More signs of Spring have become evident with the coming of the Eastern Phoebe! The phoebe I observed at Nashoba Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Westford was not the first one nor would it be the last one for today! When I got up this morning, after having showered and had breakfast, I observed a singing Eastern Phoebe on the edges of our backyard while taking Mr. Gildor, our Corgi, outside for a bathroom break. And as the phoebe at Nashoba was not the last one, another was heard singing along Gray Farm Road in Littleton while taking Gildor for a walk late this afternoon, after having done my 4 miles worth of trekking at Nashoba.
It sure was a pleasant day to be outside, in spite of the brisk winds and slightly-below-normal temperatures. Today's little excursion started off with coming across 5 Golden-crowned Kinglets way up in the tops of the pines along the Woodland Loop Trail. Onwards, while on the trails situated on lands owned by the Westford Conservation Trust that connect the 2 parcels of property that make up Nashoba Brook, I came upon a Brown Creeper going from tree to tree, singing its lovely, ethereal song....a treat that was since the song of the creeper is one of my favorites! Lastly, the other most notable species of bird I came across was while on the trails near Nonset Brook that reside within property owned and maintained by the Westford Conservation Commission. These trails also connect to the MAS lands comprising Nashoba Brook. This particular species was a pair of calling Common Ravens observed flying just above the treetops heading northwards. I just love their guttural croak! The full listing of birds seen at MAS Nashoba Brook Wildlife Sanctuary are below:
Location: Nashoba Brook Wildlife Sanctuary
Observation date: 3/28/11
Number of species: 17
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 6
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 1
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 1
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 3
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 5
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus 1
Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe 1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 1
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 15
Common Raven - Corvus corax 2
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 18
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor 6
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 14
Brown Creeper - Certhia americana 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 5
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis 2
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Before I depart here, I also wanted to mention a bird I have never had in our yards at home before until this past Saturday, that being a lone Fox Sparrow that came around late afternoon time (4:15 to 5:40), kicking up the ground very much in the fashion of an Eastern Towhee.....twas only the 3rd time I had ever seen a Fox Sparrow! Below is the full listing of birds in our yards observed at that time:
Location: 83 Hartwell Avenue, Littleton, MA 01460
Observation date: 3/26/11
Notes: First Fox Sparrow I have ever seen in our yard, only the 3rd Fox Sparrow I have seen in my life thus far (first in 2009 in Sanbornton, NH; 2nd in 2010 at Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary).
Number of species: 15
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 4
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 1
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus 1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 2
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 7
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor 5
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis 2
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 2
Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus 2
Fox Sparrow (Red) - Passerella iliaca iliaca/zaboria 1
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis 5
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 2
House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus 6
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
It has been another good year of birding thus far! Get out there folks and enjoy it! Happy birding!!
Showing posts with label brown creeper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brown creeper. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Winter finches galore on this day of my birth!
What a year of bird watching it has been thus far, and today has by far and away been the best day of birding yet, and there has already been several momentous occasions! On the day of my birth (30 today) that had promised milder temps, some sun and the allure of the hunt for seeing more winter finches, brought us all that and more (even a few intermittent snow flurries in Royalston)!
My good buddy and fellow birder Kirk and myself ventured back out to West Concord at the Thoreau School again to get more of a Redpoll fix! It was my 3rd time visiting this location, and today's hope was not only to see the myriad numbers of Common Redpolls, but also to see if we could chance upon at least one of the Hoary Redpolls that the venerable David Sibley had observed earlier in the week. This time around, we didn't have to wait for the Redpolls to show up, for we got there at about 8:30 am and two-thirds of the flock was present and accounted for, mowing down upon the feeders full of millet. One of the Redpolls that alighted on the feeders was without a doubt a Hoary Redpoll. It was marginally larger, had that frostier, paler appearance and the more refined and less noticeable brown streaking along its flanks. It also appeared to have an even stubbier yellow bill than that of its Common brethren. We were there in West Concord for about 20 minutes before deciding to head out west to continue to feast our eyes upon more winter finches! There was another Redpoll that seemed to be a candidate for a Hoary, but we weren't definitively sure of it. Nonetheless, that one Hoary we saw was fantastic, never mind the fact of just having all those Redpolls there at once down here in the Bay State!
Location: Thoreau School, West Concord, MA
Observation date: 3/13/11
Notes: The sizable flock of Redpolls continues at this location, though only about half to two-thirds of the flock was present and accounted for. The Hoary (1 of a few that had been reported earlier in the week by David Sibley) has all the features we were looking for: the slightly larger size, the even shorter, stubbier yellow bill, the more refined brown streaking along the flanks than that of the Commons, and just the overall "frostier" appearance, looking like it has just spent a night in the freezer!
Number of species: 8
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 4
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 3
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 5
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 2
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 1
Common Redpoll - Acanthis flammea 40
Hoary Redpoll - Acanthis hornemanni 1
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 3
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Here are a couple pics of the myriad of Redpolls seen in West Concord by my good buddy and birding mentor, Kirk Marshall:
About an hour and a half later, at around a little after 10:30 am, we started our venture within the town of Royalston, MA in hopes of coming across other notable winter finches that had been reported earlier in the week by Paul Peterson, Pete Gilmore and Paul Sullivan along North Fitzwilliam Road, Northeast Fitzwilliam Road and Proctor Hill Road. Around Northeast Fitzwilliam Road, we didn't come across any of the winter finches we were hoping for, but things started off fairly well when we arrived there, with 3 American Crows harassing the living daylights out of a calling Common Raven! We had parked in the parking lot near the church in the center of town (we weren't sure which building was the Phinehas S. Newton Library). After seeing the Raven, we walked northwards along NE Fitzwilliam Road and came upon a sizable flock of about 40 Red-winged Blackbirds and at least 8 Common Grackles. Even more notable here was a Mink that Kirk had spotted crossing NE Fitzwilliam Road right near the juncture with Frye Hill Road....I hadn't seen a Mink since being at Wompatuck on the South Shore last summer! After having no luck with finding winter finches along NE Fitzwilliam Road, we decided to head up North Fitzwilliam Road. Driving for about a half-mile to 3/4 of a mile up, we came upon a house with a large flock of Common Redpolls just covering the ground and the feeders that were out in front of this white house with 3 deciduous trees in the front, right along the side of North Fitzwilliam. But not only were Redpolls there (we couldn't discern any Hoary's, especially since most of the Redpolls went to the feeders in behind the house), but there were at least 2, probably more, Pine Siskins there as well.....great looks at them, along with the "ZZZZZzzzzzzrrrreeeeeee" vocalizations in effect! What also astonished us was the presence of a Brown Creeper looking for deliciousness on the ground near the base of the middle tree. Never before had Kirk or myself seen a Creeper on the ground! Just fantastic!
After getting our Redpoll meter up to maximum for the day, we continued on northwards on North Fitzwilliam Road and turned left onto Proctor Hill Road. Paul Peterson and his posse reported that a local resident had a flock of at least 17 Evening Grosbeaks at her feeders at her home that was the 2nd home on the right on this road. We checked out this home and had no luck (though there are numerous feeders there), so we went up the road for about another 1/4 mile and decided to turn around just in front of a large white farmhouse with barn animals and a friendly yellow dog present. Just as I was finished making my 3-point turn, we had noticed a flock of birds in the treetops in behind this farmhouse we were turning around at. Then Kirk exclaimed with glee: "There they are!!!" And sure enough, there they were indeed, a flock of 17 Evening Grosbeaks! We just gawked at these amazing Life birds for the both of us, admiring the startling beauty of both male and females, but especially that of the male EVGR, with its bright patterns of golden-yellow, black, rich brown and grays with black wings marked with bold, white wingbars! These Evenings were very noisy and very social amongst themselves.....but 17 just wasn't enough! About 7 or so minutes later, another group of EVGRs joined the flock already there, bringing the total tally of birds to at least 35, possibly more!! Below is a location map of where we were in Royalston today:
The lat/long marker at the top left is the spot where the Evening Grosbeaks were seen on Proctor Hill Road. The middle lat/long marker along North Fitzwilliam Road is where the Redpolls, Pine Siskins and the Brown Creeper was observed. The location along NE Fitzwilliam Road is where the blackbirds and grackles were seen.
Location: Proctor Hill/N. Fitzwilliam/NE Fitzwilliam Rds., Royalston, MA
Observation date: 3/13/11
Notes: Brown Creeper, Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls seen at home along North Fitzwilliam Road, about a half-mile to 3/4 mile from junction with NE Fitzwilliam Road at white house along left-side of road with feeders and 3 deciduous trees in front yard. Also feeders along side-yard and in backyard; flock of at least 35 Evening Grosbeaks seen about 3/4 mile up Proctor Hill Road on left-hand side of road in trees behind white farmhouse with barn animals and a lovely yellow dog present. Grosbeaks were very social and communicative....simply startling and gorgeous! What a Lifer! The EVGR appeared to be engorging themselves on feeders in behind the farmhouse, though we could not tell for sure the existence of feeders or not without fear of trespassing.
Number of species: 19
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 5
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 2
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus 1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 6
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 3
Common Raven - Corvus corax 1
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 12
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor 16
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis 1
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 3
Brown Creeper - Certhia americana 1
American Tree Sparrow - Spizella arborea 12
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis 3
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 43
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula 8
Common Redpoll - Acanthis flammea 70
Pine Siskin - Spinus pinus 2
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 15
Evening Grosbeak - Coccothraustes vespertinus 35
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
My gods.....what a phenomenal birthday, and moreover, a fabulous day of birding! Now all I need is both Crossbills and a Pine Grosbeak to round out the winter finches (neverminding the Rosy Finches out in Colorado)! I could not have asked for a better day.....thanks be to Ryan Schain, David Sibley, Paul Peterson, Pete Gilmore and Paul Sullivan....and of course Kirk Marshall, for contributing in some manner to make such a day come to fruition!! Happy birding to everyone out there!!
My good buddy and fellow birder Kirk and myself ventured back out to West Concord at the Thoreau School again to get more of a Redpoll fix! It was my 3rd time visiting this location, and today's hope was not only to see the myriad numbers of Common Redpolls, but also to see if we could chance upon at least one of the Hoary Redpolls that the venerable David Sibley had observed earlier in the week. This time around, we didn't have to wait for the Redpolls to show up, for we got there at about 8:30 am and two-thirds of the flock was present and accounted for, mowing down upon the feeders full of millet. One of the Redpolls that alighted on the feeders was without a doubt a Hoary Redpoll. It was marginally larger, had that frostier, paler appearance and the more refined and less noticeable brown streaking along its flanks. It also appeared to have an even stubbier yellow bill than that of its Common brethren. We were there in West Concord for about 20 minutes before deciding to head out west to continue to feast our eyes upon more winter finches! There was another Redpoll that seemed to be a candidate for a Hoary, but we weren't definitively sure of it. Nonetheless, that one Hoary we saw was fantastic, never mind the fact of just having all those Redpolls there at once down here in the Bay State!
Location: Thoreau School, West Concord, MA
Observation date: 3/13/11
Notes: The sizable flock of Redpolls continues at this location, though only about half to two-thirds of the flock was present and accounted for. The Hoary (1 of a few that had been reported earlier in the week by David Sibley) has all the features we were looking for: the slightly larger size, the even shorter, stubbier yellow bill, the more refined brown streaking along the flanks than that of the Commons, and just the overall "frostier" appearance, looking like it has just spent a night in the freezer!
Number of species: 8
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 4
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 3
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 5
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 2
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 1
Common Redpoll - Acanthis flammea 40
Hoary Redpoll - Acanthis hornemanni 1
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 3
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Here are a couple pics of the myriad of Redpolls seen in West Concord by my good buddy and birding mentor, Kirk Marshall:
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| Common Redpoll goodness in West Concord, MA near the Thoreau School |
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| Part of flock of Common Redpolls visiting millet feeders in West Concord, MA |
About an hour and a half later, at around a little after 10:30 am, we started our venture within the town of Royalston, MA in hopes of coming across other notable winter finches that had been reported earlier in the week by Paul Peterson, Pete Gilmore and Paul Sullivan along North Fitzwilliam Road, Northeast Fitzwilliam Road and Proctor Hill Road. Around Northeast Fitzwilliam Road, we didn't come across any of the winter finches we were hoping for, but things started off fairly well when we arrived there, with 3 American Crows harassing the living daylights out of a calling Common Raven! We had parked in the parking lot near the church in the center of town (we weren't sure which building was the Phinehas S. Newton Library). After seeing the Raven, we walked northwards along NE Fitzwilliam Road and came upon a sizable flock of about 40 Red-winged Blackbirds and at least 8 Common Grackles. Even more notable here was a Mink that Kirk had spotted crossing NE Fitzwilliam Road right near the juncture with Frye Hill Road....I hadn't seen a Mink since being at Wompatuck on the South Shore last summer! After having no luck with finding winter finches along NE Fitzwilliam Road, we decided to head up North Fitzwilliam Road. Driving for about a half-mile to 3/4 of a mile up, we came upon a house with a large flock of Common Redpolls just covering the ground and the feeders that were out in front of this white house with 3 deciduous trees in the front, right along the side of North Fitzwilliam. But not only were Redpolls there (we couldn't discern any Hoary's, especially since most of the Redpolls went to the feeders in behind the house), but there were at least 2, probably more, Pine Siskins there as well.....great looks at them, along with the "ZZZZZzzzzzzrrrreeeeeee" vocalizations in effect! What also astonished us was the presence of a Brown Creeper looking for deliciousness on the ground near the base of the middle tree. Never before had Kirk or myself seen a Creeper on the ground! Just fantastic!
After getting our Redpoll meter up to maximum for the day, we continued on northwards on North Fitzwilliam Road and turned left onto Proctor Hill Road. Paul Peterson and his posse reported that a local resident had a flock of at least 17 Evening Grosbeaks at her feeders at her home that was the 2nd home on the right on this road. We checked out this home and had no luck (though there are numerous feeders there), so we went up the road for about another 1/4 mile and decided to turn around just in front of a large white farmhouse with barn animals and a friendly yellow dog present. Just as I was finished making my 3-point turn, we had noticed a flock of birds in the treetops in behind this farmhouse we were turning around at. Then Kirk exclaimed with glee: "There they are!!!" And sure enough, there they were indeed, a flock of 17 Evening Grosbeaks! We just gawked at these amazing Life birds for the both of us, admiring the startling beauty of both male and females, but especially that of the male EVGR, with its bright patterns of golden-yellow, black, rich brown and grays with black wings marked with bold, white wingbars! These Evenings were very noisy and very social amongst themselves.....but 17 just wasn't enough! About 7 or so minutes later, another group of EVGRs joined the flock already there, bringing the total tally of birds to at least 35, possibly more!! Below is a location map of where we were in Royalston today:
The lat/long marker at the top left is the spot where the Evening Grosbeaks were seen on Proctor Hill Road. The middle lat/long marker along North Fitzwilliam Road is where the Redpolls, Pine Siskins and the Brown Creeper was observed. The location along NE Fitzwilliam Road is where the blackbirds and grackles were seen.
Location: Proctor Hill/N. Fitzwilliam/NE Fitzwilliam Rds., Royalston, MA
Observation date: 3/13/11
Notes: Brown Creeper, Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls seen at home along North Fitzwilliam Road, about a half-mile to 3/4 mile from junction with NE Fitzwilliam Road at white house along left-side of road with feeders and 3 deciduous trees in front yard. Also feeders along side-yard and in backyard; flock of at least 35 Evening Grosbeaks seen about 3/4 mile up Proctor Hill Road on left-hand side of road in trees behind white farmhouse with barn animals and a lovely yellow dog present. Grosbeaks were very social and communicative....simply startling and gorgeous! What a Lifer! The EVGR appeared to be engorging themselves on feeders in behind the farmhouse, though we could not tell for sure the existence of feeders or not without fear of trespassing.
Number of species: 19
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 5
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 2
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus 1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 6
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 3
Common Raven - Corvus corax 1
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 12
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor 16
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis 1
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 3
Brown Creeper - Certhia americana 1
American Tree Sparrow - Spizella arborea 12
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis 3
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 43
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula 8
Common Redpoll - Acanthis flammea 70
Pine Siskin - Spinus pinus 2
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 15
Evening Grosbeak - Coccothraustes vespertinus 35
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
My gods.....what a phenomenal birthday, and moreover, a fabulous day of birding! Now all I need is both Crossbills and a Pine Grosbeak to round out the winter finches (neverminding the Rosy Finches out in Colorado)! I could not have asked for a better day.....thanks be to Ryan Schain, David Sibley, Paul Peterson, Pete Gilmore and Paul Sullivan....and of course Kirk Marshall, for contributing in some manner to make such a day come to fruition!! Happy birding to everyone out there!!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Project FeederWatch - Week 3 (12/05/2010)
This weekend of observing the feeders and environs surrounding them around our house featured 2 new species making an appearance and the return of a species of bird (American Goldfinch) that had been absent last weekend. A lone Brown Creeper (I love them "boids" to pieces!) as well as a lone male House Finch showed up during the course of my observance (from 11 am to 1:15 pm) before heading off to join all the nutjobs in purchasing Christmas gifts.
I just love watching Brown Creepers and their mannerisms! This amazing, bark-colored bird with curved-bill has the habit of walking (climbing) directly up a tree from the base-upwards in a spiral, gleaning insects from the crevices in the bark of the tree....then, when its had its fun, it will either fly back down to base of the very same tree to make sure it didn't miss anything or make its way over to the base of another tree, always spiraling upwards in search of deliciousness! Their habit of walking along the trunks and branches of a tree are similar to woodpeckers and nuthatches, but as noted early, are different for their upwards spiraling climb. Creepers will use their stiffened tail much like a woodpecker for balance and grip. But nuthatches can climb upwards AND downwards in any direction compared the aforementioned. All 3 families of bird species just enthrall me to no end!
Below is my full list for yesterday's observance! Happy birding to everyone out their!
I just love watching Brown Creepers and their mannerisms! This amazing, bark-colored bird with curved-bill has the habit of walking (climbing) directly up a tree from the base-upwards in a spiral, gleaning insects from the crevices in the bark of the tree....then, when its had its fun, it will either fly back down to base of the very same tree to make sure it didn't miss anything or make its way over to the base of another tree, always spiraling upwards in search of deliciousness! Their habit of walking along the trunks and branches of a tree are similar to woodpeckers and nuthatches, but as noted early, are different for their upwards spiraling climb. Creepers will use their stiffened tail much like a woodpecker for balance and grip. But nuthatches can climb upwards AND downwards in any direction compared the aforementioned. All 3 families of bird species just enthrall me to no end!
Below is my full list for yesterday's observance! Happy birding to everyone out their!
| Downy Woodpecker | 1 |
| Blue Jay | 2 |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 7 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 4 |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | 1 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 2 |
| Brown Creeper | 1 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 5 |
| Northern Cardinal | 2 |
| House Finch | 1 |
| American Goldfinch | 4 |
Sunday, October 17, 2010
I have returned from my hiatus and am back in action!
It seems like it has been ages since last I graced you all with my presence and my whereabouts! Never fear, for bird watching will always be on my mind, just a matter of having the time and mula to do so.
At any rate, I usually spend my Saturday mornings to early afternoons with the fine folks and even more intriguing animals and birds over with Wildlife Care at Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary. I have been giving my time, roughly 3 hours at a time, once a week for the past several months since late January of this year. It truly is an honor and a privilege to work with the animals over at WLC, most in particular the birds they tend to there. From the American Crows to the Raven, to the raptors (American Kestrels, Broad-winged Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Turkey Vultures) and owls (Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, Eastern-Screech Owls), to even the Mallards, Pekin Ducks, and our "ambassador" Canada Goose, I just can't get enough of them. It is my hope to continue working with these amazing creatures over at Drumlin for as long as possible, of course depending on what life throws at me in the future.
After my time was done today at Drumlin, I shot over to Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge to finally get some physical exercise, to find some sense of solitude, and to see what birds I could possibly find through all the fierce winds we had whirling about today! As expected, not much in the way of activity was observed, thanks in part to the winds and also the simple fact I was there from 12:15 to 3:30 pm when birds typically are not as active. Our avian friends are more apt to be active in the dawn to mid-morning hours and also during the late-afternoon to dusk hours. The best bird of the day was seeing a Brown Creeper while hiking along Petapawag Trail....just fantastic looks at one of my all-time favorite birds! What I found most amusing was its propensity to follow this one White-breasted Nuthatch around from tree to tree. While the nuthatch probed the tree by walking up and down all sides of the trunk and branches, the creeper would, as is characteristic, walk in a spiral from base to crown until the nuthatch moved on and then would keep following aforementioned nuthatch! Its like the White-breasted Nuthatch was the Brown Creeper's best buddy or older brother! Of further note was seeing good numbers of Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers and Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Juncos. Here is the full list of birds seen....not many, but here they are all the same:
Location: Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge--IBA
Observation date: 10/16/10
Notes: Please also note that weather conditions were as follows: Mostly Sunny, temps in the mid 50s, winds at times in excess of 25 mph.
Number of species: 9
Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 11
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 2
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus 1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 5
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 26
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 3
Brown Creeper - Certhia americana 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata 18
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis 18
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
To finish the day, I joined up with my always dependable good buddy Kirk Marshall and attended a banding demonstration of Northern Saw-whet Owls over at Drumlin Farm from 7 to 9:45 pm. What a freaking treat that was! For one, neither Kirk or myself had ever seen a Saw-whet Owl, and for me, this was my first banding demonstration of any kind! These lovely little owls (they only average 7 to 8 inches in length, from crown to tip of tail) are just so damned cute, especially with those huge saucer eyes that are so very startling yellow in contrast with their black pupils, pale facial disk and rufous-colored, streaky chest! We got to see how the tags were put on and how they recorded the data they obtained from each owl they captured. By the time Kirk and I had left Drumlin, from my best recollection (I was too concerned with the individual owls themselves afterall), we had 7 Saw-whets captured, banded, data-recorded and released back into the wild. I do wish I could count these Saw-whets as a Life bird, but that would be cheating. Yes, they are wild birds, but they were not seen on normal, everyday terms, as in just being out birding and chancing upon one in the wild, unfettered and not tampered with. These wild owls were captured in nets, tagged, measurements taken and finally released. Oh well.....one day Kirk and I will chance upon a Saw-whet in the wild just doing its thing without human interference! I did take a few pictures, but they are on my camera phone and not readily accessible to download to my laptop and thusly, upload to Facebook and this blog. The memory however, shall always remain, etched in my mind!
Truly a superb day it was....now it is time to catch some shut-eye and sleep in! Happy birding to everyone!
At any rate, I usually spend my Saturday mornings to early afternoons with the fine folks and even more intriguing animals and birds over with Wildlife Care at Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary. I have been giving my time, roughly 3 hours at a time, once a week for the past several months since late January of this year. It truly is an honor and a privilege to work with the animals over at WLC, most in particular the birds they tend to there. From the American Crows to the Raven, to the raptors (American Kestrels, Broad-winged Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Turkey Vultures) and owls (Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, Eastern-Screech Owls), to even the Mallards, Pekin Ducks, and our "ambassador" Canada Goose, I just can't get enough of them. It is my hope to continue working with these amazing creatures over at Drumlin for as long as possible, of course depending on what life throws at me in the future.
After my time was done today at Drumlin, I shot over to Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge to finally get some physical exercise, to find some sense of solitude, and to see what birds I could possibly find through all the fierce winds we had whirling about today! As expected, not much in the way of activity was observed, thanks in part to the winds and also the simple fact I was there from 12:15 to 3:30 pm when birds typically are not as active. Our avian friends are more apt to be active in the dawn to mid-morning hours and also during the late-afternoon to dusk hours. The best bird of the day was seeing a Brown Creeper while hiking along Petapawag Trail....just fantastic looks at one of my all-time favorite birds! What I found most amusing was its propensity to follow this one White-breasted Nuthatch around from tree to tree. While the nuthatch probed the tree by walking up and down all sides of the trunk and branches, the creeper would, as is characteristic, walk in a spiral from base to crown until the nuthatch moved on and then would keep following aforementioned nuthatch! Its like the White-breasted Nuthatch was the Brown Creeper's best buddy or older brother! Of further note was seeing good numbers of Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers and Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Juncos. Here is the full list of birds seen....not many, but here they are all the same:
Location: Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge--IBA
Observation date: 10/16/10
Notes: Please also note that weather conditions were as follows: Mostly Sunny, temps in the mid 50s, winds at times in excess of 25 mph.
Number of species: 9
Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 11
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 2
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus 1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 5
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 26
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 3
Brown Creeper - Certhia americana 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata 18
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis 18
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
To finish the day, I joined up with my always dependable good buddy Kirk Marshall and attended a banding demonstration of Northern Saw-whet Owls over at Drumlin Farm from 7 to 9:45 pm. What a freaking treat that was! For one, neither Kirk or myself had ever seen a Saw-whet Owl, and for me, this was my first banding demonstration of any kind! These lovely little owls (they only average 7 to 8 inches in length, from crown to tip of tail) are just so damned cute, especially with those huge saucer eyes that are so very startling yellow in contrast with their black pupils, pale facial disk and rufous-colored, streaky chest! We got to see how the tags were put on and how they recorded the data they obtained from each owl they captured. By the time Kirk and I had left Drumlin, from my best recollection (I was too concerned with the individual owls themselves afterall), we had 7 Saw-whets captured, banded, data-recorded and released back into the wild. I do wish I could count these Saw-whets as a Life bird, but that would be cheating. Yes, they are wild birds, but they were not seen on normal, everyday terms, as in just being out birding and chancing upon one in the wild, unfettered and not tampered with. These wild owls were captured in nets, tagged, measurements taken and finally released. Oh well.....one day Kirk and I will chance upon a Saw-whet in the wild just doing its thing without human interference! I did take a few pictures, but they are on my camera phone and not readily accessible to download to my laptop and thusly, upload to Facebook and this blog. The memory however, shall always remain, etched in my mind!
Truly a superb day it was....now it is time to catch some shut-eye and sleep in! Happy birding to everyone!
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