Small-billed Elaenia

Whew! 

Apologies for the delayed posting - it's been quite the week! Eight days in eight states, including three full travel days (two planes each) and the remaining five days included over 1600 miles by car. Texas to Wisconsin to Illinois, back to Wisconsin, to Oregon, to Washington, back to Oregon, to New Jersey, to Pennsylvania, to New York, back to New Jersey, and home to Texas. 

Dec 1

I took an evening flight to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in order to try for the Small-billed Elaenia which was being seen at Waukegon Beach Park, right on Lake Michigan, between Milwaukee and Chicago. I'd posted on my Facebook, asking if I knew anyone in the Milwaukee area who might be able to put me up for a night. My friend Glenna had a friend with space, but it ended up being a bit too far out of the way for it to work well logistically. 

I reached my layover in Dallas, and upon landing, received a text message from some really fun clients I'd had in the Rio Grande Valley last March. Colette and Kris were reaching out to let me know they'd just heard about the Elaenia, which had been there about four days now, and they wanted to make sure I knew about it. Yes! Yes, I know about it- and I just landed in Dallas en route to Milwaukee! Well, it just so happened that they live in Milwaukee, and they offered to pick me up from the airport, drive me to their house for the night, and go with me to see the bird tomorrow morning. Perfect! Except - there was one concern about the arrangement. They'd need to leave to head back to Milwaukee no later than 10:30 am for a commitment they had. I thought it over a bit, and decided it was worth the risk. Most days, the bird was being seen by 8:30 am. Worst case scenario, they'd take me back to the airport before noon, I'd rent a car, and turn around and head down to try for the bird again. 

Dec 2

I'd gotten in late, slept soundly, and we were on the road early the next morning, to get there by 8 am. Arriving shortly before, the bird had not been seen yet, which was to be expected, based on the behavior from the prior days. 

We waited, and the crowd grew, from six to twelve to probably around twenty birders. 8:30, no bird. 9:00, no bird. 9:15, no bird. I started to worry. The reports from the last few days said that birders walked right up to the chain link fence and peered in, and that was the only way to see the bird, who didn't seem to mind the presence of birders despite being just ten feet from the bird. After some discussion with the other birders, Rob and I walked up to the fence and peered in. 

Sure enough, there it was! Small-billed Elaenia! 

We motioned for the other birders to join, and everyone got close, though somewhat obscured looks, through the handful of yew bushes that apparently comprised this bird's full habitat. Once everyone had looks, I gifted personal safety alarms to all the women birders present. 

Afterwards, we drove to a spot two miles away, which has European Goldfinches. They are not countable currently, but may be some day. I'm totally not into introduced species - I've added so many lifer parrot species to my list this year, out of necessity. If you've been reading my blog, you'll know that I "missed" Common Myna on my January trip to Florida (before I knew I was doing a big year), because I failed to look up from my phone, at the intersection where my travel companion had gotten his lifer. As for the goldfinches, however, I figured I may as well see them since they were so close. 

We headed north a bit to look for Glaucous Gull, and dipped. They returned me to the airport, and I took an afternoon flight to Portland, Oregon! I'd be staying with my friends Dave & Shawneen, and Dave picked me up from the airport around 9 pm Pacific time. I was exhausted already. A 5:00 am alarm was set to head up for Slaty-backed Gull in Washington. 

Year List: 709