Christmas Eve Morning Birding-Horned Lark

Alan and I did a little early morning Christmas Eve birding today with the goal of getting a Horned Lark as it was needed on my 2009 list.
We went to the Worcester Airport where there were about a dozen of them with some Snow Buntings mixed in. Besides their nice color and funny walk, another thing that stood out to me was their call which was really nice on the ears. Great birds to get and not that far away either so it was a great way to start off my Christmas vacation.
One flying past us. They would even do their call while flying overhead.
Next, it was back to Millbury where we saw the Great Black-backed Gull from last year on its favorite perching post which is a street lamp overlooking Route 146.
Don't understand why it likes it there so much, but I am guessing being a gull can be rather boring at times so it goes there to watch cars go by for some mindless entertainment.
We decided to do a brief walk along the Millbury Bike Path where we saw Black-capped Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets, White-breasted Nuthatches, a Great-blue Heron and this male Downy Woodpecker above.
We could also hear the chatter of a Belted Kingfisher and I was able to get a lousy flight shot of one flying past but the fence got in the way as you can see.
There was also on lone drake Northern Pintail mixed in with some Black Ducks and Mallards.
And some Hooded Mergansers like the one above.
Yesterday I had my first official yard sighting of a Carolina Wren who decided to have a snack of suet which was a welcome site indeed.
Last but by no means the least, I want to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas. Take care everyone!

Juvenille Bald Eagle still in Millbury

Photo by Edd Cote

I am happy to report that it appears as if the juvenile Bald Eagle is still in the Millbury area as Edd saw it today in the same tree as last time at 11:06 today. He was able to get a couple of shots before it flew off toward Lake Singletary.

Photo by Edd Cote

Not sure if that lake is completely frozen yet, but my guess is most of it is by now, so I will be curious to see if it decides to hang around some, especially near the Blackstone River (the Millbury Bike Path would be most preferred of course)!

Take care all

Sunday Morning Feeder Birds

Like most of the eastern coast, I am snowed in today, so decided to take advantage of it by spending some time watching my feeder birds which never fails to disappoint. I woke up late at 6:30 this AM while it was still fairly dark out and I could see shadows of birds I was guessing were the Dark-eyed Juncos deciding to make my yard their first fuel stop of the day vs the weeds they usually consume before gracing me with their presence. Soon after the female Northern Cardinal that is a morning regular came by too for a breakfast of safflower seed I had just refilled the night before.
I was soon to find out she was not alone as another joined in which provided a few minutes of entertainment as I watched them chase after each other only to see them eating side by side a few minutes later.
The winds were fierce and the snow relentless as various birds started coming to my feeders. The picture above was not enhanced in anyway except for lightening it some, the shadow on the bottom was due to my window frame.
I also had a record number of White-throated Sparrows today who were all underneath the feeders taking advantage of any spillage that may come their way.
I also had my first arrival of House Finches this season and when they come, I go through seed rather fast as they have voracious appetites. I had 12 of them total this AM which is double the number from last year. Will be putting out another thistle feeder to make sure the American Goldfinches still have their feeder and continue to be diligent in cleaning as the House Finches are usually the ones that carry that awful finch disease my goldfinches got last year.
Then of course there were the Song Sparrows with another record number. I am guessing these are the sparrows from across the street where there are at least a half dozen of them. Word must have gotten out that my feeders were filled to the rim so they came to help empty them some.
And then the Dark-eyed Juncos, which are always my most numerous of birds where I will have ranges of 4 to 25 at times.
Perched on top of a sunflower that I allow to remain up for the winter as additional food for the birds.

Another Song Sparrow giving the eye to a junco before attempting to attack. I noticed some very interesting behaviour today and that is the Song Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows like to go after Dark-eyed Juncos who will retaliate in return. The White-throated Sparrows are rather passive and don't participate in this pecking so they get left alone in return. The only thing I can think of is defending of food sources, but little do they know there will be a steady source of food for them this winter in my yard so they really don't need to worry about that much. Interesting to watch though!
Another House Finch picture. Doesn't he look happy winter is here!
Had both the male and female Downy Woodpeckers in my yard today where one was always perched in an area tree.

While the other was at the suet feeder.
A picture of the various weeds I have in my yard that I allow to seed in late summer as an extra food source for the birds in winter and as you can see it is very much appreciated.
And then my favorite feeder bird as of late which is the American Tree Sparrow. I can actually hear their "tink, tink, tink, call from my kitchen window and soon enough one lands nearby for ID like the one above.
This one had a lot of spunk and will as it eyeballed the satellite feeder thinking of ways it could get on there for some sunflower hearts.
These types of feeders are made for smaller birds and sparrows have a hard time using them as you can see above.
That didn't stop this determined sparrow from trying though.
Success!! It brought its seed to the top of the feeding station for consumption.

A very cold American Goldfinch looks my way.
Some half way decent shots of a Tufted Titmouse for a change.
Actually got another so I just had to share!
One of the prettiest birds to see on a snowy day which is the male Northern Cardinal.
And a very miserable looking Blue Jay coming to my feeder for lunch.

Now off to do some shoveling and maybe light hiking nearby for photos and fresh air. Take care everyone!

Worcester Christmas Bird Count-Saturday

Another Christmas Bird Count today and this time it was the Worcester area. Alan, Paul and I headed out this morning expecting to get a lot of the same old, same old with perhaps a few surprises mixed in like this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk above. We were driving in a busy part of West Boyalston when suddenly Paul sees a hawk of interest and asks Alan to cross the intersection to get a better look at it. The car stops and the two of them have their bins on the bird and I hear Paul contemplate Red-shouldered which instantly causes my heart to jump and ears perk up. I am in the back of the truck and can't see much except for a buteo shaped bird from the breast down so assume it's a Red-tailed because why the heck would a Red-shouldered hang out at such a place.
Finally both agree on it being a Red-shouldered and I can't take being cooped up in the back not being able to see it so Paul lets me out and I almost trip out of the truck to get my own glimpse of such a fantastic bird perched in West Boyalston of all places!
I ask Alan to get his scope out in an attempt to get some digiscoped pictures and the only ones that came out half way decent were the face shots which I love anyhow as it really shows the eyes of a bird and hence it's soul (corny but true in my own eyes!). Look at those beautiful brown eyes and sweet little face!
Finally it flies off and I attempt to get a couple of flight shots and am thrilled to finally get a flight shot of a Red-shouldered Hawk that is identifiable.
Here it is going away to our dismay. Highlight Worcester County bird for the month of December for me and I just want to say Paul, you rock for seeing it!! :0)
But that's not all folks, check out what else that was spotted. This very handsome Eastern Towhee was hanging out with a Northern Mockingbird and some White-throated Sparrow. I seriously miss this bird and is one of the things I yearn to hear most whenever venturing power lines so this was indeed a sight for sore eyes.
Another highlight was seeing a flock of Wild Turkeys over near Wachusett Reservoir.
We also had a Sharp-shinned Hawk there as well. The picture came out lousy but it was a quick fly by so this was the best I could get. We also got a Belted Kingfisher and Pileated Woodpecker around this area.
And then of course there were the regular CBC birds like the Black-capped Chickadee above.
And the many Downy Woodpeckers we saw in many of the places we went.
We also saw a lot of American Robins whose red breast really pop now with the bare trees and gray skies.
And the familiar Tufted Titmouse like the one giving me the eye above.
A Black-capped Chickadee checking out the recording device of its call. It is common practice to have a device such as this for CBC's with the most popular recordings being the Eastern Screech-Owl, the Red-bellied Woodpecker and of course the Black-capped Chickadee. This device is a life saver during bird counts as it brings the birds into your area for counting which is needed as time doesn't allow you to travel a piece of land inch by inch.
We also had one American-tree Sparrow at an empty feeder shown above. Hope they fill those feeders up tomorrow before the big storm!
More backyard birds.
And what I thought was a cool Tufted Titmouse shot.
We also had our fair share of Mourning Doves like the group above.
A picture of our hearty CBC leader Paul going to check out some Scaup we had seen earlier who was making sure nothing else had flown over. We in the meantime, were in the cozy warm truck!
A very large flock of Cedar Waxwings participating in some very bizarre behavior. The flock of them were fixated on the leaves of oak trees and you could hear their call and the rustling of leaves in the area where the trees were. At first we though perhaps they were feeding on something in there (like insects), but then saw some of them looking like they were getting ready to settle in for the night so perhaps they think of this as a good overnight roosting spot?
Finally we went to go check on the gull roost where we met up with Marion and Scott so we decided to join forces for the count. There were hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls but the highlight was the Iceland Gull mixed in with the others!
I would be remiss if I didn't include other non-bird related photos like the one above which was a path we hiked along. The weather today wasn't half as bad as expected so we did a lot of hiking which was awesome! I had forgotten how much I missed getting outdoors and doing some serious walking in the winter so this was a real treat and can't wait to get out there some more, especially with my new snowshoes I will be getting!
Really neat ice pictures like the one above. How cool is that!
And check out this rock
And finally a shot of the rocks under still unfrozen water at Wachusett Reservoir. The water is so crystal clear, you can see all of the details and colors in the rock.

Take care everyone!