Henslow's Sparrow, Cliff Swallows-MA June 28th

Alan and I headed out to the Berkshires today to look at a colony of Cliff Swallows and decided to try and get the Henslow's Sparrow in Montague, MA since it was pretty much on the way.

Snipet of info on this sparrow from Birds of North America:

Upon arrival at the nesting grounds, the male begins singing day or night, rain or shine, perched or concealed. He cocks his tail down, elevates his head, and expels with a bodily shutter one of the shortest songs of any songbird.

That is exactly what this little guy was doing when we got there in an attempt I am sure to establish his territory and find himself a mate. He didn't wow a mate, but he wowed the dozen or so birders who were there when we were.

I have a video below that will demonstrate some of the behaviour Birds of North America was referring to but I have to warn you, IT IS TERRIBLE!!! You see, I didn't get home until 1:30 last night and had to get up at 4:30 so had already had a cup of strong French Roast and a Turbo from Dunkin's so I had the shakes really bad. Plus, the scope had to be up high enough so I could see it which meant I was on my tip toes (sometimes I wish I were a couple inches taller) and had to angle the camera in such a way that it was angled down from the lens but steady it with my elbows which meant for a very shaky video. If you are prone to dizziness, than I STRONGLY suggest you not watch it as it could make you nauseous.




HA.........Dizzy yet????? Yes folks, I think its time for me to cut back on the caffeine!

My pictures came out lousy but they are record shots. Here is a photo of the sparrow with a Bobolink in the background. Another birder that was there told us that the Bobolinks were harassing the Henslow's off an on all morning.

Giving it' call out to the audience!

Next it was onto Adams, Massachusetts to see if we could go see the Cliff Swallow colony that is on someones barn.

As you can see, the homeowner doesn't seem bothered by their choice of dwelling at all!

My second lifer of the day the Cliff Swallow! This is a juvie and you can some of its downy feathers right near its breast.

Another pose. They really seem to like the telphone wires.

A picture of one of the many nests.

We observed countless swallows flying into and out of the nests while we were there.

A shot of the quaint New England barn.

On our way to see the Henslow's Sparrow we came across this Turkey Vulture above who was feasting on porcupine!

While we were at the colony we ran into Sheila and Mark who told us about some American Kestrel's who were located near their nest box a couple of streets down from where we were. We searched aimlessly for it but couldn't find it. We did see plenty of cows though including the one above.

Posing eloquently for the camera!

Along with this poor sould who was getting harassed by flies. I know how she feels!

It was a fantastic day despite lack of sleep. The Berkshires is one of my favorite places in Massachusetts which I had forgotten since I haven't been there in so long.

Take care everyone and have a great week!