Grasshopper Sparrow Migration!
written by Mike Lanzone
It's the time of year when we are all thinking warbler migration. But before warblers are peaking sparrows are migrating through. Often more secretive, and not as brightly colored as the much anticipated warblers, some get overlooked... OK, not by everyone 
.
Over the last several days in Somerset County, PA large numbers of Grasshopper Sparrows have been moving through. During nocturnal migration I went out this week to listen and record the overflight. To my pleasant surprise, Grasshopper Sparrows were more common than I normally hear at night. Below is a picture of a spectrogram from one that flew over. The Grasshopper Sparrow flight-call is a high slightly rising call you can see in the center, usually starting around 7.5-8kHz and rising about 0.5 to 1kHz. The call just after it is a Black-billed Cuckoo. Both recorded using a nocturnal plate iPhone microphone in Somerset, PA. Click on the photo below to play the clip.
Grasshopper Sparrow and Black-billed Cuckoo nocturnal flight call, Somerset Pennsylvania.
Several were calling in the fields around our house in the morning. I digiscoped this short video below of one in our front field.It was neat to watch him singing away. The audio was also recorded on my iPhone using a different rig, a small plate reflector that's on my digiscope rig.
Warbler banding and more
written by Drew Weber
- Worm-eating Warbler
- Northern Waterthrush
- Blue-headed Vireo
Today was a fantastic morning to be out, and the banding station at the Arboretum at Penn State was no exception. Looking at the mornings radar had indicated that we saw a moderate to heavy influx of birds, and this really panned out in the field. Just walking around to set up the nets it was obvious that there had been a decent overnight arrival as the Gray Catbirds were everywhere, Indigo Buntings were buzzing from the tree tops.
After setting up the nets it took a long time to get back to the banding station because there was so much going on. Steve, Nadia and I quickly picked up Wilson's Warbler and White-eyed Vireo. Nashville Warblers were everywhere and White-crowned Sparrows were singing from every hedge around. One tree held at least 10 different Yellow-rumped Warblers at a time. By the time we made it back to the station, they already had some secret bird to show us...a Worm-eating Warbler! We ended up banding some great birds and seeing lots of migrants moving through. Altogether it was a great start to the day.
Birding lists (I made multiple, roughly one for each loop I walked to check the nets)
Yellow-throated Warbler – iPhone digiscoping test
written by Drew Weber
Since I was in the area, I decided to look for some early Yellow-throated Warblers at Safe Harbor and Conestoga Creek Parks near Conestoga, PA. To be fair, they had been reported a few days previously, so I was pretty sure I had a good chance of seeing them.
With the help of another birder, I was able to quickly find a single male that was singing relatively frequently. The Yellow-throated Warbler was flying back and forth between the conifers and sycamores near the creek.
I typically see these warblers at the very top of tall sycamores, so when this bird was foraging halfway down in closer view, I decided to try to take some photos and video. This ended up being a lot harder than I anticipated, as the bird would sit still until I found it in the scope, then take off when I put the phone up to the eyepiece. I managed to get a couple shots but none showed the bright yellow throat.
All images digiscoped with hand held iPhone 4S through Zeiss Diascope 85 T *FL with a 20-60x zoom.
Finally, after about 30 minutes of trying, the Yellow-throated Warbler perched low in a small tree and kept relatively still, allowing me time to focus and fire of about 20 shots. I use the Camera+ app because it allows me to set exposure and focus at different points, and is much faster at taking photos than the stock app.
Overall, I have been very happy with the results my phone gets through the scope. I am excited about some of the iPhone digiscoping adapters that are apparently being made which will be much easier than hand holding.
I had some trouble with focusing while shooting the video below but we generally happy with the results.
Bullock’s Oriole video
written by Drew Weber
Digiscoping video with my phone is proving to be a great way to document rarities. I think that seeing a bird in natural motion takes some of the trickiness out of identification because it is not just a frozen moment in time. With still photography we don't know whether the feathers are laying naturally, or if the sun's angle is causing the colors to look different. What do you think, does video make identification easier or harder?
This video shows the Bullock's Oriole in southern Huntingdon County really going to town on the blood oranges that were put out for it. I am surprised that the oriole has managed not to get any of the bright reddish orange juice on its plumage, which could have made identification more interesting. You can see a bit on the bill but that is it.
Our favorite apps
birding shirts
blogs we read
- Bird Digiscoper
- Jeffrey A Gordon
- Life as a Young Birder
- BrdPics
- The Birding Nerd
- Sibley Guides Notebook
- Bill of the Birds
- Birdchick
- Utah Birders
- 10,000 Birds
