I've been re-reading some of Donald Kroodsma's The Singing Life of Birds which is about all one can do with the weather we've been having so going back to some of my favorite chapters including The Dawn Chorus. Donald and other savvy birders know the best time to bird by ear which is the hour before sunrise when birds awaken and their hormones rage reminding everyone in their vicinity whose turf is whose so don't even try it! I'd be reminded of my special friend The Black-capped Chickadee who perched in my Mullberry Tree one April morning having his own dawn chorus and how that one little bird would change my life in a way I never would imagine. Looking back on it now, it's no wonder I've always been drawn to the song of birds as that's what got me interested in them in the first place, so off I went to Brierly before sunrise to listen.
By the time I got there bird song would be heavy but was disappointed neither of the Chestnut-sided Warblers were out as it was one of the reasons I went as early as I did in an attempt to record their dawn song.. The Veery's would be out and singing as beautifully as always, but no special tune to start the day so off I went to find one who did. I'd make my way to a spot many warblers are and the place would be alive with bird song from many species. My ears would finally pick up on the lone Scarlet Tanager who'd be singing his dawn song so of course I had to record it!
As you will hear-there were birds singing from all over which made it rather tough to record the tanager with all the other competition! The 1st picture of this post is the full length sonogram of all the birds and the one above is of the first 10 seconds of recording (full audio though). Notice the chickadee singing Phee Bee which is what caused me to catch the birding bug. I like to think it was the one on my tree five years ago letting me he he approves of my passionate hobby and sang that morning for my own good ;-)
I'd leave Brierly just as the sun started to awaken and decided to hit another spot nearby that's pretty birdy but the only caveat being no trails which means straight bush whacking. I'd decide to give it a go and stay near the edge of the nearby field as there's a little trail there and was glad I did as it wouldn't take me too long to pick up my first ever Millbury Louisiana Waterthrush!
The bird is distant but can still be heard. Mystified as this area is near still water with no running water that I know of so will need to investigate further and see if there are other ways to get in the general area without bush whacking for what feels like miles.
I'd hit another area in Millbury off Carelton Road which is more LA Waterthrush habitat as you can see in the photo above, but wouldn't you know I couldn't find any! It would still be nice with many of the usual woodland birds and my first ever June Black-throated Blue Warbler here in town so don't know if they're breeding but taking it as a probable sign!
You'll vaguely hear the BTBW if you have your volume up high enough. He was way out in the woods and I didn't bush whack as there were Ovenbirds nearby starting to squabble and won't bush whack if I think there may be nesting birds in any of the areas without trails of course.
And here he is, the Ovenbird himself! I find it much easier to find these birds when they are calling and not singing as the song rings throughout the woods so getting a visual on it as your ears as your guide can be deceiving-but not so much with the call which has allowed me some of the best looks ever of Ovenbirds this year.
After that it would be back to Brierly as I'm trying to tackle all sections of it by the end of the year and was looking forward to trying to get to Soule's Pond to see if I could pick up any new species for my Brierly list. The recent rain has caused more water overflow so many of the trails remain flooded as you can see in the photo above (wonder if I can ever wonder the woods this year without my rain boots!).
Woodpeckers would be everywhere including the Hairy above as well as my first ever Pileated for Brierly and a very cooperative Red-bellied Woopecker for some audio for Xeno-Canto.
This woodpecker was so close to me I actually got a little wind from his wings! Amazing how close the birds come when you just stop for a few moments and listen (almost like they don't know your'e there).
Now heading toward the pond. Don't think I can ever get enough photos of Brierly as it's magnificent once you get lost in the woods. I'd finally make it to Soule's and NOT get lost which would be a first for me when I'd hear a close by Downy Woodpecker and its young when suddenly my ears would pick up on one of my favorite bird songs of all time which would be the Winter Wren. The bird sounded as though it was only doing traces of its song and was so far out I got out my Sibley's Droid App to play other songs I may not be familiar with and after one song I'd realize the bird was closer than I thought as the little guy flew right in and almost landed on my boot! I'd look down at him "naked eye" and be taken aback by just how tiny he is as I've always seen this bird with the bins and even that's a struggle. He'd look at me and I at him and I had to force myself to suppress a serious giggle that was forming within because he was the cutest thing I believe I've seen all year and boy did he look pissed! I'd apologize and move on or at least that's what I wanted him to think as I was hoping he'd sing his song as a victory celebration in getting rid of the other wren after one song (and a New Yorker song no less!). I'd still remain fairly close and it wouldn't take too long for him to sing his lovely song and I'd be thrilled with my audio considering It's coming from my lousy Droid!
Swoon...Nature's Prozac here folks. Amazing that such a song can come from such a tiny bird.
And a picture of the birds song. If you look at it closely you'll see all three songs he sings are a little different which is something I can't train my ears on just yet so it's nice to look at bird's song through sonograms sometimes so you can see it with your eyes.
I'd be in my element at this point as I made my way back to the main part of Brierly and somehow I managed to get on a different trail which I'd realize would bring me to yet another portion of the beaver pond I hadn't discovered and I'd be thrilled to get not just one but two Green Herons including the one above. This is on the other side of where we usually get this bird so hoping it's another pair.
Another treat would be the Blue Jay above who'd be very close and doing something I've never seen this bird do before which was almost a form of drumming with his bill (similar to what woodpeckers do and he'd be doing it on this meesly little branch no less (almost like caching)!
You can actually somewhat hear the faint drumming if you listen carefully on the 9 second mark.
I'd finally make my way back to the main trail while doing a mental inventory of all the lovely birds I heard or saw and wonder why I hadn't had any sighting of a flushed Barred Owl as it's almost a ritual at this point. Moments later I'd see one fly past and comment aloud with a thanks! Suddenly the owl would slow down and land on a tree and it would be then I'd finally be eye to eye with one of the Barred's at Brierly. He'd look at me and I at him as I slowly turned on my camera being sure not to make any quick movements in fear he'd fly away. I'd manage a few and then he'd turn around and leave the branch as quietly as he arrived. I find it amazing that a bird this size with wings as large as his never makes a sound as it maneuvers the woods. It wold be the perfect way to end my time at Brierly.
I'd need to make a run to the transfer station before work today and would leave a little early to see if the Willow Flycatcher was around yet so stopped at a local powerline to find out. I'd hear the flycatcher as soon as I got out of the car as well as a close by "Tow-hee" call of the Eastern Towhee so naturally out came my camera for a photo as well as my Droid for some audio. I'd stay on the path and make my way a little closer to the call when I'd also hear a thin, short and high pitched chip note coming from the same area and after some naked eye scanning I'd find out who it was.
Who would turn out to be the female Towhee. You can hear the recording of the males "Tow-hee" call and the female's high pitched call below.
I'd do some research on these two calls and both are categorized as alarm calls but you wouldn't know it by looking at them interacting with one another and neither seemed agitated by my presence as I was there a good five minutes and watched the male preen and the female inhale a couple caterpillars so believe they were more contact calls as the male would call and she'd respond and fly closer to him or vice versa. I did make sure to keep a respectable distance and stay on the path which is something I'm always cognizant of this time of the year so who knows.
I'd also go to Birds of America Online and figured I'd share some of it with you on both calls.
"Chewink Call.. Conventionally transliterated as tow-hee, chewink, joree . Employed by both sexes, juveniles, and adults, and at all seasons. Generally regarded as alarm call, since it occurs in mobbing contexts (i.e., used in presence of ground predators and disturbances near nest), but it occurs in other situations as well." "Lisp Call. “ Seee -Call” of Stokes and Stokes . Heard in all populations, perhaps second most common call after Chewink Call; uttered by both sexes. It is high-pitched, clear, sibilant, even-pitched (short versions) or down-up slurred (longer versions), duration about 1 s. Tonal quality soft, thin, barely audible beyond few meters distance. Mentioned in literature as wee, tsee-a- wee-e, or seee. Occurs in social context (e.g., within pairs and families, in foraging groups during winter and migration), evidently functions as contact note." I do have to admit I'm wondering why the female isn't on her nest as I would think it would be around that time. All this rain we've had this month has me very concerned about all of our nesting birds here in the North East. Take care all.
Alan and I would head out to Wachusett Meadows today to participate in the Forbush Bird Club Breeding Bird Survey and get there for 7. Since time was of the essence I'll warn you now I was too busy watching, listening and counting birds to grace you all with any of my lousy photos. Except for this one of course of two Eastern Phoebe's prior to setting off on our route to start the count.
Larry would join us, and we'd be thrilled to find out his grandfather was Lawrence Chapman himself who was a major figure in getting all that wonderful land donated to Mass Audubon (hence the name of the Chapman trail). We'd be grateful for not only the company but the extra set of eyes and ears as well. Once we started our route we'd immediately pick up some Ovenbirds, Pine Warblers and the first of our Red-breasted Nuthatches above (I lied a little when I told you I didn't take any lousy photos as you can see this one is awful!).
We'd continue and be very happy with our route as we'd pick up quite a few Blackburnian Warblers on the way (five in total) as well as some much wanted Black-throated Greens as soon as we got to the Hemlock's.
It would be here we'd pick up a Winter Wren as well as our first woodpecker of the day who'd be a Hairy which I'd get by ear. Moments later I'd see a woodpecker land on a tree trunk and call out I have a visual on the Hairy but at second glance I'd realize it would be woodpecker number two.
Who'd turn out to be our much wanted Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a gorgeous male no less which was a treat with killer looks (a first for Larry) so was happy to not only get it for the breeding survey but to show Larry as well as you couldn't get a better look for your first time.
We'd get to a different habitat and I'd comment about it being Black-throated Blue territory as a way of wishful thinking and it wouldn't take us long to find one and a male no less! We'd confirm that when suddenly a bird called out from nearby and we'd know it was a waterthrush, but thought Northern at first as we were in the middle of the woods with no visible water nearby. Soon enough we'd realize it wasn't a Northern and my wishful thinking kicks in as I ask Alan to play Yellow-throated Warbler for me as the beginning notes of their song reminds me of a Louisiana and who knows as one was spotted here a few weeks back so maybe it stuck around. Alan would play it and disappointment would kick in though I knew it was a long shot but we still didn't believe the LA due to NO WATER. We'd both comment on the end note of the song so Alan would play the Louisiana once and out the bird would fly from no where to confirm what we heard. I'd even do some audio of it as a record shot considering we thought it rare to have this bird in such a habitat. We'd still be happy about the unexpected find when we'd hear the unmistakable call of a Red-shouldered Hawk and be thrilled to get two of them with half way decent looks of one. We'd continue along our way and about 1/10th of a mile or so we'd hear rushing water which would explain the Waterthush so all in all this was a great route for the count and all of us would be happy.
I'd get home and both neighbors would be out planting flowers and trimming weeds when suddenly a bad case of "the negligent neighbor" would take hold as both mowed their lawn yesterday which makes mine look ever worse considering it hasn't been mowed in two weeks. I'd make a comment to my son and he'd tell me the same thing which is "I'll get to it this week" so naturally I would do the thing every mother should which is to flee the yard and the Bobolink habitat and take off to Brierly for some much needed R&R!
I'd decide to do a different route this time and once again fledglings would be everywhere including the House Wren (audio below). I'd be somewhat taken aback by this as I've never recorded an adult in this area before so have no idea where they came from but there they were for both my ears and eyes.
Not the best volume wise but thought it was neat enough to record so I did! A few feet away from here would be another family of birds who'd turn out to be some Downy Woodpeckers so naturally I'd record them too!
Again, not the best volume wise but what do you expect from a Droid! Love their little begging calls and got good looks of the female feeding the nestlings still in the tree cavity so it was a welcome treat and made me forget about my white trash lawn!
I'd set about my different route which was to get to Mount Ararat all by myself after Alan showed me the way as I wanted to prove I could do it and of course I'd get good and lost. I'd find myself on one of those mountain bike loops created by the mountain bikers where I'd continue to hit the same spot many times only to do it again when suddenly I'd hear a loud, clear, fluid chip note nearby making me stop dead in my tracks to try and ID it. Out would come the Droid for recording and was happy it was close enough to get a half way decent audio and this is what I'd get.
Is that not the coolest looking sonogram or what! I'd still not know what the bird was but was determined to find out considering I got such a good recording and couldn't post it on Xeno Canto without an ID when Ovenbird came to mind as I remember something similar coming from one last year. I'd get my Droid out and only get to one "Teacher" when suddenly the bird came out of nowhere and started calling and singing like mad.
Which leads me to Sonogram number two. Love to see the two sonograms of the same bird close to one another for comparison.
Record shot of the recording star as he got closer to me for inspection.
It would be obvious to me at this point the bird was agitated by my presence even before playing the call when I was just minding my own business while trying to get myself unlost so did what I usually do when alone with no one looking and that is smile at him while he's looking at me with his "hairy eyeball" and apologize for the disturbance in the sweetest baby talk voice I could muster. That didn't work so I hauled butt away from him trying to make my way down the trail and out of the vicious loop I was in. I'd then remember something Alan does whenever somewhat lost which is to not follow the trail but to bush whack in the area you want to get to instead. It wouldn't take me long to hear the distant Gray Tree Frogs which was my bench mark (as well as the American Redstarts) to make sure I was headed in the right direction.
And based on how loud the tree frogs are you can see why I used them as my bench mark! If you listen closely you can hear a Veery and some recently fledged Black-capped Chickadees but the tree frogs drowned them out despite both being fairly close by. I'd listen to this wonderful chorus for about 10 minutes as I'd never heard it so loud and didn't want to leave. I think I'm finally at the phase of my birding where I want to learn more about insects, frogs, butterflies, etc-now that I've gotten the hang of birds somewhat. The first few years in my learning about nature I never paid much attention to anything else but the birds as I didn't want to overwhelm the brain with too much to learn too quick, but believe I'm ready to take it to the next level.
I'd get home and get dinner ready accompanied by an iced cold beer when my son's friend came as you can't miss him (remember the one with the loud bike?) Well he still has it and it still produces the same trauma with my house cats but he'd come with one purpose and one purpose only which was to mow my lawn! See he not only likes the loud engine to his motor bike, but the lawn mower as well and I often come home to see the lawn mowed and it being obvious my dear, lazy son was not the one to do it as it comes out so much better. So now I end the weekend with a lot of great birds, recordings, memories and a lawn as nice as my neighbors.
I'd decide to do some mid afternoon birding today and figured while this is typically the time birds are quiet all would be out and about as stir crazy as I after the awful weather the past 24+ hours so waged my bets with my first stop being the South Main Powerlines where I'd be greeted by quite a few bird including the Gray Catbird above. Killer photo for me considering my quality of photos goes drastically down hill during migration as all the "target birds" are far too quick for me and my pathetic camera. The sun at this point would be hidden by thin cloud cover which is my favorite way to take photos. Not an insect expert but it appears as if our friend the catbird may have caught a wasp!
And this charming little bird would even grace me with a tail view!
I'd start along the trail and this is what I'd see after all the heavy rain we've had so was glad I wore my rain boots which allowed me to just tuck my pants into the boots and trudge on.
Wild flowers that were sleeping last time I was here were now wide awake making for a nice feast for the eyes after all the gray. Dragonflies would be out too including this Eight Spotted Skimmer (correction: Common White Tail-Thanks Mark!).
But one of the main reasons I wanted to venture out is to listen for birds and tinker with my new hobby recording them! :-p. I'd finally get to whip out the Droid as I wanted to record a Song Sparrow low in some vegetation doing it's high pitched contact call to another Song Sparrow nearby. You'll probably need to turn up your volume high to hear it as my Droid isn't good for quality audio but I want you to listen to this bird and the chip note "Chet". Okay, ready.....Now tell me when your'e done.
First of all, check out the nifty sonogram my Song Sparrow created. Notice how many of the chip notes appear evenly spaced. How cool is that! Now back to the "chet" call note which differs from the classic "chimp" call note. Paul Driver from Bird Calls and Songs has a better recording of a Song Sparrow doing this call and according to him it is believed to be a note only the females do. So now you know! Just think of the possibilities this has in the dead of summer when your'e looking for things to do an now you can sex Song Sparrows!!! No need to thank me really there isn't!
I'd make my way to the trail that always has a little water on it and my ears could pick up on rushing water as I approached it and this is what I'd see.
A full blown stream! I'd contemplate crossing it as I've been through worse (think Bolton Flats with Alan with water almost to my hips with currants that forced us to hold onto trees at times, no I'm not kidding-but we wanted a Blue-winged Teal for the year list!), but then I'd think of the potential reward inr doing so which would be the usuals and recording would probably be out the of the question with the heavy Saturday afternoon traffic coming from Route 146 so I'd turn around and head for the solitude of Brierly.
And be so glad I did and decided to go off the usual trails hoping I could flush one of the Barred Owls as I'm on a mission to confirm their general location as I want to take my son and his girl friend there in an attempt for them to get a half way decent look at one. The weather would start getting really nice at this point and the further I went into the woods the better I felt. There'd be some minor flooding here too with puddles to my ankles and I'd walk through them with the same enthusiasm I used to do when jumping puddles as child. The smell of the wet, live earth was wonderful and I'd drink it all in as well as the woodland chorus of birds singing for me and with each one my senses would come alive.
First would be the Red-eyed Vireo. He'd be so loud I was convinced he was right above me and after some searching I'd finally find him. I'd do no pishing, just listening and after some patience I'd see the little bird.
So naturally out would come the Droid to record him!
I'd stand there listening and recording with my ears being super sensitive to every note escaping the bird and notice notes I'd never really paid much attention to in the past and would make a mental note to myself to listen to the other RE Vireos along the way to see if they sounded any different and while many had the same "canned song", a couple had different variations which was a welcome find.
I'd do the same ear task with an Eastern Wood-pewee where there'd be no pishing just stopping, listening and trying to match my eyes to the singing bird and after some patience I'd find him too.
Calling away in a duet with another pewee some distance away. I'd continue along my way and would finally flush one of the Barred Owls and despite trying to relocate it, I never did but it's nice to know it's still in the same general area as last. But my biggest treat in this area was yet to come as I'd hear a Hairy Woodpecker nearby with what sounded like begging young nearby. I'd do my ear exercise again and find their location and took about 15 minutes of audio of them and chose only one to share with you all as I don't want to inundate you with bird songs and believe me I could do it!
Another one where you may need to turn up the volume some but you will hear the faint begging calls of the young as well as the communication calls of the adult. Toward the end you'll hear the classic song of the adult Hairy which gets those fledglings really going!!
A distant photo of what I believe to be one of the fledglings. I'd spend another 10 minutes or so here with just my binoculars transfixed in their world. I've always thought of birding as a gift and something I'm glad I found but wish it were earlier than my 40's so trying to make up for it now and it would be here I'd realize there's still so much for me to learn. All the chasing, listing and running around for the migrants leaves me no mind set or time to just observe and watching this family of Hairy Woodpeckers felt like an honor. Something so private and intimate as the bond between parent and child and here I was on a Saturday afternoon drinking it all in while others were doing yard work or shopping at the mall, stressed to the max and rushing around. Yes birding is a gift indeed.
I'd make my way out of the woods and come across more fledglings including some Tufted Titmice and Black-capped Chickadees. I would also come across the flock of begging young that would be so low I couldn't ID them but I'd see yet again another B&W Warbler so guessing it's their fledglings.
There neighbor the Blue-winged Warbler is still around of course and decided to grace me with a fanned tail view which is always nice!
And now for my mystery call which I at first thought was a group of recently fledged Black-capped Chickadees so posted my question on Xeno Canto. The link brings you right to my question and you will see I already have an answer by another favorite blogger of mine in the world of bird vocalizations Ear Birding. This is why I love Xeno-Canto so much because not only do these folks love to talk bird talk, but are super helpful too. And now for the mystery call.
You will hear what sounds a lot like a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher but don't trust my ears as I've been fooled by Black-capped Chickadees doing something similar and with all the juves if I don't see them I don't call them. Will be going back in the next few days to see if I can locate them again as I'd LOVE to have breeding Blue-gray Gnatcatchers as Brierly so cross your fingers for me!
It's been another week from hell at work and the only way I can cope is to bird here and there so decided to check on the Peregrine Falcons yesterday at lunch with my co worker and buddy Chris where we'd see both the adults close to the People's United building continuing to be on the look out for potential threats.
Both would fly around the building with their Indian war like call ringing throughout downtown Worcester so I'd get my first "do you know what those birds are" from people walking the streets as you can't help to hear them. I'd be glad to fill them in as there's one thing I can never get tired of talking about which are the Peregrine Falcon's!
But the two birds I wanted to see more than the adults were the two juves and after some walking around I found the perfect spot to see them and even managed a half way decent photo considering how far up they are. As you can see they got rid of the white plumage which has been replaced with their typical juvenile plumage. Swoon! So funny to see them watching mom fly around and my co worker wondered if mom was trying to show them how to fly and I'm wondering if she has a point as they were captivated!
On our way back to work I'd see some prey on top of the People's United logo which looked too big to be a Rock Pigeon so of course I had to try and get a better view and a photo! My co worker thought nothing of me taking pictures of dead birds as she knows me all too well which is always why she's one of my buds! Wish I could have gotten closer as I'm intrigued and wondering if it's a crow.
And now ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for. Drumroll please.............I proudly present to you the debut of the Curious Birder on the premiere bird recording network of the entire planet. Xeno Canto!!. Woot!!! Yes I've been a member there for over two years and spend many nights geeking out on it but my interest in bird song has really grown this past year so want to spend the slow months of summer bringing it to another level and have a theory in my mind that if I record bird songs and calls, I'll retain them more, especially chip notes which do all sound the same to me (though I can tell a sparrow chip note from a warbler chip note but can't always tell which sparrow or warbler it is many times! Plus song and calls are the way birds communicate with one another so consider it a fun and interesting way for me to learn more about the breeding birds and how they interact with one another.
I'd do my first recording yesterday morning at Martha Deering with one of my first recording artists being none other than the beautiful Wood Thrush.
I'd actually spend about an additional 5 minutes just listening to this bird and every second that passed, my blood pressure would decrease and my breath would slow down and I'd be in a state of mind people go to the pharmacy for and it would be then I'd remember why I love birding by ear more than I do by eye.
If fact, I'd be so addicted I'd do it again this morning and be at Brierly as the sun rose with one bird in particular I wanted to record and of course he'd be in full song as soon as I walked the path.
Who would be my very lovable and tame Veery. Every year I wind up finding a particular bird to take an interest in and go to see whenever I get bored with last year being the Barn Swallows and this year the Veery. I know exactly where he hangs out and it never takes me long to find him and can get lost forever just getting my binoculars on him and watching him sing, preen and eat. He also has a wonderful set of pipes I never get sick of hearing. I'd luck out this morning though and not only get him but two others and they'd all treat me to a Veery chorus putting my ears in a state of euphoria as you will hear above. Swoon!
I'd make my way down the path after that with a nice glow going on as I realized how much less stressful it is to bird with no purpose as I took my time just listening when suddenly I would hear warbler chip notes coming from some nearby shrubs. Hmmmmmmm.....I think I hear the chip note of a Black-and-white Warbler I'd think. No wait, I year a Common Yellowthroat for sure. Hmmmmm....Another one I don't think I know..Could it be the Blue-winged whose always around here? Suddenly my sense of calm diminishes as out come the bins in the general area while I start my pishing. Out would pop my singing bird and this is what I'd see.
Yup, just your typical morning warbler a** and under little sun and in dense green no less! I'd see it good enough to think it was my Black-and-white and was hoping it would turn around but flew off instead and then I'd see another bird dart next to it and figured I'd get my confirmation with the other bird and this is what I'd see.
Yup a Blue-winged Warbler. To make matters even more confusing I could have sworn I saw the B&W flutter its wings some as if it were begging the BW to feed it, but then off they'd both fly as I pished again thinking the B&W I had was a juve as the chip notes sounded a little off to me when I first heard them and this bird would continue to be chipping with now adult two adult B&W's singing nearby.
And this would be the best picture I could manage but you can clearly see it's still calling. Also note the white wing bars, buffy flanks and limited streaking (in fact less streaking than what I normally see on a female) so still wondering if its a juve but not sure if it's still too early for them or not. Whatever it was, it was still interesting and was glad to know I'm getting better with my calls.
Alan and I attended the Rutland State Forest Forbush Bird Club trip that was lead by Donna and Dave where we'd all meet up at the Barre Falls Hawk Watch site and be rewarded with quite a few birds as soon as we got there.
We'd walk along Coldbrook Road some and one of the first birds we'd get would be the Indigo Bunting above and once again this bird appeared to be going through some form of transitional plumage with the gray and lighter blue than what I'm used to seeing on this bird. Not far from here would be the first flycatcher of the day who'd turn out to be an Alder. The bird would not only grace us with some decent views but fly onto the telephone wire as well for all members to admire.
And this is what we'd see as we were getting on the bird with it being above us and I remember looking at it through the bins and thinking the bird almost looked as if its head was shaped as a Grasshopper Sparrow. I'd get the picture above on my screen and think the same exact thing and was almost hesitant to post it as the bird looks so odd so its amazing to get a different view of a bird that's normally a little above face level and hidden by cover so it was a definite treat. Despite the poor quality photo you can still see the small eye ring and the white throat which are good field marks for this bird when your'e looking at it face on (so long as you've confirmed it by voice first of course).
American Robin's would be out and about including this one who seemed to like the hang out on the telephone wires as much as the flycatcher! Notice the shadow at the end of the trail which you can see on the flycatcher as well so it's a perfect reminder of how lighting can really add things to birds that aren't really there as it almost looks as if its part of the plumage (especially the Alder IMO).
Lousy picture but the twosome is so bizarre I had to share it with a Northern Flicker to the right and Brown-headed Cowbird to the left.
We'd get to the next area of the trip where the Purple Finch's like to hang out and the place was alive with bird song including both the Chipping Sparrow and Pine Warbler above. We'd really want a Purple Finch and I could have sworn I heard a bird in the distance with finch potential so off we went to investigate only to have another bird sing in the distance that I was determined to see as I thought it was a House Wren and found it odd considering we weren't near any houses so wanted to see if I was right (hey, they don't call them House Wren's for nothing!). We'd confirm the House Wren when another bird would take it's place that sounded like "Chileck" and not "Chibeck" so now I'm creeping around all animated going through puddles and in the zone as I think it may be my much wanted Yellow-bellied Flycatcher!! I'd finally get to the area it was and realize it was a sharp and rapid Chicbeck and not a slow and thoughtful Chileck and my heart sank but we were able to see the Least Flycatcher for a few seconds before it flew off again. Birds would be calling from everywhere still and I could have sworn I heard a Blackburnian Warbler that had me all excited but was confused at this point with birds calling in all locations but wouldn't trade it for all the world as it's my favorite way to bird. I may not be able to ID them all and I may get some of them wrong but the sound of birds singing is so nice and know pretty soon they will quiet down to raise their young so it was literal music to the ears.
And speaking of music to the ears, at another stop we'd hear a couple Black-throated Green Warblers which is always welcome and I don't think I could ever tire of their song. Other interesting tidbit here would be two Eastern Phoebe's with food in their bills which we were guessing was to feed their young.
Bird song at our next stop would dwindle with only the always vocal Red-eyed Vireo, a lone Ovenbird and a moderate flock of Cedar Waxwings. Soon enough we'd hear another vireo who would turn out to be the Blue-headed above.
Off it flies and while the photo is awful it does show the bold, white spectacles as well as the yellow-olive flanks.
We'd get to another spot where there'd be plenty of warbler calls (Chestnut-sided, Redstart and Yellowthroat) and we'd see yet another Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched up high and looking around.
The next stop would be near a boggy pond where we'd pick up quite a few new birds including Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Hooded Merganser and the Great-crested Flycatcher above where we'd see another and both were behaving as if young were nearby.
The last stop would be Prison Camp Road where we'd get another Indigo Bunting and a Willow Flycatcher Alan and Bob heard. We'd get another Alder shortly thereafter making for a productive stop to end the trip. Despite migration being over with birding would not be slow today as we'd pick up quite a few birds making for a great trip with awesome birds, nice weather and good company so thanks Donna and Dave!
Now a rewind to Saturday morning with Alan and I going to Bolton Flats for the flycatchers. We'd make our way to the corn fields where it would already be oppressively hot with both haze and humidity thick in the air as you can see from the photo above (plus my camera was facing the sun). Lousy photo but I don't often see a Common Yellowthroat from above on a bare tree and at first glance the birds head looked kind of crested giving it a Cedar Waxwing look going on. Never noticed how long this birds tail was as I normally get it peeking at me partially hidden by cover.
Another lousy photo this time of a Willow Flycatcher. Alan and I had met up with Bob and Diane a little earlier and we'd be close to the area of the "T" when I'd spot a bird of interest to the right of us with the first thing I'd notice was the short, notched tail which reminded me of a Purple Finch. I'd get my bins on it and see it was a flycatcher and then Alan, Bob and Diane would get on it and we'd all be speaking out loud and yelling out field marks and besides the tail all of us would notice a dusky type vest on the bird (reminiscent somewhat of an Olive-sided or an Eastern Wood-peewee. Naturally out would come the camera where I'd put it on full zoom as the bird was so far out but was hoping for a record shot to study when I got home.
And this is what I'd get. The photo makes the birds tail look thicker than it was as I had it on full zoom but you can still see it was short and notched. You can also vaguely see an eye ring and the bill appears short which we'd all notice when we were on the bird.
Another photo which sadly doesn't show the vest but does show an overall color of yellow but the sun was so bad none of us were sure how much of it was actually the bird and how much was due to the position of the sun being right in our eyes. Once again the bird would appear compact with that short, notched tail.
Lousy photo number three were you can still see the yellowish-olive on the bird but no wing bars as it was so far out. He is facing away in this photo.
Last lousy photo where pixels are really over exposed that somewhat shows what appears to be an overall yellowish-olive on the bird but no wing bars with my camera never picking up on them in any of my photos.
Obviously this bird would turn out to be a scope bird as we couldn't get it to sing (though we did try the calls of Least, Yellow-bellied and Acadian) to see if it would respond and it wouldn't as that would have cinched the ID. There'd be four of us on the bird and lighting so poor and the bird would drop down to eat here and there and then reappear only twice more so we never got the looks we would have liked, especially with the sun. Two of us saw what we thought appeared to be a yellowish wash on the birds throat and two of us wouldn't so with the inconclusive field mark, we brushed it aside as it could have been the sun. With that said, the flycatcher would have to go as unidentifiable but do think it could be narrowed down to either Least Flycatcher or Yellow-bellied due to the size of the bird. The vest that all of us noticed is very interesting though and think the shadow of the bird due to the sun's position made it more pronounced than it really was. The only two flycatchers with a vest like appearance (besides Olive-sided) that I've read were the Acadian and Yellow-bellied and as you can see this bird is far to small and pudgy to fit the Acadian bill (pun intended). Yes it kills me to have a bird un identified but don't want any "dirty birds" on my list this year as I figure I'm in year five of birding so hold myself to higher standards as I should know better. If you can't positively ID a bird, than don't. Hard medicine to swallow when one wants a Yellow-bellied but look on the bright side as I spent most of yesterday reading all I can between the flycatchers so watch out next time!
