Evening Birding-Sutton & Grafton

I decided to delay grocery shopping another day and instead head out to do some birding. I figured I would try Purgatory Chasm again and hiked about 3 miles of it which was wonderful because there were not half as many people there as this past weekend so it was nice and peaceful. One of the 1st birds I would hear were the many Blue-headed Vireo's that were scattered throughout Charlie's Trail in which I counted 4 in total. I would attempt to take pictures of the 1st one but then gave up after a while because while the bird would be kind enough to hop down briefly for a look at it w/ my binoculars, it was in no mood for pictures and given it was going to be evening soon, I figured it would be best to move on to get the most of the little daylight hours that would remain. I would also hear the familiar call of a Red-breasted Nuthatch which was nice because I hadn't heard one of those since the Uxbridge Christmas Bird Count.

The Pine Warblers would be everywhere and one of the nicest things about birding Purgatory is that some of the trails are almost the same elevation as the higher tree branches which means you can actually see these warblers which is saying a lot because the Pine Warbler is not one who likes to venture down low. While the picture above isn't great, I was happy with the fact that I would actually get a photo of it's body this time as opposed to its butt which has been the norm this year with this particular warbler. Another plus would be seeing my 1st female Pine Warbler and actually being able to identify it! She was not making a peep but I would see movement in a pine tree and low and behold there she was. It just goes to show that studying those field guides definitely pays off (allthough I do have to admit it wasn't that hard as there are not that many warblers to chose from this time of the year).
After that I decided to head to St Philips and I would be welcomed by both a Brown Thrasher and Northern Mockingbird in the midst of what appeared to be a singing competition. Both were belting out their songs and not getting a breath in edge wise and were so loud they would drown out all of the American Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds and other birds combined. So funny to see and hear!
As you can see in the photo above he is really belting out those tunes!!
Another highlight would be seeing my 1st Barn Swallow of the year. It would be by itself in the midst of over 20 Tree Swallows who were all away from the wetlands and actually hawking for insects I was very impressed in being able to get a fairly clear shot of the bird with my first shot as these birds can be quicker than the Tree Swallow and that's saying a lot!
All in all, a much better way to spend an evening vs the grocery store. Besides who needs kitchen staples when you can have take out pizza! ;-)

Take care all.