Spring Fever for Sure! More First of the Year Birds!

Another day with beautiful weather and another day that I cursed life in general for not taking the day off! I decided to go to Dorothy Pond before work as it was on the way back from the dump to see if I could get my nemesis Belted Kingfisher and once again a no show, so I grudgingly headed to work as the sun shone bright and the birds sang loud.
I got to work a little early to plow through some stuff so I could take some time away for lunch and then headed to Notre Dame Cemetery figuring that perhaps I could get a Belted Kingfisher there as I was striking out everywhere else and now this was getting personal ;-). As soon as I arrived I scanned the waters and could see three Wood Ducks and the two Canada Geese below who were wading in the river. I decided to do some walking when suddenly I could hear the unmistakable call of the Belted Kingfisher. I can tell it's flying by and I scan my eyes quickly using my ears as my guide which was hard to do because the river is narrow and it caused its call to echo someone which was mis- leading. Finally, after scanning for a while I see it perch and I try and get a little closer for a photo. As soon as I turn on my camera off it flies down the river so I was never able to get my first record shot of one for the year. STILL my nemesis as I wanted a photo to go with the sighting, but will take it just the same.
I continued to scan the river and would see 1 Mute Swan, two Mallards and two Black Ducks like the one in the picture above. Picture came out lousy but getting decent pictures here can be "iffy" with the vegetation that often gets in the way as you can see.
I am enjoying the day and looking for birds when suddenly I hear a call that I remembered from last year which was none other than some Killdeer!!! Once again I use my ears and my ears tell me to direct my eyes to the sky and low and behold there are two of them flying above. I get my camera and hope my hawk watching photography skills from last year as still good as I manage a lousy photo just like the old days!
And another just to mess with you all a little more. ;-). I was psyched at this point as I didn't even have this bird on my list of potential birds for the day so it made it even more sweet!
I continued my way along the river and toward the cat tails to look at the various blackbirds and would be followed by various sparrows who would pop up from thick brush and land on the ground for foraging. At first I would put my binoculars on all of them, just to see it was the same Song Sparrows as before so after a while I gave up. I saw more Wood Ducks in thick vegetation and was trying to get a count on them when suddenly another sparrow pops into view. I decide to check it out knowing it will once again be the same Song Sparrow as before but the first thing I notice is a tinge of yellow above the eyes and bill and I stop............It can't be I think.......Hmmmmm, this looks like a Savannah Sparrow to me but then see the dark central spot and doubt creeps in as I try and remember if a Savannah has one. I can't remember so then decide to go on the length of the tail.
The tail looks long to me but it's notched.............. I decide to stop using my binoculars and whip out my camera for some record shots so I could go home and compare them with my various guides. My gut tells me it's a Savannah, but logic tells me it's a Song Sparrow as I stare at the clock on occasion at work anxious to get home to check and kicking myself for not leaving a guide at work for emergencies such as the one I was experiencing at that point!
Both my Peterson's and Sibley's tell me it's a Savannah Sparrow and I couldn't be happier. Seriously one of my favorite birds and was so happy to get it when I wasn't expecting it. A very cool find for the month indeed!
I was running out of time so never had the chance to scan all of the blackbirds for ID, but did manage to get one photo of a Red-winged Blackbird like the one above.
As I headed back to my car, I would see a common site lately which was a Red-tailed Hawk soaring from above. Wish the weather would stay like this until May!!!

Take care all!

Birding Here and There-Thursday

I decided to head out to do some birding at lunch today and went to the New Swedish Cemetery in Worcester in hopes of getting an American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal and believe it or not, a Belted Kingfisher as I have yet to see one this year.
As soon as I got out of my car I could see a few of the teal as you can see in the lousy picture above. No sooner had I taken 4 steps in their direction they decided to take off in a panic just like always.
I continued to walk around the pond for other water fowl and managed to scare some Wood Ducks down below who flew off in a hurry just as the teal did a few minutes before that. I had forgotten how challenging birding for ducks could be. ;-). While I never did see neither the Wigeons nor the Kingfisher, I did see some pretty decent birds including both the Common and Hooded Mergansers, scores of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles and a Red-tailed Hawk who soared the skies from above.
Before I left, I had to check out the brushy area of the cemetery to search for sparrows. Now these birds are more to my liking as they are easy to pish and very entertaining to watch. I sat there for about 15 minutes and watched a pair of Song Sparrows chase after each other chirping about in outrage trying to defend their turf. One would finally manage to land on a branch, make its territorial call, and then the other would go after it to knock it off the branch as he thought of it as his own.
The winds were strong today, but this Song Sparrow perched there defiantly against the wind and all of the other sparrows who are thinking of making this pad their own. I am putting my bets on the sparrow above. Just look at the determination it its eyes. Seriously, Song Sparrows are under rated as I can watch them all day because you can learn a lot about bird behavior from these little guys.
As I left the Swedish Cemetery, I made my way past Notre Dame and could see there was a funeral car line starting and I didn't want to get in the middle of it so decided to take advantage of the inconvenience and park there for more sparrows. There would be no sparrows or any water birds that I could see, but I didn't stay there long as I only get an hour for lunch and had a meeting so off I went.
I got out of work and immediately put on some birding attire and grabbed my binoculars and camera as like I said, the Belted Kingfisher was still on my list of must haves this week. I go to the Millbury Cemetery and take a quick glance toward the river and this is what I see. Hmmmmmmm.....I think, as it drive by slowly. That almost looks like a Great Egret I think.......The odds of this are quite low considering the time of year, but decide to pull over anyhow........I take a quick picture as confusion starts to arise as it really isn't shaped like a Great Egret but more like a Snowy.... I take one more picture and then get out the binoculars as sometimes I like to still try and figure out what a bird is with my naked eye or camera before the bins as it keeps me sharp...... Not sharp enough obviously as what you see is some kind of sack that got stuck on a twig in the river. HA!!! I had to laugh at myself as this cemetery is the same place I thought I had a Great Egret last year. Sometimes one never learns. ;-)
After that I decided to try the Millbury Bike Path for some Double-crested Cormorants (again, a bird I don't have this year. The place was mobbed and I can't relax and get into birding when its like that so just did a quick glance over near the river on Route 146 and then ran back to my car trying to escape all of the happy folks with spring fever. While on my way to St Philips Cemetery in Grafton I saw a familiar site from last year which were a half dozen or so Turkey Vultures on the Turkey Vulture tree as I now call it.
I got out of my car and watched and was so happy at that moment to see them back. I know people think TV's are ugly creatures, but I am not one of them. Such beautiful flyers they are. I went to St Philips and couldn't believe I would not see the seasonal Belted Kingfisher there either!!! Grrrrrrrrrr............ Have to be strategic this weekend and the one place I know there is one is the bike path so logically I should go there, but don't do well with the crowds........ Also hoping I can get the Bufflehead this weekend too as I saw my first one in Millbury around the 20th of March last year, so hoping that's another bird I can get. I had forgotten how much fun birding can be up until the past few days and am starting to get the fever again, so the birds better cooperate!
After that, it was a quick stop to Gorettis Market for some weekend staples. There was a family there feeding the Mallards so I stopped to get a couple of photos. Love the photo above as it shows the hint of bluish-purple on this drakes plumage that can sometimes not be seen.
Also liked this picture of the female Mallard because of the gray on her bill which was not like the other females I would see on the river.
Like this one for example. Anyhow, it's nice to get out birding again and just what the doctor ordered.

Take care all!

Institute Park at Lunch

I decided to head out to Institute Park at lunch today to take advantage of the gorgeous weather we had and was hoping to add at least another bird or two to my 2010 list. The sun was warm as I got out of my car and there were scores of people all around who had the same intent as my own which was to get a tease of spring after the long, depressing winter we had.

I headed over to the cat tails because I really wanted to get some decent photos of some male Red-winged Blackbirds because I find them a site for sore eyes come March and just wanted to get a picture of that vibrant red on their wings. Unfortunately, there were none around, but I did see and hear quite a few Common Grackle's over at the other side of the cat tails that were too far away for a picture.

I scanned the waters hoping for some Hooded Mergansers but all that could be seen were two lone Mallards, some gulls and of course..................................................................

The infamous Mute Swan's of Institute Park. I could see many large forms of white on the water and stood there in disbelief for a while trying to remember how many were there last year and I believe there were five (the two adults and three young, but I thought I remembered Rick telling me one of the young had died), so that math didn't add up as what I saw on that small pond today were 8 Mute Swan's!!! Despite my dislike of these birds due to their voracious appetite that takes food away from our native birds and drives them away as well, I found myself drawn to them today as the weather was gorgeous and it would be the first time I had seen unfrozen, calm waters in months so I just stood there and watched.
This one in particular was eating something at the bottom of the pond that was once contained in a white plastic bag as you can see in the picture above. It would occasionally glance up at me to see what I was doing, but was so engrossed in its lunch it didn't pay much attention to me as I clicked away with my camera.
Putting aside what I know as a birder on this species of bird, I looked at its gentle face and could understand the appeal this type of bird has on the regular folks who frequent this park as it is a landmark of the pond in its own way. It's hard for the non-birders to see and get excited over Chipping Sparrows who are here in the spring but nobody can miss the Mute Swans who gracefully float over to them in hopes they will spare a snack or two and most preferably bread.
But then I remember what I saw last year when the Mute Swan's were getting ready to nest and the male was no longer gentle as he would flap those heavy wings of his that would cause a loud almost thumping sound across the park as he made his way toward the Canada Geese to let them know they were not welcome here under no uncertain terms.

Now I am not overly fond of Canada Geese either, but I couldn't help but to feel bad for them as there was certainly enough room for all of them and all the Canada Geese were doing were chilling out under the sun and trying to eat a little snack just as they would be today.
It will be interesting to see how long the two adults let the other Mute Swan's stick around. My guess is they are onto somewhere else and made this a pit stop before going to their destination as I know the adults won't tolerate them all (including their own young I would assume). It will also be interesting to see how long the Mute Swan's and Canada Geese will live in harmony before all hell breaks loose and there is a war going on within these very calm waters.
As I headed back to the car I would see this lone little muskrat (I believe). I guess he got the memo that winter is officially over with and decided to get out of where ever he has been to celebrate St Patrick's Day and the warm weather with the rest of the Institute Park Clan.

Take care all

Gray Skies and Mud

Not much to write about this weekend with the strong winds and heavy rains, but I did manage to get out here and there. I had to get out Friday after work for a bit, just to clear my head of numbers so decided to take a short walk in an area close to home to watch the Turkey Vultures and to see if the Red-winged Blackbirds had appeared yet as this is usually the time they do so. I would see no Turkey Vultures but quite a few male Red-winged Blackbirds which put a little more spring in my step as I headed home for dinner as it is yet another sign spring is another day closer.

I would get yet another sign on Saturday morning as I laced up my trail running shoes to explore more of the local trails which is something I am trying to do every weekend now because it's liberating to be able to see the natural world without having to step foot in your car. I have been able to map almost all trails from my home all the way into Grafton so off I went to explore. Many of these trails were nothing but mud as I sank in them trying to pick up my pace some because I had so much to see, but neither my feet nor the trails wanted to cooperate!

That didn't stop me though and I just accepted the fact that it was going to be slow going which gave me the chance to look at all of the cool new trails I had never seen before. I have been thinking a lot lately about why I like to spend so much time in the woods alone lately and there are quite a few reasons, which is sollitude after a hectic work week, getting a first hand look at the change of seasons in the natural world and learning from it, etc, but one of the biggest reasons I believe is the sense of adventure.

It shouldn't surprise me any as now that I think of it, I had always been drawn to the wilderness. I remember my first time at Disney World when I was little and one of my favorite rides there (if you want to call it that) was the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. I still remember running through it wondering what was around every corner and wishing I could live in something as cool as that verses the apartment building we were living in at the time. I also have fond memories of being young and spending the entire day outside in the woods, looking underneath rocks for snakes or building tree houses with the neighborhood kids. The point was, there was always something to do outside and I made sure to take advantage of it.

So here I am again in the woods, but things are a little different now that I'm in my 40's, but the same feeling of adventure and anticipation still lies within. I would not see much for wild life today though as it appears as if the birds and other critters decided to hunker down low to avoid the wrath of Mother Nature, but it was still nice. The only thing thats keeping me going is knowing it won't be too long now that the woods that I love so much will soon be filled with warblers! I have to start listening to my Sibley's Birding by Ear Warbler songs again just to get a refresher course and I can't wait!

One of the highlights though on Saturday was seeing the waterfall in the first picture of this post for the first time. Not even a mile away from my house and I had no idea it ever existed. There are also some wet lands nearby from there where I would see 2 dozen grackles so you know I will be going back there to check for other birds once the skies open up some. Another highlight would be coming back from Shrewsbury on Saturday afternoon. I went by a body of water that is just starting to open up. The pond has quite a few Wood Duck boxes so of course I had to slow down and what do I see? Why a female Wood Duck on top of one of the nest boxes!!!! So sweet and put a smile on my face. I had forgotten how much I love those birds!!
And last a picture of my new Garmin Forerunner 305. This nifty device is not only good for running, but hiking as well. Even better, you can use it biking too if you get a special adapter for it. I think I will be all set for the summer!

Take care all.

An A-Maze-Ing Sunday

Well not really amazing as in "I saw my first Broad-winged Hawk of the year" or "I crossed paths with a coyote", but I couldn't think of a clever title to settled for the one above. :-p. Anyhow, I woke up late (as in 6am), and decided to putter around the house some and wait for the sun to warm up the temps before venturing outside and got out at around 10am or so after a breakfast of banana pancakes, a fried egg, turkey bacon and a very strong cup of French Roast, the breakfast of champions so I had more than enough energy to last me the morning as I headed back to the same bike trails I was at yesterday and search of the elusive Barred Owl.
Most of the paths are now snow free and firmly packed, and evidence of tire marks from the 4 wheelers are starting to show again (ah, the joys of spring and summer, not! While I understand the appeal of 4 wheeling for some, I just don't like the ones who whip past you while you are out there on the trails, not so much the four wheelers as the dirt bikers, but that's a story for another day! ;-).
And then some of the trails are literally unpassable unless you are sporting a fashionable pair of waders which I wasn't so I did a lot of bush whacking to avoid being sucked in by the mud.
The usual birds were about such as the large flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos, Black-capped Chickadees, etc, but I would never hear the Barred Owl today, much to my disappointment. I decided to burn up some of the fuel from breakfast and really explore the maze the mountain bikers had developed here and let me tell you it was a blast. The picture above does not do the path justice, but it will give you an idea on how technical this path is. Every corner comes another twist and sharp turn with all of them being narrow so I decided to not only test speed, but reflexes as well as I went about running them as fast as I could, knowing one wrong turn could land me into a tree or onto the ground, but that's what made it ever more fun. HA! ;-)
Most of the snow from yesterday had long since melted here so I ran this maze a couple of times before heading to Brierly. Brierly has a lot of snow on the paths and I didn't have the heart to put on microspikes again this year, so I turned around and headed to some local Powerlines for more running.
As soon as I got there I heard the familiar squeaky wheel call of the Grackles, and I stopped dead in my tracks to listen to their call so I could get a visual on them and sure enough there there were in a group of 4. The birds were everywhere and I was overwhelmed with all of their songs playing at the same time for me to drink in as the sun shone strong from above making it even more enjoyable. I started to run, but for some reason just didn't have it in me.
And this my friends is why. Here I was about to run another trail with my trail running shoes, as my brand spanking new Vibram Five Fingers laid in a corner in the hall back at home just begging to spend some quality time with moi!!!! What are these odd looking things you ask? Why they're sneakers of course!! That's right all, just when you thought I couldn't go any further off the deep end, I prove you wrong and have decided to embark upon the newest craze in the running community which is barefoot running!!!!!

You see, I have just finished one of the most amazing books I have ever read, and I mean that in all seriousness, which is called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Christopher went off to Mexico to learn more about the Tarahumara Indians who are some of the most gifted endurance athletes in the world. They can run 40 miles plus miles a day with nothing on their feet but a pair of flimsy sandals and a packet of chia seeds in their pocket for energy (think the Chia Pet you all have in your closet somewhere that you got as a gift long ago much to your horror, and you never decided to open it, and those are the seeds they eat). Anyhoo, one of the theories is these Indians can run long with no injuries because they are essentially barefoot which allows their foot to land the way nature always intended when you are running vs. the way the running shoe companies think you should run when you are sporting a pair of their fashionable sneakers.

They do have some padding on the bottom of the shoe, but not enough to trust myself running trails with them, YET, so I decided to head back home and try them out on some cement. I did my first mile and my feet were in heaven. My arches tend to ache whenever I run and with the Vibrams on, I would tend to land more upon them which is just what they wanted as they were very happy with every stride I made. I was only going to do a mile, but it felt so good I just continued getting to about 2.5 miles before calling it quits. They say, you need to take baby steps with them to avoid injury so I practiced common sense, even though I swear I could have run to Bolton Flats with these babies on! The sense of freedom is incredible. How many of you remember running through grass when you were younger, or running on the beach chasing waves? That was exactly how it felt and my legs are still happy 10 hours later!.

Take care all

8 Miles of Trails and 2 New Birds to add to my year list

I decided to stay very local today (as in keep the car in the driveway and head off by foot local) and wanted to see how much of my local area I could cover with as little pavement as possible so I mapped out all of the local trails in my area and how I could connect to them. I started off and the first thing that struck me was how much bird song there was which has been the norm the past week or so. Besides the Northern Cardinal, it seems as if the Song Sparrow is the most vocal like the one above who was singing his little heart out as I ran by and stopped for a photo.
I finally made my way to a new trail I discovered a couple of weeks ago and now on of my favorites and was delighted to see many sparrows including this lone Field Sparrow which is a first of the year bird for me. Sweet!!
I continued on and ran the trails which are some of the most narrow and windy I have come across ever which made it quite the challenge and a lot of fun. Everywhere you turned there would be a sharp turn which was like a winding maze of sorts so not only were you working your legs, but your reflexes as well. I finally got out of the maze and onto a clean trail when suddenly I could hear "Who Cooks for you, Who Cooks for youuuuuuuuuu. I am in the zone at this point and the only thing I think of is "Hey that's Alan's Ipod", and then it clicks and I stop dead in my tracks knowing that what I am hearing aint no Ipod, but the real deal. My heart is racing as I am silent praying that the owl will call again and sure enough it does, so back in the maze I go doing loops trying to get a 10-4 on the owl. Sad to say I never saw it, but it was clearly a Barred Owl by that call. Seriously, one of the nicest sounds I have ever heard in the woods and that's saying a lot because there are so many birds I enjoy hearing under wooded tree cover, but this one takes the cake. Another bird to put on the list!
I finally made my way onto some powerlines that were still covered in snow and low and behold there were flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos around and they really seemed to like the snow and spent their time foraging around in it like the one above..

I finally leave that area and head onto other trails closer to home where I see many chipmunks like the one above who has gotten the 411 that spring is drawing near and decided to check it out for himself!

The ground is just starting to thaw at this point and I my senses are alive as I can smell autumn in the air due to the leaves that are still fragrant as I run along the path which was very hilly in places and made it very challenging.
As I was running quietly, I could see a Red-tailed Hawk appear out of nowhere and I stop dead in my tracks trying to get my camera on and it disappears into some thick tree cover. The Blue Jays see it too and off they go to stalk the hawk! I searched for a while using the frantic calls of the Blue Jays as my guide, but gave up after a while as they were too deep in the woods.
There was also a Red-bellied Woodpecker in the same locality which was nice to see and the 2nd I would see today. Love their call and they were both quite vocal today
I continue on my run and hear another familiar and very much missed call which is that of the Northern Flicker, above. Now I don't know about any of you, but I find Flickers to be tough birds to photograph as they are rather camera shy. Not this one though who was so absorbed in eating that it didn't pay any attention to me as I took some photos.

All in all, it was 8.15 miles of running and it was fabulous. I am really liking this birding by foot and find that it can be rather productive at times, just like today. Which made it ever more satisfying is that it's all close to home. A great day indeed.

Take care all!