The Curious Birder

Nantucket CBC

2012-01-06T18:44:00.018-05:00

Steve and I set out to Nantucket via a ferry from Hyannis the Thursday before New Years to take part in the CBC that was schedule for New Years Eve Day.

Steve would take his car with him so we could drive around before hand for birding and of course to have on the day of the CBC so off the car went and into the ferry with us in tow!

The seas would be calm at first and the winds bearable for me despite my sensitivity to cold if I'm not moving around so it was nice to be outside and watch the birds go by but soon enough the wind would get my hands cold and when that happens I'm useless so off I went inside to warm up.

But not crazy man Steve though who roughed the frigid air, high winds and rough sees in his Korean army jacket in an effort to do some sea birding which is one of his favorite things to bird. I felt like a light weight in comparison as I stood in the safety of the heated ferry pathetically trying to do the same inside with my binoculars much to the curiosity of ferry goers, but I wasn't alone as there were a couple of other birders doing the same so I didn't look like the only freak.

The next morning we'd set out to do some birding but of course not without coffee so off we went to the center of town to try and find a place as there are no Dunkin Donut's or Starbucks on the island of Nantucket much to my dismay.

But we would finally find a place that served a nifty cappuccino if I do say so myself!!

Being property caffeinated off we went to do some birding with the first stop being near water of course as that's why we went to Nantucket in the first place.

The weather would be warm compared to Worcester County but not warm enough for swimming so I had to chuckle to myself when I saw the sign above as who in their right mind would swim in weather like this and in late December no less.

I would soon find out as some dude comes out of the middle of nowhere like a Baywatch star and takes a daring plunge in the frigid ocean!!!

Next we'd go to calmer waters to look for ducks, loons, etc and we wouldn't be disappointed as there would be Common Loons, Pied-billed Grebes and quite a few ducks.

Including the very handsome Hooded Mergansers above. After scoping that place out for a bit we decided to move on as we had a lot to cover in a limited amount of time.

On our way to our next destination we'd come across the Red-tailed Hawk above who proceeded to give Steve the "hairy eyeball" as he hung out of his sun roof in order to get some decent pictures of the bird.

After that it would be another coffee stop and the center of town to do some birding along the harbor.

We would not be disappointed as there would be scores of birds nearby including the very cooperative Red-throated Loon above. How cool is that! There would be many gulls nearby including quite a few Herring Gulls and a couple of Bonaparte's Gulls which was very exciting considering I'd never gotten a really good look at them so this would be a treat for me.

There would be one in particular who was not at all camera shy as Steve and I inched up closer to get some pictures at it. I would be swooning very hard at this point and could feel the feeling I get in my heart that happens when I encounter a really cool bird which causes me to feel a little light headed as I drink it all in. Sigh, I'd tell Steve this would be my favorite bird for the month of December as what could trump that!

We had to meet up with one of the CBC organizers to find out our circle and he and a falconer were kind enough to let us see the captive Peregrine Falcon near the airport they use for bird scaring and control much to my delight as I miss my Worcester ones deeply.

Swoon and here it would be eating away an not at all frightened by us being so close. Another treat but wouldn't trump the Bonaparte's due to it being captive.

Our circle included many places away from the water so we decided to scout it out a little and pish out some passerines including the MANY Yellow-rumped Warblers like the one above. Grrrr....Even in the winter they are too elusive for me to get a half way decent picture, little buggers.

After a considerable amount of time scouting that area we decided to head to the ocean part of our circle as you can see passerines anytime, so off to the water we went!

Steve would be scoping as I looked about with my bins when suddenly he located a Dovekie!!! He got me on the bird for me to get a half assed look at it as it was in the water and the waves were rough so all I could see what this fat little bird that looked as if it were drowning. He ran to his car to get his camera and by the time he had come back I had lost the bird.

There would be quite a few Sanderlings on the beach and I'd periodically take a look at them when suddenly, I could see a cute, fat little bird that looked like.....Well...... A Dovekie!!!! "What's that", I'd ask Steve, as Dovekie's aren't known to be on the shore so I doubted what I saw based solely on its behaviour. It's the Dovekie Steve would say as we both looked at it amazed that it was so close. He'd start heading down the wooden stairs to the sand where it and the Sanderlings were shouting that it must be injured as it looked as if it were struggling so off he was to go save the poor little bird. I'd follow behind with camera in tow all in an effort to document the daring rescue as who else in the blogasphere would have something as cool as this to share!!!!! The Dovekie decided to take off at that point much to our frustration as we wanted better looks but we were happy that it appeared to be okay! The picture above is a Sanderling shot I got before the Dovekie arrived as I wasn't thinking when that bird was on the sand as I was too astonished to whip out my camera. HA.

We'd be scanning again and I'd be on bin duty and the darn bird would be close to shore again so off we went back down the wooden stairs to finally get pictures of it!

Steve running toward the cute little Dovekie!!

The cute little Dovekie!!!!! Let me tell you the waters look calm in this picture but they were far from it. I would sit there with my breath held in as I'd see it get sunk by large folding waves and furiously scan the waters to see if it made it back up and after a few tense moments it always did. Add to the fact there were a couple of Great Backed-backed Gulls flying overhead and I'd be a nervous as a mother hen as I'd developed quite the bond with the bird in the brief time I saw it. Steve would be in his element at this point and actually be sprawled out on the sand and in the zone as he furiously took pictures. Id' watch him as the ocean continued to get closer and closer to him and I'd warn him to be careful as the water was getting getting near. Steve would be in the zone though and get wet which caused him to do a back somersault to escape the water assault!

But it would be no use as you can see in the photo above. HA

There would also be other birds around including this adult Iceland Gull above. Sigh, what a fantastic experience this would be and yes the Dovekie would trump the Bonaparte's Gull as my favorite bird for the month of December as how could it not!

We'd end a wonderful day by a crow roost Steve had located. American Crows would be everywhere as the sunset which was so nice.

We'd be famished at this point so off we went to the center of town for a bite to eat. Let me tell you Nantucket is quaint enough with the cobblestone streets, but the Christmas lights made it almost magical! Off we went to get some sleep as we'd have an early start tomorrow as one of Steve's favorite things to bird for are owls!

We'd set off at about 4AM and to my horror there would be nothing open for coffee, so I'd try and caffeinate myself with some chocolate covered espresso beans. No matter how many I ate though, I wasn't getting my jolt and my stomach kind of ached due to eating about 15 of them :-p so Steve would go outside and do his calling as I sat in the car with the window unrolled listening and realizing just how useless I am in the wee hours of the morning without a hot cup of strong coffee. It was still nice to get out there and we did manage to get two Northern Saw-whet Owls so getting up that early was worth it in the end.

Finally, the coffee place would be open as I ran in there like an alcoholic running to the liquor store and would get myself a triple cappuccino. Probably not the wisest thing to do considering I had eaten all of those espresso beans, but when have I ever been one to shy away from extremes. ;-)

We'd make our way to a ball field Steve had mentioned would be worth checking out the day before and sure enough he'd be right as SCORES of gulls would be everywhere. The majority of gulls would be the Lesser Black-backed Gulls and second would be Iceland Gulls followed by Herring and a couple of Great Black-backed and it would almost be too much to take in. An added bonus would be a good look at a Glaucous Gull which would be a life bird for me so I'd be very happy. There would be so many Lesser Black-backed that we'd be questioning the ID even though they were clearly the right bird but it just didn't make sense as how could there be so many of them in comparison to the Great Black-backed???? We'd soon find out that Lesser Black-backed Gulls are more common in Nantucket than Great Black-backed Gulls. How cool is that!!

Anyhow, back to topic. Steve and I would both be transfixed at this point, as my coffee had now kicked in and I could actually concentrate. Add to the fact that gulls are my second favorite breed of bird (raptors being first of course), and I was in my element. Steve loves gulls too so we sat in his car like a couple of under cover cops doing a beat as we stalked the gulls and passed around the biscotti and washed it down with some Starbucks Frapacinno's (yes, more caffeine, HA)

We eventually pulled ourselves away from the gulls and headed toward the place we had the Dovekie the day before hoping we'd spot it again for the count. There would be no cute little Dovekie, but we would get many gulls including more Lesser Black-backed and Iceland. There would also be scoters, loons and others but the most notable for me would be the many Northern Gannet's which I was happy I could now ID even far away just by flight behaviour by all the sea birding Steve and I have done over the past couple of months.

After that we'd hit a really cool place and decide to get out of the car to see if we could flush anything out of the sea grasses, with rails being top on the list as Steve's passion is rails and whenever he sees sea grass he has to investigate so off we went!

We'd see no rails, but we did get a good look at the juvenille Cooper's Hawk above which was nice considering the only raptor we had for the count were a couple of Red-tailed Hawks.

We'd end the day by the crow roost again to do a count of them for the count. It would be pouring rain at this point so windows would be rolled up with the sound of heavy rain drops beeting against the car, but Steve would look at the radar on his phone and pin point the exact time it should stop. I'd be eating again at this point and smile at him thinking, "sure, whatever you say honey" ;-) and then suddenly, one minute after his prediction, the rain would stop and the sun would come out. Hmmmmmmmmm.....Maybe I should learn how to interpret radar after all. HA

It would be so nice to get out of the car despite the crow roost now being a bust compared to the night before as the weather was warm and we were greeted to a beautiful rainbow!

We'd walk around after that and I heard something I thought was an American Robin which had us all excited as we hadn't gotten one all day. Steve would start running to the general location as I followed suit as the sun was setting fast, and we really wanted that for the count so time was of the essence! We'd never be able to confirm if I did in fact hear a robin, but we did manage to pick up a Northern Cardinal which was nice as that would be the first one we'd have all day believe it or not.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend and nice to do a bird count outside of Worcester county and experience the birds that at one point were foreign to me. I couldn't think of a better way to end the year and begin the next one and with better company than Steve.

Take care all

Athol CBC

2011-12-19T12:42:00.000-05:00

Steve and I set out to Dave's house on Friday night to begin the Athol Bird Count Saturday morning with a very early 2:30AM start for owls. Dave would already have coffee prepared which much appreciated as 2:30 was mighty early for rising, even for me!

Our first stop would be a place for a potential Long-eared Owl (Asio otus (previously: Strix otus ))which would have made me very happy as it would be a life bird for me. We'd get out of the truck out in the middle of nowhere and suddenly hear the sound of some wing fluttering and annoyed calls coming from a few American Robins (Turdus migratorius) who we must have disturbed from their roost. Steve would start with his Long-eared Owl call as we all listened carefully in hopes for a response. Next he'd do his Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) call and that too wouldn't yield any results so off we went to a couple more spots before making out way to Quabbin.

It would still be pitch black as it wasn't even 5:00AM yet and the first thing that struck me was that Quabbin is just as beautiful in the dead of night as it is during the day. It would be somewhat erie though as we'd get out in chosen spots and Steve would start with his call in hopes for some owls and it wouldn't take us long to get a Barred Owl (Strix varia), which was very nice as it would be a FOY for me believe it or not.

Another stop we would make would be a spot I was pretty familiar with from Tom's Quabbin trips and that too would look lovely with the moon lighting the reservoir and the distant sound of coyotes that could be heard nearby making it all the more surreal. We'd drive a bit more and pick up one more Barred Owl as well as an unidentified mouse of some sort making a racket in some nearby leaves but that would be about it much to our disappointment. Not that I was overly disappointed of course as this would be my first time owling before a CBC and did pick up my FOY Barred and got to see Quabbin in the dead of night which is something I'll never forget because it was so cool.

Soon enough 6AM would come so it was off to Cinnamon's, in Athol for some much needed breakfast for fuel as well as more caffeine of course for the day.

Steve and I teamed up with Dave and Shelley to do circle 13 and we'd stay as one unit at first and hit some of the local bird feeders nearby which yielded some pretty impressive results as far as high counts for both Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) and more American Robins as both species of birds could be seen on nearby trees as well as flying overhead.

Soon enough we'd split up and Steve and I would head out to some nearby woods to do some birding by foot. We'd do things high tech and Dave would give us one of his two way radios just in case something of interest would pop up or if we'd get lost (not that that would happen of course ;-)).

Despite it being a tad more brisk than what we've been spoiled with recently, the walk in the woods was lovely with the only sound being the crunching of leaves beneath our feet and the notable absence of any birds as we made our way along the trail.

Soon enough sleet would start to fall which seemed only fitting as what's a New England CBC especially in North County without snow, sleet or freezing rain!

We'd come to an area where we could hear some Golden-crowned Kinglets (Regulus satrapa) so Steve would do some pishing to see if we could get them in closer for a count. It wouldn't take long for other passerines to respond to the pishing with the most notable being two male Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus), Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) and of course the always reliable Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus).

After pishing there for a bit, we'd do some serious bush whacking in search of owls in various evergreens and while we didn't find any, we'd come to an area where were hear more chickadees which brought in quite a few Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) as well as a couple of Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis).

Soon enough we'd meet up with Dave and Shelley again who'd tell us that not only did they pick up a Common Raven (Corvus corax), but a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) much to our envy as both Steve and I were hoping for a raptor while out in the woods.

We'd stop at a couple of lovely, quaint homes including one with the sign above where we would see plenty of bird activity over by the feeders so we got out of the car to investigate.

Where we would see many House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), a couple of Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) and another Common Raven.

Soon enough Dave would head back to the house to get things in order for the tally at the end of the day so Steve, Shelley and I would hit a few other places in hopes for more birds. It wouldn't take us long to realize there weren't that many birds at all, but we made the best of things and Steve would set up his scope to scan the waters for waterfowl which we'd never find.

I'd be downright chilly at this point so a Dunkin's stop for a Dunkachino was a must!!! It would be here that we'd find our first Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) as well our first Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) of the day much to our excitement (especially Steve's), despite it not being in our circle. Steve would be so thrilled with the discovery that he would have been happy to stay there a bit longer to look for gulls (swoon), but it was getting close to lunch so off we went.

After lunch at a local watering hole that had some real nifty beers to chose from it was off to Doane's Falls in hopes for better luck than what we had at the lake.

There would once again be no birds but the scenery here would help make up for some of that.

As you can see in the picture above.

And this picture too. Seriously, one of the nicest places I've been in a while and something I'd really like to see when the weather is nicer as it seems like the perfect place to get out and canoe in.

We'd make our way back to Dave's and stop every so often as we'd see a lot of passerine activity in nearby yards with the most notable being the MANY Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) so Steve would get out his scope in hopes of finding a Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) amongst the large flock. We wouldn't find one, but did manage to get some pretty respectable numbers along this route including the regulars but also two bonus Red-breasted Nuthatches ( Sitta canadensis), which was most welcoming as it would be another FOY for me.

Soon enough we'd get to Dave's, grab our stuff and follow their car so we could head to Quabbin again and along the way we'd spot an adult male Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) in the picture above which made me very happy as I didn't have much of an opportunity to get many bird pictures so this was an added bonus.

We'd finally get to Quabbin where we'd see quite a few Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) as well as a couple of Common Loons (Gavia immer) like the one above.

One of our final stops for the day where Steve would spot a couple more Bald Eagles as well as one single Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), much to our delight as this would be a first for this bird count which was very cool.

We'd end the day by once again trying for a Saw-whet Owl, but once again it would be a "no go". This would be the first time I'd do the Athol CBC and enjoyed every minute of it so was happy we decided to attend.

Next up will be the Nantucket CBC which I am already excited about and promise plenty of pics and a blog entry so stay tuned for that and happy holidays everyone.

Take care all and I hope you enjoyed my Latin ;-).

Thanksgiving Weekend Birding

2011-11-29T11:44:00.000-05:00

Steve and I set out to do some birding this Thanksgiving weekend and headed to the great salt marshes of the South River in Marshfield to once again take advantage of the new moon tide in hopes it would bring in some rails or bitterns. The weather was completely different since we did this last time last month and the waters much calmer as we set the canoe into the water to start our journey.

All would be relatively calm as we drank in the morning and Steve would give me a refresher course on how to row which would be needed as I would soon find out!

Bird activity would be slow at this point but would see quite a few Bufflehead flying by and in the water as well as TONS of American Black Ducks and only a few Mallards which was fascinating to me considering it's just the opposite whenever I bird Central Massachusetts.

After rowing for a couple of hours we'd get into the weedier sections of the marshes as the tide continued to fill the marshes. Bird activity would pick up and we'd get a look at some Eastern Meadlowlarks which was a treat considering I never thought I'd see even one in November!

After much canoeing, Steve would find the perfect spot to settle into to see what birds would appear. It's all fairly strategic and something I'm still learning but Steve has been doing this for so long that he can tell the difference between the different types of sea grasses and which types of grasses different species of birds prefer and what time to get there in conjunction with the tide waters, etc...etc.... I took his word for it and opened up the bag of Italian cookies for fuel after all that rowing. ;-). It wouldn't take long to get some birds including a lifer for me which was a Seaside Sparrow! The bird would be too quick and hunkered down in grass for pics, but I did get a good look at it which was really nice as it's such a striking bird.

We'd also hear a Sora calling for an added bonus as well as see some Common Snipe which is always nice.

After spending a considerable amount of time out in the marshes it was time to head back and this time the wind would be on our side which was nice as we were both rather tired at this point! So all in all, we would row 7.2 miles (and in some areas where the mashes were so thick it as like rowing through mud) and would spend 6.2 hours in the canoe and while we didn't get many birds with it being November, it was a fantastic way to spend on a warm late fall day and something I'm looking forward to doing again.

After that it would be off to the Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary with a pit stop to Dunkin Donuts for food and coffee as we were both starving and while stuck in traffic we'd get rear ended by someone much to our horror as we still had more birding to do!!!! We'd pull over in the Dunkin's parking lot to exchange papers and would be relieved to see only minor damage to Steve's car and even the canoe seemed to be okay. I don't know what it is about the canoe, but whenever we have it something weird happens. We'd get a flat tire last month and now a fender bender. Who knows what will come next. HA ;-).

We'd finally make our way to Daniel Webster and the first thing we'd see were the numerous Canada Geese that seemed to be everywhere!!!

It would be around here that we'd see a Red-shouldered Hawk fly by which is always an added bonus! Another bonus would be a "pumpkin" Northern Harrier looking as dashing as ever with all of it's pretty fall coloring which seems rather suiting this time of the year.

We'd make our way to a certain spot to just chill and enjoy the sunset and we'd be treated to seeing numerous blackbirds flying by on their way to their roosting site as well as hundreds of American Robins doing the same as the sky continued to turn pink and it felt more like a nice day in May than a day in November!

Soon enough the sun had disappeared and it was time to head back to the car. We'd be walking along the path and could hear the Canada Geese honking away and both of us would be deep in thought and just listening. Suddenly I'd hear a noise and think it was Steve's phone even though it was to the far left of us as he has a ring tone for a Barn Owl so I'd wait for him to answer but instead he looked at me and I at him and realized it wasn't the phone but the real deal which would explain why it sounded louder to me! We'd stop dead in our tracks in hopes of getting it again, but it would be around this time that some of the f*&#*@* Canada Geese would decide to take flight and all we would hear was more hoking and the sound of wing beats as they flew by. I'll go on record and say this and admit if I wasn't a birder, and heard that call, I'd be petrified as it's not at all pretty like the Great Horned or Barred.....An amazing sound just the same and the perfect way to end a perfect day.

After that it was the drive back with a stop at the grocery store as both of us were still starving. We'd grab more food than we could eat including a whole loaf of bread and a block of cheese and inhale most of it, but heck we needed it after all of that rowing! ;-)

The next day we'd head out to Lakeville for more birds, coffee, company and of course great weather! Our first stop would be the Oceanstate Cranberry corporate headquarters where we'd be treated to the most cooperative Great-blue Heron I've ever encountered! The bird would be perched on top of the bridge as we made our way near and we both expected it to fly but it didn't which caused us to stop dead in our tracks and get the cameras ready for pictures. Soon enough it would fly to the water with the Mallards and start hunting which allowed for some "killer views" and half way decent pics like the one above. We'd spend about 1/2 hour here watching it and in that time I realized, I really think heron feet are pretty cool!!

Soon enough it was off to Little Quitacus pond to scope for ducks and the first thing that struck me was just how pretty it was. We'd get quite a few birds here including quite a few Ring-necked Ducks, 5 Pied-billed Grebe and of course the always adorable Ruddy's!

And what would Thanksgiving weekend be without Santa of course!!! Seriously, this guy must have been sweating something fierce as it was already toasty outside. Wish we could have this weather all winter!

After waving to Santa it was off to Great Quittacus Pond in hopes for some Scaup which still continue to intimidate me. Steve and I would do the same thing as we did when we were sea watching which was set up our scopes on the same birds so we could discuss, compare, etc. After some scaup 101, I started getting the hang of it again and started being able to distinguish between the greater and lesser which was much appreciated as its something I really need to do every year but have been slacking lately.

Birds here:

87 Greater Scaup

14 Lesser Scaup

1 Pied-billed Grebe

6 Horned Grebe

15 Bufflehead

2 Common Goldeneye

6 Hooded Mergansers

The day would still be young so we decided to head to Assawompset Pond for hopeful loons, grebes and coot!

And it wouldn't take us long to realize we picked the perfect time to get there as there were quite a few birds and many were so close you could get killer looks at them with just the bins like the female Common Goldeneye above!! Seriously, I never realized how gorgeous these birds are until I saw them as close as I did. Even the female is striking and I love that golden eye!

There would also be one lone American Coot nearby that you could see with the naked eye which was very welcoming considering my experience with these birds have always been so so views and lousy pictures, but not this time as you can see in the picture above.

When we first got there, Steve would remark that it was odd we hadn't seen any Bald Eagles yet and I would nod in agreement but it wouldn't take us long to finally spot one and I'd be lucky in that my camera was already out as I stalked the goldeneye which allowed for this half way decent picture.

After spending a considerable amount of time here, we realized all of the birding we had done the past couple of days had tuckered us out so we plopped down right in the middle of the path to rest our legs some. Steve would be on his Blackberry doing our bird tally and I would still be stalking the goldeneye and I'd realize at that point just how lucky we were to be sitting there as comfortable as we were in late November with the temps as warm as they are. It makes for some lazy but very nice birding instead of freezing my a** off which is how I'm usually birding this late in the year!

Bird List:

3 Common Loon

7 Horned Grebe

12 Pied-billed Grebe

38 Common Goldeneye

27 American Coot

1 Double-crested Cormorant

6 Common Mergansers

8 Hooded Mergansers

1 Adust Bald Eagle

We'd make one more stop for passerines and we'd see one more Red-shouldered and Steve would roll down his sunroof for better looks and pics, but all of mine came out lousy. I still can't get over all of the Red-shouldered we had seen those two days as I usually get one or two a year tops so it was most welcoming.

Our final stop would be Cumbies which would be very quiet except for some model airplanes and a few hunters. The highlight would be another Northern Harrier perched upon a hay bale which made me happy as I'm so used to seeing these birds in flight that its not often I see them which allowed for views I normally don't see with this type of bird.

All in all a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving weekend and better than shopping any day as far as I'm concerned!!!

Take care all.

Parking Lot Birding-Including the Fish Crow

2011-11-13T17:47:00.004-05:00

I decided to to a little birding this morning with my first stop being Price Chopper in hopes for the Fish Crow Alan had spotted early last week. I wasn't holding out much hope as I had struck out on it earlier in the week but figured I had some time to wait for it which is what I did. There would be American Crows everywhere including the American Crow above who was in hot pursuit of a Cooper's Hawk getting ready to dive bomb it and of course, they would both fly out of view before I could get a decent shot. Funny because just last month I was talking about never seeing a crow go after an accipiter before so this was a first for me and so cool to see in the parking lot of a grocery store!

I'd get my bins on all crows hoping for the Fish Crow but I would strike out at first so watched the American Crows which never bores me. The one above was fascinated with the Honey Dew Donuts Cup above and I was curious as to why.

And this is what it would do!! It appears to be attempting to peck at the bottom in hopes of getting a taste of some of the leftover iced coffee that was hopefully left behind, now that's my kind of bird. HA. It's reasons like the picture above on why I love crows so much. So entertaining to observe.

There would be one crow in particular that caught my eye as it was by itself, smaller than the other crows and didn't fly away when I got my car close to it which was very characteristic of the Fish Crow I saw last year at the same location. Soon enough another would join but take off to join the gulls but I would continue to stalk this one in hopes for a call. After about 10 minutes it finally made the call which confirmed to me my suspicions of it being the Fish Crow I wanted, but was bummed it wasn't as cooperative as the one last year.

In the 20 minutes of so I was there, I'd see tons of gulls including this handsome guy above.

I'd also get my first ever green Quabbin Ring-billed Gull but the tag was so worn you couldn't even make out a number much to my frustration. There would also be an adult tagged Wachusett Ring-billed which was number 409 so I will be reporting that this week to find out the story behind it. Also my first ever Herring Gull at Price Chopper which I thought was pretty cool.

Some of you may be aware of Price Choppers new grand opening in conjunction with their major renovations, but how many of you noticed this?? HA, there are two of them on the roof and I do have to say, they are some of the most deformed owls I have ever seen! Speaking of owls, I'm happy to report I finally got my FOY Great Horned Owl Wednesday night with Steve. It would be on the dead snag in his yard calling away but it was light enough out to watch which was so cool to see as I'd never seen it before so it was a very special treat.

After that it would be a quick stop to Broad Meadow Brook in Worcester in hopes for the Fox Sparrow I am longing to see. I'd hit the powerline trail first as that's where I'd seen it before, but all would be bare except for the largest Dark-eyed Junco flock I have ever seen with my guesstimate ranging in the low 40's! All would be on the ground and feeding on something but I could never figure out what it was.

I did get my FOS American Tree Sparrow though which was nice but wish I could have gotten a better picture.

Take care all

New Feeder from Wild Birds Unlimited

2011-11-08T17:10:00.002-05:00

Winner of the Feeder Giveaway is Beachgrl!!! Please email me your email address at kallen305@gmail.com so I can forward it onto Wild Birds Unlimited. Congratulations!

Wild Birds Unlimited contacted me regarding an exciting opportunity to review some of their top of the line products and with winter bird feeding well underway I figured who was I to refuse such a generous offer. After spending a lot of time on their site and looking at all of their fabulous products I decided to try out on of their EcoClean bird feeders whose "products feature a patented technology that inhibits the surface growth of damaging bacteria, mold and other microbes. This protection won’t wash or wear away, and it uses environmentally friendly technology", which was a big win/win as far as I was concerned.

The final product I would chose was the EcoClean Medium Seed Tube Feeder

Let me tell you I was impressed by the feeder the moment I took it out of the box due to how heavy it is. I can't tell you how many feeders I've gone through during winter due to cheap plastic which doesn't do well in New England winters and can tell right away this feeder will be with me for years to come as it appears as if it can take a harsh winter beating which is what we've been having lately so another big plus for the feeder.

Another HUGE plus is the fact that the feeder opens from both the bottom and top. After having that horrible finch eye disease epidemic at my feeders two years ago, I am neurotic about making sure my bird stations are clean during winter feeding as I don't want a repeat of it, but sometimes the feeders can be hard to clean which won't happen to this feeder due to this key feature.

And the other added protection of course which is the patented antimicrobial product protection which was a big selling point for me.

So was I happy with the product. While I can't speak for the birds just yet ;-), I can tell you the product exceeded my expectations as far as overall quality and how nice looking it is.

In fact, I was so impressed I decided to start my winter feeding an entire month before I normally do. The feeder is filled with the Wild Birds Unlimited Choice Blend Wild Bird Seed so we'll see how the birds like it and pray the squirrels don't find it anytime soon. ;-).

And just when you think it can't get any better it does. That's right folks, you too can have the chance to have this feeder or any other product of your choosing (valued at $50.00 or under) as part of a giveaway I'm doing on my blog in conjunction with Wild Birds Unlimited.

Here is how you enter (mandatory)

Go to the Wild Birds Unlimited Website and look at their fabulous products and come back to my blog and comment on the one(s) you liked most. I will even make it easy for you and post some of the links I liked the most:

Wild Bird Feeders One

Window Bird Feeders

Quick Clean Bird Feeder

Wild Bird Seed

Thistle Bird Seed

Black Oil Sunflower Seed

You can also increase your chances of winning by doing the following:

Become a fan of Wild Birds Unlimited on Facebook and/or Twitter

Subscribe to their monthly newsletter (the yellow box on the right hand side of your monitor)

Drawing will next Friday, November 18th and I will announce the winner on my blog then.

Even if you don't win, visit http://shop.wbu.com for great holiday gifts!

Take care all!

Owling Cumberland Farms

2011-11-06T05:28:00.010-05:00

Steve and I decided to hit Cumberland Farms in Middleboro Saturday night in hopes for some owls with the Short-eared Owl being at the top of our list. We'd get there a little before five and still see a hand full of hunters as well as two people flying their model airplanes much to our dismay as it can be a little distracting, but do have to admit those airplanes are nothing like the ones I used to buy for the kids at Radio Shack as they are top notch toys so was kind of fun to see.

We'd set up shop at the sh*t pit and it wouldn't take us long to see one of the many Northern Harriers around the place. There would even be two hunting together which was rather cool to see as I'd never seen them hunt in pairs before.

I'd be scanning the area with my bins and Steve would be scoping out the place and he'd come across a raptor in a far away tree who seemed the perfect candidate for a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk due to its overall shape , some white that could vaguely be seen at the base of its tail as well as how it was perched which was close to the tips as Peter Dunne (pronounced Dun ;-)) describes in his Field Guide Companion Page 172 as "When perched the bird very often sits on the springy tips of tree and shrubs", which this bird was doing so this would be a FOY for me and very nice to see as I don't see them often enough

Passerine activity would be somewhat light as the birds were getting prepared to roost and we would be near the roosting spot of the various sparrows which was entertaining to listen to as scores of sparrows could be heard doing their one note calls all at once to allow some comparison between the species and there would even be some birds attempting to break out into song and messing up the notes so it was most likely the juves getting in more practice before calling it an evening.

There would be more Northern Harriers coming and going with the most interesting of them being one I'd spot that had me confused as I could see some gray on the bird, but it wouldn't be nearly as striking as the "gray ghost" so it had me stumped. Steve would ID it as a subadult (basic 1) male which was very cool as I'd never seen it before. Not the gray ghost I longed to see but a very good substitute!

Soon enough the sun would start to set and the temps would drop but there would be no wind which made for perfect owling weather. Steve would finally spot one of the the Great Horned Owls we had heard earlier as well as a Short-eared Owl but of course the little bugger would disappear before I could get my bins on it.

Despite the dark skies we'd see a lone Great-blue Heron fly by as well as a small flock of American Black Ducks and a single Wilson's Snipe which was probably part of the larger flock we'd hear earlier calling over head.

Soon enough we'd be back on the road but would make one more stop along the way in hopes for an Eastern Screech-Owl. We'd come along an abandoned road, park the car and that's when things got a little weird. Steve would notice a car nearby and suddenly some dude comes out of no where with a flashlight looking at us and wondering what we were doing. To the right of this guy was another with a bunch of plastic bottles in the back of a pick up truck which he appeared to be doing something with. There would also be a half dozen or so dogs barking in the nearby yard to add to the weirdness factor. We exchanged cautious greetings as Steve explained to them we were looking for a screech and one of them mumbled his disbelief as the other told us he had one a few days ago so off we went as quickly as we could. We'd make our way along the road and Steve would tell me if we heard banjo music we should make a run for it and there would be crap everywhere. Abandoned trucks, tires, small children's tables and more tires that never seemed to end. To my relief we'd finally come to a nice quiet spot near water and Steve would attempt to call in a screech. After a while one would start calling back which was so cool to hear and well worth the short walk and the weirdos.

We'd make our way back and another dude was now there and he had on this big honkin white cowboy hat so we'd exchange small talk again and they explained to us they were adding some kind of metal to their truck which I still don't understand as they had no lighting except for a single flashlight and it was frickin cold out. Sheesh, and I thought I was odd....Sometimes it's nice to come across folks like that as it suddenly makes you realize just how normal you are when compared to others seriously.

We'd make our way back to 495 with a Dunkin's stop in between for cocoa and we would see deer everywhere making for an eerie drive as Steve would have his high beams on but you could see their forms and glowing eyes along the sides of the road. Caution would be in order at this point as we saw one hit on the drive to Cumbies and didn't want to add to the list, but these deer were smart enough not to get too close so it was nice to see.

So all in all, a great way to spend a Saturday night. I don't do much owling so it was fun to head out to somewhere different and with such great company. I had always been curious about Cumbies and am still in awe over how vast and beautiful it is and am looking forward to seeing it again.

Our official list for the evening

Northern Harrier - 6 including one sub-adult male

Rough-legged Hawk - 1 Dark individual

Black-bellied Plover - 1 calling overhead at dusk

Killdeer - 3 calling over head at dusk

Wilson's Snipe - 5 calling overhead at dusk

Great-blue Heron - 1

Great-horned Owl - 2

Short-eared Owl - 1

Red-winged Blackbird - 60

Summer Street:1 Eastern Screech Owl.

Precinct Street: we had 22 Wild Turkeys.

Take care all

Birding First Encounter Beach, Chatham MA

2011-10-31T19:34:00.001-04:00

Gannet's Galore!

Steve and I decided to head to First Encounter Beach yesterday to catch the guaranteed seabird show the storm would bring in and get away from the snow which was a win/win as far as I was concerned.

We'd leave before dawn fueled by turbo and conversation and be driving along Route 6 when suddenly Steve would come to a stop, look at me and tell me we had to turn around. Okay, I say, unsure of why. I see a bird, Steve would tell me and I'd be puzzled why I hadn't seen it. It's dead, he'd tell me as he's doing a quick You Turn on what is called Suicide Alley due to all of the fatalities in the past. Of course he waited until all traffic was clear which wasn't hard as there weren't many people on the road, but it was funny just the same.

The poor bird would turn out to be a Brant. Steve would get it ready for pose and I watched and noticed the head trauma it appeared to have received and a feeling of sadness would take hold as we hadn't even gotten deep into the Cape yet and we were already seeing the effects it had on the avian population. While seeing the bird dead was depressing, it did allow for a really good look at its field marks which are rather striking and something one can't normally appreciate as they are usually so far away.

After that it would be off to First Encounter Beach which Steve thought would be mobbed but the only person there would be Blair already busy in count.

It would take a while to set up the birding station for the day as Steve went to work grabbing this gadget and that, making sure the car was set up at the right direction for best viewing, etc and soon enough he'd be done with the front part of the station where he would be at.

And then do the same in the back seat where I would be and directly behind him. After a short lesson on how to adjust the scope we would be ready to scan the already hundreds of birds that were in view.

The weather was soupy, windy and cold but despite that, viewing was pretty good and I was happy we were in the car vs. outside experiencing all of it.

An example of the conditions nearby. This would be the spot the gulls and terns would be at as most of them besides the Bonaparte's Gulls would not be flying much.

The best shot I would get of the hundreds of Northern Gannet's we would see. This was such a treat because not only was I able to get good looks at the adults but the juvenile and 2nd year ones as well. There would be times when you could look up to the sky which would be peppered everywhere with these birds which was amazing.

It would be at this point, that Steve and I put our scopes in the same area so he could describe to me what birds we were seeing and point out the field marks I should try and focus on as I had no experience with neither Jaegers nor Shearwaters so this was all new to me, but after a while some of it would click and the birds would come closer to shore.

Including these Pomarine Jaegers above.

And this little guy who I was able to get a half way clear shot of which was so cool!

We would spend five hours in the car and when Steve told me the time I thought he was joking as it truly felt like an hour or two tops. Looking for seabirds would put me in the same zone as hawk watching but its a totally different animal in weather conditions like the ones we had as everywhere you put your scope or bins, you would see dozens of dozens of birds. One minute you have Gannet's, the next Shearwaters followed by Jaegers or Boneparte's Gulls which I was really able to enjoy and finally perfectly see those black wing tips and beautiful all white primaries making for a pretty contrast. There would be many other birds that I never got a decent look at like the Dovekies or the Great Skua Blair would find which kind of bummed me out as I think the Dovekies are so adorable and after Steve told me he once saw a Skua drowned and eat a Great Black-backed Gull I was intrigued but alas, there's always next time with the weather we've been having lately.

After that we decided to do a Dunkin's run and head to Provincetown now that the skies were starting to clear. We'd decide to get out of the car and brave the very strong winds and sat on the sand and take in the day.

We'd be treated to a decent Sanderling show nearby as we watched them in awe because not only could they forage for food in these extreme wind conditions, but fly in them too!

Next would come the scoters which made me VERY happy. Scoters are another thing I need work on considering I don't see them often and we would be blessed as small flocks would continuously fly by allowing for some Scoter 101 I am in desperate need of. After a while ID'ing the Black Scoters and White-winged Scoters was fairly easy, but still continued to struggle with the Surf, but two out of three aint bad at this point! ;-). I'd also see Northern Gannet's dive bombing which would again be a first for me and was fascinating to see.

Soon enough it was back to the car with wind burned cheeks and cold toes as we headed to the center of P-town for more birds and chowder.

On our way out we'd be treated to a very nice view of this Merlin who was cooperative enough to stick around long enough for a photo!

The waters would be much calmer here but the same can't be said for the winds. We'd see birds everywhere taking it easy after the storm which allowed for some nice views and pictures including these very cooperative Common Eiders above.

And there would be gulls galore which as some of you long term readers of my blog know, makes me very happy as I love these brazen birds including this Great Black-backed Gull

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A real feast for the eyes with the many Blackies and a couple of Herring's thrown in for good measure.

Soon enough it was time to for chowder as we were both rather cold at this point. We'd make our way along the peer when suddenly Steve would get that look in his eye again which can only mean one thing. ANOTHER DEAD BIRD. He'd look at me sheepishly as I followed along already feeling sorry for the poor creature as it laid limply on the sand.

I'd be used to the procedure by now as Steve got the bird pose ready and I prepared my camera for another record shot and wondered what happened to this one. Sigh, the life of birds can be so tough that's for sure, but it is very interesting to see.

And our final destination for the day which would be the Coffee Pot which seemed rather fitting considering our caffeine induced birding frenzies the past couple of days. I'd need to use the bathroom at this point and their's would be closed so I had to use the one across the street. I could never find it so needed help from the parking lot attendant who pointed to the sign PUBLIC BATHROOMS right in front of my face and then I'd head back and I'd be locked out of the joint. Confusion would set in as I was wondering if I was at the wrong place and asked a guy nearby smoking a butt and he'd try the door and see it was locked too. I'd see Steve in there all warm and cozy and my cheeks wold turn red as I pictured myself tapping gently on the window asking him to let me in, but alas I'd be saved by the cashier who let me back in to eat my chowder. HA

Seriously a great way to enjoy the storm. Steve asked me if I was interested in joining him Saturday night and I thought he was nuts as I had the NECN on and they were talking Snowageddon so the thought of battling it seemed crazy to me. Steve would talk all about the anniversary of the perfect storm and tell me to google and and I'd remember him telling me about it on Friday and what seemed insane at first now sounded really cool so off I went and am so glad I did as it was so much fun! Thanks again Steve.

Take care all

Birding the Cape

2011-10-29T10:11:00.010-04:00

I decided to head out to the Cape with my friend Steve yesterday after getting an invitation to join him to search for the Townsend's Solitaire in Chatham as well as looking for Sea Ducks at First Encounter Beach and Yellow Rail's at Nauset Marsh as it had something to do with the new 11.7 moon tide, a canoe, wader boots and extra clothing in case we fell into the marsh which all sounded fascinating so off we went at first light!

The first stop we would make (besides Dunkin's for our 2nd coffee of the day) would be Chatham for the TOSO. There would already be a few birders there trying to locate the bird so we all joined forces in hopes for success. There would be many Yellow-rumped Warblers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Song Sparrows and a lone Orange-crowned Warbler which was an added bonus but after much searching, no Towsend's so off we went to check out a few other places as the day was still young.

With one of those stops being the Chocolate Sparrow above where I had one of the tastiest coffees ever which was a cappuccino with their home made chocolate sauce which was out of this world.

After being sufficiently "lit" with all the coffee we consumed it was off to First Encounter Beach to check out the Sea Ducks. Flocks of Common Eider and Black Scoters would be in flight everywhere and I'm talking flights in the hundreds so it was almost too much to take in as once you watched one flock go by, another very large flock would do the same so it was fascinating to see. We'd also get a distant look at a Northern Gannet and despite how far out it was, you could still clearly see those black wing tips which is always a treat.

After that it was off to Nausett Marsh to take in the glorious frigid, fall air and look for rails! Canoe's would be parked in front of the marsh which was an encouraging sign, but there wouldn't be any of them in the water as who the hell would be crazy enough to be out there in 40 degree weather. US, that's who!!

We'd get in and make out way along the marsh and the first thing we'd see was an American Bittern.

And it would be in its classic pose! Now I've seen photos of this bird doing it, but to see it up close enough for a photo with my crappy camera is a totally different experience and was seriously awesome as not too many people are lucky enough to experience so its pays to be in the right place at the right time at times.

These bitterns seemed to be everywhere (I never thought I'd ever say that, HA) and we'd continue to flush them out of the marsh at Steve paddled away and I stood watch with my camera ready for pictures whenever the opportunity struck!

But soon enough I'd have to help so Steve gave me a refresher course on how to paddle considering I hadn't done it in over 10 years and I was afraid I'd screw us up and we'd somehow wind up in the Atlantic Ocean which surely wouldn't be good!

We'd finally make our way to an area with beautiful, calm water and the warm sun and poke around there in hopes for rails, but all would be fairly quiet except for a lone gull here and there.

It seemed the perfect place to get out and stretch our legs and try and pish out some seaside sparrows.

And there would even be a cute little bench nearby for resting should one chose to. We never did see any rails, but it was seriously a very neat experience. I've often wondered what it would be like to bird by kayak or canoe so was looking forward to this despite the wind and cold and I was not let down one bit. It's really neat and something I'm looking forward to doing again.

We decided to head back to Chatham to look for the TOSO and there would once again be birders there. We'd spend a considerable amount of time searching for it and were just about convinced we heard it a little before dusk, but never got a visual on it so who knows! The coolest thing would be seeing an immature Red-tailed Hawk who had captured a rabbit and was just preparing to eat it for dinner. It first I couldn't watch as the poor bunny was still alive and I'm too much of a softie for that, but soon enough, the bird was able to end its suffering and enjoy it's meal which was very interesting to see and a great way to end the day.

And speaking of dinner, we would be pretty cold by now and very hungry as all we had all day were rice crackers, pomegranate juice and coffee so we'd end the day at the Lost Dog Pub in Orleans where we had great beer, fresh shell fish and lobster bisque which really hit the spot after a nice, long day of birding.

Take care all

Forbush Field Trip-Wachusett Reservoir

2011-10-24T17:41:00.004-04:00

I decided to attend the Forbush Wachusett Reservoir Field trip Sunday which was led by Kevin but decided to hit a couple of places earlier in the morning as it was a noon time trip. The first stop would be Sterling Peat where there wouldn't be much, but did manage to flush 4 Green-winged Teal and three Hooded Mergs which was nice and of course the Pied-billed Grebe is still around and I also found a Gray Catbird which has been rare recently so thought it was note worthy. After that I'd hit Kristoff where there would be sparrows and butter butts everywhere but not much else.

I'd finally meet up with club members where we would once again see tons of Yellow-rumped Warblers and this lone Common Loon above.

It would then be off to Sterling Peat in hopes for the Teal and Mergs but alas, there would be a few kayaks around which appeared to have scared the birds away.

Next it would be off to West Waushacum Pond in search for the Ruddy Duck's which were birds I was really looking forward to seeing so was hoping they'd still be around.

And to every one's relief they would be as there would be no one on boats here, just ducks.

We would also see 2 American Wigeon at the Quag which is always a treat. The foliage is really starting to peek and with the crisp weather we had, it would be a reminder of what's to come soon enough much to my sorrow.

After that it would be the Sterling Rail Trail in hopes for some Rusty Blackbirds. We would again be inundated with the many Yellow-rumped Warblers everywhere which was starting to get annoying but they did lead us to pockets of other birds including one with both Kinglets and lone Hermit Thrush which is a welcome addition to the list.

The Sterling Rail Trail is a really cool place with water on both sides of it that dabbling ducks really seem to enjoy so throughout the walk Forbush members would discover many Mallards, a lone American Black Duck and a striking drake Wood Duck decked out in its glorious plumage.

But alas, no Rusty's were to be found much to our disappointment.

But we did manage to get quite a few Red-winged Blackbirds like the silhouette photo of the one above. So funny to see this common bird now because I realize I will start eagerly awaiting its return next March when the winter blues will be in full swing and any hints of what's to come will be most welcoming.

Next it would be Wachusett Reservoir-Gate 36 in hopes for some Sea Ducks! We'd notice quite a few Common Loon's here as well as some Horned Grebe which was a nice addition as it would be a FOY for me. While others scanned the waters, I'd have my bins nearby in search for an American Pipit which I haven't seen this year so was hoping I'd have some luck. Kevin would have his scope on a lone bird that would be too far to get a positive ID on from this gate so we moved onto gate 37 to see if we could see it better there.

The view would be just as lousy here, but we would get more grebes, loons, etc so it would be off to Gate 39 as this was officially driving our trip leader nuts so off we went.

It was starting to get a little late at this point so we'd see the many Ring-billed Gulls pass by on way to their roosting site but this area would be flush with birds including a dozen Surf Scoters which would be a welcome surprise. This spot would also allow a better view of the lone sea duck which would turn out to be a single female White-winged Scoter so in the end, she did us a big favor as we may not have stopped at Gate 39 if she hadn't been so far away so thank you miss wherever you are tonight. ;0).

Our last stop would be Coachlace for the Scaup which are always a given here and I was thrilled because it's another bird I don't have for the year. The problem would be there would be nothing around and the pond would be bare. We desperately scanned the empty waters hoping for a miracle but it would never happen much to my dismay as it means another trip to Coachlace for me in the near future, but I was very happy with the 5 FOY birds I got on the trip so I was hardly complaining.

After a long afternoon of birding Kevin would drop me off at my car and I have to drive by Gate 28 to get home and I'd see a jeep I thought looked like his. Nah, I thought....Maybe I should stop just in case........I looked at the water while driving and the thought of the hot chili awaiting for me in the crock pot took hold and figured it was someone else's jeep so headed home. I'd check my Facebook and yes it was Kevin and he was looking for those dang scaup and never did find them but did manage to spot an impressive number of Black Scoters and some Red-necked Grebes. @$&&@@!!!!!!! Lesson learned, always follow your gut. No scaup there either as they were probably on their way back to Coachlace, little buggers.

So in the end I managed to bird an entire 8 hours which is the longest I've gone all year and thought it would wipe me out, but didn't. In fact, I went home in a fabulous mood and didn't even yell at the kids for leaving dishes in the sink. They told me I should do it more often and I believe they may be onto something so it's a win/win for everyone. ;-)

Take care all

Red-headed Woodpecker Westborough Success

2011-10-22T16:21:00.005-04:00

I headed out to the Westborough Commuter Rail station this morning after seeing Nickilas's posting of finding a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker there on Rick's site. I was glad it was spotted here as it's a spot I've often wondered about when I take the train into Boston as the train passes by Sueasco and a whole host of other areas that always appeared "birdy" to me so figured this would be the perfect opportunity to do some discovery.

I parked in the commuter rail parking lot and looked around with no sign of the Red-headed Woodpecker so decided to do some exploring and it wouldn't take me long to run into Bruce who was there for the same reason. We'd join forces in search for the bird and decided to think like a woodpecker so off we went to search the many dead tree snags that are all over the general area.

And Bruce would also introduce me to the areas I'd often wondered about as I depressingly sat on the train headed to work only to wish I were outside instead, but this time I would be!

We stopped at a place to try and get pics of a Sharp-shinned Hawk sitting on a pole and of course the little bugger would fly away before the cameras could even be turned on but were rewarded with two Common Ravens nearby who were calling and flying around like the one above.

And we'd also check out a closed bridge that offered great views of the train station and the trains going by as you can see. I was so happy I wasn't on that thing!

Anyhow, it would be sporadic with not much happening although I do want to note we relocated the sharpie who was actually chasing after a Belted Kingfisher and both were in flight which was fascinating to see as I'd never seen a sharpie engage in that type of behaviour before so it was a treat to see. The kingfisher escaped unharmed and the sharpie went off to pursue easier targets I'm guessing.

After a little more exploring I started getting a little concerned about my car being parked at the train station as I didn't pay my $4.00 fee so decided to get it and bring it to the small gravel parking lot Bruce had his at. We exchanged cell phone numbers and made a deal that if he found the woodpecker he'd contact me and vice versa. I'd be on my way to the car lost in thoughts of my coffee sitting so lonely in my little cup holder in the car and I was wondering if it was still hot when suddenly I snap back to reality when I see a bird fairly close almost behaving in a creeper like fashion. No......It can't be, I think as this would be far too easy.....Out comes the bins for confirmation and then out comes the camera for a quick record shot.

SCORE!!!!! OMG, I think. Must get Bruce here before the bird flies away...I shut off my camera and start running toward his general location as I knew shouting for him would scare the bird away and desperate times called for desperate measures and yes my PT told me no more running but heck this was an emergency. I'd be running frantically while keeping my bins and camera close with my arms so all I'd be using were my legs and figured I looked like one of the Peanut characters and was using totally wrong form but hey, I'm not supposed to be running anyway so who cares!!! Bruce sees me running and he starts running toward me with his "honkin" camera, lens and tripod and neither of us are talking but now using hand signals and head nods to communicate where the woodpecker is.

The bird showed us some mercy and stayed on that pole long enough for Bruce to set his camera up and then it would fly across the street and onto another pole for a better look and better pictures. FYI: Bruce has a much better photo that can be found here. http://brucedegraaf.zenfolio.com/p922859006/h1d38f871#h1d38f871

So there you have it-SUCCESS! HA! What would be funny is after the thrill of the chase was over with I realized all I needed to do was call Bruce and tell him I got the bird as that's why we exchanged numbers in the first place, but I was so thrilled to get it, I lost my common sense and was happy I got gotten a little endorphin kick so it's all water under the bridge at this point. ;-)

After that we'd explore more and he would show me all kind of nifty places nearby that offers great views of the reservoir and other birdy places including an area where we would see over 25 Mute Swans ( OMG), quite a few Mallards and 16 American Coot like the ones below.

And speaking of American Coot, I finally got the ones Alan had spotted at St Philips last evening and was happy I did. The photo came out as lousy as the ones I got of them today, but thought it was kind of neat and almost reminds me of a painting so figured I'd share as I've never been one to shy away from using lousy shots if that's all I have.

Take care all

Birding Week of October 16th

2011-10-20T19:46:00.005-04:00

Figured I'd give an update of sorts considering I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks and after my last extended vacation, I've vowed to at least blog every other week even if birding slows down due to life and other unavoidable things that leaves less time for blogging.

Anyhow, I decided to hit Broad Meadow Brook in Worcester this past Sunday, for no goal birds in particular, but rather a nice long hike to clear the mind and revisit some of the trails I used to call home late last year when I was doing a lot of trail running. My goal was to do the entire 8 mile loop but hike it this time vs. running it to see how I'd do.

Bird activity would be surprisingly quiet compared to the last time I was here when there were a lot of warblers, but the sparrows made up for it including the Song, White-throated and many Swamp Sparrows I saw in various places along the hike.

It's funny because I wasn't sure if I'd remember this loop since it's been close to a year since I've been there, but instinctively knew which way to go and then came to the trail above and stopped for some reflection. I looked at those rocks and remembered running them (even through snow) and the first thing that came to mind was my sanity as I was just asking for injury, but I think the potential danger was part of the fun and maybe some sort of mid life crisis I was going through as what woman in her 40's would be crazy enough to run that....Me of course! HA

And then came the ultimate test which where the power lines. I'd sit down and eat an apple and drink some water and stare at them remembering the runs and the endorphins and while I missed it somewhat, the thought of hiking them was just as appealing so off I went.

The wind was HORRIBLE so bird chatter was hard to get but was determined just the same. I'd get to the uphill of the powerlines and be searching aimlessly for my favorite friend and be dismayed he wasn't there to greet me like he always was.

And then I'd see him. My favorite trail running buddy, the Red-tailed Hawk. You see he and I had a little game going and I honestly believe he enjoyed it just as much as I did. I'd be huffing and puffing along the trail when suddenly I'd spot him. Off he would fly and I would follow until he was no where in sight so it was up to me to relocate which I always did. It was a game of sorts and made it all the more enjoyable and the same would be true of Sunday when I hiked up the hills. He would be waiting patiently a few hundred feet away and fly once I got close enough for a photo. Some things never change.

And then I'd get to an area I was hoping I'd remember and that is where I got my last life bird of the year last year which would be the very handsome Fox Sparrow. It wouldn't take me long to find the spot and do some pishing knowing he wouldn't appear but did it just for practice. Suddenly something did indeed appear long enough for me to ID it and take out the camera for a quick shot. It wouldn't be the Fox Sparrow of course, but this very curious Field Sparrow. Photo came out lousy and the poor thing looks like Igor but figured I'd share.

Another lousy shot and one I wish came out nicer as it would have been a pretty nifty photo.

And finally a shot of the oh so cute Wooly bear caterpillar. He was in the middle of the trail but figured it would be okay where it was as no one was there but me and with the winds I figured it would stay that way.

So in the end I did my 8 mile loop solely hiking it and enjoyed every minute of it. Can't wait to get back there in November for the Fox Sparrow!

After hearing about the Gadwall's Nickilas had found earlier this week and Alan's spotting of the American Coot, I figured I'd hit St Philips in Grafton after work today in hopes of both. The first and most welcome thing I'd notice is how many leaves are off the trees which makes views of the wetlands so much easier.

The next thing I'd notice were the 10 MUTE SWAN's and my heart would sink. Hmmmm..Last time I was there I saw only 6 and now 4 more. My experience with these birds is that they are bullies and harass our native waterfowl so wasn't happy to see them. The funny thing would be that they seemed to be in harmony with the many Mallards and Green-winged Teal who had no problems being close by. Funny getting a view of a teal and M Swan at the same time through the bins as the size comparison is dramatic. There would be at least 25 Green-winged Teal and they were feistier than I'm used to seeing as they fought amongst one another. Nancy had come for the Coot too and she and I watched them as they held their own amongst the larger ducks and swans and we were both very happy to hear their call as this would be a first for me when they were not in flight. So cute!

She and I would be there for a while with no Gadwall or Coot but both of us decided to stick it out as surely one or both were there but in hiding. It wouldn't take too long for me to spot the Gadwall only to have it go back into hiding much to my frustration. We decided to go to another area for the coot and when we came back all of the ducks were getting in roosting mode and it would be then when we would see both drake Gadwall's. Such handsome little creatures.

No coot of course, but will be back searching for them as I need them for my Worcester County list. And last but not least a shroom picture. You all know my love of shrooms and this one was too cool not to get a picture of. It reminds me of the shrooms from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Very neat.

Take care all

Local Birding and Hawkwatching

2011-10-10T17:20:00.003-04:00

I decided to keep it local today and hit a few spots nearby with Purgatory Chasm being 1st on the list in another attempt at the Red-breasted Nuthatch and Brown Creeper. I'd get out of my car and the area would be alive with bird chatter, including a very vocal Blue-headed Vireo who sang its entire song for me as I searched for others. The first thing I'd notice were the MANY Golden-crowned Kinglets as well as quite a few FOS Dark-eyed Juncos.

Since I was striking out again on both the nuthatch and creeper, I decided to move up a little and see if I could find anything there. I would be happy I did as I would get my FOY Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It appeared to be a juvenile, much to my disappointment, but happy just to get it at this point.

When you hit Purgatory at the right time, and no crowds it can be a fabulous place to bird. Not only for the bird diversity but because there are so many places that get you to upper tree level which allow some fabulous views of birds like the one above of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Love the look its giving me, almost like "How did you get up here".

I was up high and on a ledge taking this picture and actually leaned against a tree for better balance as the drop would have been drastic and most likely painful so common sense is a must if you want to bird there and bird around some of the rockier parts of Purgatory which I often find are the best places to do so.

After that it was off to Martha Deering to see if I could spot anything and a distant hope the Red-shouldered Hawk would still be around. I'd see more Juncos but not much else, but a local who walks this place every day told me he heard the Barred Owl last week so I'm glad to see it's still around.

After that it was off to Butler Farm in Millbury for my target bird the American Kestrel before it's too late.

I'd get there and the sun would be warm with a really nice breeze. The high elevation allows for really nice views of local landscapes including downtown Worcester and Wachusett Mountain and of course birds in flight which is what I went there for. The local Turkey Vultures were out and fairly close by at times.

After getting settled I realized how much I missed hawkwatching. It's a different kind of birding for me and requires intense concentration (especially against a cloudless blue sky), but it uses a certain part of my brain that causes calmness in me as I get in a certain zone and everything slows down and is very relaxing. I'd be there about 45 minutes and see a bird far away coming directly at me with rapid wing beats and a fairly long tail and I automatically thing a sharpie due to the wing beats and the size.

Soon enough I realize it's my American Kestrel so out comes the camera for a record shot. I had forgotten how challenging it was to take pictures of birds in flight against cloudless skies as the camera can't seem to auto focus against it so I was happy with my picture as it's the only one I would take due to how fast the Kestrel was flying. He's obviously in a real hurry!

I could have left right then and there as I'd gotten my bird, but realized there was no place else I'd rather be than right where I was. After a while I'd get into a rhythm and scan against the horizon going left to right and then right to left looking at birds and other things like the plane above. It brought back fond memories of hawkwatching with Donna, Bart and Dave and some of the things we'd look at to make time go by on the slower days at Barre Falls with our favorite conversation being cumulus cloud cover or often lack of.

I'd be wishing for some of that cover when I spotted a hawk far away and could never follow it directly because it kept vanishing in an out of the blue much to my frustration. I did have some local hawks nearby who were around the entire time I was at Butler Farms like this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk above who was practicing some kiting.

Tucking and descending!

Headed away

Another photo of the other Red-tailed Hawk who was present. Notice those wing panels and how pale they appear which can cause confusion with a Red-shouldered Hawk .

Soon enough, the Red-tailed Hawks had left and I was busy trying to identify what sparrows kept landing in the tall grass and disappearing when I'd spot a Blue Jay flying by so put my bins on it for practice. I'd get bored with that and put them straight ahead and in enough time to spot an incoming raptor that looked kind of raggedy. What the??? The bird was coming at me pretty fast so out came the camera for pictures.

The raggedy raptor!

And the raggedy raptor would turn out to be a Bald Eagle who had me thrown off some when I saw it coming at me face on and rapidly using those wings which is something I'm not used to seeing an eagle do. Can't tell if this is a Sub Adult 1 or 2, due to conflicting things I'm seeing on the bird like the dark belly (sub1), and the obvious wing molt I thought I saw when it was coming straight at me (sub2). The joys of hawkwatching while taking photos because you can take it home with you and analyze it some more.

And speaking of molting, the Red-tailed above seems to be doing some of that itself which I noticed as it flew overhead.

One of the juves taking a rest from the flying and enjoying the day.

Lousy shot, but the bird was far away and I put my camera to full zoom and then cropped but figured I'd share to show off the pale V on the back as well the white tail tip you can faintly see.

I'd finally come back down to earth and realize I spent close to three hours watching for hawks and do so standing the entire time with only a few sips of water to sustain me. While I didn't get much in terms of volume or diversity, I was happy just the same as hawkwatching was greatly missed and I appreciated the reminder of that.

Take care all.

Summerlike Birding and Analysis Paralysis

2011-10-09T21:38:00.000-04:00

I set on Sunday to do some birding and take advantage of the warm weather we've been blessed with. My main target bird for the day would be the Rusty Blackbird so headed to Bolton Flats where I thought I'd have the best chance of getting one. I'd get there early in hopes the various blackbirds would still be staged before they set off for the day.

Bird chatter would be quiet compared to the past two days which I found odd, but I could see quite a few sparrows when I first entered including my new pals the Swamp Sparrows and of course the many Song Sparrows that seem to be everywhere. I could see many sparrows on the path and one would catch my attention over the others so got my bins on it and it stumped me at first glance.

Out would come the camera for a lousy shot given the fact I was so far away from it in fear of scaring it off and after a few pictures and a few more looks with the binoculars I confirmed it as another immature White-crowned Sparrow. I tried to get a little closer to it for better pictures but some guy was leaving with his dog and baby in one of those baby slings which caused the bird to flee. I'd continue along the path and wonder what the heck that was all about as it was still early and the baby was wrapped in a blanket and conked out. I'm guessing walks around Bolton Flats calms the baby and induces relaxation and sleep and that's what the father wanted. Another potential Worcester County birder in the midst is my guess.

I'd make my way to where all the blackbirds were centered and attempt a quick scan with the binoculars which would be a challenge with many being hidden by leaf cover. I'd also use my ears which was also challenging because I had to distinguish between the many Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles in hopes for a Rusty and soon enough I thought I had it and was happy to see the bird was on a leafless snag.

Now this looks promising, I'd think as I took out my camera for a record shot. I'd switch back to the binoculars to get a better look at the iris and soon enough it would turn around and this is what I'd see.

A bird that I thought was a cross between a Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. The tail had me all thrown off due to how large it was compared to the Red-winged as well as its overall shape.

Then came careful examination of the bill which appeared to be thicker at the base and longer than a Red-winged yet slightly de curved like a Common Grackle. The bird I had just identified as a Rusty was slowly turning into a Grackle so I searched around for other grackles for comparison and tried to remember how long the juvenile Grackles held onto their brown coloring as that's what it was starting to remind me of and would be kicking myself for not putting my Sibley's in my pocket for quick study.

After spending about 15 minutes getting my binoculars on every blackbird I could see to make comparisons I wasn't confident enough to ID it again as a Rusty Blackbird so dismissed it as wishful thinking and went on my way to my next destination.

I'd then get home and look at my pictures and started to re-ID the re-ID I did at Bolton and whip out all of my field guides to do some blackbird 101 and here is some of what I'd find:

"A compact blackbird with a somewhat gracklelike bill" "slightly larger than a Red-winged Blackbird (and considerably smaller that Common Grackle), with a longish, slightly downturned gracklelike bill and a shortish tail". Source: Peter Dunne's Field Guide Companion.

"More slender than Red-winged Blackbird with longer tail and thinner bill" Source: Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America.

So there you have it folks!!! Funny because I've only seen Rusty Blackbirds once besides this and that was at St Philips when I did a quick stop to catch the train. I didn't have much time and could hear their call as soon as I got out of my car so out came the bins for a quick look and then quick pictures which came out great so I didn't 2nd guess that call at all. This time though analysis paralysis took over so I found it difficult. I do consider it progress though as I've always taught myself that a Rusty looks like a Red-winged Blackbird with a pale iris but would be taught otherwise as I had picked up on the differences between the two so I'm paying more attention to other traits of the bird besides the obvious which is what I said I wanted to do when I mid ID'd the Savannah Sparrow in September.

So I guess you can say mission accomplished!!

I do have to say Bolton Flats is lovely when the sun first starts coming out. So much to see but I had other places to go so off I went.

I'd get back on 190 and get off at exit 5 and head for Wachusett Mountain in a desperate attempt for a FOY Winter Wren and as soon as I entered the reservation I dreaded that decision. The place would be packed with bus loads of happy and excited children eager to make their way up the summit. I'd only last about 15 minutes before I headed back down the mountain and to the safety of my car. I think I burnt rubber leaving the main entrance I wanted out of there so bad. No Winter Wren of course, in fact, no nothing. I'm guessing the birds were all as traumatized as I was. Note to self, don't go back to Wachusett until mid November if at all possible.

Disappointed and traumatized, I decided to head to Sterling Peat to check for anything interesting that may have dropped in since I was there last.

And this is what I'd find. Now I'm terrible with IDing hen Mergs but fairly confident in calling them both Hoodies, I do want to know the story of the one on the right though as I've never seen a hair do like that one What happened to the Marge Simpson look?

Soon enough the Mergs would meet up with the Pied-billed Grebe who was actually moving around a little this time. The poor little grebe looked relieved to have some company and even followed them around for a bit. So sad to see him out there all by himself but happy to see he's moving as I was concerned about him this past Friday when I thought he could be a tree stump.

Since I was in the area, and didn't feel like heading home just yet, I figured I'd hit Kristoff Pig Farm in hopes for another look at a Lincoln's (swoon). The place would be much quieter than Friday and a lot warmer but I still held out hope for a few sparrows.

I'd get a notification on my cell phone that I had an incoming text message so was fumbling in my pocket to grab my phone when suddenly a rather large sized bird flies directly past me and lands rather clumsily deep into a bush. I instinctively drop my phone to get my bins on the bird and all I can see is a large bird with brown and some white plumage. Hmmmm....A juve coops perhaps I think as I try and get a better look. It's still unaware I'm there and making this soft coo like noise and I'm mystified as I'd never heard a hawk make that before. We finally make eye contact and I have to stifle a giggle because it wasn't what I expected. I can't hold back anymore and out comes the laugh which scares the hell out of the bird and it darts out of the bush like a bullet.....That bird would be a Ruffed Grouse!

I compose myself and continue walking while taking in what I just saw and the cooing had me all curious because I'd never heard a grouse make any kind of noise (besides drumming) before so this intrigued me. I'd continue along the way and come across a pocket of sparrows and get a few more Swamps, Song and another immature White-crowned and then suddenly remember I didn't have my phone. CRAP, I'd think. Panic would set in as I tried to remember where I was when I dropped it. I was so hoping one of the kids would call to make it easier but wouldn't be so lucky.

I'd finally make my way to the area above when suddenly "Whhooooosh", out would come the poor, startled Ruffed Grouse again!!! I would find my phone only 15 feet or so away from it. The little bird saved me with that one and I happily grabbed my phone and headed for the car. I was very happy with the grouse as they are usually a lucky "get" and I wasn't expecting it this year so I left Kristoff very happy with another FOY bird and my phone.

Take care all

Birding Sterling

2011-10-07T18:00:00.000-04:00

I headed out to Sterling today in hopes for my much needed sparrows, but decided to go the scenic route which is Rt 140 all the way from Grafton to Sterling to avoid the 290 traffic during the weekday rush hour. Since I was driving by St Philips, I decided to make a quick stop to see if anything dropped in during the night and was glad that I did as I got a FOY Black-crowned Night Heron.

After that it would be off to Sterling Peat for the Pied-billed Grebe that's been reported there. There was plenty of passerine activity along the path to where the grebes been spotted most including quite a few butter butts and a nice look at a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

After a bit of searching I'd get my bins on it to make a confirmation and then I'd hear some wing fluttering behind me so pished it out to realize it was yet another Song Sparrow which I knew all along due to its high pitched call note, but one can never be too sure. Anyhow, I'd go back to the grebe and realize it hadn't moved since I last looked. WTH? I'd think. I'd move to another angle and it was still motionless. I stood there confused and slightly embarrassed thinking I had just identified a tree stump as a grebe, but soon enough the little bugger moved which caused a sigh or relief on my part and an attempt for a photo like the lousy one above.

After that it would be off to Kristoff Pig Farm where weather conditions had greatly improved since my last visit.

I didn't see much warbler activity going in, but did see a few Palm Warblers and many Yellow-rumped Warbler's that seemed to be everywhere with their dry call notes.

I decided to head on a path I didn't take last week and it looked really "birdy" so off I went to explore.

Birds would be everywhere, including many sparrows so I was about to partake in my new game called "Make me a Lincoln's". There were many contestants eager to play including the usual Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows and this White-throated Sparrow in the photo above who appeared to be a little camera shy.

I'd come to an open area with plenty of sunshine and birds everywhere. I'd have my binoculars on an Eastern Phoebe, when suddenly I could see a bird fly from some brush and continue to fly directly above me which allowed me a good view and the first thing that would come to mind while in flight is that it looked like a "honkin' Field Sparrow with a notched tail.

My radar would go up because I think immature White-crowned Sparrows have similar colors to the Field Sparrow with the pinkish bill and warm coloring. The bird would never do me the honors of turning around when I got my camera out, but I did get a really nice look at it through my binoculars. Not as nice as an adult male, but it's still a striking bird. The bird would even attempt to break into song, but gave up after a few failed notes much to my disappointment as I love the White-crowned Sparrow's song.

I'd be walking along after spending another 10 minutes or so in that area and realized I'd flushed a bird with my walking. I saw exactly where it landed so it was easy to get my bins on it. It stared directly at me and the first thing that came to my mind was "Holy sh*t, I've got a Lincoln's".

I stared at it as it stared back in return and swooned because I wasn't expecting it to be as good looking as it was so it took me by surprise.

I mean seriously, how can one not swoon over the picture above. So cute!

Playing peek a boo with me as I continued to swoon.

Being a total ham for the camera, the sparrow decided to hop to another branch so I could swoon some more.

Double swoon as I caught in one of its hops.

Sigh, what a FANTASTIC bird. I'll go on record and not only call this my favorite bird for the month of October, but for the entire year. I didn't expect to get it as easily as I did and when I did get it, I expected to get a lousy view like I had in the past, so this was such a treat. It's reasons like these that I continue to bird.

It's funny because I ran into Dan last week and we were talking birds of course and I was telling him my frustrations with trying to get and ID a Lincoln's and he told me not to worry as "I'd know it when I saw it" and he was right. The first instant my binoculars made contact with that bird it clicked and it reminded me nothing of either a Song Sparrow or a Swamp Sparrow which were my major concerns.

The camera and bird Gods continued to be in my favor and I was able to get my best photo of a Blue-headed Vireo yet. So much different than the ones I encountered at Quabbin or Purgatory when all I usually are lousy butt shots. On the way out of Kristoff I'd get a really nice look at a Hermit Thrush which was another added bonus so all in all, it was a great day of birding.

Take care all

Rainy Weekend Birding

2011-10-02T14:47:00.016-04:00

Despite the lousy weather this past weekend, I decided to make the best of it and hit a few places with fall migration starting so went to Bolton Flats on Saturday morning to see what I could find. I'd have to drive my car through the puddle at the entrance and that alone would remind me of how much I missed this place. I have quite a few places I love to bird at, but this may be my number one because of the bird diversity as well as the memories like my first Forbush Field Trip, walking through deep, murky swamp water in hip waders with Alan who's just as crazy as I am and of course the shore birds, who can forget them.

Anyhow, I'd get out of the car and it wouldn't take me long to find my FOY Swamp Sparrow. There would be quite a few of them and not much else as I was soon to find out.

Lousy shot, but liked the photo because it shows the small slender bill with the yellow base as Sibley describes on page 384.

I'd decide to venture further for my two goal birds besides the Swamp Sparrow being the Virginia Rail and Northern Harrier as both are usually a guarantee here, even this late in the year. Passerine activity would be slow with the rain that started to develop but did get a good look at a couple of Common Yellowthroats.

Since I was striking out on both the rail and harrier, I figured I'd just hunker down and wait for them assuming one or both would make an appearance if I was patient enough. I had plenty to keep me busy and developed an up close and personal relationship with the many Swamp Sparrows like the one above, who had no problem being on the ground as I was nearby. In the hour and a half at Bolton I came to the conclusion that I really like Swamp Sparrows and make the following observations.

1. They are not at all shy

2. They can be feisty and fun to watch as they chased after each other in some form of territorial dispute.

3. They pish easily

4. And finally, a personal observation about me and that is I'd never noticed this about the Swamp Sparrow before and it kind of bothered me. While driving home I'd think about it some and realize a lot of the chasing I've done in the past had given me the mind set that once I've seen the bird and checked it off the list, my work was done and now time for the next species. While it was and still is a lot of fun, it hasn't helped me much in my birding because not only are field marks and song important skills for a birder, but behavioral knowledge is key too.

When I got home, I went to my Peter Dunne's Field Guide Companion and there it would be on page 618.

"A busy, active sparrow. Not shy, but likes to stay where it's thick and likes to stay near the ground"

Well I guess I was right in my initial assumptions!

While walking back to the car with no rail or harrier, I'd hear some light drumming coming from a nearby tree and was happy to see this Hairy Woodpecker. When I first walked in, I immediately heard its call and a few minutes later I'd see a Downy and 2nd guess my call on the Hairy based on what I'd heard. "Crap I'd think, my song knowledge is worse than I thought after taking most of the year off". Seeing that Hairy Woodpecker gave a much needed boost to the old confidence and I left Bolton Flats happy despite the rain that had gotten worse while there.

I'd go straight home from Bolton Flats as it was now raining hard and spent most of the day cooking and harvesting more tomatoes, but decided to go for an evening walk with the light drizzle which felt nice after being in the kitchen for a few hours. I'd bring no bins or camera assuming I'd just be walking but that would change as I heard another chorus of Blue Jays making their mob call. It wouldn't take me long to see the target of scorn which was a Red-tailed Hawk. It was funny because the mobbing annoyed the hawk obviously, but it also looked as if it was used to it by now so just focused its attention to what may be on the ground and paid no attention to its rabid fans. I'd continue walking and think about the Red-shouldered & Blue Jays a couple of weeks ago and realize I don't think I've ever seen a Blue Jay or even an American Crow go after an accipiter before. Could it be they're wise enough not to scramble with a ticked off Coop's or maybe I haven't been in the right place at the right time. And speaking of the Red-shouldered, I'd hear a Blue Jay do a spot on imitation of one and I never tire of that so it would be another bonus.

I'd come home and the comfort food I made was ready to eat. Home made macaroni and cheese that I labored over as well as fresh bruschetta from my garden that tastes delicious on top of the mac and cheese when it's all hot and bubbly and the cold bruschetta sets if off real nice and is a great way to use up some of the tomatoes that are still growing in my garden!!

And since I had craved comfort food it only seemed fitting that I consume some comfort liquid to go with it. Introducing another hobby I've picked up over the summer and that is beer!!! I had become a Blue Moon addict and am now expanding my horizons some with a year end goal of trying every beer they have at Wine Nation...Kidding.......kind of. I only allow myself 2 or 3 a night and only on weekends so I'll probably not get to all of them, but it's fun just the same and it's another list I can have and you all know my love of lists! Tank 7 is a great beer and is nice and light with citrus tones so it went perfectly with dinner.

After being recharged from the dinner and beer the night before, I decided to hit Kristoff Pig Farm in Sterling in hopes for more FOY birds. I'd get my FOY before even parking my car and that would be the Wild Turkey I was complaining about in one of my previous posts. I'd see four of them and I don't think I've ever been happier to see a turkey because I took it as a good sign of course!

The weather was horrible with a consistent drizzle, but I don't mind birding in weather like this and the only concern I normally have are with the optics as there's nothing worse than foggy binoculars when you're trying to ID a bird!

There were a ton of sparrows out including many Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows and my new little friend the Swamp Sparrow who again, was not at all shy in front of the camera.

He'd move to the next branch and proceed to try and get some of the rain off of him while I watched knowing he was fighting an endless battle as my soggy feet could attest to. I have no idea how his head came out as dark as it did in this photo as it's the same bird but just looks weird in this shot. My camera being my camera again I guess.

I'd spend about 45 minutes in the rain following the various flocks of sparrows in hopes for a Lincoln's but now matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make any of them into one. It did give me the opportunity to really study the other birds though and never realized just how varied Song Sparrows can look in terms of color. I did manage to flush a good amount of sparrows who were feeding on the ground where they proceeded to land on some brush nearby and could confirm, the Swamp, Song and White throats and would get my bins on one with a really nice white crown, but be gone too quickly for me to determine whether or not it was a White-crowned or White-throated, especially with the foggy conditions so I'm assuming it was just a good looking white throat mixed in with the others.

The rain would pick up at this point and I was having so much fun exploring Kristoff, I decided to hit a trail that would take me into the woods.

Where hints of fall were everywhere including this cool picture above.

I'd spend another 45 minutes here and have decided this is on the list for snow shoeing this winter because the trails are prime with hardly and rocks or roots and a lot of open land which means plenty of sun which is always nice in the winter, especially with a pair of snow shoes on your feet.

Realizing I couldn't spend the rest of the day in the woods I decided to head back to the car, but hit a few of the smaller trails I overlooked previously, including this one that brings you to open land.

It wouldn't take me long to find a Northern Flicker like the one above. ;-). There would be quite a few of them so I decided to follow and they led me to some Black-capped Chickadees who led me to quite a few Yellow-rumped Warblers who led me to my FOY Blue-headed Vireo who led me to my FOY Palm Warbler who led me to my FOY Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Lesson learned, Flicker stalking does have its advantages.

The breath taking view I got of the Blue-headed Vireo was the best look I've ever gotten of one because it was on some lower tree branches so I could see in head on. The Palm Warbler is just as stunning in October as it is April and the Ruby-crowned just as striking with those pretty white eye rings its best known for. The rain was so bad at this point, I didn't dare take out the camera for pictures and now that I think of it, it's probably why I got as many birds I did with such great looks. Now that I have my camera back, I find that I'm still trying to work with it and often by the time I get it ready for a picture, the bird in question is gone so the opportunity lost. I think I need to develop a better balance between use of the bins vs. camera which was demonstrated to me today.

So all was not lost being out in the rain as long as I was. I had thought about calling it day an hour into Kristoff, but held my ground knowing that I needed at least one more FOY bird to make sure the Wild Turkey wouldn't be my last bird seen on eBird as that would just be downright embarrassing this late in the year, but as you all know, I'm not keeping a list, but I do have some pride ya know! A great way to spend my Sunday

Take care all.

Birding Leesville Pond-Tuesday

2011-09-28T18:58:00.005-04:00

I did a little early morning birding this past Tuesday in hopes of getting the reported American Wigeon's as well as the lone female Northern Pintail. I've been having some major insomnia lately and find that I'm waking up every hour or so and briefly listening for the Eastern Screech-Owl (no luck), and then tossing and turning trying to get back to sleep. I'd wake up again at 4:00AM and toss and turn until 4:45 when I got up and decided to hit Leesville Pond in Worcester since I was was wide awake anyways.

I'd get there at about 6:10 or so and realize it was still very dark and I'd question my sanity somewhat because who in their right minds go to cemeteries in the dark of night, but knew dawn would break soon so I just waited and listened.

I couldn't see much at that time, but could hear the Mallards in their roosting spot hollering away as well as some Wood Ducks who were coming from a different area. Since picture taking was useless, I decided to get some video. Yes, I'm all over the place but I was trying to see if my camera could pick up any of the birds but it was still too dark out.

Anyway, it would soon be light enough to see what I was doing, but not light enough for decent pictures but decided to take them anyways. It wouldn't take me long to find the American Wigeon's who preferred to be by themselves and away from the other ducks, but at one point they seemed to tolerate a couple of Green-winged Teal who were nearby.

It would take me a while to find the Northern Pintail but once I did I was able to get a really good look at her as she hung out with the Mallards. Yes, the picture is lousy, but I was glad I could take one considering how challenging it's been lately. She is to the right and behind the drake Mallard. Despite the poor picture quality, you can still see her dark gray bill, distinctive long, slender neck (especially compared to the Mallards), and the shape of her tail and how it almost curves upwards and the lighter edges at the tip of it which appear to have gotten magnified somewhat by my full zoom camera settings.

Both the Wigeon's, Pintail and Green-winged Teal were all in the same general area and I was able to find a great spot with a full view with a fence to provide a bird blind of sorts so I spent a while here before going to check for sparrows. It would be really funny to watch her hanging out with the Mallards and seeing them accept her as one of the gang. I do wonder why she's by herself though and not with her own kind.

After that I checked on the Sparrows and there would be a ton of them, including quite a few Song Sparrows and quite a few Savannah Sparrows. The Savannah Sparrows all appeared to be juveniles as they couldn't get the song right, which was fun to watch. I'd also get my FOS White-throated Sparrow who would allow me a quick glance before it flew deeper into the brush pile.

The perfect cure for a bad case of insomnia, but won't be able to do much pre work birding considering how late the suns starting to rise now.

I went to Broad Meadow Brook this past Sunday to get some fresh air and see what was around. I'd see a few birds including a very cooperative Common Yellowthroat, some Blackpolls and all of the other regulars and a really good look at an Eastern Phoebe, who was cooperative enough for a half decent picture.

I'd see some commotion coming from some brush and decide to pish out whoever it was. The bird was easily pishable and flew so close to me I could hear it's wing beats.

And this is who would be staring at me. This very curious juvenile Song Sparrow.

The handsome little guy would even be kind enough to pose for me which was a welcome change. I'd realize he was a juve as soon as he started to break out into song as he couldn't get neither his song A nor song B correct as you will see in the video below. Funny at the end to hear him rambling on like he did.

Take care all

Birding Sutton, Westborough & Grafton

2011-09-25T16:20:00.002-04:00

I did some local birding Saturday morning and decided to hit Purgatory Chasm first as I still have yet to get the Red-breasted Nuthatch. I'd be driving through Millbury and make a quick stop to take a look at the Turkey Vultures on top of a house. I don't know why they prefer this house to the others, but I've seen them here on occasion since I started birding. The house was vacant the past two years and now occupied so I was curious if they would perch here considering they may have to interact with people and it appears as if they have no problem with it. I am curious to know what the new occupants think of their guests though.

After that it was off to Purgatory. The place was would be quiet and of course, no nuthatch so decided to make the best of it and just explore. I had forgotten how technical some of the trails can be at Purgatory until I came across this one. It actually felt good to just hike them instead of run them which is saying a lot considering the trail above were the trails I loved to run the most. The hiking allowed me to take my time and just enjoy everything. I came across a few pockets of birds, including one I believed was a vireo doing a scolding call. I stopped and thought it sounded like a Blue-headed, but gave up after some failed pishing because it was coming from a location where I'd see a large wasps nest hanging from a tree and I didn't want any part of that.

The most interesting thing at Purgatory were the Pine Warblers in various locations and still calling from tree tops. I'd hear the call at the entrance of Purgatory and get a visual ID to make sure I had the song right and sure enough, it was the Pine. I went about 2 miles into the woods and would hear 3 other Pine Warblers doing the same. With all of that calling, I'm wondering if these are the regular breeders vs. migrants, but would think the locals would have started migration already.

The leisurely pace I was taking allowed me to spot things I may not have including these really cool shrooms like the ones above.

Very cool and was happy to use my camera to do some micro photography. How I've missed my camera!

The next stop would be the Assabet Conservation area in Westborough. My hunch told me to work my way backwards this time and start off at the end of the main trail and work my way back. I'd be happy I trusted my gut because there would be a few birds here being lead of course by the Black-capped Chickadee. The first bird I'd see was a Yellow-throated vireo, so out came the camera for a record shot. The problem would be that other birds would start flying in and out and confusing the hell out of me as I would be curious what the new bird was so out would come the bins for confirmation so I spent a lot of time wresting with both my bins and my camera and deciding which I preferred to bird with, especially with all of this rapid activity when you only had a few seconds to get a look at the bird. The pocket continued to grow as other birds flew in and I tried to keep up with them all.

Including this Black and White in the photo above. Seriously, I don't know why I had classified the Pine and Black-and-white Warbler as low probability because it seems as if I get them everywhere I go. In fact, I'm getting a lot of warblers everywhere I go, but it's a lot more challenging to ID them this time of the year as they look different and are not singing and I bird better by ear than I do eye, hence the low probability as I've never actively looked for warblers in the fall before as it still makes me uncomfortable.

Next it would be a quick stop to St Philips to find a Black Duck and guess what?? I did!! Finally!! There were two of them and they were very well behaved which allowed for a nice binocular view. I started scanning in the same location of the Black Ducks when I could sense some movement a little closer to me.

I get my bins on it and this is what I see. Hmmmmmmmm. Can it be.........Yes, I see the green on its wings and yes its a tiny duck, but something doesn't seem right.

And this is what didn't seem right. The little duck stood still and didn't seem at all bothered I was close to it which made me second guess my ID because my experience with Green-winged Teal have always been the following.

Scenario One: Alan and I at Bolton Flats for our first of the year Green-winged Teal and hopefully others. We make our way slowly down the path and give each other a knowing look when we get to a certain location and the look means to be extra, extra quiet as one wrong move will result in panic and bad birding at Bolton Flats. Every move is cautious and I wince when I hear a leaf crunch under my feet in fear I've blown it. Finally we get to said location as we quietly get the scopes settled and hold our breath hoping we weren't too loud. Everything goes as planned as we breath a sigh of relief that our cover wasn't blown. The scanning starts when Alan tells me he has a Green-winged Teal. Where? I whisper. To the left of the 3 Mallards and 2 Canada Geese Alan responds. I finally make my way to it and then it happens..........HONK!! A Canada Goose getting all riled up about something and we tense up hoping it doesn't cause a chain reaction but it does. Suddenly dozens of geese are honking which causes dozens of Mallards to quack which causes every duck and goose to take flight in a panicked chain reaction. #*@*&#@ Canada Geese Alan says as I nod in agreement.

Scenario Two: Spring time Bolton Flats Forbush Field trip-Enthusiastic Forbush members make their way down the path with their knee boots and mittens as it's still really cold out. We all get to the certain location and give each other the look which means to be very quiet because one wrong move could create a panic which would mean bad birding at Bolton Flats. As we inch a little closer, we hear it-the sound of dozens of heavy wing beats coming together to create the sound we dreaded most-the sound of them leaving. Suddenly binoculars take to the sky in a desperate attempt to identify some of them as they flee in various directions. Suddenly John shouts "I have 12 Green-winged Teal headed to the left". Flustered members try and get a look at them before they're gone and I always manage to not be able to pick them up until the very end and all I ever see are their tail feathers which is their own way of giving me the bird.

And last but not least, and most preferable scenario which is scenario three.

Scopes set up at Bolton Flats and all waterfowl are relatively calm. Alan spots a Green-winged Teal and we take a look at it, but not a leisurely look because scenario one could happen at any time, so it's best to continue to scan in hopes for a Blue-winged Teal or something better. The poor Green-winged Teal gets forgotten once an ID has been made for something better to add to the annual bird list like a Northern Shoveler for example.

But alas, it was a Green-winged Teal and there would be three others too. I just love the picture above because it gives you a good idea of the size difference between them and the Mallards. I have found that I really love this little duck and is actually dare I say cute! That's saying a lot as I've never considered any duck cute before (except for the Ruddy and Bufflehead of course but that's just a given). I would watch the ducks for a while and enjoyed it tremendously as it was a nice break from passerine birding which has turned into a pain in the neck (literally).

Oh, and the highlight of my Saturday would be Saturday night as I was in front of my computer. I had the windows open because it was warm, when suddenly my ears picked up on something and that something would be an Eastern Screech-owl. It would take a second for my brain to register what I was hearing but once it did I rose from my chair like a bullet grabbing the batteries for my camera for some video. Sure enough the owl stopped calling and I couldn't get it back, despite the Droid. I'll be on the lookout for it because it was seriously one of the coolest sounds I think I've ever heard. Funny that I would get a life bird in front of my computer considering all the time I've tried to chase this bird in particular.

Take care all

Things are not always what they seem

2011-09-22T12:43:00.019-04:00

Things are not always what they seem, and was reminded of that this morning while checking my Facebook messages and get one asking if I’d considered the sparrow I saw yesterday as a Savannah, vs. the Song which I wished were the Lincoln’s. I’d check my blog to study the pictures and decide to study it even further on the train into Boston as I was running late to begin with and needed to get to St Philips for a quick scan of what landed during the night as it’s on the way to the station anyway and really want that Black Duck or better yet a Great Egret, but who’s counting!

I’d get on the train grateful it was bare as I pulled out my Droid, my Sibley’s and the Sparrow’s of the United States and Canada field guides to get to work! I’d start with the Sibley’s and compare the field guide to the pics and then go to my sparrow field guide and have my “aha” moment I was waiting for (page 190-comparing it to the Song Sparrow) “Savannah Sparrow’s often has a central breast spot, but has THINNER, SHARPER STRIPING and a slimmer, PALER bill. It USUALLY has yellow in the supercilium and OBVIOUS PINK LEGS.” Duh, the pink legs, why I didn’t think of that!!

I’ll tell you why …It’s because I’ve become so focused on the field marks I’m comfortable with and if it doesn’t fit the bill (pun intended), I immediately discount it and move onto the next one. For me it’s always been the yellow supercilium, followed by the notched tail and since I didn’t see those, I disregarded it despite briefly considering the Savannah last evening when I saw the photos for the first time on my larger computer screen.

So let’s look at the photo one more time shall we?

-Central Breast Spot-check. I had seen it w/ my bins.

-Thinner, sharper striping-DING, DING, DING, we have a winner! This was the first thing I noticed about the sparrow when I first saw it, and what made me whip out my camera, as I’d never seen a Song Sparrow before with such pretty streaking.

-Slimmer, paler bill compared to the Song Sparrow- semi check-I’m not experienced enough to get a good feel on bill size between the two, but I did think it looked rather pale last night when I first saw it.

-Yellow supercilium-Not! This would be the most eye opening for me hence the all caps for USUALLY which means not always. It made me scratch my head some and rethink the way I’ve been studying birds.

-Obvious Pink Legs-Check!! What would be funny is that I’d notice this when I first looked at my photos last night, but figured it was due to how the sun was hitting the bird so didn’t consider it a valid field mark until this morning when I looked at it again.

So there you have it folks. The bird that I saw that I hoped was a Lincoln’s Sparrow, but then turned into a Song Sparrow now turns out to be Savannah Sparrow and it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time as I need that bird for the list I’m keeping even though I’m not keeping a list or chasing birds at the moment. Ironic considering I spent over two hours bushwhacking in Grafton for the Savannah, only to get it without even realizing it until I got that FB email which caused me to look at the bird in a whole different way and focus on other things besides what I’m comfortable with as that can sometimes be mislieading. Thanks as always Kevin!

I should note, If this had happened a year or so ago, I'd have been mortified with my oversight as I’m a blogger and a birder, so mistakes are out of the question as perfection must be the rule. This pressure was starting to take some of the fun out of birding for me because instead of just enjoying birds for simply being birds, I felt as if I needed to immediately ID the bird in question and if I got it wrong, I was a failure. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stared at lousy pictures of a bird in question and decide to put it in the recycle bin vs. putting it out on my blog and asking for advise on what it could be because to do so, would make me a lousy birder and the small reputation I have built as a birder would be ruined forever. I sometimes think we birders can be our own worst enemies when it comes to birding and gets worse the further we get into our hobby as we expect more from ourselves. Whatever happened to birding solely for the love of birding instead of getting out there and racking up a large list with 100% positive bird identification and hopefully a lifer or two? Isn't birding more about learning than it is perfecting?

I had that when I first started birding because I was so “green”, nothing was expected of me as the “Kitchen Window Birder” and was satisfied as the birds in my yard made for good company and easily accessible for viewing and study. There was no pressure, no formal lists, or inner voice always causing endless doubt. I’d try that approach again this spring and summer and while it worked for a while, I now realize that woman has changed. How can she not after being exposed to spring warblers, summer shorebirds and autumn migrating hawks and waterfowl. But then the Curious Birder has changed too and has decided to give herself a break which means getting out there and just birding and yes, even chasing, but realizing that it's okay to make mistakes and with every mistake, comes the opportunity to learn from it which in the end makes you a better birder which is all one can really strive for in the end.

Take care all

ETA: I was looking at my "You may like" feed and came across this post and LOL'd really loud. This is the Kitchen Window Birder in full action who took a photo of deer dung to ask for ID and had no issue with it what so ever. Who says I haven't come a long way as now I know what deer shit looks like. Ah, to be that new again, sigh.

http://kitchenwindowbirder.blogspot.com/2008/12/tuesdays-what-heck-is-this-thing.html

Week Day Birding-All About Balance

2011-09-21T17:45:00.025-04:00

I did a little local birding before and after work this week despite it being another vow I made earlier this year not to do as that would be considered “chasing”, but figured I’d already broken that vow so what’s another? Plus, I’ll admit, I still haven’t gotten the Black Duck nor Brown Creeper which has been gnawing at me since Sunday. Why this bothers me I don’t know with neither being migrants but it just goes with my obsessive/compulsive personality when it comes to certain things including birds I guess. Because of this, I spent Monday (before and after work) looking for the duck, Tuesday (before and after work), looking for the creeper and this morning looking for the creeper while trying to relocate the Red-shouldered Hawk (will get to that later).

Monday would be the Millbury bike path for the duck and of course, no ducks, not even a lousy Mallard. I'd get a Double-crested Cormorant though (FOY!! Woo Hoo). Besides that, not much else except for one of the three Great-blue Herons. One was so close, that I decided to get out my camera, despite lousy weather conditions as you can see in the picture. I had to LOL when I saw it as it looks like an angel or something. Kicking myself for not getting better focus on the bird as that would have been a cool shot!

After work would be Brierly Pond for the Great Egret Mike had posted on Rick’s site. That would be a strike out so decided to hit St Philips for a Black Duck and once again a “no go”. I did manage this crappy shot of a Wood Duck though.

Tuesday morning would be a quick look at the bike path for the duck and the cemetery for the creeper (‘no go”) and then I’d head out after work for the Brown Creeper at Martha Deering. It would be disappointingly quiet when I arrived, but soon found a small pocket of birds and would get my bins on one I thought had the potential to be a Blue-headed Vireo only to have it disappear. I'd also have about 10 mosquitoes on me and I’d regret not bringing bug spray because there was no way I was going to be able to bird without it. Panic swept through as I looked at the time realizing this would cut into time to bird (and find that creeper) so instead of going home, I hit CVS which is closer. I think I took the corner into CVS on two wheels as time was of the essence. I ran in there and shouted out “where’s the bug spray”. The clerk looks at me a tad startled and tells me the end cap of aisle 7 so off I go. I pay for it and while I’m walking/running to my car, I’m spraying myself to save a few precious moments of prime birding time once I get back to Deering. It’s all about balance, you know?

Anyhow, I wasn’t able to relocate the pocket of birds so went to a place I usually get a Brown Creeper, but it was devoid of any sign of life so decided to venture further into the brushy area to see what else I could find. I’d go to an area where I could hear a Black-capped Chickadee, when suddenly a half dozen or so Blue Jays would make their mobbing call. Now Blue Jays are always noisy, but I’ve been birding long enough to realize when the call sounds different and I pay attention to it due to my love of raptors so Blue Jays and American Crows are my friends as they can be some of the best birding partners one can have. A few seconds later I would hear the piercing sound of a Red-shouldered Hawk. I’d stop and try and decipher the sound as Blue Jays can do pretty good imitation of the RS, but it sounded too loud for any Blue Jay. It wouldn’t take long to see the Red-shouldered get flushed from the area and land on another branch which gave me time to get my bins on it for confirmation. I’d put down the bins and fumble with my camera hoping for a picture only to have it fly to another branch where it would land only for a second before leaving the scene all together. Grrrrrrr, I’d think. Seconds later the Blue Jays would be at it again and another hawk would come from the same tree the RS was on originally, but this one would fly in the opposite direction.. While I didn’t get the Brown Creeper, seeing the Red-shouldered Hawk clearly made up for it. I’d stick around for a while longer and would hear a Blue-winged Warbler doing a half assed version of it’s song and two Eastern Towhee’s like the lousy shot above which is of the female.

I’d have a bad case of insomnia Tuesday night so laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, planning my next move for the lousy duck and creeper. Thoughts soon went back to the Red-shouldered while half asleep and suddenly I’d remember what they say about mutual habitats between hawks and owls. Hmmmm, “what is it again-Great Horned Owl and Red-tailed Hawk and Barred Owls and Red-shouldered Hawks”? I’d open my eyes remembering the Barred Owl I’d gotten at Martha Deering twice and then it would click. "Hmmmm, wonder if that hawk was just passing through or maybe setting up house there". “Was that Red-shouldered an adult” I’d wonder……..”I wish I could have gotten another look at the other hawk as what else can it be besides another Red-shouldered”….I’d get out my Hawk bird guide and do some googling to kill a ½ hour before exhaustion would set in and I could finally get the sleep I was fighting earlier. Plus I needed to be up before dawn to search for the creeper and the Red-shouldered which will now be my new mission in between balancing everything else of course!

So I was back at Martha Deering this morning, this time well covered in bug spray in hopes for the hawk, the creeper or better yet both. It was nice and quiet and the soft earth smelled damp against my feet and I had forgotten how much I love being in the woods before the world wakes up. Considering I only had 45 minutes or so, I couldn’t do as much as I wanted and was tempted to go into work really late as I wasn’t having any success, but had a meeting so gave up after my 45 minutes and went to work reeking of bug spray. Funny because while at work I was preparing my morning cup of tea and my co-worker mentioned I smelled like bug spray and then asked why I was late coming in. I just smiled and rushed into my office explaining I had a meeting to dial in for which was true. ;-).

I just finished a huge project at work which meant work would be pretty slow today as I stared at my inbox hoping for some kind of request to come it to make the day end faster. That would never happen so I decided to do something very rare for me lately and that is take a real lunch, which means getting out of my office. Hmmmm…I wonder if those two Black Ducks are still at Notre Dame…….Well there’s only one way to find out and that is to head on over there I’d think. I’d get there and the crew would be out mowing the lawn and already using the leaf blower so the peace I was craving was obviously not going to happen and the birds seemed pretty disturbed by it too as I wouldn’t see any when I first walked in. The first thing I’d do is look for the Black Ducks, but all that would be there were the Mallards of course. I gave up on that and decided to look for passerines and except for a Blackpoll, Catbird, Blue Jays and the regulars, there was nothing else there.

I’d strike out so went to the area sparrows are known to like. I’d do some pishing when suddenly a bird would fly to a tree and allow me to get a quick look at it and my heart would stop as the first thing I’d notice is the pretty streaking it had. Hmmmmmmmm…..Could it be a Lincoln’s Sparrow, I’d wonder? Better get my camera out for this one as I’d never seen one before and need a picture to study. I’d turn on my camera and beg the little sparrow to stick around for a record shot and it would. It’s funny when I’m taking pictures under this kind of pressure because I’m never really focusing on the bird per say, but rather keeping the bird looking object in focus long enough for me to get a half decent shot, so I generally don’t notice its field marks until I’m reviewing the photos.

Love how it's staring at me and the expression. Almost like “are you done yet”. Anyhow, I’d look at it when I got back to the office and now looks like a Song Sparrow much to my disappointment, but the opportunity did give me a nice review on what the Song Sparrow looks like compared to a Lincoln’s Sparrow as well as remind me of how pretty the very common Song Sparrow can be in good light.

UPDATE: Got an FB message from someone asking if I had ruled this out as a Savannah yet and it's funny because I'd be looking at my Sibley's last night and wondering the same thing, but ruled it out because I didn't see any yellow in the lure's. With that said, I'll be looking at this pic on my Droid and comparing it with my Sibley's and sparrow bird guide on the train into Boston this morning to see if I can see it as I really need that bird. I so suck at sparrows but this bird didn't give me the Song Sparrow impression at first glance and maybe there's a reason

Speaking of good light, check out this photo of the two Chipping Sparrows and notice how different the one on the right looks compared to the one on the left. It’s almost like you are looking at two different birds if you just look at the colors and not the size on composition of them. Amazing what sun and shade can do to your perception of a bird.

Take are all.

Birding, Beer and Bushwacking

2011-09-18T14:57:00.010-04:00

With the sole intent in testing out my camera again, I decided to head out bright and early and hit a couple local spots to see what would await me. Of course it had nothing to do with my "target list" I developed Friday during lunch via an Excel spreadsheet. You see, I vowed there would be no target list this year as this was the year I wouldn't "chase" birds and stick closer to the nest and be a good mamma hen, but the youngins have been suggesting I get out more as I'm driving them crazy so perhaps they are right. I would update my eBird submissions and then go to "My eBird" and there it would be, my measly number for the year and I'd blush......"But I did it for good reason", I'd think to myself. "Heck, I'm only 42 and I will have years to chase birds, so what's 1 year?", I'd think again. But being the geek that I am, I exported my bird data for the past three years and checked off the ones I had gotten so far in 2011, deleted the ones I have no chance in hell of getting, and then kept the rest and ranked by probability of high, medium, low. I then created a separate column which was best location and added that only to my highs and mediums and printed it out, just for review of course.

I'd look at is Saturday while getting ready for some birding and decide to bring it with me and hit a couple of locations to see what I could get. I'd get 4 FOY's and was happy, but decided to try it again this Sunday and the Millbury bike path usually has one that's on the list. Does anyone want to guess what it is???? Go on, I dare ya..........All right, all right, I'll fess up..........

A lousy Black Duck. That's right everyone, the curious birder doesn't even have a black duck for the year, but one must remember I don't even have a lone wild turkey this year yet, not that I'm counting of course.

Anyhow, I'd arrive before the car loads of dogs and kids and be greeted by a lone female Northern Cardinal who was kind enough to pose nicely for a photo and then make my way toward the Blackstone River, where the Black Ducks are known to be. I'd spot something headed my way and would have my camera ready this time for the Osprey above. This would be my second sighting of one this weekend and made me happy as I had this ranked as medium probability on the list, so to get two was an added bonus. But alas, there would be no Black Ducks in that spot or any of the others so off I went to find others.

I'd then head to Purgatory Chasm for two birds ranked high on the list which were Red-breasted Nuthatch and **blush** a Brown Creeper. I'd get there early and there would be no one there, which made it really nice. I listened for the Red-breasted Nuthatch as it's usually fairly close by, but it would be quiet except for a couple of Blue Jays and a Tufted Titmouse.

Off I went to find it in its general location on the Old Purgatory Trail above. Let me tell you, I had an incredible urge to try and run it, just for fun, but quickly changed my mind as my PT would kill me due to how slow my hamstring was to heal from running on it as much as I did, despite having problems...Not to mention my ankle but that's another story for another day.

Okay, does anyone find anything wrong with this picture???? Yes I know it's common to find beer in the woods as it goes with the territory, but check out the type of beer.......I can almost guarantee you this is the work of a few rowdy adults because if it were kids it would be Natural Ice or Narragansett which is what we drank as teens way back when. I would have peeked inside to see if there was an extra, but prefer the lighter ale's so quickly went on my way to find my target birds.

I'd finally come to a place where I could hear a couple of Black-capped Chickadees, a Tufted Titmouse and a Downy Woodpecker so decided to go over there to check it out. I wouldn't even have to do any pishing, as there would be birds ever where. The first one I'd see was what I thought was a Pine Warbler so I focused a lot of my attention on that as that's ranked as low, but Pine Warblers love Purgatory, so it became an instant medium while I tried to relocate it for a better look at hopefully the tail for the notch on the tip as I was looking at it from above. Like yesterday, it would be hard due to birds darting from tree to tree and would get my binoculars on this FOY Black-and-white Warbler. SCORE! I had him ranked as low so I was happy to not only get it, but get a picture of it too. I'd finally relocate some warblers and confirm the one I thought was a pine so I'd try and get my camera on it, only to have it move but then stopped as I could hear a large bird coming in and was curious on what it was.

Why it would be this lousy picture of a sharpie of course!! I guess it's true what they say about sharpies following warblers during migration because this would be the 3rd day in a row that I'd get a good look at one. The Sharp-shinned Hawk would be just as startled to see me as I him and he would only perch for a quick second before he flew away empty handed. The bird activity came to an abrupt halt but I could still hear small warning calls coming from above with the chickadee being the most vocal. I was reminded on why all small birds gather around the chickadee as they are wise little birds. It became obvious at that point I would get neither the nuthatch nor the creeper so decided to venture else where.

I would head to Brierly, with no target birds in mind and decided to stop at Brierly Pond quickly to see if I could get a Black Duck there. Let me tell you I was afraid to get out of the car after getting stung by all of those yellow jackets last time I was there, but the lure of a possible Black Duck sighting was at stake so off I went to find it. Of course no Black Ducks, but plenty of Mallards including the one above. Yes It's a lousy shot, but so funny because it looks as if it's walking on water. What is it with the goofy birds at Brierly Pond anyway?

Speaking of goofy birds, the Greylag Goose (aka Cottontail), would still be around and looking as mean as ever! I'd head to Brierly woods, but wouldn't get anything so made a quick stop to the Cross Street Powerlines for the Common Raven as I still hadn't gotten it for the year yet despite being there three times this weekend. I'd get out of my car and hear two of them which was good enough for me as this was getting ridiculous. Seriously, everytime I've gone to Cross Street I'd either heard or seen them, so I was getting a little concerned and was happy to see they are doing well.

Next would be Grafton off of Route 140 for the Savannah Sparrow which was ranked as high as it's usually a guarantee here. Now I love this place and this was one of my favorite places to bird when I first started out, so imagine my dismay when I go there and see all of that lovely scrubby land, replaced by a soccer field and playground. I saw it there last time I went, and haven't had the heart to go back because it depresses me so much, but needed that bird so tried to ignore it to find my way to the path to take me to the power lines. The problem would be the path is almost hidden due to large, neglected overgrowth as well as downed trees and limbs but I was determined just the same. I would come to some brambles but see the path nearby that I had somehow lost and try and maneuver my way out of it. There was one point I would be pissed as I was caught up in some pickers and my cellphone would ring and it would be my oldest asking me what I was doing. I'm very busy right now was all I could say as I didn't want to tell him I was stuck in some pickers and on my way to see a bird as that just wouldn't sound right, but coming from me, maybe it would...............

Finally, after some of the worst bush whacking I have done in two years, I would find my way to the abandoned truck trailer that Beth, Paul and I found an Eastern Phoebe in which is close to the Savannah location and my heart would sink. It too would be overgrown with brush so I turned away trying to find the path again, despite how difficult it was.

You can faintly see the trail to the left of the photo. Seriously, this used to be a very well defined trail so it amazes me how much can change in only a year or so. I would finally find the spot where I normally get the Savannah, but all would be quiet. I'd see a sparrow of some sort go into hiding so I tried pishing it to see if I could ID it. The bird wanted no part of my pishing and mosquito's would start landing on me so I was losing patience so resorted to the Droid and YouTube to play its call. Of course the call would make me even more depressed because I absolutely love it and hadn't heard it this year. I remember the call as "take, take, take, take it eeeeeasy, and it works everytime. I wouldn't get a chance to either see the bird or hear its call so I'm guessing it was a Song Sparrow, even though they are usually easy to pish.

Strike four I'd think to myself as I tried to find my way to the original path. Funny I'd think, because I was striking out on all of the birds I had as high probable and picked up a couple of lows so I guess all is not lost as the highs are ranked as high because they're easy to find. This is what I'd tell myself while stuck in another set of brambles and now swearing like a sailor.

I'd finally make my way to some clear land but no location of the original trail. While finding a way out I'd get a whiff of something that would bring me back to my days as a kid in elementary school and that would be the smell of wild grapes. One of my best friends was this little Italian kid by the name of Tony and we would ride bikes, find snakes and eat which was Tony's favorite thing to do as well as mine, so we made good company. Yes Tony had some weird things about him, including licking and kissing his fingers after eating, but heck, we had some good times at Slattery's Spa drinking those old fashioned chocolate milk shakes and penny candy so who was I to say anything! Anyway, Tony's parents came to the US from Italy and were very Italian, in fact, I don't think the mother even knew English at that point.

Anyway, they had a huge patch of red grapes in the back of their yard they used for wine and he and I would sneak in there and eat them despite the stern warnings Tony would get from his parents. I remember him being a pro at popping the grape in his mouth and leaving the skin behind and then spit out the seed, and despite all of the lessons, I couldn't get it right no matter how hard I tried. The grapes were delicious though and it was one of our favorite things to do. The whole point was to do so and not get caught because if we did there would be hell to pay. We would be deep into our grape gorging frenzy when suddenly we would hear "DOENEEEE", which was the mothers way of yelling Tony. We'd stop dead in our tracks and Tony would yell out RUN which we would do as the mother ran after us with a broom and shouting in Italian. We'd run for at least two blocks before Tony would stop which is funny now because the mother never made it out of the driveway with the broom but we ran just the same. Anyhow, back to the current topic, and that would be TONS of wild grapes at the powerlines. The temptation of my youth came to light as I picked one and popped it in my mouth. Hmmmmmmmm.........Not quite what I remembered so maybe I'll try another. Blah, I'd think and stop eating them all together. I guess the fruit was better way back then as it was forbidden which made it more appealing. In the end, I decided to give up finding the trail all together and found my way onto 140 to walk back to my car.

Anyhow, despite only getting three FOY birds today, I was happy. I will never go back to the 14o place though, unless I get the urge to make grape jelly and I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Take care all.

A little local birding this morning WITH my Camera!

2011-09-17T13:24:00.012-04:00

Yup, that's right everyone, WITH my camera. Seriously, my neighbor has been offering to tinker with it again to try and figure out the issue, but since it didn't work the last time, I just didn't have the heart to get my hopes up again only to be dissapointed as I have a deep fondness for it, depsite the problems I've had with it in the past. When I first started birding, I wasn't using binnoculars and relied solely on this little camera of mine as my way to see the birds and we have seen lots of birds together which I've always loved posting on my blog in return. But since I now have a laptop I can use all the time, I figured I'd try one more time and based on today, it appears as if the issue is fixed. All it needed it seems is some tweaking and a part in the battery section of the camera as well as a set of new digital batteries and a new charger and it's working almost as well as it did in the past and I hope it stays that way.

Anyhow, I decided to head out early to do some local birding but had to stop at the dump first. I would make my way there and the first thing I'd see was this beautiful Red-tailed Hawk in the picture above. Now I'm always excited to see a Red-tailed, but even more so with my camera and as luck would have it, the ligthing would be perfect and the bird nearby so out came the camera in the midst of cars coming and going doing what most people do at the dump which is take out trash, but who says you can't bird as well if something interesting shows up.

Sigh, have you ever seen a face as sweet as that? Such deep thought in those eyes I'd say. Funny because at this point everyone at the dump was now looking at the Red-tailed Hawk because they were all wondering what I found so interesting. I could hear a guy behind me explain to another guy that it was a Red-tailed Hawk so I turned around and smiled and nodded as a gesture of respect because I usually hear non-birders refer to these hawks as eagles so I was rather impressed. He continued to impress me even more when he told me I may be interested in the Turkey Vultures around the bike path....Hmmmm....Perhpas a birder in disguise?

Okay, last one I promise, but had to share as I took it at another angle which is the compost section of the dump so I just couldn't resist.

Okay, so I lied. Here it is gazing into my eyes, swoon......I am sure the hawk was wondering who the hell I was as it;s usually able to perch and hunt from this location, never being noticed until I came along and screwed things up.

After stalking the hawk, I decided to head to Martha Deering which is only a quarter of a mile or so from the transfer station. I would get a few birds going in, including a Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker all within the same general location as well as numerous Blue Jays squacking up a storm. I would come to an area where I could hear a lot of bird activity so decided to do some pishing to see what I could find. The activity would be so heavy that I'd be in a state of confusion as my brain not only tried to focus on the calls, but all of the flying around as well because birds were coming and going from every location. I could hear the faint call of a Northern Parula near a Black-capped Chickadee so decided to focus my time around that area because that's where the other warblers would be. There would once again be birds everywhere including a quick glimpse of a Black-throated Blue as well as a good look at another but as you can see by the picture above, it was gone by the time my camera got into focus on the darn bird. Grrrr....So frustrating but goes with the territory of birding for warblers I suppose.

I should note that at one point, I could hear the calls of the Northern Parula, some Black-capped Chickadees, an Eastern Towhee, pissed off Blue Jays, a White-breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Gray Catbird, American Robin, a red squirrel as well as a few chipmunks all at the same time, which was causing some major confusion, but what had me stumped the most was this almost mechanical sound that was coming from above- but wouldn't realize what it was until I got out of the bushy area I was in and that would be this hot air balloon above. I think the guy was just attempting to mess with my head seriously!

While heading back to the car, I could see a buteo in a tree and the first thing that comes to mind is a Broad-winged Hawk until I get my bins on it and realize it's a Red-tailed. Hmmmmmm......Perhaps that one I saw earlier I think as it's relatively close. The hawk does'nt look too pleased to see me I think as I'm turning on my camera again and smiling at it.......Perhpaps the hawk is stalking me now I think.

Here it is showing me its ass or maybe mooning me.........

Bon voyage my handsome friend, until we meet again!

After that it would be a quick stop to the Cross Street Powerlines to see what I could find. There would be a few Eastern Bluebirds mixed in with some Mourning Doves which was funny to see because of their size comparison.

These two do not look too pleased with one another. Perhaps a lovers quarrel?

I'd make my way to my favorite part and would hear the call of what sounded like a bird in disress. It would take me a bit to think Osprey, but I'd doubt myself as I've never had one here before. Soon enough I'd see if fly from the post it was on before I could get my camera ready. It seemed as if I'd ticked off another raptor today and it's not even 10:00 I'd think.

But there would be one raptor that didn't mind my presence and that would be the sharpie above. Now this is the type of picture I could stare at forever, because it has all of the classic characteristics of a sharpie in flight. Note the squared, long tail obviously, but also the rounded wings at the tip and the s shaped curve along the leading edge of the wing and the small head compared to a Cooper's Hawk too.

Another one I thought was interesting. From what I can tell, this hawk appears to be a juvenile? It also behaved like one too while trying to score some breakfast as it wasn't very successful. A lot of flapping, a little gliding and every passerine in sight hidden from view which frustrated the sharpie. After a while though, it did land high up in a pine tree so not sure if it was successful or not, but I appreciated the air show just the same.

I'd do a little more birding and see a Field Sparrow in the same location I have seen it for the past two years which I found funny. No Common Ravens though, which is a first for me but there's always next time.

Take care all

An Update of Sorts & Lots of Incoherent Ramblings

2011-09-07T17:06:00.009-04:00

Hi there everyone, yes it's me Kim. I figured I'd give you all an update of what's going on considering I haven't posted here in almost a year and I received some emails from folks wondering what's going on and while I responded to some, I didn't to others because I use my Droid for most of my emails (will get to that later), and for some reason, the Droid will drop some of my emails and for the life of me I can't figure out how to get them back as they get swallowed up in cyber space much to my frustration. Plus have you ever tried typing out a long response to an email on your cell phone? Let me tell you it isn't easy!

Anyhow, all has been going alright I suppose. I kind of stopped blogging late last year because first my camera broke followed shortly thereafter by my computer. Money was tight, and still is, so buying a new computer and camera was out of the question for me as I was having a hard enough time just making my monthly bills so I didn't want to add to it by putting expensive things on my already over burdened credit card only to get a jacked up interest charge which would make making my monthly payment even more difficult. The economy's been a real pisser with not getting a raise in three years despite the cost of everything increasing, but I'm ever so grateful to at least I have a job which is something to be thankful for with how uncertain everything is right now. So computer time has been a challenge and not something that's been easy for me considering I would have to do most of it at work when I can't goof off and even if I wanted to they have a block on my email and Facebook. My son's girlfriend is living with me and she was letting me use hers at times but she or someone else always seems to be on it so I had just given up! Needless to say, she was just given a new computer for her to start nursing school so this one is officially mine until early next year when I'll be using my tax returns for a new computer and I'm hoping for a camera for Christmas.

So I figured I'd make the most of having no computer or camera and tackle everything I've been putting off but that's easier said than done. I used this time to get my "house in order" if you will and spend more time at home with my kids and do things around the house that have gone neglected for far too long. It's given me some time to do some deep soul searching and try and figure out just why I have such a hard time being an adult at times. In that time I've realized that I have a real tough time forming relationships and often push away the people I love the most as conflict and commitment make me uncomfortable so I find ways to escape it rather than confront it which is what we adults are supposed to do.

In the past three years or so I used all kinds of things to escape with birds still being my favorite followed by trails and summits which come in a very close second. Why I chose these, I still don't know, but I do believe both represent freedom to me. Birds to me are the symbol of freedom. Especially in flight when they are soaring in the air and free in the wind. Trails are free of human contact and untainted by development which is a perfect place to hide out when the daily grind gets to be too much on the nerves. I've spent so much time chasing birds or running trails all in an effort to escape responsibility and I've hurt people in the process and for that I'll always be sorry. With that said, I still wouldn't change a thing as I've loved every bird as well as every spill down every trail and those I've met in the process and have many fond memories that will be with me forever. But I did take this as a sign and maybe it was time to indeed "get my house in order" considering my youngest is going on 19 and my oldest 24 so decided to spend more time with them before they are off and running and living their own lives.

I found ways to keep busy of course and the first thing I did was try my hand at organic gardening again. Now I've always kept an herb garden for cooking, but vegetables are another animal within themselves as they are prone to insect infestation, bacterial wilt and a host of other issues. That didn't stop me from trying though so out I went into my yard with pitchfork in hand and just started digging up the earth to plant a few lousy tomato plants. Once I got started though I just couldn't stop. You see, I hate grass....It grows far too tall and getting my kids to mow the lawn is always a battle so I just started ripping a large portion of it out. It was quite fun actually as I was doing it during the height of warbler migration and I would have my bins nearby and whenever I heard a warbler I'd drop the pitchfork, grab the bins and start pishing around my yard much to my neighbors curiosity.

It's funny because I spent the last two years prior to this birding like a mad woman during migration so had no idea of exactly what passes through my yard this time of the year. The first bird I'd hear was a Northern Parula and I'd recognize it's call immediately. No sooner than that I would hear another nearby and while it was familiar, it would take me a good five minutes or so of trying to rack my brain figuring out what it was that I'd remember it as the Black-throated Blue Warbler who was messing around with me as the little bugger would drop the last two notes so it wouldn't register. Finally after pishing in the bushes near my neighbors window while they were eating lunch I would spot both of them in the yard next to mine high up on a tree with leaves in full bloom (warblers will be warblers whether at Quabbin or the back yard)!

Next would be the Prairie Warbler and Black-throated Green who were in my neighbors yard as I was swapping herb transplants with them. We were making idle chit chat when suddenly I could hear the Prairie. Now I'd already gotten the prairie for the year via a drive by, but the thought of it hanging out in my neighbors yard in a white pine tree was too much for me as this would be the first time I would get it out of its habitat!! Did you hear that, I asked my neighbors all excitedly?? Hear what? My confused neighbors replied. I start pishing like mad realizing I didn't bring my bins so I'm cursing myself for being so stupid. My neighbors see I'm distraught over this so off one runs to grab their pair and let's just say, the binoculars totally suck, but I am determined as neither of them have ever seen ANY kind of warbler before and after all, these were the woman who got me into birding in the first place so it was my neighborly duty to return the favor no matter how challenging considering the pine tree is probably 30 feet high and my ears tell me that not only is the prairie on the highest branch, but the damn Black-throated Green is right along beside them. Finally after much pishing I finally spot the Prairie so I pass the bins to one of my neighbors telling them where to look. Now for those of you who have birded with me in the past, you know I'm terrible with giving directions. I'll always say "next to the bare branch" or "near the green, bushy leaves", like that helps. HA. Now try doing that with a couple of back yard bird watchers and just picture the confusion. Finally they both get a look at them, but only for a split second much to my disappointment. That doesn't stop me though as off I run back to the house to get my Stokes warbler book so they can actually get a good look at the birds they had in their yard. I had done my duty and boy did it feel good!

Are you ready for another?? This one is one of my favorites so I have to share. :-p I remember in 2010, I would be waiting for Alan to get me to bird and I'd hear a bird nearby that sounded just like a Blackpoll. I would attempt to pish it out but it never worked. This bird would torment me for close to a week and every morning it would be the same routine with the same outcome so I finally just gave up figuring it was wishful thinking. Fast forward to May of 2011 and the damn bird was back again. I'd be deep in thought while clearing sod from my garden and he would start with his call. I'd drop everything to try and find him only to have him stop calling so I'd go back to gardening only to have him do it again. Now this went on for three straight days and finally on the third day I was determined to finally confirm it as the blackpoll. Let me tell you I was pishing so hard my jaw hurt and spit would come out of my mouth but crap, I wanted that bird so it was no time to by lady like!! It would still be a "no go" so I resorted to a desperate measure which would be my trusty droid. I put it on YouTube and played the Blackpoll Warbler song but it would be no use I thought as the volume was far too low. Suddenly the warbler darted out of hiding and stood close by on my yew tree. It was so close I didn't need my bins but I used them anyway and he just stared at me as I stared back in return. Sigh. This would be the first decent look I ever got of a male in breeding plumage and my heart just pitter pattered because they remind me so much of the Black-capped Chickadee which remains one of my favorite birds of all time, despite how common they are. So needless to say, I will be looking out for him again next May as he finds something in my yard he likes enough to stick around for a few days before he goes to wherever he goes.

Okay, last one I promise (hey, cut me some slack, it's been a while and no one but you dear reader would find any of this exciting as most of the people I know think I'm crazy when I talk about birds so I need to get it out of my system ;-)). Okay this one's good so bare with me. I would be in my yard yet again, digging up sod when suddenly a large flock of Chimney Swifts would be darting around my yard. Plomp goes the pitch fork as I run for my bins in an attempt to figure out what they were doing. To my horror I realize they are near my chimney and perhaps even going into the chimney. Crap I yell as it was still kind of cold despite it being mid May and I had just had my heat on a few days before this and if they were living in there then some of them are probably dead I think as I run into the house to shut off my emergency shut off valve to my boiler as this was an emergency as far as I was concerned. I run back outside and the swifts are now near by the gazebo and getting closer than I'd ever seen them before. Suddenly I could see swarms of a flying ant type insect landing in my driveway. There would be three American Robins and 2 Gray Catbirds on the ground and pouncing on them as soon as they landed. I sat there and watched them through my bins totally motionless as I was captivated by it because you could tell they were thoroughly enjoying this feast. After about 5 minutes or so I'd come to and realize I had a bunch of those ants that had landed on me and especially my hair. My first impulse was to scream and try and get them out of my hair, but I couldn't do it as I didn't want to scare my lunch guests so I just shook my head some and brushed my clothes and tried to relocate the Chimney Swifts as they were still nearby. My bins would go up to the sky and just as I did that a buteo would be spotted and I would finally get my first ever decent look of a Red-shouldered Hawk in flight. I would see all of its most notable field marks, especially the crescents near its wing tips as well as its overall lankiness compared to the Red-tailed Hawk. No sooner would I see it, that it would be gone as I had gotten it in the midst of a glide and it was fairly high up on a cloudless blue sky, but that quick look I got was memorable just the same. I would end the day with one of my favorite summertime drinks after working in the garden which is a Blue Moon Beer with a slice of orange and watch the swifts who had finally made their way back to their summer home across the street from me. I'd do this as a tribute to Chris E who had posted something on my Facebook in May of 2010 about how enjoyable it was to spend the evening watching the Chimney Swifts while drinking a good beer and I'd realize he was right and I would be sad that he is no longer here to do the same.

So needless to say, you can see I still had the birding bug and it is probably the biggest reason why my garden turned out as large as it did because everytime I grabbed the pitch fork something exciting would happen. I had a ton of vegetables including two different types of peas, two different types of cucumbers for picking, jalapeno peppers for jelly and salsa as well as both sweet and bell peppers for more pickling, zucchini which didn't survive and three different types of tomatoes for salsa, sauce and yes more canning. I have a pantry in my dining room that is filled with jars with more to come to last me the winter and it's very fulfilling to know that I grew it all and it saves a ton of $$ too so it was a win/win situation for me as far as I'm concerned. The birding stopped all together for the most part in mid June as all migrants were past but the nesting birds in and around my yard kept me good company with a family of Northern Mockingbirds nesting next door being my favorite. One of the juves was obsessed with my Mullbery Tree and would spend a good part of his day on he ground trying to grab a mullberry with his bill only to have it fly out which would tick him off and he would wail in protest. He also spent a good amount of time at my bird feeding station trying to land on the empty bird feeders (I only feed in winter) and he would wail again in protest which was very fun to watch. A pair of Cedar Waxwings were nesting two houses from me and I only know this because they spent a good amount of time in my yard trying to grab biodegradable twine from my garden to add to their nest site. I wound up cutting a bunch up in 5 inch strips and draping it on a post to make it easier for them to get to and then I would watch them fly to their nest site with twine in tow to add to their nesting site which was a welcome distraction because it was so late in the season I was yearning for something different to see than the Northern Cardinals who are always around getting sunflower seeds off of my sunflower plants which they do in a clumsy fashion compared to the always nimble American Goldfinches who also find this enjoyable. I still have to remind myself to keep my eyes on the road while driving as my eyes still wonder to the sky on 146 in hopes of a decent Turkey Vulture show (with perhaps a BV thrown in for good measure and I'm looking forward to my winter ritual of watching the American Crows flying above that high way in large flocks going to their roosting site in Worcester as that's been my ritual for over three years now and a great way to end an awful work day. I would do some hiking nearby but nothing like before as gas has gotten so high I decided to stay as local as I could. My trail running shoes would be used only for hiking as the running had totally messed up my feet and legs and toward the end even the Vibrams didn't help so I decided to give it a break and go back to a gentler way of seeing the great outdoors instead of running past it. I still get the bug though and have done a couple of runs with the Vibrams, but the old injury in my hamstring and foot would appear no sooner than a quarter mile out so maybe I'm just not meant to run as I've always been told I had more of the build of a cyclist so perhaps they are right?

Anyhow, I didn't mean to go on and on rambling like I did and if you've made it to the bottom of this post than God bless you as it was rather long! I will make it a point to drop in occasionally but I seriously can't see me doing any kind of serious blogging until I get a camera as my blog was as much about my pictures as it was my adventures and both of those have kind of gone off the wayside recently. I still have it in me, but I have to find a balance of sorts which has always been hard for me to do, but I continue to try just the same.

For all of you local birders, I think of you often. I still get the Massbird posts on my Droid and read them when I take the train into Boston as I've been going there more frequently due to a huge project I'm working on. I had read all about the great birds many of you had gotten during Irene and while I was envious, I was happy as I know Worcester County remains once of the best places of all time to bird, not only because of the avian diversity we have (especially after a tropical storm!), but because we have some of the most decent, helpful and excellent birders as well. Each of you have taught me so much in regards to birds and enjoying nature and it's something I will always be grateful for.

Take care all.

Test

2011-09-07T15:23:00.003-04:00

.......

Broad Meadow Brook Sunday

2010-11-07T12:16:00.006-05:00

I decided to trail run Broad Meadow Brook this morning and would arrive just as day light started to break. The air would be downright chilly as I got out of the car and would be greeted by bird chatter that seemed to be everywhere. I'd try and focus on one call I was hoping for and that would be the Pine Siskin as I listened to it this morning over and over while getting ready considering I'm rather rusty on it so knew I needed some practice. Alas, I wouldn't get one but did see the regulars including a Northern Mockingbird chasing a male Northern Cardinal, and quite a few White-breasted Nuthatches like the one above.Since the air was so cold, the camera went into my bag and off I went on my trail run to warm up. It would be a little under a mile that I'd start getting hot and off would come a layer and I would hear many American Goldfinches so I'd stop the Garmin and do some pishing hoping a Pine Siskin would be part of the flock but it would once again be a no go.
The Mallards would be around including the handsome drake above back in his usual handsome plumage and there would be a Cooper's Hawk nearby perched in a tree but it would flee before I had the opportunity to get my camera on it.

Talk about a hike! I had to go back that way too!

I'd finally make my way to the powerline trail in a sort of running trance as there was no one around so was in my own little world. The wind would start to pick up as there were no longer trees to shelter me from it and my eyes would water and nose numb as I looked straight ahead and picked up the pace so I could get back into the woods and away from the wind assault. I could hear some bird chatter to the right of me as I mentally told myself what it was and it would be the usual White-throated Sparrows and a little further up would be the Dark-eyed Juncos, but then I'd hear something that would cause me to do an abrupt stop (while running downhill mind you!) as this note call warranted some further investigation!

The Garmin would stop and the camera start as I'd do some pishing to try and get the bird out of hiding. The pishing would be all wrong due to me still being a tad out of breath so I sounded more like I as having an asthma attack vs. being a threatening creature, but the wheezing seemed to do the trick as the little bird in question would fly out of the brush along with the Juncos and make its way to a nearby tree. I was at a serious disadvantage here because my bins were in my car but could pick up on the bird being a good one due to the rust it had which could be seen even in flight. Hmmmmmmm....A Wood Thrush I would think as my eyes scanned for it on the nearby tree. It can't be as surely they have all moved on by now.

I'd get my camera on it, take a picture and look at it with my naked eye and my heart would skip a beat as the first thing I thought of was Fox Sparrow. Performance anxiety would start to rear it's ugly head as the first picture was lousy and I needed a good picture for positive ID as I continued to click and hope the bird decided to stick around some.

And the bird would indeed be kind enough to do me the honors. Sigh, such a great bird and one I've been trying to get for the past two years now but have never been at the right place at the right time until today. Funny in that I had thought about not even doing the powerline trail today but then told myself I had to as I wanted to get over 6 miles and this would help so I guess it paid off in the end. And this is a life bird for me too to boot so it was a great way to start the week. November has been pretty darn good to me considering I'm not twitching for birds and it's only November 7th and I have already gotten 2 lifers! Hoping the streak continues.

Take care all.

Fish Crows-Price Chopper-Worcester

2010-11-05T17:24:00.003-04:00

I did my weekly grocery shopping at Price Chopper today and always park near the back as that's where the gulls are so it gives me something to look forward to as grocery shopping is just down right painful so the birds make it less severe. Anyhow, I would get out of my car and see a crow that was acting funny by which I mean goofy and unlike an American Crow who carry themselves in a more dignified manner. It would be on top of the Wendy's sign trying to shake off its wet plumage from the morning rain and I was struck by how small it was. Hmmmmm, I thought as I entered the grocery store, what a weird looking crow. I would head back to the car with groceries in tow and sure enough there would be a couple of other crows in the area and I glanced at them and started loading up the car. I'd be lost in thought and putting away the groceries when suddenly I could hear one of the crows make a noise that made me stop dead in my tracks and try and find the bird through the call. It wouldn't take me long to find it and then it all started to make sense to me on why the crow I saw a half hour before caught my attention.

I'd immediately whip out my driod and send an email to Alan telling him I had some small crows making funny noises and hoped he was home so he could get over there to confirm as I have no experience with Fish Crows so wouldn't be comfortable enough to make that call on my own.

By the time I got home, put the groceries away and washed the floors, Alan would email be back and tell me he heard them as well, saw the size difference and was able to confirm they were in fact Fish Crows.
I would decide to head back there with my camera for some photos as well as video (and audio) and hope they were still around. Before leaving the house I would pack up a bag with bread and crackers just in case it would be needed of course as I know it's never good to feed the gulls, but desperate times call for desperate measures and this would be one of them!

Anyhow, I got there and threw out some white bread and flocks of Ring-billed Gulls swarmed me hoping for a piece for themselves. My cheeks would start to turn crimson as shoppers couldn't help but notice the spectacle or the noise, but I have gotten used to this by now and besides, I wanted to get a better look at those Fish Crows!

Soon enough, one would come over to investigate and two more would follow.
The first time our eyes meet. Sigh, such a cute little bird and not at all like the American Crows in that they are not at all shy. This one was only a few feet away from me at times.
No those are not bread crumbs you see near its bill, it's dandruff. Tee Hee

Anyhow, to not disappoint, I did get some video as you will see below.

The first one is good in that it shows you the size difference between the Fish Crows and the Ring-billed Gulls. Please disregard the baby talk you hear as I just can't help myself when it comes to birds. In fact, I believe this is why some come as close as they do, seriously!

The second one is where you can vaguely hear one at the end. OMG, I was so losing patience at this point as I had been there well over 1/2 an hour and was running out of goodies and it would be lunch hour which would mean Wendy's next door would be packed so I was the center of attention for everyone going through the drive through for lunch and I was getting rather tired of the stares and dirty looks! HA.

Anyhow, I thought I'd share as it's not that often we get Fish Crows here in Worcester County! If you are interested in seeing them for yourself they are at the Price Chopper in Worcester right off of Route 20. If you google "Price Chopper, Worcester, Fair", you should get exact directions to make it a little easier to find. They seem to like it most over at Wendy's and the Trailer Park so just keep you eyes AND most importantly you ears open!

Take care all.

York Maine, October

2010-10-10T18:50:00.004-04:00

I decided to head to York, Maine this weekend to visit with my mom as this would be the 1st time I would head to York this late in the year and was curious on what would be there. The gulls would be at their usual spots and as tame as ever so I took some pictures of them during my run on Friday. This Ring-billed Gull was in the midst of preening itself as the strong wind blew its feathers back. There were actually a couple of gulls that looked as if they went through a clothes dryer as their feathers were all over the place from the strong winds and they were funny to look at.
There would also be quite a few Herring Gulls as always and a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls too. Should note that on Saturday, I saw a gull when I was on the deck to the house that looked like a Lesser Black-backed Gull. I would put my bins on it and it had the dark gray back it is known for (to me it's back colors are in between a Herring and a Great Black-backed) which always makes me do a double take as its very noticeable. It would be deep in the water and all by itself so I never was able to see it's legs so not sure but the bird stood out to me none the less.
Also saw the guy in the picture above surfing with his kite. He would use the kite to carry him around the waters and he would go really fast at times as if was very windy. I had never seen that before and thought it was really cool!
The beach roses seem to be dying off everyday, but still pretty none the less.
Other signs of fall.
Some of the beach roses still remain though as you can see.
I think this is hands down my favorite bee picture I have ever taken. Check out the honey bee giving me the "hairy eyeball" as I take its picture. So cute!! Seriously, I have never thought of a bee as cute until I saw this. HA!
The cormorants would be migrating the entire time I as there in flocks as small as a dozen and as large as a flock of 40 or so.
My mother and I spent a lot of time walking and I decided to finally go into the quaint little church they have for some pictures of the stained glass windows which are so pretty when the sun hits them just right.
Folks who live there year round and already in Halloween mode with decorations, so had to get a picture of the vulture above. What do you think TV?? ;-)
Cloe is still around as you can see as she is a year round dog.
The owners store will close soon so we decided to go in one last time for the season to see what he had. Loved the Wood Duck above.
As well as the cute little owls of course!
This morning would be my last day in York so I went for a nice bike ride along the nubble and the beach. Common Eiders could be seen as well as all of the gulls and the flocks of cormorants all headed south. I stopped to get the picture above just a little after sunrise.
Another area I stopped at because it was so pretty.
The Yellow-rumped Warblers were everywhere and I had forgotten how easy they are to pish until I called one in after only 3 seconds of half assed pishing because I was on a busy street with people walking past so didn't want to do a loud pish as they would have all thought I was a freak or something. ;-)
All in all a great way to spend Columbus Day weekend and can't wait to get back up there again next April.

Take care all.

Weekend Birds and Other Nature Finds

2010-10-03T16:03:00.008-04:00

I did some trail running this weekend and finally figured out a way to carry my camera as well as only a few other essential items in my pack which will still allow me to run fast, but have instant access to my necessities and I realize that my camera is in fact a necessity so sacrifice a water for the camera instead and so far so good.
Anyhow, yesterday was just gorgeous weather wise and I would do almost 12 miles of running in total which allowed for plenty of areas to explore and some of them new to me which is always nice when you have your camera near by.
Leaves are now all over the trail and I stopped for some water and decided to get a macro photo of some of the leaves.
I would stop at an area as I had a gut feeling birds would like the spot due to the sunshine and sure enough there would be about 12 American Robins mixed in with a couple of Dark-eyed Junco and this lone Palm Warbler. I tried pishing it more so it would stick around for a better photo but it wanted to part of that.
Cool fungi shot taken from a log that was in the middle of the path that I almost tripped over.
Another cool shroom picture.
I would finally come to an open field hoping the Common Ravens I kept hearing while running in the woods would be around but I wouldn't see them. I did see the last of the clover still attempting to hang one for one last day or two.
There would be Eastern Phoebes everywhere on Saturday. I stopped for each and everyone of them because soon enough, I will miss them terribly.
I finally made my way to another part of the trail that I had never been to before and it would connect to a nearby powerline and it would be here that I could hear those Common Ravens again. I looked up to the sky and there would be four of them. Hoping they are the young from the nest of the other nearby powerlines because if they are then they all survived.
Another shroom picture as I just can't help myself.
Sunday would be another powerline trail run and this time only 3 miles as I was feeling it from yesterdays longer run. The weather would be a depressing 45 degrees and it would be pretty quiet.
The fall colors here though were gorgeous.

There would be pockets of birds here and there and it was nice to see this White-throated Sparrow. Also note worthy is that the first year Song Sparrows were out in this area all trying to sing their song and messing it up mid verse which always makes me laugh. Such funny little birds!
Bumble bee shot.
This bee would be part of a group of about 6 or so who were all clustered amongst the Goldenrod. Not sure what they were doing but they almost seemed to be still in an effort to conserve body heat with the temps as low as they were. I felt bad for them as I know its only going to get worse, but it did make for some nice photos though.
While I wouldn't feel overly motivated to run, this Cooper's Hawk helped to put a little spring in my step for a while. Almost looks as if it has a full crop here but not sure.
A couple of Blue Jays were giving chase to the Coops as I gave chase to them both which is always fun to do.
Flowers going to seed after a nice, long summer.
Take care all.

Boston Bound

2010-09-29T19:32:00.003-04:00

I had to get up bright and early to work in Boston today and was hoping Post Office Square would have a stray migrant or two hanging around and making a fuel stop. I'd be disappointed when all I would see were a couple of common House Sparrows and that would be it. No European Starlings, no Rock Pigeons, heck, not even a lousy Ring-billed Gull!
Who were all over at South Station as that's the place to be in the morning because breakfast time means bagel time and muffin time and quite often that means crumbs or even massive droppage by morning commuters and the gulls are there to serve as the clean up crew. It's a tough job but someone has to do it!
The only highlight would be lunch which is always a highlight of any trip I take to Boston. Let's face it, downtown Worcester has a total of 12 takeout joints near by and all serve the same thing, so 99% of the time I brown bag it. Brown bagging it in Boston would almost seem criminal as it has a takeout joint every two buildings with food choices as diverse as the people who work there. Today would be Indian and I had a really yummy meal with Naan Bread of course because what would Indian take out be without this nifty stuff. If you've never had it before you have to try it. Even if you think Indian food is too spicy for you, this stuff is great and I could have easily eaten three pieces of it so was glad we decided to eat it in the office vs the restaurant itself because I would have done some massive damage!

Take care all.

Pereginre Falcon Update-Kind of

2010-09-27T17:13:00.002-04:00

There are certain things one can always be certain of in downtown Worcester, when it gets above 50 degrees with sunshine, lunch hour is filled with office folks escaping from the office lined up at Dunkin Donuts for an iced coffee, the police are out in front of city hall from 1:30 to 3:30 to make sure all of the youngins don't get into fist fights while waiting for their bus, and when it rains out, the male Peregrine Falcon will be on the ledge of the BankNorth building in an attempt to escape the dreary weather as he just doesn't like to get wet.
And today would be no exception so of course I had to take a picture and look at him for a while with my binoculars to make sure he looked okay which he always does, but I still do it anyway as an excuse to gawk at him which I never tire of.

The Misses spends a lot of time over at her nest box and just chills and watches the downtown hustle and bustle now that her parental responsibilities are over with for the season. I do keep my eye out for the juveniles and either they are laying low or their biological clock told them it was time to venture south for more agreeable weather and off they went. I should note that I did see one 10 days ago on the steeple of city hall. I could see a falcon landing on the top and could tell it was one of they young falcons due to how large it was in comparison to the adults so it's obvious if has learned how to hunt well during the summer which made me feel better. Funny though in that while it was flying to the ledge it looked kind of clumsy in flight as its wing beats just didn't seem as fluid compared to the adults so I guess it's still learning that part of raptor life.

Take care all.

New blog in addition to this one.

2010-09-24T12:20:00.001-04:00

I've been a blogger now for close to two years and have loved every minute of it as it's a perfect way for me to chronicle and follow certain aspects of my life that I deem recordable and things I want to remember and the blog has allowed me to do that. With that said, I've spent those two years blogging about something very important to me which has been birding and that will be something I will continue to blog about as my love for birds will never fade due to the birds and nature being a central part of who I am and will never lose site of that. With that said, trail running has also become a central part of who I am and really wanted to create a journal of some sort to record my workouts, the trails that I have run and other musings related to my trail running adventures and other physical pursuits and hence the blog. I would have felt weird putting these types of posts on my bird blog as I want to keep that only bird related and will continue to update whenever I get out there to do some birding and something memorable happens, but right now in my life, my trail running is taking priority which is just as well with winter looming near. I have some short term goals including my first official trail run which will take place in October in Groton, I am also going to start doing some snow shoe running up North and around the area in hopes I can do one of Bob Dion's 5k races if we are lucky enough for snow as well as continue to increase my pace for my longer term goals which are trail half marathons, Pack Monadnock's race in June, the Wapack Race in October and if all goes well my first trail marathon before the end of next year.

Link to new blog: http://runningawayinsearch.blogspot.com/

For those of you who follow the Curious Birder, fear not as I will still blog like I said, but I needed to start a new blog which will allow me to track some of the day to day stuff I am doing in regards to my new found sport that I love so much. The birds will always continue to enchant me on the trails, in my car and when I am out birding, I just won't be blogging as much as my camera is too bulky to run with. I do make sure I take frequent stops whenever I am running a trail if I see a pocket of birds to see if I can id them, but without a camera for pictures, I feel weird blogging about it, so some of that will lesson for the time being.

Take care

Hawkwatching Barre Falls-Saturday, October 18th 2010

2010-09-19T13:50:00.006-04:00

Donna's scope in the spot light again! HA

I decided to spend another day at Barre Falls on Saturday to take advantage of the height of Broad-winged Hawk migration and would arrive there fairly early with a feeling of anticipation based on the weather forecasts I had heard the night before that promised for sunny skies and warmer temps which would mean good thermals for the BW's. When I would get there, the usual Barre Falls gang would be there and we would all search the skies for raptors as well as any signs of the sun, but would soon come to the realization that the clouds were not going to go anywhere and I kicked myself for wearing shorts!
Anyhow, that's not to say we didn't get any raptors, it just took a while to get them that's all. Pictures would be close to impossible due to the lack of sunlight and the clouds which hid the birds from the camera. The picture above is of a Common Nighthawk we saw which was a welcome site indeed. Funny how at a hawkwatch site they look like falcons to me as that's what I want them to be!
We would not have as many people today stopping by to try their hand at hawk watching but we did have a family come including a young boy who seemed to really enjoy hawk watching as well as look for other critters including this very docile Garter Snake above.
Here it is curled up in the boys hand and didn't look at all alarmed by being held captive. The air would be so chilly, the snake probably liked the warmth of the hand. These would be the best pics I would take all day! HA

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Anyhow, back to raptors. With the skies being the way there were, we were expecting to get nothing but a couple of Broad-wings here and there, but we be rewarded more than once with pretty impressive kettles starting to form within binocular and scope view. There would be one in particular that was interesting in that there were two of them (one above and one below) and they would try and gain altitude in the spot and would do an ok job so most likely there were some thermals here and there and the Broad-winged Hawks would find them, but they would last for long so off they would go.
We would also get some Osprey as well as a record number of Northern Harriers which is always nice to see. The picture above is of another Sharpie. I do have to admit that today was the most challenging days of all for me to hawkwatch. Most of the raptors were nothing but silhouettes to me and the cloud cover would make them blink in and out so it would be hard for me to see flight style, wing shape, etc. Even TV's and Raven's would throw me off, but the Broad-wings are starting to get a little easier now that I was able to take time off this week to really see it first hand so I was very happy none the less.

Osprey

Now it's back to work, but will be getting back up to Barre Falls through October here and there for more hawkwatching and sparrows of course.

With that said, blogging will be sporadic for the next 6 weeks or so as I am training for my first official trail run in Groton late October as well as a potential 1/2 marathon trail run around the same time that a friend recommend I try with him. Not sure if I am going to do that or not but am slowing increasing my millage (up to 10 mile runs on rugged trails now) and can easily get to 13.1 miles by then, but not sure if I want to put in all of those miles consistently due to work and other obligations.

Anyhow, I will be doing some birding here and there and will be spending the weekend in York in a couple of weeks too so will have some pictures. I will also be doing some birding during my trail runs as I run in sparrow habitat but I no longer bring my camera sometimes due to the weight and I am working on speed and the less weight the better of course. ;-)

Take care all

Hawk Watching Barre Falls-Thu. Sept 16th, 2010

2010-09-16T16:30:00.004-04:00

Day number two of hawkwatching today and did it at Barre Falls again. While we wouldn't get nearly the amount of Broad-winged Hawks as we did yesterday, the weather was gorgeous and we had great company so while it was a little slow first thing in the morning, it was just fabulous to be out enjoying the warm weather, conversation and anticipation of what was yet to come.
And the first thing that would come would be the accipiters and the smallest of the clan the Sharp-shinned Hawks. We would have one that would be fairly close as it descended from the sky with talons down getting ready to make an attempt at breakfast in a nearby tree. Passerines all started to dash out of various trees in a panic and the sharpie would fly away frustrated as the birds were too quick for it including the very vocal Northern Flicker much to my relief as the bird is always flying around and makes good binocular practice when it gets a little slow so I didn't want him to become a snack. Very cool to see as I have never seen a sharpie raise its talons like that before attempting a kill so it would be something new I would see today.
After a while we would see one lone Cooper's Hawk nearby and to the left of that would be two Sharp-shinned Hawks (above), who were soaring together but would take turns dive bombing one another which was very entertaining to observe. Not sure if they are siblings and just having a little fun or arch enemies, but both left un scathed by the ordeal. Funny how the smallest birds in the raptor family are usually the most daring as it reminded me of the Merlin's yesterday.

Susan joined us today and she would be the one to spot the first kettle of about 10 or so Broad-winged Hawks. They would be seen roughly the same time as yesterday (a little after 10 or so I think), so we were hoping to have a repeat of yesterday but we wouldn't be that fortunate so I am hoping some of the other local hawk watch sites like Mount Watatic and Pack Monadnock got them all instead.
One of the birds all of us have wanted to see were some Osprey due to the fact they have been close to null lately. We have Bill from Mount Wachusett hawk watching with us this week because Mount Wachusett is closed obviously and his super sharp eyes would spot a bird which he wanted to make an Osprey to break our dry spell and sure enough it was! I would run for my camera and hope for at least a couple of decent pictures today and sure enough I would get some as the Osprey soared around before hitting the river and when it came back up it would have lunch (fillet of fish it seems) in its talons which you can see in the photo above.
The Osprey would finally make its way directly above us which allowed for some killer looks as well as a couple of half way decent pictures vs. all of the specs and dots I usually get while hawkwatching.
I am going to inundate you with pictures here but I couldn't make up my mind which ones I wanted to post so I posted them all. :-p
Love this photo as it shows the crooked wings on the Osprey which I always enjoy seeing.
And then this photo that is somewhat redundant but check out whats on the right of it. It actually looks like a bird to me, but not sure. Anyone brave enough to identify exactly what it is?? ;-)
A photo of contrails which was picture worthy to me because we didn't see any lately. Hawk watching brings out a lot of other secondary interests in folks because there are times when bird activity is slow so you look for things like pretty clouds, planes, blimps, Venus (which I saw for the first time yesterday in broad daylight) and contrails to give you something to practice your eyes on while you are waiting for the next wave or raptors to grace you with the presence.

It would be a little while after this that we would get a Northern Harrier which would tease us a glimpse of it just enough to identify but then it would be below the tree line for an afternoon snack. About 40 minutes or so later it would re appear from below and allow us some really good looks but not good enough for a photo.
We wouldn't get the nice closeups of the American Kestrels today but did have one or two that came close enough for a photo.
And then a last picture of a Sharpie which were very frequent today it seems.

Won't be hawk watching tomorrow as it appears the bad weather isn't going to clear until later in the day tomorrow so hoping for better luck on Saturday.

Take care all.

Hawk Watching Barre Falls-Wed. Sept 15th 2010

2010-09-15T17:22:00.005-04:00

Today would be my first day of fall hawkwatching at Barre Falls. I would get there at about 8:30 or so and Bart and Donna would already be there and hoping today would be a good one just as I was, but this being my 2nd year of hawk watching a good day for me is more than 100 while a good day for them would be thousands of course!
Anyhow, I am doing things in no particular order here as I first wanted to show all of you the pictures of the kettles I was able to get and against blue skies no less which was something I didn't even think I would be able to get w/ my lousy camera so was thrilled when I did!
It wouldn't take us long (and there were many of us in the morning) to spot some Broad-winged Hawks and what would be interesting is we would see the BW's come in one by one at first and sometimes two but things would change in the mid morning as we finally could see some kettles of up to 30-to over 100 The kettle would usually be spotted when someone would spot a group of 4 of so of the BW's gaining altitude and making the circles they usually do, which would very often lead us to the kettle much to our delight.
What was great about this whole experience is that many of the kettles could be seen with just the naked eye and that is why I was able to get some photos of the experience. Yes I realize they look like tiny specs in the sky, but that is how you usually see hawks in migration which is why a lot of birders don't care to hawk watch as you have to work hard for your reward and once you get it, you have to use other clues for identification besides field marks such as wing position, flight behavior, overall shape, etc. This is what makes it so fun for the hawk watchers as it takes intense concentration and skill that is learned over the years and one I am still very new at. With that said, it's amazing how one year behind your belt can do for you as I was able to identify non raptors immediately out of the mix such as gulls, TVs (yes they are raptors, but most this time of the year are not migrating quite yet) and the local ravens that nest at Barre Falls. I was also able to distinguish accipiters vs. buteos rather easily even fairly high up in the air which was another thing I struggled with last year.
Of all of the kettle shots, I like this one best. Here they are in a kettle that is just starting to break and starting to peel. I like the picture because it's almost forming an s of some sort. Seeing these kettles is always such a fantastic experience. Now I am always amazed by nature and birds in particular but there are some things that just leave you with no words and you stare in wonder at probably one of the coolest things about fall migration which is seeing first hand hundreds of BW's take to the sky in their journey south to escape the brutal cold that will soon be headed our way just as generation to generation before them did. In a society where many are dictated by man made things like technology, cars and time schedules we sometimes forget that the most efficient and advanced creations are not made my man, but nature and no man could ever come close to replicating . Total Broad-winged Hawk count for the day would be 1,270 which isn't too shabby at all!
Finally other highlights of the day, including a few Broad-winged Hawks we had earlier in the morning that would be fairly low.
We would also have a couple of pairs of them here and there.
One of quite a few American Kestrels we would see who would not do us the honors of landing on the nest box for a decent look at it. Another bonus earlier in the day would be seeing a group of 4 Merlins taking turns dive bombing a Red-tailed Hawk. Seriously, the poor Red-tailed's never seem to get a break as it was just flying along minding its own business until the feisty Merlins decided to have a little fun in the midst of migration. I had heard and read about Merlin's doing this but had never seen it first hand and it would be another highlight of the day for me because it was not only interesting to see, but a FOY Merlin for me which is always nice.
Fran decided to come by and make a visit and as we were chit chatting, we would see this handsome adult Bald Eagle come by and be close enough for a photo.
A picture of a Sharp-shinned Hawk. We would also get one lone Cooper's Hawk today (could be more but I only saw one). Another interesting note would be no Osprey's at all today while I was there which is odd because Bart says whenever you get the BW's you usually get the Ospreys but not today it seems.
Another highlight would be seeing two female Purple Finches in a tree and one would stick around long enough for me to get this cool shot above just as it was getting ready for take off!

I'll be doing more hawk watching tomorrow so cross your fingers that tomorrow will be a big day for all of us!

Take care all.

What else but birding Sterling Peat & Trail Running of course

2010-09-12T14:53:00.005-04:00

What else but Sterling Peat yet again of course. I feel as if my entire blog bird wise has been nothing but SP lately, but I'm not complaining much as its super convenient and always guarantees a life bird for me lately and today would be no exception as I went to go see the Little Blue Heron that Mike P discovered and Alan was kind enough to send out an email to let everyone know.
I would get there and Mike P would already be on the bird with his fancy camera and I am sure he got some great shots as the Little Blue would be fairly close but decide to fly to the other side with the Great Egrets so off we went to follow. Love the shot above as it looks as if the Egret is telling the heron to stand back or something like that.
And now its time for the immature Little Blue to spread its wings. Such a treat to see it compared to the Great Egrets for a size comparison.
The birds version of monkey in the middle!
And now for a little Where's Waldo!
Eventually Tom P and Richard J would show up and Tom's super sharp eyes would spot a White-rumped Sandpiper in the midst of shorebirds so I was very happy to not only get the Little Blue this morning, but a FOY White-rumped Sandpiper too.
Another photo as I just couldn't help myself. Great bird to get and I remember this being one of the birds I had on my "I just have to see" list when I first started birding, so once again Sterling Peat is a great way to start my week.
Yesterday would be my day for a long trail run. My goal was 10-11 miles, but my ITB band protested loudly after 9 miles which was frustrating as I have been nursing injuries all week and thought they had finally subsided. Anyhow, I decided to try a trail that would be easy with no hills, summits or rocks and figured the Wachusett Rail Trail would be perfect. I would get there early and there would only be a couple of runners and hikers so I got into my groove rather easily and it felt fantastic after not really being able to run much this past week. I had never seen the Quinapoxet River before and was very impressed with the clarity of the water (obviously it has to be that way as it's a drinking source for many), but still wasn't prepared for it as I am used to the Blackstone River around here and as many of you know that is just filthy.
Anyhow, the once serene rail trail would become over crowded with TONS of people and the solitude I craved somehow disappeared as I had to try and run around walkers, moms with baby strollers and people out waking their dogs who of course have to stop smack in the middle of the trail so their dog can smell the other dogs while the people talk about their dogs and it was pure hell. I finally decided to just run toward a single narrow trail I found and was happy I did as this tiny trail goes all around the river and no one was on it so I was happy for a short period of time.
There would be pockets of birds all around and I could hear one in particular that made me stop dead in my tracks for some serious pishing while I had my camera out. I had no bins but my camera was in focus and suddenly I could see this little cutie peeking out at me and my heart did its usual "pitter patter, pitter patter" whenever I am lucky enough to see a Northern Parula looking at me. I don't know what it is about this particular warbler, but they have I think one of the most thoughtful gazes of any of the warblers I see. My heart turns to jello whenever I see one and today would be no exception. Thee would also be a bunch of Black-capped Chickadees, a couple Tufted Titmice, a lone Red-eyed Vireo and what I believe to be a Nashville Warbler but couldn't confirm it as I didn't have my bins and it was too quick for a photo.

Will be doing some hawkwatching later this week as I have Wednesday to next Sunday off an can't wait.

Take care all.

Sterling Peat-the Gift that Keeps on Giving!-& Other Ramblings

2010-09-06T14:31:00.006-04:00

I would get an email alert from Alan late yesterday afternoon letting people know that Sterling Peat had yet again another flock of really good shorebirds fly in on Saturday night and many birders were lucky enough to see a flock of 5 Stilt Sandpipers on Sunday that were not the least bit shy.

I of course was gone all day and was at my first trail running race which was the Wapack Trail race.

This race is"an out-and-back that follows the Wapack Trail between New Ipswich, NH and Ashburnham, MA. There are four major mountains in between: Barrett, New Ipswich, Pratt, and Watatic, from north to south. Total climb is said to be about 3,700 feet" and is approx 18 miles.

Now don't worry all, I didn't run the race YET, but this is my goal race for next year as well as Pack Monadnock so I decided to head to this one just to get a feel for the race and what the course was like on the other half of the Wapack I had yet to run.

There were quite a few runners, brave enough to run the race and let me tell you, the Wapack is very tough to run. When I had done Watatic to Pratt and back, I couldn't believe how beat up I felt after I was done. In fact, I had a hard time getting out of my car when I got home from my adventure and I would find out yesterday that the climb from Binney Pond to the Pratt summit was the steepest part of the race and even worse if you run it (which I tried a couple of weeks ago). I remember beating myself up over the tight legs as surely it wasn't that hard, but hearing this did make me feel a little better. It was great seeing them all come back and finishing the course. Many are in such good shape they didn't look at all tired after such a grueling endeavor, and quite a few would come back with battle wounds (like the picture above) as its rather common to take a couple of spills here and there and scrapes and bruises are treated like trophies to show just how tough you are. Seeing all of this with my own two eyes makes me look forward to it even more next year as there was no way I could run 18 miles of mountains right now and am happy with my meesly 8-9 I am getting in and that's with some hiking here and there.
Anyhow, I would be disappointed that I got home too late (and was far too tired) to head out to Sterling Peat to try for the Stilt Sandpipers but woke up fairly early this morning with my sole attempt to get out to SP before errands. I would be sipping my morning coffee when suddenly I could hear sirens far away and there would be quite a few of them. Moments later they would all be stopped in front of my house so of course I look out my window and there is smoke everywhere. There would be a fire at one of the factories across from me and streets would be blocked off as fire fighters went to battle the blaze. This of course would knock me off course for a while until the fire was out so despite the delay, I was confident the sandpipers would still be around!

Least Sandpipers from early this morning but not Stilt Sandpipers of course!

I would get there and see Bruce and ask him if he'd seen them and he would tell me that they were there earlier but a Merlin had come in and spooked them away. Doh! We would hang around for a while in hopes of a return, but that would never come so off I went to do my dreaded grocery shopping and then the gym. Get to the gym just as everyone is leaving mass exodus and realize it closed at noon so I would be s*it out of luck again. Hmmmmmm....Not my day I see, I think to myself. Oh well, I needed a rest day anyhow I think and head home contemplating a nap but decide to check email and once again Alan sends out another email to folks saying that the Stilt Sandpipers AND the Merlin were re spotted at 11:00AM. Grrrrrrrrr.... Of course I get back in my car and head to Sterling while praying they decided to stick around, but with the way my day was going, I wasn't holding out much hope.

But sure enough there would be quite a few birders (including Gary, Anne and Bruce) on a small flock of birds and there before our eyes were the 5 Stilt Sandpipers who were not at all shy by our presence.

The Great Egrets would be there as well and astonishingly enough there are 8 of them. I am guessing a new record for Sterling Peat which is pretty cool as I have only seen those kind of numbers at Plum Island, but heck, who needs Plum Island now where there is good ole Sterling Peat (a Snowy Egret would be an added bonus of course)
Anyhow, back to the stars of the day which would be the Stilt Sandpipers.
The were very interesting to observe as they generally stuck to themselves and when one would flee, all would follow which was interesting. The other highlight would be two Buff-breasted Sandpipers today which was nice as one can never tire of looking at those. No Merlin though which would have been nice as I still don't have one this year, but hoping I can pick one up hawkwatching next week.
Great birds to get today and another lifer. Sterling Peat has been very kind to me this year as far as lifers are concerned and is definitely the gift that keeps on giving as every week there are more goodies. I can see 2010 being the year we birders all reminisce about when we are out birding and things are slow so we swap bird stories to keep our sanity while scanning the grounds. We will remember the water levels, the Great Egrets and of course some very special shorebirds who decided to give us a break this year.

Take care all.

Baird's & Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Sterling Peat

2010-09-02T18:55:00.015-04:00

Baird's Sandpiper

I would be at my computer at work this afternoon when Alan would send me an email letting me know that Ian and Jess sent out a 411 on both a Baird's Sandpiper and a Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Alan was on his way to see if he could get them and all I could do at that point was pray to the bird Gods that both would decide to stick around so I can try and see them for myself when I got out of work.

I would finally make my way to Sterling Peat and realize there were no cars around and it suddenly hit me that I was on my own with just my bins and camera and would have to try and ID these birds on my own. Now normally I don't mind that challenge as it's a great way to sharpen your individual birding skills, but shorebirds are on the list of the most intimidating birds for me to identify (fall warblers are number one). I would make my way through the hardened mud banks as beads of sweat would start to appear and I was left wondering if the perspiration was due to the very hot temps or if I was sweating bullets because I knew what was ahead of me, but I the Curious Birder was up for the challenge!!!Anyhow, after what seemed like forever of me scanning the shorebirds for either sign of the Baird's or Buff-breasted, I would finally spot a bird of interest so made my way a little closer and the first thing I would notice would be the color of the bill as well as the length of the tail and black legs. The first picture above will give you an idea of how I first saw the bird and you can see those nice dark legs. The thing that would throw me off though would be the size of the bird as I was expecting it to be a little bigger and was hoping I wasn't confusing it w/ the least despite the fact it didn't have a rusty looking crown (at least to me). I would soon be saved as a Least would decide to meet up with the Baird's, long enough for me to make a size comparison with my bins before it decided to fly off again.
Another shot, not the best but it really shows off the length of the tail. Funny in that I started paging through photos of this bird and the least and I had never really noticed how short the tail of the Least's were until I studied it to this picture. Interesting how you can learn things about other birds by looking at other birds. ;-)
I would decide to sit on some grass in another area and search for the Buff-breasted and took out my book "The Shorebird Guide" and was paging through the Buff-breasted section when suddenly I could sense the presence of another being so I looked up and would see this Spotted Sandpiper giving me a "once over" to gauge the threat level of it being so close to me.
Coming in a little closer and going for the kill.
Score! HA! I watched this bird for a good 5 minutes and almost forgotten what I had gone to Sterling Peat for in the 1st place which was to not only get the Baird's but the Buff-breasted too so I started scanning again. Finally I would spot a bird of interest and try and get a good look at it w/ my bins but the sun made it hard. I would inch up a little closer and get a pretty good look at it so would whip out the camera for a record shot.
I would manage the one photo above and then suddenly a gang of American Crows same flying by Cawing away as if in alarm and it would cause a chain reaction of sorts and the Great Egrets would flee, followed by the very vocal Killdeer and scores of other shorebirds. I would see the shorebirds do a large loop and then go by way of the street where we park our cars. I would sit down again and look at my lousy photo compared to the guide and occasionally glance to see if it would come back again and except for about 4 Killdeer and one Greater Yellowlegs, the place suddenly turned very quiet.
Of course, the Great Egrets decided to stick around though as well as one lone Great-blue Heron. I was very happy to get all 6 of them in one shot.

Take care all.

Nighthawking at the Mall

2010-09-01T19:48:00.003-04:00

Picture taking this evening at the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury

I met up with Alan tonight up at the mall in hopes for more migrating Common Nighthawks. The air would be oppressive and the skies hazy and cloudless with no flying ants we could see of so I wouldn't be holding out too much hope of good numbers. It wouldn't take long though for them to come in clusters of anywhere between 3 to 20 or so and they would come in fragments. The only thing is though is the majority of them would be heading north and many were in direct flight and not feeding so it was rather perplexing as it was out of the norm. On the plus side, many would fly directly over our heads which gave us some killer views including 3 that decided to grace us with their presence when a mother and her young daughter stopped by to ask us what we were looking at. Now normally we have to sheepishly explain to curious mall shoppers that we are searching for nighthawks so they in turn scan the skies hoping they can see one too, and then we explain they are often nothing more than mere dots in the sky and the people turn away quickly getting instantly bored and looking at us as if we were freaks, but not tonight! HA. We got a little over 200 tonight which isn't too shabby at all where we nighthawk watch from.

I was also there last week with Alan and Sharon and we got over 240 which beat our record from last year so I was very happy. Will be there again tomorrow and hope they are heading south next time!

Take care all.

Trail Running/Hiking Mount Watatic to Pratt Mountain (Wapack Trail)

2010-08-29T10:45:00.007-04:00

I decided to hit the trails yesterday and do the part of the Midstate Trail near Mount Watatic which is essentially now the Wapack Trail which would lead me to the summit of Mount Watatic and then Pratt Mountain as that was an area I had never explored before but based on some google reviews, it sounded like it would be interesting so off I went!

I would hike up to the summit for the most part with perhaps 1/4 mile of running areas that were not too steep as I knew I would need my leg strength for the remainder of the trip and I didn't mind at all because at that point no one was on the trail except for me and it was so peaceful I could have lingered there all day.
I would make my way to the summit and not a soul would be there. I looked up to the sky in search for raptors and they would be absent as well, but not for long as hawk watching is looming near I thought as I looked over at the rock where everyone goes to search for hawks.
View from the summit of Mount Watatic.
After a few minutes, I would head onto the Wapack Trail in the direction of New Hampshire, but be distracted by a gravel road that caught my interest. It reminded me of the powerline trails I love to run so much nearby, but haven't due to the fact I hear wasps like nesting there, so I gave into the temptations and just ran down that hill to see if I could still do it as running downhill is my favorite thing to do, but it can be dangerous on regular trails because of large rocks and roots which are easy to trip on. The smaller rocks are not as hazardous because you can't trip on them and the worst thing you can do is slide on them, but that makes it even more the fun as the rocks help to carry you down some. HA. The hills seemed to keep going and going I thought to myself and I thought a couple of times about stopping and going back up but then assumed I could pick up the Wapack there and all would be well.
I would look around for the wapack and would do some running around the area just to explore and would come across this rock here, but not much else except for what appeared to be a large parking lot. Hmmmm....I would think a little disappointed as it appeared as if I would have to get back up the hill.
I would start off running and and all would be well until I got to about 1/3rd up and then I would really start to feel it as my legs are no longer used to running up hill on small little rocks where you have to balance yourself because you slip and fall sometimes if you don't.
I would continue to hike it and hope to get to the top soon, but all I could see was more road. Hmmmmmm, this was probably not a wise thing to do considering I want to get all the way to Pratt and I'm already tired I thought as I took out a Cliff Bar. Oh well, I thought and continued along huffing and puffing the entire way.
I would take a sip of water near the top and turn around and this is what I would see. I looked at the view for a moment and then took out my camera and wondered how come I didn't notice it on the way down as the view was so vast and beautiful. Glad I saw it on the way up and it made that hill worth it in the end.
I would finally make my way to Wapack and after about a mile of running it, I knew I had found my new favorite trial for running. There was still not a soul to be seen and the trails were just beautiful and new to me and running them was nice because it wasn't too steep but challenging just the same because there was elevation here and there.
There would be some birds here and there including a great look at a Hermit Thrush who was bathing in a puddle but took off as soon as I went for my camera, as well as many Dark-eyed Juncos like the one above.
Another part of the Wapack Trail that caused me to stop and take out my camera. I had read that some parts of the Wapack were bare of trees due to logging and would soon see that for myself. The sun felt great after all that rain and I ran this with ease.
One of the numerous Garter Snakes I would see. In fact, I had one almost crawl over me a little further down the way so I would get paranoid because I didn't want to step on one as I have a deep fondness of these little snakes and would have been over ridden with guilt the rest of the weekend.
An abandoned shed of some sort along the way. There would be junk and what appeared to be car parts everywhere here. It was really odd to see and thought it was picture worthy.
I would finally make my way to Binney Pond in New Ipswich New Hampshire and all would be quit bird wise except for one lone Great-blue Heron who flew by as it was irritated by my arrival.
It would be around here that the trails would get really narrow and the bugs would start to come at me. I was super annoyed over the bugs, but the run would still be nice because the trail follows the pond which was nice to look at so I wasn't complaining much. Suddenly I would find myself in a part of the trail that was super narrow and rather wild and I would realize I somehow veered off the trail and was in the middle of no where as the little black bugs swarmed me. I stood there looking for yellow arrows and didn't find any so had to resort to bush whacking around until I could see blue skies which indicated to me I had found Pratt Mountain, but just not the way I had intended to that's all. :-p
I would finally make my way to the overlook and decided to sit on a rock and drink in the view. The bugs were now gone and my legs tired so decided to eat again and catch my breath. The view of Binney Pond and the surrounding area was just gorgeous as I looked around and tried to identify the mountains I could see.
Another view. All of the running, hiking bush whacking and bug swatting was well worth it I thought as I drank my water.
No summit rock for posing but figured I would get a picture just the same. Like how this one came out funky due to the sun to my right.
View from the summit of Pratt (if you can call it a summit seriously). Despite its small size it did allow from more killer views you just can't get at Wachusett unless you are 6 feet tall and can see over the trees and towers. ;-)
Mount Monadnock I believe and a much better look at it from here than Wachusett as it's closer. I would make my way back to Route 119 in Ashburnham and not get lost this time, but I had a real hard time running because my legs were spent and I'm guessing it was from running up and down so many steep inclines and declines as much as I did. It's funny in that Mount Wachusett is a steeper mountain and I am getting really good at running that, but you make your way up and then make your way down so it gives your legs a chance to regroup which is something I was never able to do here. I would be disappointed, but figured there's always next time to try it again. ;-)

I will be blogging about night hawk watching at some point this week as Alan and I had done some last week and got a very impressive number for our location and plan on doing it tonight too so between the two nights I should have some ok photos (hoping we hit the jackpot this evening, and double hoping for a Black Vulture!).

Take care all.

Wachusett Meadows/Mountain in the Rain

2010-08-22T12:29:00.010-04:00

With yesterday being National Trail Running day and me not participating as birding always trumps any of my other hobbies during migration, I decided today would be the perfect day to make up for it and run one of my favorite trails which is the Mid State Trail. My original plan would be to finally attempt running the Midstate Trail that gets you up to the summit to Mount Watatic and then I was going to head into New Hampshire, but the rain made me re consider, especially because I don't know that part of the Midstate that well. I also wanted to see if I could finally get the Black-billed Cuckoo at Wachusett Meadows and figured today would be the perfect day as it hadn't started raining yet but was going to, and cuckoos are known to call more prior to rain.

Bird activity would be pretty heavy over at the feeders and there would be plenty of birds taking advantage of Dick and Peg's generous offerings including two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds like the one above.
Checking out its friend up above. Sigh, with fall nearby, I will be sad to see the magical little birds disappear for a while.
There would also be plenty of American Goldfinches nearby, quite a few Common Grackles and this very rowdy bunch of Purple Finches. They were not that shy which was nice as these are hard birds for me to get looks at sometimes. I am guessing the young are a little more trusting of people which worked to my advantage this morning.

I would head toward the end of the paved street and near the Chapman Trail because that is where the Black-billed Cuckoo has been heard the most. I stood for for about 10 minutes of so hoping for a sign of it (even played its call on my Driod), but wouldn't get it again!

Disappointed, I would decide to start my trail run right at Chapman and head to the summit of Mount Wachusett as my final destination. I would take it very slow this time around and didn't bring my Garmin as that device is both a blessing and a curse due to the fact that I look at it constantly and if it tells me my pace isn't where I want it to be, I will make up for it by running even faster which works on regular trails and streets, but not when running up hill, which I had learned last week when my legs were shot by the time I reached the top. This time, it would be almost a fast jog by the time I reached the Harrington Trail. I would decide to take a mini break at this time at one of my favorite stops and would spot for the first time the tree in the picture above which was the crafty work of some beavers.
And here is their dam I am guessing. Funny in that I ran past this last week and didn't notice. I guess there are some rewards when one slows down to see what's going on all around them.
The fog would start to pick up after a while as a light mist would take hold. I was still doing straight running at this time, so the mist would be fantastic because I was getting a little over heated so the rain felt good and helped me to keep my pace. The only downfall would be I wouldn't want to drink as much water and this time I decided to put almost a whole gallon in my hydration pack so running with that as well as my binoculars, camera, food, rain gear, etc didn't help my legs much that were starting to get a little tired.
The rocks were starting to get slick, but have no fear as the Vibrams were getting a much needed rest and had on my La Sportiva Wild Cats which are meant for mountain running because of their good reputation on rugged trails. I would not be disappointed as I didn't slip once and some of the rocks at the end were wet because the rain would now be steady and constant.
Love this part of the trail and usually by now I am exhausted but by not killing myself on the way up, I ran this with ease.
The berries are just starting to ripen as you can see. Whenever I see berries, I think of bird food, so I love seeing them while I am running/hiking the various trails where ever I go.
A picture of the road up to Wachusett as I had some questions from people on what the condition of it was. As you can see, it appears as if they haven't even started on the road yet and it's still a complete mess.
I would finally make my way to the summit and was very happy to see 4 Dark-eyed Juncos. I wold attempt pictures but it was pretty tough at this point with the rain and all, so had to settle for what I could get.
On my way to the summit for pictures. Good luck with that Kim. HA
Wild flowers along the way.

Finally I would reach the summit and all of those awful towers I rant about every time I see them, actually looked kind of cool with the thick fog that was all over the summit by this point. I would eat a Lara Bar (banana bread this time which is so good!) and then head back down the Midstate. By this time, it was a downpour rain and my legs still felt great so was able to make up for all of my dilly dallying on the way up. The rain felt invigorating as I ran from Harrington to the Wachusett Meadow boundary line and the last 3 miles from the summit were easy going with no stops to catch my breath and no hiking. I would finally make it back to my car with my runners high and would be drenched at this point, but very happy. I would see a car approach as I took out my binoculars to look at the birds at the feeders again and out would come a birder dressed in full birding rain gear. We would cross paths and he yelled out to me "Don't get wet now".
Who me???? Tee Hee. All in all a great way to spend a Sunday morning. A little rain never bothered anyone and it takes the boredom out of the everyday, especially since it's been so dry this summer. I would try one more time for the Black-billed despite the downpour and would strike out again of course.
On my way home I decided to hit Sterling Peat thinking perhaps the rain brought in something new. At this point, my camera would be dead again (not sure what's going on with my batteries but they were completely drained), and a hint of panic would sink in because what if I got a fantastic bird and no way to document it with no camera. Seriously, this is what one thinks of when one is still fairly new because newbies make mistakes and my camera helps with that. I would be driving to Sterling Peat and wonder what I would do if there was a Ruddy Turnstone or better yet a Marbled Godwit (hey a girl can dream can't she!) if I didn't have photos for documentation or more experienced birders nearby to confirm. Oh the agony of being a newb! Well someone will be sure to be there I think to myself. After all, it is Sunday and Sterling Peat has been very generous to us this year. I would pull into the deserted parking area (I wonder why!) and make my way to the mud banks to see what was around. My binoculars were so fogged up at this time that I couldn't even get good looks at the Killdeer nearby even though I knew that's what they were because I could hear them and see them with my eyes, but the bins just wanted to be put away and out of the rain. I wouldn't stay for long due to lack of optics and a camera, but did see a Solitary Sandpiper, 3 Least Sandpipers and 4 Killdeer and there probably isn't much else around as Alan and I were just there yesterday and gave that place a really good scanning. Who knows though, Bart will probably report into Rick's site a Marbled Godwit or something as he just seems to have that kind of luck!

Take care all.