Turtles, Turtles...

Painted Turtle

It was going to be a hot day today, so tried to get to the park at a decent hour. 7:45 a.m and it was already 71 degrees and sunny.

The gardens have been fairly quiet. I'm happy to see that we have several milkweed plants coming up and hopefully that will help the monarch butterflies.

Moonwort

I heard a few yellow warblers, and saw robins, song sparrows, orioles, blue jays, catbirds and house wrens - nothing terribly unusual. The multi-flora invasive roses are in bloom. They actually have a wonderful fragrance and the bees were loving it.

There was a warbling vireo down near the soccer field and a female mallard in the pond. A mourning dove flew by.

Turtles on a log in the river

My big excitement was finding the moonwort that Don L. showed us on a walk a few years ago for the June Doin' event. I've been looking for it the last few weeks and it finally appeared. It's not up for long!

Red-winged blackbird

Down by the river were two turtles on a log and then surprisingly in Woodcock meadow was the painted turtle pictured above, left just sitting in the dry grass. I was a little worried about it's location and if it was alright, but I'm hoping it knows what it's doing and I left it alone.

A young red-winged blackbird sang from a tree in the meadow. The meadow is looking really good with all the work that's been done, but there is lots more to do. We appreciate all that Katherine Howard and the Newton Conservators and Friends of Nahanton Park volunteers have done!

Settling in...

Donna's poppies

7:00 a.m. - 40 degrees, clear and sunny.

I arrived at the park and a few minutes later Ian came, so we walked around together.

It was pretty quiet considering it was such a beautiful day. The yellow warblers must be in nesting mode. Yes, there was some singing, but not nearly as much. The robin babies have fledged and there were several robin families out and about. It seems that some tree swallows have left their nest boxes and others are still caring for their young.

There was a pair of house wrens either working on their accommodations or already sitting on eggs.

Bunny

A few catbirds were singing. We saw song sparrows, house finches and cardinals. The orioles that built a nest in the tree in the lower gardens were attending to their young which involved one or two just out of the nest all puffed up and fluffy on a nearby branch and some clearly still in the nest.

The upper gardens were quiet as well. A chipping sparrow and some titmice were in evidence along with the same sightings as in the lower gardens.

Down by the soccer field we heard and finally saw a Warbling vireo, a common yellowthroat, the wood peewee, a red-bellied woodpecker and more orioles. A pair of mallards appear to have nested on the side of the pond but we didn't see any babies. Red-winged blackbirds made there presence known.

Little Wood Satyr

Also, saw this beautiful butterfly in the soccer field. I'm not sure I've seen this one before. It's called "Little Wood Satyr" or "Megisto cymela".

We saw several barn swallows while standing on the canoe dock. I looked for the moonwort ferns that Don L. had discovered but they don't seem to be out yet. No heron sightings either. Woodcock meadow was pretty quiet except for a house wren singing it's heart out and a common yellowthroat.

The JCC woods were quiet too. I was contacted by Paul about one of the lady slippers blooming, but between Ian and myself, we couldn't find one that was in bloom. We did see the lady slipper foliage and for some reason, they look like the winter conditions did not agree with them. They don't look very happy.

Memorial Day

Song sparrow

It was 53 degrees, and cloudy at 7:00 a.m. It was raw and damp, but I wanted to catch up on my birding. Haynes and Chris H. had seen the gray-cheeked thrush and I was hoping I might get to see it, but alas, it was not to be...

In the lower gardens, I was greeted by our usual nesting tree swallows and numerous yellow warblers. The male and female oriole were about as well as chipping sparrows, robins, song sparrows, house wrens, seagulls overhead and a flicker foraging on the ground.

I could have sworn I heard the faint call of the cuckoo, but without someone else there, I didn't trust my sound perception in the case of something more unusual like a cuckoo.

Upper gardens: In addition to similar sightings from the lower gardens, there were some goldfinches, and a cardinal, In general, the park was pretty quiet today and who could blame the birds. It was a bit nasty out today.

Down by the soccer field, I heard my first wood thrush singing it's hauntingly beautiful flute-like song from the JCC woods. A warbling vireo was singing near the pond. I startled a female red-winged blackbird and a common yellow-throat sang from the brushy edge. Near the nature center, a pair of robins were busy feeding their young on the ground.

Woodcock meadow had some blue jays, house wrens, common yellow-throats, mourning doves and a turkey exploring the forest edge. An eastern phoebe called from some nearby shrubs, but never saw it.

No sign of flower stalks on the lady slippers. Is there a chance they might not bloom this year or are they just extraordinarily late?

Cuckoos and other great birds!

Common Yellow-throat male

At 7:00 a.m., it was 49 degrees, clear and sunny.

I drove up around the same time as Haynes, so we walked around together and later connected with Ian down by the river.

It was a beautiful day and what could be better than starting off with the call of a cuckoo, which Haynes identified as the black-billed cuckoo. Later we saw the yellow-billed cuckoo high up in a tree by the river.

We've been keeping an eye on the lady slippers which seem far behind last years schedule. Where many plants have been unusually floriferous this spring, the lady slippers seem like they missed the snow cover and are unhappy and not as plentiful.

We also had a scheduled invasive pull organized by Katherine from Newton Conservators, which took place at the edge of Woodcock meadow. A good number of people showed up and pulled an amazing amount of garlic mustard.

Haynes' list:

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  X
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  1
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  10
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)  1     at river
Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)  1     heard
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)  3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  1
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  4
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  3
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  3
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  12
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  3
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  5
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  1
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  3
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  16
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  8
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)  1
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  2
Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia)  1
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  12
Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata)  1
Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  6
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)  3
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  1     f
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  4
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  2
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  1
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  10
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  3
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  1

One day of spring

Well, finally some nice weather. Tomorrow it'll be summer, but today it felt like spring at Nahanton Park. I got an early start and was rewarded with seven warbler species, including this pretty Magnolia















and a Chestnut-sided Warbler











But the real surprise was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo!

Where's that Worm-eating warbler?

Flicker

In search of the worm-eating warbler that I've been hearing about, I got to the park at 7:30 a.m. It was 54 degrees and sunny.

This was my second attempt to view it since Haynes and others had seen it earlier in the week, and also Saturday morning. The newly cleared out area at the Winchester St. entrance makes for a new place to bird watch which is fun. I saw this flicker across the road prepping a hole for a nest, but no sign of the warbler.

Baltimore Oriole

Apparently Ian and Mary Lou and several other people I met at the park today were looking for it as well, but did see a
scarlet tanager in the area. Sadly, I missed that too!

The lower gardens of course had our summer resident tree swallows. They're always the first birds you see and the yellow warblers were in great abundance.

Yellow warbler

Yellow-rumped warbler

A baltimore oriole couple has already built a nest in a tree in the lower gardens that has been used by orioles in the past. Before I forget, I will mention that I saw a couple of male hummingbirds in the gardens on Thursday, but no sightings today.

Saw goldfinches, catbirds and a rose-breasted grosbeak

male. A female cowbird was perched on a garden fence. I suppose she is waiting for the yellow warblers to build their nests so she can lay her eggs. There were some song sparrows as well. It's funny how they seem a little sparse at the beginning of the season, but later it will seem like they are everywhere.

In the upper gardens, a wren has picked out his nest box and keeps an eye on it constantly. I'm not sure if his lady has arrived yet, but he's ready when she does! Saw more palms and some yellow rumps in the area near the birch and beehives. Have been seeing several female red-winged blackbirds this spring as well as their beautiful male counterparts.  Canada geese and a hawk flew overhead. More orioles and a nuthatch...

Down by the soccer field were several grackles and lots of yellow rumps. I finally spotted a warbling vireo high up in an oak tree. There was another red-breasted grosbeak, several red-winged blackbirds and chickadees.

Blue Jay

Barn swallows were flying back and forth over the river and a couple of

Nuthatch

blue jays perched in a nearby tree looking like they were surveying their territory.  In woodcock meadow there were song sparrows, eastern phoebes doing amazing acrobatics to capture yummy insects and surprisingly a couple of savannah sparrows in a pine tree. Titmice called out from theJCC woods. I believe I have seen the first signs of  lady slipper foliage poking up out of the leaves. They should be blooming in the next week or two.

First day back and it was GREAT!

Palm Warbler

This was my first day back at Nahanton after a very long stretch. It was 50 degrees at 7:00 a.m. and sunny.

I was greeted by tree swallows who were dipping and diving and who had already staked out their nest boxes for the season. Yellow warblers were singing everywhere and courting each other. It was such a cheerful scene and I must say I was really happy to be back!

Robin

Saw some black and white warblers and several palms. I don't think I ever saw so many at one time. They were all over the crabapple in the center of the lower gardens. Goldfinches were chasing each other. I had just seen a catbird in my yard the day before, but at the park, there were several. I had to take a picture of this one because it looked so very happy peering out from this crabapple near the path to the upper gardens.

Catbird

There were titmice near the golf course side and red-winged blackbirds staking out their territories. Later, when I ran into Haynes and went back to the lower gardens, there were savannah sparrows, a female oriole, cardinals, chickadees and yellow rumps.

Red-breasted grosbeak

I headed to the upper gardens where there were more black & whites, mourning doves and robins but a certain song caught met attention. I looked up and there was a beautiful male red-breasted grosbeak. As he flew off, I saw he was chasing another male. Also saw a female. Chimney swifts flew overhead.

High in the oaks were some blue-gray gnatcatchers making their little buzzy noises and flitting about. I could hear an eastern phoebe calling from the woods. Chipping sparrows chipped away. A couple of house wrens were clearly back as evidenced by their bubbling babble!

House wren

Down by the soccer field we saw a parula, heard warbling vireo and ovenbird. The river yielded several eastern phoebes and I was glad to see that they are back to nesting on the nature center eaves. They didn't like it when it got repainted and stayed away for a season. We saw more blue-gray gnatcatchers, yellow rumps, a ruby-crowned kinglet and a blue jay.