Birds & Butterflies Display at the Worcester Public Library

I decided to head to the Worcester Public Library this morning on my way for tea to take a look at the Birds & Butterflies display and get some pictures for sharing.

I'd get there and of course the first thing to catch my eye would be the Forbush Bird Club display (check out the scope which I thought was cool!)

And of course the Birds of Massachusetts & Other New England States book by Edward Howe Forbush himself.

Along with other publications of Forbush along side a very familiar book to many, The Chickadee!

There'd be plenty of art work on display as well including my favorite of them all, this lovely Barn Swallow painting.  I've developed quite the fondness for these birds this year as they've made good company while birding in the rain over at South Main so this was a treat to see.

And the always handsome Green-winged Teal.  This picture doesn't do this art  justice as the glare was so bad.

And one of my favorite May Quabbin birds the Blackburnian Warbler looking as gorgeous as ever.

And now onto the butterflies which is something I'm finally ready to learn as I'm woefully ignorant.  I didn't even try to figure them out my first three years of birding as I was still trying to get my arms around learning bird identity but have slowed down since then and am noticing and appreciating them more so would like to at least get the basics.  The chart above shows the diversity we here in New England have when it comes to these beautiful insects.

Another clever display that was interesting as well as it shows some of the prime places to see butterflies in Massachusetts.

Another display.

One of my favorite displays which were these plates alongside ID's.

And more art work and photography.


Seriously my pictures didn't do the display justice as there's so much to see and read but needed to head back to work.  If you are in the downtown Worcester area and would like to see this for yourself it is available for viewing until end of the day Thursday, June 27th.


I'd step out of the library and my eyes would instinctively look at the ledge the Peregrines nested at and I'd see this.

 Oh No, not again!, I'd think..  Seriously, tracking the juves this year has been challenging and exhausting so the thought of there being one more was too much to bear considering the others are all over downtown Worcester which would make a head count unimaginable.  I'm thinking perhaps the Mrs is taking a break and was very happy to see her looking better than she did last week.


I'd get back to work and be in deep concentration when suddenly I could hear a call I long for which were the calls of the Peregrines in flight.  I tripped over myself to get my binoculars and camera from my bag and this is what I'd see.

There'd be 4 in total but they were so quick I was never able to get them all in the same photo.

They'd continue to call as they dived down and up near the glass tower which caused me a mixed reaction of awe and dread as I held my breath trying to get some half way decent pictures of them.

I'd watch as they made their way toward the Unum building and be happy seeing them fly and doing it so well.  Watching them soar and dive like that made me realize this is the thing the Peregrine Falcon was born with the knowledge to do as their survival depends on it.  I'd watch them fade away and go back to my number crunching which is what I do to survive and pay my bills wishing I could fly like that- if only for an hour.


Take care all

Correction to one of my Broad-winged Hawk ID postings yesterday

I'd get into work this morning during my tea break and go onto my blog to access my bookmarks  and take a quick glance at my most recent post and the picture that made me uneasy yesterday, gave me the same gut reaction today.  The picture in question is the one above of what I ID'd as a Broad-winged Hawk taken at Broad Meadow Brook yesterday morning.    I remember hearing the clear "Tee Teeee", of the Broad-winged, and my initial puzzlement of the white scapulars I could clearly see.  Hmmmmm, I'd think.  Don't remember that being a field mark on a  Broad-winged and thought only Red-tailed Hawks had them.  The bird was still pretty far away at this point so inched my way closer for better looks and to get a better estimate on the size of the bird which was hidden by leaf cover.

And would see this.  Yup it's a broad-winged alright based on the rufous-brown barring that I saw so would shove aside my gut reaction to it being a Red-tailed as I tried to get closer.  It would be then that I'd again hear the Broad-winged call and would realize another buteo was nearby and my attention would go to that one as it was out in better view for me to look at.

I'd spend some time looking at one Broad-winged and the other raptor and be struck over how different they looked but realized just like Red-tailed's, Broad-wing's could vary but it gave me the same gut feel I had when I initially spotted the first one.

When the crows arrived I would see the hawk in the first picture take off so my eyes immediately went to the other hawk hoping to get a picture of it as it was about to take flight.

I'd then be on my merry way along the trail and hear the Broad-winged again so out would come the bins hoping I could get a look at them in flight which is how I'm used to IDing these hawks.

Where I'd have one going left

And seconds later the other one would be headed right.  I would then feel confident of my ID or both of them being Broad-winged by looking at the rufous barring on the chest and neck and most importantly, the white bold band on the tail that was seen on both birds.

But after seeing the first bird on a different computer monitor and better lighting at work, I still wasn't convinced.  I'd do some googling during lunch of juvenile Broad-winged Hawks which would be maddening due to many pictures showing some white on the juves backs and then others with nothing.  To make matters worse there are a lot of photos out there where the hawk is ID'd as a Broad-winged, when it is obviously a Red-tailed or Red-shouldered which drives me crazy so imagine my panic thinking I was a contributor with my recent post. ;-).

I'd leave work early realizing another raptor mystery was making me neurotic (last week the Peregrines), but went right to my various hawk ID books to finally put my mind at ease.

Hmmmmm....Just as I always thought, no white on scapulars, allthough [h] is showing some paleness, but not like what I saw on that first bird.

Now that's more in line with what I saw, but how do I explain the rufous barring on the chest?

Could it be??  HA!  Of course not, I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention that's all.  ;-).  Although in the past this would be my first reaction and I'd call Alan and kindly ask that he meet me or send him photos only to have him tell me it was a lousy Red-tailed so I guess I'm still improving despite my occasional Mis ID's.

Anyhow, with all that said and done, I believe I've solved the mystery and with egg on my face, I'm going to go with my first gut reaction and call the first bird a Red-tailed Hawk.

And what would this be caused by?  I'd spend a good five minutes looking at this photo as well as similar lousy photos I took and I'd realize the f'in bird is looking over its shoulder at me.  What you see folks isn't the birds chest, but rather its back.

So how do we explain the fact that I saw two Broad-winged Hawks in flight and the Crows and Blue Jays?  We can't.  For all I know the one going right was the one going left as a clear view line was impossible due to tree cover and both the Blue Jay's and Crows were tag teaming the same bird.

Now that I've solved the mystery though I'm still mystified over the entire encounter as I had no idea two different species of buteos could hang out like bosom buddies the way these two were.  Not only were they in side by side trees but both flew off at the time time.  I'm also mystified by how hidden my friend above is in leaf cover as I'm used to seeing Red-tailed more toward the outer part of tree branches so it's another mystery I guess I'll never get an answer to.

So there you have it folks.  My once a year reminder to always trust your gut and don't make a Red-tailed into a Broad-winged.  The Internet will never forgive you!

Take care all

Broad Meadow Brook-Sunday

I decided to go to Broad Meadow Brook on Sunday to check out what was around but also to get in some light exercise in an attempt to workoff all the beer, baked goods and ice cream I've been enjoying over the past few weeks.  No sooner would I get out of my car that I'd hear the call of a Broad-winged Hawk and would be all excited until I heard some Blue Jays in the same area and would be impressed with the imitation.   I'd hear it again and look around and sure enough I'd spot the Broad-winged, in a tree looking annoyed.

See correction on hawk below here: Red-tailed Hawk

I'd get my bins on it and then realize I could still hear the Tee-Teee call of the hawk but I wouldn't see its bill move and this would be why.

There'd be two of them and as you can see this one is ticked due to a good old fashioned Blue Jay mobbing (see Jay to the left).  Wish the bird was in better lighting as this would have been such a good shot!

My walk would be forgotten at this point as I took my time looking at both hawks as its not that often I get the chance to see them perched and really wanted the shape and its field marks imprinted in my brain.  Soon enough though the American Crows got the hotline call from the Blue Jays and the one in the other tree would see the gang of crows headed their way  cawing up a storm and off it went and this one followed.

Broad Meadow Brook has done a lot of nice work along the trails lately and I was happy to see the new play area was complete so off I went to explore.

Whimsical tunnels for crawling.

And really cool logs for climbing!

I'd make my way along the path and see they changed their story book so of course exercise would be delayed again as I tried to ID the various birds along the way without cheating and looking at the answers.  While I do have to say the picture above is lovely, I don't miss winter feeding in the least right now despite the humidity!

I'd continue along the way and could hear the Broad-winged Hawks again and realized they took a turn near blackbird central.  It's an area at Broad Meadow Brook that's very birdy and this time of the year the various blackbirds seem to be the most common.  Not good for the hawks I'd think as I've seen blackbirds in action and they have no problem mobbing anything they deem a threat.

Sure enough I'd look up and see a Broad-winged trying to escape the wrath of an American Crow

The other hawk wouldn't be far behind as it tried to escape the Blue Jays who continued on its tail.

The other one would circle back with the crows right behind it and I'd realize life must be rough being a hawk.  No such thing as an easy meal and are subject to scorn and mobbing by passerines (especially the buteos which is ironic considering small mammals and other tiny non avian creatures are their preferred meals).  I think its because birds are too scared of accipiters to try those tactics on them as they know one felt swoop from a Cooper's would be the end of them.  Whatever it is, it's always interesting to observe, but can't help but to feel bad for the subject being mobbed.


After a while the hawks would be gone so I went about my business my brisk walk and was able to get about a mile without stopping

I'd make it to the Power Lines and see the usual Eastern Bluebirds hanging out on the wires.

Including some recently fledged.

A family of Indigo Buntings would be out as well which is always nice to see.

I'd make my way toward the Cardinal Trail when I'd hear a bird nearby

And that something would be a cardinal of course!!  It would be making a very weird note I'd never heard before and realized it was a contact call of some sort.  After searching I'd see who he was trying to make contact with.

And it would be this very recently fledged Northern Cardinal.  Seriously, for such gorgeous birds (both male and female), they sure do have some bizarre looking fledglings at first.  Oh well, in another week it will be beautiful.  

I'd get closer to the brook and sure enough a Song Sparrow would be out in full view in an area I love in winter due to the sparrow activity which is most welcoming in January when birds aren't so easy to see.

I'd finally get over to the brook and see a female Mallard with one ducking.

She'd decide to take off down the brook and would realize there were others but they'd be hidden.  In fact, I wouldn't even see them until I looked at the first picture blown up on my computer monitor.

The Red-winged Blackbirds would be out as usual including the male above who looks as if he's wearing a skirt! (must be Scottish)

And the female of course would be nearby and decided to pose nicely for the camera while admiring those shapely legs on her mate.

Besides the Broad-winged Hawks, my highlight of the day would be seeing the Tree Swallow above who appears to be nesting.  After reading the depressing posts on Massbird about all of the dead nestlings these birds have had with the wet weather, it was nice to see them attempting it again, and hope for better success this time.


I'd end the day with 6 miles on foot including some hills which was nice as hills are my favorite thing to hike and Broad Meadow Brooks Power Line trail has many of those and that's why it remains one of my favorite places to go nearby.


I'd head home after that and chill in the yard and then do a Target run and bring my bins and camera to do some light birding before hand.  Nothing out of the ordinary and would see 9 Turkey Vultures with no Black unfortunately.  I would get this Killdeer doing a flyby though.

These Killdeer are regulars at the mall and don't seem to mind the traffic, trash or anything else as you can see.

I'd head home after that hungry for dinner which would be Chicken Curry over white rice and a Smuttynose IPA.  I realize giving up beer is as unrealistic for me as giving up chocolate but decided to limit myself to 1 or two a night on weeekends only and since it's Sunday it's still the weekend I took full advantage of it.

The two went perfectly together, although I don't know much that doesn't go well with a ice cold Smuttynose, especially in the summer!


Take care all.