Recap of our OLLI class field trip on May 4, 2022

Much to everyone's pleasure, the rain did hold off and make a field trip possible.  We headed out from New Road onto Park Road (see map below), and birded our way to Canary Creek and the DNREC launching area on the Broadkill River.  Our bird list more or less in order of observation was:  

Northern Cardinal, Red-eyed Vireo, Black Vulture, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, White-eyed Vireo, Catbird, Common Yellow Throat, Double-crested Cormorant, Osprey, Seaside Sparrow, Laughing Gull, Great Egret (photo below), Willet, and Clapper Rail.  Please let me know what I have forgotten.

The 15 moths I had saved to photograph in our classroom if our field trip got rained out, have now been photographed in a chilled state.  Some of the little moths don't stay chilled out very long, and can present a humorous challenge as they make a hasty departure while my camera is in hand.  I will be putting their photos up on my iNaturalist page...bill6711....so you can see what my 2 moth traps caught on the night May 2-3.

Click on images below for a full size view.  Note the greenish color beginning around the base of the bill, and the plumes emerging toward its tail, are breeding plumage features of the Great Egret. 

 

 

Last OLLI iNaturalist Class on Wed, May 4, 2022 at 9 am

Last Minute Update: Tomorrow, we may go to Prime Hook NWR to see these beautiful Pink Lady-Slipper Orchids photographed by Sally just hours ago.  We will still meet at OLLI to organize our plan.  Click on pic to enlarge. 

 

Hello Class,

Just a reminder that from 8 to 9 am tomorrow, there is a Continental Breakfast in the Trinity Education Building, so immediately before our class.  Events like this are a very good opportunity to meet other OLLI members and discuss like interests. 

For our class tomorrow, we will make every reasonable effort to have a field trip as outlined in the previous post, but of course we will not venture out in heavy rain or thunderstorms.  I am game to head out in a drizzle, and will have light rain gear.

As I also mentioned in the previous post, in case rain forces us to stay in the classroom, I will come prepared with some "chilled" live moths we can photograph and upload the pics to iNaturalist.  So last night I set my moths traps out, and now have 14 chilled moths of various species. 

But here's hoping for a break in the weather and an outdoor field trip.

Bill

OLLI class participants at Cape Henlopen Yesterday

 

Joan, Maureen, Bill, Pam, and Diana....

with a lot of happy songbirds singing in the background.

 

Photo by Sally Fintel

Class Field Trip to Cape Henlopen State Park 4/20/22

 

We had a beautiful sunny morning, with very good views of several bird species, including:  White-throated Sparrow, House Finch, American Goldfinch, American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Red-winged Blackbird, Purple Martin and Turkey Vulture.  All except for the Turkey Vulture were singing their spring songs.

We all got some more experience uploading pics from a cell phone to iNaturalist, although with poor internet connection, that was a major challenge which I did not complete until I got home.  The pics I took, including 3 plant species have now all been uploaded to bill6711 on iNaturalist.  In our next class we will review possible ways to make the cell phone process easier.  Until then, just soar like a "Buzzard" 😀.

OLLI Plans for Class on 4/20/22

 Hi Class,

This coming Wed, 4/20/22, we will have a field trip to the Nature Center at Cape Henlopen State Park.  We will still meet at 9 am at the Trinity Faith Education Building in Lewes, and several class members have offered to help car pool others to the Nature Center.  Note that park fees or pass requirements are in effect.  The weather forecast is for sun and 60°, but do remember it can feel chillier near the water.

Hopefully everyone has a cell phone loaded with iNaturalist and/or Seeker by iNaturalist.  If you have a good camera with which to take nature pics, you are encouraged to bring it.  Then at home you can download pics, edit them if you wish, and upload some to iNaturalist.

If you have any questions beforehand, just email me at billfintel@gmail.com.

Bill

Other Web Sties to Refer to along with iNaturalist

As you saw in class, BugGuide is another site that deals both with moths, and also many, many other insects.  It also provides easy access to features such as images of other life stages for an insect in question.  The link for BugGuide is:  https://bugguide.net/node/view/15740   One can become a member of BugGuide, but one does NOT have to to still use it.

My favorite moth site is MPG, which is short for Moth Photographers Group at Mississippi State University.  The link to it is: https://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/  I believe it has the best quality moth photographs, so I very often get a moth ID suggestion from iNaturalist, then enter that suggestion in the MPG search bar, and then compare my images to the MPG moth pics for that moth.  It is also worth noting that in MPG, there is a list of References that always has a link to that species' page in BugGuide.

MPG also has good range maps, and below the initial range map is an option for "Large Map and Chart".  Clicking on that will give you an enlarged map with a table of that moths seasonal occurrence by state.  For us in little Delaware, I use Maryland as a reference state, because there is much more data being utilized, and both states are at about the same latitude.

If you want to try some of these tips out, below are my latest photos of a Distinct Quaker Moth and a Baltimore Snout which you can compare to what these sites display.

Using a mobile phone for iNaturalist and other tips

 Hello OLLI Class...and anyone else who happens upon this post,

After our last class I did some research on iNaturalist, and first off I think I found the best way to return to "Home" on the site.  Regardless of where you are on the site, go to your icon pic in the upper right hand corner, click on it, and select "Dashboard".  This takes you to your "Home" and from there you may wish to select "Your Observations" which will show you recent edits to your observations, such as confirmations.  Often there are two tabs, "More" and "Show More".  The "Show More" tab keeps you in the same function and just expands the pictures you can view.  "More" seems to take you to a similar, but new window.  Hey I am learning with you :)

Now concerning using a mobile phone, for iPhones, there are two iNaturalist apps.  One is called "iNaturalist" and one is called "Seek".  I down loaded and tried both and they are definitely the best way to use iNaturalist capabilities on an iPhone.  They both tie into your phone's camera and connect with iNaturalist's main computers for identification of what you have photographed.  The main difference between the 2 apps is that Seek does not download any data to iNaturalist, whereas the iNaturalist app can download pics and info to your iNaturalist account (if you have one, or it can help you get one).  

For Androids, per Joan Mansperger, there is only "Seek", which has the camera connection and iNaturalist computer ID connection, BUT does NOT have capability to download data to an account.  iNaturalist actually recommends Seek for new and novice users, so the inexperienced do not upload a bunch of low quality data and photos.

Lastly, in the menu bar at the very top there is an option labelled "More".  This tab will take you to options such as "Getting Started" and "Video Tutorials", so you are basically never without HELP!

More on all of this in our upcoming class Wed, April 13, 2022.

I hope all well, and enjoying nature.  Sally and I are seeing early migrant warblers, like Yellow-rumped, Parula, Black-and-White and Yellow-throated (below).

 

 

Moths, Birds and Nature on iNaturalist

 Course Content Doc for Bill Fintel’s  iNaturalist Course Spring 2022

 

In this course we will do the following:

 

• Learn about iNaturalist as a user friendly record keeping program to track nature observations worldwide.

 

• Bill will review some of his over 1,000 entries, and show how the AI aspect of iNaturalist can be used to help identify a species from a photograph

 

• Class members will be encouraged to establish an iNaturalist account, photograph some specimens of their favorite wildlife (animals or plants), and upload the photos to their  iNaturalist account.

 

• Class members should have a means of logging onto the Internet while at class.  OLLI has some class-available Laptops & i-Pads.

 

• It is tentatively planned during the course to take at least one field trip to photograph wildlife.  A cell phone camera will suffice for taking wildlife photos.

 

Want a preview of Bill's iNaturalist account, go here (probably have to copy and paste): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/bill6711

I suspect in some ways..... mentally, physically, or both, we are all Wandering Albatrosses :)

Recent Backyard Bird Sightings

Our adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird is still with us, and now has a new heated feeder which he loves.   The make of the feeder is Hummers Heated Delight.

Unfortunately, we also have one or more hawks hanging around terrorizing our feeder birds.  We have yet to see a hawk, but that is also the norm.  The feeder birds when a hawk is around either freeze, as the hawk looks for movement to detect prey, or they bolt for cover and do not reappear, often for an hour or more.  The most likely hawks in our yard are either Cooper's or Sharp-shinned Hawks, as their primary prey is other birds.

Now back to a brighter note, Our first new fall visitor was a Fox Sparrow (pic 1).  Lately we have had a regular Hermit Thrush for about 2 weeks (pics 2-4).  He first started coming to our bird-creek in the backyard, but soon spotted the Robin feeding on top of the platform feeder, so he checked that out, found some raisins, and has been returning for raisins. You will notice that in pic 3 he is signaling the Robins where to go.  In pic 4 he is at his diplomatic best by the bird-creek just before Biden's Diplomacy summit.

Summary for the OLLI Nov 18 Field Trip to Cape Henlopen State Park

 It was another gorgeous day with temps close to 70 deg F by 11 am.  As pointed out, this meant some migration aspects would be greatly diminished, such as very few scoter flocks and they were far out, plus very few migrating raptors.  We still had many good birds, like lots of Red-throated Loons and Northern Gannets, and a good flock of about 6 Brown-headed Nuthatches seen well by all.  Following is our bird list of 29 species for this field trip:

Red-throated Loon
Horned Grebe
Northern Gannet
Double-crested Cormorant
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Scoter species
Red-tailed Hawk
Sanderling
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Royal Tern
Mourning Dove
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird (heard)
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch

Our cumulative species total for all 5 field trips this fall was 58 species, which is very respectable for our limited area and time of year covered.  

If you feel inspired to keep improving your birding skills and knowledge, please keep checking back to this blog site.  I plan to keep it updated on a regular basis.  And don't forget the great Gannet views you can get from the Cape May-Lewes ferry from about now until March.

 

 

Plans for Nov 18 Field Trip and Bird List from Indian River Field Trip

On November 18 we will meet at the Cape Henlopen State Park Nature Center at 9 am.  From there we will bird the Park until about 11 am.  Weather at this point looks good.

On our Nov 11 field trip to Indian River Inlet we collectively observed the following 24 species:

Common Loon
Northern Gannet
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
American Black Duck
Scoter species
Bald Eagle (3 adults)
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Royal Tern
Rock Pigeon
Fish Crow
Carolina Wren
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
Boat-tailed Grackle
House Finch

Of local bird note, on Nov 13 we had an adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird show up at our feeders.  We had one over-winter last winter, and suspect this may be the same individual returning. Below is a picture of him taken on Nov 14.

eBird Check Lists for May 22 Field Trip to Mispillion and nearby

Many thanks to Rob Blye for helping lead this field trip and for compiling 4 eBird check lists for the 4 locations we birded. Folling are links to these check lists in chronological order:

https://ebird.org/pa/view/checklist/S56614405

https://ebird.org/pa/view/checklist/S56614931

https://ebird.org/pa/view/checklist/S56620835

https://ebird.org/pa/view/checklist/S56657222

May 22, 2019 OLLI Field Trip to Mispillion

This was our last class field trip for spring 2019, and it was a good one. The highlight for me was a field with an estimated 2,500 Black-bellied Plover along Prime Hook Road. We also saw many shorebirds from the observation deck of the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Inlet. Unfortunately that consisted of only about 5 Red knots, that were also far away. Perhaps the main numbers have yet to arrive on their way north. Rob Blye's eBird check list links will be in the next post, and after that I will try to compile one class checklist for this spring.

On the visual side, Steve Walker again got some great bird pics from this past field trip.

May 14, 2019 Prime Hook Field Trip Highlights

Links to eBird check lists compiled by Rob Blye can be found below (in English):
https://ebird.org/pa/view/checklist/S56266009
https://ebird.org/pa/view/checklist/S56485175

We were very fortunate to get awesome views of a male Prothonotary Warbler from the Fleetwood Pond dock. Below are two pictures of it taken by class member Steve Walker.

The nickname for this bird is the Golden Swamp Warbler, because they are found almost exclusively in wooded swamps. Other warblers seen well were Northern Parula, Yellow, Blackpoll and Common Yellowthroat.

Our next and last field trip will be to Slaughter Beach and Mispillion Inlet, with target birds being shorebirds, including the endangered Red Knot. Meet at Prime Hook Visitor Center at 8:00 am to car pool up there. (Or meet at the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion about 8:30 am.)

OLLI Field Trip May 8

I just checked the weather forecast, and we are a GO with only a 30% chance of showers. For field trip details, see the below post Olli 2019 Spring Birding Class.

Check List of Birds for the May 1 Olli field trip to Cape Henlopen

This is actually a series of eBird check lists compiled by Rob Blye. Each check list is for a different but identifiable area at Cape Henlopen. Rob has even included the observed numbers for each species. Thanks very much to Rob and Carol for helping out on the May 1 field trip. To view each list, just click on the below links:

https://ebird.org/colombia/view/checklist/S55969886

https://ebird.org/colombia/view/checklist/S55969928

https://ebird.org/colombia/view/checklist/S55636137

RE tomorrow's field trip, there is a chance of showers in the morning, but as I see it right now, it should not be a problem to do what we have planned. I will definitely update this blog with the latest weather info and any plan changes at 6 am tomorrow.

OLLI 2019 Spring Birding Class

We will spend as much time as possible birding in the field. On any day when the weather does not permit a field trip we will cancel the class. For the latest information on class status see Bill’s blog at http://billfintel.blogspot.com/ . This will be updated by 6 am on any field trip day with questionable weather.

All classes begin at 8 am and are on Wednesday EXCEPT FOR MAY 14 which is on Tuesday.  The meeting locations are noted below. Be sure to bring binoculars. Also check the weather forecast and dress appropriately with a rain resistant windbreaker and footwear suitable for walking no more than one mile. Insect repellent, sunscreen, water and a snack are recommended. Classes will end at the latest by 11 am.

Wed, April 24 - Prime Hook NWR Headquarters. We will bird all types of habitats, such as woodlands, fields, marshes, impoundments and bay beaches. Our target birds will be early shorebirds, and early woodland migrants. (Low tide 7:10 am)

Wed, May 1 - Cape Henlopen State Park Nature Center  (sticker required). Northbound raptor migration will be underway, some sea ducks should still be present and we will of course search for three resident specialties, the Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher and Brown-headed Nuthatch. (High tide 7:06 am)

Wed, May 8 – Fintel’s Yard plus Roosevelt Inlet. Meet at the Fintel’s home, 31395 Point Cir, Lewes, at 8 am for a guided tour of their birding habitats, feeders and water features. Roosevelt Inlet is about ½ mile from the Fred Thomas building in Lewes, and many good birds are usually present in the inlet, plus Canary Creek and adjacent marshes and scrub habitat. (Low tide 5:49 am). We are all invited to have lunch with Janice Erich and Rob Morgan at their home in Cape Shores after the class.

TUESDAY, May 14 – Prime Hook NWR. Meet at Prime Hook HQ at 8 am. This date is usually about the peak of spring migration. We will search the woodlands for tanagers, vireos, warblers and thrushes, all of which should be in good song. Our favorites include Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-throated Vireo, Blackburnian Warbler (beautiful but a difficult find) and our favorite local songster, the Wood Thrush.  (Hi tide 6:25 am)

Wed, May 22 - DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Inlet. Meet at Prime Hook at 8:00 am for carpooling. We will proceed directly to the Dupont Nature Center, arriving about 8:30 am. This is our annual spring pilgrimage to witness Horseshoe Crabs spawning and the thousands of shorebirds that feed on their eggs. It is also the best time and place to see the endangered Red Knot. We will bird our way south, stopping along the way at good birding spots, such as the new DE Nature Society Marvel Saltmarsh Preserve. We will arrive back at Prime Hook Headquarters before 11 am. (Low tide 5:56 am)

Tomorrow's Field Trip is a GO....regardless of the weather

Hi All,

Weather looks iffy for field birding tomorrow, but it will be fine for backyard birding from our screened-in porch, and also from our kitchen. If you want a fried egg sandwich, just bring the eggs. I am a pretty good cook

Warbler migration is at its peak. Today, we had conservatively 8 to 10 Parula Warblers, both  m & f Black-throated Blue, a Chestnut-sided with some chestnut still showing, 2 Black and Whites, a Redstart, and whatever warblers I nay have forgotten .
We also had at least 2 hummingbirds today, and a REV  (= Red-Eyed Vireo)

Whether we go on to Oyster Rocks Road will be decided after our backyard birding and fried egg sandwiches, plus weather considerations.

Bill

Wed, Sep 19, OLLI Field Trip to Prime Hook

Mosquitoes, mosquitoes....and more mosquitoes along the Boardwalk Trail. So we retreated to the breezes along Broadkill Beach Road and Prime Hook Road, and were rewarded with many nice birds. 38 species per my count:

Canada Goose
American Black Duck 
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle 
American Avocet 
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull 
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern 
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern 
Black Skimmer 
Mourning Dove 
Belted Kingfisher 
Eastern Wood-Pewee 
Blue Jay 
American Crow 
Carolina Chickadee 
Carolina Wren
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird            

Our backyard bird creeks and misters have been attracting some good warblers, that we watch from our screened-in porch!!! A few notables have been Nashville, Chestnut-sided, Parula, Redstart, Black-throated Green and Mourning Warbler.....so hopefully this coming Wed will still be good in our backyard. 

Birds observed on 9/5/18 OLLI field trip to Prime Hook NWR

It was a hot and humid morning, with lots of mosquitoes early, but we did observe 35 species of birds, the best ones being along Prime Hook Rd. Following is our list from this morning. The (h) means the bird was only heard, but that is still a valid id. Of course we want everyone in the class to also get a good look at every bird species we encounter. The list sequence is in order of a recent American Ornithological Union's listing of North American Birds.

Canada Goose, American Black Duck, Mallard, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Greater Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Caspian Tern,  Forster's Tern,  Royal Tern,  Black Skimmer, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker (h), Northern Flicker,  Pileated Woodpecker (h), Eastern Wood-Pewee (h), Great Crested Flycatcher,  White-eyed Vireo (h),  Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren,  Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling,  Eastern Towhee (h), Northern Cardinal,  Red-winged Blackbird.

Next week we meet at the Gordon's Pond parking lot north of Rehoboth Beach. Drive to the beach north of the Henlopen Hotel and drive north along the beach until the road ends at the Gordon's Pond parking lot. A DE State park pass is required.