Friday, May 31, 2013

Birding Harrisville


I know, my birding has been pathetic lately. My ebird ranking has been slipping slowly but surely out of the top 100 for the state of Michigan, and I can foresee a time where I could be out of the top 100 for my own county too. 

But I have a plan.

The daily ebird alert (a real torture engine for a birder like me, since you basically receive every day a notice of all the incredible birds you won't have the time to chase anyway) that I have subscribed to for the last 2 years has shown, that, statistically, there is a spot in Michigan where the magic combination of a unique geographical location (along the shore of Lake Huron), and the recurrent convergence of strong winds coming from various birding paradises brings over flocks of exotic gulls from the pacific shores, charms of mountain finches, rafts of Eurasians waterfowl,  flights of asian sandpipers in numbers that defy human logic....

That site is Harrisville State Park. That site is that good, that a single birder has been able to reach the top 10 of the ebird patch ranking, (for the US) more than 20 species above the best birder at Cape May.

So I took a closer look at the ebird statistics (a painful job, since the ebird reviewer, weirdly enough, has been systematically removing every single of those sightings from the ebird database, so these rarities have to be extracted from each individual ebird checklists) I have been able to summarize. 

I figure out that in a single week end, I should be able to reenter the michigan top 100. A week or 2 in the spring should push me easily in the top 20. 

That's the plan at least. I don't really see what could go wrong.




                    Date Rare Bird Checklist
5/30/2013 Feruginous Hawk, Cassin's Sparrow, Bullok's Oriole http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14290571
5/27/2013 Northern Gannet, Artic Tern, Bewick's Wren http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14262146
5/25/2013 Blue Groskeak http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14239179
5/24/2013 Virginia Warbler http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14229895
5/23/2013 Sprague's Pipit http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14219774
5/20/2013 Broad Tailed Hummingbird http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14186021
5/14/2013 Bullock's Oriole http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14112644
4/30/2013 Blackthroated Gray Warbler http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13943181
4/13/2013 Sage Thrasher http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13797586
4/12/2013 Baikal Teal http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13722311
11/21/2012 Mew Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12125643
10/11/2012 Cassin's Sparrow http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11766179
10/10/2012 Curlew Sandpiper http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11760739
9/25/2012 Prairie Falcon http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11661323
8/14/2012 Marbled Godwit http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11343796
6/6/2012 Kirtland Warbler http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10934657
5/18/2012 Bells Vireo http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10783243
5/17/2012 Black-headed Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10770804
5/4/2012 Mew Gull+Lark Sparrow http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10638900
4/29/2012 Great Tailed Grackle http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10584460
4/14/2012 Sabine's Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10446814
3/10/2012 Eurasian Siskins (3) http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10132106
2/18/2012 Eurasian Siskin http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9876306
2/14/2012 Eurasian Siskin (2) http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9832516
2/11/2012 Eurasian Siskin http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9809649
2/8/2012 Eurasian Siskin http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9786861
1/25/2012 Hoary Redpoll http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9683389
12/21/2011 Yellow-legged Gull + Slaty-backed Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9384013
12/20/2011 Yellow-legged Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9376393
12/15/2011 McCown's Longspur http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9340558
11/30/2011 Barrow Goldeneye (female) http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9228443
11/28/2011 Glaucous-winged Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9214214
11/23/2011 Clark's Grebe http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9183111
10/10/2011 Clark's Nutcracker http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S8940334
10/4/2011 Nelson's sparrow http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S8898221
9/28/2011 Heermann's Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S8871740
5/25/2011 Larks Bunting http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S8308989
5/24/2011 Roseate Tern+great tailed grackle http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S8303044
5/19/2011 Great-tailed grackle http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S8271685
5/14/2011 Arctic Tern+Northern hawk Owl http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S8244594
5/2/2011 Canyon Towhee http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S8164073
4/24/2011 Glaucous-winged Gull+Thayer Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S8113527
1/10/2011 Barrow's Goldeneye http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S7403669
1/5/2011 Barrow's Goldeneye http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S7377032
12/10/2010 eurasian Siskin http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S7231369
11/11/2010 black-headed Gull+spotted towhee http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S7094802
10/29/2010 Bicknell's thrush http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S7040251
10/8/2010 Fish Crow http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6968511
9/27/2010 Slaty Backed Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6941872
9/24/2010 Mew Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6914807
9/21/2010 Harris Sparrow http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6905598
9/17/2010 Slaty Backed Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6888374
9/14/2010 California Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6877709
6/3/2010 Leconte's sparrow http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6494745
5/26/2010 yelllow-crowned night heron http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6464100
5/21/2010 Artic Tern http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6443623
5/17/2010 Artic Tern+thayer's gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6434163
4/23/2010 Fish Crow http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6314480
4/19/2010 California Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6295164
4/18/2010 Laughing Gull+snowy owl http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6290684
4/14/2010 Prairie Falcon http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6269300
3/23/2010 eurasian Wigeon http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S6178048
2/8/2010 Barrow Goldeney (2)+eurasian Pine siskin http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S5874299
2/4/2010 eurasian siskin http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S5814904
11/13/2009 Slaty Backed Gull+fish crow http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S5524422
10/26/2009 California Gull+thayer gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S5470945
5/11/2009 Artic Tern (2) http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S4961564
5/6/2009 Mew Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S4944113
5/4/2009 Mew Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S4937029
4/29/2009 Mew Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S4918844
4/28/2009 Loggerhead shrike http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S4915161
4/27/2009 Eurasian Siskin http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S4910920
4/22/2009 California Gull+Fish Crow+thayer Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S4893885
4/21/2009 California Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S4890321
4/20/2009 Harris' Sparrow http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S4874527
4/13/2009 California Gull http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S4859525