A Mixed Bag of Birds

I am trying to really get out there during the work week this month with migration in full swing and decided to do some birding with Alan before work today and went to Brood Meadow Brook in Worcester. As soon as we arrived, we would see the Wild Turkeys above who appear to have something around their neck which seems to be a band of some sort. They would be all around the feeders and relatively tame, so I am guessing they are used to people.
We did quite a bit of walking and would hear many of the now common birds like a couple of Ovenbirds, Wood Thrushes, Eastern Bluebirds etc, and then Alan took me to an area I had never been before that is quite lovely with its marshes where all of the birds seemed to be gathered including this VERY tame Tree Swallow that allowed me to get close enough for a decent photo.
It didn't even seem phased by us being there so I am guessing its used to the crowd as Brood Meadow Brook is an Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary and can get rather busy with hikers and nature lovers.
I would take like 20 shots of this bird and had to post my favorite three because I haven't been getting really good photos lately so it was nice to have a bird in clear view and not hidden by leaves and twigs for a change!
There are also some mud flats and we were treated to yet another shorebird sighting which is the Spotted Sandpiper in the photo above.
I would head off to work and decided to do a quick check on the Peregrine Falcons and I am happy to report is looks as if nesting was successful this year. If you look at the photo, you will see the female PG on the left of the fchp logo and the male is on the ledge way off to the right of it. This is typical behavior after the nestlings have hatched as both parents like to be out of the box and watching the air for any threats. So happy to see this and am anxious to know how many there are this year.
I would take a quick photo of the male when I went to go get coffee and the falcon doesn't even squack when it sees me anymore and will just give me a casual stare as I take its picture and admire him with my binoculars. Such a good dad!
I decided to head out at lunch and hit Notre Dame cemetery as it is fairly close to work. I would automatically hear some Eastern Kingbirds and one would land briefly so I could take its picture.
I would see quite a lot of the regular birds including two Canada Geese and one had some white right around its tail which caused me to give it more than a casual glance. My eyes would suddenly be drawn to its legs where I would see a band of some sort on it.
I decided to get close enough for a photo, but not close enough to freak it out and it looks as if its banded with a 1048. I actually reported this when I got home and got something back already and according to what I got via email, this goose what actually banded in Utah???
I would continue with my walk when suddenly I could hear the quack of a Mallard in the river below. It wouldn't be a normal quack, but the most panicked quack I had ever heard any duck do so I tried to get in a little closer to see if I could see the duck. I would see no duck, but the quacking would continue to get more panicked and I wondered if it was stuck in some brambles or something. The river is down a steep embankment with mud and I had my smart clothes on, but really wanted to know what was wrong with the duck and if there was anything I could do to help it as the cries were just too much for my sensitive soul and I couldn't just leave it there quacking away like that. I would play out in my head what I would do if the duck was in fact stuck and figured I could grab it with my jacket and lead it into the water without risk of injury. I would also remember I was at lunch and think about the steep, muddy hill and I would picture myself going back to work with mud all over my clothes and wounds from my rescue attempts and the looks on my bewildered co-workers faces as I told them I got attacked by a duck on my lunch hour. :-p
Just as I made my way down the embankment I would find out what was causing the ruckus and it would turn out to be a Red-tailed Hawk who was bathing in the river!!! Check out the photo above and the fact that the hawk looks like a drowned rat.
And this photo makes me laugh too. I so wish I could have seen it bathing as watching birds bathe is one of my favorite things to do and I can't even picture how cool it would be to catch a raptor doing it no less!
But the excitement doesn't end there folks, nosiree. I would see this Chipping Sparrow above all by itself and then suddenly it would have company.
Which would be another Chipping Sparrow where they would proceed to copulate right before my startled eyes! How cool is that!!! Much better way to spend my lunch hour than eating a cup of soup and reading MassBird posts so plan to get out there a little more often because all though I wouldn't get any new birds, the ones I got were all entertaining to observe.
I would continue to do more birding after work at Butler Farm in Millbury where I would get my 1st halfway decent shot of a Warbling Vireo above.
The winds would be strong at this point so I decided to do some pishing around some thick cover and would get a Blue-winged Warbler as well as the American Redstart above. Besides that the place would be quiet but I have a strong feeling the place is probably alive 1st thing in the morning when the winds are calm so will be getting back there to see what other kind of warblers are around.
I would take a walk through the woods hoping for a Red-eyed Vireo and all would be quiet except for an Ovenbird who was making a half hearted attempt at song. I would end the day on the hill there the Bobolinks usually are and there would be no Bobolinks today, but the grass would be green the the sky blue as the strong winds cooled me off after my walk through the woods.

Take care all.

Birding Here and There But it Works!

I have been doing some birding here and there with it being May and so have to get creative with work so try and sneak in some sessions here and there until I get some much needed vacation time this month that I am using just for birding of course! Anyhow, I decided to hit a local powerline yesterday after work and would be trying to locate a singing Rose-breasted Grosbeak who enjoyed playing a good game of hide and go seek with me as every time I would get close to the darn bird that I would attempt to locate by ear, off it would fly to another location just to have me chase it again. I would be scanning the tree tops, with my binoculars, when suddenly I could hear a very hearty Crreeeeep!, right behind my shoulder and low and behold was a FOY Great crested Flycathcher.
The bird would stick around long enough for me to attempt one half way decent shot, before it flew off as I took a pathetic flight shot, but liked it in that it really shows off that rich yellow it has on its belly as well as the cinnamon tail. Great looking bird and one I was happy to get while the grosbeak taunted me.
I would finally get a quick look at the grosbeak as it flew off to another branch and was headed off to the area where the Prairie Warblers are known to be, when suddenly I would see the Osprey above overhead. This is the 2nd sighting I have had of an Osprey in Millbury in the past six weeks or so and I know Marc, one of my readers of this blog has seen them in town too, so it's nice to see they have become regular visitors lately.
I would finally make my way to the Prairie Warblers who threw me off at 1st as both them and the Field Sparrows were in the same exact location, and singing at the same time, so my ears and mind were trying to absorb it all. I would finally spot the warbler with my eyes and then my binnoculars where I watched it for a while and then attempted a lousy shot. I have noticed the past week or so, I am favoring my bins more than my camera so my pictures seem to be suffering the consequences, but the warblers just look so much better with the bins that I can't seem to help myself.
I would suffer the same fate with one of many Blue-winged Warblers I would see last evening as well. One interesting note was that I was trail running on Monday morning and would hear a Blue-winged singing one of its alternate songs with was its typical bee buzz (or as I call it beer buzz), but only with an extra buzz thrown in (picture beer buzz buzz ;-) )..
I would head out bright and early again this morning with the sole intention of running of course and figured I would just bring the bins and camera just in case of course. The problem was that the birds were all singing and I wound up walking a lot more than running (another thing that has been happening more frequently lately). Anyhow, I would get another Great crested Flycatcher, another Prarie Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, etc. I would be in an area looking at all of the Yellow Warblers chasing each other when suddenly a bird I had never seen before flew in right near the warbler. I would take out my bins and stare at it and immediately take out the camera for a record shot as I still had no idea what it was.
The picture quality would be poor due to the sun just starting to shine and the fact that I was rushed in getting a pic before it flew off so this is the best I would get. I would later find out it was a 1st summer Orchard Oriole when I looked at my field guide while eating breakfast. I never would have guessed this as I didn't even know orioles had first summer plumage. Seriously folks, as if birding isn't confusing enough as it is, now this! :-p. Very happy to get this bird and within walking distance from my house which is my favorite place to find birds as it's more special because it's closer to home!
I would dilly dally for a while as it was obvious running would be out of the question, but would see this Yellow Warbler perched on a power tower which I thought was funny as it was singing away.
Alan would shoot me a daily email to tell me what birds he got while I was busy slaving away on yet another spreadsheet and of course, he has some doozy's, like a Dunlin, Bank Swallow and Least Sandpiper (all birds I don't have yet of course), so I decided to take off at lunch because I just couldn't stare at Excel and Rock Pigeons anymore, so off I went to Institute Park to see if I could spot any Least Sandpipers there as they are rather common when the mud is right. As I was making my way I would see a Common Grackle and decided to take its picture solely because I knew it would be good, especially compared to some of the doozys I have been putting on my blog lately.
Anyhow, I would get to the mud flats and the 1st thing I would notice was the dead Mute Swan. Now I don't llike Mute Swans that much as many of you know, but seeing this swan really bothered me, so I had to position myself in such a way that I didn't have to see it while doing my birding. I would see some Killdeer as well as another bird that appeared to be a relatively smaller (but not too much) than the Killdeer and my gut would tell me Solitary Sandpiper, but I would immediately discount it due to the dark legs I thought I saw. I didn't have my scope with me, to get a good look at it, and I am not not good enough to be able to ID distant shore birds with my bins, so I think perhaps Semipalmated even though the size was completely off. I emailed Rick and he would confirm that it was a Solitary. Alan would later tell me not to go by leg color on shorebirds as it can be misleading due to mud on legs which makes them look darker than they are which makes sense so lesson learned and its obvious I can't bird for shorebirds without a scope for the time being as they are still all so confusing to me.

With that said, it looks as if I am going to have to start brining my scope to work now that there is mud at Institute as I find shore birding to be the perfect thing to do at lunch because it relaxes me and clears my mind. Just wish someone would move the darn swan that's all! :-p
I still wouldn't get my shorebird fix so off I went with Alan to Bolton for the Dunlin. We would be scanning the waters and there would be a TON of waterfowl including many Green-winged Teal, Mallards, and a couple of Wood Ducks thrown in for good measure. Alan would spot an American Wigeon and then I would spot this drake Blue-winged Teal. It was funny for a couple of reasons. One being the waters are quite dry now, so they would all be cramped together which made for some really good birding, but just odd to see them like that. Two, I vividly remember the wild goose chase Alan and I had in getting the Blue-winged Teal and that everyone else seemed to get the darn bird besides us, so wouldn't you know, we would spot one as easy as we did after we froze our a**es off this early spring trying to get it! HA

We would finally get the one lone Dunlin as well as some Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and a Solitary Sandpiper. I would also see a Bank Swallow flying overhead with its dark necklace and its notched tail (which I was psyched I could see). All in all a great way to end an evening.

Take care all

Forbush Bird Club-Quabbin Reservoir May

I attended another Forbush Bird Club trip this past Sunday at the Quabbin Reservoir. The trip was led by Tom Pirro and would start at Gate 45 in Hardwick. As soon as we got out of the car, we would hear the now very familiar Ovenbirds as well as other birds who have all made sudden appearances over the past couple of days with all of the warm weather we have had recently.
We would make our way along a path where were would see and/or hear a Wood Thrush (FOY), Purple Finch, Common Yellowthroat (FOY), Gray Catbird and others as well as this Pickerel Frog which was a great sight to see since I had developed a fondness for frogs this past summer. This one is so handsome with its earthy colorings.
We would make frequent stops here and there with one of the highlights being a swampy type habitat where there would be plenty of Least Flycatchers (FOY) doing their "Chibeck" call, some Hooded Mergansers, a very vocal Yell0w-throated Vireo, a couple of Eastern Kingbirds (FOY) and another Common Yellowthroat shown above.

We continued along the way and would come to one of my favorite spots for this particular trip which is a running stream where we would get a FOY Louisiana Waterthrush. The bird would never be seen, but clearly heard which was a welcome song after trying to get it for the past couple of weeks.
The sun would start to break through clouds and the humidity and black flies would start to take hold as we made our way to another area. The highlight of this would be a Blue-gray Gnatcathers nest that Susan had spotted with a gnatcather in the process of building a nest (pictures came out lousy, but I didn't want to get too close as to disturb this busy bird doing as nature intended as bird must always come before birder. So nice to see though and the sun would shine in such a way that the blue on the gnatcathers head and back really pop in a way that I and many others had never seen before.
There would be another spot nearby where we would hear the wonderful song of a couple of Baltimore Orioles, a Black-throated Green Warbler and a bonus Northern Parula as well as my official nemesis warbler of the year which is the Yellow-rumped Warbler. Seriously, I can't get this birds song straight in my head as every time I hear it, I think its something else and wishful thinking will always have me thinking Nashville Warbler so imagine my disappointment when I realize it is yet again another lousy Yellow-rumped. ;-). May have to play this song on the way to work this week in a continuous loop just so it will sink in which will be torture in itself!
We would also have our fair share of raptors including a good look at some Broad-winged Hawks flying overhead (one of my favorite ways to see them), another Broad-winged Hawk flying up to a tree with prey in tow, a Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vultures and a Sharp-shinned Hawk with what appeared to be a missing feather on its tail. At another spot we would see two or three (forgot exact count), Bald Eagles including the nice adult shown above. Like this shot in that it shows off those plank like wings when in flight as well as its white tail and head.
Lunch for most (I would have already eaten mine in the car) would be at Danna Common where there were quite a few birds including a Chestnut-sided Warbler and a FOY American Redstart Tom had spotted for us. We would hear it singing in some thick brush and would be reminded at how confusing the song can be and once again, it would live up to its promise as the song always sounds like an incomplete Chestnut-sided or Yellow Warbler to me, depending on its mood. I really love the stone work they still have at the common from when it was a small village, so had to take a picture. Check out the detail in the picture above. They just don't make things like that anymore that's for sure which is evident by the fact that it's still around!
There would be a nestbox here that would have quite the activity as you can see. The picture is of a Tree Swallow peeking its head inside of the nest box at something that would be inside.
And what would be inside would be a House Wren, who wanted to claim the box as its own for nesting this year. The House Wren would sing on top of the nest box, only to have the Tree Swallow flutter about -squacking in protest. The wren would be smart enough to realize it would stand a better chance in winning the battle if it went inside the nest box and that's exactly what it did as the swallow would peek its head in there in defiance.
The wren would fly to a nearby bush and start its song and the swallow would enter the nestbox and give me the "hairy eyeball" as it didn't want anyone else messing with its potential summer dwelling for the year. It will be interesting to see who wins this battle as both species of birds are not known for giving in unlike the Eastern Bluebirds.
There would be many other stops after lunch including another stop where I would see my first ever Spring Peeper (how cute it this!). And I would finally get a picture (despite it being a lousy one) of a Blue-headed Vireo. Seriously, this has been my nemesis photo bird for the past three weeks or so as it has never been kind enough to be somewhere where I could get at least a record shot. Today the bird would pass the torch to others which are all of the warblers up high in leaf covered trees where you are lucky enough to get just a glimpse of them, let alone a photo!
Another interesting shot of a plant Joan had pointed out to me which I thought was really neat and is called Indian Poke . I really like how green the foliage is as well as the shape of its pretty leaves.
One of the biggest highlights of the trip would be a small body of water that is usually pretty full but for some reason the water was down significantly and would form many mud flats and when there are mud flats, there is a good chance one will see shorebirds which is always a highlight for me as looking for shorebirds puts me in that same intense focus zone as hawkwatching which I never tire of. Joan would spot a Killdeer faraway and then Tom would spot a Solitary Sandpiper which was very impressive given the fact that the bird was so far away it would be pretty hard to spot. I would get a far away look at it in Alan's scope, but then suddenly we would see two other Solitary Sandpipers take to the air as they would make their peet-Weet flight call as they flew overhead. Awesome spot which makes me wish Quabbin was a bit closer and the water would stay just as it is now, as Bolton Flats is drying up fast with the lack of rain we have had which means not that many local places to chose from when needing a shorebird fix which seems to be weekly for me lately.
One of our last stops would bring many of the usuals including Canada Geese and Mallards and this very handsome Chipping Sparrow shown above. We would also make a stop along the reservoir where we saw three Common Loons and 7 or so Common Mergansers. Our final stop would be a powerline where I would immediately hear my favorite warbler of all time which is the Prairie Warbler. One may wonder why I would chose that as my favorite since there are so many exotic others to chose from and the answer is quite simple. It's the one warbler that is there for me every time I hit a powerline. One of my biggest summer highlights last year was running trails in the morning and hearing them sing and it's something I have longed for since the cold, raw days of January. Hearing that warbler singing its song is probably one of the most welcome sounds of summer I have heard so far this year besides the Chimney Swifts who are flying past my house every evening now as the sun starts to set.

All in all, a fantastic trip with a lot of really good birds. A great way to start the month of May.

Take care all.

Forbush Bird Club-Leicester and other birding

I attended the Forbush Bird Club Trip in Leicester today which was led by Susan which started off at Mullbury Street and as soon as we arrived we would be inundated by bird song which was wonderful to hear because it was a clear indicator that we would see a lot of good birds which we would soon find out. Susan has super sharp hearing and could hear a Black- and White Warbler so off we went to go search for it and as we were looking we would hear our FOY Ovenbird which was a sound that was welcome to hear after the long, dreary winter we had. We would continue along our way and see quite a few other birds with the highlight being the Black-and white Warbler finally but the lighting was so bad I never would manage to get a decent picture of it, but was very happy with the look I got of it through my binoculars.

We would all get in our cars and make our way to our 2nd destination and Susan had stopped the car caravan because she had heard something distant yet again, which turned out to be our FOY Blue-winged Warbler which is without a doubt one of my favorite warbler songs because it was one of the 1st ones I remembered so it would be another great bird to get for the day. We would all be looking around with our bins to get a visual on it, when Alan would spot our FOY Scarlet Tanager so needless to say, that was quite the productive stop!
We would continue onto Sylvester Street where there would be song coming at every angle and while it was indeed welcome, it was a little overwhelming because they were all singing at once. We would hear more Ovenbirds here, some Black-throated Greens, a Northern Parula and finally hear and spot a FOY Black-throated Blue which was another great bird to get this early in the year. Seriously, they must have all migrated over night because we got some fantastic birds we wouldn't think we would get this early in the year so it was like an early Christmas or something. ;-).
And not only would the birds be showing off their brilliant colors but so would the woodland flowers including this very lovely Purple Trillium above.
We would make our way along the path where we would bump into pockets of birds here and there including another Northern Parula, more Ovenbirds, Blue-headed Vireos and this very bizarre looking Cedar Waxwing above.
The most numerous of birds the entire day were the White-throated Sparrows in which we easily saw well over 50 of them. They would be going past us by the dozen and landing in brush or directly on the path and we would all put our bins on them making sure we didn't have anything in there that was not a white throat. They would sing their beautiful song and we would get some incredible looks at the very handsome males in their breeding plumage, but the highlight would be seeing a couple of them enjoying themselves in a puddle smack in the middle of the path. A couple of them would be drinking which was fun to watch as they tipped their heads back to get a good drink, and then a couple more would be doing one of my favorite things to watch birds which is take a bath. So cute to see them getting their little bodies in the tiny puddle and shaking about and you could clearly see they were really enjoying themselves.

Suddenly, we would be delighted to see a Palm Warbler join in on the fun and it was obvious this bird really takes his bath time seriously as he bathed for a good five minutes as we all stood their watching his every move. Bruce would have his really nice camera and the bird was so absorbed in his bathing that he was able to get some shots so it will be really interesting to see how they come out. One of the highlights of the day (which is saying a lot because there were many). I have never seen a warbler bathe before and the sun would shine in such a way that his vibrant plumage of his sparkled which was a feast for the eyes.
Here is another lousy, distant shot, but I like it just the same. Seriously, I have a list of "so cute" moments in my head with different birding experiences I have had since I started birding and this is in the top 10. So cute!!!!

We would end the trip with a very impressive list of birds including some House Wrens and another Blue-winged Warbler so all it all, it was a great way to spend a Saturday as spring definitely seems here now, so enough of the lousy weather and bring on more warblers!
After that Alan and I would head to Bolton Flats to look for the Lesser Yellowlegs as we had missed them where we were there yesterday morning and it didn't take us long to find them as there were three of them. I really like this shot because it shows off that smaller bill it has compared to the Greater Yellowlegs. Another thing I would pick up on was how dainty it walks compared to a Greater Yellowlegs. It's steps are a lot more graceful almost ballerina like vs. the Greater who would clearly needs dancing lessons if ever given the opportunity as he walks more the a T Rex. Another highlight would be seeing two of them chasing after each other which was interesting to see as they are not on breeding territory. One would be more dominant and chase the other off, but the other one would return defiantly only to be chased off again.
I would take off on my own for Assebet/ SuAsCo in Westborough to see if the Yellow-throated Vireos were back yet and I would immediately hear a Ruby-crowned Kinglet when I got out of the car. I would spend a couple minutes looking for it, but would never see it. I would make my way down the trail and hear many warbling Vireos and then finally the Yellow-throated. I would manage to get one good look at it with my bins and then it would proceed to fly up higher into the trees and leaf cover so I was never able to get a photo. I figured I would do better further down the path as last year I got a fantastic photo of one in a spot there so off I went. Suddenly I could hear some scolding like sounds coming from the spot I saw the vireo last year and was able to locate the bird but it wouldn't turn out to the the Yellow-throated Vireo, but a FOY Baltimore Oriole instead! I would also get one of the Brown Thrashers here as well as a Gray Catbird so I was glad I decided to get over there to check on the vireos as I got some other bonuses mixed in.

Take care all!