Patience rewarded

I got to Nahanton Park at 8:40 this morning. Mary Lou was already there, and we decided that it wasn't very birdy. But I persisted. The upper garden revealed this attractive Field Sparrow. It looks like a different bird than the one I found at the lower garden a few days ago. 

Another boy scout project: This one is a "bug hotel." There's one at the lower garden, and this one on Woodcock Field. It looks like a piece of artwork by Louise Nevelson to me.

This beautiful male Eastern Towhee was certainly a nice surprise, at the soccer circle. 

An active group of American Tree Sparrows and Song Sparrows were working the reeds on the pond - just a little hard to photograph! And a beautiful raft of 17 Canada Geese were navigating the river. A productive morning after all! 

Another bright morning

A quick tour this morning of the gardens and the new lawn proved quite productive. The White-throated and Song Sparrows

posed nicely, and the Field Sparrow at the end of the upper garden at least allowed a photograph:

The new lawn was quite busy: Myrtle Warbler, Juncos, and two rather early Fox Sparrows:

Stopping in the woods next to the parking area produced a Golden-crowned Kinglet and this Brown Creeper (maybe the hardest to photograph of all birds):

A bright morning

Seasonably bright and chilly! First birds at the park was a small group of Red-winged Blackbirds ...

The far corner of the upper garden was busy: Field  Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, and this Orange-crowned Warbler

There and elsewhere, lots of Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, Juncos, ... the usual suspects. Overhead, this Cooper's Hawk.

Walks in the park

Saturday, Linda Ferraresso led a Brookline Bird Club walk at NP. It started under light rain, but this didn't keep the birds down. There were quite a few Swamp Sparrows

and other regulars, as well as an early Junco. Three Warbler species included this Black-throated Green.

I returned this morning. After a cloudless night with a full moon, I was hoping for a different mix. Perhaps there was. I found a Myrtle Warbler, a Lincoln's Sparrow, and this Palm Warbler

as well as usuals such as this Song Sparrow

But a nice surprise was a flyover Peregrine Falcon. In the meadow I spotted this mantis -- or should I say he spotted me! I think it's a European, not Chinese - you can just make out the black ring on the inside of the arms at the body.

Sparrows' return

A quick visit this afternoon revealed that the fall sparrows are finally appearing! White-throated Sparrow and Indigo Bunting have been around for a while and were present today. But a nice addition today was Lincoln's Sparrow, at least three of them. I got some decent shots:

A Common Raven croaked overhead:

and I encountered the House Sparrow with a very pink bill that Suzette had reported:

There were a lot of Common Green Darners, like this female:

Quick visit!

Dahlia

I decided to take a quick trip to the park this morning. Arrived at 8:40 a.m. It was 55 degrees and cloudy.

The lower gardens had several catbirds, blue jays, a grackle, lots of robins, 3 or 4 mourning doves, song sparrows and their short tailed young! Cardinals, downies, at least three flickers and a Carolina wren that I had been hearing, but suddenly appeared right in front of me. I went to aim my camera and it was gone in a flash.

Artichoke

The upper gardens had similar fare. Sadly, the house sparrows have really taken hold over the last several years. I could hear a nuthatch and chickadees, but didn't see them. A common Yellow- throat female perched on a fence, but left in a hurry. I was surprised to see one house wren still there that I'm sure was a young one because of its short tail.

As I was leaving, the house sparrows had taken over a plot that was filled with tall grasses. They were having a field day with the seeds. As I stood and stared, I realized there was a stranger among them. Its body shape and size was different. It was a female indigo bunting. The first I have seen on my own. I hope some day to see the male in full blue plumage.

Lawrence's Warbler!

I got to the Park late this morning, 9:15 or so, and went to the lower garden. In the scrub near the bat house I saw a flash of yellow and black ... Kentucky Warbler?? I hung around and waited to see it again, and this is what popped out:

This is "Lawrence's Warbler," a cross between Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warbler. It's much less common than "Brewster's Warbler," which displays the dominant traits. Interestingly, Lawrence's Warbler has been reported twice earlier this summer in eastern Massachusetts: once on Plum Island, once in Cambridge. 

After that, I couldn't complain about these guys, in the upper garden:

There was also a Blue-winged Warbler there, but it did not consent to being photographed. Near the Nature Center I caught up with this Spreadwing: