painted bunting and a painted bunting flew from a fence nearby, I was excited no limits - and the bird went and sat on a tree at a distance. Mr bill replied - have patience - it should come back to the fence as it might have a rest nearby. A few minutes later the bird flew back and sat on the fence again. I was down on my knees moving a bare step a time towards the bird and clicking pictures. My legs ached as I was being too careful trying not to scare the bird off and moved a few inches a time. The bird seemed to be okay with it and after what seemed to be an eternity I got some shots that I am sharing here and I will treasure eternally.

This is the closest I could crawl to this bird... an effort worth it.

This remained the only bird (male) that I saw during the entire visit.

My first shot of the bird - cropped a lot and then sneeked ahead clicking a dozens of images every few inches.

This is a highly cropped shot - and the female that was sitting on the tree was so hard to focus and click that I concentrated on the male alone - an oversight I regret as I do not have any picture of the second bird.

I would be writing in detail my adventures of birdwatching in the US over next few weeks. Please keep a lookout for some of my experiences.

I birded in Texas with a fine gentleman and a bird guide whom I think of highly. His details are as below and he conducts regular tours in and around Houston and in neighbouring states.

Bill Goloby, Director

Penfeathers Tours, LLC

Mobile: +1 713-542-3473

eMail: pfcompany@aol.com